About (earlier) IPCR Initiative
[Note: The IPCR Initiative was the predecessor of The CPCS Initiative, which began in 2013.]
My beliefs that there is a critical need for an exponential increase in compassion for our fellow human beings—and that at no other time in history has there been more potential for such an increase—have urged and inspired me for a long time. (I have been inspired by people and resources from many different religious, spiritual, and moral traditions.)
Specifically, from 2001-2013, one of my most important priorities (in my free time) was building The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative (previous website address ipcri.net). I was (and remain) very much interested in exploring how the above mentioned unprecedented potential might be realized. This exploration identified a set of critical challenges [1st assessment: "A Ten Point Assessment of the Most Difficult Challenges of Our Times" in Appendix (see p. 89) of "1000 Communities2" ("1000 Communities Squared") (164 pages; June, 2008); "A Four Page Summary of The IPCR Initiative" (2011) (A key outreach document, see “Major IPCR Outreach Efforts”, below); and
“IPCR Critical Challenges Assessment 2011-2012: Summary Report” (444 pages) (5 page Table of Contents). It seemed to me then, and it still seems that way now, that our challenges will require problem solving on a scale most of us have never known before—and a “constellations of initiatives” approach to overcoming those challenges, at the local and regional levels.
The "constellations of initiatives" approach brought forward by The IPCR Initiative advocated for a combination of preliminary surveys to 150 local leaders (as preparation for Community Visioning Initiatives); time-intensive Community Visioning Initiatives supported by many “Community Teaching and Learning Centers” (offering workshops suggested by the preliminary surveys); and “sister community” relationships as a way of creating local community specific and regional specific “constellations of initiatives” responses to the challenges of our times.
Below I have listed some of the “Key Documents” of The IPCR Initiative. There are also three sections further below: “Major IPCR Outreach Efforts” and “Two IPCR Newsletters”—and a link to video documentary about Community Visioning Initiatives titled “Chattanooga: A Community with a Vision”.
[Above text by Stefan Pasti, Founder and Resource Coordinator for The CPCS Initiative--and past Founder and Outreach Coordinator for The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative. (The former IPCR Initiative website, at ipcri.net went offline in 2013.)]
16 Key IPCR Documents
1. First IPCR Brochure (4 pages) (2002)—includes details for two key IPCR (and Tipping Point Action) ideas, and many core insights and observations which are still just as relevant (Scanned document)
2. “The IPCR Journal/Newsletter Spring 2005” issue (14 pages)--key document for the first IPCR Initiative outreach campaign. Also noteworthy because it contains detailed descriptions of seven of The Eight IPCR Concepts—and much of that content has remained as it was written then [see "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts" (2009); “Ten Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2014); "13 Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2017), and "Growing Wisdom and Compassion in Small Communities (13 Steps)" (2019)].
3. "Spiritual Peacebuilding: 47 Quotes and Proverbs" (12 pages; August, 2007)
4. "Peacebuilding in its Most Compassionate Form" (41 pages) (Aug.-Nov., 2007)
Very comprehensive introduction to The IPCR Initiative, which includes (in Appendix 1) an example of one of the earliest versions of a “ten point assessment of the most difficult challenges of our times”. “Peacebuilding in its most compassionate form is not a competitive field of activity. Viewed in this light, the most valuable forms of peacebuilding will nurture, support, and sustain the development of an infinite variety of other forms of peacebuilding, community revitalization, and ecologically sustainability initiatives. The IPCR Initiative is an effort to nurture, support, and sustain peacebuilding in its most compassionate form.”
5. “A 15 Step Outline for a Community Visioning Initiative” (28 pages) (2008)
Community Visioning [especially the face-to-face version (vs. online engagement)] is difficult for many people to imagine, as in what does a time-intensive (6 months--one year) Community Visioning experience involve? While much of the processing of massive amounts of suggestions and prioritizing data can be done through online engagement, there is a value to many brainstorming and prioritizing challenges and solutions which is often overlooked (though it cannot be done in a society which is still battling the COVID virus).
6. "1000Communities2" ("1000Communities Squared") (164 pages; June, 2008) 1000 Community Visioning Initiatives X Community Centers with Ongoing Workshops + Sister Community Relationships = an exponential increase in our collective capacity to resolve the challenges of our times
7. “125 Related Fields of Activity” (2 pages) (2009)
8. "15 Sample Preliminary Survey Questions" (12 pages) (2009)
Administered to 150 key leaders, such questionnaires, carried out prior to a Community Visioning Initiative, can help residents understand the need for the many meetings of the process, and can suggest many workshops for supporting Neighborhood Learning Centers.
