serious. Though it probably doesn’t
feel that way to them, these young
people are hard at work practicing
empathy, community, citizenship,
collaboration, inclusion, conflict
resolution, leadership, and more. This
is a Playworks playground, a recess
program created by Jill Vialet to make
play a critical part of every child’s
school day. Jill is one of many lead-
ing social entrepreneurs around the
world helping society shift the way
we think about young people and the
growing up experience. Making this
shift is urgent.
An accelerating rate of change
in the world has begun transforming
traditional power structures, opening
the way for millions to participate in
society in a way that they could not
before. From the end of slavery and
colonization, to the rise of democracy,
the women’s and civil rights move-
ments, and the current technological
revolution—which has unleashed ideas
and initiatives from people from every
corner of the globe—we are witness-
ing the flattening of hierarchies and
diffusion of power from the hands of a
small elite to those of every individual.
While this process is by no means
complete, in large part because some
people still use their own power to
suppress that of others, the door has
opened to a future where every per-
son can create change. We all stand on
the front lines of the social challenges
that emerge every day. We don’t have
to wait and hope that our elected
representatives or corporate leaders or
other powers that be make the right
choices. In fact, society cannot afford
for us to wait. We are each powerful,
and outcomes depend on us.
But a world of rapid change can
be a complex landscape to navigate.
8 IMAGINE l SPRING 2016
In the past, we had hierarchies and in-
stitutions that—for better or worse—
kept society organized. Today we live
in a more decentralized world. We all
need initiative, confidence and good
decision-making skills, as we often
have no one above us to tell us what
to do. We need to be able to prioritize
important information and actions in
a world of information overflow and
ambiguity. We need to be comfortable
working in collaborative environ-
ments. We already see the world’s
leading companies clamoring for
To flourish both as individuals living up to our
potential and as a society that benefits from the poten-
tial of every individual, we must empower ourselves
and our young people as changemakers, individuals
equipped to drive positive change—in their own lives,
in their communities, in their companies, in the world.