Edinburgh Local Pound meeting: 27th August 2.30-4.30

Calling community councils, local action groups, Transition groups, Development Trusts, tenants and residents associations, local traders associations, voluntary organisations, housing associations...

Come and help introduce a local currency in Edinburgh!
27th August 2.30-4.30
Portobello Old Parish Church
Bellfield Street, Portobello EH15 2BP

After a successful public engagement event we are now ready to work in several local areas to lay the ground for the introduction of the currency. We produced an article on this for the Evening News with Steve Burgess, and the council have agreed to develop a strategy to support community groups in their efforts to establish an Edinburgh pound. We want to stress that the council are not providing any funding to this initiative of Transition Edinburgh, PEDAL Portobello, Transition Edinburgh South, SEED, Greener Leith and Bridgend.

The proposal is for a 'Euro style' currency which would have standard 'Edinburgh Pound' features on one side, and a local variant on the other e.g. A Portobello pound, or a Morningside pound... Local pounds from different areas will be useable in any participating shops around the city, but would also retain a sense of local distinctiveness.

Next steps:
1. Work with local action groups and organisations who would like to take part in the scheme to set a strategy for engaging our local shopkeepers, tradespeople, key organisations and the wider public.

2. Research how best to implement the scheme by contacting and learning from other local currencies. Including asking them:

(i) Whether traders offered a 5% discount to users of the local currency and what impact that had?
(ii) How much leakage there was (i.e. how many pounds were taken as souvenirs, effectively putting 'free' money into the system)?
(iii) How they managed to protect their currency from being copied?
(iv) Whether and how they involved their local authority or other large local players? (e.g. Bristol is aiming to enable Traders to be able to pay their Business rates with the Bristol Pound)

If you are willing to contact other local currencies and research some of these questions before the August meeting, let us know!

3. Explore the possibility of introducing a parallel electronic currency for easy payments (Bristol are planning on a sim based mobile phonecurrency).

4. Examine whether there are local issues which could be used to help a local currency to take off in particular parts of Edinburgh.

For example, in Morningside shoppers and traders are very concerned about the possibility of a new Sainsbury's and so using a local currency could be a way of helping build support for the local economy. Meanwhile in Portobello, the fact that the Local 'Porty Shopper' bags - 'Think Global, Shop Local' - were snapped up so fast demonstrates that people are clearly wanting to identify with and support local traders.


Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

Eva and Justin (for the Edinburgh Pound project)

eva@transitionscotland.org
justinkenrick@yahoo.co.uk

Further resources:
Edinburgh Pound - http://edinburgh-pound.blogspot.com/
Brixton Pound - http://brixtonpound.org/
Bristol Pound - http://www.bristolpound.org/
Time Article - 'Tough times lead to local currencies' - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1908421,00.html
Worgl experience in Austria in the 1930s - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency
BerkShares in Massachusetts since 2006 - http://www.berkshares.org/
Local Money - How to make it happen - http://www.transitionbooks.net/local-money-how-to-make-it-happen-in-your-community-by-peter-north/

Edinburgh Local Economy Day - Programme

When: Saturday 9th April 10.00 – 16.30

Where: Riddles Court, 322 Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2PG


View Larger Map

Lunch: Indoor picnic, bring food to share

Cost: Free!
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Booking

Please book your place via this link

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R5JLK7Q.
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Programme

0930 – 1000 Arrival and tea and coffee
1000 – 1015 Welcomes and formalities
Chair - Justin Kenrick (PEDAL)
_______________________
1015 – 1130 What does money mean to you?
Group workshop with Roland Playle (Transition Edinburgh South)
________________________
BREAK
________________________
1140 – 1230 Localisation and Local Economies
Jonathan Dawson (Findhorn Foundation)
________________________
LUNCH
- indoor picnic, bring food to share -
________________________
1330 – 1400 Local currencies and the Hawick Pound
Andy Maybury (Greener Hawick)

1400 – 1430 Alternative Currency Models in Edinburgh
1 - Greener Leith bag to go city-wide
Alastair Tibbit (Greener Leith)
2 - TimeBanking in Edinburgh
Milind Kolhatkar (EVOC)
3 - Edinburgh Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS)
Benny Freiling (LETS)

