From my notes:
Sacha McMeeking - General Manager of Strategy and Influence at Te
Runanga o Ngai Tahu
The new Christchurch will be created by the human spirit.
We are our own creators.
We are talking with the powers that be, but that is a linear conversation.
We need to make our own decision, together. To do that we need to talk
to each other.
Our task is to create an intergenerational future.
We KNOW, but we don't want to know, that we're facing a decade or more
of challenge and adversity.
We hope that we have a common trajectory, but there are details on which
we will disagree.
We live in a democracy, but we know it's a democracy where some assembly
is still required.
How we talk to each other matters. We need to start by having a long
conversation.
***
For my money, this was the most important local contribution to the
TEDxEQChCH event.
That was the principle driving the creation of the twenty-five
neighbours forums we now have. However, the membership of the forums is
too low, the participation is weak and chance of the conversation being
successful in the way either Sacha or myself imagine, is poor, unless
something changes.
If we can't find the energy and the courage to create our own city,
someone else will do that for us, leaving us complaining about being
left out the decision once again. Time to look squarely in the mirror.
NOTICE:
If we are to accept the challenge of rebuilding a NEW Christchurch, this
forum needs to grow much bigger. Please invite your friends to join. I
can't run 25 forums alone, I need your help.
This is not television. Every one of you has a say here. Help me, help
yourself, by being responsive to the posts.
If we can't have a conversation here, we can't decide what we agree
about, and somone else will make decisions for us. Each one of us is
responsible for what happens (and is currently not happening) here.