Meghan Markle's new 40 × 40 project dubbed ‘classic Sussex’ and ‘unlikely to do anything’
Meghan Markle launches 40 × 40 birthday message in Archewell
Meghan publicly celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday by launching the 40 × 40 initiative on Archewell, the organization of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In a lighthearted video, royalty asked 40 of her friends to spend 40 minutes of their time mentoring or supporting women who lost their jobs during the pandemic and helping them re-enter the workforce.
Royal commentator Daniela Elser said this initiative is commendable and will likely generate positive public relations for Meghan and Prince Harry at a time when their popularity has plummeted in the UK.
However, she believes that it will not have a long-term impact.
Ms Elser wrote in a commentary article for news.com.au: “This is all a Sussex classic - well intentioned, done with a lot of heart and unlikely to do or change anything.
“Not just the devil, but the legacy building work is in the details.
"I mean, look past Archewell's highly stylized video and sleek website and there just aren't that many."
Meghan Markle has launched the 40 × 40 initiative
Ms Elser added that the 40 × 40 initiative can be a one-time event, saying: “There is no indication anywhere that 40 × 40 is an annual event.
“There are only a few short guidelines on how to be a mentor, how to find a mentor or even what should happen to the Dickens when, inspired by Meghan, a mentor for the first time meets his enthusiastic mentee (commercial crystals maybe?)
Meghan's 40 × 40 is a lovely idea until it collides with boring and cold reality.
And this is where Harry and Meghan's version of good deeds departs from what, thanks in large part to Diana, Princess of Wales, has become the royal standard: focusing on creating serious, long-term change. .
“One of the many things the late princess pioneered was a vision of royal work that she set about selecting a small handful of causes and then getting bogged down.
"This model was about making serious and lasting change and real work being a carefully thought-out and directed effort."
Since stepping down as royals, Meghan and Harry have shown interest in various topics and have done volunteer work.
Within weeks of moving to California, the couple were seen supporting Project Angel Food by delivering food packages to the people they were protecting.
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Meghan Markle's initiative urges people to spend 40 minutes mentoring or supporting women who want to re-enter the workforce
In late 2020, they officially launched the Archewell Foundation, described by the couple as an "impact-driven nonprofit" with the purpose of "uplifting and uniting communities, local and global, online and offline. , one act of compassion at a time. .
The foundation partnered with a number of organizations and projects ranging from creating a more humane web space to supporting the mental health of black girls and women and providing food to areas affected by natural disasters.
They joined in their interest in building more understanding online communities by supporting the Stop Hate for Profit project and with Prince Harry's interview and comment for Fast Company.
Meghan and Harry also continued to talk about mental health, a topic that had been central to their royal work even before they resigned, by participating in the Teen Therapy podcast and Harry's documentary series The Me You Can't See. .
In line with his long-term work with veterans, Harry was also seen volunteering at the Walker Family Events Foundation, which provides support to veterans and their families facing or experiencing homelessness amid the COVID pandemic. 19.
The couple also showed interest in supporting the community, one of Archewell's pillars, by participating in a charity event with Baby2Baby.
Additionally, they joined Save the Children on Archie's first birthday to support young people who had been the hardest hit by the pandemic and visited Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program.
While working on other projects, Meghan also campaigned for voter registration in the US in the run-up to the 2020 US presidential election.
Additionally, over the past few months, the Duke and Duchess have continued to work with their charities.
The 40 × 40 initiative is in line with the work that the Meghan Smart Works sponsorship does on a daily basis, providing mentoring, support and even clothing to women seeking to re-enter the job market.
Speaking about this wide range of interests and initiatives, Ms Elser said: “All this gallop from organization to organization seems to be done with dizzying and dizzying enthusiasm.
“Harry and Meghan are clearly hungry, oh very hungry, to make the world a better place, but if they just stood still and concentrated longer than necessary to get caught up in their next Big Idea.
After all, they have the perfect desk to do exactly that, side by side, right now.
“The only thing that limits the positive impact they can have on the world is their ad hoc and scattered approach.
"If only they could focus on one or two things at a time and not run off every time a brain wave occurs to them."
