...you've got to make the morning last...' Were Simon and Garfunkel on to something? Our lives have become so busy, and we always feel like we have to be doing, achieving, getting. It impacts on our mental and physical health, and on the planet. Should slowing down be a core value of the New Ism? Mel and Alex discuss in their latest conversation-blog.
Across the world, leaders are setting ambitious targets in the fight against climate change, whilst at the same time greenlighting projects which contribute to global warming. Meanwhile, young people understand the threat the planet faces and are pushing for change - is it time to hand the environmental reins to them? Mel and Alex discuss … Continue reading Should young people lead the fight against climate change?
Food is intrinsically linked with so many other issues - health, trade, climate change... If we fixed our broken food systems, could we address those issues too?
There are examples across the world of communities, societies and entire countries implementing great ideas that really work, from subsidising electric cars in Norway to microinsurance in Rwanda. Could we scale these ideas globally and should we? Mel and Alex discuss in this week's conversation-blog. Alex Matthews: Something that I really enjoy is reading about … Continue reading Can – and should – great local ideas be applied globally?
Climate change - and what we need to do to avoid it - continues to dominate public and private discourse around the world, with scientists warning that if we don't act now, we run the risk of being too late. But how do we force our leaders to act meaningfully and rapidly?
Mel Young: The G7 is meeting in the UK from tomorrow, and it is grabbing a lot of attention. The issue of taxation of global tech companies has already been aired. But I wonder why it is the remit of the G7 to make decisions about global taxation? I hadn’t really clocked which countries made … Continue reading Should the G7 be making decisions on behalf of the entire world?
As the world opens up again, people are, understandably, looking forward to ‘going back to normal’. But the pandemic, as well as all the horror and grief, also offered humanity the opportunity to pause and consider our relationship with the planet and with others. By going back to normal, will we squander the opportunity to … Continue reading Returning to normal: a squandered opportunity?
In the wake of elections in the UK last week, Mel and Alex discuss leadership and what politics could look like with a very different type of politician... Alex Matthews: We had big local elections across much of the UK last week, so there has been a lot of discussion about leadership, and it’s made … Continue reading Should social entrepreneurs become politicians?
For a couple of days in April, all anyone could talk about was the European Super League, which was essentially an attempt by Europe's richest football (soccer) clubs to create a closed league that would make them even richer. The fans rose up in protest and the scheme was very quickly abandoned. The backlash came … Continue reading The European Super League: a microcosm of the global economic system
We did our 'conversation blog' in a slightly different format this week - as a conversation! We were participating in a series of webinars organised by The Impact Trust and theCollab.world to celebrate Earth Day 2021. Many of Mel and Alex's conversations are based on their perspectives and experiences as members of two generations - … Continue reading Boomer vs Millennial – who will save the planet?
