Now we have a problem. On January 12th, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the tiny island nation of Haiti. Just a month and a half later, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake ripped through the South American country of Chile. Death tolls in Haiti have now climbed well over 150,000 while Chile has reached at [...]
Can poverty be connected to hope by way of design?
This is a question that we should all be pondering as the world reaches 2010, the recession continues, and reality hits harder than usual. For some, like the 7+ million that live in Bogota, Colombia, misery and barely making ends meet is all they’ve ever [...]
In the early 1960’s, Mayors Ivo Arzua and Jaime Lerner put out a call for urban planning proposals for the rapidly-growing city of Curitiba, Brazil and the rest is history. Yet this history is also what’s now sustaining Curitiba’s present and serving as one of the best examples of sustainable cities in the world. [...]
Music has an uncanny ability to engage our emotions in ways that impact our behavior. Its influence is often subtle and sub-conscious; it can make us happy, excited, anxious, relaxed, somber, and sad, all without us fully realizing it. In fact, we can all probably think of a song whose melody and lyrics have [...]
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Upon my arrival in Bilbao, my quest to find the public library was at the top of my list. Most of us feel anxiety when we are away from our cell phones or computers for an extended period of time – I get nervous when I don’t have access to books. I know that [...]
If you’re born into a favela, you don’t have much to hope for. Crime, violence, and extreme poverty practically abut the posh neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador da Bahia, and other major cities of Brazil. This type of juxtaposition of extreme poverty vs. obscene wealth makes it painstakingly easy for those living in [...]
The Opus Prize Foundation has been recognizing faith-based social entrepreneurs for the last 15 years (originally founded in 1994). Finalists must exhibit “entrepreneurship, transformational leadership, faith lived each day, service to others, and respect for the dignity of the human person. And, most significantly, Opus Prize winners exemplify the adage, ‘Give a person a [...]
Since this is my first official article for SocialEarth, I wanted to set the premise for what I hope most of my writings will feature: community development efforts done with excellence. My hope is to contribute to the discussion on how to effectively impact lives of people who need help through analyzing organizational [...]
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, the Columbian born singer known to millions of adoring fans (me being one of them) as Juanes, is planning another colossal free concert event promoting peace and human rights, this time in Cuba. Juanes put on the first “Paz Sin Fronteras” or “Peace Without Borders” concert in March of 2008. The [...]
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Eion Bailey, founder of ImagineThis TV; a socially good, purposeful and uplifting alternative to TV.
ImagineThis! is simply a television series about challenges and solutions in communities around the globe. The organization partners with local NGOs in countries around the world to bring stories of those underprivileged [...]
Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Melissa Richer, founder of Ayllu, a new organization whose purpose is to “integrate social enterprise into low-income economies.” Ayllu is currently developing a model to enable social enterprises to franchise their models and microcredit banks to extend financial services to the newly franchised micro enterprises.
Melissa’s Background
After graduating [...]
The Prince’s Rainforests Project (PRP) is getting a jump on the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) this December. Prince Charles has enlisted the help of some big names from the corporate world on June 5th, to coincide with World Environment Day to raise awareness about the ongoing deforestation occurring in the world’s rainforests and [...]
Rainforest Alliance is changing lives by changing land-use habits, business procedures, and consumer behavior, conserving biodiversity and ensuring a sustainable livelihood for the people in these industries. Since 1987, Rainforest Alliance has been quietly making a big impact on the planet and the people in it. They have recently seen an increase in demand [...]
