Judy Ling Wong
on Multicultural Environmental Participation
“Being creative and making change, in whatever field and form, is an art."
A new kind of artist is emerging: "the social sculptor." The one sculpting society!
Judy Ling Wong is a social sculptor and a “vision caster”. Immersed in the arts in her early life, her journey towards sustainability was marked by the uninterrupted outpouring of creativity when she shifted her commitment to the environmental sector: “If you have a feeling that can’t be put into our limited vocabulary of words, you can learn more by exploring through art.”
Creativity is the red thread omnipresent in her life, translating the appreciation of nature and the need to protect it: “We love what we enjoy. We protect what we love. In those two phrases, you can understand where the creation of the environmental movement came from. When you enjoy nature and what you love is being destroyed, what do you do? You fight for it. This means we need to have access to nature enjoyment – and with that comes the desire to protect it!”
Judy is a painter, poet, speaker and a pioneer in the field of multicultural environmental participation. An articulate and forceful advocate for a human-centred, inclusive and holistic approach. Her work as a community artist in the 1980s was the tipping point. She met diverse communities and identified with their experience of displacement, many of them saying that “to be ethnic minority means to be environmental.”
As the Honorary President of the Black Environment Network (BEN), Judy became a major voice in policy and practice towards social inclusion. To her, equality, diversity and inclusion are the key overarching themes underpinning multicultural environmental participation: “The white population is only 11% of the world population. The people that we call ethnic minorities are the representatives of world global majorities. Engaging with different cultural communities must move centre stage to enable worldwide collaboration!”
Judy was awarded an OBE for pioneering multicultural environmental participation and a CBE for shining a light on ethnic contributions to British heritage and history. She is also one of the UK’s 100 Leading Environmentalists, and the RHS Elisabeth Medal of Honour 2023 recognizes her work in opening up the pleasure of gardens for countless people from ethnic minority communities.
Read Judy Ling Wong’s answers for Inspirators and learn from her how to cultivate the courage to shape democracy in a way that serves all of us: “There’s no such thing as no money. If a government needs money because society is collapsing, it will find a way to get it. Isn’t it better to be in debt for the future than to have no future at all? It is just a matter of choice!”
Thank you, Judy, for being a Social Sculptor!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Judy Ling Wong CBE
Company / Institution: Black Environment Network UK
Title: Honorary President
Website: www.ben-network.org.uk
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judy-ling-wong-1b11856b/
Country of origin: Planet Earth. I strongly see myself as a global citizen.
Country you currently live in: UK
Your personal definition of Regeneration: Putting back everything that we take out.
Main business challenge you face: Siloed sectors that should work collaboratively and more effectively by taking an integrated approach. There is no such thing as a purely environmental initiative. A so-called purely environmental initiative is one that has rejected its social, cultural and economic dimensions. This means working with the all-embracing principles of EDI Equality Diversity and Inclusion. EDI is a long-term endeavour that requires investment in time and resources. It is about intercultural community building and working towards the release of a vast missing environmental contribution by diverse communities. In the context of the devastating impact of the war in Gaza, it needs to be noted that EDI underpins peace-building.
Main driver that keeps you going: The need for intercultural local and global collaboration to enable people and the planet to thrive.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: I love people. All my motivation for my work springs from this place. Protecting the environment is about protecting people. The word love does not appear in policy speak, but the other words “care for” or “protect” need to be seen as expressions of love to link environmental care and protection to the essential connection to people. In 1987, the world of nature conservation was very much about people benefiting nature - people for nature. The work of BEN, highlighting the role of benefits to people has shifted the paradigm into the two-way street positioning of “People for nature and nature for people”.
The trait you most value in others: A sense of common humanity against the 21st-century scientific assertion that humanity is one single blood-related family that started its journey from Africa. For all of us, our ultimate country of heritage is Africa.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: The beauty of nature, but especially flowers. I absolutely love going to contemporary dance performances. It inspires and nourishes me to see people move, expanding the language of expression. Nature and the arts give me a counterbalance to an overwhelming and threatening world, helping me to return to the centre and get on with my mission.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
My parents - who taught me that love is an endeavour and that it is expressed through our actions. They also taught me that when we do not succeed, we need to recognise that it is the endeavour that matters.
Ghandi - who pointed out so astutely that until one leaves one’s own country, one cannot see it for what it is. His clarity of vision and the way he lived his vision is exemplary.
Nelson Mandela - for his indomitable spirit, continuing his mission even when he was imprisoned.
Pina Bausch - for her creativity in revealing the social issues of our time through her incisive choreography, urging us to know ourselves. Dance speaks in a way that takes us beyond the domination of words, taking us beyond the intellectualisation of issues. She has passed away now, but the impact of her work lives on.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: Know yourself and let the measure of what you do sit in the context of being part of everything.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: The word green is much abused and misused. For example, we need green labelling to help us have a choice as to where we put our money, but we now need to be even more aware of greenwashing. Attitudes and the overview of what sustainability is are important. Various people think that sustainability is just for tree-hugging greenies. We still have to work at getting them to understand that action for sustainability lies at the center of their lives.
