The weekly logic leap

A special word of thanks to John for sharing his insights and perspective with us. Here is some background on him and the complete interview.

Introduction

I was born and raised in Niue, (the Rock of Polynesia), and grew up in the village of Tuapa Uhomotu with my four siblings, raised by my mum and my grandparents. It was normal to grow up in a household with cousins, uncles and aunts. My grandparents and my mother were the biggest influence in my formative years. My mum had 12 brothers and sisters and the first of her siblings to study at university, she was a teacher. She later followed the family tradition, attending theological training at PTC (Pacific Theological College) in Fiji. She was the first female Minister in Niue at a time when this was the exclusive domain for men. Watching the resistance to change from some parts of the church and the community was frustratingly fascinating, it brought out the best and worst in people. 

Growing up on The Rock you’re not good at just one thing because you are expected to take part in everything. Whether or not you are good at dancing, you are expected to be part of the dance group. Whether you can play rugby or soccer, or volleyball doesn’t matter, you are just expected to play because there’s no one else. You’re not an expert in one thing, but you know a little about most things. Conforming to norms was expected and these don’t really change over time, things were done a certain way. I didn’t really like that because I wanted to do things my way and I did. Growing up we were always told how to behave and follow strict village rules and norms. There is always an expectation to be respectful and the inherent duty of care for the family. This meant doing things because that’s what society expected, not necessarily what we wanted to do. 

Business had an early influence on my life as I grew up working for my grandfather in the family business, which inspired me to study business. As part of my international business major, I worked in Melbourne for a communications firm and an energy company. 

Outside of work, my interests are fairly creative – I contribute to my community and work with established organisations to capture the cultural and traditional knowledge from our elders “matua” to pass on to the younger generations. When I was living in Niue I was a youth leader for over 10 years, choreographed and taught traditional and contemporary dances and songs. Traditional performing arts like the Niuean language maintains my identity and my ancestral links to Niue and my ancestors.

1. What do you think are some of the most common misconceptions about respect? Is there a specific pacific island perspective on this?

The Niuean word for respect is “Lilifu” and depending on the context “lilifu” is also honour, status, and humility. The act of respect is “Fakalilifu” which means to give or receive respect. In the Pacific world view, respect is based on our collective mindset and values, and sustained by cultural norms. This perspective is told from the Niuean view. Respect is manifested similarly across the Pacific but each Pacific Island will have its own nuanced values unique to its culture. In the Tongan culture, respect between a brother and a sister is shown by the practice that a male past puberty cannot be in the same room as his sister or female cousin, and the oldest sister of the brother has the highest social ranking in the family. 

Respect is a value that some Pacific Islands cultures practise to maintain social structures and systems. These values in the context of community life including-

• Ancestors and the knowledge transfer, 
• cultural and genealogical ties,
• family, church and village, 
• the natural environment – the land, sky and sea, 
• spiritual, cultural, social systems and structures,

In the Pacific world view respect is one of the pillars in Pacific cultures, respect is weaved through every layer of the cultural, social, spiritual, the physical fabric of society. It holds traditions and cultural knowledge firmly in the minds and daily routines of the community. A system of knowledge transfer from elders passing on knowledge to the younger generations through storytelling, traditional activities and events, festivals.

Respecting the elders was a natural order of things in the village setting. The silver-haired wise-elder, the fountain of knowledge and recipient of the cumulative knowledge passed down through time. They (the elders) have lived experience of significant events in their lifetime, from natural events like cyclones and droughts to community events and knowledge on sustainable food gathering, farming and fishing methods. 

I grew up with traditional & cultural values of the roles each individual play in the community e.g. “kids are seen and not heard” and “speak when you are spoken to” so when you are in and around the workplace, your boss and your older work colleagues are the ones that do the talking and you listen. So not speaking up at work can be misinterpreted as

• shy, timid
• doesn’t have good ideas or is not bright enough.

In the Pacific world view, the younger employee learns from the elders and their managers in the workplace. The employee shows respect by listening and not challenging their manager or elders authority in the workplace. This is the opposite of the individualistic behaviours highly valued in the workplace. 

Respect is used with humility as a core cultural value in the Pacific, where one should not be too boastful of their ability and achievements. A Maori proverb ‘Kāore te kumara e kōrero mō tōna ake reka’ which translates – the kumara (sweet potato) does not speak of its own sweetness. People around you should talk of your achievements and ability, and one does not boast about their own abilities and achievements. This cultural value is misunderstood by those who don’t understand the Pacific worldview.

Here is a scenario that happens in most workplaces here in NZ, a Pacific employee takes an entry-level role. The employee works hard and diligently, with the view the manager/employer will see the hard work and reward them with a promotion. 

