This week all the really big global issues have been in focus - nuclear weapons, climate change and the economy. As we have seen in the conferring and shuttle diplomacy, much of the decision-making power affecting the lives of millions is concentrated in just a few hands.
 
But that is only part of the story. Politics and economy may have been twisted into the shapes desired by the most powerful (mostly to the cost of people and planet), but the decisions of the masses still make a huge difference - and indeed can upset the status quo profoundly, ushering in different perspectives and possibilities.
 
If that was not so, then the debates among world leaders right now would not be focussing, as they are, on nuclear disarmament, action to combat global warming and financial re-regulation.
 
Of course what is being talked about is not sufficient, but this only illustrates the need to keep pushing for change. This week's e-bulletin from Ekklesia highlights a range of initiatives 'from below' or from the sidelines that show how this is possible.
 
They range from the new coalitions springing up to re-sculpt the political landscape in Britain, through to the work of The Elders - some of the elder statesmen and women who no longer hold power, but who can exercise a great deal of influence.
 
Much like the Christian Women's Peace Initiative in Liberia - who long struggle against injustice finally penetrated the Western media recently, much of the work that needs to be done is being carried out in the civil arena rather than in the corridors of power. They follow later. The difference is in our hands.