“Moving beyond divisive debates about diagnosis involves acknowledging the extent to which diagnosis is shaped by systems of power. Diagnosis isn’t an adjective (something we are) or a noun (something we have), it is a verb – an active process that is always moving, always serving an end. It can be wielded by the state in ways that are extremely harmful, but we can also break it apart and use it in ways that are liberating for us.”

A discussion about “relational dynamics, metaphor theory, knowledge creation, governance, meaning and obfuscation” along with “other forms of signification and communication being explored in the systems community, and how we can participate with language to deframe the world as we see it and reveal its true complexities.”

Re-upping this research from last year as the guidance is very relevant to this government’s latest energy strategy announcements re: oil and gas licenses etc. Crucially the research shows that it is unhelpful to even engage with the idea of ‘trade-offs’, even if we intend to debunk and discredit. Evidence suggests we’ll be more effective if we root our messages in shared values, which this guide offers an example of.

“Without well funded healthcare, water, energy, care, education, transport, our economy can't function. This guide will help you advocate for the services we all rely on. We will be co-hosting a session about how to best campaign for public services in a moment of interlocking crises.” (Thanks for sharing Funmibi Ogunlesi)

“How can we speak clearly and powerfully about racism? What language moves a mainstream audience towards an anti-racist cause? Which words should we be avoiding? How do we explain structural racism? Answers to these questions and more can be found in Contains Strong Language, released in July 2023 by communications research initiative Reframing Race. The guidance draws on original, groundbreaking qualitative and quantitative (20,000+) studies to equip campaigners and advocates with effective ways of talking about race and racism. Our evidence shows that new ways of talking can lead to new ways of listening.”

Kate Raworth, the author of Doughnut Economics, suggests we need to "create the conditions that enable prosperity to come about," by which she means being able to "lead a life of dignity, community, and opportunity, while we hold the integrity of this delicately balanced living planet." We are warned that it's "too late to pin our hopes" on 'green growth', and so we must shift from a paradigm of control to one of stewardship, measuring life "on her terms" so that together we might serve life and thrive.

“For Refugee Week’s 25th anniversary we invite you to celebrate what compassion looks like in action. Together we can create a shared understanding of compassion to ensure we are extending it widely to all….Dangerous anti-migration government rhetoric continues, along with inhumane conditions for asylum seekers…We invite you to show us how arts and culture can help widen our circles of compassion”. The latest polling suggests that efforts like this are working.

A sober but warm reflection on where we are now, and what it might take to make the transition ahead “humane”: one that embraces both grief and joy, the chance for community solidarity in shared work, and the opportunity for people to prove that they are competent to run their own lives.

New research shows a mixed picture on race: 4 in 10 members of the public think some races are naturally harder working than others, yet 9 in 10 people support action to tackle racism. The full groundbreaking Testing Times report – involving 20K participants - gives an insight into the language and information most likely to move people towards anti-racist thinking.

The first of three essays exploring ‘warm data’, which Nora Bateson explains is “information of another order…that is alive within the transcontextual relating of a living system”; information that is “wiggly, unpredictable and sometimes invisible”. We are encouraged to reflect on its role in helping us to make change “within ‘industrialized’ perception”, without ”re-produc(ing) the dreams of the cul‐ture in which it was forged.”