There are two very different mindsets in play, one of the employee and that of the employer. The employee will not put their hand up for promotion, rather will wait for the manager or someone in authority to notice their hard work. The employer will see a hardworking and loyal worker who has been working in the same role for say 5 to 10 years or even longer, and see the employee has shown no initiative for promotion. The employer concludes the employee is happy in their role. These scenarios play out in many workplaces with the Pacific employee and employers of Pacific employees.

This event played out in the earliest recorded history of Niueans with Europeans. Captain Cook, sailed and chartered the islands in the Pacific ocean. Cook noted in some of his voyages of using local Polynesian navigators, Tupaia’s knowledge of the star navigation technique helped Cook to reach some of the most remote islands. Cook charted and named some of the Islands, he charted the Cook Islands after himself, and Tonga the Friendly Islands. He sailed past and chartered Niue on 20^th June 1774 sailing from Raiatea, Tahiti in search of the Great Southern Continent. Cook tried to make three separate landings in the north and the western coasts of the island. The warriors greeted him with the “takalo.” A challenge to see whether the visitors come as friends or foe. The visitors account, the islanders charged with the “ferocious of wild boars.” The local stories of warriors in the traditional kit, with the “kafa” finely plaited hair girdles around their waist, rounded throwing stones attached and holding throwing spears and cleaving clubs, with blackened faces and bodies with charcoal, and dye stained teeth from the magenta sap from the “futi hula hula” a variety of banana tree. Cook and his men misinterpreted this as hostile reception with inhospitable people, and charted Savage Island and promptly sailed on. The name Savage Island protected Niue for a while from the slave Trading Ships that frequent the Pacific to kidnap people for the lucrative slave-trading markets in the Pacific rim.

2. Last year we spoke about how some ancient wisdom about nature and society was dismissed for a long time as uneducated and outmoded. Now we realise that so much of how the generations before adopted as best practice is indeed the way to create and sustain a liveable planet. How should we think about this pendulum? How do we prevent a dominant dogma from preventing respect for deeper wisdom? How can we kindle a new respect for the old?

Indigenous communities survived generations living in harmony with their environment. These communities have learnt through the generations the impact of human unsustainable activities on the environment, e.g. Rapa Nui of Easter Island. 

I grew up surrounded by the knowledge handed down over many generations of how to live sustainably with the limited resources on a small remote island. 

Limited natural resources, limited to no surface fresh water, and limited farming land. Niueans learnt to balance their impact with the resources on a remote island to grow and gather food to sustain them, whether that be how to toil and farm the land, restrictions or periods of “fono tapu” or no-take areas so birds and fish stocks can recover. 

Respecting the land, sea and sky is about survival for the people in the Pacific. The land, sky and sea are the food baskets that sustained generations of our people. Our values see our role as caretakers “leveki” for these resources to provide future generations access to the same food resources. The pace and rhythm of community life in the Pacific is dictated by the changing seasons, for most places the different seasons mark the arrival of migratory birds and certain species of seasonal fish.

I didn’t really appreciate the value of traditional knowledge growing up, the education system focused on values different to my cultural values (traditional knowledge). Like many of my peers, I have come to appreciate the value of cultural knowledge as an adult. Growing up with grandparents, I was very fortunate to learn about the traditional knowledge of my culture. The skills and knowledge of growing and planting food depending on the season or time of the day, knowledge of natural remedies to treat different kinds of ailments, knowledge of gathering, preparing and cooking traditional food etc. 

The value of this knowledge is priceless and I wished this was written down when I had the opportunity with my grandparents. The dilemma with our traditional and cultural knowledge, our genealogies, stories and songs are in the heads of older generations and are not usually written down. 

3. Respect is in many ways a reflexive phenomenon (root meaning: look back at https://www.etymonline.com/word/respect). The respect you give is what you receive. Yet many people relax in the formal/structural titles and positions that afford respect to them, without respecting the ones they serve or have given them that position. How can we ensure that respect flows both ways?

The cultural and traditional norms I grew up on did have formal/structural cultural titles and positions. Respect is earned, this is weaved throughout many aspects of society. Niue doesn’t have the cultural and social structures prevalent in other Pacific Islands. Early anthropological studies observed limited social structures in place and the egalitarian nature of the people based in nascent family groups. In practice today, the job title provides some recognition of status. The lack of social structures means anyone can choose where they end up regardless of where they started. The harder you work for your family and community, the higher your status. With the introductions of Christianity and western structures in employment, a person’s title can earn them the respect, however real and valued respect is earned through one’s hard work to contribute back to the community. 

4. In many ways blind respect becomes a hindrance to progress and adaptation. How can we keep respect vital to ensure communities stay adaptive?

Yes when respect is used as a tool to repress, instil fear, will hinder progress and adapting to changes in society. This is the dark side of respect when people in minority and vulnerable communities are not taking part or given the opportunity and support to prosper and flourish. 

