Latest / WHAT I'VE LEARNT / Beyond Words - Episode Highlights (June - September 2023)

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Beyond Words - Episode Highlights (June - September 2023) · WHAT I'VE LEARNT

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Yasmin Sharif, the Executive Director of Education Can't Wait, the United Nations Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crisis, is spearheading a global movement that delivers education to those left furthest behind in crisis settings.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, under her leadership, in just a few short years, the ECW has mobilized over$1.5 billion and reached more than 7 million crisis-affected children with holistic quality education, putting foundational learning outcomes such as literacy at the centre of their mission.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: She works at ECW's HQ in New York and regularly conducts missions to the field to take stock of the needs and ACW's responses in crisis-affected countries.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm honored and thrilled to welcome Yasmin to the Beyond Words podcast.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much, Sandom.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: All the way from New York.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: As you know, we're in sunny Australia, sunny today.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what I find fascinating is first of all, I know you're you operate at the very infrastructure of what needs to be done, but you also work at the coal face of humanity where challenges are often dire and extreme.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: How do you triage your priorities?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: Because you have so many when I look at what's on your slate.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I mean, there are more than 222 million children and adolescents who do not access a quality education around the globe, but we prioritize the children and adolescents who are in um situations of armed conflict, climate-induced disasters, or forced displacement that includes refugees.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_04: And within them, uh those who are left furthest behind, and that's often the case, children with um disabilities, and um communities that are um ostracized or marginalized in one another way, but it it's it's very hard to prioritize amongst those who are left furthest behind because they are already in the darkest spots of the globe under the most difficult circumstances, so you try to do as many as you can, as much as you have funding to educate account to them.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so is there a particular process that you have of putting those into certain priorities because there are so many?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, how do you even begin?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's such a massive task.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_04: Well, first of all, we don't see the New York and the torment who was the most vulnerable.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_04: And I have spent many years myself working in war torn countries with refugees and active armed conflict, and there's nothing worse than someone sitting in faraway land prioritizing war.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_04: So we we left it and we are guided by our colleagues on the ground, who works in the United Nations or in civil society, and the ministers of education, and they have a process in Canada to do needs assessment, and uh then they determine who are the most at risk or have the least capacities to attend uh possibilities to attend a school, and then we zoom in on them.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_04: But of course, if you have more funding available, we could take everyone.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's very hard to choose between who suffers more and who's not gonna be able to do that.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: What I think is interesting about what you say is first of all, you have to negotiate and navigate the political sphere in order to get into certain countries.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: So you're you're faced with dealing with often maybe reticent governments, conflict situations, that that is challenging.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: So, what are some of the strategies around that?
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm assuming that it involves a lot of mediation and good communication, which I have no doubt you're very skilled at.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_04: Well, um, first of all, because we are part of the United Nations system, um, we are hosted by the UNSA, but we serve the entire UN system and civic society organizations.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_04: So when you are a part of the UN, you have access to these countries as an international civil dissolvement, and that's that's coordinated with our UN colleagues in the country and us.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_04: So that gives us an advantage.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_04: But then you come into these countries, and um you often have to deal with countries that are sort of carved up, um, some controlled by militia groups, warring parties, and again, we rely very much on our colleagues who are working there day in, day out, who have built those relationships, and um ensure us that we get access, and and that allows us or then to travel to those areas.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_04: The most important is that we can reach those children.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_04: Take a country like Central African country, where you have multiple militia groups, we are able to reach those territories thanks to the access established by our colleagues who work in the country.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_04: So a lot of that, but then of course I I went out I led the first all the women mission to Afghanistan in 21 after the Taliban technically, and um then it was my job as the leader of the mission to speak to the Taliban because you wouldn't allow us to speak on an informal basis with them.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_04: I I went to and met with them to discuss the right for us to have education.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so yeah, you negotiate you you often get access.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_04: The question is, can you get the message though?
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's the moral challenge because it's not always decided by one or two persons, it's it's the policy and is putting.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting that you just, you know, that vision of you um having to negotiate with Taliban male members who were who are basically quite clear that women shouldn't have education.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I saw um I saw some footage yesterday coming out where all the schoolgirls were basically being, it would appear, being poisoned in their classrooms in Iran.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was actually the most terrifying footage, these young girls literally coming out unable to breathe.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And there was some indication, unproven yet, but certainly there would be a strong sense that they were being poisoned by some something in the air because they were trying to just be at school.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just extraordinary what some of these regimes are doing.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so for you to have the courage to go in and negotiate or talk to some of these quite ferocious and reticent leaders, how do you find the courage?
