#30 From Africa Across the Ocean with the "Lady of the Sea" Francesca Santoro and On to Nick Nuttall

Hello dear readers,

This time, we're taking you on a journey to the African continent, exploring the life story of sustainability communicator Nick Nuttall, sharing the story of the "Lady of the Sea" Francesca Santoro from IOC-UNESCO (the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO), and updating you on the Friends of Social Business with specific offerings.

As always, we look forward to engaging with you, hearing your questions and suggestions, and of course, receiving your "likes"!

From Bankrupt Pop Star to Global Environmental Communicator

Interview by Anne-Marie Melster with Nicholas (Nick) Nuttall

Nick and I first met in 2018 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. At the time, he was Communications Director for UN Climate Change (UNFCCC). A few years later, I invited him to join our ARTPORT advisory board, and he became a fantastic supporter.

He grew up in the small northern English industrial town of Rochdale. Surrounded by moorland, nature became his childhood playground, which has since shaped his career in journalism, finance, UN communications, and now as a host at We Don't Have Time.

Anne-Marie: Nick, tell me the story of your life, starting from your childhood.

Nick: In the 1960s, without the internet or video games, summer holidays forced you to create your own entertainment. There was this magical world of wild hills, ponds, frogs, high-flying birds, bells, and old, decaying railway lines and viaducts—it was, in many ways, an idyllic wonderland. It shaped my thinking and perspective to this day.

Anne-Marie: How did you end up in environmental communication, and what career steps led you to where you are today?

Nick: I always wanted to be a pop star. But my father wasn’t 100% on board with that! I first studied marine zoology at St Andrews University in Scotland, but it was boring. During a student exchange in Denver, Colorado, I had the chance to fulfill my dream of being a singer in a pop band. But then my father passed away, the band went bankrupt, so I took a job in the UK as a stockbroker—it was a mental desert.

Instead, I tried my hand at journalism and got the opportunity to write for the London Evening News, whose editor had a passion for environmental stories. In 1989, I was recruited by The Times to cover science and the environment. It was a different playground: I could pretty much write whatever I wanted, as the topic was new. I also covered the international scene, for example, the first UN climate conference in Berlin under the leadership of the then-new Environment Minister, Angela Merkel, in 1995.

Anne-Marie: And what about your UN career?

The former German Environment Minister Klaus T?pfer hired me in 2000 when he was Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi. We became a strong duo and made UNEP and the Copenhagen Climate Centre more visible. In 2014, I joined @Christiana Figueres as spokesperson and communications director when she was Director of UNFCCC in Bonn. In 2015, I was the spokesperson for the landmark Paris Climate Agreement.

I learned from Klaus and Christiana that optimism is just as important as pessimism. So many actions against climate change are stifled by the pessimism of the media and society.

Anne-Marie: What’s your personal vision regarding sustainability, healthy living, and a healthy planet?

Nick: I’m a vegetarian, I don’t own a car, I mend my own clothes, and I’ve committed to buying only one piece of clothing a year. But I’m not perfect.

Anne-Marie: How do you see the world? Is there hope? Can we do something?

Nick: Climate action is the trigger for one of the most creative moments in history in terms of new technologies and solutions. We have enough money to make the good happen. But the flow of money is misaligned. Most of the world’s top banks are still financing the expansion of fossil fuels, often with our money. But there are banks like Triodos Bank in Europe or Amalgamated Bank in the U.S. that don’t fund fossil fuels. Why don’t we shift the money there and make a big difference?

Anne-Marie: How do you view the entire COP process?

Nick: With mixed feelings. On one level, it’s just the biggest gathering of politicians, climate activists, and financiers. If you’re going to burn carbon, burn it once a year for something useful. A lot of magic can happen when people meet. Fertilization of ideas. Positive deals can be made. Paris with COP21 in 2015 was magical. But now we need to implement, not just gather. Again, financing is not set up to achieve this, we need less bureaucracy and more trust to generate the necessary funds. We have all the money to make it happen, but too much is still flowing into business as usual, the old, environmentally damaging economy. That needs to change fast.

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In a major study conducted by the WeQ Institute in 2015, we identified over 200 profoundly hope-inspiring, world-changing megatrends of a new kind. These include trends like co-working spaces, social innovation, the circular economy, social business, and future skills, all characterized by significantly more systemic thinking and more collaborative action. Together, they form the metatrend "WeQ – More than IQ." In 2021, we made a bold move with the publication of the "Future Skills" handbook, promoting the universal learnability of key human competencies for future-readiness in the new WeQ thinking and action paradigm. And now, in 2024, we are taking this a step further: we are linking more and more of these deeply hope-inspiring megatrends together in a "WeQ School of Future Skills." One example is the combination of future skills with social business and social innovations, which are particularly valuable for the transition to a sustainable eco-social world. This practical approach allows for easier, faster, more effective, and sustainable learning across all three levels.

Imagine: Muhammad Irsyad Yunus , the Pioneer of Social Business, is Now the Head of Government!

