In his speech to the Democratic National Convention at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 15, 1960 John F. Kennedy famously said, “We stand on the edge of a New Frontier—the frontier of unfulfilled hopes and dreams, a frontier of unknown opportunities and beliefs in peril. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered problems of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”
Four decades have past, yet Kennedy’s speech is as relevant today at it was on the day it was made. Then, as now, there are men and women that embrace change and choose to boldly go where none have gone before. Then as now, there are men and women who chose to resist change and whom, fearing the unfamiliar, stay within the confines of established boundaries and limits.
The bold can easily criticize the fearful. The change-makers can easily find fault with the change-resistant. Consequently, debates between the two often digress into tit for tat style arguments in which insults are slung to and fro. Sadly, this is the scenario we see all too often when issues including climate change, biodiversity loss, natural habitat destruction, water scarcity and poverty are debated, be it around a dinner party table, on a television debate or in the House of Commons.
Wind the clock back four decades to the day of Kennedy’s New Frontiers speech. Upon giving his speech to the Democratic National Convention, the future president clearly understood that if he wanted to win the hearts and minds of his nation throwing insults at his opponents was not the way to go about it. Kennedy knew that societal-level change is not born of debates. Nor of legislative amendments and bureaucratic reshuffles. Polished his appearance and speech may been, but there was no spin, no hype, no PR machine driving this man.
Kennedy was driven by a vision. A vision of a better future. A vision so big, so bright and so beautiful that it inspired a whole nation. At noon on 20th January 1961 Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States of America. The day marked the start of a paradigm shift with such momentum behind it that it’s still gaining strength today. Kennedy urged the nations of the world to join together to fight the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." Many imagined that Kennedy’s assassination would stop this paradigm shift in its tracks. How very wrong they were. Kennedy became an Icon of the 20th Century and a man remembered for many generations to come.
Over the coming days, as the General Election draws closer, we will see the party leaders all attempt to take a leaf out of Kennedy’s book, not least during the final Leaders Debate – it was after all his strong performance in the four televised debates with Nixon that anchored Kennedy’s term of office at the White House. So far we haven’t seen a performance in the league of Kennedy’s from any of the party leaders. Nor have we witnessed any world-changing speeches. However, whatever the outcome of the forthcoming General Election, the paradigm shift triggered by John F. Kennedy’s vision will continue to take hold.
NEW FRONTIERS is the name of the new national sustainable innovation initiative environmental scientist Matt Prescott and I launched in January 2010 with the message New Year, New Decade, New Frontiers. The initiative’s name came to me literally as soon as the concept of creating a catalyst for innovation in sustainable design popped into my head, back in the autumn of 2008. However, it was only in the run up to General Election that the words of John F. Kennedy took on great significance and relevance to the initiative.
Kennedy said, “The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges”. Likewise NEW FRONTIERS, which challenges those working in sustainable design, architecture, engineering, urban planning, chemistry and materials science to work together to stretch the boundaries of possibility. We invite both professionals and students to embark with us on a journey to stimulate truly sustainable design solutions fit for the social and environmental challenges of the 21st Century. We are working with leading universities, professional institutions, NGOs, government agencies and pioneering global brands to embed a strong understanding of sustainability; form new collaborations; and promote the best innovation for this new and fast-moving sector.
NEW FRONTIERS is focused is on interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge sharing, capacity building and public discourse in a programme comprising seminars, scholarships, mentoring, a participative digital platform and other planned elements, culminating in a prestigious biennial national prize. We cannot be sure of the outcome of these various endeavors, for to quote Kennedy “We stand on the edge of a New Frontier” and “un-chartered areas of science and space”… and of design, engineering and technology too.
Brown, Cameron and Clegg take note: great political speeches connect not only with the electorate in any given year; instead their message resonates down through the decades, centuries and ages. Great political speeches don’t just win votes; they change the world.
Melissa Sterry, Founding Director of NEW FRONTIERS and Societás.
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