Stop Scrolling And Start Solving - A Conversation With Anna Jones

In this episode of Force of Nature, Clover sits down with Anna Jones, co-founder of RefuAid. In 2015, at the peak of the immigration crisis in Greece, Anna - just 25 - decided to pack up her life to help on the ground. She saw first-hand how badly NGOs were handling the crisis - which is why she now runs her own. In this conversation, Clover and Anna explore the path to befriending failure; the source of society’s polarisation; and how to uncover your inner superhero to overcome anything.

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Episode Timestamps:

01:27 - 03:35
Overcoming the bystander effect - how Anna dropped her life in London to help refugees landing in Greece, and the difficult truths that awaited her.

03:35 - 11:03
How bureaucracy kills our humanity, why the UN is broken, and the trap of trying to solve systemic problems with bandaid solutions.

11:03 - 13:21
Life without a home: the stark reality of being forced to leave your country, only to arrive in a hostile one.

13:21 - 16:46
Why the act of asking for help can surface unexpected allies.

16:46 - 19:00
Dismantling the ‘us vs them’ myth, seeing through the lies of media and politics, and the power of sharing one person’s story.

19:00 - 24:02
Inviting people into our hearts and homes; navigating our differences by having difficult conversations; and why your opinion doesn’t define you.

24:02 - 29:38
Why Gen Z’s “cancel culture” might be driving us further apart - and the promise of social media to be both our greatest gift and potential downfall.

29:38 - 30:44
Maintaining hope and resilience in the face of adversity, and how to uncover your inner superhero to overcome anything.

30:44 - 33:37
Honing in on your strengths to drive simple solutions to complex problems.

33:37 - 36:30
The elephant in the room: by 2050, climate change could forcibly displace more than 140 million people.

36:30 - 37:32
Resignation syndrome: what happens to humans when they lose hope.

37:32 - 38:26
Resisting the temptation to tackle all of the problems: how your ability to create impact lies in focus.

38:26 - 43:48
How we all have a role to play in solving the issues - and how the first step can be as simple as helping another person.

43:48 - 45:40
Unsubscribing from the status quo and choosing not to numb yourself to the problems.

45:40 - 54:05
Why naivety is essential; getting over imposter syndrome; and learning to trust your gut, build your tribe, and own your mistakes.

54:05 - 54:50
Why the aid sector isn’t a career - but the simple act of one human helping another human. And why we all have the capability to do it.


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Top Quotes From The Episode:

“It’s so easy to fall into that state of complacency and ‘I’ll do my little bit’. But now is the time when we need radicalism, we need people to be transformational. We need people to redesign these systems and have the courage to do so.” - Clover

“Naivety in some ways I think is important. When I look around at the people that inspire me… we all started with a sense of naivety, of what we'd be taking on and where we would be today.” - Anna

“If you want to help another person, it's as simple as asking what they need. And then if you truly want to help them, listening and seeing if you can provide what they need, and if they can't, helping them find where they can get that help.” - Anna


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About The Guest:

Anna Jones co-founded RefuAid in 2015, age 25, following a volunteer trip to Lesvos with her co-founder Tamsyn Brewster. For 18 months they worked on healthcare, housing and education programmes in Greece, before shifting their focus to issues facing refugees and asylum seekers...