EPISODE 1
TOKYO
The earth moves at different speeds depending on who you are – Nigerian proverb

PAGE 1

PANEL A

The Shibuya Intersection. Sunset. There are fewer people than you would expect to see passing through the intersection area, and the people we do see look sad, weak, and tired. The neon and LED billboards are on. On the largest electronic billboard is a public service announcement about rice rations. It shows a rice bowl, measured with a ruler. (I’ll try to get some Japanese characters to go with this image.) There’s a newsstand in the foreground, off to one side of the frame. Most of the publications are in Japanese, but we can see one English-language headline “Food Shortage Imminent.”

TEXT BOX 1
Tokyo. February 13, 2020

OFF-PANEL 2
You’re certain they exist?

PANEL B

A sunset panorama of Tokyo is spread before the silhouette of the GOVERNOR of Tokyo. His posture indicates that he is deep in thought.

GOVERNOR 1
Because we need real help, not fairy tales. Even with the rationing, we’re only a month away from a famine.

OFF-PANEL 2
Mr. Governor, It’s not just us. Osaka, Kyoto, too. Everyone is down to their final month of rice reserves.

GOVERNOR 3
I cannot let this happen. I will not. Not in my city.

PANEL C
A wide shot of the Governor’s office. The office is large and well-appointed with an impressive desk (and maybe a portrait of the Governor himself). The main feature, though, is the floor-to-ceiling window, and the key light is the setting sun coming through it at an almost horizontal angle. The Governor has turned away from the view and is facing his ASSISTANT, who paces nervously.

ASSISTANT 1
It’s said the network was responsible for saving Lagos after the maize famine of 2017. But they’ve never taken credit. They never do.

GOVERNOR 2
So, if they’re real, how do we get in touch with them?

ASSISTANT 3
You have to send an EVOKE, Mr. Governor.

PANEL D

Close up on the Assistant.

ASSISTANT
It has to come from you.

PANEL E

Close up on the Governor.

GOVERNOR
Show me.

PAGE 2

PANEL A

We see the message sent on the private, encrypted short message network. It is surrounded by a texture of ambient data, and layered on top of a map of Japan and a red locator dot over Tokyo.

MESSAGE TEXT: This is an EVOKE from Tokyo. Urgently require tactical social innovation deployment. Category: Food security.

PANEL B:

TEXT BOX 1
Dakar, Senegal

A high-tech surveillance room. Computer and video screens relay news and images from all over the world. The star display is a digital world map, covered with data. We can see that the message from the previous panel is a small part of this map. In the foreground is ALCHEMY, in silhouette, sitting at a desk with a keyboard, a laptop, and a pencil and paper in front of him. He wears a wireless headset.

INSET PANEL C

ALCHEMY 1 (to himself – he should have a kind of smile when saying this line. He’s looking forward to the challenge.)
Hello, Tokyo.

PANEL D

On one screen we see a picture of Ember, captioned with EVOKE MEMBER CODENAME: EMBER. A touch-screen button underneath her dossier says “ACTIVATE”. Alchemy is pushing it. (this could be broken into two panels, or a main panel and an inset of the action).

PAGE 3

PANEL A

TEXT BOX: University of Legon, Ghana.

A classroom. EMBER is in the middle of a lecture. The lecture hall is full of students, all watching her with rapt attention. In the front row is a student wearing a t-shirt that says “I believe EVOKE is real” in a Helvetica font. Also apparent in the lecture hall are several giant screens, from which still more students watch and listen in rural classrooms. A textbook says “Resilient Logistics”. Each of these next three scenes should be tinted with the color tone of the character. Ember is yellow, so this scene should have a palette that features yellows and golds.

EMBER 1
So if we look at the social problems caused by the mass migrations of 2016 -

INSET PANEL B
A silver phone, something like a next-gen iPhone, on her desk is ringing.

PANEL C

Close up on Ember, looking at the phone.

EMBER
Excuse me, class. We’ll pick up this discussion next week.

PANEL D

Ember picks up the phone and opens the laptop secretively as her class files out. In the background, two students whisper as they leave.

