EHON CHAN

The Next Era of Social Change: Uncovering Human Capacity

Posted on Aug 10 2010 by ehon

A few months ago, I was invited to be a part of a discussion with a group of social innovators from around the world discussing about what we believe is going to be a trigger for a massive global transformation. We call this the Emergent Transformation. It’s going to change how humans do thing, especially young people, utilising technology to its maximum potential.

Credit Librarian by Day

I have often spoken about acknowledging human as an individual full of potentials, and that we have more resources than we think we do. We are more hyperconnected than we have ever been but many of us still view these hyperconnections as mere relationships. We live in an incredibly small world – the more people we know, the smaller the world become. If you look at this hyperconnectedness, it seems as though its just a big ball of connections, but if we actually map the skills, talents and resource that each of this connection that we have access to, we will unveil some incredible asset that we have access to right at the palm of our hands.

This is exactly how multilevel marketers make their money – in fact, a multilevel marketer once told me, if you scroll through your mobile phone and call each of your contacts, you’ll be surprised by the amount of assets that you actually have. And tapping into our networks isn’t new either if we know about Asset-based Community Development (ABCD). Asset-based community development (ABCD) is a methodology that seeks to uncover and utilize the strengths within communities as a means for sustainable development. The basic tenet is that a capacities-focused approach is more likely to empower the community and therefore mobilize citizens to create positive and meaningful change from within.

And based on ABCD, Nathaniel Whittemore, blogger on Social Entrepreneurship at Change.org is working on a start-up called Assetmap, an online platform that helps individuals discover and leverage resources directly from the community around them.

We’re also seeing more and more innovation in this area when it comes to start-ups, collaborative projects and entrepreneurship. People are tapping into their social capital to help make things happen, take for example, To Mama With Love. It’s a collaborative art project put together by a group of over 70 individuals from all around the world from Editor of Social Edge to an ordinary young person like me! All 70 individuals were invited, and is friends with Stacey Monk, founder of Epic Change.

We’re also seeing startups like Supercool School that seeks to challenge the traditional view of education being dominated and only accessible through structured institutions. There’s also PlanBig, an online platform for people to share their ideas and make them happen. PlanBig is a great place to crowdsource resources, ideas, thoughts and feedback from its online community to launch your idea.

We’re seeing a shift, and we have to create a shift of thinking of social networks for social good. How are we able to leverage these connections so that people can get better access to knowledge, resources and wisdom to bridge the gaps in addressing social issues. We need to think about how can we unleash these human capacity we have access to and look at collaboration in new ways. We need to view each individual as unique and has something to contribute. We need to break down the barriers we have to more meaningful collaboration and ways of working together, whether directly or indirectly. It is at this convergences that we see the best of innovations occurring.

However, there still lack a brand for this form of rhizomatic ways of working and I believe given a brand to these projects, enterprises, startups or organisations will allow us to study this new ventures better. It will also make visible the process of these ventures, and allow better publicity, understanding and access for us to bring this ventures forward.

I believe that these kind of ventures will dominate the ways startup work and how we organise social change in the future. We will see a lot more social innovations in this sphere and its worth keeping an eye out. It will also change the way traditional organisations work, especially how they engage their audiences. It also holds a lot of potential in the ways we look at addressing social issues and creating a sustainable world.

It will contribute to the already shifting ways of value creation and perception of “value” in a highly social and online world. Their ventures aren’t about the money or how to earn money, its about how can we add value to improving human lives.

So, keep an eye our for this sphere (what we call Emergent Transformation) – check out the blog – and if you like to read more about this, its worth watching these videos and visiting these sites:

New Era of Human Capacity Startups by Nathaniel Whittemore

Implications of Startups That Exist to Maximize Abundant Social Capital Instead of Scarce Economic Capital by Max Marmer

Category: Social Change, Social Innovation

Turning Adversities into Inspirations

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Posted on Aug 6 2010 by ehon

Speaking of stories in my previous post, here’s a story I have wanted to share. This email arrived in my inbox the night I gave a presentation at a local TAFE in Brisbane.

(TAFE is a vocational education institute in Australia.)

Credit: ParanoidMonk

I’ve been talking about this idea for a few weeks now and its been on my mind for quite some time. Young men makes up 4 out of 5 of all suicide, and suicide remains the leading cause of death amongst young people. Suicide is the number 1 cause of death for men under the age of 34 and there is a lack of support that addresses young men’s needs and nature. I really wanted to change this, and change the culture of “real men”. I shared this at a conference, at a few other events I have presented and last week at a TAFE.

