Isaac Whelan is a relatively new writer, who grew up in the north west of England, spending his childhood in a forgotten former mill town called Accrington. A town that is only famous for being mentioned in a 1980’s TV milk advert mocking their football team. In this cold pocket of northern England he developed a fascination far greater than sub standard league 2 football. What he experienced in his school and in public, witnessing an interracial community and how it did or did not mix together, resulted in a profound interest in contemporary social issues.

Another characteristic of Northern English towns like Accrington, littered with memories of redundant industries, is their position amongst the hills and fells which form the amazing natural landscapes of the Pennines and the Lake District. Isaac’s proximity to these wonderful sites of natural beauty, led him to pursue an education that studied the natural world. His Environmental Science degree took him from researching the ecological threats in his home regions, to conducting research in the Arctic circle of Sweden, monitoring the effects of climate change in the Arctic.

After graduating from the University of Nottingham, he started a career abroad as an English language teacher. This career first began in the mid-Andean city of Loja in Ecuador. Whilst he was here, he explored the wonderful nature of this South American nation, hiking throughout the Andes, Amazon basin and even spent time on the Pacific Coast. Upon finishing his role as an English teacher in Ecuador, he spent some time in the high Bolivian Andes, a region that is rapidly changing in the face of current climatic conditions.

He then stayed in South America for some more time, working on farms in the South of Chile, which adopted a minimalistic approach to technology, whilst utilising all the natural resources available to them. This peaked his interest in a simpler, more rudimentary way of living, that rejects the complete control of technology over our modern lives. One thing that he took away from this experience was the question as to what level of confrontation society faces, in finding the right balance between convenience and control, when it comes to technology.

After subsequently working again as a language teacher, this time in Portugal, he moved on to Sri Lanka, where he volunteered at a charity language school in the capital city, Colombo. This was an altogether different environment to his previous places of residence, however, living in a multiculturally rich city, on an ethnically diverse island, drew remnants of his childhood days. He once again witnessed communities live side by side and navigate the social pressures associated with multiculturalism. As a volunteer, he helped to provide more affordable education to some of the communities that needed it the most, whilst supporting students in their applications for jobs and further study.

Isaac Whelan’s experiences of living and working in a variety of locations around the world, each at a different stage of development, has given him an insight to society’s relationship with itself, technology and the environment in which it sits. This first hand view of different generations negotiating the same current issues, has fuelled an interesting debate in his own mind, as to what the future holds for us all. He still currently works as a teacher and hopes to share this insight he has gained, with the readers of Meer magazine. By exploring questions and shining spotlights on these topics, such as how we as a global population can improve the lives of each other, whilst not succumbing to technological slavery and the destruction of our own environment, Isaac wishes for readers to form their own opinion on these critical issues facing our future.