2019 Phew! — highlights, reflections and intentions for 2020
Kick off the decade with the highlights from 2019, intentions for 2020 and letting the universe know, so you know… the universe can respond
2019 was a big year for me, working in a more portfolio way, juggling being a Dad and partner, with some big health challenges in the mix, while keeping creative side projects alive, balancing doing good for nothing with ‘good for something’ as well as keeping tabs on my own wellbeing, avoiding burn out, and getting into the woods and waves as much as possible and keeping bread baked, obviously.
I’m trying to discipline myself to keep putting stuff out, going open, because for me the more often I set intentions publicly, the more likely I am to achieve some of them.
So here it is, kicking off the decade with a reflective ramble, the highlights and a bit of sense-making from 2019 and setting up what I’m offering out to the world this year with some of my specific intentions for 2020.
And letting the universe know, so you know… the universe can respond.
I’m a mash up, a pluralist and doff a few different caps, this troubled me for some years, the ‘what is my deep specialisation bit’ but now I know it’s who I am and why and how I do what I do.
I’m able to work across disciplines and dimensions, I’m good with systems and interconnections and working creatively at the edges of what is emerging. The thread that connects all of my work and journeying is the pursuit of a more beautiful world. For me that means where human dignity, creativity, love, empathy, connection and collaboration are central and life is grounded in ecological principles and limits.
Last year felt like a big shake up, like a snow globe being rinsed, the climate and ecological crisis really seemed to start to hit home to more people, and I spent a decent chunk of my time and energy helping ring the alarm bells. It was an exhausting year, on every level, spiritually, emotionally and mentally especially. I crawled over the line.
2019 Highlights
Creative Mobilisation for Climate Strikes/October Rebellion/Climate Voter Registration
A thread of my work has for the last decade been about finding ways to encourage creativity to flow towards big complex issues in our world which aren’t specific client or business problems, they’re not owned by anyone, they’re in the commons and don’t have a brief. Firstly through co-founding and developing Good for Nothing, then the Swarm partnership.
In 2019 this approach was really turbo charged supporting the youth climate strike movement UKSCN, with a huge push from May to September, this was a mad rollercoaster mission which came from saying yes more than no, catalysed from being out on the streets with my son and other young climate strikers.
I’m immensly proud of what a self organising network of courageous creative humans achieved, so many folks got involved, from global creative agencies to solo freelancers, as you can see from the amount of work that was created .
This challenge seemed to play a role in catalysing a shift to participation and engagement in the climate crisis across the UK creative and media sectors.
October Rebellion
I gave time and energy to supporting the October Rebellion in a few ways, including running a mad 3 hour creative sprint in a pop up activism themed cafe from the Patagonia brand with 50 brilliant humans. (Props to the Glimpse crew for making that cafe happen.)
Its Our Time
With the last stretch of the year and a looming general election I joined a distributed team who formed for 5 weeks to deliver Its Our Time — an open creative challenge to try and register to vote 2 million climate concerned young people.
Working with the brilliant Ella Saltmarshe and a turbo talented crew, on an insane mission, we managed to create an open campaign which by week 4 was pumping, with off the scale amounts of content, activations and voices creating and participating.
This type of work is becoming increasingly necessary, as collective issues which will effect all of us like the climate and ecological emergency aren’t going to be solved or at least responded to meaningfully without collective action, whether globally, nationally or at place based level, bringing people together to activate their talents against these issues is key, to work together, not on our own problems, but *the problems* out in the world.
The by-product of all this is also very interesting to me, participating in creative responses to these problems is a real medicine for people, especially when anxieties around these issues are rising fast.
Being part of the change, taking action in whatever way works for you is key, it makes you feel alive, more able to deal with the grief and uncertainty, it connects you to others and it nods to something of big interest to me — a world beyond consumerist culture as the core idea in our society.
Because lets be honest — in many places in the world right now, we are consuming the planet and our own souls at an insane rate, it’s the big elephant in the room, I don’t see how we can continue with this model if we want to achieve any meaningful healing of earth’s systems in the time frame the scientists tell us we have.
So a shift towards participation culture, where what we give instead of what we get, and what we create instead of what we buy is what motivates us is definately in my opinion one part of what is being called for right now.
Where we become co-creators of the future, connected to and in community with all life. Becoming crew on the spaceship earth.
