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Social Justice | Social Innovation | Social Impact Education

 
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I write and publish content inline for a number of organisations as well my latest self-driven adventure of ESSA Rising. Here, I critically discuss paradigms and pedagogies in social impact education as well as feature up and coming social change-makers in interview-style pieces.

 
 

ESSA RISING

 
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ESSA Rising | Part 2: Her Project (Equity)
ESSA Rising | Part 2: Her Project (Equity)

Equity is either confused with the financial terms describing liquid assets, or it is often misunderstood as favouring people who come from minoritised backgrounds without any historical or social interrogation as to why this might be the case. Synonymous with affirmative action and/or positive discrimination, equity as part of a social justice strategy is important to understand if we are going to systemically build an alternative reality that serves the unique and complex needs of everyone. Read this blog article to understand the difference between equity and equality and why equality as a 21st century development practice is nothing more than a fallacy.

ESSA Rising | Part 1: Her Persona-fication
ESSA Rising | Part 1: Her Persona-fication

ESSA is a superhuman persona that was created out of a deep want and need to reclaim all the parts of myself that I've lost to systemic oppression. As well as my truth to power, she is also a call to action… a call for systems change that starts with the self. As my alter-ego, she reminds me that the system that I am fighting to transform out there is the systems that I am also reinforcing within me. The faults, failures, and fallacies of the wider system can all be found within my own attitudes, behaviours, and beliefs - however small or invisible they may be. To truly create an alternative reality that eclipses our current one, I needed to first create an alternative version of myself that reflects the values of this alternative reality that I am fighting to reframe, redefine, and reimagine. And then I need to show up as her and live up to her. That is who ESSA is to me... a persona-fied example of who I can be and what kind of systemic solution I can be part of. 

