LEARNINGS FROM THE GLOBAL LIVING ROOM

THE GLOBAL LIVING ROOM

In the first week of March 2020, to answer a global need to collectively make sense of what was happening in our world, HATCH launched a series of weekly sessions called The Global Living Room. These produced an astonishing medley of diverse insights by systems thinkers, astronauts, scientists, technologists, CEOs, artists, academics, poets, and extraordinary humans from multiple countries around the world, working to understand inflection points, reframe challenges, and identify opportunities to create real solutions. We learned a great deal during these discussions, and they served as a ballast through the unraveling and unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd. SEE GUESTS WE HEARD FROM and SIGN UP FOR INVITES to the 2021 monthly Global Living Room. Here is a snapshot of some of what we learned from the guests in the Global Living Room in 2020:

Cady Coleman

Astronaut, retired after 24 years at NASA, former Chief of Robotics, Astronaut Office with 2 Space Shuttle missions, 100 million miles traveled, 180 days in space.

“One thing that was heavily underscored for me, while being in space, orbiting around planet earth, is that we are one humanity — interconnected with each other — and with nature — in one massive ecosystem. And if we work together, we can save our planet.”

David Quammen

Author of NY Times Bestseller Spillover, in which he predicted this pandemic in 2010.

“We saw this pandemic as a probable reality 9 years ago — unfortunately, none of the politicians that we contacted to let them know how to prepare, listened.

“ Nature is made of an ecosystem of ecosystems with Darwinian rules. We are intruding more and more into these wild ecosystems, and we are experiencing the repercussions of that.”

“In a period of social distancing we want to make sure that doesn’t entail emotional distancing — and… this virus is the first drum beat of many to come.”

John Hagel

Co-Founder of Deloitte’s Center For the Edge, specializes in helping global executives anticipate and address emerging business opportunities and challenges

“There is a reflection paradox between individuals and institutions — and the growing emotion of fear and how to overcome that fear with narratives and smaller cells within community. That’s how movements are born.”

“Institutions will need to fundamentally shift their prehistoric models from profit to considering the health of holistic humanity.”

“If we truly take a moment to pause and step back, we can look at this pandemic as an opportunity to shift from our “normal” and begin to think about what really matters and how we can create systemic change in areas that so desperately need it. Who wants to go back to where we were? Let’s move forward, let’s learn from this, let’s get stronger to achieve more of our human potential.”

Gissou Nia

Human rights lawyer & fellow at Middle East Atlantic Council

“Be aware: Countries and their leaders leverage moments like these (pandemics)to trim away at our civil liberties — and once in place, are very hard to undo. Think of TSA after 911. At this moment [April 15th, 2020], 83 countries have imposed emergency policies and measures to fight the pandemic. These powers don’t necessarily bring a benefit for public health, only restrict our privacy and freedom.”

“These powers tend to impose restraints on free speech. So you’ll see restrictions of the media and what it can report, and that blocks free access to information and other things that we need in a pandemic. It can also chill the ability of the media to report critically on a government’s response in this crisis.”

“The Big Brother State is being ramped up significantly.”

Aryeh-or Katz

Actor, Musician, Poet.

“We as artists of any medium have a tremendous responsibility that when things fall apart people always turn to art to find their way back to center, back to the whole. We have an opportunity to create containers for catharsis.”

Watch his beautiful piece We are “7.7 Billion Stars Strong”

Jackie Jenkins

Organizational Psychologist, Change Strategist

“Two different people, based on their social identity, can look at the same data, and unconsciously bring a different interpretive lens and frame to that data and draw a completely different conclusion and then decide to behave or act based on that conclusion that they’re drawing. I just want to make sure that we are really mindful of that reality. Even something as scientific as data, is skewed with bias.”

“When you look at the data, some still don’t accept that we not only live in a capitalistic society, but we live in a racist, patriarchal, capitalistic society. If you don’t have that analysis, and you don’t understand history, you might draw a different conclusion. You might blame the person who is running our country right now, or a specific political party. You might blame the people who are being impacted — there’s something about them or what they are doing, or their culture that put them in this most vulnerable situation.”

