As I watched these Friday morning, I thought of past tragedies, going back to 9/11, and of how these natural and man-made disasters have had a negative impact on the Tutor/Mentor Connection's ability to build a system of support for inner-city kids.
I've written articles in the past, where I've shown how such events make it difficult to consistently build a strong organization, or a strong movement consisting of many organizations that focus on a common problem. This graphic shows that progress is not steady growth. There are many dips in the road. Such negative impact is probably felt by thousands of organizations in the US and around the world ever time a tsunami, earthquake, flood, or hurricane strikes.
I recalled a couple of videos I had seen that did a great job of showing the growth of the climate change movement, and the issues it focuses on, so I am repeating two of those here. This first video was included in an article I wrote in 2014. You can view the video in this article.
The organizers of the 2013 climate march recognized that "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".
Thus, throughout this video you'll see efforts to reach out to minorities, the poor, and those who are most disadvantaged.
This second video was created in 2009 and shows how movements in the 1960's lead to a wave of legislation in the 1970s. I included it in this article.
This video describes the process of mobilizing people as a "swarm" and suggests that with the Internet it's possible to create an on line hub that could support the growth of the climate change movement.
I did some web searching on Friday to see if I could find some graphics that showed the growth of the climate change network, or showed the different organizations who they have been connecting with.
350 0rg seems to be one of the lead intermediaries in the climate change movement. Below is a screen shot of a map that shows different organizations working on climate change throughout the world.
I have been using GIS maps since 1993 to show where tutor/mentor programs are needed, and to show participation in conferences I've hosted in Chicago and to show participation in on-line events, like the Connected Learning #clmooc. Maps force you to look at all the places where a problem needs to be solved, or that need to be represented in movement-building. Without a map you could fill a stadium with people who are active in solving a problem, but still be missing most of the places where the problem needs a constant flow of ideas, talent, dollars, technology, etc. to be solved.
Over the past 20 years I've also become interested in process and strategy. How does a tutor/mentor program help a youth move through school and into a job? How do we make well organized, long-term programs available in more places? How do climate change organizers map their own process toward goal? How is this being done in other sectors?
How do we visualize this?
I started creating concept maps to show strategy and to show organization's I'm connecting with, via events I attend, people I meet on line, or links in the Tutor/Mentor web library. In many of these maps I include links, pointing visitors directly to additional maps, and/or the web sites of other organizations.
The map below is a collection of maps that focus on building networks, and creating maps to show who I'm reaching out to, and who is in my web library.
In this map, which is a collection of several maps, I'm trying to show that while supporting youth via non-school tutoring, mentoring and learning programs is my primary goal, it is not the primary goal of organizers who focus on different issues, such as climate change, public health, the environment, inequality, jobs, etc.. Poverty, climate change and other environmental issues are only a few of the issues included in the United Nations Sustainability goals.
I use the pie chart to visualize leaders from many sectors focusing on each issue area, including the mission of my organization. I should be able to find blog articles, such as these that use systems thinking and concept maps to engage a network of stakeholders and show strategies for achieving long-term goals of climate change, public health, violence prevention, inequality, etc. The hub and spoke design of the wheel shows that these issues are related to each other. The climate march organizers in the first video recognized this, saying " "in order to address the climate crisis we have to first address inequalities".
My blog articles, strategy presentations, web library, concept maps, and GIS maps are examples that not only could be used by leaders who focus on poverty and youth development throughout the world, but by leaders who understand that to solve their problem they also need to focus on inequalities in the world, and that they, too, could be using maps like I do to show their progress, their networks and how they are connecting people, organizations and resources.
As I write articles like this I seek three responses:
a) Are there people already writing articles and creating maps like this? If you know them, post a link in the comment section of this blog
b) Are you a writer, illustrator, mapper, etc. who can communicate these ideas more effectively than I do?
c) are you one of those who are contributing hundreds of million dollars to every election cycle and might want to devote a few million to fully developing the Tutor/Mentor Institute as a free standing organization, or on a college campus?
If you're any of the above, I look forward to hearing from you.
additional reading
Note: 2/2/2017 update - here's an ESRI storymap showing impact of climate change on migration throughout the world. The is valuable resource both for understanding climate crisis, and for understanding uses of storymaps.
4-2-2017 update - This article on the Resiliance.org web site shows that liberal approaches to climate change are just as much of a problem as is conservative denial.
4-2-2017 update - are we facing a global extension of the human race - this writer has a series of blog articles that show this possible future.