But like accelerating any new behavior shift, this type of approach needs funding, investment, content, stories, products and infrastructure to make it happen. We need to spend money to help create ideas to help people stop buying so much planet wrecking shite and to feel better about themselves — to put it simply.
This mobilising work is now starting to find support, progressive funders and foundations are realising that more disruptive and experimental approaches are needed in these times of great unravelling. There are now tried and tested approaches, tools and networks who know how to make a meaningful dent if they can be supported to do so.
Co-creation missions
I’ve worked with brands, business, NGO’s and stakeholder groups for two decades, in agency and consultancy roles, as strategist, designer, as a co-designer, facilitator, catalyst of creative processes.
I dig working with courageous teams on meaningful projects grounded in co-creation principles.
In 2019 I was lucky to work in this way with some exceptional organisations.
Para La Naturalaza — A movement for an ecological culture
With Para La Naturalaza in Puerto Rico who are catalysing a bottom up community led movement to build a regenerative, resilient, ecological culture on the islands following the devestating hurricanes. I was humbled to visit the country, to witness their work and the determination of people who literally have lost everything and working with the team on shaping their new mission. Gratitude to Mike Benson for inviting me into the team.
Ocean Mic with Finisterre
With Finisterre, a company I’ve been a fan of forever, I embarked on a fascinating community engagement co-creation experiment — Ocean Mic. A mini tour of their UK stores, convening local community and creating safe, nurturing and playful spaces to listen to beautiful watery stories of connection, hope, fear and possibility. Props to Lawrence, Tom and all the store teams for that.
Act Now with Patagonia Action Works
With Patagonia, a brand I have immense respect for and who’s values and actions have inspired me for years, it was an honour to participate in their launch of the Action Works platform, bringing folks together in their pop up cafe in London and then with the Act Now event which we co-produced — an evening listening to stories of inspiring activism from folks operating not on the typical frontlines. Kudos to Alex, Roos and team for the collaboration.
Millican — What does responsibility really mean today ?
I spent a few days in the Lake District at the home of Millican, another inspirational and soulful company, exploring what it means to be a responsible business and responsible humans at this moment in time and how we might respond in new ways. Huge respect to Jorrit, Jeff and team.
I’m incredibly grateful for these opportunities, what gives me hope alongside the grief is that amazing people and great companies are starting to ask the really difficult questions — and it’s in these questions I believe where the hope and possibility lies, it can only be through living and exploring these questions openly and honestly through our day to day actions that we co-create the future we seek.
Hoping to continue this work in 2020.
The SpaceShip Earth Podcast
I started the SpaceShip Earth podcast in 2018, as a side project experiment, wanting a creative outlet, but also a place to make sense of my journeying and a way to keep learning from others and sharing stories of inspiration and possibility. I’ve nearly reached 30 episodes, I’ve done the lot myself, which has been good as a learning thing but to be honest has nearly broken me at times!
I don’t go for slick short edits, I like the ramble and the riff and a proper conversation where we can go deep and offpiste, personally I’m inspired by the podcasts of Rich Roll, Amisha Ghadiali, Krista Tippit and Matt Barr
Anyway I’ve discovered that the long form still takes time to produce but anyway it’s been mega — I have a long list of conversations to record in 2020 and my request for production help has resulted in some incoming — so fingers crossed. I’m toying with having a go with Patreon, to see if I can raise a few quid to help with all that.
2019 included some stonking episodes, the internet particularly enjoyed Will Skeaping Extinction Rebellion, James Turner from Glimpse, Louise Middleton from Kudhva, Nat Fee from City to Sea.
Talks
2019 saw more invites to talk about the ecological and climate crises we are facing and how creativity, collaboration, participation and connection needs to/can play a huge role in the shift to a life sustaining culture —this included Sustainable Brands Conference in Istanbul, BIMA conference, and climate themed events at creative agencies Anomaly and Publicis Group. I’ve received good feedback from folks who’ve listened, quite often it’s a thanks for being open, honest and vulnerable about the mess we’re in, and helping folks see possibility through action. If I can be helpful to others here through talks and sharing stories then I’m up for more of that in 2020.
