FROM THE DESK OF RABIA Khan (Founder of Data Action Impact)
Bibi reunited with Rabia at last year’s SECNA Christmas Meetup. We have a mutual friend, residing in Auckland, NZ, whom organised a Yum-Cha lunch with us in Sydney more than a decade ago! Bibi invited Rabia to share her thoughts with the readers.
The beginning of a new school year can be both exciting and demanding as you settle back into routines and start thinking of your subjects, when assignments are due, what activities are you ging to sign up for, etc etc.
When we are thinking of our #best year ever, almost all of it is focussed on ourselves- get better grades, get my driver’s license, spend less time on social media, post three times on TikTok and the list goes on.
It got me thinking why we don’t intentionally plan for the good or the impact we will have this year either through our school activities or our volunteering, let’s call it “work”.
This is a great activity to do – planning the good I will do this year. I do it each year and it really helps me ‘connect the dots’ between what I will do and produce (and what others will do and produce) to make the difference I want to make in the world – my impact.
My three-step process is
1. What is the problem I am trying to solve?
I find it helpful to restate the problem I am passionate about in terms of ensuring it is specific, the scale, why the problem exists and why does it matter. For instance, I am passionate about climate change broadly but that’s not enough to take action. I need to be more specific in terms of which bits of climate change I can actively work on. Perhaps it’s my carbon footprint so how can I reduce my own carbon footprint, either by walking more or taking public transport.
2. Who am I working with and need to work with?
Who can I encourage and work with? I can encourage friends and family to reduce theirs by walking more and using public transport. Think of others I already know in school, community, sports team and see if they are interested in working with me to reduce the area’s carbon footprint. I can find organisations, community groups and individuals that are already working in this space as this is a good opportunity to connect with them. They might have a youth group and if not volunteer to start one for them.
3. How will my work have a positive impact in the world?
What is the outcome you are looking for? What is the future you want to create. If you are successful, what will that look like? Who will benefit? How will they benefit?
For example, encouraging people to swap short car drives to walking, cycling or public transport leads to less carbon emissions which in the long run slows climate change.
Think of what would make this year meaningful and the actions you need to take and the people you need to connect with to make it happen.
What good do you want to do this year?