9. "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts" (26 pages) (2005, 2009)
[Special Note: The Spring, 2005 issue of The IPCR Journal/Newsletter (see section below) has descriptions of seven of the eight IPCR concepts. The eight descriptions were eventually modified and retitled "Ten Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2014), modified again to become "13 Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2017) (see links in #2 above), and re-titled in 2019 as "Growing Wisdom and Compassion in Small Communities (13 Steps)"]
10. "The Twilight of One Era, and the Dawning of Another" (35 pages; Sept.--Oct., 2009)
11. "48 Different Ways of Describing The IPCR Initiative" (32 pages; February, 2010)
12. "The IPCR Workshop Primer" (425 pages) (February, 2010)
A Comprehensive Summary of the IPCR Initiative; which included “36 Problems That May Arise (in preparing for, and implementing, Community Visioning Initiatives)” (Section 11). This paper was also the first paper associated with The IPCR Initiative that I included an extensive compilation of quotes from Sri Sathya Sai Baba [the complete (53 page) “Divine Intervention: A Collection of Quotations from ‘Sathya Sai Speaks’ Vol. 1-15”].
13. "A Four Page Summary of The IPCR Initiative" (2011)
A key outreach document, see “Major IPCR Outreach Efforts” (below).
14. "39 Suggestions for Preliminary Survey Questions" (36 pages) (2011)
15. “IPCR Critical Challenges Assessment 2011-2012: Summary Report” (444 pages)
(5 page Table of Contents)
Among the evidence supporting this assessment is an in-depth look at the fall-out from the Global Financial Crises (2007-2009). (Ex: article “$6.3 trillion wiped off markets in 2011”) Includes Section VII A. “Some Important Considerations Associated with U.S. Debt” (10 pages), and Section VII B. “A Timeline of Articles on the European Debt Crisis, and Related Crises (112 pages)(excerpts from 94 articles)(August 3, 2011--January 18, 2012)(see 5 page Table of Contents)
16. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Community Visioning Initiatives" (7 pages) (2008, 2012)
[Note: This content can be found on pages 539-546 of the document “Invitation Package for Possible Board of Advisors” (589 pages, 3.6MB; Nov. 2013)
Major IPCR Outreach Efforts/Key Documents
From 2005--2012, this writer carried out four major outreach initiatives--to share educational resources, and in an effort to build The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative. Here is a link to a two page overview of those outreach efforts, and below are links to some of the key documents/educational resources being shared during those outreach efforts.
1) "The IPCR Newsletter/Journal Spring 2005" issue (14 pages; 2005)
2) "1000Communities2 Proposal: Creating a Multiplier Effect of a Positive Nature" (1 page; 2008)
3) "A Four Page Summary of The IPCR Initiative" (2011)
4) “A List of Ten Critical Challenges” [Appendix A (p. 343) in “IPCR Critical Challenges Summary Report 2011-2012”] with “The Potential for Community Visioning Initiatives (in 500 words)” on the other side (also used about this time--two page commentary titled "Much Unrealized Potential for Community Service" ] (2012)
Two IPCR Newsletters
“The IPCR Journal/Newsletter Spring 2005” issue (14 pages) is noteworthy because it has detailed descriptions of seven of The Eight IPCR Concepts—and much of that content has remained as it was written then [see "Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts" (2009); “Ten Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2014); and "13 Steps for Long Term Culture Change" (2017) (a second CPCS Initiative Summary Paper)].
“The IPCR Journal/Newsletter Winter 2010-2011” issue (58 pages) includes: a) an 11 page introduction to The IPCR Initiative (“Creating a Multiplier Effect of a Positive Nature”) b) a 15 step outline for Community Visioning Initiatives c) 8 sample questions for a preliminary survey d) a list of 117 related fields of activity e) an introduction to the concept “Peace Returned on Resources Invested” f) a 9 page section titled “A Call to Women’s Organizations Associated with Peacebuilding and Philanthropy” g) a section describing opportunities for local newspapers to contribute valuable community service—and thus contains enough detail associated with the IPCR peacebuilding approach to be a valuable starting point for brainstorming sessions, exploratory meetings, and workshops associated with planning and implementing a Community Visioning Initiative.
Video Documentary "Chattanooga: A Community with a Vision"
My interest in Community Visioning Initiatives was inspired instantly when, in 1994, I watched a documentary titled “Chattanooga: A Community With A Vision” (13 minutes) (at Vimeo). The video documents two very successful Community Visioning Initiatives organized by the non-profit organization Chattanooga Venture (Chattanooga, Tennessee USA)—one in 1984, and a follow-up in 1993. The 1984 Chattanooga Community Visioning Project (“Vision 2000”, organized by the non-profit organization Chattanooga Venture) attracted more than 1,700 participants, and produced 40 community goals—which resulted in the implementation of 223 projects and programs, the creation of 1,300 permanent jobs, and a total financial investment of 793 million dollars.