Intentions and missions for 2020
Co-creating the emerging future
After a few weeks of grounding, reflecting and family time, my intention in 2020 is to focus more on projects and initiatives routed in action, solutions, possibilities, catalysing shifts to new ways of being, leading and co-creating in the world, new stories, systems and ways of showing up — with care, love, empathy, community, connection and responsibility baked in.
I’m sensing that for more folks, space has been opened up and created in 2019, so in 2020 I want to help support courageous leaders, teams and crews ready to flow into this new uncertain and messy space, to reconnect with self, community and the wider planet and get on with co-creating life sustaining, regenerative and ecological cultures in their business, organisation, sectors and communities.
To create in the words of the legend that is Charles Eisenstein ‘the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible.’
New stories of possibility
I’m kicking off 2020 with an exciting exploratory project with the Green Economy Coalition and the Wellbeing Alliance on catalysing a pilot network to create and tell new stories for a new economy where people and planet really matter. The project will involve an open co-creation phase in late February, possibility focussed, which we are going to activate through the Friday Future Love project. (An idea birthed in 2019 which I hope goes up a notch in 2020)
My hope is this phase leads to a full activation in 2020 and the run up to COP 26.
I’m open to a mobilisation project (or two) with big ambition, rooted in a vision of a life sustaining shift and regenerative mission, one that is properly resourced and seeks to bring radical collaborations to co-create together across sectors and systems.
Interactive Workshops — Creative responses to the climate and ecological crisis
At the end of 2019 I designed a one day interactive workshop session for the creative studio of a global fashion brand to help them better understand the climate and ecological crisis and how they might respond as individuals, as a business and collectively. The session combined a talk, with reflective learning exercises and creative sense-making in a participative style to help a team move into this new and challenging reality. It went down well. My intention is to take this workshop to new places in 2020. Hit me up if you’re interested.
Creative Leadership program with The Bio Leadership Project
2020 will be my 5th year of teaching on the Co-Creating the Emerging Future course at Schumacher College and I’m upping the game with a learning program in collaboration with Andres Roberts and the Bio Leadership Project .
We are designing and guiding a 6 month learning journey to leaders from creative communications, brand, marketing and media sectors. People who are ready to work in a deeper, honest and courageous way to face into this moment in time we are living in, and learn together to lead in a life-centered way, moving as a system . Full info here.
The SpaceShip Earth Podcast
My plan is to release two episodes a month. Find a way to start to support some of it financially through either donation and/or sponsorship.
Establish the next wave of development for Good for Nothing, The Wild Network and We Are Ocean
Good for Nothing is 10 years old this year, and in many ways has never been more relevant and needed, but it needs some modest investment and engine room support to take it to its next level and to the sustainable model we believe is now totally possible. This could happen through partnering with a brand who see the potential and need for civic creativity, community participation and co-creation. I’m exploring how to do that right now with my fellow Mothership crew.
The Wild Network has never been more relevant as we seek urgent reconnection with the living planet and proven ways to counter the impacts of always on pervasive social technologies which are impacting human health and wellbeing. To rewild our places and ourselves.
I see both of these platforms as post consumer ideas, participation ideas, which facilitate connection and action in civic participation, in community connection and to the wider natural world.
Ideas like this I believe are essential in the mix if we are to shift to a regenerative, life sustaining culture which reduces significantly the desires for mindless consumption and the extraction, pollution and destruction of ecosystems and earth systems to support the consumerism model.
Convening and catalysing networks and place based communities to take ownership in designing ideas, responses and adaptation processes to meet the impacts of climate and ecological breakdown that are already baked in and coming our way, will also be essential. (and fun)
We Are Ocean is at a very interesting stage, an emerging commons brand for human/ocean connection, a convening platform and network for catalysing and scaling deeper societal awareness of and connection to our greatest life support system on earth — the ocean — it’s now moving into a new phase of development including establishing funding partners and core engine room, currently being guided by WildLabs co-pilot Steve King.
Make regular time for personal regeneration
In amongst all of this, I’m aiming for health and happiness, time with my family and friends, keeping bread baked and getting into the woods and water as much as possible. Me and my padawans started well with a surf on new years day. This is always a challenge, but good to put it out there as an intention and to be aware of it.
So there we have it — intentions, missions and dreams for 2020.
Here’s to epic fails, self learning and glorious breakthroughs.
Together we can make a more beautiful world.
Peace and Out
dan