This 6-pillar curriculum teaches the basic literacy we need to be personally and financially successful and to do so in a manner in which together we evolve a culture that supports the emergence of an advanced human civilization.
“When I started looking at the policy behind it—the decision-making, the process—I could see that there’s a real strong sense that commercial interests once again are superseding community interests, and that there [are] flaws in the process that meant the way that the decision is being assessed and then awarded was flawed. So, as I do when I get the bit between my teeth, I decided to jump in and do something about it.”
Dan Astin-Gregory is a UK-based podcast host and activist, focused on ways to help human beings become more capable of directing their own lives and building the kind of systems making that possible. Astin-Gregory rose to public prominence in the UK through his coverage of the Covid mandates, co-founding the Together Declaration to give a voice to healthcare workers and critics of the mandates and other related policies. Since then, he has continued to work on projects that encourage people to live free and flourishing lives, including working with Derrick Broze to help bring a special People’s Reset to the UK.
Some of Astin-Gregory’s most important work of late has been around helping his local community. A few weeks ago, he launched an emergency campaign called “Save SOBO Beach” for his local independent community beach bar in Southborne, which mainstream press has praised as one of the best beach bars in the UK. This came out of news that the bar’s current lease was about to expire, but that the building, owned by the local government, might remain vacant for over a year due to delays in paperwork involving the new occupant. This would have had a damaging impact on well-being groups, fitness classes, community groups, and local charities, all of whom rely on the space. Furthermore, the municipality made its recommendation to award a new lease without public consultation, despite the local government’s own strategy promising to enlist public engagement, and acknowledging that they had not done enough to consult the local community on the future use of the site.
Within one week, Astin-Gregory was able to gather 10,000 petition signatures, generate significant local press attention, and organize a rally at both the beach and the local government offices on the night of a meeting regarding the building. As a result, Astin-Gregory was invited to present the case for a lease extension for the current occupants at the local government meeting, and after a three-hour debate, they approved an 11-month extension that will keep the venue open and provide community groups with a space to meet. The campaign now continues with the goal of ensuring that the local government fully considers the interests of the local community before it finalizes a 20-year lease with future occupants.
What Astin-Gregory accomplished in a single week is nothing short of remarkable. It demonstrates the power of local action and campaigning local legislators for the benefit of the local community. Astin-Gregory’s efforts are a great model of the ethos and actions the Solari Report advocates in Elze van Hamelen’s recent Take Back Your Town report and across our work.