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: And do you think things are getting better?
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Certainly in that situation, it's getting worse.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_04: Well, um, in Iran and specifically, we we don't have any investments here because it's not at war.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, but in Afghanistan, um, speaking with the Taliban leadership, I have worked in Afghanistan in the early 90s.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_04: So I know the country very well.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_04: I think it has worked.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_04: I did work in many many war situations.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_04: And I guess that's when you get your training to be able to speak to uh the broad um array of different partners and not always government partners, because if you don't do that, you won't be able to speak those inside so you develop those skills, I would say they are but so for me, meeting with the Taliban did not scare me in any way.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_04: I'm comfortable in Afghanistan.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_04: I I was there when I was in my twenties, but but the tragedy is that even if those are me to agree with it, the S guards should have a right to they're not always the ones that make the decisions.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_04: Decisions are made elsewhere, maybe most religious leaders, uh not political leaders, nor technical leaders.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_04: So all you can do then is to keep advocating and keep being persistent.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_04: I mean human rights lawyer by training, and you know, with a UN chart can have a human rights background and you need to be human rights lawyer.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_04: Well, step down on fundamental human rights, and education is is one of the one of the most important things because education is a key handle in all other rights without literacy skills, without going to school, it's very difficult to claim the remaining spectrum of your human rights.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_04: So you have to have a strong world and and then you stand and and then you find ways of of getting that message across.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_04: And I can say in Afghanistan, although many clubs have schools have closed down, we work with local organizations and national nations who have negotiated access in sort of provinces and districts, still delivering education to blocks.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting because how is that so is that under the radar, or is that something that so I'm I'm not clear how did they?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously it's politically you've got you have to be cautious.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: But what I find first of all, it do you find it extraordinary that in this day and age there are still so many countries willing to prevent education because they see that as such a tool of power, which it actually is.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Is it still mind-blowing for you?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: You've been doing this for 30 years in various forms.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, education goes.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_04: Afghanistan is the only country on earth that does not, I mean, governments to account secondary school and education.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_04: So that's an absolutely exceptional abortion from basic human rights and country.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_04: It's unacceptable.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_04: Unacceptable, and I and I think that the whole world is done by that.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_04: And I think that uh it takes some advancing becoming out is knowing the source may not become from a place of educated people, or an educated person, or an educated leader.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_04: There are several Taliban members or educated school, but they're not necessarily the ones that make decisions.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_04: But it's absolutely outrageous.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_04: Now I think you said something very important, and that is that education is a way of controlling power because if you have an educator population, you will have critical thinking, you have access to communication to communicate around the globe, think uh critically, form your own opinions.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh it's very dangerous for the current systems and dictatorships.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_04: Um, but does it mean that we should stop advocating for it?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_04: No.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_04: On the contrary, we have to put in more forces, more resistance towards it.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_04: We never second to violations and human rights, but there are different ways of communicating.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so, as a you know, as a human rights lawyer, you've got many tools at your disposal to navigate this, as you mentioned.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_01: How important is it understanding the legal complexities in your workspace?
