Yunus' wish list

Towards the end of his book Creating a World without Poverty, Yunus shares his 2050 wish list. Amongst the items, there are a few which called my attention:

- There will be no poor, no beggars and no homeless

- There will be no passports or visas – everybody will be a world citizen

- There will be no war, no war simulation, no military institutions and no mass destruction weapons

- The economic system will encourage people, enterprises and institutions to share their prosperity

- There will be no discrimination of any kind

- Basic connectivity will be wireless and practically free

- People will enjoy an atmosphere of continuous innovation

- Everybody will be committed to maintaining a sustainable lifestyle

- All peoples will live in peace, harmony and friendship, searching for expansion of humankind’s potential


And he finishes: “If we consider human history, it’s clear that we always accomplish what we want – or what we refuse to accept.”

Free market & global issues

My experience has shown that the free market - powerful and useful as it is - could treat problems such as global poverty and environmental degradation if only it weren't too concerned in accomplishing the financial goals of its richest shareholders.

Extracted from the book Creating a world without poverty, by Mohammad Yunus

Interviewing Jacqueline Novogratz

Jacqueline Novogratz began her career as an international banker but soon, aspiring to change the world, joined a nonprofit women’s microfinance group that dispatched her to Africa.

Currently, she is the CEO of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital firm she founded in 2001 to invest in sustainable businesses that bring health care, safe water, alternative energy, and housing to the developing world’s low-income people.

She is at the moment launching the book The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World.

On an interview for the McKinsey Quarterly, she said:

"The next ten years are about developing talent, developing the stories that inspire and influence a generation, that we could do things differently in the world and that we don't need just to be sitting within the market place or just within traditional philanthropy or charity, but that there's real room for reinventing an economy that is global but is also more imaginative, creative and most importantly inclusive."

A teenager's journey to end child slavery

My action plan to end child slavery was both rewarding and challenging. There were many pros and cons and many forks in the road and dead ends.

Photographer : henri ismail at flickr


My vision: To end child slavery so every child has access to education. Child slavery and poverty form a classic ‘egg chicken’ relationship; what came first the poverty or the slavery? Ending child slavery will help eradicate poverty; closing the gap between rich and poor nations.

The plan: Through a social awareness campaign and government lobbying I planned to get people excited about ending child slavery and creating change. I wrote letters to MPs and local councils and to the Victorian Governor Mr David de Kretser.

What I realised: Governments will not change their policies unless the public demands it. The government is the economic guarantor of a nation and will not implement policies that will be against the national interest of economic growth. A policy to end trade with a nation who uses child slavery would weaken Australia’s economy. The strongest action a nation’s government would be willing to take is to apply diplomatic pressure to a country that uses slavery.

My solution: In the globalised world that we live in, nations don’t have absolute power. The key to ending child slavery is through consumer awareness and action. Companies will produce what people want. If people don’t want goods made by a child’s hand they won’t buy it. The obvious answer is to name and shame the companies who use child slavery (there are clear examples on the net; search for child labour under images).

The problem: defamation and corporate confidentiality. Corporations can sue you for defamation. This is happening in Tasmania at the moment with the Gunns logging company suing 20 environmentalists for defamation. The act for Breach of Confidence protects commercial and private communication above freedom of expression.

The solution: promote products and services who don’t use child slavery. Although this is not as effective and emotionally appealing; by supporting services and products who don’t use child slavery you can start a trend which, other consumers may follow forcing companies to change their ways. However this also brings problems of innuendos; if a company releases a line of clothing that is ‘child free’ does that imply all other clothes are made by child slaves?

The pros of my action plan: developing a deep understanding of the complexities of child slavery and the mechanics behind it was rewarding and forced me to think outside the square. I became very passionate about the issue and determined that I could contribute to the movement to help end child slavery.

