The moral test of a society

It is time to put a surgeon general's warning on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. […]

Last fall, I gathered with students to talk about mental health and loneliness. As often happens in such gatherings, they raised the issue of social media.

After they talked about what they liked about social media — a way to stay in touch with old friends, find communities of shared interests and express themselves creatively — a young woman named Tina raised her hand. “I just don’t feel good when I use social media,” she said softly, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. One by one, they spoke about their experiences with social media: the endless comparison with other people that shredded their self-esteem, the feeling of being addicted and unable to set limits and the difficulty having real conversations on platforms that too often fostered outrage and bullying. There was a sadness in their voices, as if they knew what was happening to them but felt powerless to change it. […]

The moral test of any society is how well it protect its children. Students like Tina and mothers like Lori do not want to be told that change takes time, that the issue is too complicated or that the status quo is too hard to alter.

One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency you don't have the luxury to wait for perfect information. You assess the available facts, you use your best judgment, and you act quickly.

Surgeon General: Why I'm Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms, by Vivek H. Murthy, the surgeon general of the United States. New York Times, 17 June 2024

Cruinniú na nÓg — Anthem for Ireland's Free Day of Creativity for Young People

Screen grabs from The Spark: https://youtu.be/njE3EknkkBY, produced for Ireland’s National Free Day of Creativity for Young People.

The song is an anthem for Cruinniú na nÓg (Gathering of Youth), which will hold hundreds of free creative events for children and teenagers across Ireland. The initiative started in 2018 and will this year be held on 15 June.
‘We got the energy’: Irish children’s rap video goes viral, by Rory Carroll. The Guardian, 20 May 2024. Video: The Spark, produced by Kabin Studio Crew & Lisdoonvarna Crew for Ireland's Free Day of Creativity for Young People, 2024.

LYRICS
Think you can stop what we do, I doubt it (Doubt it!)
We got the energy, we'll tell you all about it (Bout it!)
I searched for my spark and I found it (Found it!)
Everybody in the crowd start bouncing

Verse 1
Making bangers at a young age (Bangers!)
My pen setting fire to the page (Fire!)
I will show you how to rock that stage
Listen to this in the car you'll be getting road rage (🚗)

Listen up ‘cos what we do everyday is daycent (Daycent!)
Kabin Crew won’t stop on top of every playlist (Boom!)
If we see a dream you know we’re gonna chase it (Yeah!)
So get over any fear you have just face it (Go on kid!)

That’s my passion and I couldn't live without it (No!)
You can do it like we do it, don't doubt it (Go!)
Any obstacle we find a way around it
If you're proud of who you are and what you do, shout it!

Chorus
Think u can stop what we do i doubt it (Doubt it)
We got the energy we’ll tell ya all about it (Bout it)
I searched for my spark and i found it (Found it)
Everybody in the crowd start bouncin

Verse 2
Grooving through my town, people be like who are they? (Who?)
Moving to my music yeah that gets me through the day (woo!)
I create my own way feeling super slay (Slay)
Express my art that’s how i communicate
In my imagination, never feeling out of place (No!)
Blast off like a rocket up to outer space (Zoom!)
Living large reaching for the stars
Let them all know us kids are in charge! (That’s right!)
Feeling awesome anytime I rap (When I rap!)
Thoughts blossom when I'm on a track
Spittin bars top class full of energy no cap (No cap!)
Cruinniú na nÓg Rhyme Islands on the map (map!)

“My friends and I might still be 11, and we might still be in elementary school, but we know.”
11-year-old Naomi Wadler, as quoted in Students lead huge rallies for gun control across the U.S. by Michael E. Shear. New York Times, 24 March 2018. Her complete statement was, “People have said that I am too young to have these thoughts on my own. People have said that I am a tool of some nameless adult. It’s not true. My friends and I might still be 11, and we might still be in elementary school, but we know.”
“In a historic moment that requires a lot of institution building and incentive changing (technological challenges, climate change, inequality and accountability) we need all the sociological imagination we can get…"
Zeynep Tufekci, The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones. Scientific American (blog), 17 May 2019. Tufekci's premise is that Hollywood prefers narratives in which the protagonist's psychological virtues and flaws are in the spotlight rather than the overarching sociological context in which they operate.