For the last week or two ESSA&I have been super busy spending every spare second, minute, and hour possible writing the ESSA manifesto and it has been beautiful. We are about halfway through :) However in doing that I started to get very slightly nervous that I wasn't able to find time to be posting enough stuff on here and keeping up with the fast-paced, very visual and visibilising momentum of social media. HOWEVER! The whole reason I created ESSA was not to be an Instagram account that uploads inspirational and/or thought-provoking stuff. Nuh uhh! There are already plenty of accounts doing that and doing that very well. ESSA was created in search of what it takes to effectively redesign systems at the intersection of equity, sustainability, systems, and action - through systemic change. Therefore ESSA&I have been in deep thinking and reading and doing irl and offline which inevitably means I'm busy actually doing shit - which was and is the whole point of ESSA. The reason why I point this out is to highlight how easy it is for us to get distracted with external expectations even if no-one is actually putting them on us. We think that we 'need' to be doing X because we see others doing X even if our original intention is Y. So I'm just letting you all know that of course I'll be sharing the insights that ESSA blesses me with over the next three year experiment that is ESSA Rising. I'll be sharing ESSA articles, announcements, and actions hopefully to support your personas, projects, and provocations for building alternative realities for the collective good... And I won't start feeling guilty I'm not posting everyday on the hour because ESSA and I are out in the world having courageous conversations, learning and unlearning, and getting to grips with systems design. Because that is what ESSA is here to do... TO DO SHIT. . . Watch out for my #outofinstagramreplies and that's how you know that ESSA is out there doing ESSA and that we'll report back with news including her manifesto (coming soon!) . . #essarising #persona #project #provocation #manifesto #essamanifesto #learnbydoing #equity #sustainability #systems #action #donowpostlater #outofinstagramreply
Speaks for itself... Learn the rules to break them and then create a completely new game. . . These are still just words but this is the learning journey that ESSA is on. Watch her rise to it. . . Original post unknown: let me know if you know who and where so I can give credit where credit is due :) #repost @theslumflower . . #essarising #systemschange #rulebreaker #gamechanger #soulshaker #breaktherules #fucktherules
It's incredible to see that since speaking the persona of ESSA into existence, I have found myself becoming more and more like her in my every day-to-day. This has not been a passive process. It has been an active commitment to chaneling my higher superhuman self by first accepting that I'm human. This process has also relied heavily on my middle class privilege to invest in lots of therapy-level coaching which has been game-changing for understanding who I am, who I was, and who I am rebecoming. . . Even through all the flux of peeling off all the layers of ESSA, this article is still just as true as when I wrote it at the beginning of ESSA's journey. Feel free to have a read and stay tuned for another instalment of 'Who, What, and Why is ESSA RISING?' article series on @medium as well as her manifesto coming out very soon. . . Thanks to @woods_runner24 for featuring my article on her stories. . . Thanks to every single one of you who has reached out and shared what ESSA is doing for you, and how you're chaneling some of her in your every day-to-day :) especially @l_i_o_ness_ @benjameslucas @darceybw @lakkalaya @fbrownwork - honestly your inspiring words of solidarity are a radical act in a world that tells us to think linear, self-censor, and compete with one another. Your kind words have breathed life into ESSA and I just wanna put respect on your names!!!!!!! . . Link is in bio or go to my Medium page :) . . #essarising #personafication #persona #intersectionalfeminism #intersectionality #healing #antioppression #blackgirlmagic✨ #blacklivesmatter #blm #woc #article #blog #purefyah
ESSA RISING is a persona, project, and provocation for building an alternative future out of Equity. Sustainability. Systems. and Action. While the last three months have been a real birthing process of contractions, contradictions, and wobbly moments for figuring out ESSA in all her three forms, the spirit of her persona has been constant. . . The persona of ESSA is the superhuman version of myself that I am leaning into and living up to be every day. By creating this alter-ego persona that embodies everything I am and this world needs me to be - I have not only spoken her into existence but have created an accountability that involves the everyone around me (from my trusted inner circles to strangers reading this on the internet). You all see who and what possibilitt I'm creating for myself and your support and scrutiny helps me to show up as my higher ESSA self in the moments that really matter. . . And also I've created an accountability with myself that can't be broken because to lie to my higher self is to betray my present and future being in a way that is inescapable and intolerable. So it's not a question of "what would ESSA do?". It's more a question of "what does ESSA know I'm not doing right now?" This creates an unbreakable bond of courage, vulnerability, possibility, solidarity, and legacy that deeply connects on an emotional spiritual level. . . I wrote this article at the beginning of my ESSA journey ESSA at the beginning of 2019. I know it's been a seriously abstract and messy process, concept, and systems intervention of 'personafication' to try to fully understand and I am so appreciative of you sticking with it regardless. I have some new articles to publish soon including her manifesto and another instalment of "Who, What, and Why is ESSA RISING?" So hold tight and stay tuned :) She continues to rise in clarity every single today and I know you'll get her soon enough... cos big tings agwan! . . Check out her original post on her persona on @medium at the link in bio! . . #essarising #personafication #persona #equity #sustainability #systems #action #alterego #higherself #superhuman #personalgrowth #healing #alternativefuture #blogger #blog
This is the first in a very short line up of cryptic clues as to how ESSA RISING is finallyyyy making sense in my head in terms of her purpose. Therefore all will become clear on Mayday (May 1st) when I'll be sending out her next newsletter with all her updates over the past 3 months. (DM if you want in on her bimonthly newsletter) . . What I will say for now is that ESSA was born out of a personal need to create equitable, sustainable, systemic action that is informed and accountable for designing our way into alternative ways of thinking, being, and doing. And so recently reposting shizzle on Instagram has been great but is not the core purpose of ESSA (there are so many people&accounts out there that generate and disseminate content much better than I can so I'm leaving that to y'all veterans and experts). ESSA is less about awareness-building and more about action-building so it's time to get back to basics! . . While I'll still be reposting radical content in my IG stories, my 'hopefully' daily posts will be much more about documenting ESSA's learning and living journey of persona, project, and provocation in Colombia starting October 2019 and lasting for two years out of her three year experiment. So basically stay tuned! Her vision and mission is finally making real tangible sense and clarity so I'll be sharing all this repurposed purpose in the coming days :) . . For now remember that: "daring to think is beginning to fight". Photo taken at La Casa de la Memoria in Medellin, Colombia. . . #essarising #persona #project #provocation #futurethinking #equity #sustainability #systems #action #design #learning #medellin #colombia #pedagogyoftheoppressed #alternativereality #journey #purpose #failforward #stopmakingsense
As part of my ESSA commitment to learning, this year so far I've invested in 2 major training programmes that have drained the bank account but have nourished my head, heart, and hands in a way that has been so inspiring. Over the next few months ESSA will be slowly transitioning from posting and reposting circulating social media content to actually documenting a 2 year commitment to learning that begins October 2019 (more shall be revealed soon!). For now read below for some summarised insights from the two learning experiences and stay tuned for more of where that came from... . . Key learnings from Landmark: 1. Everyone, absolutely everyone, is terrified of not looking good/looking bad. 2. The voice in your head that you think is your friend is actually so self-limiting and exhausting. 3. As humans we make stories and meaning out of everything but these are almost always fallacies. 4. Stop trying to change yourself, change creates resistance to change. Acceptance creates space for transformation. 5. Your word is your integrity so don't break your word. . . Key learnings from @kaospilot_denmark is: 1. Collaboration brings complexity that can fuel mistrust, lack of communication, and conflicting goals - all without even knowing it. 2. Creating time and space for setting shared purpose and work ethic is incredibly important and we don't do this nearly often enough before diving into team tasks. 3. Learning can be self-guided and does not have to be dictated according to arbitrary institutionalised criteria that we put so much lazy, misguided, and again arbitrary faith in. Design your own learning! 4. So many people are passionate about creating systems change that serves everyone. 5. learning can and should be playful!!! . . *NEW ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON ON THE LEARNING AND LIVING JOURNEY OF ESSA RISING* . . #essarising #learning #personalgrowth #selfdevelopment #nonformaleducation #systemschange #systemsthinking #transformation #equity #sustainability #systems #action #masterclass #mistressclass
And let that person rise :) . . Author unknown (tag if you know) . . #essarising #persona #personafication #courage #vulnerability #selflove #truth #integrity
I have nothing to add. This speaks volumes for itself and you can 💯 expect much more content based on these insights for the future in the coming months. That's all she wrote :) . . #essarising #equity #sustainability #systems #action #youth #leadership #power #climatechange #activism #advocacy #intersectionality #alternativereality #futurethinking #systemsthinking . . Repost: @munroebergdorf
 
