Public opinion: Your blogs

Where change starts

What do I care passionately about in terms of community building or social change? That was the question Chris Grant posed at the Chain Reaction event this morning.

In the corporate temple of Canary Wharf's Eastwintergarden, around 400 people - a quarter of them under the age of 21 - gathered around tables to share what they are passionate about, what they really care about and what they want to change. Those conversations are taking place as I'm writing this post, and one of the most noticeable things is that everyone seems to be smiling. Compare that with the kind of discussions that go on in the big-ticket conferences, where smiles are the exception.

But as Geraldine Blake, chief executive of Community Links, put it, 'Everybody has the potential to do great things. Social change is about unlocking that potential.'

For some, like Simon Berry of Colalife, it's about coming up with a simple idea that could make a difference to infant mortality in Africa and using social media (especially Facebook) to get a foot in the door of one of the world's biggest corporations. For others, like Major Phil Packer, seriously injured in a rocket attack in Basra, it's about understanding for the first time what it means to have a disability and deciding that rather than ending the life you love, it could transform it and be a force for good.

Chris Grant, who runs 14a Conversations, is making the point that we all know things and have skills to share. We could use them to make a difference to the communities where we live and work. We could come up with new ways of raising money, new ideas for delivering public services. And there are things we don't know, that we can start learning from others.

The point is that we can get on with it. We don't have to wait for a new government and then slag them off for defaulting on their promises. We don't have to wait for the right policy change. Policy changes and government action are often good and helpful, but the starting point is the people. Understanding that is the breakthrough.