All Too Human?

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By Madeline Kane

In November, Karl Hofmann concluded the 2008 segment of our speaker series, Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century. As the President of Population Services International (PSI), Hofmann spoke on how the organization has pioneered the DALY, which measures the years of human life saved by every PSI intervention. 

We enter a new decade amid growing demand for such strategies for accountability and impact evaluation. Where past lessons of waste, corruption and abuse still cast a shadow on human efforts for greater justice, social entrepreneurs like Hofmann respond to the skeptics with measurable results. 

Even so, one question emerges continuously among our cohort: what happens when our quantitative assessments come in tension with the qualitative services we provide? When is our work all too human to meet the new standards of efficiency and accountability? 

Kate Otto, a Reynolds Scholar alumna and Luce Scholar, recently wrote about her encounter with this issue during her year working in Indonesia with the HIV/AIDS community organization Rumah Cemara.

"I must admit that in my commitment to public health, I too often forget the humanity of my work in an effort to maximize the efficacy of the non-human systems. How can I get 'x' amount of medicines and HIV tests to 'x' locations so that 'x' amount of people in 'x' target population groups can live 'x' years longer or with 'x'% increased quality of life? 

I skipped right into this predicament on Monday morning at Rumah Cemara. 

The deeper I get into work, seeing the real implementation of polished policies, the more I see blatant corruption in every crevice. Just today I accompanied a coworker to the National AIDS Commission Provincial Office to get reimbursements for a November training session for one methadone support group and one waria (transgender) support group. The budget read "Column 1 - Program Participants |Column 2 - Amount (of money) requested | Column 3 - 15% tax |Column 4 -Actual amount disbursed (request - tax)"

"Tax?" I think, befuddled, "Where does this tax go?" I inquire, not wanting to be too critical if it was really just recycled back to the Commission to create more programs. "To Jakarta", she says, and he the roll of her eyes I know that means It's not intended for programs. I am disgusted, that whoever slapped on this "tax" had such audacity to forget that their program is intended to empower disenfranchised populations, to rehabilitate, to heal, to help. 

And I remember again - and thank Allah for the reminder - that I have chosen this work because I want to preserve, and respect and support the sanctity that is being a human."

--Katherine Otto, Dec. 14, 2009.
Blog excerpt from www.citizenkate.ning.com

Out of Thin Air: Visualizing Emissions in Copenhagen

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What's really going on at the UN Climate Change Conference (UN COP15)? Kate Fritz, a 2008 Reynolds scholar is on the ground in Copenhagen, Denmark and blogging to tell the tale. Fritz is part of the Millennium ART Foundation's delegation, which has just unveiled the "CO2 CUBE: Visualize a Tonne of Change" project.

The CUBE is a an art installation designed to help people visualize what one ton of CO2 emissions looks like the atmosphere. The average American emits one ton of carbon per month!

From Fritz's blog:
cube.JPG
"On the plane I sat next to a person who works for the United Nations Development Programme. Lucky me! I can't divulge anything about her, because she told me sensitive information that had come to her through the UN. We talked for a long time about the goal of the negotiations, how the actual negotiating works, and who the major figures are. (Apparently the UN has a cast of characters as rich as a Woody Allen movie.)

Originally, the goal of this conference was to set legally binding emissions reductions targets for every nation in the world, so that a global regulatory scheme would be in place when the first wave of Kyoto agreements expires in 2012. The UN has had a much more difficult time than expected brokering these arrangements, so they have scaled back their goal for COP15, so that the new plan is to secure politically, as opposed to legally, binding agreements at this conference.

This plan is going better than expected. Even as recently as two months ago, things looked much worse for politically binding agreements. But the recent announcements by China of 40% reduction in "carbon intensity" from 2005 levels by 2020, and the United States' announcement of 17% emissions reductions of 2005 levels by 2020, have breathed new life into the talks...