Everyone were really supportive of the idea and everyone bombarded me with ideas and stories and I received another half a dozen of emails from the audience.

I got this email from one of the audience, and with his permission, here is his story:

So i grew up down in Melb, the youngest of 3 boys, with my parents migrating from Scotland to start their family. Parents still together til this day, and I had a very stable happy childhood. Throughout school, i was well liked by my fellow students and didn’t receive much bullying (I wasn’t out at school, as i wasn’t sure yet). I guess some students thought i was gay, and the occasional taunt was thrown around, but i had a good friendship group and didn’t let it bother me to much.
Finishing school at year 11, i went to work in the hospitality industry and figured out that i was gay. I was happy enough with my sexuality, just keeping it to myself and a few close friends.

Just after i’d turned 17, i had meet my first boyfriend (25yrs old), who seemed great to start off with, i’d meet him through the internet. We proceeded to date for a while and began a relationship. Not to my knowledge at the time, but he was an ex con, and had been in and out of jail. I was experimenting with drugs, due to his influence. About 2 months into the relationship he started to become very possessive and violent. He had been kicked out of his share house and was staying with me at my parents. One night after another argument, he had taken my car and i had to get my dad to pick me up from work, when we got home my parents wanted to know what was going on. So i proceeded to tell them I was gay, that the guy staying with us was my boyfriend and he was very physically abusive towards me, and that i was using drugs fairly heavily.

It was a lot for them to take, dad being strict catholic and quite reserved, it was a big shock to him, but he was more concerned that someone was hurting his son. That night my boyfriend had come back with my car and asked me to meet with him, i did to and another beating occurred. I ended up in hospital again, called my parents and requested them to leave a bag of my clothes out the front of the house, as i was leaving to go to (South Australia) SA with Tim. This was extremely hard for my parents to deal with, but they obliged and under Tim’s mental control, i left with him to SA. For the next few months we moved from SA – Syd – Melb, the beating were occurring a few times a week. I was to scared to leave and felt completely at a loss.

On my 18th birthday, i was beaten on and off for about 12 hours, had an ambulance called and them was told to tell them that i didn’t need them. After another hour or so, Tim had called a friend to take me to the hospital. I spent the remained or my 18th in the Hospital, then headed back to my parents. I once again went back with Tim and the abuse continued. A few months later, we had just rented a place together and i was moving the remainder of my stuff out of my parents. By this stage neither of my brother or my father was talking to me, due to the fact i kept going back to Tim. I didn’t know what i was doing, i was scared for me, for my family and friends, and using drugs daily.

After leaving my parents for the last time, i then got into another argument with Tim, and it was then that i decided the only way to get away from him, was to take my own life, i bought as much heroin as i could and went to the new apartment we were moving into (Tim wasn’t there) i wrote a number of suicide notes to members of my family and friends, i took over $200 worth of Heroin, thinking it would kill me. Thankfully it didn’t. Tim had turned up after around an hour or so, after me taking the drugs, i was still alive, but very out of it. He proceeded to beat me, kick me down 3 flights of stairs, stripped me naked and made me walk down Fitzroy St, St Kilda (an extremely busy restaurant/cafe/bar precinct in Melb), whilst i was walking naked down the road, blood pouring out of me, he was behind me calling me every horrible name under the sun, whilst everyone seemed to laugh. It was at the last restaurant of the street, (before we were in darkness where i believed he would finish me off), that 2 waiters ran out of the restaurant and covered me in a table cloth and the police and ambulance came screaming down the street. Tim was arrested and jailed for 6 months, I was taken to Hospital, then moved in with my aunt for a few weeks, then back to my parents.

Shortly after being back at home, me and mum saw a councillor, and he put me in touch with a group called young and gay, a peer support group for young men coming out to the community, ran by the VAC (Vic Aids Counsel). This gave me the break i needed and Tim was safely away from me. I began to make new friends and got good jobs. The next 4 years were spent partying, working and sleeping around. I guess it all made me feel better about myself. Around my 21st, i got into my second serious relationship, with a great guy, moved to Geelong and made a life with him, he got me off the gear and got my life on track. After a cpl of years together, we moved on. It was then i decided to move to Brisbane, where a good girlfriend of mine was living. I made the move and continued working in hospitality.

Always in the back of my mind I’ve thought i wished there was someone who i could have connected with and seeked help/advice from during my difficult period with Tim. After finally having enough of hospitality, i decided i’d do what i’d wanted to for years and get into an industry where i can help young ppl in need, possible in the situation i was in. So I decided to take on studying Dip of Youth Work. Which leads me to where i’m at today.

