OUR PURPOSE
MLI's 3 Key Shifts are woven into all of our programs and strategy. Just as there is no one single policy that will solve climate change, there is no one single program that will independently catalyse each shift fully. MLI's programs will evolve and respond to the changing decision-making landscape on climate change. Whilst we remain agile and responsive, these 3 Key Shifts act as our central compass to find the path towards a climate safe future that is fair and equitable to all, regardless of race, culture or economic circumstance.
SHIFT 1: From Exclusion to Visibility addresses the chronic under-representation of racially and culturally diverse voices in climate solutions and climate leadership through building capacity and pathways for current and emerging leaders to become the public face of climate solutions.
SHIFT 2: From Siloes to Synergies means mobilising resources, including incubating and accelerating the capacity of multicultural community groups and organisations to work on climate solutions whilst also supporting climate organisations to improve and grow their cross-cultural competency and strategies.
SHIFT 3: From One-Sided Inclusion to Co-Creation frames an evolution in diversity practices away from transactional and one-sided deficit focused approaches toward balanced and genuine partnerships that create mutually beneficial transformational outcomes.
OUR 3 KEY SHIFTS
SHIFT #2
FROM SILOES TO SYNERGIES
SHIFT #1
FROM EXCLUSION TO VISIBILITY
White messengers and narratives on climate designed by White dominated agencies.
Multicultural audiences don't relate to and feel distant from Climate Narratives
Visible norm of climate movement is White in appearance and appraoch.
VICIOUS
(exclusionary)
CYCLE
Multicultural audiences disengage from public discussions on climate change
Otherwise concerned multicultural audiences supress their concerns
VIRTUOUS
(visibility)
CYCLE
Multicultural messengers and narratives on climate change & climate solutions
Multicultural audiences see themselves as part of the climate narrative & solutions
Multicultural audiences voice their concerns and offer solutions for climate change
Multicultural climate groups form and find space to scale up
Visible norm of the climate movement becomes more reflective of our culturally diverse realities
SHIFT #3
FROM ONE-SIDED INCLUSION TO TO CO-CREATION
There are few multicultural organisations doing climate work, and many climate organisations but few doing multicultural focused work. The overlap space is small creating a cross-over & collaboration vacuum
Multicultural Organisations
Climate Organisations
We want to expand the overlap space through mobilising resources to expand the climate capacity of multicultural organisations as well as the cross-cultural literacy of climate organisations.
Climate Action Capacity
Cross-Cultural Literacy
A stronger climate movement that represents the true diversity of our realities
EXCLUSION
SEGREGATION
INTEGRATION
CO-CREATION
INCLUSION
PARTICIPATION
COLLABORATION
Recognising that there is no one single policy, practice or emissions reduction technology that will solve climate change, MLI works on creating the conditions necessary for decision makers to move at the speed to which the climate science evidence compels us. This means cultivating a non-partisan direction of travel amongst political, industry and community leaders anchored by the growth and acceleration of public appetite for climate solutions. The chronic underrepresentation of racially and culturally diverse communities, who represent a majority of the world's population, in climate solutions is one of the major barriers towards creating this public mandate.
MLI will broaden and deepen the public mandate for fast and fair climate solutions by scaling up racially and culturally diverse communities’ participation and leadership in climate solutions. By mobilising resources, incubating ideas and accelerating lived experience led initiatives we will grow the cohort of trusted messengers ,whilst cultivating trusted messages, that resonate and inspire multicultural communities to take on public leadership on climate solutions that shape community, industry and government decision making across the political spectrum.