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Events
To keep things fresh on this website we change the "latest
news" link from time to time and also try and keep
the events page up to date, including specifically LETS
events, and also LETS-friendly events as well as international
conferences on community currencies. www.letslinkuk.net/home/events.htm.
Software Project
So many LETS organisers have enquired about updating their
LETS software, or even getting computerised for the first
time, that this has now become a major pre-occupation.
Some LETS are operating satisfactorily with their LETS
accountant using a "standalone" system, typically
based on Microsoft Access, customised and made available
either free (without much support) or commercially (with
support). However to move things forward, we are pursuing
opensource community software which will enable members
to update their directory entries and even transact online,
and have been engaged with software experts worldwide
in our pursuit of our mission to make a choice of available
for LETS organisers to adopt. As a result of funding received
by LETSlink London from Fast Forward to teach LETS we
drafted a specification for new software, which we made
available for comment on the LETSlink wiki. Matthew Slater
from Cambridge has studied these specifications and is
in the final stages of producing a system which we hope
to install soon for London-wide LETS members, who have
been without a working system since the Golden Network
was discontinued several years ago (although most London
boroughs have flourishing local groups). The test site
for the new system we are currently focusing on is here:
www.letslink.org/london.
Connecting Up LETS groups
LETSlink's ongoing project of putting up links on our
website to local contacts in order to answer a continuing
flow of enquiries, which received a boost in the form
of funding from the Cooperative Group has made GOOD PROGRESS
and we have almost completed this task: www.letslinkuk.net/regions/uk-map.htm.
This is the first stage of a more ambitious project to
connect up LETS organisers (in much the same way as LETS
schemes would wish to network their members) and to develop
a basic platform of information for the researchers who
continuously seek information on LETS, but we need more
resources to develop this. Meanwhile we have also make
progress on the backlog of enquiries and have succeeded
in connecting up a number of enquiries where there is
no group, so that a new group can start in the area.
Visits and Visitors
It's been an extremely busy
year - here are a few highlights off the top of my head,
and there are probably more I can add in when I check
my diary. Last summer we travelled to Cornwall to visit
Rob Follett, who co-ordinates the southwest network, and
who showed us the mysteries of the opensource system he
uses to run its interactive website, LETS
Forum, which was very valuable experience in our quest
to implement similar services in other regions. Last October
Richard Kay of Coventry LETS and the LETSystems Trust
and I were invited to the World Summit on Free Information
Infrastructures (WSFII) which was held in Limehouse Town
Hall. Richard spoke about the realities of running a local
LETS group - "it's not just about systems - you
need a good events organiser so that your members can
meet up". My opener was that world poverty is
engineered by the mainstream financial system so there
is no more important software project than developing
alternatives. In November I visited East Lancashire LETS,
who were in the throes of developing their own web-based
system. In December I gave a power-point presentation
to a group of Japanese industrialists who were looking
for ways of supporting their elderly retirees, explaining
our latest ideas on integrating LETS with time-based currencies.
In February Robert Simpson and Victoria visited us from
Scunthorpe, where they have been developing a Time-LETS
hybrid called Scunnymoney. Throughout the year we have
participated in many conferences in London to make sure
LETS stays on the map. Most recently we have accepted
an invitation from The Woodcraft Folk to give a workshop
at their annual ten-day summer camp Global
Village 2006. From the autumn term we are hoping to
host regional meetings, including camping conferences
(to keep costs low) and Woody is busy putting a camp kitchen
together.
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Funding
In order to expand in various areas, we have started to
explore several funding opportunities. After LETSlink
UK's 1997-1999 grant from the Lottery Fund had ended,
we got £2k plus £2k shared between John Courtneidge
and myself for the personal initiative we shared for "LETS
Co-operate" in November 2002 supplemented by £1k
from Co-operatives Southeast.
LETSlink UK received £900 from the
Co-op for the mapping project mentioned above, and LETSlink
London's £10k from ESF for the course was supplemented
by £2.3k from the Co-op to implement the system
in London: www.letslinkuk.net/london/training.
• We began to develop a proposal for some serious
research on management styles which will continue on from
the fact-finding exercise of the Connecting Up project
and have academic partners ready to help us at the University
of Leicester, but could not make the application as we
did not have sufficient trustees on board.
• With help from Upstart in Somerset,
we have recently submitted a proposal to the Lottery for
BASIC funding, and have hopes that this will give us more
resources to continue our aims of getting LETSlink UK
fully resourced to meet the challenges of the future -
watch this space for an update on this.
Trustees
We are now on a mission to gain
more trustees. Our oldest trustee is Meg Goodare an original
member of North London LETS who has wide experience in
the voluntary sector. John Courtneidge, co-operator and
peacenik, has continued as a trustee even though he is
in Canada, but he keeps in touch by email. Rosamund Stock,
a researcher at the London School of Economics has joined
the team. Woody Bronson, long-time enthusiastic supporter
and volunteer for LETSlink, currently chairman of North
London LETS, who is very keen to see LETS going online,
has recently consented to becoming a formal trustee. There
is room for as many more representatives from the regions
to join the Board as we can persuade to do so. With new
funding we will be able to pay travelling expenses to
enable more out-of London LETS members to participate,
and if volunteers are not forthcoming I am prioritising
head-hunting suitable individuals to stand as interim
trustees, in consultation with local LETS organisers.
I am personally still a trustee as well as company secretary
(only to make up numbers) but don't need to be and can
easily make way when we have more on board. The criteria
are not only good experience of running LETS, but a willingness
to look to the future of how we can work together more
effectively all over the UK.
Subscribing to LETSlink UK
Despite the small amounts of funding that we have received,
the fact is that LETSlink UK is in debt to its trustees
and needs to urgently update its paid-up membership base
as we have not received subscriptions from most since
the year 2000, when LETSlink UK founder Liz Shephard resigned,
following the resignations of most of the Board, leaving
a single trustee (yours truly) in place holding the threads
of the organisation together. We have delayed asking for
renewed subscriptions in order to get good systems in
place where we can concretely offer services to LETS groups
in answer to the FAQ (what do we get for our money). We
can now say that paid up subscribers will benefit from
being able to influence and participate in the development
of LETSlink by means of an e-list which has been provided
for us by Richard Kay (but not yet put into use). You
will have access to the member-only area on this website
which will develop in such a way as to meet member's stated
needs. As the next stage on from the mapping exercise,
we will also provide our members with customised web-pages
to assist the general public in finding local groups to
join. For those who require it, we also aim to host interactive
websites at an affordable rate. To subscribe you can write
to us on your letterhead including your current joining
leaflet and latest newsletter and enclosing a cheque made
out to Letslink UK for £25 (poor), £50 (medium)
or £100 (rich) plus donations if you have funds
in hand covering the the gap in your group's subscriptions
to LETSlink UK - if in doubt please ask - or you can use
this
form - which needs fixing - watch this space.
Upwards and onwards! Best wishes from
Mary Fee, Secretary, Letslink UK &
Letslink London,
12 Southcote Road, Tufnell Park London N19 5BJ,
Tel 020-7607-7852 • www.letslink.org
• www.letslink.org.uk
• www.letslinkuk.net
• www.letslinklondon.org.uk
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