Stories Can Save the World

Humans are causing climate change and biodiversity loss at alarming rates, yet we don’t appear very alarmed at the biggest existential crisis ever to face humankind. Articles and books abound describing the psychology behind what Andrew Mitrovica from Al Jazeera calls “whistling into the abyss”. Our inability to face what is happening and to continue in our blind pursuit of economic growth is a form of collective madness, what Amitav Gosh calls a ‘great derangement’, we are unable to face up to the realities of how this hyper object will affect our lives. Really addressing the interconnected issues is not as simple as recycling or switching a lightbulb.

To shift this particular Overton Window we’re going to have to buy into a new narrative. How does that happen? Who creates the narratives that underpin what we think, what we believe and how we behave? And most importantly, what pushes people out of complacency? What forces, levers, and voices are needed for such a substantial shift?

We invite you to join us to be part of a discussion on what to do about the emotionally difficult, politically HARD, socially MASSIVE elephant in the room – the fundamental inoperability of the current global economic system.

Speakers:

• Paul Dickinson, Founder, CDP
• Shari Friedman, Managing Director, Climate and Sustainability
• Jess Hines, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Fingerprint Content
• James Graham, Playwright & Screenwriter
• Cindy Forde, Founder, Planetari