The Project RED sneaker advertisement by Converse brand & featured in (Vanity Fair magazine (June 2007) captures my interest.
Re-defining Healthy Cultures...according to Converse:
"Healthy Cultures Nurture Creativity. They help breathe life into the people who live within them. They offer an array of perspectives to agree with, to fight against, to expand on or challenge."
"A Healthy Culture Welcomes Dissent. Listens for the sound of new voices. Supports original imaginations."
"Healthy Cultures are full of artists. When hope dies, so does creativity. When culture is lost, so is the Future."
"Indifference is the enemy. Nothing is inevitable if you're willing to think. Nothing is unattainable if you're willing to fight."
The ad which highlights the worldwide initiative to eliminate AIDS in Africa asks a question...How can we use our creativity within the context of culture to be an agents of change? This was a fitting entry for Converse to feature in Vanity Fair's June edition which focuses on Africa and is Guest edited by Bono (U2).
So, why is a sneaker company talking about Culture and expanding the definition way beyond the normally accepted boundaries of geographic location, socio economic statistics, politics and commonly acknowledged people groups? Well, perhaps it is because the Internet has exploded the barriers that used to define culture into oblivion...forever!
If sneaker companies can expound on culture, shouldn't people whose job it is to move folks from here to there via the sale of their houses not be lending an active voice to the issues of our time which matter? It's about the choice to raise a voice, get involved and participate in creating the future!
Culture is rapidly morphing from a place where one can excape the limiting contexts of physical or emotional space to one which links the environment and creativity together in new and interesting shapes. The artist...aka the writer & the contributor, are recast in roles that highlight the importance of dissent; offering a unique recasting of the definition of health & what it means to function in community.
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- "Healthy Cultures breathe life into the life into the people who live within them. Healthy Cultures offer an array of perspectives. Nothing is inevitable if you're willing to think! Indifference is the enemy." (Converse Ad - Vanity Fair 2007)
Our world is activiely engaged in re-imagining the context of global relationships. Bono, who is interviewed by ABC News (you can watch 
the interview below) indicates that our relationship with Africa as a continent will be the true test of whether we believe in equality. Can we get beyond the limiting prejudices and widely cast images that are a sad caricature of a vibrant and eclectic continent of people whose wealth of humanity has much to teach and inspire?
You see, sneakers are what we wear when we're exchanging the limiting constraints of formal wear shoes to be more comfortable and more flexible. Sneakers are what we wear when we really need to be able to to move, walk...run and play. Sneakers are shoes in which we engage with the world...not simply tippy toe through it.
Sneakers are what we wear when we need to move with the freedom of our entire body! In a world where the problems that exist today require a fresh look at bold alternatives, we're reminded that it's time to let go of worn out, stiff ideologies and be prepared to flex, bend, shift and change. For next to our bare feet, sneakers are the closest thing to healthy footwear that most of us possess.
So, is your Physical, Relational and Virtual culture healthy? Are you choosing to make a difference in your workplace and community by becoming an Active Agent of Change? Are you a Sneaker Warrior?
To watch Bono interview...click here.
*This blog post was first published in June 2007. It has has been updated and modified.
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