1430 – 1435 Freeconomy film
1435 – 1450 Q&A
________________________
1450 – 1505 Open Space explanation and set up
________________________
BREAK
________________________
1515 – 1600 Open Space Session
1600 – 1630 Open Space feedback and summary of next steps
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Background Reading/Info

Here are the websites of the organisations involved:

Transition Edinburgh http://transitionedinburgh.org.uk/

PEDAL http://pedal-porty.org.uk/

SEED http://www.transitionedinburghsouth.org.uk/node/363

Bridgend Inspiring Growth http://bridgendfarmhse.blogspot.com/2010/10/bridgend-inspiring-growth.html

Local currencies http://edinburgh-pound.blogspot.com/

Greener Leith Bag http://www.greenerleith.org/greener-leith-news/2010/12/23/bonus-bag-to-go-city-wide.html

TimeBanking http://www.edinburghtimebank.org.uk/

LETS http://www.edinburghlets.org.uk/

Freeconomy http://www.justfortheloveofit.org/

Urban Environmental Management - Localizing Agenda 21

Local Agenda 21 is a local-government-led, community-wide, and participatory effort to establish a comprehensive action strategy for environmental protection, economic prosperity and community well-being in the local jurisdiction or area.

Six Key Elements of a Local Agenda 21

Tools and strategies for preparing a LA21 Plan
Data Collection
Planning and Development
Plan Management
Monitoring and Evaluation

- Involve the widest community: police, business, citizens groups, housing associations.
- Meet local needs: ask people what they want, what are their expectations of LA21.
- Work within the resources of the community.
- Use existing networks.
- Make LA21 a priority for all departments at the municipal offices.
- Allow time - its a long process.
- Make sure there is trust among the stakeholders in the LA21 process before going public.
- MAKE IT FUN!

by Chris Church.


LINKS
Urban Environmental Management
Introduction: Urban Environmental Management
Localizing Agenda 21
THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTER

37 Ways to Join the Gift Economy - Yes! Magazine

You don't have to participate in a local currency or service exchange to be part of the cooperative gift economy. Any time you do a favor for a family member, neighbor, colleague, or stranger you're part of it. Here are some ways you can spend time in the gift economy, where you'll find fun, freedom, and connection.

1. Start a dinner co-op. Rotate among the homes of friends and neighbors for weekly or monthly potlucks.
2. Help a local farmer with the harvest in exchange for some of the crop.
3. Put up a traveler.
.
.
.

LINK

Moffat CAN and GROW ALLOT - Your city CAN too!

Moffat CAN is a community-owned company and charity. Our aims are environmental protection, relief of poverty and, especially, carbon reduction. CAN stands for Carbon approaching Neutral.

CAN's project is GROW ALLOT. Greatly Reduce/Re-use/Recycle Our Waste and Lead Local Organic Trade, Grow Allot, is a holistic project which sees us launch an organic community garden, allotments, and establish a recycling service, while restoring a church in the process. From 2011 onwards we will be continuing to develop as a social enterprise creating green jobs, work experience and training.

And it has a very nice website: LINK

Top Ten Reasons - To Buy Local

 

Poster from Sustainable South Sound

Community through Collective Productive Activity

Above all, he sees human beings as creatures who have a fundamental need to express and develop themselves through labour or productive activity; as essentially communal creatures who seek to produce collectively; and as rational creatures who ideally should be able to organize their collective productive activity for themselves. So our real interests lie in collectively controlling our labouring activity. This picture is in fact a descendant of Kant's vision of freedom. ...vision of collective liberation, the ideal of collectively organizing our social existence for ourselves.

From the book:

Philosophy goes to the movies: an introduction to philosophy

Next Meeting

(post sticks at top till due)

The next Edinburgh local currency working group meeting will be on Tuesday 22nd February from 1900-2100 at the Edinburgh Uni Library Cafe.
(directions at About)

Agenda
Report back on Roland and Benny’s trip to the local economy day at the Findhorn Foundation
Report back from Eva and Adam from the meeting with the Council
Possibly play Emma’s local currency film
Try to agree date/venue for the event
Try to film up programme and speakers

Presentations from the Local Economy Day in Findhorn

Minutes from last meeting

Reimagining Money - RSF Social Finance

RSF believes that inquiry and dialogue are essential tools for transforming the way we work with money. We are committed to creating frequent opportunities for our community to engage in exploring the role of money and finance in our lives.

