THE “stone soup story” is an old tale that has many versions and variations. It tells of a poor and hungry man who came to a village asking for food; but no one wanted to spare. So he puts water and a stone in a pot and boiled it over a fire. Curious and intrigued, the villagers watch him as he starts to stir his “soup.” Eventually, one villager brings a couple of potatoes to add to the mix then others followed suit with a few carrots, onions and a handful of herbs. A farmer donates salt, pork and milk. All of a sudden, the “stone soup” becomes tasty chowder!
The story illustrates not only the value of sharing but also an appreciation of bringing something that may seem insignificant at the first instance.
The value of sharing and bringing something to the table, no matter how minor, for the sake of a community is what associations are all about. Associations exist and thrive because their constituencies–i.e., members, the Board, management staff and volunteers–help one another to provide solutions to common problems, learn from each other to advance their careers, work with others to expand opportunities for growth and celebrate together as a broader community their achievements and services.
Akin to the word “sharing” is the term oft-mentioned nowadays: collaboration. This means working with others to create or advance something. Such collaboration happened recently by way of a webinar to highlight the importance of collective action and leadership to address issues challenging the world today.
The Philippine Council of Association and Association Executives (PCAAE), in collaboration with the Global Compact Network Philippines (GCNP) and the Climate Action for Associations (CAFA), organized a virtual event on “Business and Associations for Climate Action and the SDGs.”
The GCNP is the Philippine entity of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact whose primary goal is to inspire and promote collaboration among business corporations with the support from the government, academe and NGOs to enable them to implement the ten Global Compact principles and a wider scope of programs to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
CAFA’s mission is to harness the collective power and impact of whole sectors, systems and professions to support a sustainable economy. It is the place where professional and trade associations all over the world come together to work to drive faster, efficient climate action for and on behalf of the industries and professions they represent. CAFA is aligned to the UN SDGs, supports the ambition of COP26 and is a global accelerator for the UN-backed “Race to Zero.”
The influence of associations and other membership organizations have on their sectors, professions, communities and stakeholder groups cannot be underestimated or overlooked as a key driver of change. Rather than targeting individual organizations separately, associations are natural conduits for addressing issues and challenges confronting us.
Like the lesson from the stone soup story where villagers contributed something to make a real meal, the coming together of associations to advance and advocate for a common purpose, mission or cause, in this case, tackling global issues on the environment, human rights, corruption and labor, is also a rock-solid story in itself.
Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the Global Compact Network Philippines and the founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.” E-mail: obperalta@gmail.com