The Innovative Minds Project

"It's All Connected", right?

But what does that really mean, when put into action?

Paul Hawken has said that the first social movement in the history of the world where humans worked on a social issue that didn't benefit them personally, was the English Anti-Slavery movement in the early 1800s.  Since then, humans have engaged in organizations and campaigns to address issues of women's equality, saving the whales, teaching adults to read, eliminating malaria, stopping war....and on and on.  We have thousands of organizations working on nearly as many issues, using countless resources and human capital.

How much have we really accomplished working on these issues in the traditional ways?

Inspiring Futures believes that we have been working on these issues in silos, and not recognizing that our work on social justice problems are really related to public health problems, which are in turn related to deteriorating local economies.  And that our environmental problems are intimately connected to land use, food production, and our traditions of spirituality.  We believe that our best hope of really transforming our communities, and creating a better vision for tomorrow, is to see the interconnections on these issues, and to develop new approaches to old problems.

The Bioneers Movement is about the visionary leaders who have consciously integrated a systems-thinking, multi-issue approach to their work.  Some of the members of this movement include the inspirational work of Van Jones, Thom Hartmann, Judy Wicks, Eve Ensler, Janine Benyus, Amory Lovins, Wangari Maathai, Andy Lipkis, LaDonna Redmond, Oren Lyons, and William McDonough.

Inspiring Futures has now launched "The Innovative Minds Project," to identify the leaders and thinkers in metro Atlanta who bring this same visionary approach to problem solving to our local communities.   Atlanta has more than its fair share of organizations working on a complete rainbow of issues, more than most any other city in the country - yet few of our leaders are aware of the intersections of their work with others.  But some are very aware of it, and have developed multidisciplinary approaches in their work, focusing on positive solutions, community building, and partnerships.

Innovative Minds is about identifying these leaders, and helping them bridge connections to others like them.  We believe that these bridges are a powerful leverage point, that will allow us to solve our problems more effectively than we ever have before.

Inspiring Futures will release its inaugural list of "Atlanta's Most Innovative Minds" in early April, in partnership with Atlanta Intown Newspaper.  Over 130 people have been nominated so far, with amazing diversity and incredible inspirational stories.

And YOU can help, by nominating the best leadersand activists that you know of.  Do they have a new approach to their work, that acknowledges and leverages the interconnections of people, communities, and issues?  Do they focus on positive solutions, and not just pointing out problems?  Do they cross over jurisdictions, institutional boundaries, and transcend partisan politics?

Some of these local visionaries will be speakers at the 2008 Bioneers Southeast Forum, which you can attend April 11 - 13th.  And if you want to know more about the Innovative Minds Project, click here.

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