Diversity Is Inefficient

This is a sterling piece by Ashindi Maxton, a fellow at the New Organizing Institute. Some key learnings:

• we are the strategy
• a good process beats good goals with a bad process
• in the short run, diversity and inclusion can feel inefficient
• make time for difficult conversations about difference and do not over-personalise them
• make space for ideas that may not resonate for you at first
• hone your awareness of in-group preference, particularly if you are in a position of power
• educate yourself
• use a simple inclusion metric
• intentionally build a critical mass of diverse voices
• create virtuous cycles by activating networks of people from diverse communities

Diversity is inefficient.

At least, it is inefficient in the short run. In the long run, to repeat myself, we are not going to win anything anymore if we can’t build racially inclusive coalitions and organizations. That said, here are just a couple ways that diversity takes time and energy:

1. The people who are already in our network tend to have a lot in common with us. Diversity requires us to go further out of our own networks to find new partners for our work or new hires for our organization and that takes time. It definitely takes more time than hiring and working with people we already know.
2. Once we have identified a diverse set of folks to work with, it takes more time and energy to work with them than it does to work with people who are more like us. We are likely to have different communication styles, knowledge bases and points of reference. These points of difference are actually an incredible strength, but in day to day practice they dramatically multiply the potential for miscommunication and misunderstandings. Truth.

This Is More Like It

Fantastic work from Tearfund. h/t Lizzie Gawen.

Link Loving 20.07.11

• Håkan Juholt, leader of the Swedish Social Democrats might force the incumbent centre-right government into an early election. The European left on the rise? Katrine Kielos.
• Women hold only 19% of seats in parliaments globally.
• Why a high-carbon investment bubble could be the lesser of evils. Duncan Clark.
• This has to be a joke – ‘Democracy prize for Putin’. Joshua Keating.
• Koch brothers declare war on offshore wind. Keith Harrington.
• Doing everything right is an unrealistic goal. Jessica Hagy.
• Why confronting climate injustice is solutions work. Nick Engelfried.
• Taking on Tarmageddon – a movie about UK students visiting the Tar Sands.

The Children’s Fire

This gets really, really good after eight minutes. Tim “Mac” Macartney founder of Embercombe introduces the concept of The Children’s Fire.

A Warning

‎”I am not looking for sympathy, but rather warning you what can happen when a country runs out of options.”

This is a moving and passionate piece by Marcus Stephens, President of Nauru in the New York Times today.

“I forgive you if you have never heard of Nauru — but you will not forgive yourselves if you ignore our story.”

Link Loving 19.07.11

• Chinese dissidents “strolling” toward democracy, online and off. Ayushman Jamwal.
• We need a new social contract between generations. Guy Shrubsole.
• Politicos – meet gamers. Paul Evans.
• How to incentivise volunteering. Ed Gillespie.
• The Talks. Brilliant website shining a light on those who make our culture what it is.
• The fallout from phone-hacking should also tackle media bias. Sue Marsh.
• Women on the French left: political heavyweights? or mothers, daughters, and ‘potiches’? Heather McRobie.
• Caroline Lucas nominates German politician Petra Kelly as her ‘Great Life’.

How To Run The World: Charting A Course To the Next Renaissance

Another wonderful full-length interview by Harry Kreisler, this time with Parag Khanna – author of ‘How To Run The World: Charting A Course To the Next Renaissance‘.

• The difference between structural change vs systemic change.
• The evolution of global governance from Vienna in 1815 – now moving towards decentralisation.
• The process of ‘Europeanisation’ – transnational governance.
• The skillset of diplomacy – and seeing it at work in the private sector and within government.
• What the French, Indian, British, Japanese and Brazilian diplomacy is really about.

Link Loving 18.07.11

• The government wants to empower us all, but until it recognises that power is finite and relational it can only serve to further entrench privilege and inequality. Joe Penny.
• How committed is the U.S. to the UN human rights system? David Bosco.
• Alistair Campbell on happiness. Jules Evans.
• Are western companies polluting China’s rivers? Jonathan Watts.
• Are social media and street tactics mutually exclusive? Bryan Farrell.
• How to be happy anytime. Leo Babauta.
• Another bumper edition of campaign strategy thinking from Chris Rose.
• Amazing acrobatics hanging off Brooklyn Bridge.

BP White Swan

On 13th July, a surprise interpretation of Swan Lake was performed at BP’s Summer Screens, illustrating the story of BP’s involvement in the tar sands.

BP White Swan.

The London Cycle Map Campaign

Love it. Would make life so much easier.