Today we got to listen to several guest speakers talk about their story and how they used their leadership skills to contribute to a sustainable future. We met the people behind Social Bite, a social enterprise and charity organization devoted to ending homelessness, rough sleeping, and hunger in metropolitan areas. Through their cafes, they provide the homeless with jobs, affordable food and a welcoming community. The guest speakers told us all about the trials and tribulations of starting a social enterprise cafe. The founders of Social Bite had to allocate funds to all the expenses of running the cafe, salaries that could allow struggling employees to escape homelessness and poverty, and investments to grow the business to reach more communities. They did all this while giving out free food and coffee to anyone who needed it every morning. The guest speakers spoke about how they took marketing risks and ran bold charity campaigns to raise enough money to tackle homelessness in Scotland and throughout the UK. Additionally, we learned about communication from Jack Baker, the man behind Pangolin: The Conservation Podcast, and learned about how to take social action from Laura Young, a Scot who worked to pass a law banning disposable vapes.
For lunch we were able to go out and find good places to eat around the classroom. Most of us went to the food festival located nearby. At the festival there were numerous options with us splitting up and getting everything, from local fish and chips to pad thai and fried chicken. All were super delicious. After lunch, the speaker had us play a game that revealed the privileges we have and may not realize. Then after returning to class and learning about the position of a dreamer, a realist, and a critic in the brainstorming process, we all leaned in and wrote about problems that affect us or people in our local communities. The topics varied greatly but most of the interest was focused towards health and well being, and sustainable city design. From there, we took those ideas and put them in their respective UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, we chose the SDG we were the most concerned with and formed groups with whom we will do our final project, and began brainstorming.
After class we briefly discussed with Nick about leadership, including the difference between power and force, and how it takes multiple people working together to have power. Unfortunately, heavy rainfall followed the end of class, and most of us ended up having to find a way to pass the time indoors. We decided to watch Spiderman in the main lounge and play cards well into the night.