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, whether it's on the ground, dealing with local government or local council, or because a lot of it is waiting, as you said, through the bureaucracy.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: And while United Nations, obviously you're part of that support system, at the end of the day, when you're dealing, as you said, whether it's the Taliban or whoever, do you find that understanding, and obviously their legal systems differ, clearly, in some form, but has that been an important tool for you?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_04: Be honest with you, not really.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_04: Interesting.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I wondered that.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, everyone gets their law degree, and you know, I'm I'm family members of the law, but I'm interested.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_04: I've learned more uh about human rights working in crisis context and see the suffering than I ever learned in uh in an assembly university.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_04: There are moral dimensions, ethical dimensions, human dimensions.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_04: There's so many dimensions you can't walk around with the logic and say that's not how you communicate with people who may not know what the constitution is, who may not know anything about human rights.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_04: There's not a lack of awareness, and it's not a legal word, it's it's more of a practical word.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_04: I don't operate as a lawyer.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, very exceptional situations.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_04: But human rights is is are so easy to need easy to grasp and understand.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_04: You don't need to be a human right to an education.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_04: But that that is it's it's so fundamental.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_04: But I mean you don't need to have a legal mind for that, you just need to be a human being.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_04: And and what I have seen is often that as you said, the the the deprivation or oppression of human rights, not just education, is it's either because it it takes institutions to control the population, but it's also very much because it's not country.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_04: You speak about some of the poorest countries on the globe, you speak about the Sahel, the King of France or Malay and Nigeria, these are very poor countries, and they're also there are a lot of internal strike and conflict across the region.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_04: So when they do the national budget, they say, okay, let's put it into the military because you have to find the terrorists, we put into security, we put it into the and there's no money left for education, yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_04: So you know, you're dealing with so many things they're trying to protect the country, I think Nigeria, which is a terrorist group that is trying to close down schools for girls, not Latin schools.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_04: And where's that?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_04: Nigeria, in Nigeria, here you have sub-Saharanga.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_04: And the the government there have to be forced to fight the incorporations of the terrorist groups that are trying to close the schools for girls, and at the same time, they have to you know have a national budget that demous for education.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_04: So the there are so many complex dynamics there, and that's why international aid is so very important in this situation, because there's only so much funding available in the national budget and so much, so you know, we have to share.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_04: We all had the need to share with those long-term, and and that's why education can only wait our role is to catalyze and attract a lot of the financial resources in the international aid budget so they're meant to go out internationally, and the priorities towards education.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_04: If you invest in education for refugees for these countries, um we can bring peace, we can bring an educated generation as engineers, doctors, teachers, nurses, and we can prevent another collapse into conflict or support peace building and definitely giving up support these millions of children who have nothing else but more in conflict around them.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Jordan and Julia Kaye are the co-founders of Great Rap.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: They're reimagining today's materials to solve tomorrow's problems.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Their former careers in winemaking and architecture, respectively, led them to Great Rap when they recognised the sheer impact plastic waste was having on the land.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: There was a materials revolution around us, and everything was changing rapidly, yet plastic stayed the same.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Julia says we knew the technology existed to end plastic waste, but there weren't any products available.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we invented the products we knew the world was missing.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: We are makers by trade, so manufacturing our own products was the obvious route for us to take.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: We're driven by impact, fuelled by demand, and have a 10-year vision for a world where plastic doesn't exist.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Well, these innovators are pretty extraordinary and are really on the track to be quite a global sensation in terms of transforming the plastic waste issue.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: But it's interesting to speak to Julia because she's also on the board of the World Literacy Foundation, which is a critical role to play and in fact has also been awarded the Young Citizen of the Year in 2022.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm thrilled to welcome Julia Kaye to the Beyond Words Global Literacy Podcast.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: How are you today?