We have hosted events focused on exploring the personal and social dimensions of money and financial relationships. For many years, RSF led an informal network for these events called the Transforming Money Collaborative, which held a series of gatherings on Money & Spirit, Money, Race, and Class, Money & Intuition, and other related subjects.

Inquiry and Dialogue examples
Reimagine Money Blog

An online conversation about the nature of money.

Towards a 21st Century Banking and Monetary System

Submission to the Independent Commission on Banking (39 Pages)

nef and Positive Money show why systematic reform of the banking and monetary system is urgently needed.

In collaboration with:
Centre for Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development
University of Southampton, School of Management
(Professor Richard A. Werner)

Short insight:

This submission outlines a proposal for full-reserve banking, where the transactional function of banking (the payments system) is separated from the lending function. This system would be stable than under the current business model, which is often labeled ‘fractional reserve banking’

HIGHLIGHT - Positive Money

Demanding a banking system that works for society and not against it!

This year the government will decide what to do to fix the banks. We have to make sure they make the right choice.

The Solution (30 second overview):

High-street banks have been creating up to £200bn of new money every year, causing massive inflation (especially in housing) and saddling the public with debt. We can't trust profit-seeking bankers or vote-seeking politicians to create money, as the temptation will always be for them to create too much. So instead we need an independent, transparent and accountable body that is responsible for creating money and keeping inflation low. We suggest that the Monetary Policy Committee should have this task.

Have a look at the very well developed website, loaded with tons of information including a complete proposal for a new national wide currency system. LINK

Alternative to public austere: One Good Cut

Cut Benefits to Bankers, Not Public Services

George Osborne says that we all must pay more taxes and receive fewer public services. According to the chancellor there is no Plan B for the UK economy - but he's utterly wrong.

We could make one simple spending cut that could make all others unnecessary.

Here's Plan B: cut the benefits to bankers!

SIGN THE PETITION

Complementary Currency Magazine

This magazine exists to serve the whole community of innovators, implementers and users of complementary currencies. Contributions of stories and material support are invited.

The new issue Februar 2011 is just out and free to download.

Website of the CC Magazine with the last 12 issues full accessible.

More on - CC Open Source Software

 First one:
CommunityForge.net
Tools for localisation

Our hosted website makes building and managing your community easier, and it's...

* free
* simple to set up
* adaptable
* scalable
* customisable

Second one:
Open Source Currency
Example: austin time exchange network 

Powered by Insoshi
Insoshi is a social networking platform in Ruby on Rails. You can use Insoshi to make custom social networks; see the Insoshi demo site for an example. For support, join the Insoshi Google group.

UK Crash Course - Chris Martenson

Values for a Great Transition

Stewart Wallis - nef's Executive Director
outlining the need for a radical transformation of the world economy, and the steps we can take to bring that transformation about.

Stewart based his argumentation on 5 PRINCIPALS and HOW to achieve these. Find the main idea of the principals in the linked doc and find the HOW here.There is a lot more to enjoy from his speech, so it is very worth watching the whole video.

The HOW!
Lets dream a bit...
Dreams are vital, because that is what we turn into reality later.

To pull together the brilliant idea work that many people are doing, to aggregate this ideas and to amplify them, put them across to tell the story in compelling and exciting way, that people make to say: YEAH I want to change.

We (us collectively) need to accompany that with campaigning, good research, lobbing, a space to grow the work of tellers, transition town movement, nef, partnerships...
What we got to do is bringing this together and tell a compelling tale with a new language. ...Simple and not misleading

acupuncture campaigning - focus on where acupuncture intervention could shift the system

Movement for change – transition everywhere
Business in transition (arts, education, universities, societies)

• Business would not and can not change without either people buying differently or governments changing the roles of the game.
• Governments would not change the roles of the game without people demanding they do.

Without serious people pressure we can write all the reports, bring the research and do all the lobbing but it would not bring change.

People ignoring the evidence that is in front of their eyes, they are still saying the sun is going around the earth... we know differently and we need a lot more people to know differently!
If not us...who, If not now.... when?


