Social Darwinism: Questions to Inspire Knowledge Sharing and Action by EvolvingHumanLeaders

Pitch

Early 1970's, a professor sent students into a city of approximately 73,000 people to ask questions and then Project Censored was born.

Description

Summary

The birth of Project Censored serves as a model for an on the streets and online, face to face (in person & virtual), interactive & educational forum involving people from all walks of life.

Teams of volunteers will be engaged in environmental & social activism designed to challenge people to think critically & to encourage them to go beyond the normal framework of their world view.

The Big & Little Qs asked by volunteers on the streets of their hometowns will be designed to elicit responses that 1) will reveal personal bias, 2) provide feedback to the project for further development, and 3) provide participants with viable actions they can perform in their lives resulting in positive impacts towards lessening impacts on global warming.

Specifically, participants introduced to the Big & Little Qs can go home armed with knowledge & inspiration to help facilitate change because they will be provided with a "tool-kit" providing constructive ideas & activities that will help them contribute to a safer future environment.

While "confirmation bias" effects most people & may cause them to react defensively when their world views are challenged, people are also naturally curious, at all ages, & are fundamentally capable of learning new tricks.

When provided with credible information from trusted persons, it is possible that individuals can re-frame their world view to accommodate change in their lifestyles & to help others understand cause & effect climate change realities.

Activism using social media has changed national & international dialog due to rapid dissemination of information to millions of people around the world, including journalists who then, in turn, feed information back to even more people through other media venues. People are creating change daily on the internet & this method of activism, when taken to the streets, can connect people in fundamental ways that has great potential to positively impact their personal decisions about how they conduct their life.

Category of the action

Changing public perceptions on climate change

What actions do you propose?

Build a team to develop an orientation package and questions based on climate change science and to reach out to "stakeholders" who will further engage others to develop on the streets teams in nations where greater social awareness is needed
Develop tool kit products using such products as "50 ways to conserve energy" and "SimSoc" styled games designed to engage and educate - enlist organizations to donate products
Enlist on the streets team members and provide them with orientation packages, Big & Little Qs sheets, and toolkits
Collect on the streets records (video, audio, responses to Qs) for analysis
Enlist people in communities during the Big & Little Qs activities to maintain continuity for future actions & track changes in communities
Construct an online game/informaiton resource to reach more participants worldwide
Develop further actionable items based on information and feedback collected from on the streets teams
Up the ante and send out more teams to engage people on deeper levels through actionable items (community projects such as tree planting, construct rain catchments, deliver energy efficient light bulbs or solar ovens, build solar water heaters - whatever is determined to be needed)
Report out results to media outlets (mainstream media, alternative media, social media) and policy development organizations

Who will take these actions?

The Big & Little Qs Team! Drafted into service via this forum and online social media and game oriented outlets.

Where will these actions be taken?

Considering the great distances between nations, initial activities will be conducted via online forums and as on the streets teams and contacts are enlisted, activities will occur in nations' towns where people are most afflicted with lack of information and where the greatest need is.

And then, universities, coffee shops, theaters, beaches, parks, the streets... wherever people are. To reach a broad audience, utilize the online JudgeWiki program - creating Game Cards which present questions and demonstrate outcomes based on game activity.

How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?

What are other key benefits?

People will be faced with the opportunity to become empowered. They will have the choice of taking opportunity and sharing knowledge and actionable items with others - informed societies may emerge and policy makers may pay attention, or not. In either case, real work will be accomplished.

What are the proposal’s costs?

Costs will depend on the number of locations that take up this challenge, what items are donated for tool kits and actionable items, how many teams will need kits/paper/ink for printed Big & Little Qs. Some on the streets teams may need recording technology. Because teams will be localized, travel costs will be nominal. A point person/media coordinator may require a stipend for outreach, translators and a researcher analyst may require compensation. I think, at this point, material costs will be nominal when compared with potential outcomes.

Potential costs: $10,000-$50,000

Time line

By end of October 2013 the development team will begin meeting (virtual)
By end of 2013 the Big & Little Qs will developed and ready for printing
By end of March 2014 the on the streets teams will be ready to take to the streets
By end of May 2014 feedback will be ready for analysis and reports will be disseminated to media
By July 2014 actionable items will be ready to take back to communities
By October 2014 a full report will be ready for dissemination

Related proposals

The "Talk to me clean!" Toolkit https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/21/planId/1001294

Mad Babies Saving Oceans, the game/scenario https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/21/planId/1001281
Nature + Technology = Clean sustainable energy https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/21/planId/1001202
Chipko wetlands (Hug the wetlands)- a game for adaptation thinking in urban area climatecolab.org/web/guest/plans/-/plans/contestId/14/planId/1001014

References

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists http://www.icij.org/
Mooney, Chris. Mother Jones “The Science of Why We Don't Believe Science”, May/June 2011http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/denial-science-chris-mooney

Project Censored: About http://www.projectcensored.org/about/
"The Psychology of Climate Change Communication Center for Research on Environmental Decisions", The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York http://cred.columbia.edu/about-cred/