When I set the theme for the ‘Together’ issue of ONE, some two months ago, I anticipated that whatever position our lockdown would be in, we would have become to recognise more fully, the significance of what thinking and being together actually means to us as human beings. I assumed we would be considering the importance of family, finding new ways of working and socialising and have views on how those less fortunate in society could be supported through times which clearly hit the poorest off worst.

Little could I have imagined that the arrest and killing of a black man, George Floyd, in America would lead to a series of events which has sparked race related protests, far right counter protests, violence against UK police from mobs of both, violent activity against statues and other reminders of historic legacy, and huge commentary across both sides of the Atlantic. This of course is all against the challenges of still tackling the global and the sadly ‘normal; human state of rising conflict and tension between India and China, North & South Korea, Russia and Turkey. How strange that such ‘normal’ behaviour is so destructive.

As such, this edition is without doubt an eclectic mix, where earlier submissions do relate to aspects of our Covid19 world, whilst others talk more generally about aspects of what together means in individual’s contexts and some reflect specific experiences related to more recent events, the anti-racism agenda and Black Lives Matter campaign.

I make no apology for this because upon reflection this mix of perspectives illustrates the complexity of our modern lives, with multiple concerns, issues and fast evolving news.

Whether we therefore consider how to work remotely, or the care of our elderly, endemic racism, the fight against Covid19, economic disparity, technological advances, press freedom or how we miss serendipitous moments, these all affect us and those we care about. This mix in my mind actually illustrates that we are all in this world together and need help managing such complexity, where sometimes one can hold what appear to be contradictory views and where some people concentrate on what separates, rather than joins us together. If only we could recognise that through our everyday actions with each other, we would be better able to cope with such complexity if we started with the Golden rule, as promoted by Kim Polman and her Reboot The Future, namely to treat each other as we would like to be treated ourselves. Quite simply if we could do that, both ourselves and the world would be in a much better place.

Our aim at ONE is to share great thinking between good people.
Our aim at ONE HUNDRED is to do great work with good people.
Together, we hope we can all be inspired to think similarly.

Thank you