The cons of the action plan: the complexities involved in child slavery and the greed attached to the continuation of slavery was at times daunting and unnerving. Sometimes I felt that it was too much of a challenge and I wouldn’t make a difference. The project was time consuming but at the same time I was being rewarded for my hard work.

My advice: Take on the big challenges in life; someone has to do it why can’t it be you!
This work is licenced under a Attribution licence.

© Jenelle 2006. First published on actnow.com.au. See original post here.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

The biggest entrepreneurship movement in the world is on: the Global Entrepreneurship Week!

On November 17th-23rd, various organisations and individuals are promoting activities and putting their ideas into practice, creating a movement to promote ideas, creativity, businesses and the entrepreneurial experience. In Brazil, 500.000 participants, 9.000 organisations and 5.000 activities are expected to happen.

Wanna see videos, list the activity you are promoting or know more about the Global Entrepreneurship Week? Check the Brazilian Entrepreneurship Week website here.

Lesson from Prof. Yunus

Talking to a group of young professionals from the Pioneers of Change, micro credit social entrepreneur and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus was asked:

What do we have to unlearn in order to start social businesses?

The answer was: “Business school graduates should never ask for a job but rather create jobs for others. An attitude shift from job seekers to job creators needs to take place.”

Designing the Ekoa Cafe

A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure of taking part in the designing process of a different cafe. Instead of offering coffee, food or a space for casual chats, the Ekoa Cafe intends to be a space for nurturing relationships.

In a very coherent move, Marisa Bussacos (the entrepreneur) invited two dozens of friends to design the space, so that it could be a good option for self reflection, for meeting new people and for bringing friends for meaningful conversations.

As a result, the idea of fostering inspirational conversations and putting different people together happened even before the Cafe started working!

For all readers, stay tunned! The Cafe will be up and running in a couple of months!

Blessed Unrest

After seeing a super cool video on the internet (embedded in the end of this post), I decided to read a book called Blessed Unrest, by Paul Hawken. The book talks about the huge decentralised, democratic, global movement going on at the moment, led by more than 1 million organisations fighting for social justice and the environment, and what it represents in the context we're living in.

Below you can read the passage which inspired the title of the book. Enjoy it!

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. [...] There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others."

Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille at Dance to the Piper

Entrepreneurship and success

When you think about professional success, what kind of organisation come to your mind? My impression is most of the people would answer a big company or an important governmental organ, as the status, eagerness for financial safety and planned career opportunities can catch the eye of the various profiles of people (different age groups, countries, etc).

However, we all know that most of the jobs are generated by small enterprises (in Brazil they respond for more than 80% of the jobs) and that some of the most admired places to work (such as Google) were recently started by young, creative and fearless entrepreneurs.

Considering that, I'm happy to get in touch with the work of two visionary NGOs which promote entrepreneurship as a life-style and as a respectable career option, as well as help entrepreneurs to build economically successful, socially relevant and environmentally sustainable organisations.

One of the NGOs is Artemisia. It pre-selects entrepreneurs with good ideas and professional competencies give them extensive business plan training and selects the final Artemisia entrepreneurs, who will receive seed money for their projects, as well as mentorship and further access to knowledge.

In December, I had the honour to be part of a feedback team for Artemisia entrepreneurs’ applicants and was impressed with the passion, dedication and energy of the candidates. Two initiatives were especially brilliant, as they joint good strategy with an important cause. One created a Black Fair or Feira Preta, in Portuguese - an annual event to commemorate the black culture - and the other, called Ecotece, produced themed t-shirts with organic cotton for particular niches of customers. You'll hear about these companies.

More recently, I came across a big entrepreneurship mobilisation: the global entrepreneurship week, led in Brazil by Endeavor. The idea is to articulate the main organisations working with the subject so that their programs and events are complementary and finish on the same week, in November. Therefore, the movement expects to involve 500.000 people in Brazil, have massive media coverage and prepare the terrain to deepen the issue on the following years - for more, check the explanatory file and Karen Kanaan's interview.

