THE ART OF MAKING THINGS HAPPEN
APG International: Amana-key Business Conference
Gran Melia Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Monday March 5th 2001
RIO VIDEO
Hello, my name is Severn Cullis-Suzuki. I
was that 12 year old in Rio in '92.
Since I was invited to speak on this subject
because of my involvement with Rio '92, I
will tell you the story of how I came to
be speaking at the Earth Summit at 12 years
old. The story shows how your country has
deeply affected my life.
I was born into a family that tries to make
things happen. My dad was born into it, because
as a Japanese Canadian he was interned as
a child in Canada during World War II.
My mother has been an activist as long as
I can recall, fighting for better school
systems and for things that she believed
in. Being female, she knows the importance
of striving for equality, and being a mother
she knows the importance of fighting for
a better future.
In 1988, I was eight years old, and my little
sister Sarika was five. My parents, at the
invitation of Brazilian environmentalists
and indigenous peoples, became deeply involved
in the fight to stop the building of a series
of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon. These
dams would flood out hundreds of native villages
and thousands of animals and birds. You might
remember the meeting of indigenous peoples
in Altamira. The coalition of indigenous
people won -- the World Bank withdrew its
funding, and the dams have never been built.
I was just a child at home, and remember
hearing about it all, while my mum and dad
were in Brazil, and thinking how exciting
it all was. The victory led to death threats
of one of the leaders, a Kayapo man. Because
he knew my family in Canada he decided to
bring his all his family home with us in
Canada until thing calmed down! Imagine,
a stone-age family from the Lower Amazon
rainforest coming to the city of Vancouver!
They stayed with us for six weeks. In that
time, my mom, dad, sister and I traveled
all over British Columbia with them, while
setting up meetings of strategy and cultural
exchange between the Chief and his aboriginal
counterparts in the longhouses and smokehouses
of British Columbia. We became great friends
with them, as we introduced them to snow,
the ocean and their favorites: the whales
at the aquarium.
The next summer, the family invited us to
their tiny village deep in the Xingu valley
of the lower Amazon.
It was the trip of a lifetime. My sister
and I found our friends again, and quickly
made friends with the rest of the Kayapo
kids, (it didn't matter that we didn't speak
each other's language). The Kayapo showed
us so much. How to catch electric eels. How
to spear tukunare with arrows. They showed
us where the turtles hide their eggs. They
took us on walks through the forest, and
cut us fresh papaya for lunch. We swam in
the river where people on the banks were
catching little piranhas. We lived like Kayapo,
like people have lived for thousands of years.
That time in Aukre imprinted itself on my
mind forever. I know that the diversity and
beauty of the rainforest that I experienced
fueled my desire to learn more and more about
the natural world, a desire that has led
to years of classroom study in biology. It
was in Aukre that I fell in love with the
Brazilian forest.
But our family did not truly belong to that
world, and all too soon we had
to leave. A little plane landed on the tiny
earthen airstrip and took us away, back over
the forest and towards the city of Redencao.
But towards its edges, the forest was on
fire! I looked down at the forest, and saw
the smoke billowing from many large fires
below. Soon the air was so thick with smoke
that we could stare straight at the sun.
It crept into the plane.
That flight changed my life. I couldn't believe
that the incredible world that I had just
found out existed, was being burned. I didn't
know of the economics or reasons behind it
- my young heart simply disagreed.
I came back to Canada and to grade five in
Vancouver. I told my friends about the amazing
place that I had seen. And then I told them
that these amazing worlds were disappearing.
They had heard that there were problems with
our 'environment' and we decided that we
should learn about what was going on. So,
we started a little club, calling ourselves
ECO (the Environmental Children's Organization).
We talked to anyone who could tell us anything,
and then we formulated little projects. We
did local beach clean ups. We went to a benefit
for the Penan people of Sarawak and in the
end helped fundraise to buy a water filter
for their village, because logging was polluting
their streams. With the help of a local youth
organization, we published a series of newsletters
for younger people with the information that
we learned. And we learned a lot. And ECO
was a lot of fun - we were really just hanging
out, and doing fun stuff (mum would give
us cookies at the meetings) and constantly
learning new, very interesting things.