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm great, I'm great.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Pleasure, pleasure.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, there's so much for us to unpack because you work in a number of spaces, but I suppose the common theme that I would identify is that you have a strong sense of social impact and where possible, you are doing what you can to improve people's lives and the planet.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: So let's let's start with you're on the World Literacy Foundation board.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk to me a little bit about that and how you got involved and why that is something that you have a passion for?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, look, I mean, um, I got involved with the World Literacy U Foundation board about two years ago.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and really, I think for me, I've always been passionate about, you know, education for myself.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a real uh, I guess, enabler of allowing me to kind of, you know, go forward and make the change I want to see in the world happen.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, my mum was a primary school teacher.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: So from a very young age, I've been, you know, the importance of like sitting down and reading a book has been, I guess, very heavily ingrained into how I was raised.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So when the opportunity arose to be a part of the board, I was really excited because, you know, obviously I think it's something that everyone should have the right to.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: So uh yeah, it's been it's been great, and I'm looking forward to the future.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Like I say, two years, but um, hopefully a lot, a lot more.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: A lot more.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's so much work to be done in that space.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And um, similarly, I've come on in the last year or two and you know, doing the podcast, and I'm just blown away by the work that the board and the literacy foundation is doing globally.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's really, I mean, it's it's really quite mind-blowing, but there is a lot to do, and it's it's wonderful that you're involved.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about what your core business is, which is really quite extraordinary and very innovative.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it's called Great Rap, and obviously it's a demonstration of your commitment, you and your husband's commitment as co-founders to really eliminating plastic and as waste as soon as possible, and you're saying hopefully within the decade.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: But talk to me a little bit about how the business started because it really is the coalface, literally cutting edge of the elimination of plastic.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: So innovative.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: I love this story.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: So t tell our listeners.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, look, Geordie and I um, yeah, we we met in 2019 and very shortly after registered the business name Great Rap.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, we I should say, you know, fell in love before doing that as well.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a nice um nice bonus.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um also, I guess, realised we had this mutual, I guess, passion for uh the environment around us.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: We were both um, I guess very connected to materials in a sense.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was working in architecture, um, focused heavily on low-embodied carbon buildings and really looking into the materials that I was using.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and Geordie was making wine and farming organically.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we were both, I guess, already fairly values aligned there.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it's sort of, you know, 2019, pre-COVID, there was like this feeling of impending doom that we both had, and like it felt like we had amazing skill sets, but we probably weren't using them to the best of our ability.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like we felt like the world was burning and we should be using our skills to do that rather than what we were doing.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: That was kind of, I guess, the undertones.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then pallet wrap um as a product was something that we both used every day.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, Geordie shipping pallets of wine around the world.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: And for myself, you know, seeing, you know, the most sustainable timber I could find arrive on site, then to be wrapped in this petroleum-based plastic.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: It just sort of um didn't connect.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we were really, we were just having a conversation about that as a product and kind of realized that in the plastic space, it's probably, you know, the largest addressable sector of plastic.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, often there's, you know, we we think of cutlery and straws, which are really important, but from just a scale perspective, I think it's like 30 million tons of you know, strap traps are going into landfill annually.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we really decided.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, really.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's shocking.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's shocking.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, with with all that in mind, we're like, look, this is our this is our product.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: If we could just um, you know, use better materials and make a product that could break down, we could really shift the needle on on plastic waste.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, that was the idea.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we partnered with Monash University to develop the technology.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and then I guess you know, secondary to the sort of palette wrap piece, we we realized that there was a, I guess, a consumer shift that had to happen.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we needed to to I guess build a tool that we could talk to a community with and develop it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: strong brand around compostables.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was when we decided to do the great wrap for home.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: Just knowing that everyone has a kitchen and can touch and feel, I guess, you know, a future material was really exciting for us.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's kind of I guess how it started.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: But um yeah, we've um come a long way since then.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a crazy big factory and we're manufacturing products ourselves now and dealing with big customers.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been a really exciting journey.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I mean everybody that I speak to says that you are really the next big thing in terms of transition and change.