WEBVTT 00:00:02.924 --> 00:00:04.361 HOW DID THE UNMONASTERY IDEA COME ABOUT? 00:00:05.087 --> 00:00:06.612 The idea for the unMonastery 00:00:06.612 --> 00:00:11.612 has now been going for 16 months. 00:00:11.612 --> 00:00:14.394 It came about in a session 00:00:14.394 --> 00:00:17.832 at the first unconference in Strasbourg. 00:00:17.832 --> 00:00:21.882 It was a room of about 30 people 00:00:21.882 --> 00:00:24.004 who came together with the realization that, 00:00:24.004 --> 00:00:26.217 in order to continue to do the work 00:00:26.217 --> 00:00:28.671 that they were doing and not burn out, 00:00:28.671 --> 00:00:30.237 not become alienated, 00:00:30.237 --> 00:00:35.594 there was the need to build a strong foundation 00:00:35.594 --> 00:00:39.400 or what I refer to as an infrastructure 00:00:39.400 --> 00:00:41.279 on which to do that work. 00:00:41.279 --> 00:00:43.293 Because although people refer to things 00:00:43.293 --> 00:00:45.117 like the sharing economy 00:00:45.117 --> 00:00:49.531 as a great evolution or paradigm shift or whatever, 00:00:49.531 --> 00:00:52.647 despite how great we may think this is, 00:00:52.647 --> 00:00:54.300 in our experiences with it, 00:00:54.300 --> 00:00:56.630 it doesn't really cut the mustard 00:00:56.630 --> 00:00:58.498 when it comes to actually feeding outselves 00:00:58.498 --> 00:01:00.965 or paying rent and stuff like that. 00:01:00.965 --> 00:01:03.882 So the unMonastery evolved from that conversation of 00:01:03.882 --> 00:01:06.074 what we need is a physical space 00:01:06.074 --> 00:01:08.475 because none of us really use that much money, 00:01:08.475 --> 00:01:11.925 funding isn't necessarily needed 00:01:11.925 --> 00:01:13.731 for a lot of the stuff that we execute on 00:01:13.731 --> 00:01:16.924 because it's skill-based, it's code-based, 00:01:16.924 --> 00:01:18.114 the tools are normally free 00:01:18.114 --> 00:01:20.618 and if they're not free we can probably build them. 00:01:20.618 --> 00:01:23.245 What we do struggle with is having 00:01:23.245 --> 00:01:25.733 property and space in which to do those things. 00:01:25.733 --> 00:01:31.190 So that was the kind of natural conversation 00:01:31.190 --> 00:01:36.711 that evolved that led us to say "Let's start a set of spaces". 00:01:36.711 --> 00:01:38.327 WHY "unMonastery"? 00:01:38.327 --> 00:01:40.153 The reason why we adopted the name "unMonastery" 00:01:40.153 --> 00:01:42.831 is because we wanted to create a space 00:01:42.831 --> 00:01:45.368 that doesn't necessarily have a fixed purpose 00:01:45.368 --> 00:01:47.084 but is kind of multi-use 00:01:47.084 --> 00:01:49.950 so when we thought about the different kinds of spaces 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:52.314 that have existed throughout history 00:01:52.314 --> 00:01:55.765 we thought about the monastery because of the way 00:01:55.765 --> 00:01:59.922 they have never really had this fixed purpose: 00:01:59.922 --> 00:02:01.841 that they would brew beer, 00:02:01.841 --> 00:02:03.798 there was scripture, 00:02:03.798 --> 00:02:06.575 there was prayer and worship, 00:02:06.575 --> 00:02:09.913 there was a completely different set of actions 00:02:09.913 --> 00:02:12.558 that were executed in these spaces 00:02:12.558 --> 00:02:14.696 which seemed to mirror the way in which we wanted 00:02:14.696 --> 00:02:17.720 to construct a new space 00:02:17.720 --> 00:02:20.463 and we looked to other existing structures 00:02:20.463 --> 00:02:23.637 such as hackerspaces 00:02:23.637 --> 00:02:28.295 and thought there was something incredibly useful and powerful 00:02:28.295 --> 00:02:30.714 in those kinds of structures 00:02:30.714 --> 00:02:33.874 and particularly their spread. 00:02:33.874 --> 00:02:35.872 But one of the things we struggled with is that 00:02:35.872 --> 00:02:39.458 hackerspaces don't necessarily have a civic or social contract 00:02:39.458 --> 00:02:41.760 with the communities in which they are based 00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:44.480 and generally serve the individuals, 00:02:44.480 --> 00:02:47.072 whether it be hobbies or personal projects 00:02:47.072 --> 00:02:48.165 and things like that. 00:02:48.165 --> 00:02:50.831 So the monastery seemed like an interesting model 00:02:50.831 --> 00:02:51.992 because it had the same kind of silo approach 00:02:51.992 --> 00:02:54.004 that the hackerspaces have 00:02:54.004 --> 00:02:55.007 but also has 00:02:55.007 --> 00:02:57.054 this kind of social contract and interaction with its community. 