On January 20th (inauguration day!) the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights launched a new program for Oakland, California called “Soul of the City.” From the perspective of Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening the Dreamer program this is a signature moment, because the core workshop in Soul of the City is actually an adaptation of the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium.
The crowd assembled at the Launch Event cheered for the 10 minute video about the program which used footage collected for the Symposium.
We have been in collaboration with Ella Baker Center for about 16 months preparing for this moment, when our two organizations can support each other so fully. Compare the goal of Soul of the City:
• Transform Oakland into a socially just, spiritually connected, ecologically sustainable city with shared prosperity for all.
With the purpose of the Symposium:
• Bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet.
This is exactly the kind of transformative process, taking place at the local level in collaboration with an aligned ally, that was envisioned when Awakening the Dreamer was born. And is definitely a fulfillment of our mission statement: to contribute to the creation of a new global vision of equity and sustainability for all.
As this new program takes root in Oakland, one of the intentions is to make it available to be replicated in cities around the world. We intend to continue to work with Ella Baker Center to replicate Soul of the City widely.
