An intergenerational creative collaboration— a call to action for this moment in time

So, when we started #Homeful as an experiment, we commited to an emergent process, an approach we’ve been practicing for years and really believe in, for these times of disruption, uncertainty and in pursuit of the great turning towards a more beautiful world.

Great things have been happening with all three projects we’re supporting, and we will share stories on all of that.

But there is one issue that is rising so fast right now and now is a shift in the approach we’ve been taking.

With UKSCN, the unit mobilising school climate strikers in the UK as part of Great Thunberg’s ‘Fridays for Future’ movement, we’ve been plotting a new phase of action and how Good for Nothing might help.

September 20th is shaping up to be the biggest climate action demonstration in history, a global strike followed by a week of action and our courageous children are asking us adults to step up alongside them.

We are living in a climate and ecological crisis, witnessing climate breakdown and collapse of ecosystems critcial to supporting all life on earth, including humans.

Uncomfortable as it is to accept this new reality, it’s happening and only mass and rapid change in policies and accelerated transformation to new ways of humanity living on this earth will ensure any kind of living conditions able to support human life in the future. The good news is we know how to evolve, what’s missing is the political and economic will to step up at the pace now needed.

So back to the challenge, we — that’s UKSCN, in collaboration with Good for Nothing and our friends at Glimpse are challenging the wider advertising, marketing and media industry to help support the young strikers by using their communication super powers of persuasion to help mobilise 1 million people onto the streets on September 20th alongside the young.

The simple purpose: to demand urgent action by our Governments — not by 2050, but to Act Now on the climate and ecological crisis in line with the speed and timelines that science is telling us we must move to have chance to avoid catastrophic collapse of life.

Why the advertising, marketing and media industry ?

Well, it’s been a frantic few weeks of interventions in this industry — following a call to action from Extinction Rebellion to the advertising industry to meanginfully respond to the climate and ecological crisis, this led to a climate crisis summit hosted by the Comms Lab and Purpose Disrupters, a disclosure pledge from Futerra to challenge agencies on their carbon emitting clients, a thoughtful and provocative response from Ed Gillespie on the elephant in the room that is ‘overconsumption’ — so with all this emerging, we felt that this moment in time, is a time to do something.

So for us, this is not a letter or a pledge, or a blame and shame, but an invitation to participate in an intergenerational creative experiment.

A call to action to use creative, marketing and media skills, resources, networks and influence to support our young people in growing the impact that their courageous actions are having. And make no mistake their strategies and actions are having meaningful impacts.

Here’s the full call out to the industry we have made and the invitation to participate in this challenge.

Here’s how the industry media brand ‘Campaign’ have covered it

In short we’re challenging teams in agencies, studios, production companies media and brands to dream up, create, collaborate and execute communication ideas which will inspire people all over the UK to get out onto the streets with our youth and demand that our governments and businesses Act Now on the climate and ecological crisis.

This isn’t about hatching one big idea, but loads of smaller creative bets and experiments.

You can participate remotely as well as attend a one day creative sprint which we are hosting in London on 26th July

To recieve the brief, send an email to: climatestrike@goodfornothing.com

This isn’t just about the youth and their future, it’s about all of us.

We hope plenty will get involved and participate in this challenge and step up to this moment in time.

We don’t need all the answers to start, we just need to start.

Peace and Out

Dan Burgess @ GFN Mothership