When I was 11 years old, I heard rumours
at my house about a great meeting that was
to be the largest gathering of political
officials and heads of state. It was going
to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The
U.N. hoped that this meeting would set the
tone of the rest of the 20th Century, and
pave the way for more sustainable living
into the 21st. I realized that while we (the
children!) would be the ones to benefit,
or suffer from the decisions, there would
be no young people represented at the meeting.
I told my parents that ECO should go to Brazil
to represent the children! - and they told
me I was crazy, that there would be 30 000
people, and that it was "going to be
a zoo". But I'm pretty stubborn, so
my friends and I kept talking to people about
this idea, and suddenly people were making
donations to our cause! My mum, realizing
I didn't really know what to do with the
money, and that this idea might possibly
have some potential, began to help us. We
continued our bake sales, book sales, making
our own jewelry to sell. She taught us how
to fundraise - how to rent out a space (before
we'd raised the money for it), how to poster
for an event. Our parents coached us on our
speeches, how to make our arguments concise.
We held a fundraiser and from the support
of our community, we raised enough money
to send five of us to Rio! Even Raffi (the
children's singer who lives in Vancouver
too) became a big supporter and accompanied
us to Rio.
My parents were right, Rio was a zoo. Perhaps
some of you remember. The city was crazy
- RioCentro was full of military, and in
the city there was so much going on. We rented
a booth at the NGO Global forum, speaking
to anyone who would listen. We gave little
speeches wherever we got the chance. We gave
interviews to whoever would ask us questions.
Finally, on the last day we were supposed
to be in Rio, at the last minute we got our
break - Mr. Grant, head of UNICEF, convinced
the head of the conference, Maurice Strong,
that we should be on the plenary, and we
were invited to speak. I remember crazily
scribbling notes as we careened through the
city in a taxi towards the Earth Summit.
The four other children and I tried to compile
everything we wanted to say to the world
leaders into one speech. We ran through the
security and into the session. We didn't
even have time to get intimidated by the
dignified delegates who sat in the great
hall. I gave my speechc
You just heard what I said.
I told them I was 12. I told them what was
important to me. I told them that I was scared
of the future. I told them that before their
duties to their economic advisors or to their
bureaucratic policies, their first duties
were as parents, as grandparents. I asked
them to remember who their decisions would
affect. I showed them what my values were.
At the end people were standing and crying.
The response was enormous, politicians, delegates,
even the doorman tearfully thanked us for
reminding what was really important. The
speech was rebroadcast throughout the summit
building.
Who could believe that we accomplished just
what we had said we wanted to do.
All that from seeing the Amazon burning;
something I felt so strongly about. It gave
me strength; it gave me the nerve to go out
and start a little organization and try to
do something. And that drive to do something
has made my life rich - full of people who
are brave and inspiring.
So. What has happened in the last nine years?
When I got back to Canada, things had changed.
I got all kinds of invitations to speak all
over the world. It was amazing that after
fighting so hard to get a platform, my friends
and I were being invited to conferences as
youth representatives!
Since then I have given many speeches. I
have worked very hard since Rio, traveling
all over the world speaking to adults about
preserving the environment and world resources
for future generations, and to children to
encourage them to speak out too. Because
of that work I was awarded the United Nations
Environment Program's Global 500 award for
environmentalism. I also was invited to return
to Rio in 1997 for the UN's Rio +5: a conference
to look back on the effects of Rio '92- but
this time I didn't have to struggle to be
heard, I was on the Earth Charter Commision
along with Maurice Strong, Presidents Gorbachev,
Lubbers (Netherlands) Toure (Mali) and princess
Basma of Jordan and many others. I am still
on that commission and I will explain the
aims of the Earth Charter later on. I hosted
a children's science and Nature series in
Canada with a strong conservationist purpose.
This story has proved to me what ECO had
been saying over and over - that you really
can be effective; you really can make your
voice heard.
Today I am a biology student at Yale University,
doing more reading than
activism. But I'm studying towards doing
research out in nature. I want to back my
efforts to conserve biodiversity with scientific
expertise and suggestions for more sustainable
living. And finally, this summer I will be
doing fieldwork at a research station on
that same tributary I once visited, the beautiful
Xingu in the Amazon. Back to your rainforest
that inspired me when I was nine years old.
