Who are we?
7Ahead is an open platform to discuss environmental issues from different perspectives. By sharing and analysing media from various regions of the world, we aim to draw links between and thereby demonstrate the interconnected nature of many environmental movements. By focusing on individual stories, we aim to bring forth the varied human experience of a changing environment – whether due to the changing climate or geopolitical injustices.
We understand that these changes in the environment are affecting our ability to live meaningfully as human beings, and we are interested in stories of innovation and adaptation, where people have been able to create new values and meanings having been deprived of their livelihoods.
Alongside providing a media analyses we also document and collect different forms of traditional knowledge, such as indigenous knowledge of the forest or traditional farming techniques from the Scottish Highlands. This knowledge, having been cultivated for generations, is rapidly disappearing from communities. We believe that this kind of knowledge, far from being backwards or outdated, is just as worthy as, if not more than, modern technology and should be preserved and cherished.
By drawing on the concept of 7 Ahead, whereby the present generation is responsible for ensuring the survival of 7 generations to come, we present a long-term perspective and in doing so create the possibility for long-term solutions. Dialogue is a crucial component of positive change but it must not stand alone: with it must follow action. At 7 Ahead we believe that regardless of any socio-economic factors, everybody has the potential to actively contribute to a narrative which will lead to positive change.
We understand that these changes in the environment are affecting our ability to live meaningfully as human beings, and we are interested in stories of innovation and adaptation, where people have been able to create new values and meanings having been deprived of their livelihoods.
Alongside providing a media analyses we also document and collect different forms of traditional knowledge, such as indigenous knowledge of the forest or traditional farming techniques from the Scottish Highlands. This knowledge, having been cultivated for generations, is rapidly disappearing from communities. We believe that this kind of knowledge, far from being backwards or outdated, is just as worthy as, if not more than, modern technology and should be preserved and cherished.
By drawing on the concept of 7 Ahead, whereby the present generation is responsible for ensuring the survival of 7 generations to come, we present a long-term perspective and in doing so create the possibility for long-term solutions. Dialogue is a crucial component of positive change but it must not stand alone: with it must follow action. At 7 Ahead we believe that regardless of any socio-economic factors, everybody has the potential to actively contribute to a narrative which will lead to positive change.
Why 7 Ahead?
The philosophy of the 7 Ahead Project is inspired by the Constitution of the Iroquois Foundation (Constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy), which is known as the Great Law of Peace. This constitution was the foundation of Iroquois Confederacy of five (later six) nations, which spanned a huge geographical area across North America and Canada, bringing peace and prosperity to warring nations.
At the heart of the constitution sits the ‘7th generation principle’; the view that all decisions must be made in view of the impact they will have on those born seven generations ahead. The notion of ‘sustainability’, which for many in the West is a fairly recent, ideological concept, was therefore at the forefront of all decision making processes.
‘…Cast not over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground — the unborn of the future Nation’
Click here to see the full constitution.
The 7 Ahead Project arose out of a desire to incorporate this principle into our thoughts and actions, and to share this philosophy with others. We believe that when making decisions it is essential to consider how these decisions will impact the future generations who have not yet been born. We will use this platform to celebrate those that act on, and support those who fight for their right to act on, this principle.
‘How do we turn tragedy… into a place where wisdom sits?’
Carolyn Raffensperger "Becoming Great Ancestors"
At the heart of the constitution sits the ‘7th generation principle’; the view that all decisions must be made in view of the impact they will have on those born seven generations ahead. The notion of ‘sustainability’, which for many in the West is a fairly recent, ideological concept, was therefore at the forefront of all decision making processes.
‘…Cast not over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground — the unborn of the future Nation’
Click here to see the full constitution.
The 7 Ahead Project arose out of a desire to incorporate this principle into our thoughts and actions, and to share this philosophy with others. We believe that when making decisions it is essential to consider how these decisions will impact the future generations who have not yet been born. We will use this platform to celebrate those that act on, and support those who fight for their right to act on, this principle.
‘How do we turn tragedy… into a place where wisdom sits?’
Carolyn Raffensperger "Becoming Great Ancestors"