With gratitude

Thank you to so many of you who have sent messages noting my first anniversary at Adeso and the #PledgeForChange2030. Reflecting on the last 12 months, I feel a powerful mix of emotions. Despair and horror as we watch, apparently impotent, as civilians and humanitarians are targeted in conflicts that demonstrate the hypocrisy and failings of global institutions. Awe and admiration about those organizing for change: Gen Z here in Kenya being a powerful live example. And hope, without which it feels certain that the only way is down. The Pledge for Change movement is growing, and with it, the size of the challenge. And mostly, today, I feel grateful for everyone who has helped me this year, which has been characterized by learning and unlearning. I am acutely aware of the luxury of learning, particularly after 20 years of operational roles, often in humanitarian situations where the imperative to act so often prioritizing doing over thinking. Talking rather than listening. Acting (noun and adjective) rather than being...

Hence this post, of appreciation and gratitude. It would be impossible to write down all the learning here (and of course it morphs and changes and gets richer as it composts through inner and outer dialogues), or to name all the extraordinary individuals who have shared so generously with me this year. But to share some of the highlights:

I started the ‘school year’ with what my grandmother would have (erroneously) called an ‘evening class’. As part of the Analytic Network Coaching Diploma with the Eco-Leadership Institute, I joined a cohort of intensely curious and generous faculty and learners, in a deeply personal and inter-personal learning experience that wove and connected through my professional transitions, and provided a ‘meta-methodology’ for understanding and doing eco-leadership. I’m excited by what we might do together with this work over the coming months. Thank you Simon Western , Gina Burns , Jay Stone ?? , Francesco Liuzzi , Sarah Smith and the rest of the participants and facilitators.

In December, I travelled to Bogota and Shift the Power, where I met and was inspired by change makers working across the eco-system: Lena B. Jenny Hodgson , Kate Bird , Nana Afadzinu (PhD) , Themrise Khan , Mahrukh (Maya) Hasan ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? and shared some reflections here. On the journey home from Colombia, I signed up with the Change Co-Lab: and while my attendance has been patchy (with apologies to colleagues), I am particularly grateful to Abi Green for her grace and generosity.

I have been supported through the ups and downs of the year by extraordinary conversations with amazing individuals: Mohammed Ali , Marie-Rose Romain Murphy, MS, MBA , Rebecca Freeth PhD , Mona Khan , Sofia Sprechmann Sineiro , Reshma Aziz Khan , Charles Kojo Vandyck and so many more. My brilliant colleague @Sidhee and I were happy to talk with The Development Hub on their podcast. I am grateful to all the colleagues at Adeso , and carried by the wisdom, challenge and unwavering commitment of the Steering Group Danny Glenwright Rose Caldwell Aleema Shivji Patrick Watt Mary Ana McGlasson Degan Ali Mohamed Yarrow , the Pledge Compass, the Working Groups, and the growing number of Supporter organisations and individuals (too many to mention). What a crew!

So what have I learned? Over the last few days, perhaps informed by the rapidly evolving political backdrop in Kenya and elsewhere in the world, my conversations have focused on two themes, which feel like they encapsulate much of the learning. Firstly, and oh-so-obviously: It’s all about the humans. As someone reiterated this week: we have built systems that remove us from humanity. Ours’ and others’. Somehow, as professionals in the so-called ‘aid’ sectors, we too often replace empathy and compassion with procedure and practice. That’s not going to cut it in the uncertain future. And secondly, the thought I’ll be taking into my holidays this summer and working with: I am – and we are - working in liminal spaces. Weaving between old and broken systems, and new (or perhaps older) ideas and ways of being and doing. This is uncomfortable work, sometimes fraught with contradictions and the perils of replicating norms that hurt. It requires a diverse community of brave leaders, making sense of a chaotic and distressed world together, using our different perspectives and wisdom to practice, with kindness, care and determination, paradigms that unravel and challenge power dynamics that harm. And replace them with some that brings us closer to the vision of the Pledge: solidarity, equity, humility and self-determination.?

Wishing you all some rest over the coming weeks and months. We're going to need it.