It seems that my life is somehow tied up
with your incredible Brazilian rainforest.
I know now that the challenges of the Amazon
are not all so straightforward as simply
making a speech at the Earth Summit. Now
that I'm a ripe old 21, I'm beginning to
realize the complexities of issues that we
must deal with. I was so angry that the Amazon
was being destroyed, but in those days was
not aware of the vast poverty and economic
realities that drove the burning.
Now, it is the year 2001. I turned 21 last
yearc I am a student in University and starting
to think about a professional career and
what that meansc how I want to live my life.
I'm trying to decide what my goals are, and
in the process, I am learning that the world
is not as simple when you're 21 as when you're
12.
Oscar asked me to talk about "the art
of making things happen."
What does that mean? How do we make things
happen?
1. FIRST THING TO DO: FIND OUR VALUES
Today you have been discussing the purpose
of your organizations. Let's look at our
purpose as individuals.
We are complex beings. We have multi-level
identity:
1. Human Beings. We are biological creatures.
Animals.
2. Parents, children, people in relationships,
members of a community
3. As professionals and businesspeople in
the Capitalist economy
Let's start at the first level. We are human
animals.
-BIODIVERSITY:
When I was 12 I had an idea that humans need
other animals to survive. Today I understand
that this is need for biodiversity. What
does it mean?
First of all, I have been learning at University
that the world is a very complex place. There
is so much to learn, so many facets of the
world. So many sides to each issue. My studies
are in the area of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology. And while they are teaching me a
complexity in nature that I never ever knew
existed, I am also learning there are some
basics that we can't deny.
I want to talk a little about these things
that I am learning, because they are becoming
ways for me to find my values, allowing me
to make things happen.
Our first identity: we are human BEINGS -
most amazing thing is that we're still animals!
Our society focuses on the human part. We
all know that there is loaded meaning behind
thinking of humans as animals; to call someone
an animal (pig, chicken, snake) is an insult.
We are taught from the time we are very small
that we are different from all other creatures,
and that we are superior. This is dangerous,
because it separates us from the reality
of our dependence on the natural world, just
like any other animal.
People are distanced from their biological
identity, and this superiority gives us a
false sense of invincibility in the face
of biological crises.
Through my studies I am learning slowly about
where we come from, and this strips us from
being fundamentally "different"
than other animals.
My dad tells me a little story that I want
to tell you. Imagine that science has created
a time machine.
The Earth was formed 4.6 Billion years ago.
Let's go back 4 billion years. Before Life.
If we stepped outside the time machine onto
Earth, we would not survive two minutes-
we couldn't breathe. Earth's atmosphere for
the first few billion years was made of gases
that are poisonous to us. Somehow, in this
airless, waterless environment, life evolved,
3.8 Billion years ago. Life first arose as
microscopic bacteria. And eventually, after
a billion or so years, one organism evolved
that had an amazing capacity-to make oxygen.
This organism, cyanobacteria, changed the
world's atmosphere! It poisoned the world
with Oxygen so that eventually, all the organisms
that breathed only CO2 went extinct. They
provided the atmosphere that we now depend
on.
Life created atmosphere we breathe.
So let's say that we have oxygen tanks. We'd
be alright until we got thirsty. But 4 billion
years ago we could not have drunk any water.
Any water would have been unfit to drink-
it is Life that filters the water to make
it drinkable. Without life, we couldn't drink.
Say we had brought water with us on the time
machine. We'd soon be hungry, but there would
be no food-there was no food before life.
Everything we eat was once alive. My dad
says we are living compost heaps!
So what if we brought seeds to plant for
food? We couldn't plant them, because there
was no soil on the planet! Soil is created
by life. Life creates the stuff we need to
grow food in.
What if it got cold, outside of our little
time machine? If we'd wanted to make a fire,
we couldn't. There was nothing to burn before
Life. All of the things that we use for energy,
wood, gas, fuel, air, result from eons of
Life.
So the point is that the diversity of Life
on Earth created the stuff we need to survive,
Air, Water, Soil, Energy. Without all the
other organisms that replenish our resources,
we cannot survive. For all our technology
and evolution, we cannot survive without
the diversity of the natural world.
