Since numerous exposé articles about The Venus Project have emerged, it has become clear: the hope that it will return to its original course is rapidly fading. We have found ourselves in an extremely precarious position. On one hand, we want Jacque Fresco’s original ideas to be brought to life. On the other — most of his legacy is still associated with the organization which, as has been repeatedly noted in other articles on this site, has taken a different path.
In such a situation, any promotion of the original ideas inevitably encounters a dual perception. It is difficult for us to approach potential partners or build long-term initiatives without a real and reliable foundation.
This is precisely why the “Earth Renovate” team was created. We decided that the best solution is to gather all the efforts and resources of volunteers to speak about what Jacque Fresco spoke about and to spread his ideas — now without him. In fact, we strive to recreate his materials, significantly expand them — and even go further!
Goals of “Earth Renovate”
We want to create as many channels in different languages as possible to speak loudly about existing global problems and real alternatives. Of course, for now we cannot use footage of Jacque Fresco’s cities of the future, as we are constrained by copyright. But we can make videos, talk about current issues, and combine today’s popular topics with the proposals and ideas we aim to promote.
Over time, I’m confident we’ll be able to significantly expand the team and produce more and more content. We’ll reach out to other organizations and create an entire community of people ready to change the world.
We are not limited to Jacque Fresco’s materials. We can use modern scientific research, correct his mistakes, and ultimately promote one simple message: the existing system is no good — and we need a completely new one.
Who are we and how did we come together?
Around the summer of 2024, these thoughts wouldn’t leave my mind. My name is Dima. I’m one of those who helped organize volunteers on the Discord server of the “Designing the Future” organization. I wanted to bring together the most active and ambitious people — those ready to act, not just talk — and start producing content.
In the very beginning, there were only a few of us — just four people. We chose the path of thorough preparation. Before launching the channel, I wanted each member to make a real contribution to the project. By contribution, I mean creating at least a few videos. There’s no point in creating a YouTube channel without content — setting up the channel itself is very simple, but establishing a production process is a whole different art.
How were we able to build such a strong team?
Как As soon as the team was formed, the question of how decisions would be made arose. We didn’t want to follow the path of democracy, where the opinion of the minority is ignored. I also didn’t like the idea of consensus, as it involves long discussions of every proposal by all members.
Thanks to my friend, who had long worked with such teams, we learned about the book “Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness” It became the foundation for how we make decisions now. The method is called “internal consulting.”
“Everyone in the organization can make any decision, but before doing so, the person must ask for advice from all relevant parties and experienced individuals. The initiator of the change is not obligated to consider all the advice received in their decision. The goal is not to make a questionable compromise decision that would satisfy everyone. However, it is necessary to persistently seek advice and seriously consider the information gathered. The larger the decision to be made, the wider the network must be spread to capture all possible sources of information, including, if necessary, SEO or the board of directors. A decision cannot be made if there is a principled objection.”
— Quote from the book Reinventing Organizations.
This is, of course, a simplified description, but you get the idea. We don’t have a “leader.” Anyone who takes on a commitment becomes responsible for their part. I, Dima, as the initiator of the team, have no more power than any other member, although I set the general direction.
I want to emphasize: we hardly use any money within the team. All participants work for free and genuinely believe in the idea. Many have boldly invested their own money in equipment and tools. This doesn’t mean we will always work like this — no, this is not the strategy. I just want to show that the right kind of motivation, where no one orders anyone around and everyone chooses their own role, makes the process lively and engaging.
This was greatly helped by the book Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn — it explains how intrinsic motivation really works.
Another important element is our communication. Here, the book Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg helped me a lot. It teaches how to communicate through feelings and needs. I’m sure it helped me avoid making mistakes, especially at the beginning. Its method is about establishing contact with others through empathy.
What have we achieved?
In almost a year, we have gone through quite a lot of difficulties. To say that everything was easy would be an understatement. We had to do a tremendous amount of work to grow from an ordinary volunteer group into a fully productive team.
Our first YouTube channel in Russian has already gathered over 500 subscribers. This might seem small, but we achieved this quite quickly.
Thanks to Andrey — a team member who has been involved in launching such channels for a long time — our results are not a coincidence, but the result of a well-thought-out strategy. We are confident that if we increase video production from two to four per month, the results will grow even faster. For now, everything depends on man-hours and how many people are willing to join us.
The secret of our productivity
The main criterion for joining our team is a simple, yet for some, very challenging condition: completing a test task. The deadline and form of the task are determined by the individual, depending on the chosen area. Want to make covers? Make a cover. Want to edit? Edit a video.
I fundamentally do not allow people into the team who are not ready to take action. We are not interested in beautiful words and “correct” thoughts unless they are backed by concrete results. The test task also shows how capable a person is of making agreements — whether they completed the task on time.
Those who want to take action complete the task easily, in hours or days.
Our team
Andrey — his responsibility is to select topics for future videos on the channel.
Dima (myself) — I am responsible for recruiting team members, managing the Telegram channel, writing scripts, and planning the long-term strategy for the whole team.
Kolyan — I’ll note that he’s 17 years old, and I’m very proud that people at such a young age are willing to engage in serious work. He is responsible for video editing.
Kostya — currently on a long-term vacation. He usually worked on video editing.
Vova — responsible for voiceovers and adapting videos into other languages, as well as creating thumbnails. He’s 15 years old, and behaves more rationally than many people over 25.
Seva — handles voiceovers in the studio.
Savva — our host and the face of the channel.
Kostya (editor/programmer) — occasionally edits scripts and will later work on the website, which is in its final stages of development.
Dima (designer) — currently on vacation, but in the past, he created the great design for our future website.
Future plans
We don’t want to limit ourselves to a Russian-speaking audience. An English-language channel has already been launched. There are more opportunities there, but fewer people familiar with Jacque Fresco’s ideas. If we apply our strategy to it, we would achieve even better results, but due to the lack of people willing to help, we have put it on pause.
We plan to create our own organization, website, community, and much more. It’s still too early to talk about it — we’re limited by resources.
Why can’t you do the same?
Building a team is not an easy task. But if you clearly define the goal and follow the path, reading the books I mentioned — everything is possible. Don’t forget Jacque’s words:
“If you do nothing, nothing will happen.”
Contact Yevhen Sliuzko, the head of Designing the Future, with proposals and ideas you are ready to take on personally. Designing the Future is an excellent platform for bringing like-minded individuals together into a team with shared goals and a drive for real change. If the idea is truly good, they will help you take the first steps and even register your own nonprofit organization with further team development.
Join the Designing the Future organization’s Discord or our “Earth Renovate” Telegram channel — that’s where we found almost all the team members. Unite, just like we did.
However, if you can’t find the right people, we will always be happy to welcome you and are eager to expand. We have a whole set of tasks for which we are looking for people. It’s not necessary to already know how to do everything; the most important thing is a willingness to learn, and the rest will follow or we will teach you.
- Scriptwriting
- Script editing
- Video editing
- Voiceover
- 3D visualization
- Video adaptation
- Thumbnail creation
- Your proposal
Message me on Telegram if you want to join the Earth Renovate team!
Back in 2021, I was involved in creating videos with the English-speaking YouTube channel The Venus Project team. However, due to the management’s refusal to publish Jacques’ lectures for free, I switched to creating videos with the team at the Extensional channel. I spent approximately 2 years there as a producer, scriptwriter, and video editor, releasing a whole playlist on General Semantics and other topics. Now, I’ve dedicated myself to writing scripts for the Designing The Future organization and assisting in investigations.