It’s almost an irony of history: Muhammad Yunus, the serial developer of groundbreaking social innovations like the microcredit bank Grameen, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, has now been sworn in as the new head of government in Bangladesh, replacing his former political adversary, Sheikh Hasina, on August 8, 2024. With Yunus at the helm, and with broad support from both the population and the government, Yunus and the entire Grameen community can now continue their work on an even larger scale.

Imagine: The Connection Between Future Skills and Social Business

The strategy of linking powerful megatrends, as mentioned earlier, has been in development since 2022, especially between future skills and social business. In November 2022, the WeQ Institute and the Yunus Center signed a "Letter of Intent" at the Global Social Business Summit in Turin. Eighteen months later, the "Yunus and You – The YY Foundation" funded the WeQ Institute’s project to build the "School of Future Skills" learning platform. Independently of this, I was asked in the spring of 2024 to take over the leadership of the non-profit association "Friends of Social Business," a position I accepted in May this year. Three projects were already in progress (see diagram) that connect social business and social innovations with future skills. These projects are being implemented in close collaboration with the "Zukunft.Gründen Venture Studio for Entrepreneurship & Innovation GmbH" at the Nürtingen University of Economics and Environment, and with the experienced and creative social business expert Maria Ida Palmieri.

In the meantime, we have adapted the structure of "Friends of Social Business" to meet new challenges and perspectives. The new board is shown here:

My personal connection to Professor Yunus began in the mid-1990s when I had the pleasure of organizing the first major European award for him. On June 25, 1997, the internationally renowned think tank "Club of Budapest" presented its "Planetary Consciousness Award" to Muhammad Yunus for his microcredit bank for the poorest. The laudator, Lothar Sp?th, already recognized its significance and said: "This is the beginning of a global eco-social market economy." When the Nobel Prize Committee announced in October 2006 that Muhammad Yunus would receive the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, Herder Verlag asked me on the same day if I could write a short biography of Yunus within three weeks, which I gladly did. Separately, I was also already preparing the launch of a new conference format, "Vision Summit," in early summer 2006. The idea was to bring together, just before the G8 summit in Heiligendamm on June 6-8, 2007, the 10 most pioneering social innovators in Berlin on June 4-5, 2007 – with Muhammad Yunus as the standout personality. The plan worked perfectly, attracting over 250 journalists and media representatives to the press conference with Yunus, and the "Vision Summit" became Germany's leading conference for social innovations, with Yunus attending multiple times in the following years.

Over the years, I have had the privilege of contributing to Yunus’ projects. From all my encounters and experiences with him, I am firmly convinced that his innovations and the concept of social business have yet to realize their greatest impact. For instance, "Business Week" described him as one of the "five greatest entrepreneurs of all time" because he sees no contradiction between "social" and "business," but rather finds in their combination the most valuable, creative, and effective solutions for the coming decades. These include effects like "zero emissions," "zero poverty," and "zero unemployment." Imagine the global benefits if the success story of his energy company "Grameen Shakti" were replicated worldwide? Bangladesh, for example, has the highest number of solar rooftops globally. Through the collaboration of "Friends of Social Business" and our "School of Future Skills," we hope to contribute to making these possibilities a reality.

Become "Future Founders"!

Let’s briefly return to the connection between future skills and social business. On September 16, a free training program for "Future Founders" will launch, aimed at individuals under 35 years old. The landing page provides all further details about the program. It is funded by the Yunus & You – The YY Foundation lead by Dominique V. Dauster, FRSA and the "BNP Paribas Foundation" and is implemented by "Friends of Social Business" in close partnership with "Zukunft.Gründer Venture."

Zoom workshops will be held on September 16, October 22, November 15, and December 9, 2024. These hour-long sessions will feature insights from Yvonne Zwick, head of Germany’s leading organization for sustainable management BAUM e.V. , Maria Ida Palmieri , one of the most renowned social business experts worldwide, Dr. Rüdiger Fox , Germany’s most creative corporate leader for the transformation to a circular economy and CEO of Sympatex , as well as a presentation by me on the connection between social business and future skills. The number of participants is expected to be in the hundreds.

After the four workshops, 20 participants will be selected for free, personalized coaching and mentoring to help them successfully implement their social business ideas for eco-social sustainability.

The workshop on October 22 will be a live event at the "Entrepreneurship Summit 2024" at the FU Berlin Auditorium (also streamed via Zoom) from 11:25 AM to 12:15 PM, conducted by Maria Ida Palmieri and me, with a potential appearance by Professor Muhammad Yunus. If you want to attend the live event, you can register here for the Entrepreneurship Summit 2024.

Francesca Santoro in Interview with Anne-Marie Melster

@Anne-Marie Melster: I met Francesca Santoro in 2018, introduced by Markus Reymann of the TBA21 Academy (https://tba21.org/academy), while preparing my WE ARE OCEAN global program to protect the ocean. Francesca and her dedication greatly impressed me back then, and my admiration for her has only grown since. Francesca believes "in the power of meetings," and I do too. Francesca’s trust in my project has strengthened my work and has definitely shaped my vision and mission.