STUDENT 1
What do you bet she pulls another one of her disappearing acts?

EMBER 2
This is Ember.

PANEL E

ALCHEMY 1 (splitscreen him in)
It’s Alchemy. There’s a problem in Tokyo. I’m sending you in.

EMBER 2
Tokyo?!! How am I supposed to keep a low profile in Tokyo?! I don’t exactly pass for a Harajuku girl.

ALCHEMY 3
You’ll have to be creative.

PANEL F

EMBER 1
Is it a food shortage? Citizen X has been posting leaked government memos all over the web.

ALCHEMY 2
Citizen X is an irresponsible and dangerous organization, and I don’t know why you follow them. But yes, it’s a food shortage. And we’re going to fix it.

PAGE 4

PANEL A

TEXT BOX: Bo-Kaap Township. Capetown

We are inside a small fabrication shop. Outside a window in the background, we can see a billboard with the EVOKE logo and the tagline “It could be anyone.” In the extreme foreground is a laser cutter. The color palette for this scene is purple. EUREKA, who was operating the device, has just removed a safety visor from her face. She is talking on a similar silver phone, a laptop open on the desk in front of her. She looks serious, but also excited, energized.

EUREKA 1
Is it just Tokyo, or do they want us to handle the other cities, too?

ALCHEMY 2
We fix Tokyo.

INSET PANEL B

Alchemy in his control room.

ALCHEMY 1
Tokyo will fix the rest.

PANEL C

Back in the workshop. Eureka has a duffle bag in her hand.

ALCHEMY
How soon can you leave?

INSET PANEL D

Close up on Eureka.

EUREKA 1
Give me an hour.

PANEL E

A reverse shot from overhead. Eureka has the duffle in hand. In front of her is a wall bristling with tools of all kinds. The tools range from low-tech (wrenches, hammers, pliers, etc) to super high-tech devices with graphical displays, lasers for topographical maps, RFID sensors, to precision devices like micrometers. The idea is an overwhelming juxtaposition of a variety of tools.

EUREKA 2
I just need to pack up some tools.

PAGE 5

PANEL A

TEXT BOX: The Great Rift Valley, Kenya.

We are outside a busy farm. A simple sign identifies this location as the Happiness Honey Collective. A row of beekeepers tend to hives of honeybees, and we can see greenhouses in the distance. In the distance, workers load palettes of honey jars into a truck. In the foreground is QUINN, standing at a table with his laptop and phone out. A little ways behind him (out of earshot), an associate watches a helicopter visible in the distance. The tint for this sequence is orange.

QUINN 1
How bad is the situation?

ALCHEMY 2
I’m sending you a detailed brief.

PANEL B

Quinn’s laptop screen shows a cascade of data under the heading EVOKE 001285:

A graph showing diminishing national food reserves.
News headline: Pacific fisheries at all-time low, yellow tuna catch lowest ever.
Statistic on malnutrition cases in Tokyo.
Projected mortality rates.
Internal memo on the rice reserves from Tokyo Emergency Resources Dept. – watermarked with “leaked by Citizen X”

OFF-PANEL 1
You know, besides all these problems, Tokyo’s also been generating its own mini greenhouse effect for decades.

PANEL C

ALCHEMY 1
What are you suggesting?

QUINN 1
If we can get enough new plants in the ground, we might solve a few problems at once – feed the people, clean the air, cool the climate.

ALCHEMY 3
Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you, Quinn. Good luck.

PANEL D

The helicopter from the previous frame touches down near Quinn. It has the EVOKE logo on it.
PAGE 6

PANEL A

TOKYO. THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE.
A big-screen TV is flashing “INCOMING CALL.”

ASSISTANT 1
It’s for you, sir. It’s him.

GOVERNOR 2
So he really does exist.

PANEL B

ALCHEMY appears on the screen. That is, Alchemy’s digital avatar appears.

ALCHEMY 1
Mr. Governor, this is Alchemy. You are EVOKE number 001285. Are you aware of how we work?

GOVERNOR 2
I’ve only heard the same legends as everyone else.

INSET PANEL C

Let’s see Alchemy’s face for this line.

