“Dragonpreneur” Dubs Salt Spring cradle of sustainable thought
“Dragonpreneur” Dubs Salt Spring cradle of sustainable thought
By SEAN MCINTYRE
Driftwood Staff
As a former MBA professor at Hong Kong’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, one would have never imagined Philip McMaster would be leading a global charge to save the planet, but that’s exactly what he’s up to, three fingers at a time.
If you’ve already run into McMaster, or Professor P! as he’s known to school children on Salt Spring and beyond, he’s likely already asked you a few questions.
“The first thing I do is ask people to identify the two-fingered peace sign,” he said.
People always get it right, at which point he raises his ring finger and asks people the meaning of the three-fingered salute.
Few are aware of the symbol and that’s where McMaster steps in to help out.
“The three-fingered salute represents society, environment and economy,” he said. A balance between these three elements, he said, is required to ensure people on earth live in a sustainable and
responsible manner.
(Musical icon and Salt Spring resident Valdy shares Sustainability Symbol with Philip McMaster Photo: Julianna Slomka)
“Then, I ask them to repeat the exercise with three people they know,” he said.
Sounds like a simple enough idea, but the response has been so strong, McMaster has even surprised himself.
“Not only has the three-finger salute registered, it has taken hold,” he said. “The symbol is not political or religious in any way. it’s totally non-prescriptive. I’m just asking them to think. Once people start thinking about this, they’ll start acting that way.”
(Valdy shares Sustainability Symbol with off-island friends)
While McMaster admits he’s been preaching to the converted on Salt Spring, that wasn’t the case in Hong Kong, an environment where turning a profit trumps talk of sustainability.
McMaster taught his students the salute as a way for them to remember that there is more [to life] than making money for money’s sake.
“This way I hope they can remember to incorporate that balance into whatever it is they choose to do,” he said. “It is my hope that they will become part of the solution.”
Much like the peace sign defined a generation eager for social and political revolution, McMaster said he hopes the three-fingers will become a rallying point for a new generation of environmental consciousness.
The sustainability symbol, he said, doesn’t really ask participants to do or buy anything and that’s what has allowed it to take off around the globe, McMaster said.
Aside from taking off in parts of Hong Kong, McMaster has kept track of the symbols progress on his website.
According to the late news, he said, the symbol has reached Egypt and is about to enter Qatar. Before landing on Salt Spring two months ago, McMaster spent much of his time speaking at trade shows, music festivals and classrooms in Asia and across Canada.
The Quebec-born entrepreneur, teacher, photographer and activist is the founder of the UpNorth News, Cool to be Canadian and an e-waste initiative [called Aucun Ordi Perdu] basedin Montreal. McMaster has taught business in China and has developed an ethical-entrepreneurship program called Dragonpreneur.
McMaster also started an adventure travel company geared towards sustainable and environmentally friendly initiatives.
While he remains eager to cultivate his many organizations’ global reach, McMaster said he feels as though the number of like-minded people on Salt Spring make it an ideal base from which to work.
“I got here and everything really came together,” he said. “A lot of people are in tune with sustainability issues and that works for me.”
(Residents of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia Share the Sustainability Symbol after viewing Leonardo Dicaprio’s “11th Hour” Climate Change Film)
A passage on McMaster’s blog, www.dragonpreneur.com summarizes his attitudes:
“On my first visit, mid September, there was a sense of synchronicity in the air - Salt Spring Island is a community of people who are making an effort to THINK about the way they live - the three finger Sustainability Symbol is no surprise for them,” he writes.
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SEAN MCINTYRE
Reporter
Gulf Islands Driftwood
328 Lower Ganges Rd.
Salt Spring Island, BC V8K 2V3 Canada
Tel. 250-537-9933; fax 250-537-2613