I’m writing from Kilkenny, (a medieval city, south of Ireland). As someone who loves the feel of a newspaper in my hands — and in particular foreign ones — I was thrilled when my sister returned from Edgartown with a copy of the Vineyard Gazette (4/08/2017). I was fascinated by the many great articles and arts and cultural interviews. Kudos to you and your team on producing such a great paper.

However, the purpose of this email is to say how inspired I was to read the talk given by Mr. Kerry. He incisively outlined the very real connection between global and issues and expertly described the challenges which are impacting humanity, regardless of which side of the world we live. The anomaly between economic growth and how people experience this or not in their everyday existence is a very real issue for Ireland these days as we recover from the recent crash.

His call for a new plan for the 21st century is pioneering and undoubtedly requires a paradigm shift in how we respond to globalization. Also, the acknowledgement that “no government in the world has the ability to move fast enough to tackle the challenges on their own” was refreshingly realistic especially amid so much banal rhetoric.

Here in Europe efforts to influence change for the greater good are taking place. At the recent global forum on the New Economy & Social Innovation in Malaga, Spain, 450 countries across five continents were represented for the launch of the Malaga Charter (neweconomyforum.org). I returned from Spain daunted at the scale of the challenges. So little did I expect to read such a positive and life affirming article in the Vineyard Gazette, with Mr. Kerry providing a road map for how we might start by “engaging politically and actively as citizens and getting off our rear ends.”

Thank you for publishing this seminal piece in its entirety along with the the accompanying reports. It’s got me thinking about trying to plan a visit to coincide with the Vineyard Hebrew Center Summer Institute Series next summer!

Every good wish from Ireland —

Liz Nolan
Kilkenny, Ireland