Fritjof Capra

Physicist, systems theorist, deep ecologist, and author.

“During a pandemic like COVID 19, social justice is no longer a political issue of left vs right, but becomes an issue of life and death and humanity.”

“Our key challenge for long term survival is to shift from an economic system based on the notion of unlimited growth to one that is ecologically sustainable and socially just.”

“We must adopt a new Earth ethics, such as the one summarized in the Earth Charter. Crafted by visionaries twenty years ago, the Earth Charter is a document with sixteen principles that turn conscience into action, powering a global movement towards a more just, sustainable and peaceful world.”

Terry Irwin

Director of the Transition Design Institute, at Carnegie Mellon

Terry and a team of Carnegie Melon’s scientists and researchers have been mapping the systemic failures that made COVID spread in the U.S. in this 22 ft long map — READ ARTICLE HERE

“We’ve learned that small changes in the present can make a big difference in where you end up in the future.”

“The levers that we have for impacting systems change are all silo’d — de-silo’ing these levers will have dramatic impact on acceleration of positive impact.”

For those of you who want more information about Transition Design, Terry’s entire masters/iPhD seminar is online as a website with videos and extensive readings https://transitiondesignseminarcmu.net

Dr Michelle Thaller

NASA astronomer, astrophysicist research scientist and Assistant Director for Science Communication at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Michelle reminded us of the power we all hold within us — literal dead stars. Together, we must use that power to unite and fight for our planet. Watch her fascinating video We are all Dead Stars.

“You and I are from the same dead stars. Point at a star in the sky tonight. That star has an atom in it, of iron, and there’s an atom of iron in your heart in your blood, and it came from the same explosion billions of years ago. You are connected, literally, to everything you see in the sky. Not just theoretically, literally. You are connected to every single human being.”

“In the next 100 years we are looking at a 3ft to 4ft sea level rise… Our children will see the entire global economic system change, the geography change. At NASA we’ve been working with the Pentagon to try to figure out how this will affect human population. By 2100 there will be between 500 million to one billion refugees. So if you think about what half a million refugees did for Syria and all this upheaval, there will be 1 out of every 7 people on the planet that will have to move and they will need food and they will need places to go and they will need help and that’s a conservative estimate.”

“ If COVID 19 has shaken you up a bit, it’s the first drumbeat. There is more to come, but humans can adapt. We can look at ways that we can actually survive this together.”

John Kania

John is the CEO / Founder of Collective Change Lab. He’s dedicated his life to catalyzing growth and impact of social ventures through systems change, supporting social impact leaders with insights and approaches that help them shift systems and achieve transformational impact.

John’s premise is that there are SIX Conditions for Systems Change.

For more radical change we need more radical containers — These radical containers have been around for centuries — we don’t need to re-invent them:

• Peacemaking circles
• Restorative justice
• Truth and reconciliation

Steven Donzinger

Human rights & environmental attorney, known for leading a landmark $9.5 billion environmental judgment against Chevron on behalf of Indigenous peoples and local communities in Ecuador’s Amazon, the lungs of our planet.

“Now, more than ever, it’s time to take a stand for what you believe in and fight for the future of our planet.

“I’m experiencing state oppression right now in the United States. And the key is community. Community is better than any pharmaceutical you can take when you’re down.”

Jody Williams

Nobel Peace Prize-winner, activist known for her defense of human rights, her work to ban landmines, and her efforts to promote new understandings of security in today’s world.

“To me, the fundamental element of change has to be that we want to make the world a better place for everyone — even those you do not like. That’s why I ask young people to think,… to think about which issue or issues makes you so furious that light your righteous indignation at said injustice and you have to do something. It’s not magic, it’s just caring enough to get up and participate.”

Louie Schwartzberg

Award-winning producer, director, cinematographer — and pioneer in timelapse, and the contemporary stock footage industry.

“Nothing lives alone in nature. And with what we’re going through right now, this idea, what we long for more than anything, is connection. The fact that there is a blossoming awareness and usage of entheogenic plants and herbs, is in alignment with the shift of consciousness we need, which is to be more mindful, more compassionate and living in harmony with all living creatures on the planet, and that we are nature and whatever we do to the planet, we do to ourselves. That’s a shift of consciousness.”

