In the picture below we see the many parties that are currently involved in the AiREAS challenge and the commitment to achieve a healthy, unpolluted living environment. We call the circles the 4 legs at the table of the local society. These are drawn as “overlapping islands” where we all converge into the center for the overarching commitment. But a large part of the islands also lie outside that center which is referred to as the AiREAS context.

When we look at the drawing, the different areas of overlap speak their story. I have written a characterizing text in it to form an image. Where we adapt our behavior to each other in the center and make choices together that directly contribute to the quality of our living environment and our health, other interests often play a role or even prevail further away from the center. In the fragmented, money driven society where we come from, that AiREAS center did not exist. There, the islands interacted on the basis of financial dependencies, objectives and regulations.

All reports show how important it is for everyone to do this together. This approach is also praised at the administrative level (such as aldermen, deputies, boards, etc.). Only that field of tension emerges again and again between “taking responsibility together” and the way in which the islands themselves work with the varied mixture of old interests and new wishes. If you find it difficult as a person or as an institution, then defining a common project is even more difficult. We are so used to reasoning from within our own island and self-interest with critically pointing to the other islands, that we often conveniently omit ourselves and our own requirements to change.

The various authorities are trying to bring all sorts of things into the center. One has come up with a product that it would like to sell or try out from within the AiREAS 4 x WIN context. The other has books full of knowledge from research or expertise to share. The governments have pooled money to make “the invisible visible” through measuring instruments (air pollution, noise) in the hope that through awareness raising citizens and companies will participate and take responsibility. Ultimately, it is about our health that we can directly influence through our behavior.

The center area of AiREAS is growing. Nowadays there are also institutions and people who reside permanently in that center. They have grown with the value-driven commitment and have linked or derived their behavior and authenticity from it.

There we find citizens who no longer have a car, do everything by bicycle, public transport or partial transport, who buy locally, live together and share costs. They have often made it their business to help others achieve better health, more self-confident and cooperative living. We find companies that pursue the 4 x WIN principle in the field of cooperation with nature, food supply, water, energy saving, local basic facilities, care for and with others, etc. New school systems and collaborations are emerging that involve as many children and young people as possible in their awareness of nature, their self-awareness and acquaintance with the essential values of our existence, often in collaboration with the STIR Foundation and Sustainocracy. Certain departments of the local government can be found here. They still clash internally with other departments that do not show the same commitment or have learned to function based on different interests and priorities.

In the drawing we see the gradual transition that we go through together in an evolutionary way. When the STIR Foundation started experimenting with Sustainocracy in 2009, we only saw a few freelancers trying to survive by developing new ideas in their island of interests, inspired by the ideas of the healthy City of Tomorrow. In 2011 AiREAS was born. The intended collaboration between the 4 legs (government, entrepreneurs, education and citizens) soon came to life thanks to an initial financial support from the Province of North Brabant. There was no real overlap between the islands yet, but the foundation had been laid to make that a reality.

Now, in 2023, AiREAS as a functional shared responsibility and context can no longer be ignored. The format and challenge are greatly appreciated by all participants. “It's about something real” is often said and people are willing to step into the field of tension within their own organization to make the best of it. Two islands prove very slow in response and connection. These are the somewhat larger companies that originated in the old 1 x WIN context and linger there with their lobbies and financial tunnel vision, often supported by old legislation. These have shareholders and interests that are only compatible with the higher purpose of AiREAS if the organization goes through a fundamental transition. 

And then there are “the citizens” who have made unhealthy behavior their comfort. Behavioral modification requires more than awareness. It requires a cultural adjustment in which health and safety is leading for everyone even though people tend to find it abstract if not confronted with illnesses. Many young people do recognize themselves in this new mindset, but older generations are "programmed" differently with their lifestyles. They find it difficult to let go of their established comforts (such as the car, status, purchasing behavior, etc.).

Anyway, the center of AiREAS is growing. It is heart-connected, warm, co-creative and innovative, full of people, functions, commitments and ideals. It is growing steadily. It is an example for other targeted local communities and essential values such as FRE2SH (food resilience), COS3i (social inclusion) and others that are emerging. Also internationally clusters based on Sustainocratic insights are emerging and can be helped on their we with the expertise accumulated in STIR, stepping up their potential with a positive learning curve without having to go through all the pitfalls.