Compass points
Life turns on a dime
Face value
How I engaged with my era
I've worked for more than two decades with the UN, predominantly in conflict and catastrophe. But I take an entrepreneurial style to all my work, in pursuit of fresh thinking and excellent outcomes. I wrote a critically acclaimed book, and my aesthetic was honed by art, by conversation, and by wielding a camera. I’ve worked in NGOs and the arts, I've designed and built homes and gardens, I’ve started businesses, and I recently ran a global communications team for one of the UN agencies. Above all, I’m a father, a friend, a meaning-driven, optimistic mammal, and a fairly ordinary Joe who’s seen some of the best and worst of human behaviour.
The challenge
My father was born in a world of 2 billion...
Global warming, nuclear proliferation, and the unknowable evolution of AI demands the best from our global and civic organisations. In my career I've witnessed the growing complexity of daily life, driven by science and technology. People detect very instinctively that the world is changing, yet the answers aren’t coming. Raw political populism has trumped our dawdling policy makers. The more complex and chaotic, the less individuals are able to absorb the information we need to make good decisions – and the more swift, adaptable, intelligent, and ethical our civic and grand organisations must be, if we are to respond to our era’s vacuum. Individually, that means leadership excellence, self-knowledge, empathy, an ability to manage conflict, and clearly communicated vision.
Managing the everyday
As Sugarman says, “Nothing beats reality”
Hard work breeds skill, but then there's exposure to opportunity – particularly if you take risks – and then acceptance of the reality that ensues. The more risk you take on, the more luck and acceptance you need (guess the reverse?). I meditate, practice yoga, eat sensibly, and exercise regularly to boost my chances of remaining sober and calm in an unsettling world. I also abide by the Stoics, whose philosophy helps to keep a sort of even keel when black clouds and rough seas threaten to swamp us, and Ecclesiastes, surely among the finest pieces of wisdom literature.
About you
Gen-Z might be our best yet...
This epoch risks becoming one of winners and losers. Yet, although filled with momentous challenge, these are the best of times. The generation graduating from schools and colleges are born into a lateral-thinking world, and they see webs, networks, potential and synchronicities which older people often miss. Although gladdened by conversations with the young, this new generation spawned in advanced economies, and the rising middle classes in developing economies, face redefined problems that require new philosophies of being, fresh perspectives, and a need for balance between gritty realism and a resolve to continue doing better. After all, they are the ones who will have to reconcile differences, ensure stability, and cultivate community on earth.
The Sucker’s Break
Podcast (under development) and blog
Podcast technology is the best thing to happen to broadcasting and intelligent communication in three generations. I'm endlessly curious about what makes us ordinary folk tick, so I’m going to explore this through a podcast "The Sucker’s Break” (provisional title :-) ~ W.C. Fields was one of the great comedians). I recently read what comes as close to a 'theory of everything' that encompasses the darkest of the world I've witnessed. But I also want to explore the resolute altruism I've seen, and the human capacity for self-sacrifice even when an individual doesn't directly benefit from an action.
Media
Channel 4 UK
ABC TV
Interview
A part of a friend's documentary
Lecture
Australian National University
New York Times
Announcing a 'bloodbath' during the war.
Podcast
The Sucker’s Break (currently under production)
Eduardo Moreno
Photographer
Award winning photographer, architect, sociologist, author, and art collector, Eduardo’s day job is Director of Research for one of the UN’s great agencies.
Zdenek Weiss
Immigrant (and my father)
Lawyer, diesel mechanic, Bohemian and father, my old man rode the waves and troughs of life.
Photo
Points of light
