2023 Annual Impact Report FINAL - Flipbook - Page 9
F
riends and partners,
At the end of 2023, we’re reflecting on how solidarity can
counterbalance the weight we all feel in times like these.
There’s no way around the fact that this has been a devastating year. We think it’s
important to recognize that our shared reality has been set to a daily drumbeat of
disaster and injustice. We’re ending a year that was the hottest on record, in which the
number of children living in an area affected by armed conflict hit a new high, and
where the global democratic recession shows no signs of slowing.
But as we look to the year ahead, it’s also important to recognize the rhythms of
solidarity and interconnection. In last year’s reflection, we noted a measurable
rebalancing between individualistic and collective thinking. This year, we’ve seen more
collective thinking translated into collective action.
2023 has been called the year of the worker, with hundreds of thousands of people—
from auto workers to Hollywood writers—banding together to demand better from a
system that, left unchecked, would continue to thrive on exploitation. We have also
seen it as a year in which a sense of solidarity has emerged across sectors, with
advocates for formerly distinct issues (such as kids and climate, or aging and
workforce) coming together to work in common cause.
Moving into a year in which political rhetoric will heat up, we’ll not only need to practice
solidarity, we’ll need to preach it. The more stories we hear about division, the more
divided we will become. By sharing authentic stories about people showing up for other
people—and demanding that our systems respond to people, too—we can reinforce
and renormalize the idea that we are all connected.
Thank you for all you have done to show up for each other, and using your discourse
and actions to demand systemic change. We look forward to standing with you in the
year ahead.
Frame On
NAT KENDALL-TAYLOR
CEO
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