The Agenda vol. 51 - Tell me something good
Impact Communications Institute
A global network dedicated to using communications for change. #commsforchange
Hello Agenda Readers!
This month we wanted to give you a little break from the abundance of Very Bad News out there and focus instead on some comms-centric stories that are giving us life.?
What are some of the stories giving your souls a boost these days? We’d love to hear about them. Hit reply and let us know.
Sustainable Development Goals covered in this issue
Matt Gaetz’ anti-choice attack on Gen Z woman backfires spectacularly
Image: Teen VOGUE
While delivering a speech to Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit in Tampa, Rep. Matt Gaetz recently opined that only fat women, whom no one would “want to impregnate” are advocates for abortion. 19-year old queer activist Olivia Julianna called out Gaetz’ comments in a tweet, and when he responded with an attempt to body shame her, she started a fundraiser for abortion services that raised half a million dollars in just three days, gaining more than 113K new social media followers in the process.
Cities look to trees and “smart” surfaces to help mitigate extreme heat
Image: Cici Hung via Unsplash
With much of North America contending with extreme heat this summer, cities are seeking out creative solutions to reduce peak temperatures on the ground. A new advocacy group called Smart Surfaces Coalition is working with the city of Baltimore to implement surface cooling measures, such as heat reducing chemical coatings, that could reduce peak temperatures by five degrees (and make them feel 15 degrees cooler). To bolster their case for the pilot program in Baltimore, the coalition published a report showing that adoption of smart surfaces will be a boon for tourism and create 3,600 jobs over 20 years.?
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Bill Nye, Seth Macfarlane and Star Trek producer launch new show about what happens when we ignore scientists
Image: Deadline and Peacock
A new show called The End Is Nye will be debuting on Peacock streaming network in August, starring Bill Nye as a scientist who dies in every episode, and Seth MacFarlane as a citizen who invariably makes a bad situation worse in each episode. Nye hopes that infusing stories about major disasters with a plotline and some hope will get viewers excited about saving the planet. Executive producer Bannon Braga, of Star Trek fame, says his series (The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise) are enduring and resonant because they’re hopeful, depicting “a future we all would like to be a part of.” The upcoming series was covered by Deadline, CNBC. E! News, TV Insider and more. The trailer on Nye’s Twitter has amassed more than 35K views.
Mothers Against Greg Abbott fight back against anti-abortion absurdity in viral ad
Image: Mothers Against Greg Abbott PAC / Twitter
Content Warning: Child loss, late-term abortion
A group called Mothers Against Greg Abbott recently released a powerful advertisement about Texas’ abortion ban that features a couple processing the news that their baby will not survive for more than a few painful hours after birth. The agonizing request to terminate the pregnancy is turned over to Gov. Abbott only to be denied, to the parent’s horror. To date, the ad has been covered by Bloomberg, NowThis News and political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen. Video views on Twitter have surpassed 6 million.
Impact Council Recap - Building an impactful DEI Program
Stuff We Love - Emmanuel?
If you don’t yet know Emmanuel Todd Lopez, the Emu of Knuckle Bump Farms, have you been living under a rock? Trust us, just watch this, then read up on his (and farmer caretaker Taylor Blake’s) meteoric rise to fame.
Thanks for reading,
— Ashley Letts, Managing Editor