When respect is used to keep people focused and living in the past, when we should use the learnings of the past to anchor and light the way for the future. When respect is used to keep people from moving forward is when we see great disparities in income and wealth.

Is it the risk-averse nature of people to fear the unknown? It is easier to understand and embrace what people know and are familiar with. It takes courage and a learning mindset to embrace change and the unknown nature of what is ahead. 

5. What do you think is the most surprising way in which respect is lived and experienced in the communities you deal with?

Not surprising, I am more intrigued when respect is lived and experienced as an entitlement and sometimes used as a mask. Personally, the way leadership is approached by the different communities is intriguing, when respect is based on people’s titles and status, regardless of ability. I mentioned earlier I grew up in a culture which doesn’t look to social structures and titles as a birthright, respect is based on one’s experience, knowledge, community work and character. You respect your elders because of their knowledge and experience. I see respect in its pure and simple form, in communities in simple and basic living conditions with limited or no assets, and are happy and content with their lives. 

6. What are some of the examples where respect has been used to foster a stronger, more inclusive community?

When vulnerable and most disadvantaged communities are given the tools and resources to determine their own solutions to the challenges they face every day. When safe spaces enable them to get support and resources and be involved in determining the problems to be addressed and the solutions to those problems. These communities have a wealth of knowledge of what works and they have tried these solutions. Working closely with the communities builds trust, but more bespoke solutions that have a higher possibility of solving the complex challenges in the community. They should be part of designing a system that is going to affect their livelihood, health and wellbeing.

7. What did I miss? What would you like to ask?

To me respect is deeply a personal value, it is core to everything we do. I grew up on stories about the spiritual world, for example in some Pacific cultures wearing red or whistling at night in the village is not allowed. This is illogical if you went through our western influenced education system. Why not, what is the science behind it? While I don’t understand why I was told not to do that, I have a healthy respect for it. There are some things that science and logic can explain away.

The opposite of respect is not necessarily the absence of it. Admiration and reverence are how we describe respect, and the absence of admiration or reverence does not necessarily mean disrespect. But is ignorance a great defence, it is disrespectful to play the ignorance card when one has the opportunity to be open-minded and learn. Respect is core values, connected to our emotions so when people feel disrespected, it is the acts of others not aligned with their core values.

BIO

A childhood grounded in culture, tradition, and business with strong values focused on hard work, respect, integrity and self-awareness have guided John Christopher Faitala throughout his career. With education qualifications in management, international business and marketing, including an MBA, and a creative and entrepreneurial spirit, John has worked for central government agencies in Niue and New Zealand, as well as local government and the private sector in Niue, Melbourne and Auckland.  John brings his unique experience and insights to his work at the Pacific Business Trust, a Pacific Economic Development Agency in New Zealand. John uses the Talanoa tool and the Kakala framework (Pacific frameworks) in the Pasifika Innovation Approach, a co-design framework to engage Pasifika communities in New Zealand and the wider region.

Expert interview with Karl H. Richter:

Bio: Co-founder of EngagedX, which specialises in providing consultancy, thought leadership, advocacy and policy work. Works internationally across private, public and social sectors. Experienced entrepreneur, leader, and executive. Lectures at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management.

Previously served a 12 month assignment as Head of Research and Knowledge for the UNDP SDG Impact Finance initiative (UNSIF), where he led research to improve the analytical framework for social impact investing; was a member of Groupe d’Experts de la Commission sur l’Entrepreneuriat Social (GECES) of the European Commission to advise on its Social Business Initiative. Currently part of the OECD expert group on social impact investing; Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab; and Adviser to several organisations.

Was invited by civil society organisations, academia, governments and the media across Europe, Asia and USA to speak on social impact investing. Has guest lectured at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; advised HM Treasury on EU social investment regulations; was invited to submit evidence for alternative finance to the UK’s Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards; been asked by the UK Cabinet Office to represent the UK on social investment at EU level; was invited by US Secretary of State to be a plenary panelist at the Global Impact Economy Forum in 2012.

2011, he co-authored ‘Making Good in Social Impact Investment: Opportunities in an Emerging Asset Class’.

Holds an MBA specialising in entrepreneurship and project management, writing his dissertation on data interoperability standards and collaboration principles in the building design industry. He started his career as an architect and project manager for multidisciplinary design teams, and development leader for public and private sector construction projects. Was the founding Chair of Friends of the Crystal Palace Subway, a community-led initiative to reopen a historic community asset to the public. 

Ferdi: What do you mean with the “internet of impact?”
Karl: A few things… the original term was coined when I was leading an OECD working group on data interoperability standards for social impact investing. We realised that we needed an exciting idea to keep global practitioners motivated to work on data interoperability. So the answer to the question “why are we doing this?” was “because we are creating the ‘Internet of Impact’ “.

The term stuck because it resonates on many levels.

