This summer, a core element of the Calgary Alliance for the Common Good, its membership and team are looking for our leaders to engage in an active campaign of resting. At our June Strategy Team meeting, some readings and other elements were shared by Katharine Heimbignor-Tenor, the co-chair of the Strategy Team, on some resources to engage with in the summer months.
Calgary Alliance for the Common Good Culture Document
You can view the shared Google Document of the Calgary Alliance here. If you're unable to access it, please send an email to Vincent at [email protected].
Easy Listening Podcasts
https://listenorganizeact.buzzsprout.com/
- Listen, Organize, Act Podcast - a podcast created by an Industrial Areas Foundation affiliate, where they interview organizers, leaders and more about how they're creating change in their neighbourhood. It was done in partnership with the Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics. Find it on the listening platform of your choice, or view their webpage here.
https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1182242683/1182413710
- "Get more rest." - NPR's Lifekit podcast hosted an episode on rest. It's time to make room for more naps. Tricia Hersey, also known as the 'nap bishop' and author of the book "Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto," explains why relaxation and leisure are human rights — especially for communities of colour. Listen in at Lifekit or where all podcasts are found.
Summer Reading List
- Theory U: Leading from the Emerging Future by Claus Otto Scharmer (Cambridge, MA: Society for Organizational Learning, 2007) - A sample chapter is available on their website.
- Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future by Peter Senge, et al. (Cambridge, MA: SoL, 2004). - An executive summary can be found on TheoryLab, which you can read here.
- The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker - You can access resources from Priya on her website, located here.
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer.
- John Griffith (Hillhurst United) shared two books with us:
- "Building a better world for all," by Mark Carney.
- "Whispering to a Revolution," which you can read more on here.
- "The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing and Social Justice" by Staci Haines.
- How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power by Matthew Bolton
- Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky - a version of this book is available for free on Archive.org, which you can view here.
- Going Public: An Organizer's Guide To Citizen Action by Michael Gecan
- Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman
The above books are available from the Calgary Public Library (free). In fact, Braiding Sweetgrass, the book by Robin Kimmerer, has her audiobook, of her reading her text herself, available through the library as well! If you haven't picked up your free library card, you can do so here.
If you have an item, podcast or book to share as a recommendation, please forward it to [email protected].