Briefing No. 37
What we’re reading
On the Greenwood Place Bedside Table
There is no such thing as ‘away’. We have long been blithely throwing out our waste – tossing it over our shoulders and moving on to the next shiny new thing, with little thought to what happens to the discarded item. It might be burned, buried, reconstituted or sent on an expedition to new lands. One person’s ‘away’ is another’s ‘here’. Oliver Franklin-Wallis's Wasteland is a fascinating and enraging read.
Sal Khan & Bill Gates in Conversation
Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, recently sat down with Bill Gates to discuss how AI will transform education and what Khan Academy is doing right now to harness its power.
Acceptance
“Sometimes you need a little help to ... see the light or even be reminded of what kind of life you could have, you know, reminded of what kind of person you could be ...” Joshua, LandWorks.
Acceptance, a new book from Greenwood Place partner charity LandWorks, throws a much-needed light on the complex lives of offenders, the challenges of rehabilitation, and potential for change.
Poverty and Policy
During the 20 years following Deng Xiaoping's introduction of agricultural reform in 1978, China’s GDP more than quadrupled and, according to official statistics, the number of people in poverty was reduced by over 200 million. Podcast "The Rest is History", reflects on Deng Xiaoping’s leadership.
Beauty
In our work at Greenwood Place, we are frequently reminded that beauty appeals to the senses and nourishes the soul - reducing anxiety and inflammation, increasing a sense of hope. The Google Ngram Viewer displays user-selected words or phrases in a graph that shows how those phrases have occurred in books over time. We were fascinated to see that "beauty" has been trending upwards since 1980.
Working to Restore
Rooted in optimism, journalist Esha Chhabra’s book examines businesses in agriculture, waste, supply chains, travel, health, energy, and finance and tells stories of the entrepreneurs who are trying to restore civility, integrity and transparency to business - moving beyond “sustainability” into an era of regeneration and restoration.
Conservation & Local-Global Partnerships
“The local organization is pivotal. It is there forever. It is not like the international organisation that has a limited period of time.” Dominic Ngwesse, Nature Cameroon.
Maliasili exists to help talented African conservation organisations overcome challenges and constraints so that they can become more effective agents of change. Rooting for Change is their new report.
Upcoming Events
Philanthropy Insight’s London Philanthropy Summit is on 14th-15th November 2023. We’re very happy to be partnering with the Pi team - Sonal and Louisa will both be leading sessions. Speakers include Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics as well as Greenwood Place community members Jacqueline Novogratz and Per Heggenes. Find out more about the programme and register for tickets via this link.
CAN WE HELP YOU?
Greenwood Place provides philanthropy support, advice and execution for a small group of strategic philanthropists. We take an entrepreneurial approach to tackling tough social and environmental problems. We work closely with our clients to find the places where they can make most difference, we support their learning and we partner with them to achieve real, lasting change.
The Greenwood is the place in Shakespeare's plays where characters go to grow, change and learn.