I’m so excited to be working with Collectively. And here’s why

You might have guessed by some of the pics I’ve posted across here and elsewhere these past few days: I’ve been in New York.

I was there to meet with the editorial team behind Collectively, the online platform created as a tool for inspiring and accelerating a shift towards more sustainable living.

I’m going to be working with them for the next few months to support its partners in using the platform to tell stories and engage the audience in conversations around numerous themes such as food, design and technology.

And I’m really excited to be a part of it. Here’s why.

Ultimately, Collectively is for the so-called Millennial generation – or should I say, the ‘aspirationals’ within that generation; those young people that are excited about shopping, living, playing, working and existing differently to their parents because they want to live in a more environmentally and socially sustainable world, and can see the attraction of that.

Inside VICE Media HQ, Brooklyn, NY

The original idea for Collectively came out of conversations between people like Keith Weed, Unilever’s dynamic chief marketing and communications officer, and those leading a workstream at the World Economic Forum designed to come up with solutions as to how we inspire and accelerate the shift toward a more sustainable living.

It’s been a journey that started in late 2013, culminating in the launch of a new website last October.

But it’s not just a website with some nice stories about what individuals and organisations are doing to create a better world – as good as they are. This is a platform designed to bring together the collective voice of the Millennial generation, the change-makers and NGOs that are already making a difference (albeit in often small ways) and some of the world’s largest companies who want to help establish sustainable lifestyles as the ‘new normal’ – a three-pronged approach.

The founding partners include Unilever, BT and Marks & Spencer, and contributing partners include Nike, Nestle, Facebook, SABMiller and Google – all with plenty of solutions, ideas and opinions.

As Partner Content Lead, I’ll be working with these partners to help them use Collectively to engage, story-tell, have in-depth conversations and help to inspire action.

And I’ll be working closely with the awesome team at VICE Media, whose creative services division, VIRTUE, was selected to create and curate Collectively with complete editorial independence.

If you’re a Collectively partner, speak soon. Everybody else, get involved now at collectively.org.