Dear reader,

Welcome to the third issue of SHIFT magazine!

If you’re reading SHIFT, chances are you realize all is not well with the world, and are hungry for change. Our ever-evolving world is a place of pain and beauty, of desperation and hope, and of inspiration and tragedy. Striking a balance is never easy, and to do so requires a shift in attitude, in direction, and in the conversations our society holds.

Thank you for taking part in the much-needed shift in public discourse, and for making time for the conversations that matter.

SHIFT is a labour of love for the all-volunteer team that people-powers its way into print every second month. Traversing time-zones and the treadmill, our team has worked wonders on a shoestring budget, investigating, interviewing, visioning, scribbling, editing, designing, and printing this third issue of ad-free critique, and inspiration to practical action.

Issue #3 of SHIFT sets out to explore people-power, the ‘power of one’ that each of us possesses to make a difference, to deposit a drop in the bucket of change, no matter how insignificant each drop alone may seem. An exploration of our strengths and weaknesses, our assets and flaws, and our strides despite our setbacks, this issue is an honest celebration of ‘the power of we’. Of course, not all is plain-sailing in the change-makers’ world, so in this issue we devote a little space to the need for social support, time and space for reflection, and the pitfalls of committing oneself entirely to a cause.

Change-makers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds collaborate over SHIFT, delivering fresh food for thought to assist the shift in our conversations, our ideas, and our actions. Every issue of SHIFT also aims to feature a couple of submissions from our readers, so if you fancy wordsmithing your way into print, pitch us your idea and we’ll take it from there. Submission guidelines and forms are on our website.

Free from commercial advertising, SHIFT is fully supported by digital and hard-copy purchases and subscriptions from our readers. This means you get to read only the stuff you want to read, in the format you want it in, and don’t have to leaf through pages and pages of consumer-paradigm junk. Thank you so much for your support, your company in these interesting times, and your feedback that enables SHIFT to evolve.

We hope that you will find SHIFT an inspiring and empowering read, and that you will find information worth sharing. Take care, and have a good read!

Love and solidarity,

The SHIFT team