ALCHEMY 3
And that’s what you’ll keep telling people.

PANEL D

EMBER takes pictures of an empty lot in a residential neighborhood.

OFF-PANEL (maybe in a text box with quotes)
Officially, we don’t exist.

PANEL E

EUREKA works on a 3D model on her computer.

OFF-PANEL (text box, quotes?)
Our specialists will handle your food shortage, but everything is off the books.

PANEL F

QUINN takes soil samples in a park.

OFF-PANEL (text box, quotes?)
You’ll quietly facilitate local resources and access to public land. We’ll provide the imagination.

PAGE 7

PANEL A

EMBER interviews a grocer with a nearly empty store.

OFF-PANEL (text box, quotes?)
When we’re done, the people of Tokyo will have fresh fruits and vegetables every day of the year.

PANEL B

EUREKA making notes at Tokyo Harbor.

OFF-PANEL (text box, quotes?)
We keep a 50% share in the profits. You take all the credit.

PANEL C

QUINN examines trees planted on a street in Harajuku.

OFF-PANEL (maybe in a text box with quotes)
By the time we leave, Tokyo will have thousands of new food security specialists. So next time, you won’t have to send an EVOKE.

PANEL D

A wide shot of Tokyo, looking down from above.

OFF-PANEL 1 (text box? But make clear that this is the Governor speaking, not Alchemy)
When does the team arrive?

PANEL E

A view from even higher up, we start to see the shape of the Japanese landmass.

OFF-PANEL 1 (text box? This is Alchemy speaking again.)
Mr. Governor, we don’t waste time.

PANEL F

We’re at orbital altitude, looking down on the earth and Japan. A small satellite (a cube-sat) is foregrounded above Japan. On it, we see the logo of the EVOKE network.

OFF-PANEL 1
My team is already there.

TEXT BOX
To Be Continued …

1. Why is a deadly flu epidemic likely to start near the Pearl River?
2. What is infodemiology?
3. How can online data help reveal how the flu is spreading?
4. What were some of the real social innovations during the H1N1 pandemic?
5. What else should I know about how to respond in the early stages of a deadly flu outbreak?
6. What’s a dark site?
7. How do I design a dark site?
8. What kind of open platform would Ember use to help patients SMS doctors?
9. What’s the most amazing thing a mobile phone could do to help diagnose disease?
10. What other kinds of mobile medical applications are being developed today?
11. How can mobile phones help connect rural doctors with a global network?
12. Where’s Shipai — and what’s an “urban village”?
13. What’s microfranchising?
14. What are micro-clinics, and where are they being tested?
15. How might “distributed triage” really work?
16. How did the EVOKE team manage to arrange cubesats in a custom constellation?
17. How could you really get cubesats to reflect light back to Earth, as if they were stars?

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in episode nine? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

EVOKATIONS. Many agents are working on Evokations, which is to say, they are proposing ways to put an idea into action, with our help. You can read all about Evokations right here, and here’s what an Evokation might look like. A powerful element of the Evokation is its list of Mentors – that is, the experienced social entrepreneurs that have signed on to mentor the people with successful Evokations. You can read about them here and here and here.

Evokations are not for everyone, though. Most of us won’t be able to file one, or take time from our lives. So what is our EVOKE legacy? There are two, no, three – very strong options. Choose all that apply to you:

1) EVOKE CERTIFICATION. Can you complete one of each week’s Missions (LEARN, ACT, or IMAGINE) plus all 10 Quests? And will they pass the review after you submit them? If so, you will earn the Certificate that says you have passed the ten-week crash course in changing the world. NOTE: the Certification is like an exam. You submit it, it is reviewed and graded for relevance and effort. No make-up exam! Submit your best work.

2) FOUNDING MEMBER. Step up and complete just one of the Missions (LEARN, ACT, IMAGINE for any week) to be listed as an EVOKE Founding Member.

3) I CHANGED MYSELF. For the vast majority of EVOKE agents, this is the grand prize. We have come to EVOKE to learn (and maybe tell a little bit about what we know). We have reviewed and appreciated the contributions of others, contributed some relevant viewpoints ourselves; we have given our energy and we are coming away daunted maybe by what we have learned, but energized by what we have shared.

