56,651 Thank Yous
- Frazer Macdonald Hay
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
It’s not every day you get to write a number like 56,651. That’s how many of you viewed Uniform November's posts this year—and I want to say a heartfelt thank you.
To know that this many people are engaging with the blog and its ideas is truly encouraging. Whether you're a first-time visitor or a long-time reader, your presence here reflects something powerful: that there is a growing global appetite for thoughtful conversation around peace, conflict, architecture, memory, and cultural heritage.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being part of an extraordinary multidisciplinary network—you, the readers. You come from all over the world and bring with you a spirit of generosity: sharing experiences, insights, empathy, encouragement, skills, and friendship. You have helped shape Uniform November’s understanding of what it means to work meaningfully in peacebuilding, memorialisation, and international relations.
What binds us together is a shared belief in the power of ideas. Not just ideas for the sake of novelty, but ideas that are rooted in lived experience and rigorous thinking. Ideas that can provoke change, protect the vulnerable, and build something better.
I’m convinced that ideas are the true scarcity of our time. It’s not enough to rely on systems or structures—we need to create the space and scaffolding for new ideas to germinate and flourish. A long time ago, I heard someone say:
“Humanity has experienced an extraordinary burst of evolutionary change, driven by good old-fashioned Darwinian natural selection. But it is the selection among ideas, not among genes, that matters right now.”
This thought has stayed with me throughout a varied career. I’ve come to believe that good ideas are unlocked through combinations—combinations of people, professions, and places. And this is where networks like ours matter most. They offer fertile ground for these combinations to take shape—for ideas to collide, resonate, evolve.
Of course, finding and nurturing the right idea is not always easy. It requires a kind of conductor—someone who can hear the faintest note of an idea amidst the noise, and who has the experience to help draw it out, shape it, and see what it might become.
So, thank you—all 56,651 of you—for being part of this growing symphony. Your presence, your curiosity, and your generosity are what keep this going. Here's to continuing to build something meaningful, together.
Frazer
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