Too complicated for a garden

“In its neglect of the rest of life, exemptionalism fails definitively. To move ahead as though scientific and entrepreneurial genius will solve each crisis that arises implies that the declining biosphere can be similiarly manipulated. But the world is too complicated to be turned into a garden. Therre is no biological homeostat that can be worked by humanity; to believe otherwise is to risk reducing a large part of Earth to a wasteland.”
Edward O. Wilson, Every Species is a Masterpiece, from the Penguin Press Green Ideas series (2021), book 15. Exemptionalism is the belief that human technology and culture makes us “exempt” from the impact of environmental degredation.

Incremental

I have a great respect for incremental improvement, and I've done that sort of thing in my life, but I've always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don't know why. Because they're harder. They're much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you've completely failed.
Steve Jobs, via Steve Jobs in 1994: The Rolling Stone Interview by Jeff Goodell, June, 1994

Group selfie, Codeavor India National Event. 6 April 2023. CC-BY

I was lucky enough to be the “guest of honor” and keynote speaker at the 2024 Codeavor India National Event in Delhi. Codeavor is a kind of international hackathon and science fair with over 300,000 kids from 70+ countries using robotics, AI, and design thinking to develop their own solutions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

I was there representing the Museum of Solutions and there was a line of kids wanting my autograph [!!] and/or a selfie, so we decided to try a group selfie to save some time. :) :)

To the right of the frame with a big smile on his face is Dr. Sreejit Chakrabarty, Director of AI at GEMS Education in Dubai — a brilliant guy and fun to be with!

On the opening of the Museum of Solutions, Mumbai

I gave these remarks at the opening gala for the Museum of Solutions on November 24, 2023.

Intro: the MuSo “3 boxes” video

The Museum of Solutions is represented by a simple red box; our logo.

Like the museum itself, this red box isn’t something we want you to passively admire; It’s an invitation. It’s questions: When you look at the world around you, what do you see? And then: what can you imagine? And then: what can we do?

But why is this important? Why build a museum to make an invitation and ask questions?

The Museum of Solutions is built on 3 fundamental ideas.

First, that the world is an increasingly complex and challenging place. The future our children inherit from us will be full of dramatic change and uncertainty; great need and great opportunity. The way we were taught to work and live together in the past will no longer suffice.

Second, that young people; the beautiful, funny, silly, capable, extraordinarily children that we love — that we all once were! — have a special place in this world. But their needs, rights, and capabilities are often undervalued or overlooked by grown ups.

Decisions we adults have taken have made the future less hopeful and less joyous for young people than it should be.

And when we overlook young people we not only harm them — we rob society of their extraordinary talents: to see the truth and to speak that truth to power; to imagine without boundaries; to solve problems; and to love.

And third, that museums, which have traditionally been a place where we look at the past, can now be, must now be, a place where we work together to imagine and create the future.

That all sounds pretty heavy. But the good news is that we here at MuSo think that changing the world can be playful and fun.

In fact, the key insight of MuSo is that changing the world *must* be playful and fun.

Children and grownups alike — we learn best when we are playful. Through play we truly see each other; we empathise. With play, our creativity is unleashed and our imagination is set free. And through play we become brave and confident — we take risks, we fail and fall, pull each other up, and try again.

This kind of playful learning: seeing, imagining, and doing together …together... is what MuSo was built to celebrate.

I believe that the Museum of Solutions is the most important museum project in the world today. Nowhere else have I seen this deep, unwavering commitment to the rights, capabilities, and futures of young people so magnificently realised.

And I think in a few moments, when you start exploring the museum yourself, you’ll feel this way too.

Whenever and wherever you see our beautiful red frame with “MuSo” written on the top of it, I invite you to pause for a moment, find a friend, and tell each other what you see in the world. Tell us what you imagine for the future.

And then: roll up your sleeves, find some fun, and let’s see what you can do.

Tonight, this isn’t just a party and MuSo isn’t just a box: it’s the future waiting to be imagined.