It will be interesting to see if the concept of success broadens in the years to come. Particularly, I'd love to see more smart independent people innovating in their small enterprises - so the people with "successful careers" in big hierarchical companies could spread those changes - but especially that people take the lead of their lives and be the entrepreneurs of their futures.

A day in RDI Cambodia

We woke up at 6 a.m. and took advantage of the coolest hour of the day to go for a run. After uncountable hellos to friendly villagers, we came back to our bungalow, took a shower and headed to the local cafe to have breakfast with other 25 people, both locals and expats. I had the yummiest noodle soup and a fabulous iced coffee with condensed milk.

Arriving in the lab, I was introduced to the water monitoring program and spent a couple of hours helping to test the iron, manganese and arsenic levels of water from various sources. A run to the office closeby and I got to know my responsibility for that afternoon: draft a marketing plan for the expansion of the water purification program, a lot more in my field. After the communal lunch (this time in the NGO director's house), I dove into the plan, only being interrupted for some minutes because of the visit of the UNICEF global head of water projects.

6p.m. is dinner time, everybody together again. After that, 75 minutes of English class for the kids in the village, who were really interested in getting to know me. Back home, some meaningful conversations with my roommate, a bit o reading and bed!

I need to say I'm loving it! The community life, the shared meals and the short distances embrace us with such kindness that it's hard to describe. And working with smart, independent and idealistic people who are happy to dedicate their time for a cause and for the others is always a big pleasure. Maybe that's why all the expats are extending their stay. And perhaps that could be my life, too...

Oxfam Challenge Report

"Nothing can match the strength of those whose lives have been shaped and forged through challenging and overcoming hardships."
Diasaku Ikeda

It’s with great pleasure that I write this post with news about the amazing journey I just lived: not the Oxfam breeze, the Oxfam CHALLENGE!

Setting the scene:
- 502 teams
- 2008 walkers
- More than 700 volunteers
- The hardest track ever
- Weather forecast: rain!

In Colmar Brunton (corporate group where I work):
- 6 teams
- 24 walkers
- 15 supporters
- 1 day off
- Excitement. And an incredible “doing the right thing” feeling

The day:

Fri, 10 a.m. (starting time)

- Team still at registration, as 1 team member was late, due to lack of taxis in the area
- Therefore, a lot of traffic slowing us down
- Anyway, energy was super high
- 2 of our company teams were walking together (8 people)
- Stops in the first 2 checkpoints (20.5 km) were brief, just enough for refuelling water bottles and grabbing a little food

Fri, 6 p.m. (checkpoint 3 – 30.5 km)

- Drizzle turns into rain and we got quite cold
- 3 people from the other team retire (we're 5 walking together now)
- We decided to walk a little faster, as traffic was gone



Sat, 4 a.m. (checkpoint 5 – 51 km)

- Terrain is very steep and got quite muddy because of the rain
- Team energy is drained and tiredness is apparent
- 2 more people pulled out, one with strong feet pain, another really dizzy. Now we are 3 girls left and make a vow we’ll finish together

Sat, 12:30 p.m. (checkpoint 7 – 72.5 km)

- Sun has risen, terrain is drier, energy level is higher
- 4 amazing friends (or should I say saints?) met me with signs, motivation lines and disposition to give me a foot massage!
- The hardest leg is about to start
- Changed clothes; feeling a new person



Sat, 5 p.m. (checkpoint 8 – 86.5 km)

- Feet are sore, muscles are good, disposition is great!
- 1 team mate doesn’t have any strength left, is crying of pain and desperation, but decided to continue
- 1 of our company teams finished the walk, 1 retired, the others are behind us
- We didn’t think we would need to face another night, but ready to head for the final leg!



Sat, 10 p.m.: Finish line crossed! 100 km completed!



Results:

- 16 of our Company walkers finished the Challenge (1416 overall)
- More than AU$ 17,000 raised for Oxfam in our Company (more than AU$ 2,118,000 overall)
- Everybody learned a lot about team work, the importance of mental strength and our own limits!

