What would you say if I gave your donations to someone whom (until recently) I never met, who used it on a country I've never been, and helped people I've never seen?
What you would get is this video:
First, it must be said that this is far less sketchy than it seems. Rohan was a friend of mine long before I sent him a dime. I trusted him enough as a friend before I entrusted him with part of this project. That, of course, does limit how often I can do things like this.
Second, there is a specific reason I wanted ...
Why I Went to VidCon
[caption id="attachment_2489" align="aligncenter" width="481" caption="Hank & John Start VidCon Early in the Morning (thus the rare shot of empty seats)"][/caption]
VidCon. In a word? WOW. As one friend put it, "it's like the internet exploded into real life". It was surreal, amazing, & awesome to meet people that I've only been able to see through my computer screen.
Even though there wasn't nearly enough time, I'm in awe at how seamlessly online friends turned into "real life" friends. In most cases it's like you've known someone for ages and are just hanging out.
[caption id="attachment_2488" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="This photo makes me look more ...
My 5 Fact Pitch to Save the Children
It's the first of April, and I'm standing in a dimly lit room with a bright projector light blinding me. In front of me, some high ranking officials who came to hear me speak. This is no April's Fools joke: this was my presentation to Save the Children USA's Global HQ.
[caption id="attachment_2423" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Save the Children's USA HQ (pic by Madge Canning)"][/caption]
After an hour of Keynote slides, graphs, and videos I was pleased to see that my presentation was well received. Lots of nodding heads. But I needed one more thing. I need to drive the message home. It ...
Does Steve Jobs Care about Global Poverty?
Less than 24 hours ago, Apple surpassed Microsoft to become the world's biggest tech company. As someone who used to spell Microsoft with a dollar sign, I can't believe what I'm about to say: this is a bad thing for the world.
The only thing I love more than Apple is what I use my Mac gear for: fighting poverty in developing countries. In this regard, unlike Microsoft & Bill Gates, Apple & Steve Jobs don't seem to care much about poverty and global development.
[caption id="attachment_2235" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="One runs the biggest tech company in the world, the other is a global ...
I maybe in Bangladesh right now – but my mind’s on the World Economic Forum happening right now in Davos, Switzerland. For the first time in the forum’s existence, we really get to know more about the thoughts and views of those attending the World Economic Forum. This is because YouTube has teamed up with the folks at Davos. All of a sudden, Davos has helped turn Bono and Henry Kissinger into video bloggers. This is also the opportunity where people like you and me can get our voices heard at Davos. It’s called The Davos Conversation. It’s a huge step forward in democratizing one of the world’s most important forums.
One thing that surprised me is that I’m finding a lot of kindred spirits at Davos. Bono was there and, of course, he spoke in favor of the Millenium Development Goals that I’ve been talking about earlier. In fact, Bono writes the foreword of Dr. Sachs book “The End of Poverty”. The Executive Director of UNICEF was there and made a similar endorsement as well for the MDGs. But it’s not just celebrities and big wigs that were there making a difference – people from my generation were there too and were making their mark. Take Whitney and Juan for example:
Whitney makes a good point by pointing out that every year, Americans spend $20 billion dollars on ice cream. It only takes half of that to give a full education to every poor person on the face of this planet. It’s facts like this that actually made me a sociologist. My first ever class in sociology was at the University of Toronto. A professor there, by the name of Robert Brym, made a moving lecture which changed the course of my life forever. In a few charts and graphs and a few phrases – he impressed upon me two things: how easy it is to understand some of the world’s biggest problems and how simple it is to fix it…. if we really wanted to.
I also relate to Juan’s point about how we can’t expect our governments to solve all our problems. Politics is a nasty business. Too many politicians promise change but deliver the status quo. Do we simply elect the wrong people? Or is something about the nature of politics that makes it hard for true change to emerge? Don’t get me wrong – if governments could agree to fund the completion of the MDGs, that would be a surefire way to end poverty in our lifetime. It’s just that, change doesn’t come that often in politics. So we need a Plan B – a way to reach that goal through ordinary citizens like you and me.
It would also be nice to have a Plan C – but I have no idea what that would be…
About this Project
This is not a charity, organization, or anything formal. It’s my journey to try and make the world a better place - one meaningful difference at a time. It’s about inspiring others to believe that we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty. Hopefully, this project can also show the big multinational organizations that there is a better way to engage people on the issue of global poverty.
About Me
I'm Shawn - a 29 year old Canadian from Toronto. Before starting this project, I was a graduate student on scholarship at Notre Dame University. My life took a turn after I met Dr. Jeffrey Sachs (author of the book "The End of Poverty") when he came to give a speech at Notre Dame. That speech inspired me to withdraw from grad school, liquidate my savings, and begin this journey to try and make the world a better place - one meaningful difference at a time.
