As I walk down the road my lungs are choked with fumes as traffic rumbles by, belching out heavy particles that sit in the air. Homeless people huddle in doorways, snatching at sleep. Empty cartons drift across the pavement while seagulls rip into bags of rotting food. A little further on, fragments of radio and TV news drifts from open windows - warnings of flood, of drought, of fire. Warnings of economic collapse, ecological collapse, everyone’s collapse.
I am walking. But where am I walking to, who am I walking with and into what kind of future?
Even while the planet reels, I am hopeful. I am hopeful because I have had the privilege of working and learning with some remarkable people over the last 25 years. People who have vision, who inspire, who problem solve in creative ways. When I was asked to work with Cymbrogi I was delighted to recognise these sorts of people in the team.
Being part of the Cymbrogi family means I continue to work with people who not only dream of a more sustainable future, but who are part of creating that sustainable future. A future where the air is clean, everyone has a safe, warm home, clean clothes, healthy food; where resources are not wasted, where the planet is respected; where communities work together to support each other. Where we learn together for the good of everyone and everything.
Cymbrogi is originally an old Celtic word for ‘Companions of the Heart’. When translated by Google into modern-day English from Welsh, it means take part. While the accuracy of such a search engine may be questionable at times, I am delighted with this interpretation and think it speaks to the heart of what we are doing. I am thrilled to be working with an organisation whose mission is to encourage and enable people in education to take part in the creation of a future we can all flourish in. Such a mission has never been more important, and, as Greta Thunberg told the United National General Assembly in September 2019:
“Together and united, we are unstoppable.”