"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it.  We must learn to see the world anew"  Albert Einstein 

Creating new narratives that shift our world view to move to the tipping point of progressive change is what storyworks.ca is all about. 

Change when rooted in Ubuntu gives birth not just to possibilities but to probabilities. This year I am engaged with social innovators around the world.  What they hold in common is an unwaivering belief that humanity has the answers it needs to address some of our most pressing issues.  The question is not the "know how" but the "how to".  New models to affect change are underway… they are nimble, experimental, lively, open-ended, strategic, resourceful and as a result resilient.  I will be featuring many of these models in the weeks ahead.

 Until then, the Ubuntu way will continue to invite us to work for social equality on the common ground of our shared humanity.

One of the things that I have learned working in the NGO community for two decades is that we have a hard time telling our story well. In many cases we think we are telling stories but in fact we are not. We are experts in our content areas, we tend to be good at reporting to funders and we can masters at speaking jargon. But we really struggle to make sense of our work, its importance, impact or sometimes is relevance to many others.

Simmons in her new book says, “In this ocean of choice, a meaningful story can feel like a life preserver that tethers us to something safe, important or at the very least more solid than the disembodied voices begging for our attention.”

When millions of people stand up to make poverty history around the world or attend or tune into the Live Aid or Live Earth concerts, wear white bands, open their wallets for Katrina victims or drop off food to their local food bank in record numbers… we know that their is a great hunger to be “tethered” together to something important. Millions are looking for that “life preserver” civil society needs to throw these people a line… by being far more strategic and proficient storytellers.

Stephen Lewis with his work on HIV/AIDS both with the UN and with his foundation expressed is profound puzzlement at the absence of both political will and corporate will to solve the problems of our day.

However, Mr. Lewis did note the remarkable contribution and leadership of the Gates Foundation in addressing HIV/AIDS, agricultural and education but posed the question, ” It’s odd that a very wealthy person is setting the agenda on some main factors more than the governments of the world.”

This indeed is an important question. When we call on the corporate sector to get involved what mechanisms in civil society are in place to ensure that this generosity does not set an agenda but rather responds to an agenda that has been shaped by elected governments.

Today, the conference was alive with discussions from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America all embracing the challenge of evolving their global model to eradicate poverty and inequality. The resilience of civil society is everywhere here.

Online campaigners are playing a crucial role in some parts of the globe to garner mass public support for the Millennium Development Goals to move these goals into substantial policy changes.

This is civic society at work around the world. I will be blogging regularly on our progress.