I would want to teach them how to speak to one another with kindness. I would want to give them like a profound curiosity in the positive impact that they could have on the people around them and themselves. And then only after all of that English and maths and all that stuff. It's really missing, isn't it? This idea or education that you can make a difference. Who you want matters. So this idea that we can teach every young person agency is in itself a game changer.
If politics is broken—what's the alternative?
Indra Adnan is an author, political entrepreneur and psychosocial therapist. She's also the founder of The Alternative UK political platform and a global consultant on soft power. For over twenty years, Indra has been writing, consulting, network-building and event-organising on the themes of future politics, conflict transformation, the role of the arts and integral thinking.
She joins me to discuss the problem with narratives peddled by mainstream media, the power of story, and how to reimagine the story of now in order to get people excited about building a new future together. This episode covers so much, exploring conflict, creativity, education, the economy, disconnection, and gives a vision of a new politics centred around relationships.
“Conflict can be the very thing that shows you what's wrong: there's something amiss with our relationships in this society, we need to flush this out. If you're doing it well, it can lead to the transformation of that society.
“But if you're simply buying into the conflict as an opportunity to gain power over the other side, that it's a zero sum game, then it's going to lead to violence.”
Planet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it.
© Rachel Donald
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