Parul Punjabi Jagdish, CEO of AIME Inc., sits down with Green.org to share how he is leading AIME’s operations in the Americas to ensure long-term sustainability and impact
Parul, thank you for being here. Tell us a little bit about you and your background:
A leader fashioned along the lines of Mandela & Gandhi, my purpose in life is to ‘trust life fully, live fearlessly & serve all beings around me, human and non-human’. I bring perspective with varied educational background in commerce, international relations, media and community development (all on prestigious scholarships) along with 12+ years of professional experience in providing strategic evidence-based advice to top global private corporations and policy makers in India and Europe. I currently lead change as the CEO of AIME Inc. (US), a global movement to create a fairer world using imagination & mentoring, that builds bridges between people with power and those without to help end educational inequality around the world.
I also serve as a Board Director for 4 x for-purpose organisations aimed at creating systemic solutions for community-led local change, climate justice and board diversity. In addition to juggling multiple extra-curricular/ professional interests and volunteer roles, especially in the human rights space, including my work as Co-Convenor for Amnesty International Coffs Coast, I help carry out critical research in Organ Donation registration with Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour. I have also won several awards, including the 2022 Top 100 Leaders in Education Award in the US; the 2019 Champion of Children’s Rights in Australia; the 2017 Excellence in Engaged Research in Australia; and have presented at multiple conferences globally including as a keynote speaker at the 2022 Education 2.0 Conference, USA; the 2019 Global Forum for Education & Learning, Dubai and so on.
What would you do with $1 Billion dollars?
Help shift the way we place value in the economy and tackle 2 of the greatest inter-linked challenges facing humanity: a) the climate crisis; and b) inequity. – With $100M, fund an Imagination Fund for the next decade, that will bring intelligence from outside the margins to redesign the way the world works.
– Design a ~$900M Nature Fund as an alternative investment vehicle to centre nature in our financial systems and generate industry equivalent or greater returns whilst increasing biodiversity
Why do you think sustainability is such an important topic today?
Never in human history has our technological prowess been so prolific that we have the potential to impact the entire planetary ecosystem at such huge scale, both positively and negatively. Without checking our impacts, we’re currently on the verge of bringing not only thousands of other species but our own advanced society to the brink of extinction.
Climate change and sustainability are such important topics because there is no denying now how the negative consequences of our over exploitation and extraction of natural resources within a finite system is bringing the world to a point of collapse. We risk losing life on our planet.
We’re also leaving behind a terrible planet, with hugely unpredictable climate patters, and highly polluted environment for the future generations. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Wherever you look, people are rallying together and coming up with ingenious solutions to help bring humans back to our rightful custodial role within the natural ecosystem. There is hope for us still!
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
Organisationally, AIME has an intentional death strategy allowing us to be effective change-agents for the next decade with turbo-charged efficiency and then exit the stage gracefully, having sprouted many more great ideas to lead the charge. 10 years after the launch of AIME’s relational network called IMAGI-NATION, i.e. in 2033, IMAGI-NATION and AIME will initiate its own formal ending to create a systemic regeneration as part of an intentional design strategy informed by natural life-death cycles. We believe all organisations should have the same limitations of mortality as all other entities in creation.
This is in order to optimise their impact in the world, within the natural limits of scale, and not build empires that inevitably create otherness and consolidation of power & resources for a few. As we set our sights towards the next 10 years we have some significant objectives that will be achieved via this network. Amongst systemic shifts that will redefine the power of relational networks (as compared to social networks), showcase relational economies, and a return on relations. We have some specific impact metrics at play for those entering and working in IMAGI-NATION, which include:
1) building the capacity of 1 billion human beings to be trained as mentors to help humanity return to its custodial role with other species in Nature, and learn to pass on knowledge, network & opportunities with each other freely for the benefit of all;
2) creating system change projects, especially to reimagine and reinvent the current unhealthy systems at play in education, employment, finance, fashion and sustainability, as a few examples;
3) leaving behind an array of valuable tools, designed to continue to shape the design of our living systems well into the future, that can be picked up by others to build strong systemic movements of change to address future challenges.
What can the average person do to make a difference?
There are so many ways to get engaged with our work:
1) Easiest is to join our mailing list and stay updated on all the opportunities to take action towards a fairer world.
2) Be a part of the network that we’re launching called IMAGI-NATION, i.e. be the first citizens of this new digital nation that models a fairer world: https://investorpage.softr.app
3) Be trained as a Mentor for those around you, or enroll in AIME’s IMAGI-NATION {University} to lead your own social change project. More information on our website.