Thaly Germain

CEO Founder at Onward, empowering high-impact partners to create inclusive organizations.

“We need to be accountable and show up to ‘do the work’ we as a country have been avoiding for so long. Part of the problem we’re facing right how is that we are not seeing black people.”

“This conversation is not about me, or black people. It’s about all of us. So what are we all going to do to keep ourselves accountable to do the things we’ve needed to do from the very beginning?”

Jacqueline Novogratz

Founder / CEO of Acumen,

“We will not bridge the wealth gap by cultivating money, power and fame. So the moral revolution that I”m talking about, and the kind of moral leadership we need, dares to put our shared humanity in the earth at the center of our systems, not just profit.”

“When you’re experiencing discomfort, suddenly creativity, opportunity and change becomes more accessible.”

Denise Hearn

Co-author of book The Myth of Capitalism, exploring industry concentration and monopoly power and its ripple effects on wages, consumer prices, inequality, and shareholder returns. Capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it’s monopoly.

“To whom much is given, much is expected.” I was born on third base with my privilege — and with that I feel a duty to help create movements for more equity.”

“Many aspects of capitalism have created the largest economic inequality gap in American history — so, what changes might we make as individuals and as a collective in order to build a bridge to a more equitable future?”

“When we look at natural systems, cooperation is the overarching value that allows flourishing.”

“We need to take a holistic approach to what it means to democratize power. A few policy levers for change include:

• Looking closely at the connection between political and corporate power
• Strengthening workers power and rights
• Establishing stronger merger reviews
• Closing the gap between rural and urban — strengthening rural and local communities
• Read MORE HERE

Janine Benyus

Co-Founder Biomimicry Institute.

Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges.

“By slowing down and engaging in deep observation with nature, we find many of the answers we are struggling to solve on our own.”

“We must re-evaluate our relationship with nature We have only been taking; and nature takes care of us — but is now out of balance. The timing is critical to shift from extraction to one of mutual exchange”

“Homo Sapiens has been on the planet for only 200,000 years vs. 3.8B years of life. We’re such a young species. We’re toddlers with matches.”

“I see all of us as designers, whether we’re deliberating and making a decision of policy, or whether we’re designing a technology — tools for living.”

See more HERE.

Aloe Blacc

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, activist, and philanthropist. He’s passionate about using his platform to create meaningful social and legislative change

Aloe shares his passion for music and making the world a better place, and shows us how beautifully the two go hand in hand:

“The benefit of being able to have this floor and being able to have their ear because they may not agree with me now and they may never agree with me on any one particular issue, but we are not disagreeable to one another. At the very least, we are human, human to one. That’s beautiful.”

“We probably are way more aligned then than we think. But I want to start with a story, and I try to use that story to to show how, no matter how different our lives may be on the surface, we are all yearning for the same things: belonging, togetherness, connection, safety, protection, a better life for our kids, to put food on the table… all of the very same universal things.”

How do you save the world? Plant a Tree. We’ve started a HATCH FOREST. Fritjof introduced us to female-founded TreeSisters, who have planted 225 million new mangrove trees since 2006. Reforestation to help heal the planet, and sequester carbon. Your gift will fund the planting of tropical trees, sequestering carbon and directly help replenish the world’s forests. Together, let’s plant 2,000 trees. > If interested, read a short letter from Fritjof — CAN TREES SAVE THE PLANET?

To close, here is an invitation to reflect on questions like:

• Given who you are, your embodied social identity, where you sit in the world geopolitically, what are you really able to see? What are you seeing or not seeing?
• As you look at your horizon, what’s above the horizon, what’s beneath it?
• What’s visible to you, what’s invisible to you?
• Who’s being invisibilized?
• Whose voices are at the table?
• How are we distributing these resources? Are they equitable?

For more information on HATCH, visit https://hatchexperience.org

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO MAKE OUR IMPACT POSSIBLE