More the spring of hope than the winter of despair

On the one hand, people are living longer and healthier lives, more have access to formal education, and more individuals than ever before have been lifted from poverty. And while some leaders scoffed at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) set in 2000 under Kofi Annan, which had a goal of cutting global poverty in half, miraculously, this was achieved by the target date of 2015.

And yet, while progress is being made, it is not all a bed of roses. Many of our systems are still flawed and these MDG victories may be short-lived.

The enormous levels of over-consumption and private and government debt across world markets are unsustainable and we are leaving too many people behind. When you do this, the system starts to rebel against itself. We are lucky to have been able to choose to be in education, and how with our circumstances comes ‘a duty to put yourself in the service of the others’ – the people who ‘do not have a choice’.

For while it is now a better time to be born than any other in human history – with more people in education than ever before, more women participating in the economy, a higher life expectancy, greater access to clean drinking water, and (despite what you read in the papers) more rights for more people – too many people still feel that they have been ‘left behind.’

On the other hand, the world could be looked at as being in a state of crisis.

There is the degradation of the planet, the impact of climate change, the lack of leadership at government and international levels. From the increasing outbreaks of protests to the arrival of AI and new technologies and a world of big data, which is largely unregulated, humanity faces a range of new challenges – and opportunities – that are quite unprecedented, just as we enter a period of exponential change.

Pressures are building – social, political, economic and environmental – and the risks of conflict, contagion and mass unemployment have increased. They can only be avoided if there is a peaceful and purposeful revolution in the way the world moves forward. And we need more urgency, greater unity and imagination to shape how we address the challenges, update our outdated systems and find solutions.

The twentieth century was one of astonishing achievements for mankind in many ways. We managed to “do the impossible” and rein in famine, plagues and wars. Huge leaps forward were made in many parts of the world in education, healthcare, adult literacy, civil rights, the rise of the position and opportunities for women, communications, entertainment and the internet.

So what went wrong?

In past decades, the rise of global capitalism was seen as a beneficial tide that should lift all boats – large and small – and create an ever-expanding middle class, with greater equality, security of work and a reasonable retirement. That tide has never reached the shore. Indeed, in many parts of the world the tide has receded, becoming not beneficial but harmful. In its place a strain of predatory capitalism has arisen. A capitalism which increases income inequality so the few benefit at the expense of the many, where the risks of capitalism are socialized and the benefits are privatized.

As a result of this trend over the last forty years, many people have less trust in our main institutions be it in banking, companies, or political life. Trust has been reduced in most of the media – in parts of the education system, even in religion. Many of our institutions are ill-suited to meet the challenges we face. Artificially intelligent systems, collecting and mining Big Data, climate change, drug-resistant diseases and deep fakes are just a few of the challenges we face.  And yet so many of us, who should be awake, are still sleeping, as if cocooned in a dream.

But a growing group of thoughtful people have awakened. And in our awakening, we realize that we cannot be comfortable in our critique of the failings of others, unless we are courageous enough to step forward with our own solutions.

Of the nearly eight billion people on the planet, about two thirds are unaware of the risks facing humanity. And there is good reason to say that 99.9% of mankind are expecting other people – especially governments – to step up and make the changes required to lead us in a new direction to a safer and better future. But that is fantasy. Governments are ill-equipped to deal with the myriad of global challenges facing our world, which must be tackled and transformed into opportunities at the global level not just the national level. Too many are mired in a mindset which belongs to a bygone era; an era where crises were seen from a zero-sum mindset and the debates are about more or less regulation, as if that would somehow solve anything. Most governments are stuck in an era where more competition, not collaboration, was seen as the solution.

But we are entering, indeed we have already entered, a new era. This is an era that demands not just action, but interaction. It is an era where much of society no longer believes or accepts that market forces can lead the way to security, equality and fairness, for that is not its purpose nor its unintended outcome. In this new era we need a new understanding, one that follows an old proverb from Africa: “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.” 

It is time for a uniting movements of movements that is inclusive, transparent and purposeful.  Its objective is to promote awareness and understanding, to galvanise change and to bring together the private sector, the government sector, institutions and philanthropists. Ignorance, apathy, denial, resentment, passive despair and depression are all barriers to widespread acceptance and action. 

Moving toward the future

The future must be a place we are navigating towards and consciously co-creating together. It is not the time to hark back to a romantic historic utopia. We cannot put forward a single solution or new social and economic system that we ask the whole world to adopt. We must place co-creation, knowledge-exchange, innovation, inspiration and empathy at the centre and as the essential principles to maximise the chances of success and harmony.

To achieve global action in different areas, that will attract Millennials and young people as well as those of all ages and from every region, almost every business sector and faith, we need new ideas. What we are now seeking is the wisdom, energy and financial support of patrons and partners to help support the expansion of the programs with purpose of Impact Entertainment Media. These programs will provide pathways that will help us to re-build trust, to find new solutions and lead us to a brighter world.

Kim Guillemard, Chief Inspiration Officer & Founder, The Global Transformation Foundation