00:02:57.054 --> 00:03:04.993 Since coining that term as a group actually 00:03:04.993 --> 00:03:07.570 if you begin to look at what the monasteries were doing 00:03:07.570 --> 00:03:11.489 in the early seventh or eighth century 00:03:11.489 --> 00:03:13.314 you begin to realize that maybe the name should have been 00:03:13.314 --> 00:03:16.003 REmonastery, because the contribution 00:03:16.003 --> 00:03:20.060 that monks and monastic life made to communities 00:03:20.060 --> 00:03:22.769 in terms of building the infrastructure and things like that 00:03:22.769 --> 00:03:25.393 is actually a lot of what we're attempting to do. 00:03:25.393 --> 00:03:28.402 HOW DID THE IDEA BECOME A PROTOTYPE? 00:03:28.402 --> 00:03:32.078 So after the first conference the idea did stick 00:03:32.078 --> 00:03:35.154 but we didn't really get very far in its development 00:03:35.154 --> 00:03:37.792 and we continued to have conversations, 00:03:37.792 --> 00:03:39.764 and write documents, and try and think: 00:03:39.764 --> 00:03:44.228 how do we get something like this off the ground? 00:03:44.228 --> 00:03:50.511 and it wasn't until the 2nd conference in December of last year 00:03:50.511 --> 00:03:53.498 that we all sat down, we were like 00:03:53.498 --> 00:03:56.476 "Okay, of all the things that we've spoken about 00:03:56.476 --> 00:03:58.688 this is the project that we're most committed to". 00:03:58.688 --> 00:04:01.044 And in the space of three days 00:04:01.044 --> 00:04:03.886 we worked together to formalize some of the structure 00:04:03.886 --> 00:04:06.033 of what the space might look like. 00:04:06.033 --> 00:04:08.756 We mined the metaphor of the monastery, 00:04:08.756 --> 00:04:11.258 begun to think about what would monastic principles 00:04:11.258 --> 00:04:14.002 look like in this sense, 00:04:14.002 --> 00:04:16.606 and built the website, created the logo, 00:04:16.606 --> 00:04:20.089 put out an initial call for applications, 00:04:20.089 --> 00:04:27.198 that asked quite a lot of complex and difficult questions 00:04:27.198 --> 00:04:29.415 of anybody that wanted to apply, 00:04:29.415 --> 00:04:33.681 because we saw this is like a real pledge of commitment. 00:04:33.681 --> 00:04:36.006 Five or six edgeryders came forward and said 00:04:36.006 --> 00:04:37.934 "yes I would fully commit to this project, 00:04:37.934 --> 00:04:42.177 were you to establish it somewhere". 00:04:42.177 --> 00:04:45.411 And coupled with that we have Alberto Cottica, 00:04:45.411 --> 00:04:50.484 who is one of the the founding members of Edgeryders, 00:04:50.484 --> 00:04:53.753 and he was working with Matera 2019 00:04:53.753 --> 00:04:56.726 in the [European] City of Culture [2019] bid, 00:04:56.726 --> 00:05:01.474 and it was only in this context the we had the opportunity 00:05:01.474 --> 00:05:03.945 to offer this as a potential model 00:05:03.945 --> 00:05:08.071 and Matera was interested and said yes 00:05:08.071 --> 00:05:10.472 and so that's kind of, 00:05:10.472 --> 00:05:12.949 in terms of necessity of realizing the project, 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.420 how we end up in Matera. 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:21.676 But I think it's really important to understand, 00:05:21.676 --> 00:05:24.832 particularly when I came here for the first time, 00:05:24.832 --> 00:05:27.998 that it's an incredible place 00:05:27.998 --> 00:05:31.303 but one can't describe to other people; 00:05:31.303 --> 00:05:32.780 and the generosity 00:05:32.780 --> 00:05:35.002 and the way in which the community 00:05:35.002 --> 00:05:37.035 here has interacted with us 00:05:37.035 --> 00:05:37.963 makes it seem like 00:05:37.963 --> 00:05:40.513 it almost couldn't start in any other place! 00:05:40.513 --> 00:05:43.043 WHAT'S THE FOCUS FOR unMonastery? 00:05:43.043 --> 00:05:46.208 Edgeryders originally developed within a policy context, 00:05:46.208 --> 00:05:50.296 so the unMonastery does have a policy slant. 00:05:50.296 --> 00:05:54.613 But [it] is much more focused on constructing a model 00:05:54.613 --> 00:05:58.921 that can create meaning and can create a safe space 00:05:58.921 --> 00:06:01.796 in which to articulate that meaning. 