Most people want to make a difference. Almost everyone, if you ask them directly, will say they’d like to think the world might be a little better off as a result of their philanthropic efforts. And yet so much of that willingness rarely turns into anything real. It’s not because people don’t care, but because … Continue reading Welcome to ‘One Beautiful Road’
Category: Apathy to action
Posts on turning concern into action: what moves people from apathy to engagement in social change, and what holds them back.
This is fine
“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes or off the street. Families are torn apart. Men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared”. This quote is taken from Anne Frank’s diary in an entry dated January 13th, … Continue reading This is fine
Did I do things the wrong way round?
Many moons ago, during two happy years as a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, I had the pleasure of meeting more than my fair share of Valley multi-millionaires (and the odd billionaire). Back in those days there were plenty of them about and many – after years of playing nasty as they built their businesses … Continue reading Did I do things the wrong way round?
Looking for a visionary partner
For the past few months I’ve been working on apathy to action, a project that aims to help people move from feeling overwhelmed by global crises to taking meaningful, emotionally grounded action. The idea is simple but powerful – combine behavioural science, mindfulness and modern technology to help people reconnect, re-engage and rediscover their agency in … Continue reading Looking for a visionary partner
Say hello to the bystander planet
Imagine your neighbour’s house is on fire, but you’re too busy scrolling through social media to call for help, or you just assume someone else will handle it. Scale that up globally, and you’ve captured how public apathy operates during major crises. Public indifference isn’t just inconvenient – it can be deadly. When people mentally … Continue reading Say hello to the bystander planet
From apathy to action
Twenty years ago this summer I was sat at a kitchen table in Finland writing the early beta version of FrontlineSMS, a project which would go on to define my contribution to what was, back then, the fledgling world of mobiles-for-development. I’ve had a brush with the odd idea or two since, but never really … Continue reading From apathy to action