Last week I had the pleasure of attending Women@TheFrontier‘s Designing the Future forum atSingularity University‘s NASA campus. The event, hosted by my dear friend Susan Fonseca, featured keynote presentations and panel conversations exploring the vital role of women as entrepreneurs, humanitarians, artists, scientists and technologists in creating positive global change through design and innovation. When I first learned about what Susan was up to with W@TF, it was music to my ears. Although I had already jumped into the deep end with the brilliant minds at Singularity University and embraced their work applying game-changing technologies and scientific revelations to address humanity’s grand challenges, I was feeling the need for a little more heart, or feminine wisdom, in the mix. With science, math and technology so highly revered in Silicon Valley, at NASA, at Singularity University and so many other esteemed educational programs, their is a clear need to raise the opportunities for, and voices of, women in the field.
Well, Susan had called it out in force that evening. Inspiring female game changers from all ages and corners of the globe were there to represent. We heard from 16 year old social entrepreneur Hannah Chung– creator and leading force behind Jerry the Bear, a stuffed bear that helps children and their parents regulate their diabetes; queen of cable television Kay Koplovitz – founder of USA Networks and the Sci-Fi Channel who has helped almost 500 young women entrepreneurs secure funding for their start ups, fighting to offset the alarming stats that 10 years ago only around 2% of the VC Funds were going into startups by women. Lakshmi Pratury was there from India, where she runs INKTalks and the INK conference (India’s equivalent to TED); Ping Fu, co-founder of Geomagic and former Ambassador at large for Taiwan, hailed from China; Amy Purdy – a double-leg amputee at age 19 who went on to be a competitive snowboarder, was there to her story about overcoming obstacles to pursue your dreams; and Amy Kurzweil opened a personal window in to the loving heart of her father Ray in a rare fireside chat
A common thread from the presenters that evening was in the power of story. It was not the amazing accomplishments of these woman that captivated the audience as much as their personal stories. Those were the heart-felt and resonating gems at the center of the conversations that followed, and that each of us was able to take home in our reflections and memories.
If there was anything missing from the mix that night, however, it would have been the music and the arts – those qualities of the feminine divine that run deeper than gender. Like story, music can connect and engage audiences and communities in deep and lasting ways. As Henry Giles was quoted, “The song will long outlive the sermon in our memory”.
When it comes to empowering women, and trying to create more balance between the feminine and masculine energies controlling the fate of the planet, I have found that song and film are some of the strongest tools to shift hearts and perspectives. In Amazing, my upcoming film in China, Kenya-born rapper Shad sings the girl-power anthem “Keep Shining” to inspire millions of young woman and men to embrace the power of their own heart and to give more voice to women across all disciplines; and in the recent Detroit urban farming documentary, Urban Roots, just a few bars of Lina‘s beautiful end title song “Said and Done” captures the heart and essence of an entire movement. There are countless songs and artists that have captured these themes, and it is through song that they have embedded them into consciousness.
Another recent example that, in addition to the lingering memories of Susan’s event, inspired me to write this blog is the beautiful song and music video by singer Morley called “Woman Of Hope”. In it, and in song, she encapsulates the heart and soul of another divine female leader’s – Aung San Suu Kyi‘s – call to action, “If you’re feeling helpless, help someone”.
So I will let Morley wrap this one up for me, while I give praise and gratitude for all those who are fighting to bring balance to our planet by shining a spotlight on inspiring woman game changers and continuing to invoke the feminine divine within each of us.
