Halcyon Identifies

 

"Dissensus" is the encouragement of divergent rather than convergent - or consensus - approaches to crisis: indeed, some claim dissensus as nature's way of adapting, which has worked well historically.

• Change/Gender - how "the girl effect" - i.e. empowering adolescent girls in developing countries -can be a powerful force for positive change.

• Change/Collaboration - around the world, communities are starting to adopt the "transition model" to respond to the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change.

• Activism/Change/Technology - a new, authoritative, global online community has been set up to explore the question: "how can the internet make the world a better place?"

• Change - it is now possible to see statistics about global issues being updated in real-time: coverage includes demographics, economics, education, environment, food and water.

Responses - 27/01/08

• Change/Flow - each of us can make changes - today. Yesterday’s mistakes are gone. Today is yesterday’s “do-over”. We can use today to make our tomorrows more like we want them to be.

Responses - 25/05/07

• Ageing - gerontologists have considered the maximum lifespan for humans to be about 120 years, but in fact, can ageing now be stopped?
• Arts - what can a poem tell you about your business that earnings reports cannot? Perhaps the answer lies in an unusual new art form called "enterprise poetry".
• Business - the behaviour of corporates is coming under increasing scrutiny by groups trying to make organisations act more ethically.
• Change - are we, as many claim, living through a change in the actual belief structure of society, or does just every generation believe it lives in important times?
• Childhood/Gender - UNICEF's The State of the World’s Children 2007 report examines the discrimination/disempowerment women face throughout their lives and outlines what can be done to eliminate gender discrimination and empower women and girls.
• Politics - When it comes to public services, can extra money and top-down rules only achieve so much?  Is it time for open source, "DIY states"?