 

WHATAMISSION

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"When you are the organisation!!"
"When you are the organisation!!"

Joining Vanessa, Online Editor, for the first edition of #conversationswith is Rahel from Now! Together they discuss the pressures of leading a venture and how what we can do to lighten the workload.

A PARADIGM SHIFT ON EMPATHY: REDESIGNING DESIGN THINKING
A PARADIGM SHIFT ON EMPATHY: REDESIGNING DESIGN THINKING

In this piece, Vanessa explores the power and purpose of empathy by redesigning design thinking with social justice in mind. Read all about it  to learn more about how the empathy map canvas can be used as a tool for building empathy, equality, and enterprise.

#FAILFORWARD FEBRUARY: FAILURES BEFORE YOU’VE EVEN BEGUN
#FAILFORWARD FEBRUARY: FAILURES BEFORE YOU’VE EVEN BEGUN

During the month of February, Vanessa Faloye gave two keynote speeches at UNLTD.org.uk and Queen Mary University of London on the topic of ‘failure’ as a social entrepreneur. Here, she shares the content of those keynotes in the spirit of intelligent failure. She refers to them as the top three failforwards to watch out for before even beginning to build a social enterprise.
INTERVIEW: HANNA NAIMA, FEARLESS FUTURES | PART 2

Founder-CEO Hanna Naima McCloskey shares her unique startup journey with social enterprise Fearless Futures in a fantastically honest, interesting, and insightful interview about challenging power, creating value, starting from scratch, and the myth of starting up with no money. This is the second part of that interview.

