“There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living” — Nelson Mandela

Time is Nothing // Around The World Time Lapse from Kien Lam on Vimeo.

The question that caused this surprising reaction was: why do you believe in social entrepreneurship?

My brain raced through the reasons, each reason followed by what seemed like a giant red sign that screamed CLICHE.

I believe in a human centred market based solution to poverty. Cliche.

I believe in making the world a better place and leaving it better than when I’ve found it. Cliche.

My background and journey has led me to believe in the power of entrepreneurship. Cliche.

I come from a family whose lives have been changed through entrepreneurship. Cliche.

I stumbled into this field unknowingly. Cliche.

Social entrepreneurs are the key in unlocking the levers of change. Cliche.

Entrepreneurs have the ability to create and imagine. With support and direction, they can be the change we wish to see in this world. Cliche.

In my head, my emotions quickly churned from alarm to frustration. Why was it that I couldn’t explain my Why? Was it because I didn’t understand my reasons, or perhaps was it because I couldn’t find the words to say? Why do these reasons seem cliche? Perhaps people have overused them and they have lost their meaning…and then the question becomes: how do you do then convey any one of those reasons with sincere belief? After all, how can you capture passion and belief in 30 seconds. In a paragraph even. It doesn’t seem to even do it justice.

About a year ago, I wrote a post on the beauty of imagination. Although I still believe this reason to be true, I couldn’t quite get the reason of imagination to fit within the social enterprise/international development piece of my beliefs. It seemed to be missing a piece.

Truth be told, I was then suddenly mesmerized by the fact that perhaps, just perhaps my reason WAS the combination of all those cliches. And more. After all, isn’t our understanding of the world a limitation of what we have experienced and inherited knowledge? Maybe my passion is a combination of a mathematical sequence of experiences (I like to think so!):

1) I grew up painfully aware of poverty and socio-economic oppression

2) My family’s story changed because of entrepreneurship

3) Hard work and a stranger’s faith in seeing my potential allowed me to continue my education in Canada

4) I unknowingly stumbled into this field through a “less-than-perfect” volunteer program through my university

5) Tipping point: Working with a women’s group in Lesotho ignited an understanding that identifying change levers in a community can change lives

6) Throughout business school, I have developed a natural bias towards a market based solution to solving problems.

Therefore: 7) Giving people the opportunity (just like it has been given to me) to create and imagine a better life is the key to creating a better world. A human-centered market based solution.

Social entrepreneurship shakes up our complacencies by challenging how we place value on social and economic urgencies. It spins us round in two ways at once: it shows us the sights and social values that we might ordinarily ignore; but it also, and more deeply, shows us parts of capitalism that have grown rusty and need changing.

So what is my answer you might ask? For now, I will have to settle for a combination of cliche answers, my sequence of experiences and that nagging voice at the of my head telling me that it is the right thing to believe in.

I’ll be sure to check in with my answer again as my understanding of the world continues to grow!

Simply Wonder-full.

P/s: I also love the Alpaca Reversible hat! Made in Peru by a group of women to improve their family’s income.

1. The action or process of flowing.

2. Continuous change

“Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events, and in the total of all these acts will be written the history of this generation.” — J F kennedy

(Fwd to 17:15) Jacqueline Novogratz Opening Speech at SoCap10

Women hold up half the sky — Chinese Proverb

Reality is hard. It is a startling revelation at times often because we choose to surround ourselves with our view and experience of the world. This Thanksgiving, I am reminded of reality when I sat down to read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In Half the Sky, Kristof and WuDunn throw an interesting twist into the conventional view of plights of women around the world: by telling their stories. From Cambodia to South Africa. From sex slaves to maternal health. By putting a name, emotion and passion into the stories. This tentative foray into the realm of story-telling melds surprising well with what is, essentially, a passionate call to action against our generation’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls worldwide.

The opening of the book follows the story of Srey Rath, a young Cambodian teenager, who was sold as a sex salve across the borders, ending up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she endured routine brutality and constant humiliation. It was a huge shock to my system, as Malaysia is someplace I call my home town…  to read in such vivid detail the human rights violation done to Srey Rath was stunning in every sense.

These stories of human perseverance, injustice and ultimately hope, just like Srey Rath, are woven into three main issues: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence e.g. honor killings and mass rape and maternal mortaility. Sub issues include education, microcredit and religion. The stories in the book are shocking, but ultimately this is the central truth of the book: Women aren’t the problem but the solution. The plight of girls is no more a tragedy than an opportunity.

“It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all battles of the twentieth century. More girls are killed in this routine “gendercide” in any one decade than people were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century.

