(By the way, why is it so important to try to give widest recognition to outstanding successes in the area of sustainable development and social justice? Well, first because it is such a hard uphill struggle, and any good news at all is going to be much appreciated. And secondly because emulation is such a strong device for learning and leading change. "I see, I understand, and why not? I may even try it myself." At least that's my theory.)

1. The Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities Process

The most marking experience of this sort was the time that I spent over 2000 and 2001 as chair of the international jury and advisor to the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities. During this time working hand in hand with my colleague and the director of the Stockholm Partnerships, the ever patience and energetic Adam Holmstrom, we created a structure which worked to ferret our more than 220 deserving sustainability projects in more than fifty countries world wide, and then figured out a way to use our resources and leverage to give them maximum support. Among the ways we found to do this:

• By making sure that each project which passed our intitial filters (filters by the way that made excellent use of our extensive international network of excellent contacts in various areas relating to the central themes of sustainable development and social justice) was then supported through a media campaign that reached not only the media in Stockholm and internationally, but also at the local level of each project. We wanted to make sure that all those involved locally, including at the government levels so important to most of these projects, were fully aware of the international support that their local efforts were getting.

• Then by ensuring that the entire Stockholm process was not the usual beauty contest or search for the 'best of the best'. Rather we seized this occasion to draw international attention to the many different kinds of initiatives and approaches that are needed in order to move from a wantonly unsustainable world toward one that is more aware and more creative in the interests of those who need help most. To this end we started by clustering what we named the Stockholm Partner Projects into affinity clusters, and within each group named one or two Ambassadors who were then invited to come to Stockholm, to accept the Awards not only in their own names but for their entire cluster group. In this way we name some fifty five Stockholm Ambassadors, and brought them to the moving final ceremonies in the Great Blue Hall (where the Nobel Prizes are awarded each year in December) to receive their awards from the hands of His Majesty, the King of Sweden.

I cannot of course take responsibility for this process and wonderful achievement, but I am proud to have been a part of it. It was a find learning experience for me, and made it once more clear to me that the art of giving creatively and awarding outstanding accomplishment to ensure that the world out there gets the message that sustainable development is possible, has to be one of the most rewarding experiences that a person can have.

Incidentally, I considered the very process of naming and then helping to support the work of our splendid international jury part of the process of bringing honor and recognition, not only to the projects but also to those of us who were pitching in to make it work. Each of us who participated were made aware that we ere being honored greatly simply to be able to make our contribution to the process of which we each were one small part. (Incidentally, the core technology used to mediate the work of our jury was the Internet, together with a number of associated e-tools. Of these the most valuable in addition to the usual combination of email and phone, was our aggressive use of IP videoconferencing, which we put into the hands of all judges so that they could work together with great efficiency and at low cost, despite the great distances that separate them from each other. Big and most useful achievement!)

Back to top

2. Awarding Carsharing Innovation

So if this is such a good idea, in instances in which it actually can be made to work then it would seem to be a good idea to seek out ways to give them strong recognition and visibility. And one way to do just this is via some of these international awards programs. Thus, I have managed to make use of some leverage to do just this in two cases: Among the Prizes awarded in Stockholm was a 'class award' for carsharing, which in a first instance was awarded to the leading Swedish program (at the time), with the understanding that the actual prize, a very attractive sculpture made out of recycled glass, was to be shared among other carsharing operations world wide, with the award to move to a new home each year and with appropriate media support. (Incidentally, we took the same approach with the International Walk to School Program, in which the Prize ha already traveled across the Atlantic and is shortly destined to move across the Pacific to another proud holder).

I also was able to make use of my personal leverage as a former winner of the World Technology Network Environment and Technology Award, to nominate no less than three carsharing organizations for a joint prize in 2003, for which they were among the Finalists. One more good word and exposure for a great idea of which we will be seeing a lot more in the future. (And perhaps s bit more quickly and even a bit better, because of this kind of creative networking support).

Back to top

3. London Congestion Pricing/Ken Livingston 2004 WTN Award

This can serve as a final example here of how I think those of us who are concerned about the issues of sustainable development and social justice in practice, and not just in the pages of a book or halls of one more conference, should be using our collective weight to support innovation that is showing that it can make a difference in the real world.

About one year ago, the Mayor of London Ken Livingston put his weight behind a project that had as its goal to substantially reduced private car traffic on the streets of his city through an arrangement of congestion pricing. You can find full background on this project at xxx, but the core of the idea is that if people have to pay to ride around on the city streets during the periods of heavy traffic, they will do less of it. His project was neither perfect (as a good number of experts will tell you with high energy) nor entirely original (since it had several antecedents), but it was bringing this concept into highest international viability for the rich world. And it worked.

Accordingly, it will probably not surprise anyone who has read this far, the challenge was for me to find a way to provide a high profile award and international media presence for this good idea. The first step in the process was to decide to nominate the London project for this year's World Technology Network Award for Technology and Environment. And the second is to turn to our extensive international networks and to create a high level support group of outstanding persons who are joining me in the nomination for this award. This very process should work not only to ensure that the nomination receives most careful consideration, but at the same time is being treated as part of an information campaign by the New Mobility Agenda program (see http://newmobility.org) to encourage visibly and discussion of this approach, as well as to push the idea of other cities talking up the challenge and deciding to do more and better themselves. Stay tuned to see how this works out.

Back to top

Lesson

The bottom line lesson here is for me quite simple. This is something that I truly like to do, that I think I can help make happen with a certain level of energy and creativity, and that I would like to do a lot more of in the future.

To close out this section, I would like to draw your attention to a rather radical but I think potentially enormously powerful proposal which I set out in the wake of the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities. Without any further ado. . .

Click here for the No-Fault, No-Brainer, Non-Bureaucratic, Grassroots, World-Wide Sustainability Grant Program

Does this inspire any reaction or suggestions on your part. If so, I cordially invite you to get in touch.

Home

About

Site map

Latest

Translate

Contact

Top