Ilco van der Linde talks about his MasterPeace mission during the ENGAGE event
Meaningful promises
Now 'engagement' is still a buzzword on the rise, but soon it will be self-evident. Instead of creating images, we are going to influence perceptions based on meaningful promises. No longer working on the I, but working on the us, where you as a brand or company take an involved role and responsibility. Based on a sincere, distinctive story. Take the multinationals that were put forward by Deloitte - according to the strict United Nations Global Compact rules - as a prime example as 'truly sustainable', including Unilever, Puma, Nestlé and Nike.
What sets them apart is that they have intertwined their sustainability ambitions with their entire organization. In addition, they involve their entire production chain, including suppliers and the governments and NGOs they work with. That said, there are still many steps to go, because it is precisely these large organizations that often have appearances against them. It is always easy for consumers and citizens to criticize large companies and brands. They are in the spotlight and their good intentions are put on a gold scale.
While small initiatives that fully commit to engagement can quickly count on the sympathy of the general public, without really contributing to the bigger picture. The fact is that engagement only really works if it is practically and realistically practiced. In that respect, Greenpeace achieves more at the negotiating table than at sea. And the initiators of FairPhone – the world's first sustainable smartphone in the making – can only really make a fist now that they have the support of Vodafone and KPN.
Bas van Abel from FairPhone during the ENGAGE event
5 positive revolutions: committed people wanted
Improve the world, start with yourself. That is the adage for the coming era. French philosopher Michel Serres has formulated 5 scenarios on the basis of which we, 21st century earthlings, should make a difference.
1. Resources: our awareness of the limitations of our planet, the physical home we inhabit. How will we grow our food, share our freshwater and We need to invent, create and establish sustainable practices for all our physical needs.
2. Demography and mobility : rapid, unevenly distributed population growth and migration patterns. Where will we find a home so we can live harmoniously with others? We need to tackle swelling megacities and legal and illegal people flows. We need to understand our allegiance to traditional and new communities, and the geopolitical shift from the West to the East.
3. Emergent technologies : what technologies have such breakthrough potential that brazil telegram data they will radically alter the way we live? What game-changers are being developed in the fields of genetic engineering, nano and neuro technologies, and robotics and artificial intelligence? We must harness these technologies for the future we want to create, to make sure we don't end up being ruled by them.
4. Global interactions : we are increasingly connected through financial, emotional and intellectual networks. The global financial system has us in its grip, and we are developing new virtual worlds to meet and exchange. We need to explore this new interconnectedness and make it serve our needs.
5. Human wellbeing : a twenty-first century citizen will be educated very differently, and will function in fluid working environments. Security and health issues will be redefined. How will we experience our identity and authenticity in this environment? We must put human wellbeing at the center of all our endeavors.
Serres calls it positive revolutions, another interpretation of engagement. And that doesn't matter. As long as we as citizens and consumers contribute our bit to these positive revolutions. Powered by engagement.