Firstly, technical aspects of data interoperability standards and protocols are at the heart of making the web so universal and ubiquitous … the term is therefore a good reminder that strategic investment in data interoperability and enabling infrastructure (which often seems lacklustre and technically complicated) enables tremendously exciting downstream value if done correctly.

Secondly, there is a reference to democratic governance and ownership – one of the reasons the web is so successful is because it is a public commons that is accessible to everyone on the same terms. We’ve seen from the debates about net neutrality just how important these principles are, and how much they are valued by the users of the web, and sometimes challenged by parties with vested interests.

Thirdly, the term creates a bold aspiration that invites people to imagine “what if…”. In the 1980s it would have seemed impossible to have a compact smart phone in our pockets that would enable all the things that our smart phones do. Even science fiction writers from that time would often prefix their visions by saying that the kind of technology would probably not be possible, but just imagine a world if… in reality, the technology has surpassed peoples’ wildest imaginations and made those fictional narratives – and even the unimaginable – a reality.

In the context of understanding our collective impact on people on planet, in other words how business and financial activities affect our social and ecological domains – the notion of an Internet of Impact invites people to be bold and creative when imagining how to solve the data challenges we currently face. The development of the web has shown that often the only constraint has been a lack of creativity and imagination. Equally it has taught us that we should be extremely vigilant about how fast and radical some changes may be. We should be less worried about whether something could be possible or not, it is probably prudent to assume it will be possible at some point – therefore the more serious challenge is to make sure we anticipate enough about such an unknowable future, so that we put in place appropriate rules and guardrails early enough.

As much as the term should inspire creative thinking, it should also remind us of our responsibilities to manage unintended consequences as much as possible.

Ferdi: Why do we need to rethink the way we collect, store and process data to enable such an “internet of impact?”
Karl: All of our individual actions ultimately roll up to form a collective picture that is the summation of our combined efforts – it is a moving picture that keeps changing.

One of the biggest barriers to developing data solutions for impact is the prism through which we view the problem. Often (see pg 22 & 23 of this report) people suggest that they need to aggregate more data, and that we need more data platforms, or bigger data platforms, or more universal data platforms.

But all of those statements think of digital data stores like electronic filing cabinets. This assumes that for someone to have access to data, they need to make a copy of the data and put it in their data store, or move data from one data store to another that they have control over, eventually amassing a huge data store with all the data in one place.

But this is cumbersome, costly, inefficient, and paradoxically results in data that are often fragmented, duplicated, inconsistent – and typically never available in real-time because so much work needs to go into cleaning the data to make it useful. The solutions are almost more complicated than the problem – and they certainly don’t lend themselves to scaling well without centralising all the data to take advantage of economies of scale, but that in turn means that the only viable solution would be a monopoly or at best oligopoly.

However new principles of Linked Data are very promising because they totally upend this paradigm – instead of moving or copying the data we need, we can link to the source directly. This paradigm inversion elegantly addresses a number of issues:

1. In terms of the need to understand impact per se, the Linked Data approach is more aligned with what is happening in the real world. Every individual person or organisation creates impact through their mercantile actions and financial decisions. The summation of our individual actions forms the collective picture of the whole. Linked Data protocols enable us to work effectively with distributed and decentralised data that reflects this reality.
2. Individual people and organisations rightfully also own the data about the impact they have. Distributed systems allow them to exercise their ownership rights through full control, access, and possession of their data. (Incidentally these OCAP principles are enshrined in Canadian First Nations requirements for how all their data are handled).

Once the interoperability challenges of distributed systems have been addressed, they are more empowering and accessible than centralised systems, especially for micro actors and diverse audiences.

Ferdi: You are a big fan of the SOLID project. What is so special about it? Why should more people be made aware of it?
Karl: There are a number of initiatives and technologies that provide distributed solutions, or aim to innovate in that arena. e.g. Blockchain and related distributed ledger technologies (DLT’s). However, they tend to be walled gardens in their own right and require people to adopt a playbook of rules or approaches – just think of Blockchain requiring miners, proof of work/ stake, ICOs, etc.

The SOLID project is different because it builds upon Linked Data principles and is an extension of the core web protocols. It thereby enables full interoperability with the whole web rather than a specific subset of the web. These protocols are open and extensible in the same way that the other stack of web protocols are.

SOLID is also a strategic enabler because it shows people and organisations how they can can store their data in data pods to make the most of Linked Data. These show how distributed data can be interconnected seamlessly with each other, and integrated with cloud software solutions.

This is radically disruptive because it creates three markets where there is currently typically only one.