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_01: And you know I know you you obviously um you went well you won Young Citizen of the Year in 2022, which is interesting because really you're young, energized and focused on a better future for all but it takes a lot of logistics, doesn't it?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of energy and a lot of talking to people and relationships to get you where you're going and what you've created is it three years?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: How long has it been going since two in the last few years is pretty pretty uh huge.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: What what have you found the greatest challenges have you had resonance from corporations and companies who can see what you're putting on site?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean oh greatest challenges yeah I I think definitely you know consumer sentiment hasn't been a challenge.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think there are a lot of well you know all of the big brands have made commitments to have all of their packaging to be recyclable and compostable by you know 2030 and really you know there's then they're a long way from getting there.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: So they haven't needed convincing um at all.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think in general the industry has been really um collaborative and sharing of knowledge.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: But honestly I think just the the hardest challenge has been to you know set up a a brick and mortar manufacturing facility when you haven't done it before less so in terms of like it's hard to do.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's more just I think our understanding of how long it would take um I think you know I know it sounds like not a long time but I think we thought we'd be further ahead.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's like challenging just managing your own expectations and um essentially how the how the world works.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well that's right.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: And to be honest I mean that's probably more common that experience than any for particularly in a startup situation which you're you're well really entrenched beyond the startup phase because you've got good funding and support on board.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: Is it something that you are confident is going to really change because you're seeing it I mean you're you're dealing with the companies you're dealing with the corporations and you're dealing with the consumer are you seeing that change implemented yeah yeah definitely and um you know sort of can't say can't say names but uh you know we were over in the US with a a large retailer recently and uh a really large retailer actually and they're sort of you know pushing this through at the fastest rate possible because they're really excited and they want to roll this out across the country and it yeah the appetite is there.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like I I think it will happen.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think obviously there's you know some minor hurdles like getting the waste infrastructure system sorted and things like that, which we're working on with with obviously other, you know, there are other startups in our space that we've kind of banded together with on that.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah I definitely I yeah I do think we'll get there.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think often um you know when you're outside the space um and you're just reading the news it's easy to get negative um about future but yeah I think I I'm really privileged to be exposed to some amazing people doing a lot of a lot of hard work and I really I do think we'll get there.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Also there's been recent rulings in Australia which have you know with a view to eliminating you know the the issue of plastics and so it sort of comes at a good time.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: I mean you're certainly I mean the governments are stepping up so do you feel like you're getting that sort of government support and and they're driving that change from private companies definitely um yeah private companies most definitely I think the government is there as well I think there's a strong focus on you know recycling infrastructure which I think is really critical um you know the way I see what we're doing is um it there's two parts to the plastic problem right there's everything that's ever been created up until now yeah that we need to be recycling and um uh doing something there and then there's you know those plastic products that we we can't do without need to have a solution like ours so yeah I think I think action's happening I mean I always I would love it to be faster but I think that's my personality well lucky that it is because in a sense it's people like you that drive change you're a young woman and you know you're in a a strong leadership role both in the company but also being on the board at the Literacy Foundation.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: What are some of the the themes that you've observed that are similar in terms of the drive for social change and impact because they're not dissimilar even though they're different issues they're not unrelated are they?
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: They can actually have similar themes of governance and um impact and leadership what and strategy what what's your thoughts around that and what's your experience in that regard?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I think that's a good it's a good question and probably I could talk about it for a while but I think you know the the biggest commonality for both areas of my work is the focus and I guess constant challenge to ensure the right people are in the room to be having the conversation.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know obviously I have my perspective and um but it's important that there are you know a diverse range of perspectives that can really understand the problem in a boots on the ground kind of way.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: And also you know at a high level as well.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really critical to I guess have have that and I think that's something that you know at Great Rap we've got a fairly new sort of board and something that we're working towards and something that um WLF does well.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I because I think that's really how you how you you can drive change if you've got that real deep understanding and then the strategy.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: And the right people because I think your point's really valid because you can have you know the infrastructure the strategy but if you don't have the right people driving that then it becomes just frustrating and you hit a wall and you you know so I think that and World Literacy Foundation have been doing that for a long time.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously they've got um I suppose a track record but also something that you can learn from to apply to great rap and moving forward to whatever it is that you implement.