How a force, no matter how small, can impact change and betterment of global societies
KARNJARIYA SUKRUNG
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| How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas |
Fabio Rosa and his low-cost solar energy for the poor in Brazil |
Jeroo Billimoria's Childline helps Indian children in distress. |
Since 22, new graduate in agronomic engineering, Fabio Rosa, was determined to deliver low-cost electricity to the poor farmers in Palmares, a depressed area in Brazil. He believed that with cheap access to electricity, the farmers' livelihood could be improved.
He researched, talked to experts, officials, business people and farmers, and finally came up with a low-cost powered irrigation system, which could save the farmers' expenses and free them from landowners, who usually set the price of water quite high.
Farmers' incomes increased, so many returned from the cities to their farmlands.
For 20 years, Rosa has been relentless in finding new solutions to help poor rural farmers, by creating a cheap irrigation system, low cost electricity and a solar electric system, to name a few.
Rosa's innovations and strenuous efforts demonstrate the qualities found in a "social entrepreneur" - an emerging breed of ordinary people who have made tremendous social impact during the past 30 years.
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| Erzsebet Szekeres developed a new concept home and job placement for the disabled; |
"Social entrepreneurs present new and creative solutions to social problems. They are visionaries who are determined to materialise their dreams for a better world," said Sinee Chaktranond, director of Ashoka (Thailand) Innovators for the Public, at a book launch of the Thai version of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas.
Since its first publication in 2004, How to Change the World has been translated into many languages including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, etc.; Thai is the 15th language.
The book might sound like it's targeted only for people in the business sector, especially those interested in the ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility, and social enterprise, or people in government or non-profit agencies who seek development project guidelines.
In fact, the book is for anyone who is searching for ways and inspiration to change their lives and transform their communities. How to Change the World tells stories of low-profile people who, through their creativity and hard work, have created great social impacts that have transformed the lives of many in their communities. And in this way, readers can feel charged and empowered as they, too, possess the potential power to impact the world.
How to Change the World is divided into 21 short chapters, each of which captures the essence of social entrepreneurs; who they are, what they do, how they do it and the impacts of their new and creative ideas.
A social innovations writer and journalist, David Bornstein, gave in-depth overviews of the phenomenon and suggested headway measures towards the growth of this citizen sector. Most importantly, he explained how much the world is in dire need of these committed people.
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| Author David Bornstein. |
How to Change the World is Bornstein's second book, following his award-winning The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank.
Bornstein's interview with Muhammad Yunus - founder of the bank for the poor in Bangladesh and the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner - may have inspired him towards the power of social entrepreneurs and their ideas, which create global impacts.
Take the Grameen Bank for example. To date, there are more than 2,200 micro-lenders and 30 million borrowers. And the idea of a micro-credit system has been adopted by governments and NGO agencies the world over.
For How to Change the World, Bornstein spent five years researching the emergence of social entrepreneurs, socio-politicos and economic contexts, which give rise to this global phenomenon.
He interviewed nearly a hundred people and travelled extensively to many countries on different continents to talk with outstanding social entrepreneurs working in the realms of public health, agriculture, human rights, education, environment and civil participation.
Anyone from all walks of life can be a social entrepreneur; doctors, engineers, teachers, business people, or even spiritual leaders, Bornstein pointed.
Vinoba Bhave, Gandhi's key disciple on non-violence, walked 16 to 19 kilometres each day, across India to ask for land for the poor and the untouchables. The decade-long effort of land gift movement led to the voluntary redistribution of seven million acres of land by 1960.
Erzsebet Szekeres, a mother from Hungary, refused to accept the under-treatment and social denial of children and adults with disabilities, including her son. For over 10 years, she has developed a new-concept home and trained them for jobs, so that they can be put on job placement. Currently, her model has spread throughout Europe with the help of the Committee for Disabled of the European Union.
In India, Jeroo Billimoria set up Childline, a 24-hour emergency toll-free telephone service with follow-up support to alleviate children in distress. A holistic approach, her organisation - run by trained street children - connects with an extensive network of child-service organisations, police officers and social workers.
Through the franchise model, Childline operates in more than 40 Indian cities, and is replicated in Europe and Asia.
Physician Vera Cordeiro founded Renascer Association at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her idea is to provide emergency assistance and health care to ill children from low-income families, during and after their discharge from the hospital. The volunteer and follow-up support systems have helped prevent children from repeated hospital visits.
Since its inception, Renascer has been duplicated in 14 public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, assisting 20,000 children.
The problems these social entrepreneurs witnessed and lived with became an opportunity to work on a job they were committed to for days on end.
According to Bornstein, the world needs more social entrepreneurs. The existing government bodies, laws, social institutions and business sectors are becoming too large, thus, too rigid and stagnant to tackle the world's most complex and widespread problems.
Social entrepreneurs, with their community-focused work and more flexible approaches, seem to be a more effective solution.
"Promoting social entrepreneurs to take a critical role in solving economic and social problems could become a strategic path towards the resolution of economic and social problems in this century," noted Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, senior fellow at Harvard University's Centre for Business and Government.
The road towards social transformation is long and tiresome. Each social entrepreneur, as mentioned in the book, spent a minimum of seven to 10 years before their ideas were actualised and delivered substantial impact.
Bornstein suggested the government, business sectors and other non-profit organisations should lend long-term support and close collaboration with these social entrepreneurs.
Actually, since the 1980s, there have been organisations that support social entrepreneurs. Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, founded by Bill Drayton, is a pioneering foundation, which supports social entrepreneurs and provides leverage of their ideas across the globe (since 1983). The organisation now works with 2,000 social entrepreneurs in 60 countries.
Other similar organisations include the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
In Thailand, there are several social-project granting agencies, but Kitirat na Ranong, former director of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, commented, "The problem with foundations are they say the same thing to everyone: 'Send me a proposal.' What's different about Ashoka is it actually goes out, looks for people, and talks to them," he added, at the launch of the Thai-edition of How to Change the World.
The close collaboration between social entrepreneurs and public and private sectors can help speed up social transformation.
Bornstein also pointed that "social entrepreneur" can and will become the new option of fulfilling careers for new graduates or mid-career professionals. Today, the world's leading universities offer courses in social entrepreneurship. They are, for instance, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Oxford. Some universities in Thailand are working on similar curriculums, too.
After all, as Bornstein showed, social entrepreneurs are not only creative, determined, skilful and efficient, but above all, they are ethical and moral.
And from the cases of social entrepreneurs he pointed that their moral characters are rooted from family backgrounds, schooling and social learning.
Indeed, the world needs more social entrepreneurs. And we now need to foster an environment for their growth.
The Thai edition of 'How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas' is available at major book stores. For the English edition contact Ashoka Thailand on 02-712-8610 or see http://www.howtochangetheworld.org/.
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