Meet Raagini Appadurai, Our New Program Lead

Hello New Dreamers!

As a worldwide community, we stand at the forefront of a fast-changing, urgent, and complex global condition. Between rapid climate change, incessant media messaging, political scandals, and inspiring social movements, there is so much for us to reflect on, understand, and navigate as we move through this world together. In doing so, we each bring our own stories, lived experiences, and unique viewpoints to this journey.

As dreamers of a new world, amid all this complexity we are searching for the right ways to communicate with each other about how we might talk about and come to understand the future we are inheriting—and that we desperately want to change the trajectory of.

When it comes to our role as consumers, we have more questions than answers:

• How do we come to relate our own behaviors and patterns of consumption to larger systemic forces at play? 
• How do we understand the intersectionalities of both ourselves and others in relation to these forces? 
• How do we expand our commitment to improving the well-being of people and the planet to include all global communities, in their own uniqueness? 
• How do we do this by shifting the narrative around consumption and consumerism, so that it is grounded in equity? 
• How do we have these conversations within and across generations in our own families, in our communities, and in other spaces we occupy? 
• How do we learn from each other—through storytelling, art, knowledge sharing, and discussion? 
• And in this, how do we contribute to a movement that is dedicated to nurturing a generation of informed, empowered, and justice-oriented young people? 

I come to this work compelled by how we might engage with these questions together, to build community and create significant, sustainable social change. 

I am honored and excited to be part of the New Dream team in building alternative, creative, and accessible platforms of education around these issues. This learning can be and look like so many different things—from writing, to music, to film, to artwork, to podcast conversations. We’ve got it all headed your way soon!

As a social justice and equity educator, my deep commitment to this work is informed and fueled by my unique position as a woman of color, an artist, and an activist. I am humbled to bring my whole self to all the exciting things that New Dream has planned for the coming months, and to dive in with you all with a renewed and hopeful energy for the bright future ahead that we're building.

In love and solidarity,

Raagini
New Dream Program Lead