Radical Creativity: creating a Global Council of Women with Jenny Grettve of EIT Culture and Creativity
Jan 15, 2025
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In this engaging conversation, Jenny Grettve, Head of Transformation at EIT Culture and Creativity, discusses her vision for a Global Council of Women aimed at healing cultural divides. As a systems thinker and author, she advocates for governance driven by wisdom and inclusivity. They explore the transformative role of creativity in societal change, the importance of authentic leadership, and how collaboration can reshape our future. Jenny highlights the need for grassroots movements and a shift towards sustainable practices in order to overcome current crises.
Jenny Grettve emphasizes the importance of integrating creativity into governance to foster innovative thinking across various sectors.
The concept of a Global Council of Women offers a fresh governance model that prioritizes collective wisdom over traditional patriarchal structures.
Urgent action on climate change requires both grassroots initiatives and accountability from those in power to enact meaningful societal transformations.
Deep dives
The Vision of a Sustainable Future
A future that fosters connection and collaboration is essential for human thriving within a flourishing ecosphere. Inner and outer work is crucial, with a focus on healing relationships with oneself, others, and the web of life. The conversation emphasizes that such change requires active participation from individuals willing to embrace both radical ideas and practical solutions to societal challenges. Collective efforts are needed to build a legacy that future generations will be proud of.
Jenny Gretve's Role and Vision
Jenny Gretve discusses her new position as Head of Transformation at EIT Culture and Creativity, where she aims to inject creativity into governance structures. By working both from the ground up and within established systems, she seeks to foster a culture that embraces innovative thinking across various fields, including art, politics, and business. The role of creativity extends beyond traditional definitions, as it is vital in informing societal transformation at multiple levels. Gretve's approach centers on collaboration, allowing radical ideas to resonate within bureaucratic frameworks.
The Need for Radical Change in Governance
The conversation highlights the critical need for a new form of governance that breaks free from entrenched hierarchical structures. The proposed Women's Council is framed as an opportunity to explore alternative governance models that prioritize collective wisdom over traditional patriarchal systems. This council serves as a space for creativity and experimentation in establishing new structures of leadership that embrace inclusivity and reflection. Acknowledging historic failures in governance, there is optimism for reimagining collaboration between diverse voices.
Addressing the Climate Crisis and Systemic Challenges
The podcast touches on the urgency of addressing climate change as a multifaceted crisis that requires immediate and systemic action. While various stakeholders acknowledge the need for change, the conversation critiques the ineffectiveness of existing political and economic systems in responding adequately. The participants express a desire to translate grassroots movements into actionable ideas that challenge the status quo. There is a recognition that meaningful change will require not only grassroots initiatives but also desire from those in power to listen and take action.
Embracing Collective Action and Creativity
The importance of collective action is underscored as a means of instigating systemic change, with creativity serving as the catalyst in this process. By experimenting with diverse approaches and learning from both successes and failures, communities can better navigate transforming societal structures. The notion of connecting local village initiatives to broader change is emphasized, portraying a hopeful vision for creating thriving ecosystems. Ultimately, the call to action focuses on fostering connections, establishing new narratives, and enabling spaces for experimentation and collaborative growth.
How can we bring wisdom to those with power and power to those with wisdom? If we were to step into elder hood and bring the best of ourselves to the table, could we create governance structures that would help to heal our cultural divides, create equity and guide is wisely through the coming crisis?
Jenny Grettve believes we can and has set up a global council to make this happen.
Jenny is a good friend of the podcast. She joined us in episode #228 to talk about designing and building a school along Doughnut economic lines and then again in episode #249 to talk about the evolution of a Mothering Economy based on the values of compassion and care for future generations. Jenny is an author, philosopher, systems thinker and designer, author of several books, most recently the Mothering Economy that we talked about the last time we met. Then, she was leading WhenWhen, a new feminist design agency that creates system demonstrators to test ideas generated by global researchers working with the climate crisis and sustainable life. She was still working there last November when Donald Trump managed to take the US Presidency again. Amidst all the shock and horror of that moment, I saw a post Jenny put up on LinkedIn, proposing the creation of a Global Council of Women as a way to bring forward the values that our world needs at this moment of total transformation. I signed up on the spot and then asked Jenny to come and talk to us about it, so that the idea might spread in the Accidental Gods spheres. And then as I was doing the reading for this episode, I found that Jenny had started the year in a new post - that she is now Head of Transformation at a European Council funded organisation called EIT - that's European Innovation and Technology - Culture and Creativity. Which means Jenny is now taking the wisdom of creativity right into the heart of the bureaucracy that sustains the super organism, at least in the EU. So here we are, considering the nature of wisdom and elder hood, how we might overcome the gender divides that so assail us in service to life - and how to bring creative ideas deep into the heart of machine. Please know that the Council is not only for women - the first meeting is exploring whole, healthy masculinity and how it can be prioritised in this world. Which feels like such an integral part of our thinking now. So please do join - the link is below.