Rob Hopkins

There are an infinite number of possible futures that lie ahead of us—like threads stretching out into the distance. Rob Hopkins, cofounder of the international Transition Network movement, invites us to travel to future worlds we would actually want to live in. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted every aspect of daily life, climate activist and Transition Network cofounder Rob Hopkins responded the way a lot of people did: by starting a podcast. But it wasn’t any ordinary podcast. In each episode, Hopkins and his guests would “time travel” together to the year 2030—walking down imagined future streets, talking with imagined future neighbors, visiting imagined future local businesses. While Hopkins’s guests came from all walks of life—economists, politicians, bakers, comedians, novelists and more—they all shared a willingness to suspend their worries about the future long enough to mentally inhabit and then describe a world they were thrilled to be a part of. What Hopkins discovered was no less profound: this simple exercise of visiting a positive future forced him to rethink the work he’d been doing as a climate activist for decades. How to Fall in Love with the Future is the result of that radical disruption—and Hopkins’s deep dive into the people and movements throughout history who have used visions of the future to inspire positive change on a large and dramatic scale. From the life and writings of musician Sun Ra and the history of Black utopian movements to the latest neuroscience on what goes on in our minds—and hearts—when we “time travel,” Hopkins brings essential new thinking to anyone overwhelmed with dread and anxiety for the future. He asks us to consider: what would the world look like if we all got to work imagining—and then building—a world we were deeply in love with? “Rob Hopkins puts imagination back at the heart of future-dreaming, offering us an irresistible invitation to dream bigger and then make those dreams a reality.”—Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics

Leadership for the Great Transition—a changemaker’s toolkit for cultivating personal and community resilience The Regeneration Handbook offers an abundance of insights, stories, tools, practices, and resources for experienced and aspiring changemakers to step into their full power at this time of unprecedented global crisis. By introducing readers to a different kind of activism – based on universal patterns of Transformation, Expansion, Wholeness, and Balance – it points the way to a truly just and regenerative future. Drawing on author Don Hall’s experience as a leader in the international Transition Towns Movement – as well as the work of dozens of regenerative thinkers and doers across many fields, including ecology, psychology, sociology, organizational development, and systems thinking – this book will help you: Better understand our current environmental, economic, and social polycrisisDevelop a holistic and inspiring vision for the futureCultivate the confidence to lead and strengthen inner resilienceWork effectively in collaborative groups and organizationsReach beyond the choir to engage people from all walks of lifeDesign and implement practical projects that foster sustainability and justice While none of us can change the world alone, we all have an important part to play in the Great Transition. By starting wherever we are and leaning into this historic challenge, we’ll discover our deepest purpose, realize our highest potential, and learn how to harness the power of regeneration to radically transform our lives, our communities, and our world.

Big ideas that just might save the world. the Guardian A serious book on an important subject. Without imagination, where are we? Sir Quentin Blake What if we took play seriously? What if we considered imagination vital to our health? What if we followed nature’s lead? What if school nurtured young imaginations? What if things turned out okay? Rob Hopkins asks the most important question that society has somehow forgotten – What If? Hopkins explores what we must do to revive and replenish our collective imagination. If we can rekindle that precious creative spark, whole societies and cultures can change – rapidly, dramatically and unexpectedly – for the better. There really is no end to what we might accomplish. From What Is to What If is the most inspiring, courageous and necessary book you will read this year; a call to action to reclaim and unleash the power of our imaginations and to solve the problems of our time. Meet the individuals and communities around the world who are doing it now – and creating brighter futures for us all. At last, we have a design for our dreams. I believe we have a debt of honour to take action. Please read this book and defy the herd. Are we golden or are we debris? Mark Stewart, musician, The Pop Group and Mark Stewart & The Maffia

Den här guiden ger dig allt du behöver för att komma igång med omställning i ditt lokalsamhälle. Handboken innehåller bland annat olika ingredienser och principer för hållbar omställning och hur ni skapar välmående och inkluderande grupper. Den ger dig också inspiration från omställningsarbete runt om i hela världen, inklusive Sverige. Särskild vikt läggs vid hur ni kan skapa partnerskap med fler än givna vänner, hur ni startar ett omställningsinitiativ och går vidare från att driva enskilda projekt till att bli en långsiktig omställningsgrupp – samt hur ni har kul medan ni gör det. Omställningshandboken gavs först ut 2016 av Transition Network med titeln ”The Essential Guide to doing Transition” och är skriven av bland andra omställningsrörelsens grundare Rob Hopkins, i samarbete med omställningshubbar i olika länder. Under 2019 har den svenska hubben, bestående av Omställningsnätverket och Hela Sverige ska leva, drivit ett projekt för att översätta boken till svenska. Handboken är utgiven under Creative Commons, vilket innebär att innehållet får spridas fritt och den finns för gratis nedladdning på nätet. Det går även att beställa ett tryckt exemplar till självkostnadspris via Omställningsnätverkets hemsida eller Facebook-sida.

"Big ideas that just might save the world"--The GuardianThe founder of the international Transition Towns movement asks why true creative, positive thinking is in decline, asserts that it's more important now than ever, and suggests ways our communities can revive and reclaim it. In these times of deep division and deeper despair, if there is a consensus about anything in the world, it is that the future is going to be awful. There is an epidemic of loneliness, an epidemic of anxiety, a mental health crisis of vast proportions, especially among young people. There's a rise in extremist movements and governments. Catastrophic climate change. Biodiversity loss. Food insecurity. The fracturing of ecosystems and communities beyond, it seems, repair. The future--to say nothing of the present--looks grim. But as Transition movement cofounder Rob Hopkins tells us, there is plenty of evidence that things can change, and cultures can change, rapidly, dramatically, and unexpectedly--for the better. He has seen it happen around the world and in his own town of Totnes, England, where the community is becoming its own housing developer, energy company, enterprise incubator, and local food network--with cascading benefits to the community that extend far beyond the projects themselves. We do have the capability to effect dramatic change, Hopkins argues, but we're failing because we've largely allowed our most critical tool to languish: human imagination. As defined by social reformer John Dewey, imagination is the ability to look at things as if they could be otherwise. The ability, that is, to ask What if? And if there was ever a time when we needed that ability, it is now. Imagination is central to empathy, to creating better lives, to envisioning and then enacting a positive future. Yet imagination is also demonstrably in decline at precisely the moment when we need it most. In this passionate exploration, Hopkins asks why imagination is in decline, and what we must do to revive and reclaim it. Once we do, there is no end to what we might accomplish. From What Is to What If is a call to action to reclaim and unleash our collective imagination, told through the stories of individuals and communities around the world who are doing it now, as we speak, and witnessing often rapid and dramatic change for the better.

Something is stirring. People around the world are deciding that the well-being of their community and its economy lies with them. They're people like you. They've had enough, and, rather than waiting for permission, they're rolling up their sleeves, getting together with friends and neighbours, and doing something about it. Whether they start small or big, they're finding that just doing stuff can transform their neighbourhoods and their lives. The Power of Just Doing Stuff argues that this shift represents the seeds of a new economy - the answer to our desperate search for a new way forward - and at its heart is people deciding that change starts with them. Communities worldwide are already modelling a more local economy rooted in place, in well-being, in entrepreneurship, and in creativity. And it works. Packed with inspiring real-life examples of how to change things, this book ties in with the increasing focus on community action during tough economic times. This brilliant book is ideal for schools, community groups and campaigners as well as the general public and Transition groups.