Stewart Wallis - New Economics Institute, Nov. 20, 2010 from Peter Montague on Vimeo.

Complementary Currency Research Center

The central source of information around alternative currencies.

Of particular interest is the Academic Research Group, which is connected to the IJCCR (International Journal of Complementary Currency Research). On the website of IJCCR you find research papers published from 1997 till present, free to access.

One example: Cheimgauer Regiomoney: Theory and Practice of a Local Currency

The Ripple Project - Open Souce Payment System/Concept

Ripple is a project to build a new kind of monetary system based on the trust present in our ordinary social and business relationships.

A peer-to-peer network protocol for making decentralized Ripple payments between users on different computers, a payment system where everyone is a banker.

Connect to your friends, family, and associates and your credit with them becomes a fully-functional currency

Software Implementations of the Ripple Concept

* Ripplepay - the original implementation
* Shire Hours - Ripplepay clone
* Rain Droplet - Open decentralized community credit service based on Ripple

Ripplexchange
Forum for exchange goods and services using Ripple!

Different (more sophisticated) software same concept:

Multiswap.net - Reinventing free trade
A free platform for circular barter exchange. See a flash demo!

Great further multimedia sources about the concept of Ripple.
Very extensive list of  ComparisonOfPaymentSystems

What is Money? - A quick intro to the ideas behind Ripple pay

Cyclon - Open Souce Currency Software

An interesting complementary currency software project free to use.

Cyclos offers an complete on-line banking system with additional modules as e-commerce and communiction tools. Cyclos is currently available in ten languages and used worldwide by organisations and communities. The Cyclos platform permits a de-centralization of banking services and can stimulate the consolidation of relations through community features and the focuss on local trade.

Extract from a article in the guardian:

Transition Town Brixton is working alongside Nef and the Social Trade Organisation to develop a digital platform that will work across the mobile phone network. Users will be able to send a text message to the bank with their account details, the amount and the shop's account number.

 For more info visit: www.cyclos.org

Local Currency Game - SocialTradeGame

A fun to play economic and management simulation game.

"In the Social Trade game you are the manager of one of STRO's transaction networks and your tasks include hiring staff, starting marketing campaigns and setting the height of bonuses."

socialtradegame

The game has been developed in cooperation with STRO (Social Trade Organisation)

I have played the whole game (18 month) in the name of Edinburgh Pound and end up at seventh in the high score list, with 5034 points.

Drop a comment If you beat me!

Brixton Pound Report - Guardian

The "Brixton Pound" has just celebrated its first year in circulation.

Analysis, electronic/digital trading platform , transaction costs, media coverage, democratise money

electronic local currency examples:
mpesa - Kenya
charrua - Uruguay

Link to the report

The Nature of Money

Logical Structures and Algorithmic Behaviour in a Credit Economy (1995) - Ph.D Dissertation.

Chapter 1 - The Nature of Money
Chapter 2 - Theory of Credit
Chapter 3 - Monetary Economy

Access full paper

Following a few notes from an Empowerd Fundraising workshop LINK

Six functions of money:

1. Money measures value
2. Money is a means of exchange
3. Money is a store of value
4. Money is a way of rationing access to goods & services
5. Money is used as a tool to make money
6. Money is a way of getting power over others

Laws of the gift economy

• Money is like water. It can be a conduit for commitment, a currency of love.
• Money moving in the direction of our highest commitment, nourishes the world, ourselfs and our community.
• What we appreciate appreciates.
• When you make a difference with what you have, it expands.
• Collaboration creates prosperity.
• True abundance flows from enough, never from more.
• Money carries our intention, if we use it with integrity, it carries integrity forward.
• Know the flow, take responsibility for how your money moves in the world.
• Let your soul inform your money, & your money express your soul.
• Access your assets, not just money, but your charactar, capabilities, relationships & all non-money resources.

FEDERAL RESERVE - a total money scam

Watch full video on googlevideos.

Plugging the Leaks - Website

Local Economy development as if people and the planet mattered.

Plugging the Leaks was created to support people in communities to take a different approach to local economic development, one that can have a greater, more sustainable impact on their local economies than traditional regeneration initiatives.

