Bridging divides in the Middle East, Inclusive Alpha and love letters
A monthly digest of inspiring projects, useful resources and opportunities to create systemic change.
System Changers is a newsletter about personal growth and transformation for people who lead systemic change. The Monthly Digest is a new standalone feature for all the interesting projects, resources and opportunities I find each month.
We’re talking culture-shifting campaigns, rallying calls to action, breakthrough technologies, impactful learning experiences, powerful collaborations, exciting jobs... These curated lists will provide you with a monthly dose of inspiration and support for all the brilliant work you do. They’ll also encourage you to look after yourself and everything you need to thrive; you’re a system-changing human not an impact machine after all. I hope you find something here each month to fuel your growth and feed your soul!
I’d love to include what you’re working on. It could be an event you’re hosting, a campaign your running, a resource you’ve created, or a job you’re hiring for. Please reach out if you’ve got something to share with the System Changers community.
Larger Us is a community of change-makers who share the aim of bridging divides rather than deepening them, who want to transform relationships rather than defeat enemies, and who recognise that achieving these things is about psychology as much as politics. Founder and Executive Director Alex Evans just published this informative piece, ‘Can there ever be a larger us in the Middle East?’ “This is not just about politicians or people in the region. All of us are involved – in our conversations, on our social media platforms, in how we show up as citizens. We all help open up – or close down – the political space for things to change.”
Stepping into Systems is a new introductory film series from School of System Change, an organisation enabling personal and collective agency to cultivate change in the world with a multi-method approach to systems change learning. Watch and discuss the films on systems change in live online sessions with practitioners in the field.
Daye is setting a new standard in period care and gynae health. They offer period products, vaginal microbiome screenings, and a period pain clinic. Their tampons have recently been recognised as a “reliable and acceptable tool for self-collecting vaginal samples” in a recent study published by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Self collection overcomes embarrassment-associated testing avoidance (with life-saving consequences for diseases like cervical cancer) and it’s more time efficient and cost-effective for health care providers.
My client Ada Ventures had a busy month introducing Inclusive Alpha, a new movement in venture capital challenging the assumption that investing with an inclusive lens requires a trade off with fund performance. “Inclusive Alpha describes an investment approach where an inclusive lens is prioritised in every part of the investment process — from the investment team structure, to the investment strategy, to sourcing, selection and portfolio support. All of this is done to drive investment performance alongside positive impact.” They also launched a first of its kind childcare initiative offering their portfolio companies up to 40 hours of free childcare each year, to be delivered by Bubble, the UK’s leading on-demand childcare platform (and an Ada portfolio company). Huge congrats to Diarra and the Ada Ventures team for such inspiring leadership in VC!
An important call for mandatory reporting on socio-economic background as part of a new consultation by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority on diversity and inclusion, and the question every organisation should ask employees to measure socio economic diversity.
Letters From Love with Elizabeth Gilbert is my new favourite Substack. The mission for this project is “to teach people how to speak and write to themselves in a more loving and friendly manner than the familiar inner critic who so often dominates our mind and punishes our spirits.” Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of ten books of fiction and non-fiction — most famously her 2006 memoir Eat Pray Love, which has been translated into over thirty languages, and sold 12 million copies worldwide. Her TED talk on creative genius is one of the twenty most viewed TED talks of all time.
Could it really be that easy to resolve conflict? In this piece, psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author Esther Perel addresses how conflict-avoidant so many of us have become in our relationships, provides some helpful prompts for reflection on our experiences of fighting and repair, and shares an invitation to on an online event for therapists, coaches or anyone in a role helping others to navigate conflict. “Conflict is intrinsic to all relationships. The presence of bickering or disagreements doesn’t mean the relationship isn’t good, or that it isn’t worth it. Often, it’s an alarm. Your relationship needs attention.”