My UN friend says the main things to look out for over the next few weeks: 1. Concrete and individual emissions reductions targets from developed countries. 2. Financing mechanisms for aid to developing countries for technology transfer and adaptation to climate change. In terms of financing, the main battle is between the US' proposal that would give the World Bank exclusive control over financing mechanisms for climate change, and everyone else's proposal to let the UN, along with other major banks and international organizations handle financing. The former plan would quadruple the size of the World Bank! And make it an even stronger regulatory presence in the developing world. Perhaps you can guess my views on this.

So, will Copenhagen fail? It depends on when and how you set your expectations. Clearly the China/US target announcements were a big deal, but they are only negotiating chips on the table in advance of the talks. It remains to be seen what those targets will look like in two weeks. Hu and Obama will both appear, which is huge, but in my opinion mere appearances aren't enough to call the conference a success. The finance discussion is key. Apparently the financing regulator (World Bank v. rest of the world) is completely undetermined. If the US really wants the World Bank to govern climate financing, and they make that a stipulation in their aid agreement, this could be extremely detrimental for the other position. I'll be keeping close watch on this while I am here.

The UN delegates were given detailed security briefings, elements of which my plane buddy shared with me. The UN expects severe civil unrest akin to the 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle. While the Danish government is doing their best to keep the conference contained in one part of the city, demonstrations could happen anywhere, and they are expected to be fierce and unruly. The largest protest is scheduled for next Saturday, and she advised me to stay off the street."

As these events unfold, we'll look to Fritz to tell us how this artistic representation has helped shape the conversation at COP15. Keep following the action and analysis at www.katefritz.blogspot.com.
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The Way of the Dissident

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       Dissent, divergence, dissonance. All common words used to describe something that does not align with the current wisdom, the so called status quo. As we all know, looking back at history, the major changemakers that we revere so much were in a way or other peculiarly extravagant compared to their contemporary establishment. But even with this historical recognition, convergence is still portrayed as the modern ideal of life in all sectors of society, from academia to the military. Free and collateral thought is suppressed and accused of a myriad of epithets, ranging from insanity, immorality, to plain bad taste.

 

       This can be understood as well as expected in conservative niches of society, but it is harmful and dangerous - considering the perspective of change - when it represents the major force of high-level academic institutions or even political leadership. Change is what we desire in order to shatter the diverse forms of oppression so to pursue the achievement of the ideals immortalized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. What we see today - and throughout history, one might say - is a witch hunt for the agents of change, the intellectuals and activists that possess divergent behavior and thoughts.

 

       If we are not ready to embrace the dissident and acknowledge this rather unorthodox person as the voice, hands and spirit of change, we are dooming humanity to sameness. So the challenge is, as always, a question: are we prepared to leave our comfort zone as well as our preconceptions in order to think outside of the box - or at least accept those who do it - for the sake of changing our inner and outer world?   



AMSC - 11/06/2009

The NYU Reynolds Program in Social Entrepreneurship (www.nyu.edu/reynolds) is pleased to continue the 2009-10 "Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century" Speaker Series with Slow Money President and Investor's Circle Founder Woody Tasch. As president of Slow Money, a 501 c 3 formed in 2008, Woody is working to catalyze the flow of investment capital to small food enterprises and to promote new principles of fiduciary responsibility to support sustainable agriculture and the emergence of a restorative economy.

 

The event will take place on November 5 at 5:30pm at the Rudin Family Forum on the 2nd floor of the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street.  All are welcome, but space is limited and an RSVP is required at: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229L2SDHJJ8. 

 

 

Now in its forth year, The Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Speaker Series features a remarkable selection of social entrepreneurs and related leaders who have launched extraordinary programs, companies and movements addressing the most pressing challenges of the 21st century.  Reflecting the NYU Reynolds belief that social entrepreneurship is a meta-profession drawing on cross-disciplinary knowledge and practice, the series presents prominent social entrepreneurs and leaders from across the spectrum of public and professional sectors who will share their insights as cutting-edge, far reaching change makers.

 

Other speakers this year include Honest Tea Founder and TeaEO Seth Goldman, Former U.S. Ambassador and President and CEO of Population Services International Karl Hofmann, and George Foundation Founder Dr. Abraham George. Additional speakers to be scheduled throughout the year.