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah without a doubt no it's real privilege to be able to um see the inner workings of World Literacy Foundation because I've I've learned a lot.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I'm sure I mean I'm learning a lot every time I interview people for the podcast I'm just really um engaged and educated by what people are doing in that space and certainly what you're doing in your space do you think that you see there is an alignment between your generation and the the awareness of how they have to take responsibility for their future in both regards in literacy and the environmental space do you think that they're they're more informed and educated and driven than the previous generations without a doubt and the generation below me you know I'm I'm 30 um and I was chatting to um an amazing um amazing woman I met uh a week ago and she's you know 19 and already is like heavily involved in um environmental activism and um just like so so well informed and it yeah it really is that intersectional intersectionality approach of like you know we can't like in a lot of spaces like caring for the environment can come from a position of privilege if if you're not um hands-on and doing the groundwork is that what you're saying yeah well you know if like yeah it it you need to have everyone sort of having access to literacy and that education piece so that we can work on yeah the the climate piece as well I think they all feed into each other and my generation's doing really well but I'm so excited for people younger than me because they're just so inspiring.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's insane.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well in a distant future the last human on earth able to read and write has decided to restore the written word to civilization.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: This young girl's name is ink named after the stains of the dark blue liquid that covers her fingers.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: She lives in a reclusive community in the mountains with no access to technology.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: After the Great Revolution humans abandoned reading and writing choosing instead to communicate solely through thought.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: This was enabled thanks to neurotransmitters lodged inside the brains.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: Humans thrived on this technology as everything went faster but the price to pay for this techno-utopia was heavy.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: The growing illiteracy rate robbed them of the ability to communicate complex ideas and deep emotions erasing their capacity for critical thinking the leaders of this new world took advantage and started spreading fake news and false truths across the globe to rule as dictators.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Unable to discern reality from fiction society slipped into chaos, mayhem and was on the brink of collapse this is just the beginning of the extraordinary innovative and creative resource that these two have created as part of an extraordinary attempt to to basically educate engage and entertain people as they explore the issue of which is a huge issue of illiteracy which is really a major problem in our community innovation is the key to change finding new ways to educate expand and engage and this new global literacy campaign is a powerful clever example of creative thinking it's a collaborative art project for a good cause buy your sentence co-write a book with 5000 people from strangers to renowned artists a hundred percent of this profit is donated to the World Literacy Foundation so I would like to welcome Ben and Stefan uh the innovators who have created this extraordinary project in collaboration with the World Literacy Foundation to the Beyond Words Literacy podcast.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me where this began because it really is very innovative and oh I've I found it great to go in and and go into that website and to be able to write a sentence and contribute to this journey.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_03: But for our listeners could you just tell us a little bit about how this came to be yes of course so the idea first came to write a book with 5000 people that idea was always there on an exquisite corpse uh like the technique of the exquisite corpse and the idea is was to do it with multiple strangers across the world that was thanks to like um digital possibilities uh and then we pushed on and pushed on and pushed on and and talking together we realized that if everybody would write a sentence every sentence was nearly like a piece of art and there was something powerful about the words written and and what we could do with those with those words.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_03: And so yeah talking together with the whole team we thought could this be a project for good could this be a project to fight illiteracy we should talk to different charities.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_03: So we did talk to about 10 different charities um and finally the World Literacy Foundation got really involved they invited us to Oxford to the summits um against uh illiteracy so we had the chance to present the project meet some amazing people who helped us uh move forward uh and today it is what it is it's uh yeah we're really really passionate about it um and we're launching on Friday the 8th of September the book is the writing of the book is starting on the 8th but it will take about 12 months to be written so taggle on hop on whenever you want uh depending on where the story is going so so just for our listeners so they understand my name is Ink can you explain how the logistics of it work because it it is quite a when you go in to be part of the the journey maybe talk about I mean that must have taken a lot of processing to come up with the best way because it's actually quite ambitious isn't it and and probably daunting in some ways to to create something like this you are absolutely right there is quite a lot of technique and thinking behind it but we made it as simple as possible for the user so actually it's only a few steps to to participate to my name is Inc.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_02: The first step is to go on the website and purchase the sentence which is only if you click adding your credit card and for$25 you can purchase the sentence if you add an extra 75 you can have your name that will be written on the front book cover alongside other people and celebrities.