By Gita Carroll
"The move from consumer centricity to planet centricity is gathering momentum and we believe that there will be a brand new consumer landscape as we start to emerge out of this pandemic" - John Sanei
Our world today is one of bionics and botox. A simultaneous striving for authenticity and organic living. A world expected to be saved by tech startups, modern billionaires, philanthropists, humanitarians and activists, who need to sustain the old and guarantee a future. All amidst the fall of politics and education as we know it. What I do know is that vulnerability is the new fashion, and we are finally experiencing the rise of the Womxn! Leaving us in some uncharted territory.
BUT has this not always been the case? Every century, every decade, every year has presented itself in a way none has before: from wars to famines. The one constant we have is change and how we adapt it. Unfortunately we find ourselves once more in uncharted territory with the exponential rate at which this change is coming at us, amidst a global pandemic and a digital revolution just to name a few.
The increase of triggering conversations and harsh realisations about #Blacklivesmatter, #GBV (Gender-Based Violence) is omnipresent. A Shared Value Approach and Purposeful Leadership are trending business practices. While COVID has dramatically shown us how the vulnerability of society and the pain and suffering experienced can be met with a tremendous force of compassion. 1000's of feeding schemes and community care networks were created overnight - just as businesses closed down and millions of people experienced a loss of income. In all this tragedy, is this not ironically proving that we can mobilise to create the world that we dream of?
At the #enoughisenough #GBV March in Cape Town 19 September 2019.
The Good Machine Client: Peace Parks Foundation who acted immediately to support their programs and communities. Above picture is staff at the entrance of Simalaha during the initial lockdown period.
However, this leaves us with scrutinising the practicalities - the 'where to from here' conversations? And back to the age-old debate and realisation, what is the doom of it all… the oily underbelly … the constant and the alpha of everything - business, money, profit and the other bad B-word – bureaucracy. And what are we going to do about it?
Yes, we can go into the philosophical capitalistic debates - but let us keep it simple and focus on YOU. A focus on that which we are able to control. We cannot control the weather either - but our daily choices can contribute to not destroying the overall planet and climate in the long term!
Working for The Good Machine, where we focus on supporting and building robust grass roots and best practice non-profit organisations, I have seen the redefining of the world first hand. By fostering holistic corporate-NPO partnerships to eradicate social issues, we focus on inspiring sustainable and ethical behavioural changes to business practices and social investments.
Our environmental and humanitarian crisis can not be met with distant non-profit initiatives anymore. A ruthless collaborative approach that is dynamic and solution-driven across sectors and industries is imperative.
The Peace Parks Foundation is a standout non-profit that is traditionally a conservation organisation but has highlighted the importance of man in the cycle! The global trend of mass species die-off and loss of functional ecosystems can, however, be stopped. Their dream is to reconnect Africa’s wild spaces to create a future for man in harmony with nature.
If we can conquer boundaries to re-establish, renew and preserve large functional ecosystems – we can protect and regenerate natural resources and heritage vital to enabling and sustaining life on our awe-inspiring continent. Their tremendous effort in close working with governments, global foundations, international industries, philanthropists is a best practice and example to us all.
