Tutu, Suu Kyi Praise Unknown Activists

As heads of state from all around world gather at the UN General Assembly in New York today, two of the world’s most famous activists held a talk a few blocks away in mid-town Manhattan to discuss their own struggles against authoritarian regimes.

Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s charismatic anti-Apartheid activists and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician who spent more than 15 years under house arrest, were at the Clinton Global Initiative today to share experiences but also pay homage to unnamed political dissidents and human right defenders whose stories often go untold. 

Aung San Suu Kyi says international exposure and her fame have protected her from violent reprisals, but she remains concerned over the fate her supporter supporters who continue their fight for “dignity and democracy,”

“It takes tremendous courage from unknown soldiers to defend our cause,” she told the New York audience via teleconference from Myanmar. 

“When you stand out in a crowd, it is only because you are carried on the shoulders of others” added Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who of late has been focusing his advocacy work on combatting child marriages. 

The 79 year old Archbishop says he has been reaching out to traditional and religious leaders in affected communities to create dialogue and understanding on the issue. 

Aung San Suu Kyi and Bishop Tutu also discussed their role as spokespersons for their causes, agreeing that one of the most important contributions they can make is to cultivate the international community awareness and continue to support movements for democracy in a climate of freedom from fear.

President Clinton's Wonderful Example

I've gone hot and cold with President Clinton. I loved him when he came into office, supported him throughout the Monica Lewinsky crisis and became upset with him when he left office for not pardoning my friend Webb Hubbell. Although I was disappointed with him for the Monica crisis, I am now amazed at the work he is doing for the world. Like most human beings, he is a mixed bag. Like many of us, his weakness is also his strength. This week, President Clinton's weakness for women of all kinds showed up as his great strength. His Clinton Global Initiative, which took place in New York, focused on the needs of women and a commitment to empower girls around the world.

The best thing about his annual conference is that those attending must make a public commitment as to what they are willing to do for others. It is a commitment of time, money and resources. During the five years of his annual conferences, people and organizations that have attended have committed billions of dollars.

The facts that President Clinton presented are not pretty. "Women perform 66 percent of the world's work and produce 50 percent of the food, yet earn only 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent property," he said. It turns out that when women receive pay, she will reinvest 90 percent back into her family, compared to men who only reinvest 35 percent. This fact became crystal clear to me when I visited the slums of Kenya in 1994 and saw shacks with no running water and no electricity. One large shack, which functioned as the local bar ,was filled with all male drinkers in the middle of the day. The women were washing at the well, and the men were drinking.

For every year of education, residents of the third world increase their earning power by 10 percent. Paul Farmer, a doctor who has built clinics around the world, said that more than one billion people lack safe drinking water, two billion people lack basic sanitation and women represent two-thirds of the world's illiterate.

These facts mean that just a little bit of empowerment can mean a huge difference in people's lives, especially women. Amazing results have occurred with President Clinton's Initiative through small programs which were created by people with an idea and mission. I met many individuals this week who were moved to do something and did not wait for a large organization to send a pitch letter. These people just saw a need and began a small organization to make something happen. The creativity and the business models presented were not charity as much as they were empowerment and sustainability.

All for Africa is a Non-Government Organization, or NGO, that I invested in because they have a business model for investing in the continent. Using a large donated track of land in Ghana, it plants palm trees. It take three years for the plants to produce palm oil, and after the initial investment by a non profit for the planting and care of the trees they produced the equivalent of that investment for the next 25 or 30 years. Their theory is that many mission-minded people can raise the money to build a school or orphanage but do not have the money to sustain it.

There are handicraft cooperatives that train women to make baskets and bead jewelry and then work with stores such as Macy's to sell the work. This allows small groups of women to market and merchandise their work in a broader world market. Shoe4Africa began by sending shoes to Africa so women could begin to run. They organize races and have used their contact with women to promote AIDS education and awareness. Something simple such as Sustainable Health Enterprise provides access to eco-friendly sanitary pads. That reduces pelvic disease and increases school attendance, which increases economic growth. Other programs train nurses and increase the number of women attending college with a major in business. Every one of these programs gives the women a hand up not a hand out, as former President Clinton says. It is a far cry from the foreign aid that many of us grew up with.