I am also concerned about the way the word freedom has been interpreted. Claiming freedom without responsibility is very destructive.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: You are the hope. The smallest action is to be celebrated because that action is multiplied alongside everyone else’s actions to make an amplified difference. Never believe that you are powerless. Coming together at any level builds power.
Books that had a great impact on you:
The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth by Ben Rawlence - an intensely personal and scientific look at where we are now as a planet.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong about the World by Anna Rosling Ronnlund, Has Rosling and Ola Rosling - this book enables one to be grounded in facts and figures while working with passion
Must-reads for any regenerative professional:
The Findhorn Garden: A Collaboration Between Humans and Nature by Linda Dayem Kealey - pure inspiration, the ultimate manifestation of deep connection and magic. A story about making the impossible possible for nature and the community.
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman - a personal story and a practical guide for people from African heritage to reclaim food systems and therefore reclaim part of themselves.
Lightning Bird by Lyall Watson - a true story of a white young man Adrian Boshier who ventured into “darkest Africa” with nothing more than a pocket knife and a bag of salt. With the present interest in “indigenous” cultures, this book gives a sense of what it can mean when a true cross-cultural connection is made.
The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology (second edition) - this book has contributions from 33 countries and the themes range from ecological design to the cultural dimensions of the use and conservation of nature. Working in the urban context is vitally important as most people now live in urban areas. In the UK it is 80%, so understanding and working within the urban environment is crucial to sustainability. Do get the e-version as the book is huge and so heavy that you need a table to put it on in order to handle it.
Movies or Documentaries you would watch all over again: Any nature documentary, including, of course, David Attenborough's work.
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently:
Waterbear www.waterbear.com with films committed to building understanding and skills to work positively in an integrated manner with people and the planet. The storytelling, using short films, is especially impressive!
The Green Edge Podcast www.greenedge.substack.com/podcast which gives a a weekly update with occasional additional posts on current concerns.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: I especially love guitar music, and guitar with orchestra. For example, John Williams playing Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: To me, the Grand Canyon embodies the overwhelming power of nature. India and its ultra-vibrant and diverse peoples and places, especially the desert cultures of Rajasthan. Mexico and its living indigenous cultures. I am very lucky to be able to be in touch with these cultures through my friendship with the Mexican theatre artist Daniel Loyola, who works with ethno-theatrical and social art intervention projects with indigenous communities of Michoacan and Mexico City.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
Bianca Pitt - Founder of Women of the Environment Network and co-founder of She Changes Climate
Antoinette Vermilye - Co-Founder Gallifrey Foundation
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Using green spaces as points of community gathering to spread the message including allotments
Best places for business networking (online or offline): LinkedIn
Events we should attend: Community-based events in our locality should top the list, as they keep us on our toes. Being in touch with what happens where we are illuminates reality and dispels simplistic theoretical overviews.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: I am not really one for clubs and tribes. I am associated with and helped to develop Climate Reframe www.climatereframe.org
It does the very necessary work of bringing multicultural environmental experts and activists together into a creative and mutually supportive network, to consolidate their visibility and extend their influence. Not that long ago, the media claimed that they were not featuring multicultural personalities because they could not find them. With this open database, there are no more excuses! Plus, it is now being used by conferences for identifying speakers, organisations for inclusive consultations, and of course, the media!
Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses, trainings, or certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: Any course on green skills is really important right now because we need them to fill an increasing spectrum of green jobs to help us move towards Net Zero, building wind turbines to sustainability leaders, digital analysts and managerial positions for large infrastructural projects. Apprenticeships also play an increasing role, as so many of these are hands-on. See some of them on the IFATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) website www.instituteforapprenticeships.org
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: The young generation has got what it means to be alive right and they will fight for it without the baggage of our generation. Plus, scientifically we know everything we need to know to avert the disastrous impact of Climate Change. We need to act and young people will lead.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: The obsession with power and money distorts decision-making and holds back the systemic transformation of society that we need.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Deep listening, creativity, generosity, boldness, resilience.
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Bianca Pitt, who embodies what an inclusive integrated approach to solutions to a better world is about. She is someone who does not fail to take account of the whole while having a focus. Her focus is on getting women into influential positions. That is something that fundamentally changes the world.
The quote that inspires you:
“Be kind to all living things!” (The Buddha)
So simple and so completely challenging to be asked to be compassionate towards all those that are around us, whether they are manifesting darkness or light, while taking action to move forward. He follows this by saying:
“Sit with and befriend your enemy. When you succeed, you will have won.”
If we were able to do this, there would be no more wars.
Your own quote that will inspire us:
Research has shown us that simply being given information does not mean we will act. We must have a relationship that results in emotions and the motivation to act. We must also have access to information to be effective in how we design our actions. Of course, nothing happens unless we have mass action for change.