I am going to step out of the game for a moment, and point out what is actually going on here. The fictitious characters Alchemy, Calida, Ember, Quinn, Eureka and Cipher have created a new type of classroom, one without walls. At their behest, people from all over the world have joined together in this classroom, one in which each person is by turns both student and teacher. This classroom has thousands of people in it, and together they have focused on the most intractable problems facing the world today. They have done this without conflict for the most part; they have done this with serious intent and goodwill for the most part. EVOKE’s missions are their lesson plans, the Evidence is their assignments, and the Quests measure their progress.

We have created new ideas for solving very tough problems. That is awesome. But beyond that, we are showing the world a new way to solve its problems. EVOKE has attracted a lot of attention in this regard, especially from middle-grade students on up and their teachers, and no wonder: they want to know if this is the start for the classroom of the future.

If I change myself, I change others. This is the lesson I’ve gotten from EVOKE. I will be working hard to forge my legacy on EVOKE as a positive one, to set my goals for the time remaining and to put my highest self on its pages, mindful that I am in a schoolroom and the students of the future are with me. In the time that remains, I hope you all do the same.

1. Where is Nord-Kivu?
2. Are gorillas really threatened with extinction in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
3. Where can I find video of a real anti-poaching superhero?
4. How does slash-and-burn farming work?
5. What are the dangers of slash-and-burn?
6. So what’s a good alternative?
7. Is the DRC really the richest nation in the world, when it comes to natural resources?
8. Why is tantalum mining a problem?
9. Is there really such a job as “head gorilla protector”?
10. Who is John Kasaona?
11. What are the benefits of “wildlife tourism” in Africa? The dangers?
12. How does conservation farming work?
13. What is biopiracy?
14. Why does biodiversity matter?
15. What’s Eureka working on when Cipher walks up?
16. How do I make my own terra preta?
17. How are child soldiers recruited in the DRC?
18. Who are the real child soldiers of the DRC?
19. What happens to child soldiers who survive?

BONUS: Expert level investigation files.
Working with indigenous knowledge can be extremely challenging. If you find this week’s missions especially interesting, here are 4 ways get advanced training:

Learn it: How can we measure the economic value of traditional environmental knowledge?
Act on it: Indigenous Knowledge for Development – A Framework for Action
Share it: Online seminars from the World Bank Indigenous Knowledge Program
Try it: A Community Knowledge Exchange Tool Kit

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in episode eight? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

1. Where are extreme fires happening today?

2. What makes Los Angeles so susceptible to extreme fires?

3. Do we really face more “fire weather” in the future?

4. Where in the world will extreme fire weather increase most over the next decade?

5. What’s Ushahidi?

6. How has Ushahidi saved real lives?

7. What is it like to serve as an Ushahidi crisis volunteer?

8. How can I get involved with the Ushahidi project? Can I help develop it?

9. What are those crazy vehicles the EVOKE team is riding?

10. What do they look like in action?

11. Were they really invented by a college student?

12. Could an overpass really collapse in a fire?

13. Who is Alejandro Aravena?

14. What are elemental houses?

15. How do hexayurts work?

16. What’s “urban resilience”?

17. What’s the relationship between sustainability and urban resilience?

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in episode seven? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

1. What would you study in a course on resilience logistics?

2. What causes a currency collapse?

3. What’s really going on in the Cuban economy today?

4. What are community banks?

5. Who is Batdorj Gongor?

6. What does a real community bank look like?

7. How do I start my own community bank?

8. What’s micro-finance?

9. Can I make my own micro-investment?

10. What happened in Iceland in 2008?

11. Who is really using alternative currencies?

12. What’s an example of a succesful alternative currency?

13. How do I invent my own currency?

14. What are Local Exchange Trading Systems?

15. What’s a diaspora?

16. How is the African diaspora mobilizing for investment and development?

17. What’s “hawala” exchange?

18. Where can I find more creative ideas for social banking?

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in episode five? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

1. How does climate change lead to flooding?

2. What global cities are most at risk of flooding?

3. Which African cities are most at risk of flooding?

4. How do people typically react during floods and water shortages?

5. How do floods lead to cholera outbreaks?

6. What does this mean? “Get excited and make things.”

7. What’s fabbing?

8. What are some real fabbing communities?

9. Is fabbing a superpower?

10. What are all those fabrication tools?

Is that a laser cutter?