1. Currently users of a cloud service have no choice about where their data are stored – your data in Facebook (or whatever other cloud solution provider) are stored on their servers, and you have to accept that as a pre-condition to use their service. With SOLID there can be a dedicated and separate market for data storage (you choose to store your data where you want, whether in a secure data bunker, or on a portable device in your living room, or in a data center in the cloud) – then connect it to the service you are interested in using.
2. There’s another separate market for the software services that interact with your data and provide you with the functionality you desire, but there is zero friction to switch to another provider or use multiple in parallel because your data are always stored in your data pod and connected to via API. i.e. you are never locked-in to a behemoth service provider just because they have your data.
3. There is another market for data itself. People and companies can choose if they want their data to be totally private, and pay for that, or whether they are happy to let third parties provide them with free digital services in exchange for access to private data. People can also define different levels, some may only allow such access to their social media data whereas others may be happy giving access to personal health data from their smart watches. Importantly, this third market is totally independent from decisions people make in the other two about choice of data storage and which software services they use.

Ferdi: You have launched an initiative called “instans” – what are its aims? What makes it special/unique?
Karl: Instans is building upon the successes of the SOLID data pod technology (developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the web). SOLID has been designed for the general purpose of enabling people to take advantage of Linked Data. Instans is also positioned as a general purpose enabling infrastructure, but focused specifically on the use-case of impact data.

Instans overcomes (or will overcome in time) data fragmentation through real-time search of impact data. This means that people and software applications are able to find the data they need, retrieve them, and work with them in a seamless way as if they are one integrated centralised data set – even though the data are distributed across multiple data pods. In other words, the benefits of a decentralised system with the functionality of a centralised system.

In time it may even be appropriate for instans to fold into SOLID or other key web infrastructure. Instans is a non-profit and public good, therefore its governance and operating model should be that of a commons, like the rest of the web’s infrastructure.

Ferdi:  How do you see a federated data strategy succeeding against the big data supremacy of state and corporate owned datasets?
Karl: I would challenge the inference in the question that state and corporate actors would have to loose in order for individuals to benefit from a distributed (federated) data solution. It can be a win-win that is mutually beneficial to all. State and corporate actors will be able to negotiate access to the same data they currently seek access to – and probably even more -, it will just need to be done in an open way that acknowledges a fairer social and commercial contract between the parties. In some areas regulation and legislation may also be appropriate to enforce access to pieces of data.

They will probably even get more benefits than they currently have because if people are confidence and comfortable having more private data about themselves and their companies in their data pods, then there is a more valuable trove of data out there for analysis – assuming access can be negotiated as part of a social contract. This opens up tremendous opportunity to harness these data for machine learning, AI, and so on. It may be counterintuitive, but distributed data may actually benefit state and corporate actors if they are able to adapt to the new paradigm.

Ferdi: What are some of your immediate needs? How can my readers help you and the “instans” mission?
Karl: Technical resources, or money to hire technical resources… We need to showcase the technology working with real-world users so that there is something to make the vision tangible, to build more enthusiasm and energise people so that they can see why it is worth backing instans.

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Detailed description of Digital Capability Framework Here (Ferdi van Heerden, 2012 unpublished)

This week’s interview with Hugo Araujo, Co-Founder of 7Vortex:

Ferdi: What role does data presentation play in the way people engage with the facts?
Hugo: The way data is presented plays a vital role in life. In biomimicry we have a principle that says “form fits to function”. For example, a specific flower might not be able to attract the same bird if it takes a different shape (i.e. presents its ‘data’ differently).

In Europe I gained some experience in the Hertogin Hedwigepolder project. When I first was there, to my eyes and after living in a Coastal Dune, it was impressive to have water ponds so close to the sea. As the project went from being a conservation program to becoming a political issue, the way in which the ecological data were presented changed.

I believe the way the data were presented engaged the people with what they believed were the ‘facts.’ In reality a healthy ecosystem was living and thriving there, but the data presentation pointed decision makers towards more short-term thinking. The facts were that a community of 6,000 trees was living there (including 3 centennial willow trees) and the migratory birds that depended upon them. The way these data were presented created a distorted perspective.

From my personal experience, before communicating facts we should be clear what our intention is. Do we want the audience to understand? Do we want them to take better decisions? Do we want to optimize rather than maximize profits? Intention, to me, plays a fundamental role in how you present and what you do with the data.

Ferdi: Please share some examples where data presentation changed the way people acted on the information.

Hugo: Here are some examples from the work we have done at 7Vortex:

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SUSTENTAVIA ENTITIES:
Using the structure of the tree rings has allowed multi-disciplinary teams to better understand the impact in a systemic way. The result was gained clarity and convergent strategies to optimize the positive impact of the participating projects.

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7V GRAPH:
Showing the ecosystem as a graphical system of interactions and dependencies, has achieved a common understanding between coders and designers. It becomes easier for both mindsets to share an understanding of the the energy exchanges in 7vortex thereby creating a shared eco-systemic narrative.

