The New Ism

Our guest this week is Mairi Mackay, the Director of Social and Creative Economies at the British Council, where she seeks to develop more inclusive and sustainable economies and societies through innovative, cross-sectoral approaches. The British Council’s DICE programme, which Mairi leads, drives growth and progress on the UN’s sustainable development goals, with a particular focus on empowering women and girls, fostering youth employment, addressing inequality and supporting people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.

Mairi and Mel talk about creating the structure of a new ism based on social innovation - how to nurture a collaborative economy, changing the very definitions of ‘economics’ and ‘success’, and shifting more focus onto social and creative capital - not just financial capital.

Our guest this week is Chris Underhill, a serial social entrepreneur who has for the last 18 years focused on improving mental health care delivery across the world. He is the founder of numerous very successful social enterprises, including Basic Needs, which helps people living with mental illness to access the treatments they need, and most recently citiesRISE, which is committed to transforming mental health policy and practice in cities.

Chris talks with Mel about putting quality of life for all at the heart of a new ism, the need for intelligent design to combat loneliness and improve the lives of those living in cities, rethinking the definition of currency, and much more.

In the week that the World Social Enterprise Forum comes to Edinburgh, we talk to Laurence Demarco, who has played a key role in making Scotland a hub of social innovation. The co-founder of Senscot, which connects and supports social entrepreneurs across Scotland, he has dedicated his career to community development and local empowerment - which is how he and Mel met, back in the 1980s!

In their conversation, Laurence and Mel talk cover a lot of ground: local empowerment, a mutual economy that serves everyone, a maximum wage, the ideal country size and how older people have a valuable contribution to make to a new economic system.

Welcome to episode 11 of The New Ism podcast! This week, Mel talks to Baroness Mary Goudie, who has dedicated her career to advocating for women's rights and promoting gender equality. She works with organisations across the world to tackle exclusion, conflict and trafficking and, as a founding member of the 30% Club, she persuades and inspires companies to ensure that 30% of their board members are women.

Could we create a fairer economic system by having more women in positions of power? How do we stop the exploitation and trafficking of people around the world? What can we learn from religion for a New Ism? Should micro-finance replace the banking sector? Mel and Mary discuss these questions and more.

Welcome to episode 10 of The New Ism podcast! Our guest today is Professor Liz Grant, the Director of the Global Health Academy and Assistant Principal for Global Health at the University of Edinburgh. 

Liz's expertise lies in health and she talks eloquently about how health - our greatest asset - should be put right at the centre of an economic system: if you put physical, emotional, spiritual and social health first, everything else - the health of the planet, community cohesion and productivity, to name just a few - will follow. She and Mel also examine the role of compassion in society and how, if we focus on nurturing compassion at a local level, the ripple effects will be felt globally.

Liz is truly positive about the outlook for the future of planet and people, and listening to this episode will leave you feeling hopeful and invigorated.

Our guest this week, David Greig, is the Artistic Director and joint Chief Executive of the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. David is one of Scotland's most renowned playwrights; his work has taken him around the world and he always seeks to give a platform to a wide variety of voices. He has thought deeply on the subject of making the arts and culture a central pillar of meaningful democracy, in no small part due to their ability to create empathy and a sense of community. He discusses this and the concepts of home, belonging and identity in his thoughtful, fascinating conversation with Mel.

Our guest this week, Pip Wheaton, is the Director of Ashoka UK, an organisation which identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs, and seeks to empower everyone to drive social change. She is also a social entrepreneur herself, so her perspective on the sector, coming as it does from both viewpoints, is really enlightening. Pip and Mel discuss the importance of community as the basis of a system that really works, how we can empower everyone to be a changemaker, how to scale social impact sustainably and measure that impact meaningfully, and why we need a system that incorporates safety nets and checks and balances.

In episode 7 of The New Ism, Mel talks to Dr. Andrew Murray, who is qualified in Sport and Exercise Medicine and General Practice, and currently works as an author, speaker and researcher, advocating for healthier and more active life for all. They discuss health as more than just the absence of disease, the importance of a sense of community and purpose for a healthier life, and a 4,300km jog...

Our guest this week is Professor Pamela Gillies, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow Caledonian University. She talks to Mel Young about how we can develop the skills needed for social change by making the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs) the basis of education from nursery to university and beyond, Glasgow Caledonian's social enterprise initiatives in Glasgow and across the world, and exchanging social impact 'gifts' with Muhammad Yunus.

Our guest this week is Faisel Rahman, founder and managing director of Fair Finance, which offers a range of high quality, affordable financial products and services to those who would otherwise be financially excluded. He talks with Mel about scaling the impact of social enterprise, the importance of trust, and mitigating the issues that arise from a society that demands speed, not thought.