Another aspect of this issue to be aware of is that a Transition University will be a learning process, where many new members coming in will repeat ideas, projects, and mistakes that have been done before. For anyone being involved over a longer period of time, this can be a very frustrating dynamic. Is there a way it can become a deepening instead of repetitive process?
Seeing continuity creatively
The difficulties of achieving continuity can also be seen as an opportunity for creatively changing and growing. It can make your group very dynamic and responsive to the energy and ideas of the present, rather than trying to achieve a set of ideas dreamt up in the past. As such, try not to get stuck in a stipulated intention and method of operations which is repeated year after year. Be aware of where the energy lies, and don’t be afraid of dramatic change. Perhaps your Transition University will only exist for a few years, but will in that time be able to influence university structure in such a way that it will have a legacy and continue to have an impact, although perhaps not in a formal sense.
There is also an aspect of continuity embedded in the individuals who have participated in your Transition University, Transition “alumni”. As they graduate and leave the university environment, they will take Transition ideas with them out into the world, into different sectors and environments. Another way to explore the continuity of your Transition University is to look at how the ideas continue to grow and manifest in the wider world. How can you support the alumni to take Transition with them into their futures? Can you explore what a Transition career looks like? Perhaps provide opportunities for Transition University reunion to see where Transition has taken them? (Just as an example, most of this guide is written by Transition alumni!)
Abandoned bike rates have fallen dramatically at the University of St Andrews following 2 years of bike workshops, training and the development of a long-term bike hire schemed developed by the Transition group. Photo: Vitalija Lavreckyte - Transition University of St Andrews.