Check out this video, published by Generation “WE”, as a candidate for being an identity campaign:
[Link to video]
Identity campaigning builds upon aspects of core identity to engage people around intrinsic motivations. It challenges conventional ideas about rational action and self-interest. And it calls upon people to become more empowered and engaged in personal transformations in order to solve societal problems.
Notice how the children in this video are not calling upon you to make better purchases (the consumer mindset), nor are they asking you to vote for a specific candidate or policy (a consumer transaction). Instead, they are calling on other children to unify and set their shared identity around an empowering set of core values – opennesses, tolerance, mutual respect, compassion, civility, engagement, etc.
How is this different from other campaigns? Will it prove more effective than other contemporary approaches?
This blog was originally posted on Identity Campaigning.
About Joe Brewer
I am a social change strategist and facilitator of idea implementation for people seeking to innovate at the intersection of the advocacy, policy, and technology worlds. Throughout the last decade I have sought to understand human values and behavior through the study of cognitive semantics and complex systems with the goal of helping build livable communities for the 21st Century. Much of my work has focused on values, identity, and modes of thought that shape cultural understandings of political and social issues.
I am interested in developing new practices that empower people to manage large-scale social change while solving problems through collaboration. I would like to see greater levels of trust and cooperation arise through a culture of sharing that enhances life satisfaction and well-being for people everywhere. Currently I am founder and CEO of Cognitive Policy Works, an educational center and consulting firm that trains people to manage the change process through the application of strategic planning tools and insights into the political, cultural, and psychological aspects of social change.