Sep 103 min read

Dundee Changemakers Manifesto

One of Dundee Changemakers Hub’s main objectives is to create a joint vision to build a movement for a sustainable, creative, diverse and resilient future for Dundee’s communities and environment. We want to place local people and organisations’ needs and rights, and hopes and dreams at its core.

Photography by Ben Douglas

This is why we have collaboratively facilitated conversations with 170+ people who have generously offered their insights at previous Hub’s Food For Change and Not Another Visioning events – their multiple and diverse inputs have widely informed the joint vision.

Read more about our process and findings in these two blogs: Join our growing movement of Changemakers, Collectiveness & Hope.

The vision has then been shaped into a ‘manifesto’ to inspire and guide the Hub’s work in joining and scaling up the great work already happening, offering opportunities to collaborate, share learnings and good practices, amplifying local changemakers’ voices, and enabling experimentation to develop new ways of living, doing and connecting with each other and the natural environment.

The core partners facilitating the Hub’s connections and actions are massively grateful for all the inputs we received since Dundee Changemakers Hub launched last year – the manifesto aims to reflect people’s aspirations for a better tomorrow, with, by and for Dundee's communities and environment, and was created as the Hub’s values compass and to shape our action plan for 2024-2025.

We want the manifesto to belong to all the changemakers that make the city a great place to live, connect and make things happen. It was made collaboratively with the people who engaged with the Hub so far, and will keep evolving with your inputs – we will print physical posters of the vision and make it visible at all our events, for everyone to interact with, and use it to start conversations and guide our actions for positive change.

Dundee Changemakers Manifesto*

We imagine the future together

By bringing together and nurturing Changemakers across the city to collectively develop new ideas and actions.

We embrace creativity

By encouraging and enabling communities to dream, design and build better futures through making, sharing, playing and creating.

We support collective care for Nature

By promoting love and respect for nature, and supporting climate and environmental actions to become more visible, accessible, and joined up.

We value the diversity of perspectives

By listening, respecting and practising constructive dialogues with everyone, whether you are a worker, volunteer, resident or leader in your community.

We champion people’s voices

By joining perspectives and strengths together to challenge and proactively engage with decision-makers in promoting and shaping positive change.

We boost existing actions

By facilitating skillshare and development opportunities that benefit existing projects and individuals to increase knowledge, capacity and scale of actions.

We practise collaboration

By sharing knowledge, opportunities, connections and resources, to build trust, consistency, and be bolder together.

We test new ways of thinking and working

By making space and creating opportunities to explore and try new ideas, learn from mistakes, and support each other.

We nurture future leaders

By investing in young people and underrepresented communities, and fostering collective leadership to envision the movements and jobs of the future.

We want a happy, healthy Dundee

By supporting more opportunities in our neighbourhoods, to develop places and activities that cultivate wellbeing, justice and community organising.

*This manifesto is aspirational and founded in many diverse conversations with 170+ individuals across Dundee’s communities. It will guide us as we support the incredible work already happening across the city.