Spoiler: Only for voluntary optmists!
Most people look in amazement at utopias, at projects that attempt the impossible.

Perhaps utopias fascinate us because they require us to get out of our own comfort zones: In order to make a utopia happen, you have to work on yourself. You have not only to want to change yourself but actually change.

In this episode you'll hear how about Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, a living utopia in Israel where Israelis and Palestinians are living together peacefully (though not without challenges). And if you believe that Russians and Americans cannot work together these days, give us a listen. Things may be different than they appear.

Meet Kevin Chaplin, a successful banker who gave up his career in the business world to change lives. Kevin is the founder of the South African Ubuntu Foundation and Managing Director of the Amy Foundation. Through these foundations he helped more than 1300 students to find employment and created 150 businesses in four years. Find out how Kevin's life is interconnected with the history of South Africa, how forgiveness and being genuine leads to societal change and success, and why Ubuntu is key when you want to bridge racial, religious, cultural, and economic barriers and divisions.

Read about Kevin's journey and leadership skills in his book Can Do! Making the Impossible Possible.

Join the Ubuntu movement @ #PledgeUbuntu.

No matter how old we are, emotions are part of our lives. Yet, expressing our own feelings and relating to other people doesn't always come easy. It's a skill we need to learn and develop.
Roots of Empathy has developed a unique curriculum to increase empathy and emotional literacy for children aged five to thirteen.
Their programme helps children to express their feelings and to learn to recognize feelings in others. But it does more than that: it reduces bullying behaviour and it promotes resilience and positive mental health - as independent university research proves.
Join my conversation with Sara Lane, the Director of Research and Curriculum of Roots of Empathy, and find out why empathy matters and plays a key role in creating caring, peaceful, and civil societies.

Building peace seems like an impossible task. But just as a popular sports brand keeps reminding us: impossible is nothing.
In this episode you'll hear the stories of people who have experienced unrest, conflict, and war and yet won't get discouraged from bringing peace to their communities. They share their recipies on what it takes to bridge the religious gap and they prove American historian and playright, Howard Zinn right: "To live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is in itself a marvellous victory."

Sources
Chefs for Peace:
https://chefs4peace.weebly.com/index.html, last download 20/03/22.

Nigeria:
http://africanclimatereporter.com/2022/02/07/, last download 20/03/22;
https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/publications/spotlight-the-nigerian-film-industry.html, last download 20/03/22;
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/, last download 20/03/22.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - this quote by Ghandi is easy to say but hard to follow, especially when it comes to our own consumption and the magic of reduce, reuse, recycle.

Enter Ribhu Vohra and Chandrah Nusselein, the power duo that changes the way children all over India think and act when it comes to waste. Through experimentation, research and the participation of teachers and students alike the WasteLess team develops educational materials that empower children to think critically, inspire environmentally responsible behaviour and drive future systemic change.

While they work with children, they have an impact on adults, too. I know, for I am one of them. For it's never too late to waste less.

Here's the direct link to the waste-calculator mentioned in the episode.
https://wastelessindia.org/waste-calculator/

According to various studies over 40% of us will feel the aching pangs of loneliness at some point in our lives. Loneliness is experienced by people of all ages, all genders, all cultures and the feeling of disconnection has dramatically increased since 2020.
Yet despite how common loneliness is, we never talk about it. It's a secret we all share. But just because you feel lonely doesn't mean you have to remain lonely.

The Cares Family is a British organisation that builds connection in a disconnected age. Find out why loneliness is not only a personal challenge, but how it effects our respective health systems. In this episode you'll meet Corinne and Eleanor who share their intergenerational stories from baking sessions to doing shots at a party. And Rich, a Cares' staff member, shares why it's up to each one of us to create the community and connection we are looking for.

After all, we are all sharing the human experience and if you dare, you might discover that The Supremes where right: Age really is nothing but a number.

Have you ever knocked on a stranger's door and had your life changed in turn? Have you ever done something that seemed strange to society - or maybe would like to give it a try?
Life is about taking chances - taking chances on others and ourselves, as the stories from Los Hombres Tejedores and The Cares Family show. For change only happens if we dare and take the road less travelled.

What is success to you? When a year draws to its close we often look back at the past 365 days, reflecting on what went well, what didn't, which goals we achieved and how we could do better in future.

The South African view of life as "ubuntu" brings a different understanding of success and winning. It has the potential of changing the way we interact in our private lifes, at work and throughout the world. Why not give it a try?

Sources:

Christian population

• https://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/ - last downloaded 18/12/21.

South Africa

• http://www.tutufoundationusa.org/mission-vision/ - last downloaded 18/12/21.

• https://www.reference.com/world-view/unusual-christmas-traditions - last downloaded 18/12/21.

Spain

• http://ivanfernandezanaya.blogspot.com/2012/12/buenas-noches-amigosas.html - last downloaded 18/12/21.

• https://correctiv.org/faktencheck/2021/08/04/altes-ereignis-falsches-foto-geschichte-ueber-kenianischen-laeufer-abel-mutai/ - last downloaded 18/12/21.

• https://www.inspiremore.com/ivan-fernandez-anaya-abel-mutai/ - last downloaded 18/12/21.