Al Etmanski: Youth
The Keilburger Kids versus Justin Bieber - who'll win? - Tips for Solution Based Advocacy (31)
When the Keilburger brothers, Craig and Marc, were born they probably fixed the broken cribs in the nursery, persuaded all the mothers to buy some rocking chairs and rallied all the babies into a cry against infant formula.
All mere practice for when 12 year old Craig hearing about the brutal death of a 12 year old child labourer from Pakistan rallied his older brother and eleven other classmates to establish Free the Children. Their goal to reduce poverty and exploitation in developing countries. Fifteen years later they have 650 school and water projects in 16 countries around the world.
Not to take anything away from that achievement, they are doing something more important. They are taking direct aim at our consumerism, selfishness, lethargy and cynicism. Their bold vision - to mobilize a generation of young people to social justice. And they do this by filling arenas usually reserved for rock concerts or NHL teams.
The Keilburgers represent a striking combination of bold vision, big impact, scaling up, business smarts and sustainability. I remember a conversation with Marc just before he became an Ashoka fellow. He understood that no matter how many schools or sanitation projects they created in the developing world, Free the Children wouldn't make a dent in poverty, access to clean water or education unless they addressed the root causes.
The root causes include North American production and consumption patterns, control of the world's economic distribution systems and of our course our lifestyle. So Marc, Rhodes scholar, Oxford and Harvard trained, made a strategic decision. To ignore older generations and turn his attention to the next generation. If we can change the awareness, attitudes and behavior of the next generation, we can cut exploitation off at the source, I recall him saying. Their strategic focus includes developing curriculum for teachers and books for young people, books like Me to We.
Today, Craig and Marc, their staff and volunteers work with a million students and youth in the privileged world alerting them to their global responsibilities and the many possible actions they can take in solidarity with their peers who live in poverty, face exploitation and abuse, lack schooling, clean water and sanitation.
I am impressed by their expertise at framing an issue - the phrase Me to We is elegant, understandable and incisive; their partnerships - CTV, Oprah's Angel Network, Virgin Atlantic and so many others ; their business savvy - Me to We is now a private company with social objectives. They are pioneering a hybrid model of social change combining business discipline and social objectives.
'We' Days (a celebration of the power of youth to change the world) is an impressive addition to their strategy of engaging youth for social justice. They attract tens of thousands to arenas in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. The next one is Friday October 14th in Vancouver. The line up includes Hedley, Jesse Jackson, Rick Hansen, Bare Naked Ladies, Ethan Zohn and Al Gore. It will be live streamed, naturally.
Justin Bieber is also in Vancouver in a few days. I wager they will outdraw him.
It's so easy to dismiss young people today. Then you hear about the Kielburgers and realize there are so many more social entrepreneurs like them. Then you marvel that 15,000 youth and their teachers are rallying for social justice in your home town. And you conclude the kids have lots to teach us.
No one is too young to help, they declare on their website. Nor too old, I trust. I do have a vintage rocking chair in perfectly good working order!
Click here for a link to an in depth Globe and Mail profile of the Keilburgers.
Posted at 04:59 PM in Advocacy, Articles, Books and Reports, Current Affairs, Inspiration, Profiles, public policy, Social Enterprise, Social Innovation, Tips for Solutions Based Advocacy, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
What do you get when you cross Will Hunting with Wittgenstein?
It's exhilarating and eerie at the same time - to sit in front of a white board on a rainy Saturday in Toronto with a dozen other adults and master calculus in an hour. Well at least master my fear of calculus - my belief it was too complex and I was too incompetent. John Mighton ended my ignorance and punctured my myth of calculus incompetence. As he has done for thousands of school aged children in Canada, Britain and elsewhere.
John Mighton is yet another example of multi-talented, bold social visionaries who perfect their insights with thousands of hours of practice and refinement and then spread their practical applications through mainstream systems - in John's case through classrooms and school boards. His feat matches and surpasses any professional sports accomplishment and his story is just as thrilling. We have an abundance of Sports sections and columnists in the regular media. Alas, no Social Innovator section or specialist. Yet.
John Mighton, is a Canadian mathematician, author and multiple award winning playwright. He is also founder of JUMP (Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies) an organization that is changing how all of us but particularly children are taught math.
He took years to solidify his insights and perfect his approach starting with kitchen table tutoring in his apartment and working with students whom other teachers had given up on i.e. slow learners and students with developmental disabilities.
Today his method of ‘guided discovery’ is becoming part of the curriculum of school systems across Canada and elsewhere. To do that he converted a personal passion into an organizational vehicle – JUMP – and in turn converted or ‘de-branded’ JUMP’s organizational resources to make them acceptable to school systems and teachers. To get his ideas and practices into the water supply John is creating a numeracy movement.
John’s two books The Myth of Ability and The End of Ignorance reflect his insights not only about teaching math but also about how we learn and how we could teach. His bold vision of a numerate society challenges how school systems’ judge children according to a hierarchy of ability. Eliminating the superior/inferior dichotomy in a classroom boosts confidence, transforms students and prepares them for becoming confident, involved, contributing citizens. He imagines a world where everyone flourishes.
John has received many awards. He is an Ashoka fellow, has won several Governor General Awards and recently became an officer of the Order of Canada.
Thursday night, October 14th at 5:30, John's Order of Canada will be celebrated at the MaRS Discovery Centre (101 College St.). The memories, insights and inspiration at that event will last far longer than any home run, goal or hole in one. Guaranteed.
