Thanks to a clever little virus, our collective hamster wheel has come to an abrupt halt, throwing many of us off and spinning in the other direction, towards ourselves. My fear is that between the Vitamin C popping, baking and Zoom calls, we are avoiding the questions that lie beneath the conspiracy theories and that bring us face to face with our mortality. Questions that … [Read more...]
Deep adaptation: hope and vision in the face of collapse
As someone who worked in environmental campaigning and then organizational change, I learned about the role of hope and vision in helping to align and motivate people. As someone who worked at the heart of political communications during the 2017 UK General Election campaign, I’m also aware of the power of a positive narrative when told well, consistently and authentically. In … [Read more...]
SIMA celebrates best impact documentaries from around the world
The annual Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA) celebrate the best impact documentaries from around the world that inspire activism, compassion and social transformation. SIMA has announced the finalists for the 2016 edition of their unique initiative. The selected finalists will compete in the two categories Documentaries (Features, Shorts) and Impact Videos (Innovations, … [Read more...]
‘Knowing Mandela’ to inspire the nation
I have never felt the need to read a book about Mandela, though I have always adored him. But by grace a little book came across my path … Knowing Mandela by John Carlin. Of course I want to learn more now, but I also suspect that having started with this one, it will be very hard to match. John was the South Africa correspondent of London’s Independent newspaper from 1990 … [Read more...]
Dancing between desire and wisdom
To be human is to belong, and care is both the expression and the gift of our connectedness. Heartfelt care motivates us to make our best contributions in life. And expressing care not only feels good but is actually good for us, having been shown to strengthen the immune system! The environmental movement is made up of millions of people who dedicate their lives to caring … [Read more...]
Lessons learned from Wangari Maathai
In this beautifully animated clip from Dirt! The Movie, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai tells an inspiring tale of doing the best you can under seemingly interminable odds. Wangari tells the story of a hummingbird who saves a forest from being destroyed while other animals stand to the side, overwhelmed by size of the problem. “I have always believed that, no matter … [Read more...]