My new friend Alice Katter, Founder of the brilliant
has just launched ‘Reimagining the Nature of Work’. The 70-page collection of essays, activities and tools “challenges the traditional linear, always-on, '9-5 until you retire' paradigm that typifies modern work. With nature as a muse, it aims to spark imagination, foster fresh conversations, and introduce principles and a collective vision for a work culture that nurtures and sustains our creative well-being and human flourishing.”Philippa Perry is a British integrative psychotherapist and author. She writes a weekly column in The Observer addressing a personal problem sent in by a reader. Her recent piece focuses on a common theme in these problems and is titled, ‘Want to find fulfilment? Here’s what my years as an agony aunt have taught me’. “To find fulfilment, you need to internally reference how you feel more than you need to externally reference how things merely appear – even if they look worthy.”
Pregnant Then Screwed is a small and mighty charity working to end the motherhood penalty in the UK. I got to know them whilst coaching their Head of Campaigns and Communications, Lauren Fabianski. This month they’re celebrating some much-deserved recognition with ‘Best Social Purpose Campaign’ at the PR Week Awards for their March Of The Mummies campaign, and ‘Communications Campaign Of The Year’, ‘Small Charity Of The Year’ and ‘Small Charity, Big Achiever’ at the Third Sector Awards. This charity is one of my favourite examples of grassroots system-changing work in the UK at the moment. I interviewed Lauren just after March Of The Mummies, you can read it here. Huge congrats to Lauren and the PTS team for such impactful work!
The global campaign for financial reparations for transatlantic slavery is building momentum. The world’s first master’s degree in reparatory justice has been launched by Glasgow University, in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), and last month the UN published a report calling on countries to consider financial reparations for transatlantic slavery, with campaigners hailing the report as a notable step forward.
Renate Nyborg, Former Tinder CEO and leader at Headspace and Apple, has announced her latest mission to end loneliness with her relationship mentoring app, Meeno. She also announced a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital with participation from AI Fund and NEA, bringing their total funding to nearly $5m. “In May 2023, the US Surgeon General declared loneliness as a critical public health crisis affecting both individual and societal health – on par with tobacco, obesity and substance use disorders. Adults – especially Gen Z – struggle with lack of social connection. Meeno provides a solution to help address this epidemic.”
Branch is transforming how women return to work after maternity leave. The Branch programme brings together a group of women from different organisations returning to their full-time careers. They work through the programme together, guided by experienced facilitators. Branch’s goal is to help women channel their ambition and make returning to work an opportunity for accelerated growth. Learn about their Autumn programme here.
Christiana Figueres is a climate negotiator, author, Co-Founder of Global Optimism and co-host of the climate podcast Outrage + Optimism. For years she’s held space for the oil and gas industry to change and take responsibility for their role in the climate crisis, but their behaviour and profiteering over the last year has changed her mind. Read her stirring piece for Al Jazeera, ‘I thought fossil fuel firms could change. I was wrong’.
Losing Young: How to Grieve When Your Life is Just Beginning is the book I needed when, aged 20, I lost my best friend from school in a hit and run. Author Rachel Wilson lost her mother in her 20s. Feeling intensely isolated and finding very little support tailored to her age group, she decided to arrange meet-ups for people in a similar situation. This became The Grief Network, a community by and for bereaved young people (teens/20s/30s). “This is a personal and profound book about what happens when youth is reshaped by tragedy, trauma and loss. It’s for anyone who mourns a lost future, who is struggling to find themselves after grief, or hopes to feel less alone.”
Toby Lowe is Visiting Professor in Public Management at Centre for Public Impact. His thought-provoking piece ‘Explode on Impact’ faces an uncomfortable truth and argues, “it is impossible for organisations to “demonstrate their impact” if they work in complex environments. Asking them to do so requires them to create a fantasy version of the story of their work. This corruption of data makes doing genuine change work harder because it is difficult to learn and adapt from corrupted data.” He makes helpful recommendations for an alternative approach focused on learning and adaptation.
ICYMI, last week I celebrated and reflected on a year of writing System Changers.
Thanks for reading! Please introduce yourself, what you’re working on, and how this resource can be helpful to you on this thread. With subscribers leading systemic change in human rights, venture capital, climate and sustainability, education, psychotherapy, healthcare, media, politics, art, farming, finance, housing and philanthropy and more, System Changers is a diverse community packed full of opportunities to connect and collaborate with others. Let’s get to know each other 🧡