more than a billion

I had a fantastic day at 6 Billion ways today.
Full of intelligent, enthusiastic and interested people, I wandered the rooms, looked at the book stands, chatted with the other nice and interested and enthusiastic people, drank my tea and felt quite comfortable amongst my peers and academics and activists with things to say about the complicated world in which we live. I made it to three talks all in all, but tended to scamper off before the q&a's... You may call this childish (due to the lack of concentration skills at 26 years) but I find it almost impossible to sit still for more than an hour without a break, or cup of tea, or a wee.
So I cut short all of the talks i made it to.

Democracy now! Revolt in the Arab world was fascinating on many accounts and my favourite talk of the day. This was mainly due to the impassioned speakers, the description of the Egyptian uprising first hand by Gigi Ibrahim and the presentness of the subject matter (although the history of revolution in Tunisia was really bloody interesting). This talk resonated most profoundly for me as I felt it touched on the transitional reverberations that are rumbling (or being made to rumble by some hard and fast foot stamping) across this small planet.
It was inspiring to see lots of young virile human beings coming together to think and brainstorm and discuss issues of globalisation, human rights, democracy and the future of capitalism (all for free). It felt particularly forward thinking due to the prominent role of activists, activism and the power of the internet for all of these elements. The power of people indeed. If only this discussion could be taken out onto the street into open public spaces where 'ordinary' people have the opportunity to take part and engage... Those 'non-political' people who claim not to give a shit. The time is coming. Politics is seeping out on to the streets. And soon, following the disenchantment and outrage spurned by threats on the forests and NHS, people won't be able to distinguish between being political and giving a shit enough to do something about it.