Imagining Moonshot Solutions for the Global Goals
A conversation with Melinda Woolf, founder and visionary for the Future for Humanity interview
Envisioning a Bright Future For Humanity!
MoralModa sat down to speak with Melinda Woolf, the founder of Future for
Humanity Foundation, on her vision of how to create the impact needed to
solve the greatest challenges of our time and at scale, and her work with the
United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, ensuring the
brightest possible Future for Humanity.
MoralModa: The Future for Humanity sounds like a large
undertaking, tell us more about the foundation.
Melinda Woolf: The Future for Humanity Foundation was
created to imagine, identify, enable and launch projects that
showcase the ‘Moonshots’ needed as standout solutions that
ensure we have absolute success for the United Nations
Global Goals.
MM: What inspired your work with the United Nations Global
Goals?
MW: In my early twenties, I realized first hand just how much creative storytelling
could actually reach and impact people. I traveled the world in my job first in
advertising and then in the entertainment industry. As a young creative director and
producer my job was to tap into the voice of the biggest consumer brands and for the
biggest television networks and shows to tell the stories that could reach the USA
mainstream audiences and consumers. Fast forward to 2005, the first time I discovered that the United Nations had anInternational Day of Peace, and at that time, not many people outside of the UN Ecosystem and Policy Makers were even aware of it.
It was then that I made the commitment to use all of my creative
thinking and vast entertainment experience in storytelling and
reaching people, to actually change this. I made it my mission to
build awareness for the UN Agenda for Peace, which is currently
represented by the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable
Development, and to do what I could to make the Goals cool and
easy to understand, and available for the general public.
Now my whole life is dedicated to this mission to ensure we
actually have a future for humanity. I was a young mother and
now I have grandchildren. I look into the faces of my grandsons
and I see from where we are now, their future is not actually
guaranteed, and even less is it positioned to be bright,
flourishing and thriving unless we do something now! My whole
life is dedicated to this cause, in establishing our collective
future for humanity as bright, and to restore the climate so that
humanity can flourish and thrive in harmony with nature.
MM: Do you feel it’s possible to solve the Global Goals?
MW: First and foremost, it IS absolutely possible to solve the Global Goals. We must
first ensure that the general public actually knows about what the Global Goals are.
And we must make it hopeful, fun, engaging, participatory, inspirational and even
celebratory in nature if we want to have a chance of ensuring success for this global
mission, and create the necessary awareness. We must rethink the way we do
everything, and establish new systems that can recreate, and change things for the
better. We don’t need to give up our luxuries, or our conveniences. We simply need to
build better inputs and new ways of doing things.
The Global Goals are the UN’s vision and roadmap for Peace for
Humanity to flourish. And we need every person to stand up and
do their part in contributing their unique ‘Piece to this Global
Peace Puzzle’. The quickest way we can reach everyone is
through Entertainment, Media, Music, The Arts, and through
Gamification and Sports. With this global reach and in
celebrating what’s possible for the best of humanity, we can do
this. Through celebrating what’s actionable we can reach
everyone. By coming together and all contributing our unique
gifts and talents, we can solve the Global Goals and have a
whole lot of fun doing it!
MM: You have been working on Solutions for the Global Goals
for some time now…What are the Global Goals?
MW: The United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable
Development is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect
the planet and improve the lives and prospects of humans and
animals alike. Consisting originally of seventeen goals that were
adopted by all UN member states in 2015 as part of the 2030
agenda for sustainable development, they recognize that ending
poverty must go hand in hand with strategies that build
economic growth and address a range of social needs including
education, health, social protection and job opportunities, while
also tackling climate change and other environmental and
humanitarian issues. We are all currently witnessing the urgent
Climate Action that is needed to restore the climate so that we
actually have a future for humanity. The Global Goals serve as a
what by when, for solving the greatest challenges of our time
and ensuring basic human rights for all.
MM: You have designed an 18th Global Goal. #18, Future of
Humanity. Why?
MW: When imagining solutions that can solve the Global Goals
which are basic human rights, we actually need to aspire to do
much more. Inspired by JFK’s moonshot directive, Global Goal
#18: Future of Humanity, represents the moonshot solutions as
the “way out of the box thinking” to our world’s greatest
challenges, in a way that we may not have even thought about
the problems, much less the solutions that will need to be
imagined yet. By opening our thinking and strategically setting
our future goals in this way now, we create a greater context and
roadmap to work towards what’s possible and absolutely
necessary as the tangible and actionable solutions to ensure the
brightest Future for Humanity possible.
MM: You have quite the global roadmap of events leading up
to 2030. What are some of the standout events you have
planned for 2022?
MW: We are the impact partner for a roadmap of global events
that include everything from investment summits and climate
change forums, to concert and festival series, and at major
sporting events from the Super Bowl to the new E1 electric boat
racing series.