/

Photo: Kartik Rathod

Links/references for Living With War and the Lianza New Zealand National Library Conference

logo - text that says "living with war"

Ahiahi pai to all of you at the Lianza 2023 New Zealand library conference (October 31)!

And greetings to my colleagues at the Living with War conference in The Hague (November 3rd)!

For the Lianza conference I’ll be joining you from from inside the wood fabrication shop in the 10,000 square-foot Make Lab of the soon-to-open Museum of Solutions, Mumbai! And on November 3 I’ll be with you in person in The Hague for Living With War.

We are opening in November and we’ll be releasing more info, teasers, and events info very soon!

(You can check out our Instagram {the main platform in India} and website now for some sneak peeks of the building, program, and philosophy. Here’s a short post (about my joining the team) that gives a good short overview of the project. LOL see below for a special personal photo album treat.)

Links and notes related to my talk

  1. Photos — Some photos of the site, construction, and goings on here.

  2. Climate Things — I mentioned the Climate Things initiatives, 23 Climate Things and the Culture for Climate Innovation Prize. We would love to have you all involved - - so drop us a note and let us know how we can help! Special shoutout to the great Erik Boekesteijn (who I believe is with you there today?! Hi Erik!), Jan Holmquist and Julia Matamoros who are bringing their tremendous passion and expertise to the project, and of course our initial group of funders/supporters.)

  3. Culture, climate, and The Big Frikin Wall —This talk was a super-short “reduced Shakespeare” version of longer, more detailed work on the subject of updating library practice and The Big Frikin’ Wall, so here is some more detailed work if you’d like to dig in.

    MuseumNext Interview: Culture, activism, and the big Frikin' Wall - a long interview with me about these ideas

    Video and slides/links for NEMO webinar, Create Dangerously: Museums in the Age of Action - tons of notes, references, and a 45 minute webinar version of these ideas from the Network of European Museum Organizations. (Also a keynote talk from the NEMO 2022 conference in Lisbon.)

    Notes from Digital, Culture, and the Transformation of Europe - a cool set of slides presenting the outcomes/synthesis of a 2021 workshop with library and museum/cultural leaders in Leiden, The Netherlands

…More coming soon. Got to watch the conference talk now!

Announced today: Director of the Museum of Solutions, Mumbai (MuSo)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Museum of Solutions, Mumbai
May 10, 2023

Today we are proud to announce the appointment of Michael Peter Edson as the Chief Museum Officer (museum director) of the Museum of Solutions. Edson, an internationally renowned museum professional, will be responsible for leading the museum’s mission to inspire and empower young people to solve the world’s most pressing problems.

“Mike has been a long-time friend and supporter of MuSo,” said Tanvi Jindal the museum’s Founder. “He is a visionary and empathetic leader with a passion for the social impact of museums. Mike’s creative drive and his deep commitment to the rights and capabilities of young people make him an ideal leader for our organization.”

With over 30 years of experience in museums, Edson has long been at the forefront of transformational change in the cultural sector. Edson was formerly the Director of Web and New Media Strategy for the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex in Washington, D.C., and he was the co-founder of the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live, where he forged a new vision to catalyze global effort towards the sustainable development goals of the U.N.. Edson is a frequent speaker on the topic of technology, culture, and social change, and he has been active as a consultant and collaborator in over 20 countries.

“MuSo is a groundbreaking initiative: full of global significance, but founded on a true love for the people and future of Mumbai,” said Edson. “The world is changing quickly and museums are changing too. Traditionally, museums have looked backward at the past through the eyes of a few experts — today, museums are looking toward the future, inspired to make a better world with and for the communities they serve. I am honored to be joining the Museum of Solutions at this important time.”

Mike will join the team full-time in August.

About MuSo

The Museum of Solutions (MuSo) is a new, state-of-the-art museum in Mumbai, India, dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to solve the world’s most pressing problems. MuSo’s exhibits and programs will explore a variety of topics, including climate change, poverty, and inequality through hands-on exploration and playful learning. The museum will open its new, purpose-built 100,000 square foot facility in the heart of Mumbai's Upper Parel district in 2023.
Press release, Museum of Solutions, May 10, 2023 (via LinkedIn)
A small picture gallery about the museum is here (my photos).