A vinyl cutter?

An alpha lathe?

A confocal microscope?

A 3D printer?

11. What does this mean? “The best way to help solve a problem is to do what you love.”

12. What are OLEDs?

13. How do they work?

14. Could you really make a hydrocapillary power system? How might it work?

15. What are organic vapor jet printers?

16. What happened in the Volta Basin?

17. What’s a LifeStraw?

18. What building did they use for the projections?

19. How do you project onto glass windows?

20. Where can I keep up with real news headlines about water crises?

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in episode four? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

1. What are favelas?

2. How do favelas get power today?

3. Who is William Kamkwamba?

4. How do I build my own windmill?

5. Are there really power-generating dance floors?

6. Are there really pedal-power sound systems?

7. What’s open source design?

8. How do solar balloons work?

9. What does ‘brigado’ mean?

10. Will most us make our own electricity in the future?

11. What are some creative African solutions to making more personal energy?

12. How else could we light up Africa?

Keep the investigation going…
Did you spot other clues about the future in Episode Three? Post them here!
And share what you know: Add more links, and ask and answer questions, in the comments below.

How do you EVOKE? There are only four rules.

Live by these rules, and you will become a master social innovator.

Rule #1. “I tackle social problems.”

What are social problems? They’re big problems that affect society as a whole, and not just individuals — problems like hunger, poverty, climate change and disease. Solving a social problem means making life better for an entire community.

What social problems should I tackle? Here are three ways to start picking a social problem that matters most to you. Try one, or try them all.

• The Millennium Development Goals are eight big social problems that the world is trying to solve by 2015. Discover what they are. Which goal is most important to you?
• Changemakers lists more than 100 unique social issues that require innovation, from democracy and voting to housing, environmental justice to women’s rights. Explore the options, and decide: Which issue matters  most to you?
• The World Bank tracks more than fifty of the most urgent problems faced in the developing world. Which problem sparks  your curiosity most?

To EVOKE, you must find a social problem that you care about — and that you want to help solve.

Rule #2. “I don’t just make, I innovate.”

What’s innovation? It’s the process of bringing something new and better into existence. Something cheaper, or faster, or stronger, or more efficient, or more fun, or more sustainable, or safer, or more just.

Innovation is risky. It means trying things that might not work. It means learning from failure, and not giving up.

When innovation works, it makes people say “wow.” It’s not just different. It’s transformative. It changes what other people think is possible.

Here are some innovators who are defying expectations of what’s possible.

• ChangeMaker Stories
• Ashoka Fellows
• Social Edge Incubator
• Pop Tech Fellows

To EVOKE, you must believe that you can make possible in the future something that is impossible today.

Rules #3. “I’m ready for a venture.”

It’s not enough to have a good idea. You have to make that idea real.

You make it real by starting a venture.

What’s a social venture? It’s a business that helps you change the world. It turns your creative idea into a solution other people can use.

Social ventures combine the passion to make a difference with a business-like discipline.

Here are some guides to brainstorming a venture, and creating a business plan:

• Are you a social entrepreneur?
• Stanford Business Plan Guidelines
• Writing the Social Venture Business Plan (PDF)
• Evaluation social venture ideas (podcast)

To EVOKE, you must share your best ideas and take action to make your solutions real.

Rule #4. “I go wherever I am needed most.”

Social innovation can happen anywhere.

It is most urgently needed in the developing world.

Every community has unique challenges to overcome.  Your goal is to solve problems with a local community, and not for the community. So learn about local needs, local values, and local resources.

There are developing areas on every continent. Explore some of the places that need your world-changing ideas here.

To EVOKE, you must learn about the unique challenges of communities all over the developing world — and create solutions that work locally.

Remember these four rules as you embark on your social innovation adventures — and you will EVOKE to great success.