After just finishing the manuscript of the CBD CEPA toolkit, I read today new rules: new game. A guide to behaviour change for Climate Change, published in 2005 - I had not come across yet. 12 Pages of good advice, practical and generic. Because of its generic nature it not only applies to communicating climate change, but other environmental conventions as well.25 Short statements provide an effective frame to plan a communication strategy. A statement that resonates well with my experience is:
"there are times of big changes in our lives: getting married, moving house, starting a new job, having a baby or retiring. People are far more open to change in these ‘transition zones’, because their habits are all in flux."
The statements are preceded by five principles: one refutes the mistaken idea that knowledge will lead to action:
"we must stop searching for the sparkly magic bridge that simply leads from values to action, or from attitudes to behaviour. People’s behaviours, attitudes, values and awareness are all different and linked in complicated ways – if they’re linked at all."
My big question is how and when will decision makers - who can make a real impact - learn the Art of Positive Change towards the goal of the environmental conventions...?
4 comments:
Frits, I really liked this document too - New Rules, New Game and it seems to have caught the public imagination and whipped around (the idea is a meme obviously).
I also agree that the link between knowledge and action is a "Black Box" that we need to open. In our team we have been talking about Learning as the link between knowledge and action.
Yeah, Futerra is doing some great work on sustainability communications. We've even put a large poster with their "10 Rules of sustainable communications" into our office - lest we never forget ;)
Frits - keep up the blog, you've just found one more subscriber to your feed!
* Wiebke
Hello Frits, I am recent member to the CEC. I work in training and education in Malaysian Borneo. First off, thank you for starting this blog. Keep it up! It is immensely useful. I am subscribing to the feed also.
Thanks Gillian, Wiebke and Cynthia for the positive feedback. My blog is primarily meant as a tool to accompany the introduction of the CEPA toolkit. As blogging is a learning process in itself, I hope you continue to give me some feedback from time to time, especially what you like or dislike about a posting or what you like me to write about.
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