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Fri 16 Jun 2023

Writing

Month Notes: May 2023

Last month we launched In Deep Water, a flagship report exposing the hidden impacts of oil and gas on the UK's seas.

Over the last month we’ve been busy working on a project with The Social Practice , but here are a few other bits and pieces that we’re excited to share.

In Deep Water

We recently helped launch In Deep Water , a flagship report exposing the hidden impacts of oil and gas on the UK's seas. The project is a collaboration between the marine conservation organisation Oceana and just transition campaign group Uplift.

The report documents the multiple harms caused by oil and gas production, not just to individual creatures but species populations and whole ecosystems, weakening the UK’s seas just when we need to restore them.

Cover of the report, showing an offshore oil platform.

As part of this work we created infographics explaining the development stages and associated impacts of offshore oil and gas infrastructure, as well as a series of maps illustrating the overlaps between protected marine areas and sites of oil and gas drilling.

An infographic showing the stages of oil and gas extraction
Map of the marine protected areas around the UK

The goal with this report was not just to sound the alarm but also to invite a sense of wonder. Our marine ecosystems are full of so much life and diversity, as well as acting as a vital carbon store. The central recommendation of the report is that we urgently need to halt the licensing and approval of new offshore oil and gas extraction in UK waters.

Underwater photo of corals

Thanks to Shauna Buckley for helping design the report.

UnFound Accelerator

The annual UnFound Accelerator has kicked off again. The Accelerator is a 10-week intensive that guides founders through the process of setting up a platform co-op.

Gemma ran a workshop with the teams to introduce them to the core methodologies of a Design Sprint, and next week she’ll be giving them feedback on the prototypes they’ve created and helping them prepare for some usability testing.

Digital Organising Training

The Digital Organising training course that we’re running with Act Build Change continues. Last week we covered best practices in using data for digital organising, particularly how to make choices that centre trust and relationships. Next week, the workshop will be about designing systems for inclusivity and accessibility.

Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung NYC

We’ve been selected to do the art direction and graphic design for Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung’s New York Office over the next year, in collaboration with our friend Ilyanna Kerr . This year their main focus will be reflecting on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , which was first adopted 75 years ago.

An illustration showing a tapestry of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with people repairing sections of it. In the middle is a large red number 75.
Illustration by Ilyanna Kerr

Other co-op news

  • The last few months have been full of some big life events for our team… Alex and his wife Tammy welcomed their daughter into the world (!!!) in early May 🌱
  • Anna C graduated from her Founders and Coders apprenticeship and is now a Junior Developer 🎉
  • We’ve joined workers.coop , a new federation of worker cooperatives, alongside other groups like Birmingham Bike Foundry , Cooperation Town , Kitty’s (Liverpool Community Launderette), People Support Co-op and Zebra Collective .
  • Gemma was part of a super interesting conversation with Cooperativa de Diseño in Argentina and Holon in Barcelona, facilitated by Diana Bécares Mas from Aalto University. It is so inspiring to connect and exchange knowledge with cooperators all over the world.
  • Jan is dreaming and reading The Lathe of Heaven by co-op favourite Ursula K Le Guin.
  • Jamie is working on Kingston University’s first public exhibition for its POC Collective, Splinter. Will be opening at the end of June!
  • Friend of the co-op Graham Jones just released their new book Red Enlightenment , on socialism, science and spirituality.
  • BroadBikez are doing their first group ride of the summer this Sunday and will soon be sharing our summer schedule of free drop-in tool share sessions and more bike rides.
  • Job opportunity: Our friends at Zetkin Foundation are looking for a designer, mobile developer and senior web developer to work on their platform for organising activism. We’ve collaborated with Zetkin for years and can’t recommend them enough!
  • Funding opportunity: Power to Change and Promising Trouble have just launched their new Discovery Fund , which will provide 20 community organisations with £10,000 each to undertake their own discovery work.