Thanks a lot for everybody who supported me in this amazing journey!

For more pictures, click here.

Oxfam Challenge countdown: 2 weeks!

It's been a while I don't post about the Oxfam challenge, right? It's probably because I've been too busy training ;o)

After the last post, we've walked between 30 and 55 km practically every weekend, including under rain and during the night. Moreover, the training is complemented by gym, swimming and yoga. Hope it all proves worthwhile in 2 weeks time!

Besides the team bonding and the fitness feeling (running to catch the train after 42 km walk is priceless), the fundraising has been fun. Emails and funny messages to / from friends and small events, talents competition and an auction at work should guarantee that our team reaches at least 150% of its $ 1,000 goal initially established.

The special thanks goes to:
Work mates: Simon, John McL, John S and all others involved in the initiatives
Trainees: Jhow, Salma, Marina, Jerry, Sid
AIESECers: Ruth, Ausra, Laura
Aussie friends: Brett, Lucy D, Ity, Duncan
Brazilian friends: Marcio and my Dad!

You all rock guys! (If you haven't donated, there is still time - just click here.)

Amazing Burmese Democracy Female Activist

Recently I’ve been finding myself more interested than generally in people who are outstanding for some reason, especially women. And the interesting thing about them is that all of them seem to search for honesty, not fearing too much change, exposure or other people’s judgment.

As I’m going to Asia in September, I’ve started to look for such examples there. And just found the most amazing one: a pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma (now officially called Myanmar), one of the closest military dictatorships in the whole world.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is the Nobel Prize-winning peace activist who is being detained by the military dictatorship of Myanmar. She is the daughter of Burmese General Aung San, a popular hero for helping to establish national independence (1948). Aung San was assassinated in July of 1947, and two year-old Suu Kyi left Burma and lived and studied in India and the United Kingdom. In 1988 she returned to Burma at a time of political upheaval and ended up leading the National League for Democracy (NLD) in opposition to the ruling military regime. Inspired by the non-violent practices of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., she became a national hero and an international celebrity. She was placed under house arrest in 1989, but the NLD still convincingly won popular elections in 1990. The military junta refused to give up power and held Aung San under house arrest until 1995 (she won the Nobel Prize for peace in 1991). She was detained again from September 2000 until May 2002, during which time the NLD was having secret negotiations with the junta in an effort to break the political deadlock. In May 2003 she was again detained, taken into "protective custody" as confrontations between the NLD and government supporters increased. Despite diplomatic pressure and international pleas for her release, she continues to be held in Myanmar; in May of 2006 the ruling military junta announced an extension of her house arrest for an indefinite period.”

In such cases we perceive:
- How important it seems to be for leaders to leave their countries for a little while, in order to enlarge their perspective and consolidate their strength to fight against injustice at home;
- How little international recognitions and treaties can value at some situations, in the sense that a Nobel Prize Peace activist can be kept detained from spreading the word about peace in her own country.

Movement Our São Paulo: Another City

Some weeks ago I got to know this movement going on in São Paulo and so much wished I was there. Just because it’s one of the best initiatives I’ve heard of recently and, in my point of view, a potentially hyper transformative one.

Let me explain: it’s a chaordic, democratic and ethical movement aiming to build a fair, safe, beautiful and sustainable city for all its citizens and visitors. Inspired in the successful experience of the city of Bogotá, the idea is to construct a social, economic and political alliance which is capable of engaging society and holding government accountable in the long term, because of its credibility, wide representation and effectiveness.

The movement is not led by any political party or religious institution. In fact, it doesn’t even have a Board of Directors, so that it’s opened for ideas from companies, organisations and citizens.

All the best to this fantastic movement! I already share your vision and am eager to contribute in some months’ time!

