* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Jeremy Wickremer is founder of Ideal Media. The opinions expressed are his own.
It's a well known fact that some of our earliest human ancestors scratched drawings on the walls of caves to share their impressions of the world. Other ancestors used the oral tradition to tell tales that would alert the tribe to impending danger, a new source of food, entertain or reflect on life.
These stories were told with the intention of serving the needs of the tribe.
Our present day communities have evolved beyond our earliest ancestors, and we now have conceptually constructed tribes, such as countries, religions, political parties, or companies. With the sheer scale of our new tribes, and number of competing priorities it is no surprise that our stories no longer necessarily serve the collective good.
However, in the last 20 years or so, we have experienced a media revolution comparable in scale and impact to the last media revolution that followed the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago. This time it is all about the internet and mobile, and the impact is global.
It has enabled the creation of new virtual tribes formed around shared interest, with stories being shared that serve the needs of the community. Communities such as the AlertNet membership where aid agencies can share stories, supporting each other and their work bringing aid relief to the communities they serve.
The interconnectedness of this network, and our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter tribes reflects the underlying interconnectedness of our world, and this reminder could not be more timely.
We are experiencing social, environmental, and economic challenges on a scale which requires new shifts in thinking if we are to solve them. The old answers just don’t work with these new questions we are faced with. These new communities reflect our deep desire to connect, create, and collaborate, and it is these innate desires that will help us solve our challenges together.
Many of these new tribes are looking beyond their immediate needs to think how they can serve the bigger picture of humanity. As much as the new forms of communication new technology offers it is this expansion in thinking that will lead to solutions.
It is with this spirit of collaboration and search for solutions that the inaugural Transformational Media Summit take place in London this September 27-28th. The event brings together pioneers from across the globe to explore how storytelling and media can help contribute to peaceful prosperous living.
Among the global group of inspiring speakers at the summit is AlertNet and TrustLaw’s Communities Editor, Julie Mollins who will talk about how she has brought collaborative journalism to her work.
She will be joined by Felicity Finch, who currently plays Ruth Archer in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers, who will talk about her work in Rwanda, Peshawar, Albania and Cambodia, where she has examined how radio drama can be used to communicate vital information.
Gilles Vanderpooten, who founded the French Film Festival of Environment and Sustainability will talk about his current role as Editor of Reporters D’Espoirs where he manages a network of journalists bringing a fresh perspective to news by focusing on solutions-based articles.
Also at the event will be Greg Barrow who works in Communications and Social Media for the World Food Programme (WFP), who will speak about innovative ways WFP is using new media to raise awareness for their initiatives and to engage supporters.
I founded the summit out of a passion for storytelling that serves the needs of society by embracing the qualities of compassion, wisdom and clarity.
Stories that embrace our interconnectedness, and can help us solve our social, environmental and economic challenges.
To find out more about the speakers and summit please visit: www.transformationalmedia.org.uk
