A Letter from 2028
1 Aug 201831 July marked the end of the Social Impact Festival 2018. Spanning 53 Impact Sparker events, the Good Market, Public Lecture with Dr. Otto Scharmer, Presencing Foundation Program and Social Impact Summit; it has been a powerful festival of learning, connecting and creating change all over Western Australia. Thank you to everyone who joined us in lifting WA’s collective capacity to do good last month!
The 2018 Festival engaged more than 6,500 people over 57 events happening across 33 days in Western Australia. The Social Impact Festival Summit 2018 Summary Report outlines the key themes, contributors, experiences and feedback received from various participants of the Festival.
In the final session of the Social Impact Summit, delegates came together in small groups to write letters from the people of 2028 back to the people of 2018.
In closing the festival, we have compiled their voices into a single letter below:
Dear People of 2018,
Kaya. Thank you for waking up to the rumbling of this place and having the courage to act. Thank you for caring for everything. You stood on the brink and dived deep into the unknown.
It was clear that in 2018, we were struggling. Collectively, we were creating results none of us wanted. Our soil was degraded, our kids were anxious, inequality was growing and many of us had lost our sense of community.
You let go of fear. You listened to spirit. You replaced red tape with each person taking full responsibility for making things better. You reimagined barriers, fences and silos by investing in conversations and connection. You overcame short-termism by committing to our shared accountability to future generations. The wellbeing of this place and all its people became the measure of your success, and so we are thriving.
Thank you for moving beyond institutions, and reconnecting to spirit and country; for learning to walk on this earth, so it can be sustained for our children and our children’s children. Thank you for making sure that we all have a place to call home, and that everyone has something to do that fulfils their purpose and celebrates their difference.
You leaned into the wisdom of this land and its people. We know our six seasons and come together every full moon. We are a place of dance, story, song and art. We feel more connected. We are healing. Compassion is now at the core of learning, and our children are taught that we are all citizens of the world. We re-established rites of passage that made us strong enough to greet the future, reaching back to younger generations, and forward to our elders.
Here in 2028, we move through intermingling communities, and our spirit is thriving. The streets are filled with art and everyone knows their neighbour. Our chance at a good life does not depend on our postcode or year of birth. Our energy is renewable, our food and land practices regenerative, and our economy serves the whole. We welcome people to our revived and flourishing landscapes. We are all decision-makers who shape our society. We belong.
Whenever you had doubt, remember that your actions and persistence made the difference. You were brave and bold. You were curious. You listened deeply. You cultivated open minds, kind hearts and strong spirits. You sat around fires and told stories that lit up the path forward.
Thank you.
From all of us,
People of 2028
What’s Next?
The Festival may be over, but the impact we have created continues. Find resources from the Social Impact Summit and other events from the 2018 Festival on our Resources Page and check out our ‘Stories of Impact’, captured by the Festival’s amazing volunteer team of digital storytellers, in our Video Gallery.
Thanks again to everyone who joined us at the Social Impact Festival 2018. We have truly enjoyed sharing the #SIFest18 journey with you and hope to see you again next year!