Plugging the Leaks goes further than simply getting more money into the local economy through tourism, inward investment or funding. It re-generates the local economy from within, and takes advantage of the resources that a community already possesses.

LINK 

Event Planning Meeting - Announcment

To arrange the next meeting please fill in doodle via the link below to give you availability so I can find a date for the next meeting. Please complete by 2pm on Monday 31st January.

http://www.doodle.com/mieaqsxse2tshi35?newDesign=true
(Instructions for filling in a doodle: Click on the link above, fill in your name in the blank space provided on the far column on left, then scroll across the row ticking all the times and dates you are able to attend a meeting, once this is done click 'save' button underneath chart.)

This is an interesting post about transition currency online banking
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/josh-ryan-collins/2010-11/transition-currency-20-online-banking-system-local-money

This is an interesting article by Chris Martenson about how the bank might change the rules instead of admiting their bad debt.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/dont-worry-theyll-just-change-rules/50568

Meeting Minutes - 27/01/11

Edinburgh Local Currency Working Group Meeting Minutes
Thursday 27th January 2011, Edinburgh Uni Library Cafe

Minutes document

Local Economy - Council Sponsor

Eva has contacted the Council about this project and they have agreed to sponsor us to run an event in the spring. Jonathan Dawson from Findhorn believes that we should look to develop the local economy and a local currency is a mechanism to support to do this (see the Minutes for more details). So I think Thursday's meeting should focus on how to run this event. Looking past this I think we should think about launching a pilot local currency for 3 months involving only those shops and organisation that support this idea and don't need arm twisting.

Also the link below is to an interesting 9 min video titled the day after the dollar crashes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS2HfjR9oPM

Edinburgh Alternative Currency Models Event

The aim of the event is to run through the different alternative currency models that currently exist in Edinburgh and hear what other options there are. We would ask each speaker to explain how their model works and the pros and cons. The ideal outcome of the event would be the formation of a group to look at taking alternative currency ideas forward.

What alternative currency models exist: (see doc)

Local Economy Day Program

Start with Speaker to explain why alternative currency models are a good idea, ie the benefits of local currencies especially in the current economic environment. Then have speakers from the local LETS and Time Bank schemes to explain their projects. We could also invite Greener Leith to speak on their We love Leith bonus bag http://www.greenerleith.org/a-z/s-is-for/shop-local-shop-smart.html and the potential to extent this projects from 10% discount with the bag in 25 shops in Leith to the rest of the city. Could possibly invite Peter North to bridge from these to local paper currencies. Next we could have speakers from relevant local currency projects (so focus on inviting speakers from Scottish and urban local currencies first):

· Jonathan Dawson or Alex Walker, Findhorn, Eko currency
· Transition Town Brixton, Brixton Pound
· Andy Maybury, Greener/Transition Town Hawick, Hawick Pound
· Lewis Pound, Post-Grad student
Could also invite a speaker from the new economic foundation, ideally someone involved with the Brixton Pound.

Could also invite speakers from local no interest or coop banks/credit unions:
· Capital Credit Union, Wendy Reid, Vice Chair, at wendy@dtascot.org.uk - http://www.capitalcreditunion.com/
· Craigmillar Credit Union, Cllr Maureen Child - http://www.craigmillarcreditunion.co.uk/

What is needed to take this idea forward:
· need to form a group of people to plan the event - done
· find out if there is any potential funding available - ?
· prepare program, invite speakers – need to agree on event program, then invite relevant speakers, it is likely we will need to cover speakers expenses
· book a venue possible options - St George’s West Church, Café Camino, MECOPP Room Hire, Pollock Halls, Quaker Meeting House (Victoria Terrace) and the Augustine Church (George IV Bridge), other idea?
· publicise the event – big question here on how much work we do in advertising it. Minimum would be out in email newsletters etc, posters and in the press. Maximum would be do this and contact all independent shops in Edinburgh and invite the owners explaining the benefits of a local currency, also invite relevant people from the Council and from the Chamber of Commerce.
· run the event on the day
· hopefully meet regularly after the event to take ideas forward and maybe form a Business and Livelihoods Group

Full paper here

Meeting Minutes - 08/01/11

Adam explained what had been discussed at the first meeting – the group wanted to organise an event to discuss if and how a local currency could be set up in Edinburgh. That Eva has explained our plans to the Council and they have offered to sponsor the group to run and event in the City Chambers.