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ECOSYSTEMIC NARRATIVE:
7vortex.com has become the digital canvas to map, from experience, sustainable stories. As humans we have in common visual languages such as mind-maps but we also shared the same planetary nature. Understanding the big pictures and the interdependencies by visualizing the energy exchanges has been a great tool for regenerative storytelling.

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BIOSPHERE.GLOBAL:
Having a picture from the blue marble gave us a species perspective. On the other hand, the current dominant cultures refer to the tropics as the ‘Global South.’ In reality the tropics are the core regions of biodiversity and regeneration. If we want to take care of our Sistema Tierra, it is important to incorporate different perspectives. Indigenous cultures, ancient forests, wilderness, blue carbon ecosystems, climate zones, coral reefs… our global biosphere has a tropical core where abundance happens. Bioshpere.global puts this region of renewal at the core of presenting a global view.

Ferdi: What can we learn from nature in the way we collect, process and share data?

Hugo: Information management and knowledge transfer are the main biomimicry functions we adapted to design our digital platform. To me, those are my key learnings from living in the wild.

What I have learned from nature is that it is very beautiful and yet seems extraordinarily simple. Everything is connected! You do not see too many beings aside from humans that have such a predatory relationship with their own habitat. Everything and everyone seem to have an ecological niche to fill. Nature seems to have a logic and we are trying to compete with the wrong pace. 

When I was living within a healthy ecosystem, I was trying to make sense of the following question: “How does nature transfer knowledge?” DNA is the accepted/straightforward answer for the scientific community. This does not come close to explaining the innate knowledge of Monarch Butterflies. The Monarchs, as we called them in Mexico, perform a non-symmetrical multi-generational cycle. They are able to follow a path without having shared a present moment in time to explain the route and transfer knowledge between generations. The butterflies, like much larger flamingos, are able to perform country-length migrations every year. How does nature manage information?

Ferdi: What do you think are some of the big misconceptions people have about data and how it is used?

Hugo: I love data. Talk to me in data language and I’ll be glad. All data points exist in the form of a planetary and digital web. Again, my question would be more oriented toward the purposes for which the data have been engaged.

I think we need a better way to connect the data and to make it more relevant. Maybe our next step is to apply the understand that nature works from the bottom-up instead of controlling things top down.

We need to create the optimal conditions for self-emergent processes. What if we empower local perspectives and give people full control of their digital identity? What if we could connect this data to create healthier ecosystems around us? So we can have access to the best food from your own bio-region.

Ferdi: What can we can learn from ancient traditions and tribal knowledge when it comes to understanding the world better?

Hugo: We are all indigenous and we are all natives. We were native ‘somewhere.’

Ancient civilizations succeeded and collapsed in specific territories. We know that by adding cities we keep extracting energy from the living grid. We have seen the results by visiting the ruins of cities all over the world.

What do we need to do in order to avoid such a fate? Who has a different path? Who has done things in such a way that seems to be in a better balance with nature? Is there someone somewhere creating thriving ecosystems instead of dead-end, extractive cities?

Every time that I have understood a glimpse of indigenous cultures, I am very surprised at how much I learn. This may not be scientific language, but the transmitted knowledge and wisdom of the stories are keystones of our understanding of the world.

We are so lucky that these cultures are alive because we also know that diversity gives resilience to the system. Now that we have realized that we act as one species in face of threats we can also understand that our advantage is collective and rooted in respect. Humanity will thrive by respecting all cultures and yet adding energy to the evolutionary process of each generation.

Ancient traditions are usually culture-centered perspectives towards a specific understanding of the world. Where are the patterns of the knowledge that we have produced? Indigenous people found the way to keep the information running from one generation to the next, by sharing stories and having re-enforcing loops in the local culture and their natural environment. I am sure that connecting this knowledge ecosystem will give us multi-cultural insights to enhance our responsive adaptation. 

7vortex, our platform, aims to be able to connect perspectives and to enhance all this global ecosystemic narratives. The indigenous people are using the platform to visualize their own cultures, to inform sustainable governance in the form of a vortex and to make better decisions. So much to learn! 

Dear Readers, here are the resources for this week’s newsletter:

This week’s Interview: Sheeba Sen, founder of Alaap, India

Ferdi: How do you compare the impact you achieved working abroad versus working in India?

Sheeba: Working with Greenpeace for a year, I learnt that international advocacy work can feel a bit removed from reality. Working directly with communities in India brought back the groundedness that I felt was missing. This zooming in with the micro and zooming out with the macro has helped me in understanding the dynamics of how change may happen. Both are needed, at the same time.

Ferdi: You are active in both international networks like the Vital Voices/GRC and local project development in small villages. Tell me about some of the contrast and various challenges in working with such different stakeholder groups.

Sheeba: I believe for effective advocacy one has to cross borders. I think of people and organisations as different species in a forest. For magic to happen each of them have to engage with each other and find that balance where they can come together to create something bigger than each of them individually.

