To inspire action for greater justice and sustainability
A pilot project of Global Beacons of Hope
See also: Strategy & status In countries and regions
As in the global initiative, California Beacons of Hope are places associated with extraordinary people, events, and ideas that symbolize the imagination, exploration, and moral behavior needed to move the world toward greater justice and sustainability.
We believe putting a spotlight on them will help change minds and inspire action.
We were starting to organize Global Beacons of Hope at the beginning of 2020 but then the COVID pandemic happened and we had to pull back. Although we will return to the global project, we realized the concept could be just as useful at other levels of geography, in some cases more so.
California is a good place to start because the project is based there but also because, as the Los Angeles Times recently said, "No state has had a bigger impact on the direction of the United States than California, a prolific incubator and exporter of outside-the-box policies and ideas ... [It is] the nation's think tank."
U.S. state of California. Population 40 million. Area similar to Japan or Sweden. Locator map below
California Beacons of Hope will represent different regions and cultures, as well as a variety of themes, approaches, and points of view. There are many ways of inspiring people to take action toward justice and sustainability. California Beacons will reflect this by including places representing, among other things, politics, public policy, law, science, protection of nature, non-violence, indigenous rights, philosophy, astronomy, women leaders, freedom from tyranny, literature, art, and psychology.
Our first step in California Beacons of Hope is producing a book describing up to a hundred Beacons representing one or more of the six themes around which the global project is structured. These Beacons will be chosen by the project team with help from a group of expert advisors. They may be built objects, urban districts, rural areas, or features of a landscape. They may represent acts of individuals, groups, communities, or governments.
Progress will be reported on this page. [Posted June 2021]