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The first full year of Regen Melbourne has rolled out in the context of the continued disruption of COVID-19. We have also experienced extensive flooding in 2022, impacting Greater Melbourne and surrounds in profoundly difficult ways.
In this shifting context, the original driver for Regen Melbourne remains: how can we re-organise our system in order for a more resilient, thriving and regenerative economy to emerge?
Over the past 12 months, we have experimented broadly, learned a lot and continuously revised and renewed our strategy and approach. Just like there is an intricate ecosystem of inter-connected roots, nutrient layers and mycelium networks below ground, we have spent much of our time on this systems work, network building and storytelling.
Regen Melbourne is emerging as a platform for ambitious collaboration, in service to Greater Melbourne.
We do this by harnessing place-based research and catalysing wildly ambitious collective projects. Over the past 12 months we have grown to become an alliance of almost 150 organisations and countless individuals working towards a thriving Melbourne within planetary boundaries.
We have convened countless workshops, research forums, round tables and community events. And we have begun to coalesce our energy around a series of wildly ambitious collective projects; tangible and inspiring "earthshot" goals to propel our city into the safe and just space of the Melbourne Doughnut.
One example of a wildly ambitious project is making the lower reaches of the Birrarung/Yarra River swimmable again by 2030. Our pilot has created a new alliance of partners, co-developed a clear vision, convened workshops, integrated research, delivered a project incubator, catalysed renewed government interest, convened aDesign Forum, and unlocked new philanthropic capital.
We are now exploring a range of other wildly ambitious projects in the areas of food systems, street homelessness, participatory democracy and regenerative streets.
Over the next 12 months, our aim is to activate our alliance around key research initiatives and to establish 3-5 earthshots, or wildly ambitious demonstration projects. Together, we will retain our transformative ambition.
