Members of the Hub's management group met on Sunday to assess the activities of the Hub over the last three months and to refine the direction of it's activities moving forward.
We were all disappointed to note that Yes supporters in areas of Edinburgh are consistently failing to utilise the resources at the Hub, and during our discussions various reasons why this should be the case was put forward. People who used to go to the Cafe at Liberton Dams regularly have said that the new Hub is too far to travel, even though we are only 3-4 bus stops further away from the city centre. We've also been told that lack of parking is a factor despite having better parking opportunities at the new location than at the old Cafe.
In the end we surmised that the only real reason can be that the groups in Edinburgh are all too busy competing against each other and that the Hub, rather that be seen as the resource that it is, is been seen as another group to be in competition with. This is not the case, the Hub is there to be a central resource for all groups to call upon. It is an open space that is open 7 days a week where Yes groups can come together, hold meetings, store materials for stalls, and can be, quite literally, a shop front for all Edinburgh's groups. But to do this effectively we need to get the support of the various Yes Groups in Edinburgh. The one downside of the Hub, that doesn't affect other groups, is that to survive it needs to bring in about £1000 in donations every month just to keep the doors open. It would be a shame if, in the run up to the next Independence referendum, and at a time when other areas are opening Hubs, the Edinburgh Hub was forced to close due to a lack of support. As Edinburgh is one of the key areas that needs to be converted to Yes if we are to win our independence next time around we will need to keep the Hub open - even if it just a reminder to the BritNats that the Independence movement isn't going away.
We were all disappointed to note that Yes supporters in areas of Edinburgh are consistently failing to utilise the resources at the Hub, and during our discussions various reasons why this should be the case was put forward. People who used to go to the Cafe at Liberton Dams regularly have said that the new Hub is too far to travel, even though we are only 3-4 bus stops further away from the city centre. We've also been told that lack of parking is a factor despite having better parking opportunities at the new location than at the old Cafe.
In the end we surmised that the only real reason can be that the groups in Edinburgh are all too busy competing against each other and that the Hub, rather that be seen as the resource that it is, is been seen as another group to be in competition with. This is not the case, the Hub is there to be a central resource for all groups to call upon. It is an open space that is open 7 days a week where Yes groups can come together, hold meetings, store materials for stalls, and can be, quite literally, a shop front for all Edinburgh's groups. But to do this effectively we need to get the support of the various Yes Groups in Edinburgh. The one downside of the Hub, that doesn't affect other groups, is that to survive it needs to bring in about £1000 in donations every month just to keep the doors open. It would be a shame if, in the run up to the next Independence referendum, and at a time when other areas are opening Hubs, the Edinburgh Hub was forced to close due to a lack of support. As Edinburgh is one of the key areas that needs to be converted to Yes if we are to win our independence next time around we will need to keep the Hub open - even if it just a reminder to the BritNats that the Independence movement isn't going away.