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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Davis, Steve (Business leader and activist), author.
Title: Undercurrents : channeling outrage to spark practical activism /
Steve Davis.
Description: First Edition. | Hoboken : Wiley, 2020. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020025369 (print) | LCCN 2020025370 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119669234 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119669289 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119669258 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Social history–21st century. | Social
change–History–21st century.
Classification: LCC HN18.3 .D38 2020 (print) | LCC HN18.3 (ebook) | DDC
306.09/05–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025369
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025370
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: Modern font design © pialhovik /Getty Images
To the many invisible practical activists around the globe,
working tirelessly every day to improve our world.
And to Bob and Ben,
making this journey possible, and joyful.
Foreword
As the world continues to grapple with fallout from one of the most disruptive global crises in recent history, never has there been a time for more solidarity, commitment, and action by activists of all kinds across the planet. The COVID‐19 pandemic has vividly demonstrated our biological vulnerabilities, but also the complexities of our world, the inequality between our health systems, and the social challenges that arise in the midst of an outbreak. Not surprisingly, outrage has surged around the globe. But if channeled properly, I believe it can be a powerful force to push us toward a better world.
Though it has caused immense suffering, COVID‐19 has also demonstrated the extraordinary genius, sacrifice, and compassion that exist within our fellow human beings across the globe. Every day of the crisis I've learned of more ingenious approaches to tackling problems associated with the disease and new forms of social activism to address its many dimensions. Each day I've heard stories of tireless bravery on the part of health workers and others at the frontlines of the pandemic. I've learned of social entrepreneurs developing new tools, students organizing to help each other, community associations rallying to take care of people in their neighborhoods, artists making heartening messages, and companies willing to do “whatever it takes” to help the World Health Organization in its fight against the crisis. Across the planet, activists emerged to do simple, practical, often unheralded acts to change our world for the better.
I can't think of a better moment to have Steve Davis's book, Undercurrents: Channeling Outrage to Spark Practical Activism, on my night table. It reminds me that we need to keep channeling our outrage into service and commitment in big ways and in small ones. As we look beyond the pandemic to the many challenges facing our planet in the decade ahead—particularly as we march toward the ambitious commitments of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals—we will need more and more activists to come forward, or be recharged, as they address the inequities across the globe. The five undercurrents set forth in this book are powerful trends that will help us all find ways to engage and serve.
I first met Steve when he was the leader of the amazing global health innovation organization PATH. He'd stepped into global health leadership with new ideas and boundless energy. Coming from a diverse background—as a human rights lawyer, global tech leader, and McKinsey consultant—Steve impressed me with his agile mind, keen insights, enthusiasm for innovation, and determined activism. I later asked him to co‐chair the WHO Digital Health Technical Advisory Group, because I knew his recommendations would help to make the WHO a stronger force for digital leadership worldwide. In that role, he would provide useful guidance to all 198 member states in shaping their digital health transformation. This is no small task, given the many complex issues around digital health in different settings—among them, data governance, privacy, interoperability, and ethics in AI research. But I could think of no one better suited to it. That confidence has been borne out again and again. Daily, my colleagues and I witness Steve's behind‐the‐scenes “practical activism” as he helps us and so many others respond to the pandemic while never losing sight of longer‐term opportunities and strategies to use digital tools for advancing the well‐being of people around the world. I am thrilled that Steve decided to share some of those thoughts with all of us through writing this book—in the middle of a pandemic, no less!
From my perspective, the world never stops placing enormous obstacles on our path to progress. I have seen many in my life, from my childhood in Ethiopia, to my work as a public health expert confronting the scourge of malaria, to my role in government and my leadership of the WHO during a global pandemic. But I nonetheless remain optimistic about our ability to step around, leap over, and move beyond each hurdle. It is this spirit of optimism that most resonates with me as I read Undercurrents. Through these stories of creative, high‐impact solutions in global health, education, environment, poverty relief, and gender equality,
