Spread the word

By Shane Solanki

A superhero supply shop in New York, offering truth serum and mind control capsules; a pirate supply shop in San Francisco, where you can buy mermaid bait repellent and belly-of-the-whale escape kits; a time travel mart in Los Angeles selling time travel sickness pills…

It might seem like light-hearted stuff, but after purchasing your fill of booty, walk behind the scenes of any of these establishments, and you’ll find an alternative classroom. It’s the brainchild of prolific author Dave Eggers. Inspired by a statistic which said that children’s grade averages will rise if given just an hour of one-on-one attention a week, Eggers and friends decided to spread the word setting up the charity 826, a non-profit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in seven cities across the US.

Eggers delivered a moving and often hilarious lecture about the hurdles he encountered in setting up 826, and how they resulted not only in the birth of a superhero supplies shop, but of a huge movement; view it here

Spreading the word seems to be infectious. In a single generation, millions of people have rocked out on dancefloors to hip hop, a movement born in New York in the seventies. Through hip hop, people across the world connected in new ways with the power of the word. Poetry became fashionable, and spoken word became a vehicle for powerful political dissent. Often engaging those who are disaffected with the educational process, performance poetry is now popular in schools across the planet, giving countless students opportunities to increase both their self-esteem and their ability to express themselves.

This is the perfect example of a VivaCity movement; discovering our own voice, and with it, reshaping the world we see around us – simply by speaking. Mandela famously quoted Marianne Williamson’s poem at his inauguration; “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Mos Def, Brooklyn’s finest, dropped it like this: “Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape, now let it fall…”

why vivacity

This is the century of the city.

Over half the world’s population now live in cities. This is projected to rise to three-quarters of all people in 2050. With population increases, this means 6.75 billion of us will be city dwellers, an increase of 3.75 billion from today. As the future success or failure of mankind lies in cities, new ways of using them are needed.

The city represents an incredible paradox. We have never been closer together physically, but we have never been further away from each other emotionally. At vivacity we celebrate city movements around the world that change and re-define the way we interact with and use cities. Whilst cities cannot cope with the numbers now and the resultant strain on the world’s natural resources and eco-systems are already painfully evident, we believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome, as it has done before.

vivacity promotes city movements that are connecting people & creating new types of communities. They are typically low impact, highly sociable, enabled by technology, using public and private spaces in new ways and empowering people to act locally.

vivacity promotes new ways of feeling alive, new ways of being invigorated, and new things to be a part of. We call it grassroots stuff in the city. We hope you get involved and share your experiences with us.

who we are

Andy Marks vivacity founder and editor

Social entrepreneur, lecturer, writer and curator, Andy Marks is an agent of positive social change practicing at the intersection or fault-line of business, society and culture. Andy is the founder of research and consultancy network Salad Worldwide, an advisor to some of the world’s leading companies on Corporate Responsibility and an advisor to a number of non-profit organizations. Andy is an expert on grass roots city movements, and a founding partner of an upcycling enterprise launching in 2010.

Julian Broadhead contributor

With a background in advertising, branding and corporate responsibility, Julian works with blue-chip companies from a wide range of industries and sectors, advising on strategy and new ways of connecting with people. He is currently developing a number of new opportunities in the environmental sector, with a particular emphasis on making environmental action more accessible.

Shane Solanki – contributor/distributor/carburettor/carbon-ara

Artist, writer, performer, producer and director, Shane’s first short film was commissioned by the BBC and directed by Peter Cattaneo. His first record was produced by Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh. He worked for years to forge the unique identity of independent record label Ninja Tune. We at Vivacity like to think of him as a grass roots detective, covertly operating under the pseudonym of the Last Mango in Paris; imagine him skulking around the world in a beige macintosh, recording and documenting our shift into a society where social responsibility and public creativity are norms.

contribute

become a vivacity scout

As more and more of us live in urban areas, individuals and communities can feel overwhelmed and isolated by the sheer intense-city of it all.

However we at vivacity believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome as it has done so many times before. That is why we are celebrating movements around the world that are changing and re-defining the way we interact with the city. We would like to hear from you about grassroots movements or activities that bring people together face to face and use cities in new ways. The more original and imaginative the better.

Please email us describing a movement you would like to see on vivacity using a maximum of 300 words. info@vivacity.me