Fellow's idea is the real thing
Ever had an idea that you thought could change the world? Fellow Simon Berry did and, unlike many of our own best intentions, he is close to making it a reality.
His simple idea is to add a vital ‘aidpod’ to crates of Coca-Cola that are distributed in developing countries. The germ of the scheme was formed 20 years ago.
"I left university to work for the British aid programme and worked for 12 years in South America, the Caribbean and Africa," he says. “In 1988, I was in a very remote part of Zambia – there was no telephone or fax – but I noticed a hut that was selling Coke and I marvelled at how it got there.
“Through my experience with British aid, I knew that one in five children in areas like this died from simple causes such as dehydration from diarrhoea, a statistic that sadly remains the same today, so I thought ‘could something be included with deliveries of Coke that would help the local community?’
Berry tried to get people interested in his idea, but to no avail. “In those pre-internet days I found it difficult to generate a large level of support, but I never forgot the plan.”
In 2008, he was revitalised when he noticed – via his Twitter account – that Coca-Cola was speaking at the Business Call to Action conference, hosted by Gordon Brown. Berry joined the online discussion – but got no response.
Nevertheless, the idea was re-ignited. Berry began to blog on the subject, set-up a Facebook group, and suggested his idea to Radio 4’s iPM. For a while he still got nowhere, until, within months, ‘friends’ of the site reached 5,000, from ordinary people to aid organisations, frontline groups and activists from across the world.
“It was really heartening to get such an enthusiastic response,” says Berry. “I used the influence of this group to continue to lobby Coca-Cola and gain PR.” A small group of activists joined a Google group to help with contacts, ideas and expertise.
One, Kate Andrews, who recently became a Fellow, has helped with PR; another Facebook Group member, Dave Briggs, well-known in ‘digerati’ circles, set up the ColaLife website. Following the Facebook campaign, BBC Radio 4’s iPM programme picked up the story and interviewed Berry. “They’ve been fantastic,” he says, “they doggedly pursued Coke until they eventually agreed to speak to me.” iPM’s approach included recruiting Eve Graham, the singer from the iconic Coca-Cola ad ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’, to record a new version extolling the virtues of Berry’s idea.
The person who finally took his call at Coca-Cola was Salvatore Gabola, the Global Head of Stakeholder Relations, and, following a meeting in Brussels, Berry was invited to visit Coke’s Manual Distribution Centres in Tanzania. “This was incredibly useful on a number of levels,” he says. “By speaking to local people working at the centres, it helped crystallise ideas about what shape the aidpod should be to fit most effectively into the crates.
“Talking to the community also influenced the thinking on what should be contained in the aidpods.” Berry realised that the original idea of putting rehydration salts in the crates was not always appropriate for the local conditions. “It’s not up to us to tell people in Tanzania what they need most, we have to work with local communities and experts,” he says.
This has led to the current situation where Berry is in a three-way conversation with Coca-Cola and a leading international aid organisation. “Coca-Cola wanted an international NGO on board and that made sense to me as well; we are very close to making this a reality,” Berry contends.
However, he is still keen to recruit as much support and expertise as he can. “The RSA Networks platform has helped attract other Fellows to the cause who have provided invaluable support,” Berry says. “If any Fellows want to help, please get in touch.”
NB: The ColaLife idea was entered in Google’s Project 10 to the 100th competition, which attracted 150,000 entries. The top 100 was announced on 17 March and the public were asked to vote for the ones that get funded. There is $10m on offer for the top five projects.
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