How CANVA inspired us with more than a Brand New Era.
What’s a regenerative business mentor doing talking about a tech brand event? Stay with me. I’m here to talk about the incredible way they opened their event last Thursday in Sydney, Australia, not the powerful AI tools which are impressive and life-changing for many small business owners globally.
Susan Moylan-Coombs, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY, ELDERS AND WISDOM KEEPERS was a moving and inspiring start to the CANVA Brand New Era event. Also known as a ‘Welcome to Country’, this welcome or introduction to an event is an Indigenous tradition that has become an Australian Event tradition over the last decade. However, I had no idea Corporates were embracing this; it’s an inspiring move from CANVA.
Susan Moylan-Coombs, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY, ELDERS AND WISDOM KEEPERS was a moving and inspiring start to the CANVA Brand New Era event. Also known as a ‘Welcome to Country’, this welcome or introduction to an event is an Indigenous tradition that has become an Australian Event tradition over the last decade; it’s an inspiring move from CANVA.
Here is Susan’s Welcome to Country for you to read. I want to put this upfront and central to this article to give it the importance it deserves and then I will make my observations below.
“My name is Susan Moylan Coombs and my ancestry is from the oldest living culture on the planet. We are the original people. Good design, based in our indigenous knowledge systems has grounded us in country. We also are the oldest living culture. So our culture has also grounded us and we have been here since time immemorial.
So through the lens of the tri-sacred. We are connected by the three worlds the physical world, the human world, and the sacred world. But like the three-legged stool, f you take one of those legs away, it simply falls over.
When we honour, respect and play our role in understanding everything is connected, then every action we take, there is a reaction. So my question to you is, what is going to be your legacy?
It’s all about planting the seeds of the tree of the shade that you will never sit under but your children, your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren will be able to enjoy that.
So you are gifting it forward.
We all have our own life journey and that which has shaped us. We all have our own mindset and our own viewpoints. Be comfortable in your own skin so you can be comfortable with others.
Listen with the intention of hearing and understanding others and not just replying in a conversation. Use words of kindness, compassion, wisdom, and love in every interaction that you have.
Thank you for having me here to do the acknowledgement of country. I’d like to acknowledge all of us here in the audience today. And I’d like to acknowledge elders, knowledge holders and wisdom keepers as we embark on new eras and new beginnings. Honor, protect and care for country because country will protect you. So we believe that we are born of country that as we live life, we walk country and when we die we go back to country so we go back to the mother. So listen with your heart. Do good in the world. And of course it’s a choice. So the rest is up to you what you do next. Thank you”
(end welcome to country by Susan Moylan Coomb in Gurindji Woolwonga on Gadigal land. ( Sydney area)
Those of us who have benefited from colonisation must now be responsible for redressing the system we have benefited from on the backs of stealing the land and lives of Indigenous Peoples.
The first step is to listen to what Indigenous Peoples have been saying for hundreds of years. To open ourselves to be transformed by their words which have remained consistent regarding how we need to learn to relate to the land. This is one of the ways we address injustice.
We must explore regenerative pathways towards new relationships with indigenous peoples, decolonisation, and collaborative working.
Having an indigenous voice introducing a global event is a significant step. The next step from a regenerative perspective is to integrate this thinking into the whole organisation, not just having the welcome as an addition.
During the event, I was also struck by the diversity in the team at CANVA. Cultural and gender diversity, including pregnancy and collaborative teamwork.
My only disappointment was the lip service to sustainability. I’d love to hear more about that next time. ( give me a call, Melanie!) There was a mention that CANVA plants a tree for every purchase you make from the design platform, but is this the only step you are taking? Tell us more.
The only put-off at the event was all the glitter. It’s fun to see, but glitter is one of those toxic and unsustainable fabrics. Perhaps you could wear an outfit from an upcycled designer next time, team.
Your 30% profit contribution to Pledge 1% is very impressive, especially considering the recent $US12 billion company valuation. Charitable foundations seeking to eliminate extreme poverty with systemic changes is inspirational.
CANVA, you greatly influence a global audience, the majority of which is our future generation. #climatechange is real and urgent and I’d love to see companies like you embracing this conversation as integral to what you do, not in addition or as a giving element. ( Pledge 1%)
The young Australian CANVA founders have an extraordinary story that started with years of rejections from investors. They now provide a platform that 500 million people use the platform to design every month and 125 million-member users. Melanie’s start-up story is inspiring for any business owner.
Read more about the 32-year-old Co-Founder and CEO of Canva Australian’s dream. https://theglobalhues.com/melanie-perkins-the-woman-behind-canva/
Oh, and if you did see the event and are still wondering what the tim-tam reference one of the presenters made (and made me smile) >> it’s an Australian biscuit.
#CANVA #brandnewera #Susan-Moylan-Coombs #regenerative-business #jannine-barron
