We Need To Talk
Something is breaking. Between people. Between systems. Between us and the living world.
On our watch, economic inequality is rising, polarization is deepening, and democracy is under pressure. At the same time, we face climate change, biodiversity loss, and a mental health crisis born of loneliness, disconnection, and a loss of purpose.
Is this the legacy we want to leave behind?
It is a critical moment, but our problem isn’t a lack of knowledge. There are solutions. What’s missing is consensus, a will to work together. We have more information than ever, yet we seem to understand each other less. Antagonizing voices have grown so loud that we have stopped listening. Instead, we fight each other. We call it politics.
It defies logic. Our whole future depends on our ability to bridge these divides. To listen, to speak honestly from the heart, and to remember all that we share. We have to find a better way to work together.
Yeah, we really do need to talk.
How can we move forward when we seem to disagree on so much?
The irony is that at our core, we want the same things: to live healthy lives in freedom; to feel safe and respected; to do meaningful work; to love and be loved; and to find joy and belonging in something greater than ourselves.
To make this shared ground a reality, we need new, much more compelling stories. Stories that have the power to bridge divides, clarify what matters, and inspire us to act together.
The New Foundation was started to do exactly this. Our foundation brings people together across ideological divides to shift the conversation and build common ground. By using compelling, universal narratives, we connect the real challenges in people’s lives today with the future we know we can build together.
A New Foundation
«The Miracle of Your Mind Isn’t That You Can See the World as It Is.
It’s That You Can See the World as It Isn’t.»
Kathryn Schulz, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
A Decade of Action
We have spent the last decade proving that stories can change the world. The New Foundation is built on a legacy of turning complex global challenges into universal movements:
2015: The Global Goals (SDGs)
We created the communication and design for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By simplifying 17 complex global goals with 169 targets into a single iconic visual language, we helped the world understand—and act on—a shared vision for the future. We gave sustainability the oxygen it needed to breathe.
2020: Inner Development Goals (IDGs)
Realizing that outer change requires inner growth, we co-founded the Inner Development Goals (IDGs). It is a researched guide to the essential internal skills we need to navigate the challenges of our time.
2024: The Biodiversity Plan (KMGBF)
Working with the UN again, we created an attractive interface to the complex Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. We translated the conditions for life into a narrative that resonates across borders.
We are now applying all this knowledge to our most urgent challenge yet: our ability to talk to each other across political and cultural divides.
Cognitive Liberation
Most of our values and opinions are shaped before we turn seven, the year we begin to develop a sense of “self” that is separate from our environment. We carry these inherited narratives through life, defending them like sports fans defending a home team — rarely asking if they still serve us, or the world.
To change the game, we must become aware of the stories we’ve inherited. The New Foundation creates stories designed to bypass reflexive division.
We don’t tell people what to think; we create a common ground that invites people to think differently.
Building Common Ground
To cut through the noise and move from division to progress, we operate on three core pillars:
1. Amplifying Collective Voices: We gather organizations working toward similar goals — for example, biodiversity or mental health — so they can pool resources and share stories and messages rather than competing for attention. This creates a single, amplified, non-partisan voice for better solutions.
2. Resonant Narratives: We reject the shouting and shaming of today’s rhetoric. Instead, we carefully create non-partisan communication that makes sense to all — helping people talk about complex and potentially divisive issues without confrontation. Our communication is grounded in what everyone agrees on: safety, dignity, fairness, justice, and a livable future on our fantastic planet.
3. Systems Thinking: Everything is connected. Every part of a system matters. The most elegant solutions help the whole system thrive. We combine experience in marketing, advertising, and science communication to break the divisiveness and focus on root causes rather than symptoms.
Winning Without Losing
We hear many stories about people and companies winning. But what does it really mean to “win” today? We frame success as advancing inside the current system — we celebrate faster growth, higher market valuations, and individual performance. It is a story of extraction. Regardless of actual human needs, production accelerates because our current economy demands constant growth.
We are, in fact, celebrating how fast we can drain our planet, our health, and our collective energy. We have optimized for a game of individual gain at the expense of what sustains life.
But life is not a zero-sum game. Healthy, organic growth is always possible. By redefining what we reward, we shift our trajectory. We need to move from the old narrative of individual wins to one where all life thrives — our health and our humanity, the animals, the insects, the plants, and the oceans and soil we all depend on.
To change the world, we must change the game plan.
It Is Not About Living
Idyllically in our Similarities,
but Living Peacefully and
Pleasurably in our Differences
Become a Source
For the past decade, we have pushed some of the world’s most vital messages forward — investing our own resources and expertise to prove that the right narratives can change the trajectory of our world. We have learned that while a deep understanding of systems is essential for our survival, our greatest challenges cannot be solved by any actor alone.
The New Foundation — a registered Swedish non-profit foundation — is a response to this challenge. Our mission-driven team, based in Stockholm and Zurich, is ready to build the common ground needed for global progress. We are now looking for Founding Partners and Sources for Change to help us scale the infrastructure and collaborations for a better way forward.
Why Join us?
Proven Strategic Impact: Your support is backed by the team that designed the global language for the UN SDGs, the IDGs, and the UN Biodiversity Plan. We don’t just create campaigns; we shift global mindsets.
Resource Efficiency: We don’t believe that organizations can win when they spend time competing for attention. Instead, we gather organizations to pool resources and create a single, amplified, and inviting story that cuts through tribal, often inherited thinking.
Systemic Change: We focus on root causes rather than symptoms, designing narratives that move people from "shouting and shaming" to curiosity and collaboration.
Ways to Partner
Founding Investment: Provide the catalytic philanthropic support needed to establish our core operations and research platform.
Project Collaboration: We welcome organizations working toward a sustainable, just, and thriving future. Instead of competing for attention, join us to pool resources and create a unified voice. By framing specific challenges within a broader humanistic context, we create narratives that cut through the noise and resonate with the widest possible audience.
Knowledge & Science: We welcome expertise from academia to ensure our narratives remain rooted in scientific laws and universal human values.
The future belongs to those who are open to change.
If our Dreams Are Big Enough and Vocalized Smart Enough, They Will Attract Attention, Talent, Capital, and Eventually, They Self-Actualize.
Märtha Rehnberg - The New Foundation
