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Charles Harding
San Francisco, Afghanistan
Recent Activity
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Charles signed the petition | -
Charles signed the petition | -
Charles commented on the article |Nathaniel,
This is a great post on the connection between us and our computers. We still need to get together. As a dedicated Pecha Kucha fan (the 1 year anniversary of Pecha Kucha Providence is next week http://www.pecha-kucha.org/night/providence/) it will take a bit for me to jump on the ignite wagon.
These sorts of events, mixing the digital with the analogue, have truly transformed our political, business, and non-profit communities in my home city. These monthly gatherings have spurred new ideas, partnerships, ventures, and camaraderie that had been sorely missing. I've wrote about this movement over at DoGoodWell (http://dogoodwell.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/global-phenomenon-local-empowerment/). Lets keep this conversation going. Get more events happening, more minds inspired.
Charlie
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Charles signed the petition | -
Charles signed the petition | -
Charles commented on the article |Nathaniel and Company,
Thank you for a great dialogue on this important subject. This conversation on the topic of social enteprise and for-profit enterprise appears to waver between to issues. First, there is the issue of greater moral integrity. Second, there is an arguement about scalable impact. Staying clear of the dualist conception of the first, I would like to address the issue of scale.
Nathaniel, I too have observed the thriving enthusiasm in undergraduate communities around issues of social justice. However, scalable output and impact from this enthusiasm is limted to a number of bottlenecks: funding, employment opportunities, graduate school opportunities, training etc. Worse, most available outputs are finacially discriminating.
The national conversation on social impact, mainly the new Social Innovation Fund, provides a great platform to address scale for proven ideas. However, we know too well that there is a plethora of undergraduate enthusiasm with too little opportunity to make an intended impact outside the cushions of university walls.
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Charles commented on the article |Its really the N.E. corridor that you're talking about. Don't forget the hopping Providence, RI.
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Charles commented on the article |Nathaniel,
I would give your grading system a C+, you deserve an A
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Charles commented on the article |Nathaniel,
Longitude gave me my first look into the world of development and gave me my first opportunity to go abroad and take aciton. While in some ways Longitude may look like a "life-style" NGO run out of a home office (the office is actually in the dining room), they also represent two other growing themes in social entrepreneurship: effective volunteer engagement and a global reach.
They are in a catagory of non-profits with inspiring leadership at the core. The foudners were so moved by social entrepreneurs abroad that they started this organization. Whats more they have taken this inspiration and found ways to engage hundreds of volunteers with hands on work rebuilding homes with communities, and teaching alongside local teachers.
Whats more they are doing this on a global scale. A couple of networked computers has had students in providence mentoring students in Ghana. Although based in Providence, volunteers travel from around the globe to work with Longitude in RI, Ghana, and India. Furthermore, they have created partnerships with other organizations, primarily Japanese English Teachers (JET) which organizers volunteer trips at least every quarter.
This is truly the concept of global citizenship. When else in history could one family build a global community around the work of two people on seperate ends of the globe? With a constituency of thousands that have either volunteered or given to Longitude, they are undoubtedly building a versatile coalition for social entrepreneurs.
Charlie
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Charles commented on the article |Gaby,
Your last comment is right one. It is public's role to support social entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, as present there are only a small number of recent graduates able to enter this field as entrepreneurs. College graduates with massive debt can hardly afford this luxury, even with some of the most prestigious fellowships. The very few top fellowships in this field only just pay a living wage. While entrepreneurship is all about sacrifice for something larger, sometimes there isn't anything left to sacrifice (especially financially).
Charlie
Impact
8 Actions
0 Recruits
Organizations
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GARDENS FOR HEALTH INTERNATIONAL0 Actions 0 Recruits -
Global Engagement Summit (formerly IYVS)0 Actions 0 Recruits