Click here to learn more about Our São Paulo: Another City (in portuguese)

Oxfam Training - getting serious

Hey everyone,

Our training for the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk in getting serious. We’ve been bush walking at least 30 km every second weekend, so that we can finish this challenge and reward our efforts, the donors of the campaign and the various poor people helped by Oxfam around the world.

This time we did the Convict Trail part of the old Great North Road in Hawkesbury, northwest of Sydney. We also walk into the night for the first time. Exciting times...

More info about the Trailwalk? Click here!

Wanna donate? Click here!





This weekend I won't be able to train. But it's for a good cause. I'm going to Cairns and the Barrier Reed. Oh, yeah! So be attuned for stories and pictures of tropical and exuberant Queensland!

How to multiply an effort by 500?

Taking part in the Oxfam 100km Trailwalk is teaching me much more than discipline and physical outstrip. I’m also learning a lot about team work, solidarity and social mobilization. Why? Check this out!

On top of experiencing the most demanding physical effort of our lives (100km of non sleep overnight bushwalk), each team of 4 needs to fundraise $ 1.000 for Oxfam’s programs in Australia and around the world. Oxfam helps with a well structured website and each team is bringing all its creativity and networks together to overcome the target. Last year, for example, the average fundraising was 5 times the original goal. Taking into consideration there are 4 organisers and 2000 walkers, it means that each person’s effort in branding and fundraising is suddenly multiplied by 500. Why are the results so amazing?

Well, it’s hard to say. What I do know is that a worthy cause, an engaging environment and a sense of achievement can do miracles! If you also want to take part of this fantastic initiative, click here and donate any amount to our team (and to fight poverty in the world!)

A present to two Mums

I just had one of these magic moments. I was planning to post about the 30km walk we did this weekend (next post) and entered Oxfam’s website. I came across Oxfam unwrapped (https://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au), this great program through which you can send a friend a birthday / wedding / Christmas card, while sending a specific help to somebody that needs – from fishing nets to maternal healthcare, passing through books and lawyers.

While reading and seeing the pictures, the song “We are the world” started playing and I was sure I had found my Mum’s mothers’ day present: an entrepreneurial course to another Mum to start her business and support her children with instruction and love. I hope she likes it!

Koori Kitchen

Yesterday, I took part in an AIESEC in Sydney project called Koori Kitchen. It was created by a quite visionary and hard working member, Tina, with the objectives of:
- Preserving aboriginal culture and proud amongst aboriginal teenagers from Redfern, a quite marginalised suburb in Sydney nowadays;
- Improve their knowledge about nutrition and pleasure for cooking, so that they can have a healthier diet and a better life.

In the process I learnt:
- Aboriginal communities still have a strong sense of group; so we should never highlight too much individual accomplishments;
- They are generally very quiet, and just let you interact with them once they trust you;
- They face very important social problems: poverty, drugs addiction, bad nutrition, discrimination, among others. As a result, their life expectation is significantly lower than other Australians;
- In my perception, Australians don' recognise them as legitimate Australians, seeing aboriginal communities as another minority group present in the country.

This Saturday, as part of my role, I was around while the kids were cooking, giving some instructions but mainly taking pictures. It was quite a nice experience to interact with them and realise that people are at the same time very equal and very unique. Very equal in a sense that they just need a inspiration, trust and a little bit of skills to do extraordinary things; and unique in the sense that their actions, dreams and contribution will always be different, once genetics, temperament and previous experiences shape each one of us differently.

Comparing to Brazil, the Australian aboriginal communities can be translated into:
- Our indigenous communities, also extensively disrespected by the colonisers, with less legal rights until recently and facing important social problems nowadays;
- Our poor communities, quite marginalised, with fewer opportunities and not as many role-models. The difference, in this case, is that in Brazil we cannot use an ethnicity as synonymous of poverty, even if black people are statistically poorer and face heaps more discrimination.

Thanks for the opportunity, guys! See you in another Koori Kitchen Saturday!