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_03: Then once you have done that you go to the next screen where you have the opportunity to write your sentence what will happen is that you will be able to write the 10 sentences with been written before you able to read yeah to read sorry able to read the 10 sentences we've been written before you so you understand where the the story is heading the direction is uh is is being uh taken then you have 10 minutes to write your sentence so you can think about it write edit a little bit correct improve it and you submit and that's it you have registered your sentence in the book it will be recorded on the blockchain and you are part of an extraordinary adventure so it's really only a few steps the last step that I should mention is we would like the people to share their sentence on their social network so it attracts more people and it's truly becoming uh a community yeah movement you know movement of a community who believes in the power of creativity reading and writing easy for the user the technique is quite complex you're right yes and and I can actually see so that first as I read in my intro that first part of the story which I actually think how long did that take and who where did that come from because I'm reading it going this is really great the way yeah I love that I'm gonna say was that you Stefan yeah it's me it's with input of the whole team of course it's always the most difficult part for me when writing an idea of a for a series is getting that pitch exactly right so those few sentences normally a pitch of a series is shorter but here we wanted to give some more context of what's happening we want it to be broad enough we wanted to talk to a younger generation as well uh because it's very important for us uh to to talk to them and that's why the inspiration comes from some sci-fi movies some sci-fi books uh 1984 comes to mind um vivo vendetta uh is all is also a big uh inspiration and then yeah Star Wars Harry Potter the hero who wants to uh overthrow the overlord so that's kind of the idea yeah the importance of having uh yeah the metaphor of writing so her name is Inc and it's the last human to read and write and we thought that was every time we pitch it we can see to the people who are listening that uh yeah it hits uh it hits the emotion so so so just tell me in terms of the notion of distilling as we were discussing distilling the idea which is often esoteric is what you've tried to do that's why I read it in the intro because it is a little bit hard for people to understand the the crisis and the level of disaster in terms of people not being able to read and write it's only recently that people have really taken action and this it's almost like a revolution that seems to be I don't know if it's in Belgium it's the same but certainly in Australia with the World Literacy Foundation there's a very big movement to try and change trajectory for many people it is here um it is a problem as everywhere in the world and it's something that for us is important in the sense we come from a world of communication we both work in those areas in those fields um and so we see how important yeah being able to read books and write correctly is very important for the critical mind that's why we wanted to have it in the pitch as well and to think creatively think outside of the box and we know that's why reading and writing for us and for the Chapter 7 collective is something very important.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_03: But again what we are trying to do so on bigger picture there's my name is Inc is a starting point for us but it's to bring creativity innovation and fun and entertainment to fundraising that's something that's very important for us and we hope we can make it playful for people we've tried of course within sentences on a better version of the site um and it's it's just fun just fun to do and uh and and it's fun to fundraise money this way we think we hope.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: So just so I clear and I agree with you by the way because I think one of the problems is people switch off with I don't know if you get it there but there's so much that people are trying to absorb philanthropically so being innovative in that way which is very much part of what I see you uh representing is important because then you're actually bringing people into the journey in quite a unique way and in terms of the fundraising the funds from when you buy a sentence go that goes directly to the World Literacy Foundation but also I was reading this is going to be published as a book which I which just tell me is that going to be sold or is that how the book will be I saw there's 10 copies or something of the book that will be is that right absolutely so there are different ideas on how we will publish and produce the book so the main idea is that everyone can purchase the book once the story is finished.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_02: We also want to collaborate with 10 artists to do a limited edition of the book that will be sold and we're still finalizing the detail but that will be sold in an auction that we are probably likely to organize with our main museum partner Mont Blanc House so Mont Blanc the the the company who has a foundation who has a museum in a place in Germany in Hamburg and that's where we would like to organize uh the the sale of those a TED limited edition of the book that we'll be doing with artists maybe with the artist who created that amazing piece of art I think he would oh David would be on board yeah I have no doubt he's a big artist in Australia and he David Bromley he would love that he does some amazing work and I love that idea the way that you're you know bringing the creative community into this story literally in terms of education to yes sorry just on that I think what's important about this project yes it's creative it's innovative but also for us it's an organic process so we are very much listening to the community very much listening to the new partners entering that movement that that mission and evolving the project as we have those conversations as we brainstorm so new ideas are coming along so we we the project as a foundation we which is to write a book with 5000 people but as new ideas are coming up we're extending it organically developing it which is something we really like to to do and that energize us and the people around us that's actually a good point.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: So when you've got new uh partners coming on or supporters the logistics of that is that challenging or is it so how how logistically do you let's say the sponsor comes on you obviously what I love is the purity of the project I can see it doesn't look like you don't have all these logos and it doesn't feel like you know often these philanthropic uh projects become a little overwhelming with all the you know the different logos and the sponsors and the thing which is fair enough but I've noticed you've kept it quite clean and pure in its visibility um how hard was that to to ensure that you maintain the it's clean and pure and it's truly a project driven by passion but it's not our yes daily job.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_02: So we all have a daily job so it's a side project.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_02: So it's time that we are taking after the work during the day during the weekends and yes so logistically it's us putting uh effort and managing to convince other people to tag in so we started with three people now the core group is 10 people and extending as as as we speak you know with more people being excited by the project and and wanting to uh to tag on so really try to leverage the power of the of the community.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_03: I like to add to um the facts and how we we bring partners to the table.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_03: There is uh a relevancy importance relevancy.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_03: Is that English?
