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<P><BIG></BIG> </P>
<P><BIG>I’m in a band here in Belgium that will never be famous. But we have a
great time and that has always been enough. There’s a song I’ve been wanting us
to cover for a long time. It’s called "I’ll be your mirror", it’s by The Velvet
Underground featuring Nico, and it goes like this:</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><EM>"I’ll be your mirror, reflect who you are, in case you don’t
know."</EM> [1]</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>I thought of it again the other day as I was calling people who, like
you, take action for different causes as part of this community we call WeMove
Europe. During the calls it transpired that many of you are curious to know who
else is out there. So let me take a minute to be your mirror and reflect back
some of the joy of this community.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>One of the first people I called was <STRONG>Ursula</STRONG>, who lives
near Hannover in <STRONG>Germany</STRONG>. She told me that she likes this
community because it unites the wishes of people all across Europe to make
things better. She loves that we focus on sustainability but also on challenging
economic interests and nationalism. She wants to feel part of something bigger
than herself and her local community and that’s what this is for her. At the end
of the call she said something amazing: "Do me a favour. When you call the next
person, tell them Ursula said 'hi'. And then keep doing that. Create a group of
people that are aware that they’re not alone." That’s exactly what I’m
doing.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>Inge</STRONG> in <STRONG>Belgium</STRONG> just loved that Ursula
said "hi". She said "I support WeMove because there are tough times coming in
the next decade and we need to take action. In case it’s not clear, I mean on
climate change!"</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>Fredo</STRONG> in <STRONG>the Netherlands</STRONG> told me that
he had been running his own publishing company but got squeezed out by bigger
players. He now runs a citizens' initiative in his native Deventer, where they
build affordable housing and ask the question "how do people want to live in
this community in 2030?" It made me think we had a lot in common. Because that
is what our WeMove Europe community is doing, asking 'How do we want to live in
Europe’. He said he would like to see WeMove Europe doing a lot more to organise
people and facilitate democracy. There are not enough actual conversations
happening and it just leads to more division.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Then there was <STRONG>Vicki</STRONG> in the <STRONG>UK</STRONG>, right
on the Welsh-English border. Vicki taught me so much in such a short time. She
is involved in Extinction Rebellion and runs meetings based on the ideas of
"Active Hope" and "Work that reconnects" from Joanna Macy. [2] She said that
Brexit made her want to support organisations fighting for change on the
European level more. It really helped to hear that and left me wondering if
there are others out there in the UK that feel the same. Even if the UK has
officially left the EU, she is still European and we have no intention of
leaving our UK community.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Here’s the thing: There is so much going on across Europe that the
mainstream media never talks about. Europe is the home to a massive movement of
people who are recreating the world in the way they want to see it. They know
that the different world we seek is already out there. From the affordable
housing project Fredo’s got going in the Netherlands to the "Active Hope"
sessions Vicki is organising in the UK. This said, they’re not just looking in
at their local community and being the change they want to see. They are taking
action to help challenge and change Europe and the world as well as the systems
that underlie them.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>We often see Europe as something negative, or just reduce it to being
about obscure decisions made in Brussels. But Europe is so much more than
Brussels. And it is literally full of people changing things for the better. It
makes me think of this lyric:</BIG></P>
<P><EM><BIG>"When you think the night has seen your mind. That inside you’re
twisted and unkind. Let me stand to show that you are blind. Please put down
your hands, cause I see you."</BIG></EM></P>
<P><BIG>I see you, Europe. You are not twisted or unkind. But you are blind,
because you have no real mirror. There is so much energy out there in peoples'
actions to make things better. The last lines of that song go like
this:</BIG></P>
<P><EM><BIG>"I find it hard to believe you don't know the beauty you are. But if
you don’t, let me be your eyes, a hand in your darkness, so you won't be
afraid."</BIG></EM></P>
<P><BIG>The beauty in Europe is in people like you, your will to speak out, your
actions and your stories which are not told enough. We will keep making those
calls, learning more and mirroring back the stories. Would you like a
call?</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Laura Sullivan<BR>Executive Director<BR>WeMove Europe</BIG></P>
<P> </P>
<P>References:<BR>[1]
https<SPAN>://www.youtube</SPAN>.com/watch?v=WXETLPCogao<BR>[2]
https<SPAN>://www.joannamacy</SPAN>.net/</P>
<P> </P>
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<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=info@wemove.eu href="mailto:info@wemove.eu">Laura Sullivan - WeMove
Europe</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, December 26, 2020 6:31 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> I’ll be your mirror</DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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