(Thank you Heather Knight, Jan 8, 2019 SF Chronicle for the title of this talk which I am going to give tonight at the San Francisco Night of Ideas, where I hope to meet Tristan Harris of humanetech.)
Hello! My name is Roger Eaton. I am the Executive Director of a San Francisco based nonprofit, Collective Communication, Inc. At CCI we have developed an online forum called Voices of Humanity with the aim of creating a global consciousness that fosters both human unity and respect for diversity. Our “Together and Apart” feature will give the nations and religions each their own collective voice in conversation with the voices of humanity. That is “Voices of Humanity”, plural, with women, men, youth, middle-age, seniors having their own collective voice along with that of humanity-as-one. And yes, culture and geographic levels will come into play at every possible intersection of our differences.
My idea tonight for the city is that we form a civic/academic/business/government coalition to bring the goals of the United Nations home to San Francisco. The goals of the UN provide us with the best possible game plan for the city. We live in a win-win vs lose-lose era. Either we all win or we all lose, so the big picture that the UN provides must be front and center in any game plan for the city. And that’s not all. By adopting the goals of the UN, we have the opportunity to align our goals with the goals of all the cities and nations of the world. This is how we can work together. And not least, the goals of the UN are those that a progressive San Francisco wants to achieve: human rights, an end to poverty, good education and health, gender equality, climate action, a city that works for all, a turn-around in the growing economic inequality, and not to be forgotten, peace and disarmament.
The Voices of Humanity city team aims to persuade the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution establishing a UN Goals Advisory Committee. The Committee will be charged with developing detailed proposals how the goals of the UN may best be implemented and supported by the city. An app is being written to have a “Together and Apart” conversation between supporters of each of the UN goals. A monthly meetup will bring in new team members.
The expectation is that the Board of Supervisors will pass the resolution by UN Charter Day in 2020. That is June 26, and that by October 24, 2020 – UN Day – the first meeting of the new UN Goals Advisory Committee will be held. A brochure with a draft of the proposed resolution is available. Please see me if you are interested. Or see the resolution online here.
Thank you so much!