A place for us: This social initiative is spreading the love from London
At the end of a year when across the world xenophobia and intolerance seem to have prevailed, a ray of light is being cast over London by a sweet, heartwarming project called This Is Thoughful.
It’s a global community that brings creative people together to change the world. Their latest initiative is A Welcome Thought.
They are spreading simple welcome notes around town (London initially, though the initiative has quickly gone international) as a way to reclaim public spaces from any unwelcoming conversations. This affirms the desire for inclusiveness and warmth in city spaces. Anyone interested can print out the template for the notes from the thisisthoughtful website.
The outside of the card has the words “A place for” printed on it and a blank box for anyone to add who or what they would like to welcome. Inside is space to write a message to the person who finds the card. Students, friendly rivals, one-of-a-kind moments, the homeless.
The place cards have been addressed to a wide range of ideas and people.
So far, hundreds cards have been disseminated around the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Greece and Spain. The Thoughtful team hope that people will print out their own and join in their welcome and that they will pass along the cards they find to reach as many people and spaces as possible.
“We need to send a timely reminder that this planet is home to all of us, and that to build a better future together every one of us has to feel we belong,” explained Daianna Karaian, who comes from a corporate background and who started the guerrilla campaign. — globalvoices.org