I’m now a very happy confident, fun loving gay man. Who would like to try and make a different to the gay youth of today, and let them know that its OK to be gay and show them that you can make life what you want it to be, even after tough times. Also to break down the sterotypes of gay men and to try to stop homophobia in high schools and the general community. My past is my past and is behind me now, i wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but it made me the man i am today.

I spent 3 hours speaking to this group of young people about social change and action. These are people who have battled some serious issues in their life ranging from rape to homelessness, but they are also people who have managed to turn their adversities into inspiration to continue their studies at TAFE so that they can “give back to the community”.

We also spoke about community organising and how we can activate people around us to bring about action, in a hyperconnected world. We also spoke about small actions and big action, and what these mean to the big picture of “social change” and we spoke about the power of inspirations and unreasonable ideas.

I received an email from one of the girls who have gone on to organise a petition for more support for young mum. The guy who sent me the above email has gone on to write a letter to the producer of Neighbours (a popular Australian TV show). The show recently has a “men’s club” where the rules are, real men do not talk about emotions and do not speak about tough times.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

*Name changed to protect identity.

If you’re going through a tough time, get help:
Reach Out – info on issues youth faces
Kids Helpline – 24 hours helpline / web counseling for young people age 25 and below – anonymous and free from Landline and Optus

Category: Social Change

Conversations That Matters

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Posted on Aug 3 2010 by ehon

Stories are everywhere, and given the chance, what stories do you want to listen to? What stories have you heard today, and what stories have you created today? A story that is worth remembering, and a story that will make a difference.

We’ve heard about a hug can change a life.

And what if, a conversation can change a life?

The idea was borned out of a conversation with a friend. I said we are not having enough conversations. Cat said we are, but people just aren’t listening! Her idea: let’s claim public spaces to have conversations and to listen to conversations of everyday people.

Not long after, Lee told me of a similar project where people held conversations in public spaces and I said, game on, we’re doing it. I sent out an email to 5 of my adventurous friends, and we organised a coffee where we decided on a date and a time.

The week after the coffee, we brought beanbags, camping chairs, a table, tea, coffee, biscuits, some cups and a kettle and claimed a spot on Brisbane Square.

We put up two signs, one said “Free Chats” and the other said, “Feel like doing something random? Come have a chat!” Within minutes, we had two random strangers sitting with us having conversations about their life and as time went on, we had at least 40-50 random strangers ranging from students to tourists, foreigner on a medical visa to a homeless man dropping in, and some stayed for hours.

For the foreigners and for the homeless man, this was some sort of a recognition of their existence. No political drama, no agenda, just people having conversations like all humans should. To connect the dots and brings back the essence of humanity and community. To us, it was stories that we’ve never heard. Genuine, honest accounts of everyday people around us, and experiences that we hear in books and the media.

Quote of the day, for me, came from the homeless man: “Have a chat? What.. have a chat? The only chat I’ve had are people screaming abuse at me”, he said in a cynical voice in his very strong accent. He sat down for about 2 hours and shared with me his experience as a soldier in the Vietnam War which was really eye-opening and saddening all at the same time. This is an Australian who’ve served the country, and now sleeps on the streets in West End, all because of the mental illness he’s suffered after the war and inability to put up with bureaucracy to get aid and the stress of everyday life.

In our daily life, its hard to comprehend how many stories we missed listening to or initiate conversations that have an effect on someone’s life. The quick, “Hey mate, how you going?”, “Good, thanks and yourself?”, “Yeah, alright” has become so much part of a norm we’re losing touch with what humanity means. What, as a society, we stand for.

So, if you’re up for something random, I challenge you to bring some chairs, or picnic rug and some cardboard, claim a public space and listen. Listen to the stories of the people around you, and you will learn about humanity more than you’ll ever have. Sometimes, a person need in their life is to be listened to.

Where to from here? We’re looking at making Free Chats a monthly project, so every end of the month, you’ll find us in the middle of Brisbane, somewhere, having chats with just about anyone and everyone.

Category: Social Innovation

All that Twitters is not Gold

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Posted on Jul 22 2010 by ehon

Credit: Matt Hamm

I gave this 10 minutes spill at Politics in the Pub at the Brisbane Powerhouse organised by the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre on the 22nd of July, at 7.00pm.