WE MUST REALIZE OUR DEPENDENCE ON NATURE
and this will help us realize some fundamental
values. Some truths that we can't ignore.
We are living organisms on planet Earth.
We need Earth for our survival.
The second part of making things happen after
determining what our values are, is finding
out: Where in our lives are there conflicts
with our values? What are they?
This is difficult to do.
At Rio '92 I challenged adults to do this.
Now that I'm in University, I realize that
everyone in the world is biased by their
upbringing, and even by what they are studying,
we are trained to see the world through different
perspectives. You can't help it. I'm being
shaped by my biology department. But I still
have not been molded by taking on a profession,
and I still haven't had to worry about making
a living. And that was one of the freedoms
I had at Rio in 92. I didn't have to worry,
my world wasn't clouded by having to make
a living. I didn't have to compromise in
how I saw the world. My view of the world
was pretty straight forward. Now it's not
so easy to detach and see what is going on
without the background of education, of experience.
There is no such thing as objective observations.
WE SEE THE WORLD THROUGH TAINTED LENSES.
So how can we decide where our lives conflict
with our values?
In order to challenge the values we have
come to have as students, as adults, as scientists,
as businessmen, we must remember what it
was like to be simple. What it was like to
be a child.
We have to stop, and think about WHAT IS
REALLY IMPORTANT to us.
My mother once told me that children are
closer to creation.
They haven't let go of the connection and
love of Nature with all of its puddles, tadpoles,
flowers and furry creatures.
They understand when people say, these are
our brothers and sisters.
They are PART of Nature still.
I think that sometimes, when we become decision-makers,
in complicated work and lives, we forget
what's really important.
The secret to finding our real values is
to remember WHAT and WHO we were as children.
Remember all the insects and birds, catching
butterflies and looking for frogs in ponds?
Remember playing in the grass and climbing
trees.
Remember how important they were, how you
couldn't imagine a world without them.
I think in our hearts we KNOW what values,
what principles are right.
But it is so easy to forget.
What I worry is that the adults here may
be the LAST generation to have childhood
memories of Nature as it always has been.
Already, many of my friends who live in the
city have no experiences or memories of forests
or wild animals at all, and are now really
disconnected from Nature.
If you can't remember what your values were
as a child, think of your own children's
values. Think of your values as parents.
What do you want for your children? For their
future?
Here is where we might recognize what actions,
trajectories in our lives conflict with out
values.
As parents, you must look ahead, and look
at the consequences of action.
Which brings me to our role as members of
a community. Here in Brazil, as in most countries,
we know that there are many problems in communities,
problems of poverty and unemployment.
The next level of human identity after the
fact that we are animals that depend on nature,
is that we are members of communities, and
that we must take care of our cultures and
of our children. We are not only biological,
but SOCIAL. We need our communities and societies
and culture. And we need to contribute to
our communities; we need to be useful.
Today you have been talking about the PURPOSE
of organizations. Your vision. Amana-key's
philosophy agrees that in order to be fulfilled
we need to have some higher goals than what
is known as economic success. We must make
a contribution to our fellow human beings,
our communities, to our future generations,
to the world.
I mentioned the United Nation's EARTH CHARTER
that I have been working on with a team of
wonderful people for the last few years.
The Earth Charter grew out of Rio 92. I mention
this charter because it helps clarify our
discussion, It will help us define an international
purpose. The 30+ Commissioners who collaborated
on this project were from different spheres
of the world, from religious leaders to indigenous
persons to former presidents. The Commission
was brought together to draft up a document
that hopes to embody a guideline for acting
in accordance to our ethics, our values,
when we are dealing with the Earth and other
people. The UN will vote to accept it next
year. Hopefully it will become a guideline
to help us identify the contradictions in
our lives with our values, the conflicts
that our current actions have on our future.
3. And finally, we must TAKE ACTION. Once
we have defined our values, identified where
the conflict in our life and values occur,
we must take action. My dad still says, "you
are what you do, not what you say."
Now we must make things happen.
