BAY2K

The San Francisco

Bay Area Year 2000 Community Forum

--- very important ---

* * Y 2 K D I A L O G U E M E E T I N G * *

WEDNESDAY at 7 PM sharp (come early!)

at the Presidio Alliance, Building 563
just inside the Lombard Street gate to the Presidio of San Francisco
(it's the first left if you're driving west on Lombard Street)


! ! BRING FRIENDS ! !

There's a lot to learn and discuss about Y2K -- whether you are new to the issue or have been following it for years ... whether you're wrestling with your anxiety or lobbying your city council ... whether you're trying to protect your family or to build sustainable, resilient communities. To succeed at these things, we need to talk with each other -- to share our stories, information and insight. There are facts we all need to know and gifts we all bring to this effort. All of us can get clearer about what we're doing -- and we need to build common ground to stand on together.

That's what a few of us created BAY2K for. But please hear us: It takes a lot to make this happen; we can't do it without you. The more people who come, the better it will work for everyone. We would like to see everyone in the Bay Area who is interested or active in Y2K. If you find yourself uninterested, we'd love to hear why, so we can make it better. Tell us what kind of program or dialogue you'd like to participate in.

To get the dialogues started, we'll be handing out introductory briefing sheets on each of the ten major topics listed below, one for each dialogue group. We'll break up into as many groups as there are people who want to do them. You'll pick one group to start out with, but you can move to a different group at any time. Near the end, all the groups will share highlights of their dialogues. You may even find people to work with on things that matter to you. (And when it's all over at 9 pm, you and your new friends can watch some Y2K videos together, if you'd like...)

So come to the Presidio Wednesday night. Help make it a success. Bring your questions, your concerns, your passions, your information. Together we can learn a lot, connect up with each other, and make a difference.

T: 415-931-2593 or 510-654-0349 * F: 415-931-0948 * bay2k@3220.com

"BAY2K responds to the challenges of the Year 2000 technology problem by empowering people with information, contacts and dialogue. We encourage personal and local community responses that are sustainable and resilient, now and into the millennium - in the Bay Area and beyond."


DIALOGUE GROUPS YOU CAN JOIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

1) THE Y2K CRISIS - This group is about the dangers, dynamics and opportunities of Y2K, itself. People new to Y2K (or BAY2K's approach to it) can come here to get more informed and find fellowship with other concerned people.

2) EMOTIONAL SUPPORT - Y2K is an emotionally challenging issue for many of us. When emotional issues dominate our awareness, it can help to share our feelings with others. If the dialogue in this group gets too heady, anyone can bring it back to feelings. And remember: Attentive, empathic listening is more important here than advice (unless someone asks for advice).

3) PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS - Here's where we get informed about the nuts and bolts of physically preparing our own households and supporting each other in doing that. (Emotional preparedness and neighborhood preparations are covered in groups 2, 6 and 8.)

4) OFFICIAL CONTACTS - Here we'll share responsibility for contacting utilities, corporations, small businesses, hospitals, governments, emergency services, community groups, school systems, nonprofits, etc. (only sustainability nonprofits are excluded, since they are covered in group 5) -- about their role in community preparedness -- both their own preparedness and their role in serving the community as it prepares.

5) SUSTAINABILITY - Here's where to explore approaches to community self-reliance and resilience. What can we create that will help communities be more self-reliant and sustainable in their food, water, money, security, health care, communications, decision-making, etc.? This might include involving sustainability nonprofits, getting local money systems established, creating classes in gardening and community asset mapping, making group-process help available, creating model educational materials and community organizing manuals, and so on.

6) NEIGHBORHOOD and sub-community preparedness -- Here you can talk about organizing people and planning for the food, water, money, security, health care, etc., you'll need in your neighborhood. You'll need to liaise with most of the other groups in this list for info and assistance relevant to particular neighborhoods. Ideally, this group would become a network/support group for neighborhood organizers. It would figure out how to care for vulnerable populations and how to engage overlooked populations (such as youth and the elderly) in community preparations.

7) PUBLIC DIALOGUE - Here you can explore how and why to influence media, politics, public forums and other information sources. Participants may want to create public forums of their own (including "Y2K response fellowship" opportunities for concerned people just to talk with each other) -- even possible speakers bureaus, etc. We could engage all the artists and storytellers of our culture, as well as encourage issue-oriented dialogues and general Y2K educational activities.

8) PSYCHOLOGICAL/SPIRITUAL issues - This group can include personal feelings and stories, but is more focused on psychological and spiritual ISSUES and how to deal with them, both at a personal and collective level. (Group 2 is the best forum for sharing personal feelings.) Projects might include engaging the therapeutic and clerical/spiritual communities to serve public needs in this area of Y2K, as well as setting up local support/growth groups and facilitating needed life-changes.

9) FUNDING - This group explores how to garner support for sustainability activities, sustainable preparation groups and other parts of The Y2K Movement.

10) THE Y2K MOVEMENT: We need to sustain connections with the larger movement -- in the US and the world -- of those using Y2K to build community, increase sustainability, and transform our cultures and ourselves in positive ways. We need to participate in creating visions of how this Y2K crisis could lead to a transformed society. We need to help find the resources needed to help that happen. We want to share broadly what we in the Bay Area come up with that might be useful to others, and disseminate locally what distant people have come up with that might be useable in the Bay Area.

11) OTHER TOPICS? Are there other topics you would like to discuss? Let us know!