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Imagine, Connect, Act
How we can work together for a greater impact
Today we will:
• Look at the world as it is now
• Imagine a different world - one that will allow us to make the most of our skills, ideas, and resources
• See how we can get from here to there
We are living in a special moment
• We’ve never had so many tools to communicate and work together, or so much freedom to use them
• 1.5 billion people online and more than three billion with cell phones, sharing words and images in almost every country
• Change has been so rapid it can be hard to digest
• Open any newspaper, and the contradictions can be extreme
In a garbage dump in Port-au-Prince, people recently scavenged for food
The New York Times, April 18, 2008
The Poor Eat Mud
In Haiti, where three-quarters of the population earns less than $2 a day and
one in five children is chronically malnourished, the one business booming
amid all the gloom is the selling of patties made of mud, oil and sugar,
typically consumed only by the most destitute.
“It’s salty and it has butter and you don’t know you’re eating dirt.” said
Olwich Louis, 24, who has taken to eating them more often in recent months.
“It makes your stomach quiet down.”
- The New York Times, April 18, 2008
It’s 2009…
We have the UN, the World Food Program, governments, NGOs, TV, radio, satellites, email, cell phones, Google, Fedex, a space station…
And people are eating mud? Why?
For many complicated reasons, all of which are beside the point: we know this is wrong, and we know we can do more, about this and about many other problems
We know this in our heads and in our hearts, and also because we were all children once…
The most important question
Imagine a young child asking his or her parents:
“I’ve been thinking… There are all these problems in the world… But you are good people, and so are the parents of most of my friends.”
“So, why can’t all the good people in the world work together to fix these problems?”
And we would answer:
“That would be great, but it’s not possible…”
“It’s complicated... All of us are good and bad sometimes. People have egos and interests and different opinions… And groups have histories and conflicts…”
“Think about it, you don’t even get along with your sister sometimes…”
True… But what if we are wrong?
These things are all true, and they won’t go away, but what if we are wrong about the big picture?
What if there is a small crack in this wall of conventional wisdom?
What if there is a way for all of us to work together and achieve much more with the resources we have?
To see this crack, we need to look at the world from a different point of view
How we see the world now
When we look at the news, or walk down the street, problems of all kinds come at us and overwhelm us
AIDS, war, poverty, corruption, climate change, financial crises, broken health and education systems…
These problems, and many others, are big and complicated, and we can’t just get up and solve them
But change our point of view…
And we can see three challenges that:
• Cut across all issues and communities
• We can solve, or at least alleviate greatly
• If we solve them, many of our other problems can get better
Three global challenges
1. A big gap between our intentions and our actions
2. Our problems are connected, but we are not
3. The world is full of good ideas that don’t spread quickly enough
All this applies not only to individuals, but also to organizations of every kind
1. A gap between our intentions and our actions
Every day, many of us would like to respond in some way to what’s happening around us, but for many reasons we don’t:
• I have no time, no resources, no power (or I think I don’t)
• Where do I start? Not enough information, too much information, could someone guide me, no one asked me…
• Why bother? It won’t make a difference anyway, what’s my impact…
• Honestly, I am afraid of… failure, ridicule, rejection, meetings and committees, wasting my time, getting depressed…
2. Our problems are connected, but we are not
• In many communities there is no way for people to know that they are not alone—that down the street, or two floors above or below them, there may be other people with similar ideas or concerns
• To propose an idea, and reach out to others, a good mechanism is not enough; most of us also need an appropriate context
• We tend to be tribal and competitive, and we are divided by nationality, religion, race, history, politics… and also by organization, company, issue, opinion…
• Having been brought up this way, it can be hard to see how much we have in common across our differences
3. The world is full of good ideas that don’t spread
Someone somewhere has probably done it, but we often lack:
• A way to hear about it
• A way to propose it
• A way to implement it
• An effective distribution channel
So how do we do more?
How do we make it easier for all of us to act on our intentions?
How do we get more ideas to bubble up in cities, villages, schools, and workplaces, and then connect all those people and organizations who want to implement them?
And how do we create a context that will make all this possible?
We can do this now
For the first time in history, we can build a network that will serve and support all those people who want to make the world a better place.
A global network that will allow people and organizations to:
• Imagine a better world, a better community, and a better life
• Connect with others, and with stories, ideas, and resources
• Act on our good intentions, and help others to act on theirs
We can do this, and we can do it now. We have the tools and we have the knowledge. All we need now is to agree on a few things.
The key: just enough glue, and not a drop more
How can we work together across our differences, while encouraging as much variety, flexibility, and creativity as possible?
Think of some effective networks you know: the Web, Alcoholics Anonymous, ATMs, the world’s soccer players… They are:
• Ubiquitous, predictable, and useful
• Decentralized, adaptable, and unobtrusive
• Held together by a name, a few goals, and a few rules – just enough, and no more
A name we can use
All over the world there are many people who:
• Want to live in a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives
• Believe that together we can do more
• Would be happy to do their part, in a spirit of generosity and mutual respect
Let’s call these people “idealists” and see what we can do with that
A few goals we can agree on
Wanting to make the world a better place is a good start, but what about the details?
This we can agree on:
• Build a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives
• Make it easier for people and organizations to move from intentions to action.
• Connect people, organizations, and resources in every possible way.
• Find good ideas wherever they are, and distribute them as widely as possible.
And a few rules
• No violent or illegal action
• No action against anyone on the basis of race, origin, nationality, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental ability
• Every person should have the right to work with others, freely and independently, for a better life and a better community.
Acting and connecting
In almost everything we do, we can be an actor or a connector:
• Pick a problem, a project, or an idea, and go for it: volunteer, organize, create, advocate, convene, learn, teach, share, give, vote, fix, help…
And/or…
• Help others imagine, connect, and act by offering opportunities for action, making connections, and pulling and pushing good ideas
Alone or with others, online or in person
Four options that are familiar to all of us:
• Work alone or with a group
• Work online, using lists, groups, blogs, wikis, intranets, social networks, mobile applications, etc.
• Set up Community Points: trusted and open spaces where people can go to imagine, connect, and act, and through which organizations of all kinds can reach and serve that community
Getting from here to there
To create a truly decentralized and adaptable network, all we can do is start. Once a basic structure is set up, a good network will evolve organically and people will use it in creative and surprising ways.
To get to that point, imagine these steps unfolding over the next few months:
1. Share and refine this idea
2. Get critical mass by asking people to take a very small step
3. Bring all the pieces together
To summarize…
It’s time for the world’s idealists to come together and build a global network that will allow people everywhere to imagine, connect, and act
We can build a better world, and we can do it now
Let’s do it!