 

To learn more about the NYU Reynolds Speaker Series, and to access our audio and video library of previous speakers, click here or cut and paste http://www.nyu.edu/reynolds/speaker_series/ into your browser. The audio and video library is also available from the podcast section of iTunes. Search NYU Reynolds Program.

 

To learn more about the NYU Reynolds Program in Social Entrepreneurship, please visit us at http://www.nyu.edu/reynolds.  

 

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Applications are available now for the New York University Reynolds Graduate Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship (www.nyu.edu/reynolds).   Our goal is to attract, train, and encourage the next generation of social entrepreneurs. Each year we offer up to twenty graduate fellowships to a highly selective group of individuals from across all fields of study who posses the vision and passion to implement pattern breaking change to intractable social problems in sustainable and scalable ways.

 

Successful applicants will receive $50,000 in tuition aid and participate in an intensive two-year curricular and co-curricular component to compliment the students' particular courses of study including:   

 

  • Incubator for social venture and non-profit development and launch
  • The NYU Reynolds "Social Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century" Speaker Series
  • Specially designed course in social entrepreneurship
  • One on one and small group social entrepreneurial coaching sessions with leaders in the field
  • Seminars and workshops led by the Reynolds Expert Advisors and alumni
  • Peer review sessions
  • Intensive business plan coaching
  • Summer internships and project-related work
  • Mentorship
  • Networking opportunities with visionary leaders from the public, private and citizen sectors
  • Membership in a community of diverse and extraordinary changemakers

 

This opportunity is open to individuals applying to any full-time two year master's degree program at NYU seeking September 2010 enrollment, or students that are currently enrolled in the schools of Law, Medicine or Dentistry and will have  two years remaining beginning September 2010.  Application deadlines vary by school and run January through February. For more information or to apply, please visit the NYU Reynolds website at http://www.nyu.edu/reynolds.

 


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Technology, Culture, Behavior Change and Health

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Hey everyone:

I'm interested personally and professionally in health promotion and disease prevention, as I said during the retreat and all. My latest thoughts on the issue were spent in trying to figure out how can we effectively generate behavioral changes in a given individual/population, without coercion of any source. 

Today I came around with the notion of Technology as a powerful creator of new niches of culture and behavior. Take Twitter for instance. Or even Youtube; Facebook, cell phones. Even Personal Computers and the Internet! The behaviors people have nowadays, that we can observe anywhere, is linked with those advances. People sending text messages obsessively. Checking their emails every minute; engaging in virtual sex; whatever you can think of. 30-40 years ago this was unconceivable. And now the question is, how can we make use of technology to create new niches of culture and behavior that are favorable to Health?

 

 

 

Police Violence in NYC & How to and Who's Responding

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This post is by Yul-san Liem (am posting Alexandre's email re witnessing police harassment and my response to it together since he said he was having trouble posting to the blog.  His original email is below.)

 

This is my response, which I feel compelled to write, because I have been doing anti-police violence work for a little while now (really since 07), though folks I work with are far more knowledgeable ...  

 

That said, the first thing I will post are a few websites in case folks want more info about police accountability and anti-pv work that's going on in the city these days:

Peoplesjustice.org

 

Thejusticecommittee.org

 

http://mxgm.org/web/ (particularly see the know your rights info and the peoples self-defense campaign under Programs and Initiatives.)

 

http://ccrjustice.org/issues (see the Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration section, esp the Stop and Frisk report.)

 

This list is by no means exhaustive, and doesn't deal with the incarceration side of the coin (with the exception of CCR).  It's just what comes quickly out of by head based on who I work with.