Eva described her conversation with Alexis Rowell – it is important not to give the Council the impression that this is going to be a massive success straight away, it is more like a community experiment and have to see where it goes. He thinks that most traders will stick with a local currency for 3 months and then lose interest. So his advice is to start small with committed organisations such as social enterprises that ideally trade with each other.

Jonathan Dawson who set up the Eko local currency at the Findhorn Foundation (FH) spoke to the meeting. Most community currencies do not involve a paper currency but are LETS or TimeBanking schemes. The real question is what are a community’s needs and what is its spare capacity, and how to link them up. There are currently lots of young unemployed that the market system says have no value but there is lots to do – help the old, young, mothers etc. TimeBanking is a mechanism to bring the time rich but financially poor together. Community supported agriculture (CSA) schemes are also good, where the community tell a farmer what they want and commit to buying it then the farmer provides it.

Findhorn had a LETS scheme but there was a lack of practical skills and moved onto the Eko. Money needs no ethical motivation as people can just spend it. On third issue of the Eko and fourth will be out later in 2011. FH have been thinking about delinking from sterling. BerkShares has a plan to delink from the dollar on the day the dollar collapses. There are 18,000 Ekos in circulation. They guessed at the amount to lubricate the local economy and got it about right. The Eko is backed by Sterling, but not in Ithaca in the US, which is on trust. The Sterling in the bank is used to make no interest loans to local businesses. For the tax man, if Jonathan spends 100 Ekos then puts on his tax return that he spent £100.

Benefits of the Eko:

1. Creates a loan fund for community enterprises

2. Businesses now pay each other with the Eko rather than bank transfers so savings of several thousands in bank charges

3. Dividend from leakage (Eko notes falling out of circulation) – are area reissue of the Eko 10% of the notes don’t come back

4. It increases business and community resilience
Even in FH people forget to use the Eko notes. The next issue will have a 5% discount for shoppers to encourage them to use it – based on the Berkshares incentive. FH produces its own electricity so people that live on the park can use Ekos to buy electricity. The Holy Grail is when the local government start receiving and issuing the local currency.

Local currencies are also a real statement to people that have busy lives, they take notice. It is also a flag to rally the troop around and give them pride. Anyone can use a local currency, they don’t need convictions.

This working group is planning on organising a Local Economy Day in the spring and Jonathan was asked for advice on how to run the day. He thinks it is really important that we identify people that share our interests in strengthen the local economy/setting up a local currency, in the different communities we want to work with on this, such as the shop keeping community and also at the Council, and work with them to promote the idea. He suggested a friendly chat with those sympathetic to our ideas in the Council.

FH has a Local Economy Day on February 8th (details here http://www.cifalfindhorn.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164:revitalising-local-economies&catid=1:training-programmes) and Jonathan invited someone from the group to attend and offered accommodation.

Justin suggested that once we have identified the business we want to bring into the local currency scheme that we have a link person to keep them informed. Will suggested we work with the traders associations and could invite them to have a market place at the beginning of our event so they sell goods on the day and find out about the idea.

Eva clarified that Jonathan was talking about two ideas – one to identify all the needs and spare capacity in Edinburgh and try to link up or try to strengthen the local economy with LETS, TimeBanking or a local currency. She thought that the first idea was a big project and probably needs to be done by local groups in their area.

Another idea was that we have one Edinburgh currency but each area have notes specific to their area with local photos etc.

The group agreed that it would be really useful to map those organisations that might be interested in the local currency idea. Benny explained that the SEED group have made a start on this. Someone thought that Lucus Layman has already done this.

ACTION: Eva/Benny will contact Lucas to find out.

ACTION: the group agreed to think about relevant organisations and either fill in the google map or send ideas to Benny/Adam.

The group discussed other groups that should be involved: rotary clubs; Scottish Community Enterprise; ethnic communities; cafes/coffee shops; housing associations.

The group discussed what kind of event to run with the Council but nothing was agreed.

NEXT MEETING DATE:

Thursday 27th January 1900-2100, Edinburgh Uni Library Cafe