Thoughts from Dr. Jan!

As we prepare for the quickly approaching Symposium at Babson, I wanted to share with you something Dr. Jan shared on the Women's Leadership blog:

So many of the things I thought I "knew" about that part of the world turned out to be either totally outdated, just plain myths, or often very Western interpretations of the reality.  

We hope that we will continue to learn from and about each other at the Symposium, and beyond. 

True Hero

True Hero is a nonprofit that awards a total of $20,000 to public service projects carried out by high school and college students. Users generate most of the web-based organization’s content.

You can follow True Heroes on Facebook, too.

The organization was started by Mike Merriman, a former CEO of Royal Appliance Manufacturing in Cleveland, Ohio, after traveling to Honduras with his son’s high school class to build an orphanage.

Mr. Merriman’s True Hero organization enables student projects to receive votes, and awards funding annually to the projects that receive the most votes.

This voting cycle ends June 30, 2009, so check out the site, vote for the projects, and add your own community service project!

Middle East Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009- Schwab Foundation

Two social entrepreneurs from the Middle East have been recognized by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship as winners of the Middle East Regional Social Entrepreneurs 2009.  The winners (listed below) were honored at an awards ceremony in Jordan at the end of May.  (information below from the Schwab Foundation website)

Naif Al Mutawa – Teshkeel Media Group (”THE 99”) –  Kuwait 

 

Teshkeel Media Group is focused on creating wholesome new children’s adventures 

through its proprietary superheroes, “THE 99”. Drawing upon global history, culture and traditions, its aim is to provide positive and inspirational role models for children that are inspired by Islam albeit on a global level. THE 99 are superheroes from 99 countries that work together to improve the world with story lines that promote diversity, multiculturalism, personal responsibility and personal accountability. THE 99 comics have been licensed in 8 languages with editions in Indonesia, Turkey, France, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal already, with other countries soon to be included. THE 99 Village theme park – the first of six – recently opened in Jahra, Kuwait and a global animation project co-Produced with media giant Endemol is poised to hit the airwaves by the end of 2009.  

 

Ziad Al Refai – Tamweelcom  – Jordan 

 

Tamweelcom is the Middle East's leading Microfinance organization, ranked 8th best microfinance bank worldwide. It provides credit opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs, who cannot access the banking system due to a lack of collateral. It also provides business training and vocational services to the poorest communities in Jordan, women-led families and widows, through its loan offices. Through successful innovations such as the Souk Ayyadi markets that create sales channels for the products and services of its members, educational scholarship funding for performing member’s family, and “pay and renew” loan systems, Tamweelcom has continued to grow and serve client’s needs. Since inception, it has served more than 100,000 micro-entrepreneurs with more than $75 million (USD) in loans. 

Obama's speech, in case you missed it...

On social entrepreneurship...

"On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world."

On women...

"Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity – men and women – to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams."

Social Innovation Conversations

A channel of the Conversations Network, Social Innovation Conversations allows readers/viewers to view and/or listen to social change ideas through audio lectures, speaker series, and conference recordings. On the site you can download free podcasts on social entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, responsible investing, etc...

Check it out.

There are some pretty incredible tools on here- and perhaps some inspiration?  

Not your average summer camp

At the Introductory Seminar we had a number of students who were interested in youth issues- please see below for an interesting initiative taking place this summer:

Since 2003, An-Najah National University has organized an annual summer work camp which has invited International Volunteers and Students to work with Palestinian students at the university, refugee camps, children and civil society organizations where they can truly experience the Palestinian community and the traditions.

At the same time, they encourage and support the local students and make them feel that they are a part of the larger global youth.

photo from Micky's photostream

Corporate Matchmaker

VolunteerMatch Corporate is a web-based service designed to manage, maximize, and measure employee volunteer programs.

Created to meet the needs of leading corporations that recognize the business and social value of community involvement, VolunteerMatch Corporate helps fulfill business goals for community outreach; assists employees in searching and signing up for local volunteer opportunities; and measures volunteer participation from one centralized location.

Demand? ... Solution.