Blogs

Economic Downturn as an Opportunity Investing in Small and Medium Sized Businesses Now

Created: 09/23/10 by Changemakers Blogger

[This Changemakers article is Part One of a three-part series focused on SME investment opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa, also featured on Social Edge and Africa.com.

The global economic downturn may seem an unlikely opportunity for creating jobs and wealth, but optimists at the forefront of developing world finance and business argue that now is precisely the moment for big things.

Strong Communities Finalists: Engaging Citizens, Strengthening Place, Inspiring Change

Created: 09/22/10 by Changemakers Blogger

An independent panel of judges reviewed the semi-finalists and selected these eight projects to join us at CommunityMatters '10, where they'll have an opportunity to showcase their work, meet other innovators, and develop community building skills.

These programs and projects span a variety of fields including youth engagement, local economy, economic development, public engagement and networking, proactive collaboration, environmental sustainability, and community living.

Winners will be selected by YOU via online public voting, so take a look at the finalists, get your clicking fingers ready and VOTE NOW!

Our Interview with Majora Carter: Greener of the Ghetto, Prophet of Local, Changemakers Judge

Created: 09/22/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Majora Carter is a MacArthur “genius” award recipient for her work as “a relentless and charismatic urban strategist,” pioneering green-collar job training and placement systems through her organization, Sustainable South Bronx (SSB) in one of the most environmentally and economically challenged inner cities of the United States. The founder of Majora Carter Group recently served as a judge in Changemakers and Community Matters' Strong Communities challenge, which used an online competition to find innovative solutions from citizens who are collaborating to make their communities vital, enduring places.

PART II -- Ending Energy Poverty: The Missing Millennium Development Goal

Created: 09/21/10 by Changemakers Blogger

If you missed Friday’s Changemakers’ introduction to the work of Bob Freling and the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), SELF’s inspirational efforts to end energy poverty is truly worth a look as the world prepares to discuss ten years of progress on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, leading to the September 21st to 23rd annual gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York City.

TEDxYSE Announces Fifth Speaker: Rocco Falconer

Created: 09/20/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Rocco Falconer, 22, is the founder of Planting Promise, a community-based organization dedicated to the development and expansion of education in Sierra Leone. The social business projects projects were inspired by 2008 a meeting with Eddie Boston-Mammah, a local philanthropist whose wartime experiences had convinced him of the need to engage with the development of his country:

In order to control the number of children in the street as "street children" and to prevent them from leaving home to become street children/wayward children, we decided to open a FREE PRIMARY SCHOOL on the 8th September, 2008 to help parents who cannot afford to give quality education to their children and secondly, we observed that in order to reduce the rate of children in the street, we can start providing education for them in an early age for them to know the importance of education with the notion that "Learning is better than silver and gold."

Barack and Bill to Join Forces at Clinton Global Initiative

Created: 09/20/10 by Changemakers Blogger

 

If you're a game changer, or just want the game changed, CGI is where it's at.

There ain't no party like a CGI party — and President Barack Obama isn't about to miss out. The annual Clinton Global Initiative conference brings together heads of state, top business leaders, philanthropists and nonprofits all in the name of making the world a better place. The president will attend again this year and will introduce first lady Michelle Obama to the crowd.

Changewatch: A Historic Discussion on the State of the World; The Enthusiasm Gap; Third World America

Created: 09/17/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Today, our Changewatchers are buzzing about ...

A conversation between Cornel West and Toni Morrison at the Society for Ethical Culture in New York.

  • Toni Morrison & Cornel West: A Historic Discussion on the State of the World, the 50th anniversary of the Brown Decision and Condoleezza Rice [Democracy Now!]

Breaking down barriers to change by closing the "enthusiasm gap."

The increasing poverty rate in "Third World America."

  • U.S. Poverty Rate Hits 14.3%; 44 Million Are Poor [Change.org]

Ending Energy Poverty: The Missing Millennium Development Goal

Created: 09/17/10 by Changemakers Blogger

“Most people don’t appreciate the extent to which women bear the burden when it comes to energy poverty,” said Bob Freling, the Executive Director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). “They breathe indoor air pollution, have to haul water long distances, and can’t safely deliver their babies at night in darkness.  Just think about what it would mean to give women alternatives that free up their time.  SELF is specifically working with women leaders in communities to demonstrate ways that they can uplift their own lives and the lives of community members by looking for solutions that offer economic empowerment and champion women as leaders.”

New Trends: We Want YOU to Solve the World's Problems

Created: 09/17/10 by Changemakers Blogger

What do General Electric, the Obama administration, and Ashoka have in common? No, the answer to this question isn’t a punch line—but it should make you smile. The private company, the federal government, and the social sector organization all oversee competitions to collect and fund the world’s best solutions to the world’s worst problems.

Breaking Down the Stigma of HIV/AIDS Through Football in Indonesia

Created: 09/16/10 by Changemakers Blogger

 

What do an Indonesian soap opera and a drug rehabilitation center for HIV positive individuals have in common?  First, there’s the name:  Rumah Cemara, or “House of Pine Trees” in English.  Second, and most importantly, they both provide important lessons on how people from different backgrounds can come together and overcome differences and obstacles.  

SMEs and global finance: The missing link

Created: 09/16/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Ashokas Changemakers and G-20 team to rebuild local economies worldwide

There exists a sector in the global economy representing more than 95% of the world’s business, contributing to over 50% of the world’s GDP, supporting large multi-national corporations, and triggering economic growth in developing countries. It is made up of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). And only a fraction of this sector has access to credit. This means that the single largest source of job creation remains largely unfinanced.

Khan Academy: Virtual Classroom, Real Results

Created: 09/13/10 by Changemakers Blogger


On Monday, we asked the question: are colleges worth the price of admission?

(If you haven’t, we suggest you track back and read yesterday’s article.)

The answer is very much up for debate and the issue is neither black nor white. But if we accept that a quality, affordable learning experience is becoming less tangible with every education budget cut and tuition hike, what “troublemaker” will change the system.
What about a 33-year old “ebullient, articulate Harvard MBA and former hedge fund manager?"

Meet Salman Khan.

Is our children learning? And is higher education worth it?

Created: 09/12/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Rarely is the question asked: Are colleges worth the price of admission?

The Economist reports that American universities dominate global rankings; on the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy’s list of the world’s best universities, 17 of the top 20 are American, and 35 of the top 50. American universities also employ 70% of living Nobel prizewinners in science, economics, and “produce a disproportionate share of the world’s most-cited articles in academic journals.”

UNICEF Picks Top Nine Aid Innovations From the Near Future

Created: 09/03/10 by Changemakers Blogger

Want to save the world? UNICEF might have an answer to that question.