In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century, the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world. ”

Through stories, Kristof and WuDunn demonstrate how the key to economic progress lies in the fact that as a society, we need to stop ignoring women who hold up half the sky. Unleashing this incredible human potential is not only the right thing to do in terms of our own shared humanity, but also the best way to tackle poverty. They show how in vastly different circumstances, the endurance of the human spirit and how a little help can go a long way e.g. the simple act of iodizing salt to improve a baby’s IQ.

I won’t go into the details of the book because my summary will not do these incredible stories justice. However, on a personal level, this book’s message has imprinted itself deeply within my beliefs in international development. After all, how many books make such a  statement about a matter than concerns everyone because of our shared humanity? The stories of these women show me the resilience and amount of hope they have within themselves who have every reason to give up but continue on. It’s so moving and inspirational that I just want to shout it out loud and tell everyone about the issues Kristof and WuDunn have written about. If there is one thing that this book is about, it is the story of transformation.

Rating: 10/10

“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” — Derek Bok

I’m at a point in my life where the decisions that I make are of my own and not predetermined by the educational path that society has laid out for me. It’s almost alarming to think about the fact that for the bulk of my life, my education has been shaped by forces that has approved this path as a “natural” (and necessary!) progression in life.

What I have come to realize over the years though, through a series of unexpected events, is the beauty of imagination. I was asked the question recently of why/what I was passionate about international development/life… and the words tumbled out of my mouth explaining social change and the nature of aid before I even realized, wait… it was a textbook answer and wasn’t the entire truth of why I love this space — the international development, empowerment, social finance and innovation.

So, to share a part of my journey, this is why I love this space and what I got out of education. One word.

This singular concept has been the catalyst in my life to meeting amazing concepts, people, books and initiatives. It is the fact that imagination is the ability to free oneself from the constraints of the human condition. The fact that when you allow yourself to explore spaces that leaves you completely out of your comfort zone, it serves the purpose of satisfying your mind’s hunger for knowledge. The human thirst for knowledge and innovation is the result of imagination. Humans create and invent as a result of imagination. But most of all, what I am really excited about, is that with imagination, its the way that we view the world, and how all of that can change, the minute you open your mind to the possibilities. i.e. Sharing a social finance model to the investment world, empowering women that there are better ways to feed your child or something as simple as remaking used plastic bags into makeshift footballs.

Most people get through life thinking “if I can make it through this, things will be better later,”. But they forget that the experiences they have, shape who they are and they eventually forget what “better” and “later” means. And we see this phenomenon everywhere, from the politically suppressed society to the 40 year old who’s working a 9–5 job and hating every minute. They forget how to imagine. To create. They forget that the predetermined paths that society has somehow conjured along the way may not necessarily be the best path, and who is to say it is the right path to begin with? The world/people are quite eager to give you a set of criterias for your life, if you let it. They forget that we have the power to change educational systems, to change the way we interact with our environment, to bring on the culture we wish to see at work, or to even bring on that New Economic World Order!

Is imagination merely a talent, such as a good singing voice, the ability to “make things up: or “think things up” or “get ideas”? Or is it, like science, a way of knowing things that can be known in no other way? We have much reason to think that it is a way of knowing things not otherwise knowable. As the word itself suggests, it is the power to make us see, and to see, moreover, things that without it would be unseeable. In one of its aspects it is the power by which we sympathize. By its means we may see what it was to be Odysseus or Penelope, or David or Ruth, or what it is to be one’s neighbor or one’s enemy. By it, we may “see ourselves as others see us.”

It is also the power by which we see the place, the predicament, or the story we are in.”

– From Wendell Berry, “God Science, and Imagination” in Imagination in Place

(from: http://tinyurl.com/yey35nv)

What I did come across in my meanderings across the interwebs was this [recent-ish] issue of the TIME’s magazine, which highlights “10 ideas that are changing our world right now”. The compiled list of ranged from issues in religion to infrastructure to the economy, one of which I found to be of particular interest to me.

Africa: Open for Business

The article highlights that Africa has long been perceived as a continent of where progress is irrelevant regardless of the efforts being done — foreign aid, economic stimulus, etc. Africa is essentially viewed as hopeless, and a $40 billion/yr foreign industry has been built around that perception to the point where people are starting to question whether aid is even doing any good at all. Thus, when the world’s economy went into Defcon 5 last year, the $40 billion industry started being called into question with debates and books being written that foreign aid is bad, fuels corruption, undermines governments, unsustainable and is  counter productive. (ie. Dead Aid — Dambisa Moyo, former Goldman Sachs and World Bank economist)

Drilling down to the actual relevancy of aid and development, the article points out the obvious fact that has been staring us in the face all this time. That throughout the noise of the aid industry, reality is that aid is no longer Africa’s main source of foreign income. Yes, that’s right. Africa is now a business destination.

