On the usefulness of the useless

This is a working draft for a plea for culture work beyond commercial interests and justifications of usefulness. In East Africa, - and everywhere else probably - there is a lot of talk about increasing innovation capacity linked to financial sustainability in organizations that support artists. I have been actively involved in this through my...

Connecting People, Initiatives, Ideas

Sometimes I get a request around connecting people (‘do you know someone who...’ or ‘could you share... with...’) up to three times a day. Why? Because I’m a bumble bee. It makes me happy to connect ideas, people and initiatives to make amazing things happen and people know that I connect quality (or am clear...

FOMO, FONBR and Doing You at Your Pace

A friend asked me 'Why are you chill though', meaning I haven't been so active in the creative sector in East Africa. 'What is your story? I know everyone has one, so what's yours? Or are you just working behind the scenes?'. I thought about it, and here is my story. The Renaissance: Diving into...

Horizons

This story starts at a sunny afternoon 2013 in one of those Chinese office buildings that mushroom in Nairobi. We just ended an exercise on priorities with changemakers from all over the world looking to take their work to the next level - or start what I'd loosely describe as impact careers. It's simple: take...

Cops and Robbers

We used to run as if it was a matter of life and death. I remember how I chased Steve. He was my idol, tall and handsome and probably 12. I might have been 9. He was too fast but I managed to follow him through the thick of the forest and through hedges and...

Sweep your mind

Shadows of doubt cloud my mind. It's 11 o'clock in the morning and one sentence someone I love just wrote threw me off and into an ocean of tears. To be clear - this is unexpected and I'm aware that this is not about anyone but myself. I help other people see their value and...

Transform your mind

How do you do it G she asked. I want to learn to live with as much zest as you do. It's true, I'm know to love life and live fully. Or so. And I facilitate a course that is about that - inner work we can and must do if we want to work...

Tequila Only

She says we don't drink Marguaritas in Mexico. If they don't have Mezcal just drink Tequila only. It's a weird semi futuristic semi fastfood Mexican restaurant. 'Guacamole'. In Vila Madalena, São Paulo. Where you order food on a tablet but the girl explaining it to you recognizes you at the door and really makes sure...

Declutter

I've used Facebook for many years, mainly to network people - creating connections between the amazingly talented people I have met along my way. Obviously also for work - sharing and curating content for audiences and having my own little emerging agenda around topics of menstrual health, feminism and racism. Then I started noticing that...

Bend

The bass fills the apartment. There is a lot of work to be done. Grateful for no cynical voices crowding my mind I lean back and follow Keziah Jones into his musical universes and galaxies. Sometimes my capacity to care closes up, like an oyster, and because I am living at the edges of the...