⚡Instability
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Television vs. HIV
Most of us probably think of MTV as the channel that brought you Britney and JT in the 90s and Snooki in the new Millennium.
In Africa, however, MTV plays an activist role — for the past decade, its revolutionary show Shuga has made a tremendous difference in the fight against HIV.
What is Shuga. The show covers “real and raw stories of young people in places like Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria,” with the goal of pushing healthy practices onto young viewers.
“If we can tell stories that come from the mouth of young people about their lives, then we can create a media movement. The idea was to create content that helps [young people] make both positive decisions about their own health and also creates demand for access to services”
Georgia Arnold, SVP of Social Responsibility at Viacom International
The impact. The World Bank conducted two studies to understand the show’s impact:
HIV testing doubled among the 5,000 young people between 2014 and 2018 who watched the show in Nigeria
Cases of chlamydia in female viewers decreased by half
One season of the show saves more than $300 million over 30 years across a handful of countries as a result of HIV+ viewers seeking treatment
Other issues. The show is expanding its activist lens and has started to tackle issues like reproductive healthcare, LGTBQ rights, child marriage, and gender-based violence, especially considering the interrelated nature of these topics with the spread of diseases. Plus, Shuga is careful to consider the cultural nuances of each country, sometimes creating alternative storylines for each country to feature.
Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool to drive social change. Compelling narratives tied to an individual’s experience can resonate in a more impactful way than just being told what to do. In fact, one viewer of Shuga even commented, “Someone has to die … in our lives, someone always dies.” For all the unconventional activists here designing solutions for social good, we encourage you to give the story as much weight as the solution itself.
Renewables & Geopolitics
The shift towards renewable sources of energy is going to have a significant impact on global geopolitics. A recent report by the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation believes that it is likely to become a leading source of political instability.
Asia’s move to renewables. It’s not only western economies that are trending towards renewables. India and China, economies famous for their significant reliance on coal, are also moving in this direction. In fact, China has made renewable energy technology a key part of its economic strategy.
Why? Considerations of national security. India today imports more than 80 percent of its oil and more than 40 percent of its natural gas through insecure sea routes. China, similarly, is driven by worry about the security of its seaborne oil imports. Even climate change deniers are coming around when national security is a question.
Impact on oil producing states. The major oil producing states — Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, and more — are worried about the future. The US and Europe have already reduced their reliance on oil from these countries, and now India and China may be on their way out too (although this is much further away). As a result, the oil producing states will see a significant drop in state income.
What this means. Qatar is trying to build an economy that can “survive the end of gas.” Larger states like Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are having a much harder time. Russia, for example, has 40 percent of state revenue coming from oil and gas and may face a serious crisis.
It’s going to be important to pay careful attention to this trend. Both Russia and the Middle East are already highly fragile regions, and any economic crisis can result in tremendous internal instability. Protests are emerging around the world — from Hong Kong to Lebanon to Chile — and we are likely to see the same happen in these countries.
Climate Culprit 100
Fact: 71% of climate emissions are caused by just 100 companies.
While we can all implement change and grow our influence over time, there are some of us who can really change the course of our future far more quickly. The idea that the majority of global emissions are caused just by 100 entities, including the US government, means that the people who lead them not only have tremendous responsibility, but opportunity. Some have implemented the steps towards zero emission, while others are sorely lagging behind.
A new project called Climate Culprits is trying to make the leaders of these companies more visible with baseball-card like profiles of each CEO and their environmental stats. See the full list here.
There’s still a lot to do. Can you think of any campaigns we could run to encourage these folks to increase transparency and measurement of actionable steps toward Net Zero by 2030? Would you want to collaborate?
Short Takes
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now running for president. We’ll be paying close attention to what this means.
Google for Startups is launching an accelerator focused on the sustainable development goals.
Two people are left critically injured in Hong Kong, with one protestor shot by the police and another man set on fire after arguing with demonstrators.
Tomorrow Today
🎟️ Thursday, December 5: Intro to Unconventional Activism
Change cannot be achieved alone, only together. In that spirit, we are kicking off community events at our space in New York City. Eat some food and learn from seasoned unconventional activists who have started mission-driven companies to accelerate change. Stayed tuned for speaker announcement and the menu. Get excited!
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