I constantly work on myself to think in terms of ecosystems rather than individual entities and become aware of the interdependencies, competitions, disagreements and different vantage points of the stakeholders I involve in the work I do.

The most common challenges I encounter is disconnectedness and suspicion. A local micro perspective will be suspicious of an ‘outsider‘ and may not be open enough for co-creative processes. At the other end a global perspective lacks the understanding that local context will ultimately determine the shape of the process, product or a service and not the other way around.

The key lies in building trust, building empathy, building stamina (!) and the internalisation. Anything regenerative can only be created through an ecosystem.

Ferdi: What do you think the regenerative approach can uniquely bring to the battle to save the planet?

Sheeba: Ferdi, I see the battle is one of saving ourselves than saving the planet! I’m still internalising what a regenerative approach can mean for us individually and as a humanity, collectively. The strongest pull towards a regenerative approach for me is inspiration from nature to re-imagine the human experience.

The fundamental difference between a regenerative paradigm and an extractive one is where in the ecosystem do we place humans? In the centre, where we view all resources at our disposal or as part of the circle where we thrive together with other species?!

Ferdi: Looking back at your work you have done in the last 10 years, what do you wish you had started doing earlier?

Sheeba: Oh! I wish I had shared more about my work on different platforms; connected more with seemingly ‘irrelevant‘ partners and written more!

I also wish I involved different stakeholder perspectives in my projects. By doing all these more, the chances of innovation and thereby degree of impact would have exponentially increased!

Ferdi: What makes the regenerative approach to social and environmental rejuvenation harder/easier in the Indian context?

Sheeba: I’m tempted to say it is both harder and simpler. Harder because the Indian top down sentiment is still that Western industrial nations should bear the brunt of emissions reduction and sequestration; that India is a growing economy and we need to ‘develop‘. And for that we need fossil fuels and infrastructure that may (mostly will) destroy natural resources.

More than 70% of India’s energy needs are met through coal and 14 of the 20 most polluted cities of the world are in India. Yet, there is a hesitation to take the lead on innovating and committing to a regenerative model of development for India. We don’t hear that narrative from the government circles.

On the other end the grassroots regenerative movement in India, especially rural India, is brimming with success stories and community owning up their own destinies. However, this remains small scale and siloed. What a regenerative future could mean for 1.3 billion Indians will in many ways decide the destiny of all 8 billion of us!

So, the challenge is to scale up the rural regenerative movement of India, bring in investment for large scale regenerative infrastructure and make a compelling case for the government to invest in regeneration as a development future for India.

Ferdi: Is it important for local villagers to understand the global significance and causes of their challenges?

Sheeba: Most of the time rural communities already understand the causes of their challenges. Perhaps not always in the global context but certainly in the rural vs urban context. One of the farmers I interviewed in rural Karnataka in February this year said to me:

” Our rivers are drying and our forests are disappearing. City people are taking everything away. We don’t even have enough water to grow our food. I also want development in our village but I don’t want to destroy nature. I am caught in this dilemma”.

This tells us that rural communities do have a sense of the causes of their challenges and the inequities and view that economic advancement can only be achieved by extraction and destruction. That’s all there is for them to see! They lack a choice. And this desperation, lost faith and the inability to invest long term throws up challenges for ownership. Women in the Himalayas would say:

“What’s the point of us saving our forests? The government will cut these trees anyway. Things are so bad here that we don’t want our children to be back in the village. So why should we invest?”

Lack of political will has left most rural communities lacking faith. In their struggle to survive poverty, they are predisposed to think short term and thereby lack ownership.

Ferdi: If you had one wish to my readers, what would it be?

Sheeba: Believe in the power of collective wisdom! 

If you would like to get involved or make a contribution, please feel free to reach out.

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The Worksheet

Dear Readers, here are the resources for this week’s newsletter.

This week’s expert interview:

Ferdi: When you lost nearly 90% of your cows due to the drought you decided to leave your University job and return to your community and the farm full time. Many people in your situation would have done the opposite (give up the farm and focus on a “safe” paid job). What motivated you to make this decision?

Dalmas: What compelled me to leave employment was a strong sense of a calling to help save my people’s future.  Growing up as young herd’s boy I saw our Maasai people being independent, food and water secured with healthy cattle and healthy lands. I am proud of my culture, my heritage and history.

The thought about children and our society’s future.

 The land used to have rivers with water and they have dried up. We used to have plenty of food and the Maasai were reduced to become dependent on food relief.

I decided to take a leap of faith and save our people.

I came to realise that all our problems were emanating from land degradation.

Therefore, I came here to help in restoration of the land.

It has not been easy but it is a worthy cause. I felt a strong urge to come here and lead by example.

