A new definition:

pe·ren·ni·al adj \pə-ˈre-nē-əl\

1 : a plant that lives many years

2 : persistent, enduring

3 : a person who works across generational, professional and other cultural divides to design just and sustainable communities

Background

Our world is more connected than ever.  We face challenges from a local to global scale that we have never witnessed before.  The solutions to these challenges will not just be technological, but based on our ability to develop strong and resilient relationships across current social divides that hinder progress –political, geographic, ethnic, gender, class, faith, generational, etc. Who will implement these solutions?  What will they look like? Where will they come from?

Vision

The Perennials Project explores people and organizations that are bridging boundaries to design just and sustainable communities. Our team came up with the metaphor of Perennial people who exhibit qualities of perennial plants that are needed in our society today: growing deep roots in community; nurturing their environment instead of degrading it; and embodying a diversity of shapes, colors, habits and habitats.

Outreach

The Perennials Project will reach out to changemakers and share their stories with the public through a variety of media. 

Documentary
A feature length documentary will be filmed from 2011-2012 and released in 2012 at the UN Rio+20 conference.  The documentary will present the work of leaders in the fields of sustainability, design, education, business and social justice that are making a positive difference in their community.

Webisodes and Video Blog
Alongside the documentary, the project will have regular webisodes on a video blog. These segments will include much of the footage that won’t make it into the documentary and represent the journey of the Perennials Project team.

Web 2.0 Platform
An online interactive platform will be designed whereby the Perennials community in the US and internationally can upload videos of interviews and initiatives in their own communities. 

Literature
In addition to performing research for the documentary, the project team will write articles for online and print journals, as well as edit a book that will include authors that advise and collaborate with the project.