Article from EC Newsletter
Last month, I participated in a virtual global ‘Coronavirus Hackathon’ run by Common VC in partnership with the UN Global Compact and Ecover. The aim of this intense two day Hackathon was to bring together hundreds of people from around the world to brainstorm solutions to problems we may encounter in a post-COVID-19 world.
We were split into categories: Environment, Education, Health & Wellbeing, Jobs, Start-ups, Supply chains and Young people. We started the first session with a group meditation via Zoom followed by an inspiring and down-to-earth talk by Lucy Siegel - the author of ‘Turning the Tide on Plastic’ and executive-producer of the fast-fashion documentary ‘The True Cost.’ We were then sent to our Zoom breakout rooms where we got to work on brainstorming ideas via the online innovation platform - Viima. This tool was surprisingly effective at replicating an in-person brainstorm session. Perhaps this could be a tool used for digital activism groups or school committees…
I was expecting this event to be riddled with tech problems, but it was organised so well and was quite possibly more efficient and productive than in-person sessions. Not to mention it also allowed for a much more global, diverse group of participants - the silver lining of working digitally. Some of my team members are from Finland, India and the Philippines!
I myself am still adjusting to working from home, however, this experience has given me a lot of hope. We can still make a difference from home and innovation can still carry on full steam ahead. Although at the moment there are many world leaders and companies that want to go back to business as usual, there are likewise many people who don't want to go back to the old polluted days because we now know what the world could be like and should be like. Many appreciate the cleaner air, brighter night skies, audible birdsong, and coming out of lockdown will work harder to keep these things. In a sense, this is an opportunity that we should take advantage of to grow this rising feeling of wanting change.
I’m very proud that my team from the Environment category has been selected to pitch to investors on June 4th, so I will be working alongside my team for the next 4 weeks to prepare for the ‘Global pitch.’ Our idea is to create a campaign for the world to enter an annual “RESET” period of 2-4 weeks in the post-COVID-19 world. Whilst it would not be as stringent as the quarantine that we’re currently experiencing, we would provide an all in one “toolkit” for everyone to slow down, reflect, limit unnecessary travel and engage in environmentally friendly behaviour. Essentially it would be an online platform with tools e.g. alternative environmentally-friendly produce; recognised climate break by employers; learning tree/veggies planting at home; offer cleaner travel options etc. Although this idea is quite controversial and will be met with criticism, the hope is that the individuals, governments and businesses that can participate, will participate. Our slogan is ‘Keep the good, Drop the Pandemic, Reset the planet.’