Our 2022 roadmap begins in January in Dubai, where the Future For Humanity
Foundation is excited to be the impact partner for the prestigious Royal Investment
Summit (www.royalinvestmentsummit.com), offering a Climate Positive perspective
at the summit. We are debuting our EcoVerse Futures Lounge as part of the Summit
program, in partnership with esteemed digital artist Yusuke Akamatsu. We also have
the honor of gifting the Summit Delegates with a diverse selection of climate-positive
luxury products and unique eco-experiences. An exciting addition to the programming
will be our curated conversation with renowned Climate Physicist Peter Fiekowsky on
the Climate Action needed to successfully restore our climate.
MM: What projects are considered for the FFH awards?
MW: One of my very favorite things in our 2022 Roadmap is our
awards nominations and ceremonies for the Future For
Humanity awards series, honoring some of the most incredible
people and projects on the planet! Awards Nominees and
Recipients have established the best of moonshot solutions and
legacy projects for the UN Global Goals.
Our Future For Humanity award nominees and winners include
people and projects from all walks of life, cross-sector and
industry and from all around the world. Our award winners have
literally lived into their greatest legacy of what is theirs’ to do,
thus establishing the foundation that has paved the way for
current and future generations to be able enact real change
now when we absolutely need it. Those who have committed to
the Future For Humanity Impact Pledge can also nominate
people for the Future For Humanity Awards.
MM: In speaking about Entertainment and Music, you recently
partnered with EarthAid, the producers of LiveAid, at the
United Nations Climate Change Summit, COP26, in Glasgow.
How was that? What other projects or outcomes have been
created since COP26?
MW: Yes, we had an incredibly positive experience in Glasgow
at COP26. We brought people together at St. Luke’s with
amazing award winning musicians and recording artists along
with some of the savviest minds of our times to discuss
actioning the solutions needed to solve our climate crisis. The
outcomes from our presence at COP26 have been phenomenal.
The award-winning band, The Fratellis, signed on as ‘Impact
Artists’ with Future For Humanity, in pledging to become
Climate Positive by tracking and offsetting their carbon
footprint for their upcoming global tours, as well as committing
to replace their merchandise, T-shirts and clothing with more
Climate-friendly materials.
OUR GLOBAL ROADMAP
2022-2023 Global Calendar of Events
• Royal Investment Summit @ Ritz Carlton JBR, Dubai, UAE: Jan 22-24, 2022
• Future For Humanity, Super Bowl Edition @ Wisdome.LA, Los Angeles, USA: Feb 9, 2022
• Formula 1 + CC Forum Bahrain, by invitation of the Crown Prince, Manama, Bahrain, UAE: March 19-23, 2022
• AnimalHead Ent. @ UN Earth Day.: April 22, 2022
• EU Social Ent. Roadshow @ UK, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Tunisia, Italy, Germany, France: May – Sep 2022
• Future For Humanity, 50th Anniversary UN World Environment Day, @ Stockholm, Sweden: June 5, 2022
• AnimalHead Ent. @ UN World Oceans Day: June 8, 2022
• Formula E Vancouver, Canada: July 2, 2022
• CC Forum London @ London, UK: July 5 - 7, 2022
• AnimalHead Ent. @ UN Int Day of Peace + NYC Climate Week: Sept 2022
• UN Climate Change Conference COP27 @ Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt: Nov 7-18, 2022
• AnimalHead Ent. Future For Humanity Impact Festivals @ GCC: 3rd & 4th QTR 2022
• AnimalHead Ent. @ Future For Humanity, Global Sporting Events, 2022 Launch
• AnimalHead Ent. @ Future For Humanity, Global Concert & Festival Circuits, 2022 Launch
• Events Series for Formula E, Extreme E, E1 Events: 4th QTR 2022
• World Economic Forum @ Davos, Switzerland: Jan 2023
• E1 Global Series: 1st QTR 2023 Launch
• AnimalHead Ent. @ Future For Humanity, UN Int Days: 2023 - 2030
• EarthAid Launch Arena/Stadium Shows @ London, UK + Philadelphia, USA: Summer 2023
We were also able to offset the Carbon Footprint for COP26 in
matching carbon sequestered by farmers in the USA and the UK,
and by qualifying and issuing carbon credits based on agriculture
and soil regeneration. We are very proud of these achievements
and outcomes, and hope that others follow our lead.
MM: How can people become involved with the Future for
Humanity Foundation?
MW: We have many projects and offerings that are available that everyone can choose
to participate in. We have a mission to create accessible and inclusive tools that can
create actionable impact and offer ways for people to engage and get involved in these
solutions worldwide. We are also looking to partner with the best of projects and
solutions that the smartest people all over the planet are already working towards.
For information on the Future for Humanity Foundation, and to learn about our
upcoming events, information on the Global Goals and to hear more about solutions
that ensure the brightest Future for Humanity, please visit:
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