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Restoring ecosytems and society in Columbia

submitted by

Claudia

My story of hopefulness is a community association composed of indigenous communities, black communities and peasant communities along a new river in Colombia. They were impacted by the construction of a dam 20 years ago and at the beginning, they responded with strikes and anger, but eventually they organised to restore their livelihoods and created an association of 96 community based organisations, with the aim to create a unique sustainable development model under agroecological principles, with a unique governance system. In each of the family, or traits they cultivate more than 80 food species, avoiding chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers and are able not only to have healthy diets but to support communities around them including trading in their local stores. They also jointly decided to restore the river basin and planted diverse tree species to protect the mangrove forests with a joint action to stop these production by large trim companies. They ensure clean drinkable water in every household with solar energy and traditional water filters, solving a health problem. They use the earnings from the agricultural production into education and have been able to ensure that the young leaders of the community returned to the community. This is a true regeneration model to restore ecosystems and societies.

Land and Food

An impact documentary powerhouse

submitted by

Christoph

I'm gonna pick out the Doc Society who enable people making powerful documentary films about the most important stories of our time, to connect with audiences across the world, get funders, sort out their thinking, strategy, partnerships, and to create movements. All this is to enable the people who watch those films to take really concrete next steps and to help them to address the challenge the film is highlighting. The Doc Society are an impact documentary powerhouse and are just some of the most extraordinary people I've met.

Arts and Culture

Extrabold Typography to change the world

submitted by

Chrissy

I'm going to choose a young man called Archie Moore who is a designer and a graduate from Falmouth, School of Art. He created a typographic project which I think is a brilliant example of how anything that we do can positively change the world. He created this project called Extra Bold, an open source platform that has designed typographic letters and alphabets to help activists communicate better with clear, relevant typography for their marches and for their work. The power of words and typography and clear messaging is really important in movements and in organisations and I just love it because it was a completely selfless thing to put it out into the world.

Arts and Culture

60.000 water projects across Africa and Asia

submitted by

Chidi

My story of helpfulness is an organisation called Charity Water which is based in New York City but operates around the world. It was founded by an incredible visionary entrepreneur called Scott Harrison in response to the fact that one in ten humans on earth do not have easy regular access to clean water which we know has significantly negative effects on health, education and on economic development. Over the last fifteen years or so, Charity Water has succeeded in raising more than half a billion dollars and has funded almost 60,000 water projects that has positively impacted 11 million people in mostly Africa and Asia. What's amazing and special about Charity Water is that they are committed to full transparency, not just in terms of their fundraising and allocation of funds but also tracking the progress of projects, months, years down the line, to ensure that benefit is still being delivered to those communities. The vision of Charity Water is not just to to deliver water projects which is obviously fundamentally and critically important, but use that as a means to inspire everyday people around the world to think about how they can best serve their neighbours, and those among us who are weak and marginalised and vulnerable and suffering. So I think Scott's vision challenges all of us around how we can ignite a spirit of generosity that then becomes viral and empowers people to help improve the human condition?

Climate and Environment

Simon Butler from Migrate Art

submitted by

Charlotte

My story of hopefulness is Simon Butler who runs an organisation called Migrate Art. They partner with some of the biggest artists working across contemporary art to raise awareness and funds for homeless and displaced people. Simon takes these juggernauts from the high art world, these almost unapproachable art world elites, and wonderfully finds a way to bridge authentically what it is he's trying to do. I also really respect the value of the work that he does in the public space. So in terms of an example in the world of someone that is doing something meaningful, doing it successfully and doing it with some of the biggest artists in the world, I'd say Simon at Migrate Art is my hopeful story.

Arts and Culture

Common Wealth Theatre

submitted by

Cathy

My hopeful story is a collective called Commonwealth theatre in Bradford led by two forces of nature Rhiannan white and Evie Manning. Commonwealth is resolutely hopeful because their theatre doesn't require grand old buildings in city centres. They make radical activist Theatre in spaces like boxing rings, in people's houses and in car parks. They tell working class stories that need to be heard which I find deeply inspiring.

Arts and Culture

Thomas Hubl and Pocket Project

submitted by

Brita

The work that really touches me so deeply and inspires me is the work that Thomas Hubl does in the world. And in particular a project he founded called pocket project. It is designed to bring communities together across divides and to facilitate collective healing. We all know healing is really hard and I don't want to underplay the challenge but the more I learn about the work of Thomas, I am so filled with hope. One of the most powerful insights that I've had is that trauma is created in relationship and is healed in relationship. So if I can feel your pain and you can feel me feeling your pain then you're not alone anymore, so trauma survives in our bodies in a frozen state whilst it is alone. So this sense that we get that I'm alone and no one understands me is a trauma position but if we open our hearts and we're present with our heart, and we're open and we're connecting then healing starts and we can all do that which is deeply hopeful.