So, I did some economic digging and cam across some very interesting information.

1) Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)  inflows into Africa have improved tremendously in the last 6 years. From $14.6 billion in 2002 to $53 billion in 2007 (UNCTAD World Investment Report, 2008). This translates into a 263% growth rate over a 6 year period!

Note: FDI refers to investment in domestic structures, equipment and organization by foreign private sectors or governments. Does not include foreign portfolio investment in a domestic economy. FDI contributes to the economic performance of a host country by: first,representing additional resources which can be used to build additional physical capital and create more employment. Secondly, increases a country’s output and productivity by encouraging efficient use of existing resources by increasing the size of the capital stock. Overall, FDI also improves local skills and technology know-hows which translate into growth and development.

The IMF puts Africa’s average annual growth for 2004 to ’08 at more than 6% — better than any developed economy — and predicts the continent will buck the global recessionary trend to grow nearly 3.3% this year — Time Magazine

2) The reason for an increase in FDI is an improvement in both economic and political conditions on the continent.

Economic Conditions: The UNCTAD Report stated that not only has Africa’s economy grown over 5%/yr since 2001, but cross border M&A’s in the extraction and related service industries of Africa has tripled. Combined with the fact that the high prices and demand for resources like oil has attracted investments from both developed and developing countries. An interesting fact to note is that because Africa’s economy is relatively displaced from the global economy, it is actually to their advantage during the current economic crisis, that they have been relatively unaffected.

Perhaps the most attractive element of the improving African economic condition is the very fact that China has developed a healthy interest in the continent.

While the old superpowers still agonize over Africa’s poverty, the new one is captivated by its riches. Trade between Africa and China has grown an average of 30% in the past decade, topping $106 billion last year. — Time Magazine

The Chinese has changed the psychological approach on Africa. They enter the continent to trade, not to provide aid. In her book, Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo pointed out that those who still needs convincing about Africa should ask themselves if they are convinced about China, “because if you back China, you’re backing Africa.”

Political Conditions: The turn of the new millennium has brought about a wave of peace, with a rapid decline in civil wars and conflicts. Democracy is up, trade is improving, inflation is declining and growth is happening. Yes Africa still has its Zimbabwes, Darfurs and Congos, but the truth of the matter is, the continent is trending towards a more peaceful and democratic region as a powerful consensus is emerging across Africa for good governance and as nearly all African countries have been involved in some type of political and institutional change.

This is reflected by the fact that better governance means better standards of living, infrastructure, education and although most Africans are not middle class, most are also not living in extreme poverty.

The percentage of Africans living on $1.25 a day or less dropped from 59% to 51% from 1996 to 2005 and has decreased further since — World Bank

Essentially, when it comes down to it, Africa really is open for business. Perhaps the issue lies in whether the world is ready to receive it? Remember, the figures really do speak for themselves. Trade, not aid.

For those who are curious, the full list is:

1. Jobs are the new Assets

2. Recycling the Suburbs

3. The New Calvinism

4. Reinstating the Interstate

5. Amortality

6. Africa, Business Destination

7. Rent-A-County

8. BioBanks

9. Survival Stores

10. Ecological Intelligence

The TIMES’s article can be found here

“We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearing house that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.” http://www.ted.com

Starting out in 1984 as a conference bringing experts from the world of Technology, Entertainment and Design, it has since evolved into something more. Ideas and concepts that resonate. Shared. Spoken about. In the spirit of spreading ideas, TEDx has been created, enabling communities around the world to construct a TED-like conference with support from TED.

Here at UBC, we have our very own TEDx Terry Project. The project launched last year and was received with tremendous success. This October 3rd would be the 2nd Terry round of talks and registration is now open!

“Imagine UBC’s most fascinating and engaging students coming together for a day, giving ‘the talk of their lives,’ sharing their ideas and discussing their visions for UBC and the world. Now imagine being there, with students, alumni, faculty, administration, and members of the general public watching this unfold and partaking in the various discussions, and think of all the possibilities that this idea-share holds.” — http://www.terry.ubc.ca

photo credit: abdallahh

Registration is free and comes with a free lunch. It is currently restricted to UBC students, staff and faculty and some alumni. To reserve a ticket, click here, and to have a glimpse of what is in store for us, check out what happened last year!

I had the pleasure of attending TerryTalks last year and it was a wonderful experience. UBC has some of the brightest student minds in North America and the ideas that were shared last year blew me away. I am definitely not missing this year’s! Get your tickets now and see you there!