What happens when the systems we've relied on stop working? And who gets to decide what comes next?
A year after the dismantling of USAID sent shockwaves through the international aid sector, the world's leaders, philanthropists and changemakers gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. The funding crisis was far from over, and the big questions about what comes next remained unanswered.
Amy spent a week in New York talking to people who weren't waiting for the old systems to be fixed. From former aid workers building a lifeboat for abandoned programmes to a dating app helping tackle HIV, she discovered some unexpected ways of doing things differently.
In this episode, Amy and Gus unpack five conversations from New York and ask whether the messy middle might be exactly where new possibilities begin.
In this episode:
**The Lifeboat Crew:**How Rob Rosenbaum and a group of former USAID workers helped redirect more than $170 million towards programmes at risk of closure.**Grindr's unexpected mission:**CEO George Arison on using a global dating app to help millions of people access HIV prevention.**A billion people in ten years:**Felix Brooks-Church on Sanku's extraordinary growth and a business model designed to solve hidden hunger.**Rethinking philanthropy:**Judith Lingeman from the Postcode Lottery Group on the power of trust, unrestricted funding and giving organisations room to dream.**A world without single-use plastic:**Nicky Davies from the Plastic Solutions Fund on bringing 35 foundations together, changing the systems behind plastic pollution and why cities could lead the way.
Five very different conversations that all ask the same question: what becomes possible when we stop assuming the way we've always done things is the only way?
Timestamps:
00:45 Introduction - Amy & Gus
03:45 Rob Rosenbaum, Project Resource Optimization
13:36 George Arison, Grindr
19:39 Felix Brooks-Church, Sanku
25:52 Judith Lingeman, Postcode Lottery Group
32:49 Nicky Davies, Plastic Solutions Fund
42:39 Closing Reflections - Amy & Gus
Find out more:
👉 Project Resource Optimization
👉 Grindr
👉 Sanku
👉 Postcode Lottery Group
👉 Plastic Solutions Fund
About Fix The News:Fix The News is a solutions-focused media platform sharing stories from the frontlines of progress - exploring what’s working in the world and the people making it happen.
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Production credits:
Hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose
Produced by Fix The News
Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!
** **This episode was produced in Australia on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrung peoples.