Peace and Reconciliation

Volunteer heroes in Winter shelters

submitted by

Ben

My story of hope is about a chap called Chris who I met whilst working with a number of agencies focussed on poverty. One of those partners was a winter shelter that are places where homeless people can come and get support. I remember Chris quite specifically because he was quite a cheeky chap and ended up observing one of our immersive programs based around an Indian slum. At the end in front of everyone Chris stepped in and asked for the microphone. "I'd like to thank the winter shelter for helping me, I was there last night and woke up this morning and got given these new boots and this jacket. Six months ago, I lost my job and my wife left me and I ended up on the streets and I just like to say thank you to the winter shelter". I found out tragically that a few years later Chris died of alcohol related issues. Everyday in shelters and programs up and down the country are quite extraordinary acts of empathy and hopefulness, acts of solidarity, of being willing to be in the moment with people like Chris and so many others.

Compassion and Empathy

Breaking out of colonial patterns

submitted by

Lorraine

Possible Futures are a collection of people based in the global south who are providing support. content, coursework and guidance around what it really looks like to break out of colonial patterns, these broken narratives that serve the current sustainable development world that serve the current mainstream business and industry model. Step out of those and see what it looks like to end the harmful models the extractive oppressive One world kind of narrative that is a big part of what is causing the systems to bleed the way they are. What does it look like to see and to genuinely understand our shared histories, and then to reorient our way forward. This is not light hearted work but they are really amazing people doing awesome stuff that fills my heart with joy. I think what possible futures is doing is next level, they're saying unless we also truly address the structural norms that are perpetuating the harm, all the nice little case studies in the world will get crushed by the boot of reality over and over and over. So what does it look like to really step out of that?

Justice

Running a school in the Gambia

submitted by

Anthea

So this is about three adults in the Gambia, who voluntarily run a nursery school for kids aged three to seven from about 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday whilst also working full time jobs. I met these people on a trip to the Gambia and they are genuine heroes to me. Despite palpable hardships, the locals maintained a vibrant and supportive community but the school itself was pretty modest but really well organised with purely donated supplies. They had a really well maintained library and the heartbeat of the school were these three people who were working night shifts as their primary jobs but dedicated to teaching essential subjects at school in the day. Their energy was infectious, a mix of resilience and warmth, but really driven by an imperative need for education in a community where many couldn't afford it. For me, the tireless work of these three people really stands testament to the transformative power of education and unshakable human spirit dedicated to nurturing and uplifting the next generation. Remembering their selfless acts of service for me, renews faith in our collective future and the fundamental good of humanity.

Education

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values

submitted by

Anna

My main source of hope for many years has been the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. It's a network of values based banks across the world. There's about 66 of them now with about 60 million customers and they all put serving society and the environment as their objectives. So yes, they do make a profit but that's only one thing. The aim is to support the people the projects that are making the world a better place, funding the future that we want. They are doing this in one of the hardest systems to change with so many obstacles and yet they have got this network of amazing organisations who are doing it and been doing it for decades with every aspect of their work infused with purpose. I see the ecology building society in the UK, I see Triodos across Europe, Vancity in Canada which is an amazing credit union. I think they are the future of the financial system and the tool that we need if we're going to have a liveable Future.

Business and Finance

Berta Isabel Caceres Flores

submitted by

Amy

my story of hope is also a sad and shocking story about an incredible lady called Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores who was a Honduran activist, human rights and environmental activist who was murdered in March 2016 protesting the construction of a dam on sacred land, indigenous land. She represents this extraordinary community of individuals around the world, a lot of whom are female who put themselves in harm's way in the defence of what's right. Whilst it's an incredibly shocking story, people like Berta represent to me the best of humanity, people who are willing to put themselves in harm's way to do what's right.

Justice

Layla from Aleppo in Syria

submitted by

Abi

my story of hopefulness is Layla who was married and gave birth to her firstborn son 10 days after her husband was killed by ISIS. She fled with her son walking from Aleppo, to Turkey and then all the way to the Mediterranean. From there she went on an exceptionally dangerous journey across the sea and ended up in Lesbos in Greece. She lived in the worst refugee camp with her son and after three years was transferred to a mainland camp. After two years of living there, she learned to weave, carrying on the creative tradition of her grandparents and homeland. Weaving each day enabled her to come out of her trauma and to see that there was a life worth living. She's a fully trained Weaver now living in Germany with her son and earning a full time salary as a fully trained Weaver. There's barely anything more hopeful than that. If we treat people with dignity and respect they can flourish and re-write their story and in that we all flourish and rewrite our stories and benefit from each other's experiences.

Education

Leah Penniman from Soul Fire Farm

submitted by

Abby

My hopeful story is about Leah Penniman who wrote a book called farming while Black which is an excellent read. Leah set up a farm in Albany, New York called Soulfire farm and is an amazing communicator. She particularly talks from a black perspective in terms of the relationship to land and farming in the United States. But again, she does it with this elegance and clarity and force that knocks you off your feet. I feel like no one could not be moved by what she says and what she shares, and some of the things she talks about are extremely challenging for many people, including myself. The work she does at soul fire is about empowering young black indigenous leaders, particularly teaching them how to farm and return to land based activities as a form of healing. It's just created a whole momentum shift in the United States and globally.

Land and Food

The Blue Marine Foundation

submitted by

Steve

Ocean conservation and the book Rewilding the sea by Charles Clover.

Climate and Environment

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/se-story-c3e1-4b4e-yf60-3040cc4cd844.wav

The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN)

submitted by

Steve

Enabling refugees to thrive through the power of their own ideas.

Civic Engagement

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/se-story-5a30-4e31-yc76-257ec45dfb3c.wav