Social Enterprise & Time Magazine's Persons of the Year

This may be the year of social enterprise awakening.

With megadisasters Katrina, Rita, the Asian Tsunami, the Pakistani Earthquake, Avian Flu, the AIDS Pandemic... there is a swelling urgency to find fast, effective business models to respond to--and possibly prevent--such wide-spread devastation.

Time Magazine has selected a trifecta of megastars in this field: rock band U2's frontman Bono alongside Bill & Melinda Gates.

The accompanying suite of articles gives an intimate glimpse of daily life for these three who are focused on massive systems, namely health and economics.

From Persons of the Year By NANCY GIBBS

And so another alliance was born: unlikely, unsentimental, hard nosed, clear eyed and dead set on driving poverty into history. The rocker's job is to be raucous, grab our attention. The engineers' job is to make things work. 2005 is the year they turned the corner, when Bono charmed and bullied and morally blackmailed the leaders of the world's richest countries into forgiving $40 billion in debt owed by the poorest; now those countries can spend the money on health and schools rather than interest payments--and have no more excuses for not doing so. The Gateses, having built the world's biggest charity, with a $29 billion endowment, spent the year giving more money away faster than anyone ever has, including nearly half a billion dollars for the Grand Challenges, in which they asked the very best brains in the world how they would solve a huge problem, like inventing a vaccine that needs no needles and no refrigeration, if they had the money to do it.

The Rock Star's Burden

By PAUL THEROUX
Published: December 15, 2005 | NY Times Op-Ed

This is to balance out the post on Bono's ONE Manifesto.

THERE are probably more annoying things than being hectored about African development by a wealthy Irish rock star in a cowboy hat, but I can't think of one at the moment. If Christmas, season of sob stories, has turned me into Scrooge, I recognize the Dickensian counterpart of Paul Hewson - who calls himself "Bono" - as Mrs. Jellyby in "Bleak House." Harping incessantly on her adopted village of Borrioboola-Gha "on the left bank of the River Niger," Mrs. Jellyby tries to save the Africans by financing them in coffee growing and encouraging schemes "to turn pianoforte legs and establish an export trade," all the while badgering people for money.

It seems to have been Africa's fate to become a theater of empty talk and public gestures. But the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help - not to mention celebrities and charity concerts - is a destructive and misleading conceit. Those of us who committed ourselves to being Peace Corps teachers in rural Malawi more than 40 years ago are dismayed by what we see on our return visits and by all the news that has been reported recently from that unlucky, drought-stricken country. But we are more appalled by most of the proposed solutions.

Read full article

[On a side note, my father, Philip P. Durand, served with Mr. Theroux in Malawi as part of the Peace Corps.]

One: Bono = Numero Uno

The 2005 winner of the TEDPrize was the man with one name and the catalyst for the One Movement: Bono.

In his acceptance speech, he admonished the elite technorati to rise to the challenge of poverty and AIDS, he said:

But equality for Africa - that's a big, expensive idea. You see, the scale of the suffering numbs us into a kind of indifference. What on earth can we all do about this? Well, much more than we think. We can't fix every problem, but the ones we can, I want to argue, we must. And because we can, we must. This is the straight truth, the righteous truth. It is not a theory. The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa, and say this and mean it, "We do not have to stand for this." A whole continent written off,... we do not have to stand for this. [see video | read speech]

On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, the inaugral podcast of the ONE Movement was broadcast. [ XML | HTML ]

The ONE Campaign seeks to end extreme poverty by allocating an additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food.
It is supported by Bill and Melinda Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The ONE Campaign was founded by Bread for the World, CARE, DATA, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam America, Plan USA, Save the Children US, World Concern, and World Vision, and works closely with the National Basketball Association, Rock the Vote, and the Millennium Campaign.
The ONE declaration:

"WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs - education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget. WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all."

Visit www.one.org for a podcast including Nelson Mandela, Coldplay, Val Kilmer and more hipsters with heart.

The Purpose Prize

Do you know of someone in their 60s or older who is truly reinventing what it means to be an innovator in the social sector?

Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based think tank and incubator, recognizes the incredible social capital represented in older adults. With funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies and The John Templeton Foundation, the organization is launching a campaign to recognize, invest in, and inspire this group of innovators.

They are offering The Purpose Prize.

The hallmark of this campaign is a prestigious new prize to five exceptional individuals over the age of 60 who are defying societal expectations by channeling their creativity and talent to address critical social problems at the local, regional, or national level. Sixty semi-finalists for The Purpose Prize -- "Sixty at Sixty+" -- will receive national recognition for their work.

Five $100,000 investments in Americans who are using their life experience and creativity to transform our nation and defy expectations for the second half of life.

Nominations are due by February 28, 2006.

Don Gould, Pure Water for All

When people ask Don Gould how he knows that his product works, he answers, “Because babies stop dying.”



As part of a social enterprise consortium, Gould, who is both a product designer and ceramicist, helped to design and deploy simple effect water filtration devices to the developing world.

He talks with Tim Zak, host of Globeshakers, about both the traditional production techniques and the new economy models for collaboration. Together, they can deliver life-saving solutions that are as robust as they are elegant.

See photos and slideshow from the Pure Water for All project in Sudan.

So, why is water a problem?

[see Globeshakers for more details.]

Darrell Hammond, founder of KaBOOM!

Play is a crucial factor in the overall well-being of children. It affects the level of quality of life they will enjoy. Yet, play in many communities, schools, and families has been pushed to the back-burner. Darrell Hammond, founder of KaBOOM!, envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 850 new playgrounds and skateparks and renovate 1,300 others nationwide.


On Nov. 4, 2005, Tim Zak, host of Globeshakers, speaks with Darrell Hammond, founder of KaBOOM!, who envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Darrell gives a “State of the Union of Play” address regarding play in America, why it matters for the health of our children, and what it means for the future of the American workforce.