A good example of Action is the Eco Pledge:
In the United States some University students
started the ECO pledge. This is a list of
companies that have extremely bad environmental
track records and policies and the students
started a petition that pledged that they
would not not to work for those organizations.
Today more than 160 000 students have signed
the ECO pledge. I heard about it at Yale
University, because my roommate Margie has
been working very hard with other students
on this campaign.
This is a powerful message: it says to the
corporations and to the workers within the
corporations that their colleagues, many
of whom are desirable employees, cannot accept
the moral values of the company. By declaring
their dedication to work for more sustainable
corporations with higher values, the students
are challenging the companies to look at
their values and make changes. Today in this
morning's session, we discussed how having
a higher purpose attracts the talented people
with choice of who they work for. These students
have declared their choice, and their values.
There have also been efforts within many
companies from the inside out. Ford Motor
company's new Chairman is talking about changes
within the company in order to become a leader
in sustainability! He says he has recognized
that his values as an environmentalist conflict
with many of the traditional practices of
his automobile company, and has decided to
make efforts to change them. His attitude
is positive and excited; in a speech to the
Ceres Annual conference last year, he said
"We have an opportunity to have a major
positive impact on society. We cannot afford
to miss this opportunity." He will do
well if he follows the example of the chairman
of Toyota who has taken the lead in producing
Gas-Electric hybrid vehicles and supporting
environmental work. (TOYOTA EVEN SPONSORED
USc)
Like Ford, British Petroleum has done what
you have been doing today; it has been reassessing
its values and its slogan today is "BP-
Beyond Petroleum" signifying its dedication
to switch from fossil fuels to finding renewable
energy.
There are many examples of Companies who
are trying to make their policies to align
with higher purpose, to make a positive difference
in the world. This is a big step in the right
direction. I hope they keep true to their
purpose.
Why am I here today?
I was invited to speak here because of that
speech so long ago!
I for one, think that it is pretty amazing
that I am standing here, talking about something
that I did 9 years ago.
Last night I met Mr. Fritjof Capra who told
me he has shown this video at seminars all
over; and I know that Mr. Motomura has shown
it to Amana-key groups too.
WHY WAS IT SO STRONG? Though it was simple,
there is something that resonates. And after
thinking about it as I flew down to Sao Paulo
to speak to you today, I think that it is
because when a human being acts in accordance
with their basic innermost principles, that
person is very powerful. Almost invincible.
There is a power in doing something that
you believe in, when you have no doubt or
conflict with what you are doing. We must
find our real, basic values, because once
we are working within those values, nothing
can stop us. What you are doing here today
will help make the world a better place.
(ENDING)
This conference is about new beginnings.
In the year 2001, it is time to find leaders.
We know that something is wrong with the
way humans have been conducting our way of
life.
Canada, where I come from, is like Brazil
in many ways. It is a huge country, with
its population concentrated in the cities.
We have a huge forests that we are destroying
very quickly. But more relevant to most people,
health and the environment is becoming the
issue. In the great North of Canada where
we have always boasted of having fresh, clean
air, we are beginning to see the problems
of air pollution- the deaths from air-pollution
related diseases is increasing. I know in
Sao Paulo there are the same problems, problems
of air and water pollution, and that this
is represented in the health situation of
the cities.
We must look both to the challenges and opportunities
ahead.
We must remember and redefine our values,
recognize where they conflict in our lives,
and take a stand.
It is an exciting opportunity. YOU HAVE THE
CHANCE to make new standards for the world.
To set an example. To recognize the potential
and possibility for leading the world.
I would like to leave you with two challenges
for the coming week, and to take away with
you when you leave. The first is to challenge
the values that you are given by society,
and to try to see the world with the clarity
of a child's eyes, but with the expertise
and power that you have accumulated in your
lives. My second challenge is to rise to
the call for leaders in this new millennium.
If everyone in this room went home and started
to implement your highest beliefs, Brazil
and the world will become a different, better
place. Many people think that they are helpless.
You are not helpless. You have the world's
resources, and best people at your fingertips.
We need PURPOSE to our organizations, but
most importantly, we need purpose to our
individual lives. I can't think of a worthier
purpose than to try to make change happen.
It's an honour to have started with you here
today.