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_03: You know, to be relevant to for the partners who are around the table.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_03: That's why Mont Blanc was important for us.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_03: Of course the World Literacy Foundation.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_03: We are also uh partnering up or we are partners with limited space which is yes I've interviewed them.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_03: That's it and that's because yeah they work with World Literacy Foundation.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_03: They are also they have links with the fight against illiteracy.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_03: And so we we received a two-week campaign on the digital out of home uh network uh and that's just very simple we're not gonna get much more partners we think and but again the partners who will sit around the table with us or who will be able to sit around the table with us will be relevant partners uh for the project we however we we are looking for a partner to help us publish uh the book so it's still one of the last piece of the puzzle that that's missing and that uh we are looking for so if you have ideas anyway I actually do have an idea so it I like the idea that the end product will be quite a beautiful piece of art that people can buy even if you've only got 10 special editions but then you're saying there'll be digital versions available is that correct uh yeah so the 10 versions are will be high-end uh books that we will sell at auction at Montblanc house that's the idea today um we are playing with the idea yeah to have uh paperback uh books if the people get really um yeah if in involved people maybe don't want to write in the book but would like to own a piece of idea so maybe paperbacks is an idea but I think this will be decided in the course of uh yeah the writing the evolution that's it uh what track we will take but the 10 high end sorry high end uh versions um of the book will be uh something that we will do because that's a promise we have no we are also selling the book the paperback version also because the name of the people who have participated for some of them will be on the front cover and the rest inside the book so we expect a lot of the people or a lot of the participants who to want to own correct they will I certainly will yeah I was thinking that everyone in their library at home and they can show it off to their friends and read the book and have fun and explain the project and talk about the importance of literacy and all of that so but they will have to to buy it.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: And this particular this potentially has scope to expand to other countries other environments do you think it's something that you know you could take further it is global so it's across the world today so the project is is global it's for every market uh in the world and that it's by design it's also one of the reasons why we picked uh the world literacy foundation as I said it's an organic project so we brainstorm new ideas are coming up so Stefan the very early stage of the project had an amazing idea to expand it so let him explain but uh so the idea here is uh that we had that moment was there are going to be sentences maybe that will really jump out and that will be amazing pieces of art on its own uh and once the book is finished one of the ideas would be to take one or two five sentences and create a spin-off and create a whole new story based on that sentence do the same project the same kind of project redoing a site getting a you know the whole branded uh content around it and then uh having a whole new project around it depending on the success of this one so that was the idea but again this is something completely new uh in the way we are doing it the way we are writing this book in an exquisite corpse for for the good cause of literacy so we can reproduce this with schools in England I was just thinking that exactly I mean I think that's got a that's a very uh that's exactly what I was thinking you could reproduce it or or alternatively I suppose there's no reason why you can't have a school version of it as well I mean you know getting all the schools to um to to do the same thing.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_02: I mean it's got the potential of the idea it's already global it's already broad it's already creative but it it does have scope to be expanded and in terms of the World Literacy Foundation how have you found working with that organization our organization um because you've obviously met lots of people at the summit but you can see that then we've got a task force going in September to the United Nations to put the issue of literacy on the front and center is this is this an organization that you have found that you resonate quite well with because they have a similar vision yeah of course I mean from Andy uh Rosario with who we've been working a lot these past few weeks and we met Sam who's not part of uh the World Literacy Foundation but who is involved um we also met uh Andrew's son uh yeah they're doing great work yeah amazing what they're doing great work on other projects uh so no there is like a positivism that's really uh invigorating for us uh that's the way we like to work as well uh I think you have to have that kind of utopian way of thinking a little bit to have a charity and to to and of course the way we made this project it there is kind of a crazy side uh but utopian and positive but that's what we found uh with the with the organization and and surely with andrew as well i love them they're they're very passionate about what they do they are global so we're talking with people like everywhere in the world in Panama in the UK in Australia Africa America yeah everywhere just amazing uh they're actually quite easy to work with they really act as a startup so they move fast they take decisions andrew is involved and then the rest of the team so this is very interesting the way they operate so they are very effective uh and efficient and uh yeah just lovely people to uh to work with so we we talked like uh Stefan said to at least 10 charities and they really were the ones who who stood up and uh were really driven by passion and gave us the envy to work with them.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well at the World Literacy Foundation we believe in literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and education.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: People who cannot read or write experience difficulties with simple everyday tasks such as reading the label of a medicine bottle, filling a job application or understanding a traffic sign.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: When we help someone to acquire literacy skills we're empowering them to access to better opportunities in life to break the poverty cycle.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's a global organization in Africa, Latin America, the United States, United Kingdom and in Australia.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_01: The World Literacy Foundation is on a mission to ensure that every child regardless of geographic location has the opportunity to acquire literacy skills and books to reach their full potential.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: We're striving to eradicate illiteracy by 2040.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: Reading and writing should just be a basic right not a privilege.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: So please if you're interested head to our website at the World Literacy Foundation to see what is happening globally, this extraordinary organisation when we realise that there are 750 million people who cannot read and write so see if you can contribute and make a difference.