00:06:01.796 --> 00:06:05.478 But in the present moment there are a set of problems 00:06:05.478 --> 00:06:08.232 that the unMonastery has kind of been constructed to solve 00:06:08.232 --> 00:06:10.128 by combining them. 00:06:10.128 --> 00:06:14.008 So the 3 primary issues that the unmonastery is focused on is 00:06:14.008 --> 00:06:17.025 - high unemployment, particularly on the part of 00:06:17.025 --> 00:06:21.973 skilled people graduating from University 00:06:21.973 --> 00:06:25.990 - a massive amount of unused housing stock, 00:06:25.990 --> 00:06:29.298 and commercial stock, throughout Europe 00:06:29.298 --> 00:06:32.320 - and with the onset of austerity you see 00:06:32.320 --> 00:06:34.844 the rolling back of states service provision 00:06:34.844 --> 00:06:38.318 and the need to plug that gap if we're to continue. 00:06:38.318 --> 00:06:44.115 And then there's 2 other things that are less primary, but that's 00:06:44.115 --> 00:06:48.524 - brain drain from small towns and cities to capital cities. 00:06:48.524 --> 00:06:52.318 There's the desire to roll that back in some way, 00:06:52.318 --> 00:06:54.230 and unMonastery is very firmly a model 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:57.673 that can only be used in the context of small towns and cities, 00:06:57.673 --> 00:06:59.891 and never be placed in the capital city 00:06:59.891 --> 00:07:02.323 because it's just not appropriate. 00:07:02.323 --> 00:07:05.543 - and the last thing is a particular focus 00:07:05.543 --> 00:07:10.524 on creating resilient processes, infrastructure, 00:07:10.524 --> 00:07:15.670 and ways of working that can be sustainable 00:07:15.670 --> 00:07:19.816 in the event of future and existing crises. 00:07:19.816 --> 00:07:22.213 So I think those things are really fundamental 00:07:22.213 --> 00:07:23.830 to what the unmonastery essentially is 00:07:23.830 --> 00:07:25.600 WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IN MATERA, 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:27.108 AND WHAT'S NEXT FOR unMonastery? 00:07:27.108 --> 00:07:30.436 The unMonastery project has been 00:07:30.436 --> 00:07:31.838 quite a heavy thing to carry 00:07:31.838 --> 00:07:34.756 because there hasn't been any money involved. 00:07:34.756 --> 00:07:37.032 Edgeryders is already 00:07:37.032 --> 00:07:42.276 quite a precarious distributed network of people. 00:07:42.276 --> 00:07:44.567 At the second conference, when we really knew 00:07:44.567 --> 00:07:46.155 that we were going to do it, 00:07:46.155 --> 00:07:48.101 I stepped forward and said that I would facilitate 00:07:48.101 --> 00:07:50.215 and administrate the project 00:07:50.215 --> 00:07:52.795 but that would not mean that I was in any way its sole owner 00:07:52.795 --> 00:07:56.606 or that I would get to make specific decisions 00:07:56.606 --> 00:07:58.713 and I've tried to extricate myself 00:07:58.713 --> 00:08:01.410 as much as possible from that process. 00:08:01.410 --> 00:08:04.715 So this is probably the first real opportunity 00:08:04.715 --> 00:08:06.512 since that moment 00:08:06.512 --> 00:08:08.754 to come together again as a community 00:08:08.754 --> 00:08:12.986 and to feed in all of the things that we've been thinking 00:08:12.986 --> 00:08:16.792 and roughly sketching out online 00:08:16.792 --> 00:08:20.616 since that conference in December of last year, 00:08:20.616 --> 00:08:23.332 and really solidify what the challenges are, 00:08:23.332 --> 00:08:25.746 punch holes in the existing model, 00:08:25.746 --> 00:08:29.139 and figure out how we can make something like this 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:30.907 effective in 4 months 00:08:30.907 --> 00:08:33.210 because it is only really a prototype, 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:37.482 so there's a lot to build, and construct, and agree on 00:08:37.482 --> 00:08:39.652 before we actually turn up here in February. 00:08:39.652 --> 00:08:42.581 So the things going forward is 00:08:42.581 --> 00:08:46.495 establishing clearer roles for the people 00:08:46.495 --> 00:08:49.022 who've stepped forward to be involved in the project, 00:08:49.022 --> 00:08:52.485 to accept a series of applications 00:08:52.485 --> 00:08:55.413 that have been made meet the criteria of 00:08:55.413 --> 00:08:59.694 [addressing the] challenges that exist within Matera 00:08:59.694 --> 00:09:03.471 and I think also what has arisen out the last 24 hours 00:09:03.471 --> 00:09:06.298 is the need to keep this building alive 00:09:06.298 --> 00:09:09.069 between now and February. 00:09:09.069 --> 00:09:12.231 So there's a stack of other things that need doing 00:09:12.231 --> 00:09:17.848 but I would say that's probably the list of priorities.