Many apologies for the delay in producing this journal. It has ended up as a double issue, to make up for the long gap in time. The Institute for Social Inventions' offspring, The Natural Death Centre, has been consuming a great deal of time and energy. 'The Natural Death Handbook', published by Virgin Books in April '93 (copies can be reserved from The Natural Death Centre for £10-95 incl. p&p) had to be edited and laserset to a tight schedule. Preparations are underway for the big day, The English Day of the Dead, on Sunday April 18th '93, an all-day festival, exhibition and celebration, with everything from death-related poetry and music to a coffin-making workshop, cardboard coffins, a reading from the 'American Book of the Dead' and debates on euthanasia and Near-Death experiences. Do come if you can. It will be quite a day, with in the evening a dinner discussion and the launch of 'The Natural Death Handbook' and its awards (based on a survey of 2,800 undertakers) to the most helpful funeral director, crematorium, cemetery and funeral suppliers.
New readers, please note that the Institute for Social Inventions is an educational charity, founded in 1985, and has a £1,000 competition for new, imaginative and feasible non-technological ideas and projects for improving the quality of life or for bringing about a more human scale society. The deadline for this competition is June 1st each year.
Membership of the Institute (which includes this journal, a Who's Who of members and occasional reductions on meetings and books) costs £15 a year (£17 for foreign orders by credit card - the Institute can now accept not only Mastercard, Access and Visa but American Express). Please send 70 words about your own socially innovatory activities for the Who's Who (unless you prefer to be simply a subscriber, at the same price).
The Institute's main publication is 'The Book of Visions - An Encyclopaedia of Social Innovations' Virgin Books, '92) which is like a large telephone directory in size and describes some 625 of the best schemes worldwide. It is available by mail order from the Institute for £18-60 incl. p&p (£20-60 for foreign orders by credit card).
Some of the ideas in this journal are included for their provocation value and do not necessarily have the Institute's approval. Use the items as springboards for your own improved schemes. There is evidence, for instance, that people come up with better ideas after watching a comedy film. May this journal have a similar effect on its readers.
The Institute for Social Inventions (and The Natural Death Centre), 20 Heber Road, London NW2 6AA (tel 081 208 2853; fax 081 452 6434).
Previous / Next / 1993 Social Inventions Journal Contents