Oh yes, what do you get when you cross Good Will Hunting with Wittgenstein? Answer: John Mighton. John is also a philosopher whose way of thinking has been influenced by Wittgenstein's Investigations. And he was a math consultant to the movie Good Will Hunting which evolved into an on screen cameo. John plays Tom, the guy at the blackboard in front of a complicated math formula who says in the middle of the movie that most people never find the teachers that believe in them and then they get convinced they’re stupid and that they can’t do something.
Something, John is definitely doing something about.
John's play Half Life is a profound exploration of love, ageing, memories, personhood, loss and wonder - the delicious mixture and mystery of what makes us who we are. It is a brilliant piece of work and well worth obtaining and reading.
Posted at 02:21 PM in Articles, Books and Reports, Belonging, Canada, Disability, Inspiration, Profiles, Social Enterprise, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Dowser - a 'divine' alternative to the daily news
Most great ideas, movements or individuals have a trusted companion and talented scribe equally engaged in creating knowledge and discerning wisdom and insights. In fact making sense out of what is happening and identifying the deeper patterns is an essential and often looked element of successful social change. Engaged reporting, a variation of appreciative inquiry, provides activists and strategists with reflective comments, evaluation and critique - all necessary to achieve social, economic and ecological justice.
David Bornstein fulfills that role for the global social enterprise movement. Not only, is he an accomplished story teller but also, he sees order, logic and patterns amidst the swirl that accompanies change.
After writing several successful books on the emerging social enterprise movement, David and companions have now launched Dowser an e-zine specializing in social innovation and stories of change. Unlike main stream media, Dowser will specialize in finding problem solvers, change-makers and social innovators. Dowser is an alternative to people who want more from their media than following the activities of celebrities, chronicling what is broken or sensationalism.
Dowsers use divining rods to uncover water. In David's hands, Dowser will uncover stories of change. A divine idea! Check it out here http://dowser.org/
For those interested in David's other work:
The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank http://www.betterworldbooks.com/The-Price-of-a-Dream-id-0195187490.aspx
How to Change the World: Social Entreprenurs and the Power of New Ideas http://www.betterworldbooks.com/How-to-Change-the-World-id-0195334760.aspx
And you can't read David's books without encountering the leading social enterprise organization in the world: Ashoka.
In Canada: http://canada.ashoka.org/ Globally http://www.ashoka.org/
Posted at 12:13 PM in Advocacy, Current Affairs, Social Enterprise, Social Finance, Social Innovation, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Last week I introduced you to four young social innovators under the title of More Refreshing Than Miley Cyrus. As part of a continuing series here are four more. What I have noticed about those you are meeting and those you will meet, is how effortlessly they move across and within sectors. They are prepared to work with and for government, business, the civil sector or some hybrid of their own creation, to advance their social and environmental objectives. Their 'comfort zone' appears expansive and effortless. As a consequence collaboration comes more natural to them than those of us who grew up in one sector. And, they are global citizens understanding that challenges or problems don't end at national borders whether it be human rights abuses, pollution, democracy or international development aid.
Daphne Nederhorst: Daphne created SAWA Global which identifies talented leaders (Heroes) in the world's fifty poorest countries and supports them to spread and scale up their poverty fighting initiatives. Among her strategies she links mentors, funders and consultants from the developed world with each leader/hero. Daphne's approach dispels the myth that there are no local leaders or that people are incapable of solving their own problems. I have met several of her Heroes and they would be wealthy and successful in Canada if they choose to move here. They have chosen to remain in their home countries without the infrastructure we take for granted. Meet some of these individuals on video at: http://sawaglobal.org/
John Richardson: John founded Pivot Legal Society http://www.pivotlegal.org to use the law to address the root causes that keep people at the margins of society. He has re-invented a model of legal advocacy to support people who are homeless, drug addicts or sex workers. John's work is modeled after the campaigns of Mahatma Gandhi. His grassroots, asset based approach to public policy combines pro bono lawyers, creative communication strategists and people who speak for themselves with dignity and confidence. Pivot has also created a co-op for lawyers and sponsors a 'much talked about' annual photo contest for residents of the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, Hope in the Shadows http://www.hopeinshadows.com/
Nicole Rycroft: Nicole founded Canopy -transforming business for our planet, ten years ago. Her achievements are substantial. She made the Harry Potter book series the greenest books in history with 23 publishers switching to ecological paper. Over 600 publishers have adopted environmental practices including Lonely Planet. She is creating a new market for paper made from the waste of wheat rather than using wood fibre. This alone has the potential to save 400 Million trees in North America. Not surprising among Canopy's values are: restless leadership, collaboration and solutions focused. Check out more: http://canopyplanet.org/
Shauna Sylvester: Shauna has had many highlights in her young career including founding IMPACS a genre breaking communications, international development, public policy, non profit. Her latest initiative is Canada's World, a national dialogue to discuss Canada's role in the world. Their three years of activities have ended but the results of the deliberations; how to manuals on how to host community dialogues, kitchen round-tables and foreign policy camps; multi- author blog containing fresh perspectives on foreign policy and a fascinating historic time line of Canadian foreign policy will remain on line for five years. http://www.canadasworld.ca/
NOTE: All these individuals are associated with Ashoka - a global fellowship of social entrepreneurs www.ashoka.org . On Wednesday night I host a reception to introduce Ashoka Canada to Vancouver. All the above will be attending. Check out other amazing Ashoka fellows. www.canada.ashoka.org
Posted at 11:55 AM in Advocacy, Social Enterprise, Social Finance, Social Innovation, Youth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)