The New Ism

Our guest this week is Kristine Pearson, the CEO of Lifeline Energy. They design, manufacture and distribute sustainable solar and wind-up radios and other media players to vulnerable populations who would otherwise not have access to important information and news broadcast on radio. The nature of their work means that they are also involved in a wide variety of fields including women’s empowerment, healthcare, education, the environment and financial inclusion.

The empowerment of women and local communities with representative, diverse leadership were important themes in Kristine and Mel’s discussion, and Kristine believes passionately that these are crucial in a future economic system that works for all. She also talked about hospitality and trust and how a lack of these, teamed with the rise in technology, has perhaps contributed to unhappiness in the western world. This is a wide-ranging conversation which Kristine illustrates with vivid anecdotes and insights from her fascinating career.

Our guest today is Pam Warhurst, the founder of Incredible Edible, an organisation which uses food to empower people to build stronger and more resilient communities. The concept starts with ‘propaganda gardens’ where people plant edible plants in unused public spaces. The creation of these gardens is a small act which triggers a wide range of other effects: creating conversation between people who might otherwise not have crossed paths, changing the way people relate to each other and community institutions, stimulating the local economy, and ultimately empowering people and communities to live more sustainably and take charge of their own futures.

Pam talks to Mel about the importance of a thriving local economy and how people are ‘magnificent’ and immensely adaptable, if given the opportunity to tap into their inherent entrepreneurial spirit. She is a great believer in the power of small actions to create not just change but a different kind of prosperity which is more in harmony with the planet. She also discusses the ways in which innovative, thoughtful and open-minded local government can be an important force for good, even in a time when budgets are decreasing.

Our guest today is Honey Thaljieh who is, in her own words, a Palestinian Arab Christian woman from Bethlehem who has played football all her life. The co-founder and first-ever captain of the Palestinian women’s national football team, she has broken through countless social, political and even physical barriers to become a role model for women in the Middle East and beyond. She is a powerful ambassador for the ability of sport to drive peace and equality.

A passionate advocate for women’s rights in the Middle East and across the world, it is no surprise that Honey believes that women must have equality and leadership roles in a new, more inclusive economic system - not just because they represent 50% of any country’s population, but because they bring important skills and perspectives to the table. She also talks about how we must tackle governments, hold them to account and protest peacefully to bring about change - and how that means that everyone must be educated in order to understand their rights and fight for them. This is a brilliant episode with a remarkable woman who is already working towards a better world.

Our guest today is Martyn Evans, the Chief Executive of the Carnegie Trust, which was founded in 1913 by Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie to improve the wellbeing of the people of the UK and Ireland. They deliver on this mission in many ways, including investing in public spaces, libraries, education, children’s rights, social work and rural development. This week, to coincide with World Kindness Day yesterday, they released the first ever quantitative survey on kindness in communities and public services.

Martyn talks to Mel about the importance of high quality jobs, how a new economic system needs to integrate ‘soft values’ - such as love, kindness, trust - and therefore how we need to learn to measure these values. Martyn goes onto discuss the power of philanthropy, and how he thinks governments can earn the trust of voters. We particularly love Martyn’s key piece of advice - talk to unusual friends. Find out what he means in the episode.

Our guest today is Paul Rice, the founder and CEO of Fair Trade USA, the largest certifier and provider of fair trade products in North America. Fair Trade is a global movement of people, organisations and producers who are committed to putting people and planet first by making the right choices. Based on the simple idea that the products people buy and sell are connected to the livelihoods of others, Fair Trade is a way to make a conscious choice for a better world.

Paul and Mel talk about the concept of ‘impact sourcing’, how we no longer have to choose between profit and responsibility, the tension between an increasingly globalised world and the fact that buying local resonates with so many as a good thing, how businesses are starting to move in the right direction and why Paul’s teenaged daughter gives him reason to be hopeful for the future of the planet!

Our guest today is Kyle Zimmer, the founder of American organisation First Book, which promotes equal education by ensuring that children in need have access to the books and resources they need. First Book works closely with its 400,000-strong member network and the publishing industry through a sustainable, market-driven model which makes books accessible and affordable to children from low-income families.

Kyle and Mel of course discuss the importance of a high quality education for all in a new economic system, but their discussion expands far beyond that as well. They cover the importance of exposure to not only your country’s own stories and traditions, but those of other nations and cultures as well; whether the First Book model can be applied across other industries and sectors; and the importance of the non-profit and for-profit sectors working hand-in-hand to create a better system that leaves no one behind.

Our guest this week is Rick Aubry, a leading American social innovator. He established Rubicon Programs to support homeless people and people with mental health issues in finding work and somewhere to live; his latest venture, New Foundry Ventures, is a laboratory that helps other social enterprises who tackling poverty and inequality in the US to scale. Rick is also training the next generation of social entrepreneurs through his work as a professor of social entrepreneurship at Tulane University.

In his conversation with Mel, Rick talks about why he thinks that reforming tax is one of the ways we can shape a fairer economic system, his thoughts on the tax versus philanthropy debate, how 'ok' for hundreds of millions is preferable to 'perfect' for tens of thousands - and much more.

Our guest today is Andreas Heinecke, a German social entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to dismantling barriers between 'us' and 'them' via human experience. The vision of his organisation, Dialogue Social Enterprise, is the social inclusion of marginalised people across the world.

Andreas and Mel talk about Andreas' work, the critical importance of social and emotional education and the role of social entrepreneurs in a more inclusive and empathetic future.

Today's episode is the first of our international conversations, where we will be talking to social innovators working outside the UK. Our guest this week is Martín Burt, who has dedicated his career to eliminating poverty, via his organisation Fundación Paraguaya and Poverty Stoplight, a poverty measurement tool and coaching methodology that empowers families to self-diagnose their unique needs and develop plans to lift themselves out of poverty.

Martín and Mel's conversation centres around how to not just reduce, but eliminate poverty globally by harnessing the power of technology, and the importance of ensuring that everyone is given the dignity of choice and a voice.

From next week, The New Ism is going global, with discussions with exciting social innovators from around the world. So for this short episode, Mel and Alex have taken the opportunity to reflect on what they've learned so far and on what's to come.