@Francesca Santoro works for UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), where she is responsible for activities related to “Ocean Literacy” and coordinates the Ocean Literacy With All program and the UN Ocean Decade’s coordinating office for connecting people and the ocean. She lives in Venice and has a deep love for the ocean. Francesca was born in southern Italy, where her father worked as a doctor. She initially wanted to follow in his footsteps, but during her schooling, she learned about an Environmental Science course at the University of Ca’ Foscari in Venice, which inspired her. Her father even compared it to "becoming an environmental doctor." She pursued this interdisciplinary career as one of the first students in the field. Her doctoral thesis led her to Naples, where she worked on an oceanographic campaign with Italy’s National Research Council (CNR), marking the beginning of her professional engagement with the sea. She earned her Ph.D. in Sustainable Development and was later offered a position at UNESCO in Paris, where she deepened her involvement with Ocean Literacy. This was the point where she fully immersed herself in her vision and mission of bringing a "blue curriculum" to schools. For Francesca, “Ocean Literacy” is not about memorizing the names of sea creatures but about understanding how much we depend on the ocean, how crucial it is to keep it alive, and what each of us can do to help.

In addition to overseeing the Ocean Literacy with All program for the UN Ocean Decade (https://oceanliteracy.unesco.org/ocean-literacy-with-all/), Francesca also co-founded the Sea Beyond project with the PRADA Group. Since 2019, this initiative has raised awareness about sustainability and marine protection through training programs for students and teachers (reaching over 30,000 in 2024 alone).

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ocean-literacy-unesco-and-prada-group-extend-their-sea-beyond-educational-program-56-countries

https://www.pradagroup.com/en/sustainability/cultural-csr/sea-beyond.html

In Italy, Francesca is celebrated as the "woman of the ocean." You can find articles about her incredible work and mission in newspapers and magazines, and she is frequently invited to television programs. Francesca has not only made ocean protection widely known in Italy but also attractive. Let’s follow her lead and make sustainability and ocean protection “sexy” worldwide. Lastly, we’d like to highlight some job opportunities at UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission: https://www.ioc.unesco.org/en/professional-opportunities

@francesca Santoro @ioc-unesco @unoceandecade @unesco @German Committee of the UN Ocean Decade (ODK) @pradagroup #oceanliteracywithall #oceanprotection

Exploring Africa: Facets of a Diverse Continent

"Exploring Africa - Across a Colorful Continent" by Kim Chakanetsa is for me a fascinating non-fiction book that takes readers on a vivid and profound journey through the diverse countries and cultures of Africa. Chakanetsa masterfully captures Africa’s immense diversity, from bustling metropolises to silent deserts and lush rainforests. With a narrative style that is both informative and empathetic, she brings readers closer to the people, traditions, and challenges of the continent. Particularly impressive is how Chakanetsa weaves together historical, social, and political themes to paint a comprehensive picture of Africa. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the continent in its full complexity, beyond clichés and stereotypes.

Background on the Author and the Creation of the Book

@Kim Chakanetsa, a Zimbabwean-born journalist and broadcaster, is internationally known for her work with the BBC and her expertise on African affairs. "Exploring Africa - Across a Colorful Continent" stems from her deep connection to her home continent and her years of experience as a journalist traveling across Africa. Chakanetsa wanted to tell the diverse stories of Africa, which are often overlooked by global media. Her travels and conversations with people from all corners of Africa have enabled her to create an authentic and multi-faceted portrayal of the continent. She brings not only journalistic precision but also a personal touch to the book, allowing readers to form an emotional connection to the topics covered.

Top 5 Takeaways from the Book

1. Africa as a Continent of Diversity: The book highlights Africa’s incredible range of cultures, languages, and ways of life, each unique and fascinating in its own way.
2. Human Stories: Chakanetsa shares touching stories of people who shape the continent and face the challenges of daily life.
3. A Deeper Understanding of History: The book sheds light on the historical background of many African countries, providing valuable insights into their colonial pasts and their impact on the present.
4. Africa’s Role in the Global World: Chakanetsa discusses Africa’s growing role in global politics and economics and how the continent can shape its own future.
5. Sustainability and Innovation: The book highlights how Africa is developing innovative solutions to ecological and social challenges, often combining traditional knowledge with modern approaches.

3 Quotes from the Book

1. "Africa is not a country but a mosaic of stories, cultures, and people, each shaping the image of the continent in its own way."
2. "The true strength of Africa lies not in its natural resources but in the resilience and creativity of its people."
3. "To understand Africa, one must be willing to drown out the noise of prejudice and listen to the voices of those who live and love the continent." https://www.gerstenberg-verlag.de/Kinderbuch/Sachbuch/Afrika.html?listtype=search&searchparam=Afrika%20-%20Kreuz%20und%20Quer%20durch%20einen%20bunten%20Kontinent

I hope this edition has inspired you and motivated you to increase your involvement in ecological, economic, and social sustainability through innovation for a livable world.

Together, we have the power to improve the world step by step. Through conscious decisions and positive changes in our personal and professional lives, we can make a tangible impact.

Let’s continue to grow, learn, and inspire each other to achieve new sustainable milestones. If any specific topics are on your mind, don’t hesitate to share them with us at any time!