INTERVIEW: HANNA NAIMA, FEARLESS FUTURES | PART 1
INTERVIEW: HANNA NAIMA, FEARLESS FUTURES | PART 1

Founder-CEO Hanna Naima McCloskey shares her unique startup journey with social enterprise Fearless Futures in a fantastically honest, interesting, and insightful interview about challenging power, creating value, starting from scratch, and the myth of starting up with no money. This is the first part of that interview.

THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT #2
THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT #2

As social entrepreneur, sooner or later you come across the question how to measure your impact. Social impact measurement is not only important to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of your practice, it also helps to attract funding and motivate staff and volunteers. Our online editor Vanessa Faloye interviewed Megan O’Neil-Renaud, manager of Social Enterprise and Social Finance at Pillar Nonprofit, on that important topic. Here you find the second part of the interview.

THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT #1
THE DOS AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL IMPACT MEASUREMENT #1

As social entrepreneur, sooner or later you come across the question how to measure your impact. Social impact measurement is not only important to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of your practice, it also helps to attract funding and motivate staff and volunteers. Our online editor Vanessa Faloye interviewed Megan O’Neil-Renaud, manager of Social Enterprise and Social Finance at Pillar Nonprofit, on that important topic. Here you find the first part of the interview.

HUSTLING TO SAVE THE WORLD ISN’T EASY: IMPOSTER SYNDROME – TYPE 2
HUSTLING TO SAVE THE WORLD ISN’T EASY: IMPOSTER SYNDROME – TYPE 2

During my journey as a social innovator, I have experienced the symptoms of imposter syndrome for two reasons I can think of. The first reason speaks to my previous article (read here) which discusses how the personification and perception of success have been socially constructed to leave most of us feeling left out and below average. Naturally we fail to recognise and internalise our successes when success rarely ever looks like, sounds like, or thinks like we do.

HUSTLING TO SAVE THE WORLD ISN’T EASY: THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME – TYPE 1
HUSTLING TO SAVE THE WORLD ISN’T EASY: THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME – TYPE 1

There has been much talk about the woes of imposter syndrome¹. It is something I have seen and felt myself as a social entrepreneur (hustling to save the world isn’t easy). It’s something that the majority of us feel at some point during our professional and personal lives but the question is for how long and how deeply?

BUILDING INNOVATORS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT
BUILDING INNOVATORS FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

There is much debate as to how social impact education can up the ante in building social innovators. (For an expert and very insightful cross-examination of this ongoing debate, check out The Stanford Social Innovation Review: The Future of Social Impact Education in Business Schools and Beyond). But for the sake of bringing something new to this discussion, first let’s reverse engineer this question of how to build innovators for social impact? What exactly does it actually mean to be an innovator?

 

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Radical And Wild (RAW) is a repository of methods and ambitions for people everywhere to change the way they create learning experiences. 

We are a collective of practitioners convinced that work-place presentations, classroom and workshop experiences are often not the most effective way to support a shift in perspective and skills. Right now we need a radical re-think of the methods and the mindset through which we approach education and learning.

Whether its educators, artists, facilitators, architects, policy-makers, we all need to climb out of our boxes to experiment with new ways of working with individuals and communities - provoking them to explore different ways of seeing and being.

As part of RAW, I have joined forces as a Contributor-Administrator. If you interested in pushing the boundaries on how we learn and learn deeper, and you'd like to join forces too, get in touch!

 
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Lifelong learning has a new name: Dagu.
Lifelong learning has a new name: Dagu.

In the present-day eleventh-hour context, learning design increasingly serves to dismantle, shift, and transform unhealthy systems in the social, political, economic, and ecological realms. But when it comes to learning about wicked problems (that need equally wicked solutions), perhaps there has never been a more important time to slow down… and listen. The Afaris tribe in Ethiopia demonstrates this slow-burner ethos with their practice of Dagu. But what is Dagu and how might it inspire us to learn how to learn again (and take our time doing it)?

"Make a song and dance about it"
"Make a song and dance about it"

India's Bollywood brings to life the most mundane and magical moments of our day-to-day, transforming them into vibrant, expressive, and emotive anthems. The physical, emotional, and vocal range of Bollywood's song and dance scenes (and routines) is as wide as it is deep... how might this inspire our ways of learning?