Before I begin, I think I need to make it clear that social media and social networking sites mean two different things, although in some cases, the line between them aren’t that clear. Social media is a channel to broadcast information, typically like Twitter and YouTube, where as social networking sites are sites that allow you to connect with other people like MySpace. However, it also depends on how you use the sites, they can be both social media and networking sites. Facebook is one of those that’s right in between (and also Twitter in some cases).

If we look back in the 18th and 19th century, people are sharing about their life through diaries. They write short sentences on what they’re doing or something they want to remember and they share these diaries with close family and friends. So, human nature hasn’t really changed – we still love sharing.

So, why are we so excited or talking so much about social media? The role that social media has in our life has dramatically changed the way the internet works and information is distributed. Rather than being passive information receiver, we’ve now starting to create our own content and/or participate in content creation (e.g. leaving comments or replying).

When the plane crash in Hudson River in New York, the first person to broadcast the crash was actually a resident of a Manhattan Apartment on Twitter. He sent the tweet 4 mins after the crash. People were retweeting the crash and it wasn’t until 15 minutes later that mainstream media picked it up and started broadcasting the accident.

Internet itself has become a setting, or a space, where we build relationships much like a physical space like this (referring to the hall). We go online to engage, to find information and to collaborate, and the internet has given people empowerment and confidence to achieve or do what they usually wouldn’t do in real life e.g. activism, help-seeking (depression) and building relationships.

The internet allows us to trust strangers. Friends online that we’ve never met offline doesn’t make them any ‘less friend’ than a physical friend. Take for example, the last few weeks, I want to start a movement that changes young men’s perception of “real man” and “mates”. Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young people and 4/5 of all suicides are young men. The whole idea is to get young men to actually look out for their mates, having meaningful conversations with their mates and strip away the stereotypes of what real men means. I emailed the idea to a group of my friends and within days, I have a working group. We’ve been working together for 2 weeks now and some of these guys are from Melbourne and I have never met them in real life at all. We’re all contributing equally to the project, and we all work as if we have worked together and we know each other for ages. The collaborative atmosphere that the internet has allow is immensely powerful.

Having said that, that brings up the point on bullying, predation and addiction. These are inevitable, because like I said, the internet and social media has become a setting in which we build and maintain relationships, and thus, makes it the same as a physical space. We are just as open to bullying, predation and addiction in physical environment as we are virtual, and to me, restricting virtual access is like wrapping your kids in cotton wool. I believe that the only way forward is to promote digital citizenship and safety online (as we do, offline). The good news is, young people are actually have a better idea on cybersafety than most adults! Also, if we put these negative events in context to the immense power of technology, restricting a child’s access to technology is really restricting their ability to engage, find information and build relationship. I think its all about the balance

In our generation, virtual interaction lays on top and weaves through physical interaction and they are part of each other. To us, the online and offline spaces are just spaces – they are not merely tools or entertainment. The way we use them can make a huge difference in the world.

Social media is only at its tipping point in terms of participation, knowledge distribution and technological advancement as the web moves to becoming more social.

What we need to think about and shift our attention to is bridging the gaps, especially in terms of solving social problems and doing good. The hyperinterconnectedness that we are experiencing right now, if anything, holds a huge potential if we can harness the interconnectedness to change the world.

Category: Technology

Politics in the Pub: All that Twitters is not Gold

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Posted on Jul 18 2010 by ehon

‘For Immediate Release’

‘All That Twitters is Not Gold’

The New Farm Neighbourhood Centre’s next ‘Politics in the Pub at the Powerhouse’ is about the good and bad of online social networking. While online services like Twitter, Facebook, Bebo and Myspace are great tools for getting the message out they also have a dark side.

The New Farm Neighbourhood Centre runs ‘Politics in the Pub’ at the Brisbane Powerhouse (yes, not a pub, but life’s full of contradictions) every couple of months and our next on the evening of Thursday 22 July 2010 is about social networking, and in particular, on whether social networking tools enhance communication or flatten and depersonalize it.

“Nearly everyone is hooked into new social media online, to the point that many of us would find it hard to imagine life without them, but lately we’ve been hearing a lot about the down side of Web 2.0. Cyber-bullying, de-Facebooking, cyber-stalking and the inane micro-commentary of Twitter celebrities” said Nick Collyer.

“This Politics in the Pub will pull back the digital curtain and look at the big picture implications of new social media.”

“‘All That Twitters Is Not Gold’ will have 5 speakers – Ehon Chan, Peter Black, Alissa Phillips, Sarah Moran and Hamish Alcorn – passionate about and expert in this issue.”

When: 7 – 8.30 pm Thursday 22 July 2010
Where: on the Turbine Platform at the Brisbane Powerhouse

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