Author: Alan AtKisson

Words&Music 4: Reflections on an Old Manifesto

/ Alan AtKisson

Dear Friends, Exactly 20 years ago (29 December 1999) I put pen to paper at a friend’s house in East London and began to write a personal manifesto for the new millennium. The resulting document, ”Sustainability is Dead — Long Live Sustainability”, had a short, modestly viral life. It was emailed around the Internet, released … Continue reading Words&Music 4: Reflections on an Old Manifesto

Words&Music 3: Believing Cassandra at 20, Mobilizing global investors for the SDGs

/ Alan AtKisson

Dear Friends, A year and a half has gone by since I started working at Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The work is challenging, rewarding, all-engrossing. It has been an extraordinary honor to represent Sweden in international venues and lead my department of over 100 very skilled and experienced professionals. But that is … Continue reading Words&Music 3: Believing Cassandra at 20, Mobilizing global investors for the SDGs

Words&Music 2: What a difference a half-year makes

/ Alan AtKisson

Dear Reader, This is the second installment of my personal newsletter, Words&Music. To receive this in your inbox, sign up here: http://eepurl.com/duzZz9 Dear Reader, Global poverty. Climate change. Political uncertainty. Swedish development aid. Financial markets. The United Nations and the World Bank. The challenge of learning to lead a complex department, in a complex public … Continue reading Words&Music 2: What a difference a half-year makes

Relaunching “Words&Music” – my personal newsletter

/ Alan AtKisson

Dear reader, This post invites you to sign up for my newsletter, Words&Music. Sign up here: http://eepurl.com/duzZz9 Now here's the background: In May 2018, I assumed a new professional position, working as Director of the Department of Partnership & Innovation at Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Becoming a public official in Sweden caused … Continue reading Relaunching “Words&Music” – my personal newsletter

Freedom of Information: You Have Chydenius To Thank for That

/ Alan AtKisson

This short post was originally published on the now-defunct website Worldchanging.com, in 2007. The story of Chydenius serves as a good reminder of the importance of maintaining a free press and the right of public access to government information — principles that seem increasingly under attack around the world. The text has been slightly updated. … Continue reading Freedom of Information: You Have Chydenius To Thank for That

Viridian revisited: An interview with Bruce Sterling

/ Alan AtKisson

Bruce Sterling made his name in science-fiction, part of the wave of "cyberpunk" writers working in the late 1980s and early ‘90s — other names include William Gibson and Neal Stephenson — whose work seemed more predictive than speculative. I enjoyed his novels (they won a number of awards), but I especially enjoyed being part … Continue reading Viridian revisited: An interview with Bruce Sterling

Save a Woodpecker, Save the Planet, Save Your Soul

/ Alan AtKisson / Leave a comment

I wrote this essay 13 years ago. One change: my daughters are a bit older now. The woodpeckers, however, have not changed a bit. First published 26 September 2005 on Worldchanging.com. Reprinted in Because We Believe in the Future: Collected Essays on Sustainability 1989-2009, by Alan AtKisson. Note: On Amazon.com, this book received a one-star … Continue reading Save a Woodpecker, Save the Planet, Save Your Soul