This podcast was originally published on Get Together, a show about ordinary people building extraordinary communities. Throughout the podcast, the NOW! Team explains how the movement started and why people become part of it: you can listen to it here.
An interview hosted by Bailey Richardson and Kevin Huynh with Colombe Cahen-Salvador, Andrea Venzon, and Laura Giani, the leaders behind NOW! a global, digital-first movement bringing people from all over the world together to tackle global issues.
Colombe and Andrea forged the movement as co-founders and Laura is a volunteer turned campaign manager. We talked with them about finding a common call to action: the common reason WHY your people continue you to show up.
EPISODE NOTES
“We really managed to create a community of doers. Our people always look at how they can impact the world, how they can impact change.” - Colombe Cahen-Salvador
In 2016, Colombe, Laura, and Andrea were devastated by the UK's decision to leave the European Union. Colombe is French, and Andrea and Laura are Italian. For them, the E.U. is a symbol of a more open and global society.
In response, the team completely changed their lives to organize. Colombe and Andrea started by creating Volt, a pan-European political party. They were the first to attempt and succeed in building a continent-wide political party.
But in doing so they realized the biggest issues of our time weren’t just European issues, they were global issues–climate change, big tech, and the rise of fascism. Action would be meaningless unless the world bands together.
Colombe, Andrea, and Laura have been working over the last year on a global campaign movement called NOW! to unite and solve shared global challenges. We talk with them about how they are developing leaders around the world and taking action together.
Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:
- What brings Colombe, Laura, and Andrea to this work. The need to bridge gaps across the continent and the shared experience of Erasmus.
- Shifting direction. Making the decision to redefine who their community was built with from local to global. And, inviting members from the original community to stay engaged.
- Forging a watering hole. A global platform to connect people with varying access to technology.
- Listening. Creating space to hear community and systems to reflect insights back in tools, resources, and stories.
- Shared activity. Bringing together volunteers, the most energized members, for weekly community chats, talking about global topics from a local perspective.
- Call to action. How you can get involved.