Secondly, as those of us who live in NYC know, what Alexandre witnesses is an upsetting, but not unusual scene.  Young, low-income folks of color are often targeted by the NYPD for very minor crimes (jumping turnstiles, riding bikes on the side walk, even spitting.)  More and more, cops are making arrests rather than giving young folks violations (tickets.)  While its is my understanding that there is no official quota system, cops are assessed for promotion based on the number of arrests they make, among other factors.  As a side note, young folks get handcuffed all the time (recently a 6 year-old was cuffed in a public school for throwing a tantrum.)  Additionally, partially in response of racial profiling, the recent years, the NYPD has made a concerted effort to recruit young people of color into their ranks.  You'll notice very few of the higher-ups are people of color (surprise surprise.)  Cops and anti-pv organizers alike often say that, first and foremost, the race of officers is blue - referring to the training and loyalty that makes cops ally with each other rather than their community members, and often cover up each other's abusive actions.

 

Third:  Some basic things you can do if you witness an instance of police violence:

 

1.   Stop and observe.  It's legal.  It may not deter an unlawful or unjust arrest, but it's possible that it will deter an escalated level of verbal, physical or sexual abuse.  (Of course, it also may not, thinking about Oscar Grant, where there were tons of folks watching.)

2.   If you have a camera on your phone or with you, document.  Police don't like this, but it's legal.  If the police tell you you're obstructing, tell them you will step back, but continue filming. Tell them you are observing your legal right to document police activity.

3.   If the person being targeted appears hurt or distraught, ask them about their condition.  If they feel comfortable talking to you, ask them if they want you to make a phone call for them and get the number.

4.   Write down the badge/car number of the cops involved and any other iding info.

5.   File a CCRB complaint (as Alexandre did.)  The more info you have about the event, the more likely it is that it will stick.  But it's still pretty unlikely (I think I have stats somewhere, if folks want.)

6.   If you actually want to do something more organized, get involved with a local Cop Watch team.  Some orgs. which do Cop Watch include the Justice Committee, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and Make the Road New York, but there are more. (You can get in touch with me for more info.)

 

Finally:  I have lot's of resourses/analysis about the who, what, why, when and where of police violence.  So if folks are interested, let me know.

 

Sorry about the long post. 

 

P.S. Peoples' Justice (a city-wide coalition) recently commissioned Know Your Rights murals in Bushwick and Washington Heights and posted anti-pv billboards in those neighborhoods and Bed-Stuy.  If you're in those neighborhoods, look out for them. 

 

On a Thursday Night... I Failed a 13 Year Old Boy 

 

By Alexandre Carvalho  

 

"First of all, I'd like to say to everyone that I am sorry. Sorry for me being so infuriated and to some extent radical today. Usually I have strong positions, but normally express them in a kind and calm way; always looking to ground them on good arguments and evidence. But my heart was inflamed for something that I saw at the subway, while rushing to be on time for class. Me and two other colleagues were coming back from Peter Singer's lecture about the "Moral Obligation to End Poverty". We escaped in the middle of it so to arrive precisely at the right time for our first class. We were 5 minutes late. When the train stopped at W 4th st., we stormed out of the train and saw this rather strange scene.

 

A thirteen year old African-American was being arrested by this rough Latino policeman' the cause we couldn't figure out why  and everyone just kept starring. I looked around and some were indifferent, some were angry (don't know if towards the police officer or the kid) and many, the majority, didn't hesitate for a second and just went on minding their business. I wanted to stop and do something, but I was simply paralyzed. Not literally, because I kept going towards the exit, but in terms of will and ethical reasoning. To make matters worse, the kid looked 9 and the officer said the following words: "You think that only because you are 13, you won't be handcuffed?" and handcuffs him then in front of everybody, while the kid bursts into tears. "You should be ashamed of yourself!". And by this time, we reach the stairs and lose sight of the story. 

 

But something was terribly wrong in all that, couldn't stop thinking about it. I wanted to go back and stand for the kid, to say to the policeman 'What did he do that is so serious that you need to harass him and humiliate him ' and worse, cause an irreversible damage on his psyche, by handcuffing him? You should be ashamed of yourself. I don't know what he did, but I certainly know that this is unnecessary. He might have failed to abide by the law, but we as a society have failed HIM too.' 

 

And by this time, I arrived to class. But even though John's a great professor (could notice it already!), GHPM a great subject to study, and even though I read all the articles and was ready to contribute a lot, I simply couldn't stop thinking on how wrong was I in not standing out for him against the police officer. 

