Category: Spirituality

Travelling the Buddhist path

For the past few years I’ve been taking a growing interest in Buddhist thinking. And I’ve been challenging myself to think more and more about not only how it can be applied in social change, but how I might apply it in my own work. Despite what it says on the tin, social change activities can often be quite mechanical or quite ‘stale’. Other than church- and faith-based groups, of which there are many, few others seem to talk about the presence, or not, of spirituality in their work. I’ve always wondered why – see this from 14 years ago, for example.

There are many great Buddhism books out there. I’ve not read as many as I’d like, probably because I’ve found myself constantly distracted, venturing off into the realms of neuroplasticity, consciousness and even psychedelics.

But in all my readings, whatever they’ve been, five things in particular have stood out and resonated the most.

Practice mindful action
Before jumping into solving social problems, take time to observe and understand them deeply. This is where I’ve found my anthropological training most useful. Use mindfulness to stay present and avoid any knee-jerk reaction. Ensure your efforts align with real needs rather than your own assumptions and aspirations.

Lead with compassion
Buddhism teaches us that all beings deserve kindness. True social change happens when we act not from anger or frustration but from compassion. This means listening to different perspectives, avoiding harm and seeking solutions that uplift everyone.

Embrace interdependence
Everything is connected. Environmental destruction, inequality and mental health struggles are not isolated issues, even though we often treat them that way. By recognising interdependence we can design holistic solutions that address the root causes, not just the symptoms.

Let go of your ego
Social change is not about personal recognition. By letting go of attachment to titles, status or credit you can focus on the true impact of your work rather than any personal gains. (This also helps avoid burnout and frustration when change takes time – which it almost always does).

Speak and act wisely
Change often happens through dialogue, storytelling and communication. Engage in constructive dialogue rather than spreading anger or division. Choose work that ensures your activities supports others, not exploit or harm them.

Things are tough out there right now. Engaging in social change with clarity, compassion and resilience is more important than ever. If you’re interested in learning more about how Buddhist thinking might be applied in your work, please feel free to drop me a line.

Spirituality, being human, and how to change the world.

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“Despite all of the ghastliness in the world, human beings are made for goodness. The ones that are held in high regard are not militarily powerful, nor even economically prosperous. They have a commitment to try and make the world a better place” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I’ve been home for about three weeks since leaving the Unreasonable at Sea ship in India. I spent just over a month helping mentor eleven technology startups which, if that was all I’d done, would have been a fantastic experience. What really stood out for me, though, was the interaction with the hundreds of students aboard, and a stronger sense than ever of how important it is that we encourage, engage, support and mentor the next generation of planetary problem solvers (something I’ve written about before). As if that wasn’t enough, the trip gave me the chance to re-immerse myself in the kinds of environments that were responsible for starting me on my own journey back in 1993. Witnessing suffering and hardship, and countless young children denied a childhood in India, Myanmar and Vietnam, reminds me that there’s still much work to be done.

Spirituality plays a large part in what drives me, and I’ve tried to capture some of this before. It’s not just a subject I find incredibly interesting, but one which puts humanity and purpose back at the centre of development (something which has become increasingly cold and institutionalised). I’ve never thought of helping people as a career. For me it was a way of life, a deeper purpose. So it was a huge honour to be invited to sit on a panel with Archbishop Desmond Tutu to talk about “how we change the world” aboard the MV Explorer. A big thanks to Tori Hogan (who was also on the panel) for inviting me to take part.

I’ve had something of a crazy time over the past few years, finding myself in all sorts of places I felt I had no right to be (National Geographic and No. 10 Downing Street, for example). Having the chance to chat with the Archbishop on a number of occasions during my time aboard the ship is another highlight, and the one hour discussion in front of a packed auditorium was the icing on the cake.

This video is also available on the main kiwanja website, and via Semester at Sea (hosts of the Unreasonable at Sea programme).

Here’s to making the world a better place. For all of us.

Spirituality: A home in ICT4D?

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Back in the early 90’s, when I started to take a serious interest in international development, I spent many weekends flicking through mail order booklets and “Working Abroad” publications that I had to order by post. Back then there was nothing relevant on the World Wide Web to speak of – actually, there wasn’t really much of a World Wide Web to speak of.

One thing that struck me back then were the number of overseas placements being offered by church- and faith-based groups, and how in most cases you had to be a practising ‘this’ or a practising ‘that’ before you’d be considered. To put it mildly, this bugged me a little.

Almost twenty years later and I’ve been fortunate enough to fulfil my ambition to work abroad – helping out with hospital and school building, and numerous conservation projects – although in the end I found a home in the ICT4D field. Having made that journey, one thing strikes me. While religious-based placements are still commonplace in “generic” development, they seem glaringly absent in ICT4D. In fact, religion or faith full-stop seem almost entirely absent from our discipline.

Is there a reason for this? Are technologists generally less religious or spiritual than those who work in health, or agriculture, or human rights? Or is it that technology-based work attracts an entirely ‘different’ crowd?

Speaking personally, my work represents something of a mirror image of how I think life should be led. Values I strongly believe in – unconditional help, kindness, the need to be respectful, humble, polite, responsive and so on – are also characteristics I try to embed in much of what I work on. The problem is that many of these characteristics are largely intangible, and although I feel spiritually driven by what I do I struggle to explain exactly what that means or what it is.

When I think of all the different career paths I could have taken, and the many others working in ICT4D could have taken, I can’t help but wonder what drives us all. What common values do we share, why do we do what we do, and does spirituality play a part in many – or any – of our stories?