Apathy

/ˈapəθi/ - a•pa•thy

a charming indifference to the chaos unfolding around you;

a sophisticated form of "meh".

Why we started

We started No to Apathy after we discovered that we shared a helpless frustration in what we saw was happening in the world around us. We realised we were just like the people around us who were complaining but not doing anything to swim against the current. We saw the disconnection with the world around us and the increasing difficulty in knowing what is real and what is fabricated. The speed of the media cycle and the endless doom-scrolling left us tired. The rapid progression of AI made us excited and terrified - we are in an extremely strange period of our shared history.

So we decided we would try to do something - something a little crazy, a little inspired and probably doomed to failure. We wanted to create a space where we could share our thoughts, bring important information to people, help cut through the noise and provide ways for people to take action while also taking action ourselves.

We just want to try and create a trustworthy and reliable space to spread information, to re-build the belief in the power of people and that making a difference or taking a stand does not have to be complicated.

About

the company

No to Apathy was born as an idea to create a platform where people could find an easy directory to reliable information sources, civic action and thought provoking street-wear that made a statement. We realised that our lofty goals needed an income and so we wanted to launch a sustainable street-wear brand to fund our other activities and to support organisations we (and you) believe are making the world a slightly better place.

We wanted to leverage the power of social media to connect with people and spread information and awareness. We also want to make use of the power that AI gives us to build a project that might otherwise have taken twice the time, cost and manpower. At the same time we are conscious of the other side of social media and AI and the dangers they represent. We are not hypocrites but recognize that a lot of things have two sides - the good and the bad. We want to present a balanced, no bullshit approach to our articles, the information we share and the policies we take a stand on. While we leverage its potential, none of the text or information you get from us will ever be AI generated.

Tristan Jose

  • 10 years ago I was working on secondment from the British Government/Civil Service to the European Commission. It was Friday the 24th of June 2016 - and Britain had just voted to leave the European Union in a referendum that split the country down the middle with 52%-48% voting to leave.

    So many years later and the effects are still felt badly on both sides of the channel by businesses and individuals. 73% of young people voted to remain in the EU. Had only a small fraction of the population who abstained but were in favor of remaining in the EU voted - the result for British business, people, young Europeans, the geopolitical landscape could have been drastically different.

    I believe in the power of the individual to make a difference, and we are in a historic period of upheaval, societal change and opportunity. So it was time to try once more to make a difference - I hope you join us and support us in standing up for our values, liberties and our future.

Rodrigo Ferreira

  • In this world of an intense fight for money and power I strongly believe that the most important thing is to understand and respect the person next to us.
    Over the years I kept noticing the same pattern: people talking past each other. Not even because they disagreed on everything (while often wanting the same things) but because the conversation had turn into a sort of competition where one of them wanted to be the loudest, the smartest, most indignant and the most right. And somewhere in this chaos, people lose each other.

    This bothered me. A lot. The most powerful thing in our humane lives is to have the ability to communicate and to racionalize passion into something deep. I grew up believing that words, used carefully, honestly and wisely can be the solution for everything.

    No to Apathy felt like the right place to put that belief into practice and obviously to learn. Not because we have all the answers, but because it starts from the one question: if we can communicate and learn why do we prefer to shout and find reason in every argument?

    For me, this is personal. It’s the kind of human being that I want to be and become.

ABOUT

THE PEOPLE

Rafaela Simões

  • To be honest, I was the kind of person this project was made for - Not in a self-centered way. Not in the sense of someone who was indifferent, just as someone who was a little lost in the noise. Feeling overwhelmed, switching off, telling myself I’ll catch up later with the news or some particular issue or topic. Knowing things mattered and still not finding the way in.

    No to Apathy didn’t come to me as a cause. It came as an invitation. An invitation to finally stop scrolling past and start paying attention.

    I believe that the small things such as a conversation, a share, and a decision to stay informed instead of looking away, matter more than we think. None of these actions feel like much on their own. But when we look at the big picture, the cumulative effect can add up to something great.

    That’s what brought me here, and maybe that’s what brought you too.