“One Unknown, Estimated Female.”
That’s how Gill Hicks was referred to in 2005 when she was severely injured in the London bombings, a series of coordinated suicide attacks that targeted the city’s public transportation system.
Her faith in humanity, understandably, was tested that day. Her faith in humanity was restored that day, as well, she would later come to realize.
Hicks, who will be at keynote speaker at MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference (EMEC) on June 15, was the last living victim rescued from the three homemade bombs detonated by four terrorists, resulting in 52 deaths and more than 700 injuries.
Both her legs were amputated below the knee, and her injuries were so severe that she was initially not expected to live. She was admitted to the hospital without a name, identified only as “One Unknown.”
“That morning I wasn’t ‘Gill Hicks,’’’ she told The Meeting Professional. “I was just another anonymous commuter using the London underground. What has gone on to really shape my creation of a ‘second’ life is what happened in both the immediate aftermath of the bomb blast and the subsequent rescue and medical effort.
“In the dense darkness of a surreal space, a place that was once a tube carriage, we, anonymous commuters, became essential lifelines. We held each other’s hands, we helped one another. I often reflect on that hour that we waited until rescue could reach us, knowing now that it was actually the most incredible 60 minutes that I could ever have. In that precious time, I faced death, I learned about life and I ‘signed’ a new ‘contract’ to live with purpose and make a positive difference.”
She said when she read the ID tag given to her when she was admitted to the hospital—“One Unknown, Estimated Female”—that she realized the “brilliance of who ‘we’ truly are.”
“Every person who held my hand did so with intention and unconditional love,” she said. “It was the intensity of that feeling that I believe has in fact saved my life over and over and over again. Every moment that is challenging, the days that are tough, I draw upon the courage that so many had to give their all in saving my life.”
“I often reflect on that hour that we waited until rescue could reach us, knowing now that it was actually the most incredible 60 minutes that I could ever have.”
Hicks, who has lived in London since the early 1990s after moving from her native Adelaide, South Australia, was a respected figure within the fields of architecture and design, from publisher of Blueprint to director of Dangerous Minds Design and head curator at the Design Council.
Combining her passion for design and her devotion to building peace, she formed M.A.D. (Music Art Discussion) Minds, a not for profit that primarily explores the reasons for division and ‘otherness’ within societies and communities, divisions that can isolate and enable destructive ideologies to take hold.
She continues to be recognized and awarded for her many contributions to art, healthcare and peace. She is a published author—including the book One Unknown—has performed onstage at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and, in 2008, carried the Olympic torch in Canberra.
It has been a journey of faith and perseverance for Hicks, who said she continues to learn about her ability, both physically and mentally, to do more than survive.
“Every day represents a new opportunity and indeed a new challenge,” she said. “Change is omnipresent.
MPI European Meetings & Events Conference, 15 June, 2021. Learn more.
“It’s been a quest on so many levels, a quest to understand my ability and capability, to understand the power and source of strength that comes from our mind, how a single thought can influence our actions or indeed inactions. For me, the greatest of all insights centers around our shared humanity.”
Hicks says one person’s innermost crippling fear can be another’s motivational challenge.
“What I have found useful is to decipher if what you fear is rational and warranted and, if so, then the best strategy is to ‘design’ your scenarios or outcomes,” she said. “I’ve found that the best counter to a negative narrative that is induced by a position of fear is to deal with the facts rather than opinion and to build your confidence. Experience is a great confidence builder. The more we journey, the more challenges we face and get through, the greater our depth of resource of both knowledge and wisdom.”
It’s a message she will deliver to an audience of meeting and event industry professionals at MPI’s signature European education event, which is digital this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The more we journey, the more challenges we face and get through, the greater our depth of resource of both knowledge and wisdom.”
Hicks is working with Paul Cook, a producer, writer, researcher, speaker, facilitator, advisor and educator who specializes in virtual and hybrid events, who will be producing EMEC 2021.
He said one of the goals is for Hicks’ presentation to enable delegates to understand that in any situation they always have choice.
“Even when you are on the brink of death you have a choice,” he said, adding that Hicks’ story is “parallel as Gill was injured and she couldn’t go back to what used to be normal for her. And it’s the same for the events sector—it has been injured beyond belief and there is no chance of going back to what it used to be like.”
Cook said the overall education program of speakers and activities is being finalized.
“It’s looking very inspiring,” he said. “There is a lot of positive energy going into this edition and the idea of crowdsourcing content has been well received by chapters.”