4-15-2017 update - An Unprecedented Four Famines Threaten the Planet. - read article
4-17-2017 update - take to the streets during April 2017 and other actions you can take - read article
6-19-2017 update - Atlantis Rising: Why Floating Cities are the Next Frontier - see video
7-9-17 update - analysis of economic impact of climate change in the US - read article
7-10-17 update - This article, titled The Uninhabitable Earth, describes coming climate disasters facing the world.
7-17-17 update - The Climate-Smart Cities program at the Trust for Public Land is helping cities overcome challenges to successful climate action. Read article.
8-30-17 update - The Texas Floods following Hurricane Havey have generated several new articles worth reading. 1) Public Service Media Warned of Texas Catastrophe. Still time to learn (article). This points to a 2016 series titled "Hell and High Water" ; 2) How catastrophe affects most vulnerable people most. article; and 3) library of ESRI story maps showing flooding in Texas and around world. A second page showing ESRI story maps - click here
11-11-17 update - Here's a group that draws attention to climate change with music. It's called The Climate Music Project. click here
11-13-17 update - #Decarbonize #Decolonize describes itself as "worlds largest synthesis of youth research, recommended policy and action on climate change". Is mobilizing youth from across the planet.
2-27-18 update - Welcome to the Age of Climate Migration - Rolling Stone article. As some areas become unlivable the wealthy will move to more climate friendly cities, causing prices to rise, driving out the poor. Those without the money to move will suffer greatly.
5-16-2018 update - The Shape of Water - Chicago Magazine article forecasting a future for Chicago and the Great Lakes water basin. click here
6-21-2018 update - How Tackling Climate Change Could Tackle Inequality - read article
7-9-2018 update - Nicola Avery, from UK, posted blog article today with a collection of climate change links. Add to your reading list. click here
9-3-2018 update - Planetary Health Alliance - article with many links to additional resources - click here
10-12-18 update - Interactive map shows projected changes in rainfall and snow by 2050 in communities across the world.
10-17-18 update - Popular Science magazine article titled "The most important science policy issue in every state" - click here
11-16-18 update - List of natural disasters in the USA since 2000 - on Wikipedia. What's important to understand is that people in past disasters are probably still trying to rebuild their lives, even after many years.
3-6-19 update - Project Drawdown claims to be "the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming". The site includes a list of 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change - click here
3-6-19 update - WASH Funders by Candid - web resource focuses on water issues around world. Includes a funders map, too. click here
8-1-19 update - "Migration and the climate crisis: the UN’s search for solutions" - article
10-25-19 update - Global Chaos Map Project - this project is building a map to help understand where in the world environmental and political stress is leading to violence. Click here to read article. Click here to the Chaos Map Project site. Click here to view the interactive map.
12-18-19 update - America After Climate Change Mapped - click here
2-3-2021 update - Now's the Time interactive map shows oil, natural gas, coal, wind and other energy production and distribution resources from around the world. For those advocating for movement away from carbon based energies this site should be a useful tool. This is website with overview.
2-3-2021 update - Climate Justice Alliance - Here's description from website: "Climate Justice Alliance is amplifying the leadership of the original Our Power Communities while expanding to 70 communities in seven regions that are home to key grassroots groups. These groups organize to end the era of extreme energy and implement a Just Transition that promotes local control of resources (including energy, land, water, and food systems)."
2-3-2021 update - Climate Justice Alliance - Here's description from website: "Climate Justice Alliance is amplifying the leadership of the original Our Power Communities while expanding to 70 communities in seven regions that are home to key grassroots groups. These groups organize to end the era of extreme energy and implement a Just Transition that promotes local control of resources (including energy, land, water, and food systems)."
2-3-2021 update - Extinction Rebellion Chicago (XRC) - a growing group of activists formed in 2019 to demand, through creative and non-violent direct action, t hat the government act now to stop climate catastrophe.
2-4-2021 update - Mapping Environmental Justice in the Biden-Harris Administration - click here ; Mentioned in the article is the CalEnviroScreen. This link points to a Disadvantaged Communities Map (California).
2-24-2021 update - Is your house going to flood because of climate change? These maps will tell you. - read article
3-6-2021 update - Mapping Project Explores Links Between Historic Redlining And Future Climate Vulnerability - click here
Here's a Skoll Foundation article titled "Social Entrepreneurs build coalitions to win fight against poverty." Look on their web sites to see how they communicate strategy and show the growth of their networks. http://skoll.org/2016/09/27/social-entrepreneurs-build-coalitions-to-win-fight-against-poverty/
ReplyDeleteDaniel ... thank you for all the links here, and for expanding the notion of how Climate Change and environmental policies, and politics, play a role in the lives of all of our children.
ReplyDeleteKevin