 

And then I had to leave class to think this through. And so I did. The first thoughts that crossed my mind were an attempt to identify the reasons that made me such an indifferent person. Ha. I was afraid. Afraid to get into trouble with the NYPD and lose my F-1 Status, and thus my dream to acquire a MPH in NYC/NYU. Were I willing to risk my skin in order to do what is right? Apparently not. And this realization stung me. I felt terrible. So, all this education that I have, all the Foucault's, all the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, means nothing, because I can't make the connection of all that towards a clearly absurd situation. Of course the law would be on my side. But I was weak and not fast enough. 

 

I had to redeem myself somehow. I ran back to the subway station. When I reached the platform where the incident happened, the police and the kid weren't there. They took him. The subway surveillance office, where I went to ask for help, didn't know anything about it. So I went up the stairs and started to go back to Bobst' and got completely lost in the way. Know the region well enough by now, but for 20 minutes I kept going back and fourth in the streets without knowing the right way. Maybe me losing myself completely was an expression of how I was inside. Lost. With no directions." 

 

P.S.: I placed a complaint in 311 and they will investigate, and try to set up a personal appointment; will it work? Don't know. Have to hope for the best. 

 

Defining Social Entrepreneurship

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By Keren G. Raz, 2008 Fellow, NYU Law

There's a discussion taking place on the following website about how to define social entrepreneurship: http://whiteafrican.com/2009/09/01/social-entrepreneurs-and-socap-09/comment-page-1/#comment-154490

Yul-San Liem, a 2009 fellow, found a very interesting article that also included a definition of social entrepreneurship that I like...and it's also concrete enough to make sense to those who do not like buzz words or abstract vocabulary.

The definition is: Social entrepreneurship is the use of business to achieve social gain, as well as financial gain.

Here's the link to the article: http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=31448

A Response to Kate

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by Alexandre Carvalho

 

Kate! Reynolds!

It was great to hear from you, to know a little more about your story, and observe that you too are a passionate one. It's through passion that one can measure the size of the human spirit, not through grades or Gross Domestic Product. But this is another discussion! I wish you good luck in Indonesia, a place where HIV is hitting hard. Please send me info about what you're doing. I'd like to follow.

Attached in this, is the Pew report. The Kaiser family and the Pew foundation made this report on the views of people worldwide concerning health issues. HIV, TB, Malaria, Healthcare costs and difficulties to afford them, it's all there. Also, they make some interesting comparisons and draw some curious conclusions that maybe worth to take a peep. Some back that interesting historical perspective Joshua pointed out; some show that we still have a lot to do until avoidable deaths (tragedies, in my view) could be completely stopped from happening. A huge report, I know, but if you read the first pages, it sums it all! The rest is just methodology and the actual responses people in each country gave.

Free Health care in a profit-oriented economy is a great challenge. Some countries that have experience on this - Brazil, yeah! - still have miles and miles to go. The public health system in Rio de Janeiro, for instance, has an "endemic" infra-structure problem. We lack meds, we lack exams, we even lack doctors and nurses. But is it because it's free? Is it because we have no market forces to drive it forward? No competition? Or is it corruption, bad political decisions, a passive culture that yelds too much? Etc etc etc...?

The Scandinavian countries, that have free health care systems, have a MUCH BETTER AND WORKING SYSTEM. It's not perfect, but no system is. Looking at their example, we observe that it goes beyond mere economics.





By Nathan Maton 


Nate Loewentheil

NYU GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

I recently interviewed Nathaniel Loewentheil (NL, pictured left) about the Roosevelt Institute, a student run policy organization he founded that now has over 7,000 students on 70 campuses. I think it represents a unique kind of social entrepreneurship, a type of which we have not heard much about in the NYU Reynolds Program-policy entrepreneurship. The Roosevelt Institute started as a national student-run think tank to inject young people's voices into the national policy debate and brought it to DC, where they have earned a place at the table on many progressive issues. I hope you enjoy the interview.

 

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