Ferdi: How do traditions help and hinder the adoption of regenerative practices? What parts of your culture have you used to help others understand? What parts of the culture makes it hard for people to understand?

Dalmas: The Maasai culture is good but there are very high levels of illiteracy here. Our society is highly patriarchal and elders have veto powers and control over the lands and because some don’t understand they don’t want to change to grazing practices that contribute to overgrazing and leading to land degradation this is a big problem.

The current policies on land tenure like individuation of land in private deeded land has significantly affected the Maasai communal way of living and the management and sharing of common resources like grass and water.

 I have been using Maasai traditional ceremonies to bring people together, creating village cooperatives of like-minded and willing people to work together.

Ferdi: You have a very ambitious goal, to build a center for regenerative pastoralism through Ildalalekutuk Maasai Action for Development. Why do you believe it is important to build a centre for education and development rather than just looking after your own family farm?

Dalmas: The reason why it is important to have the centre for regenerative pastoralism to train and demonstrate regenerative land management and regenerative agriculture practices in a place they can relate with, on their own land and in setup that belongs to them. We are strategically located in the border of Kenya and Tanzania so we target all the pastoralists in southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania.

Our society is very conservative culture and it will be good to demonstrate to them regenerative practices that has been used and have helped restore the land in other places in the globe.

Ferdi: When people come to visit your centre, what is the thing that surprises them most? Why do you think that is?

Dalmas: In visiting my place people get to see holistic planned grazing working. I have helped to restore the land that I am using holistic management. My animals are very healthy and friendly managed. I also get good profit from my livestock keeping. I am also able to employ people or herders and pay them good salaries. I am also loving, welcoming, generous contributing to community development helping children who need school fees.

I care about people, planet and profit.

Ferdi: What role do you think governments can play in building and supporting more regenerative solutions? What makes it hard for them to be more effective?

Dalmas: The government can support regenerative solutions by including them in the agricultural and science school curriculum. They can train and support training to community members. They can also support and work with grassroots environmental organisations like the Maasai Center for Regenerative Pastoralism to work with communities. They should also direct funding such the Climate Funding to grassroots environmental nonprofits to enable them work with communities.

Ferdi: How do you plan to keep young people engaged and committed to the pastoral lifestyle when the big cities with flashy style and fast lifestyles are tempting them?

Dalmas: I am encouraging young people to come back to villages and support pastoralism and preserve Maasai culture. I have been telling them to see pastoralism as a lucrative business and invest their money in rural areas.

 I have also distributed steers cattle from my herd to a women group to help them start a livestock enterprise.

I am also setting young people trainings with the aim to give them incentives.

There is funding to finance young people who want to get into agriculture as well to create employment and encouraging them to come back to the land.

Ferdi: Around the world many traditional lifestyles are threatened by the effects of climate change. What is the best advice you can give to other people who are in your situation?

Dalmas: I will tell other traditional groups globally to fight climate change by becoming good stewards of their lands. Our hope is in restoration of the land to sequester more carbon and this can be made possible by embracing regenerative agriculture.

I am telling them to join hands with others good people globally to become one force to make our planet a good place for all.

Recent video Interview with Dalmas Tiampati:

If you’d like to support Dalmas in his mission, you can contact him here.

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The Worksheet

This weeks worksheet can be downloaded here.

Dear Logic Leap reader, here are the resources for this week’s newsletter. Hope you enjoy:

The Worksheet

This week’s expert Interview:

1. How does defining the right system boundary affect the design work you do with clients?

In the practice of design, I often invoke Eero Saarinen’s quote  “always design a thing in its next larger context …” Too often, we set the systems boundaries too closely around the thing we’re designing.

Opening up provides us with new insights and opportunities. I once ran a hospital design workshop where we played with system boundaries — ranging from a patient room all the way through to the community in which the hospital was to be built. Teams came up with radically different hospital designs according to what perspective they designed from.

2. What specific strategies do you suggest to ensure that the boundary is set correctly to be useful?

I like to play with temporal boundaries — consider a single touchpoint in an experience over the length of the experience, over the life of the product/service. In my hospital systems design work, I often have the clients begin the engagement with a way-finding exercise. They accompany someone unfamiliar with the hospital to some hard-to-find destination.

They are also asked to explore how way-finding happens in non-hospital contexts. This helps them to understand that the building they have learned to navigate over years is not the same building their customers are experiencing, sometimes for the first time.

3. What is the best example (case) you have seen where a company redesigned their service/system boundary to achieve better results?

Brigham and Women’s created a wonderful pre-surgery experience that began in the referring physician’s office, where patients received a “map” of the surgery experience, some of the major touch-points, a physical map of the hospital, and space for the physician and patient to take notes tailored to their unique experience (like a reminder to bring meds, numbers to call, etc.)

Hi there

From week one you can download the worksheet here:

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