Distributing the 5,000

Before we started this project we had no idea how big 5,000 books was. Problematic if this proved to be more than could fit in two cars while still allowing for five people and luggage. Luckily it was manageable and our focus has turned to getting the books to the right people. This is more difficult bearing in mind that the project kicked off far later than the six months needed to get the accreditation needed to get inside the Bella Centre – the home of the COP15 conference. So far the hotel route has proven difficult to say the least. The Marriot is sporting some very tough looking security guards and their ‘no’ was the swiftest. The email practically landed in Christian’s in-box while he was still walking away from the desk. The Radisson was much nicer and human from the off, and their email came some time later. I genuinely think that the manager was consulted before their ‘no’ landed a few hours later.

I can understand why the big hotel chains don’t want to make any waves or disturb the balance. Nobody wants to get in trouble – not when all eyes are watching. And on paper we are no different to any kind of activist or crack pot who are harbouring mischief in their message. Having said this our project is meant to provide a positive experience and something of value to the people who happen across it. Our approach has always been to try and get a good response from the people we are targeting by giving them something they will like. Everyone we show likes the book and the concept very much, but the gate keepers are proving challenging.