The Clinton Initiative is making a huge difference in the lives of women and girls. It proves that our personal difficulties can turn into our greatest assets, and President Clinton is a wonderful example of how that can work. It is a testament to his life and work.

Notes From The Clinton Global Initiative Discussion On Innovation

Former Vice President Al Gore Wednesday cited the absence of political will as a significant roadblock to fighting climate change, noting that while business leaders and citizens are willing to confront the issue, politicians are not.

“We do not have that much time,” Gore said during a discussion held by the Clinton Global Initiative on innovation. “We have to put a price on carbon directly or indirectly.”

Gore, who has attended thirty summits since penning “An Inconvenient Truth,” explained that Americans are currently releasing ninety million tons of carbon into atmosphere without acknowledging the impact.

The Vice President touched upon the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, stating that it was very important for the U.S. to secure a deal, even if it isn’t initially perfect.

Securing this deal will be the responsibility of President Barack Obama, who Gore contends needs to aggressively urge the Senate to unite behind combatting climate change.

Gore warned that if unchecked, climate change will present a growing threat, claiming that food production can be slashed by half in some African countries coupled with decreased soil fertility.

In closing, Gore called upon the international community to embrace sustainable capitalism.

The Vice President was joined by a number of leading environmental experts.

Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank, stressed the importance of spreading businesses that work for a concrete social objective. Yunus mentioned that there is already some progress being made by food companies, but suggested that social businesses should tackle medical problems plaguing countries like the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Jack Ma of the Alibaba Group discussed innovation in China. According to Ma, the future of Chinese industry lies in privately owned countries, such as the smaller “garage companies” started by his organization. 

 The Rockefeller Foundation’s Judith Rodin explained how innovation on a global level is becoming easier to track. According to Rodin, innovation has as systematic set of processes. Some of these processes such as user innovation and crowd thinking can be applied to social situations. Rodin also suggested collaborative competitions where competitors post their solution.

Rodin called for a business environment where companies can take risks and even fail. She also noted that the foundation is slated to launch an impact-investing network.

Notes From Clinton Global Initiative Opening Session On Women

Former President Bill Clinton today kicked off the Clinton Global Initiative Plenary Session on Women. He entered to Also sprach Zarathustra, the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. He started by giving some facts and figures about Sub-Saharan Africa and HIV, saying that getting HIV is like walking along and then suddenly having a concrete block dropped on you. He said these girls and young women are the best ambassadors because even though they have been sexually abused they refuse to live their lives as victims.

Clinton said that women do 66% of world’s work, but they produce 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s property. 40% of the three billion people who work are women and 70% of agricultural labor is performed by women, but women lack independence. He also said that investing in women’s health could increase productivity in Africa by fifteen billion dollars per year.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a commitment to Rwanda and talked about how women have been active there. Bloomberg said he is involved in Southern Sudan and Congo, working with an organization called Women for Women. It is an attempt to get women to contribute to their countries.

President Barack Obama's Ambassador At-Large for Global Women's Issues, Melanne Verveer, said that empowering women combats extremism.

Ambassador Robert Zoellick said that he is trying to help with the Adolescent Girls Initiative, an organization that hopes to work with 3,000 girls and mentor them to make sure that education is connected to a job.

Zainab Salbi talked about wars and children. She said 80% of refugees in the world are women and children. Even after rape these women succeed because they have children. They are the ones who are keeping the children going to school. The only group of people who are keeping a society going are women, and they do not have a seat at the table and they are not being heard.

Rex Tillerson from Exxon Mobil talked about technologies. He said low technologies can impact on a local level. He said they are working on what types of technologies work.

Edna Ismail was the first nurse practitioner in Somalia. She said they do not even need advanced technology. The age that a woman marries and nutrition are important to overall health. Genital cutting information is not reaching the grandmothers and people who have kept this tradition. Senegal has passed a law outlawing this, but a law does not change behavior on a village level.

Diane Sawyer asked what the biggest failure was, and Zainab Salbi asked said it was a challenge. But girls at the age of nine get cows as a dowry. She said you must be able to educate women so that there is incentive for women to be educated so they are more valuable to the family than cows.

There are a million young women in the sex trade. The United States passed one of the first laws to prevent human trafficking. It is hopeful because the business community is getting involved. One cent of every development dollar goes to girls.

Some programs make the payments directly to women, such as incentives to go to school. Must turn incentives so that the legal structure reflects the situation.