The Green New Deal Create-a-thon: A Launchpad for New Projects to Win Hearts & Minds

What does it feel like to be part of a society with a Green New Deal? What is it like to walk down the street and see all the new green projects underway in your community? How does it change the way you feel when you wake up in the morning, how you interact with your neighbors, how you view the world?

Ever since its introduction into mainstream conversation by Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sunrise Movement, and Justice Democrats in November, people have been rallying behind the Green New Deal as a bold and optimistic vision for taking on climate change, racial injustice, and economic inequality together in one grand effort. The policy has tapped into public hunger for actually addressing our social and economic challenges at scale, in contrast to the half measures typically put forward by elected officials.

With this excitement has come a huge amount of creative energy. People see the Green New Deal as not just a policy, but a vision of the future. Political efforts alone are not going to get us a Green New Deal; we need a cultural movement that lifts up the vision and inspires us to dream big.

Providing a Launchpad for Creative New Projects

A Green New Deal Create­-a-­thon is one great way to kickstart the culture-shift we need. In a Create-a-thon, writers, artists, videographers, developers, musicians, and other creatives come together with policy experts and political strategists over a weekend to connect, brainstorm, and quickly prototype new, collaborative projects around a focused goal. Friday evening, we set the table with a few framing conversations and a series of one-minute project pitches around which small teams are built. Saturday morning, teams hit the ground running. By Sunday afternoon, they’re ready to present their results — whether that’s a finished video, photos of a completed action, or a prototype and proposal for a larger ongoing initiative. (The Universal Income Project has had great success using the Create-a-thon model to foster community and kick off new efforts: createathon-2017.universalincome.org/.)

The Green New Deal Create-a-thon will be a launchpad for projects with a cultural focus, exploring creative and outside-the-box ways to get folks talking, thinking, and dreaming about how a Green New Deal could transition our nation into a society where everyone can thrive. Ideas might include WPA-style art projects, a suite of meme graphics, a Green New Deal-themed board game, social media stunts, viral videos, creative ad campaigns, guerrilla marketing tactics, and more. The more the policy can capture our collective imagination, the more momentum we build for making it a reality.

The Green New Deal Create-a-thon will be both a laboratory and an incubator. At the end of the weekend, after presenting their work, project teams will have the chance to discuss whether to carry their projects forward beyond the Create-a-thon. We are working to engage partner organizations keen to pitch in — either financially or through amplification on social media — to help promising new projects get to the next level.

What You Need To Know About The Create-a-thon

• When: Friday, March 15th through Sunday, March 17th
• Where: Citizen Engagement Laboratory in downtown Oakland

The Green New Deal Create-a-thon is being jointly organized by Presente.org, Beautiful Trouble, and Universal Income Project. We’ll be recruiting a mix of political and creative participants to strike a dynamic balance of subject matter expertise and innovative thinking. A top priority is ensuring diversity amongst attendees — we’ll be offering onsite childcare and providing financial support to those with limited financial means who are interested in attending.

How Do I Get Involved?

Participate! If you’re a creative or a political, come play with us March 15–17 in Oakland. Bring your own culture-shifting idea to pitch. Or just bring your talents, knowledge, and enthusiasm. You can register to attend here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/green-new-deal-create-a-thon-tickets-56724754267

We also welcome participation from organizations and individuals who would like to help with this effort. Beyond attending the Create-a-thon, a top priority is finding partner organizations who are willing to offer either financial or promotional support to help take the projects launched via the Create-a-thon to the next level. We are also looking for sponsors to cover costs associated with the Create-a-thon event itself.

If you’re interested in getting involved, please reach out to questions@universalincome.org.