Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Can conversation change the world?

By Heidi Kingstone - posted Friday, 21 March 2014


One issue TCF is working on is childhood obesity. "Everyone knows you have to eat less and exercise more," says Duschinsky, "but that doesn't shift people's behaviour." This is an issue where a lot has been tried and almost nothing has worked. so they are trying a different approach – putting creativity instead of programming at the heart of their solutions. Watch this space...

As we talk, Duschinsky looks at my unlined notebook. If I had a notebook with wavy lines, he tells me, I would remember in images. And because most people are visually dominant, that means I would remember better.

This leads us into a discussion about Alzheimer's. The Conversation Farm was asked to create a global campaign on the disease that could raise $1 billion. "Chump change," he says. "What's important is creating a paradigm shift in people's attitude to the disease, not just throwing money at it."

When patients with Alzheimer's get their diagnosis, family and friends abandon them. From the 55-year old woman in India who is locked up in a room by her family who throw away the key to the forgetful grandfather in Seattle, research showed that the attitudes towards the disease are pretty universal across the globe.

Advertisement

"With cancer," says Duschinsky, "you want to hold people close and comfort them. With Alzheimer's you push them away."

But Alzheimer's is a ticking time bomb that it gets one per cent of the funding cancer gets.

When discussing the campaign with his two partners, what they realised was that no one knew anyone's phone numbers, not like when they were at school. "We realised that we were," said Duschinsky, "all forgetting to remember – whether we had Alzheimer's or not. So what if people with Alzheimer's could gently bring this to the awareness of the rest of us, and give us tools to help us remember better? How would that change the conversation around people with the disease? How would that reduce the stigma and the fear?"

The wavy line notebook developed by The Conversation Farm in collaboration with neuroscientists and mnemonics (the science of remembering) experts actually helps you remember things better. What if school kids had notebooks that helped them remember better and that were brought to them by people with Alzheimer's?" The conversation would change, attitudes would change, and behaviours would change. nail that and raising $1 billion is no longer a problem.

When the unlikely pair of Gorbachev and Reagan, who suffered from Alzheimer's, met in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1986 the two men decided that neither country would seek military superiority. A great idea – Glasnost – had changed the conversation, changed attitudes and changed the world. As the world embraces a future driven more and more by social media and the ability to share, it is time to realise that if you can change the conversation you can truly change the world.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All


Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

3 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Heidi Kingstone is a Canadian freelance journalist living in the United Kingdom.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Heidi Kingstone

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Article Tools
Comment 3 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy