Ashoka Fellow Abdelfattah Abusrour: Open letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. The President of the United States of America, Mr. Barak Obama

I would like to congratulate you on this victory, a victory that is not only yours, as you have said in your speech, but a victory also for those people who believed in you, and who are full of hope in the change you promote and the wish that this change comes through you and your efforts to lead your country and the world for a legacy and a heritage that is meaningful and plant hope in a time of despair.

I was fortunate and blessed in my life. I had a scholarship to continue my studies in France where I stayed 9 years. I returned with a PhD to my occupied country because I believed that I can make a change and that I am a change maker in breaking cultural stereotypes and show another image of my people and their beauty and humanity through Beautiful Non-Violent Resistance against the ugliness of Israeli occupation and its violence.  This was my way in creating Alrowwad center with a group of friends, to allow our children to use theatre and arts for social change and non-violent means of self-expression to keep them alive, instead of being a number on a list of martyrs, or handicapped for the rest of their lives, or perish in prison.

I believe that everybody is a change maker, and nobody has the right to say “I can’t do anything?” or stay neutral in a time where injustice is committed every day. I believe, like Martin Luther King, that travel breaks cultural stereotypes, and if people have the opportunity to meet with each other as human beings, they will have no reason to go in war against each other. I believe in change, exactly like you Mr. the President and hope that change will come with all the efforts we are doing. And because of this, I was rewarded as the first Ashoka Fellow – Social Entrepreneur in Palestine.

When I first visited the United States, in 2004, the immigration asked me about my name, date of birth, place of birth…etc. Because there is no Palestine on the computer as a country, I was Jordanian – because I was born in 1963 in Bethlehem; My father was Israeli, because he was born in 1910 in his village of Beit Nateef under the Ottoman Empire (Even though it was called Palestine at that time) because this village was occupied and destroyed in 1948 and became part of Israel actually, which was created in 1948. What would be the feeling of anyone who only exists as a “terrorist” but not as a “human being”.

I believe in all the human values and human rights. I believe in Freedom, Justice, Peace, Democracy and equality. You mentioned also Opportunity. I believe that occupied people have the right to defend their country against the occupation, in a time where the occupied victim is represented as the oppressor and the terrorist, and the occupier as the victim who defends himself. I believe that people who fight for justice and against oppression are heroes, like you Mr. the President. I believe that you are a role model, and you will affect generations to come.

My name is Abdelfattah Abusrour. I was born in Aida Refugee camp, on a rented land for 99 years by UNRWA from Palestinian owners of Bethlehem. My family originates from Beit Nateef, one of 534 destroyed Palestinian villages in 1948 by the Zionist bandits.

I grew up in Aida refugee camp, as a refugee in my own country. When I was 4 years old, I remember the 1967 war. I remember the sky full of planes, and all of the young children covered by black blankets, and cherished by their mothers.

I remember the field around the camp, where we used to play, to perform our theatre plays in the open fields. I remember the big holes in the ground, when they were filled with water, they were our swimming pools.

A segregation fence was built in 2002 which was transformed into an apartheid 30 feet wall in 2005, encircling the camp from the East, the North and part of the West.

Mr. the President

Like you, I was fed the love of my “occupied” country, because it is mine. Like you, I remember my past and present, and remember the rusty keys of my parents  houses in Beit Nateef, keys for doors that exist no more, but keys that have their doors in our hearts and our imagination… These rusty keys are still with me. I remember that we were brought up with this eternal belief that the right is the right, and nothing can justify ignoring it. I remember that our right of return to our original villages and homes is eternal, and nothing can change it, neither realities on the ground nor political agreements, because it is a right which is also granted in international law and UN resolution.

Mr. the President

Day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, we were living in lies… and broken promises of change… and when change comes; it is to the worse and not to the better. Nothing improves with all the negotiations Mr. the President? No promise of independence for Palestinian was fulfilled, even after 60 years.

I am full believer in peace and non-violence. I am a full believer in hope and right and justice. I am a full believer in the values that make of the humanity what it is. I never hated any one. My parents were full of love and peace. They never taught me or my brothers anything other than respect of others and endless love to give and help the others. They taught us that when you practice violence you lose part of your humanity. But in the same time, they taught us to defend what is right and to stand against what is unjust and wrong.  Therefore, Mr. the President, I do dare to say that you have great challenges facing you, and you are fully aware of that. But what remain after all is what you have said, the values you defend, and the heritage you want to leave to your two daughters and the generations to come. I do fear the day when my 3 sons and 2 daughters, or any child in my occupied country or in any other country comes to me tomorrow or in 10 or 20 years a head and ask: “What did you do to make a change in this world?” This is why I continue to work to make a positive change and work for a better tomorrow in a time where every day that comes is worse than the day that goes. This is why I continue, to be able to respond and say I did something to make a change.

Mr. the President

I don’t know if you will read these words or not… but I do hope that such words coming from the heart, reach your heart, and you can find the hope and strength our peoples still have in them. I do hope that you will fulfill your promise of change, that your daughters will remain proud of their father and his miraculous achievements. I do hope that you daughters and mine and all the future generations will be the change makers of the present to create a better future with the heritage that we are leaving to them. Right is right, and justice is justice. All people are equal, and no race or color is superior above the others.

Dear Mr. the President

I wish you strength and power to carry on the big burden you inherited from the previous government and the courage to keep hope and force to go through the change you want to make, and the power to keep inspiring people that it is never too late for a change to come.

Hope is a live as long as we are the change we want to see. And my hope is that our children can enjoy a peaceful, safe, clean and just world. My sons Canan (9 years) Adam (7 years) Ahmad (5 years), and my daughters Rafa (3 years) and Safa (4 months), my wife and I wish you the best in bringing to the world the change we need.

إطلاق حملة ‘لا للقمامة’

أصبحت مشكلة القمامة الأن تمثل جدلا كبيرا في المجتمع المصري، حيث تتفاقم يوم بعد يوم وذلك بعد تغيير الحكومة نظام جمع القمامة. حيث كانت من قبل تجمع عن طريق الزبالين وتنقل إلي حي الزبالين بمنشية ناصر ويتم فرزها، ثم يقوم الزبالين ببيع النفايات الصلبة للتجار الصناعيين ويستخدمون النفايات العضوية علفاً للحيوانات. وكانوا ينقلونها علي عربات تجرها الحمير (تُسمى كرو). الا ان الحكومة منعت ذلك لضرورات سياحية، وقرّرت تنظيم هذا العمل بتوكيل هذا العمل والتعاقد مع شركات أجنبية متخصصة وتحصيل نفقة هذة الخدمة من المواطنين من خلال إضافتها علي فاتورة الكهرباء.

في بداية الأمر، أخذت الشركات الأجنبية مكان الزبالين ورفضت التعامل معهم،  إلا ان خدمة الشركات لم تعجب سكان القاهرة، العمال ليسوا متخصصين، ليس هناك انتظام في العمل بسبب قساوة الظروف. بالاضافة الى  ان الزبالين كانوا قد بنوا علاقة ثقة مع القاهريين، يفتقدونها اليوم مع الشركات. الزبّال كان “يسامح” الذي لم يدفع، يجلب الزبالة من أمام البيت كل يوم، يُعيد الأغراض الثمينة الى أصحابها التي ممكن ان تقع بين يديه أثناء عملية الفرز. أما عمال الشركات، فغير مسؤولين أمام السكان.

ثم تواجة الحكومة الأن مشاكل مع احد الشركات الاجنبية وذلك نتيجة الإضراب الذي تقوم به الشركة نتيجة الخصومات التي توقعها هيئة النظافة والتجميل، بصفة يومية، على الشركة دون وجه حق، بحجة القصور في العمل. حيث أن هيئة النظافة تمتنع عن دفع مستحقات الشركة وتطالبها بالقيام بأعمال النظافة على ثلاث ورديات. مما  تسبب في إضراب العاملين في شركة النظافة عن العمل انتشار غرق القاهرة في  جبال القمامة في الشوارع.

المشكلة الأن لا تحتمل الإنتظار حتي تقوم الحكومة وحدها بحل المشكلة، إنما تحتاج تعبئة الجهود من أجل حل هذة المشكلة. ومن هذا المنطلق قامت جمعية العاملين السابقين بالأمم المتحدة برئاسة السفيرة مرفت التلاوي  بأخذ المبادرة من خلال إطلاق حملة “لا للقمامة” التي تهدف إلي إدارة المخلفات الصلبة وذلك عن طريق تعبئة الجهود لتشمل المنظمات غير الحكومية، القطاع الخاص، الإعلام، القوات المسلحة، أجهزة الشرطة، الشباب والسيدات بالإضافة إلي هيئات الأمم المتحدة. وذلك من أجل الوقوف جنبا إلي جنب لأخذ موقف جماعي إيجابي  للقضاء علي هذة المشكلة. لقد تم إطلاق المبادرة في رمضان ودعوة كل الأفراد من أجل التضامن لرفض الوضع الحالي والوصول إلي صناع القرار.

Fellows Speak Out: Raghda Boutros’s New Initiative

Our Fellows represent some of the region’s most innovative social innovators – Arabs that are experts in their fields, and have committed their lives to bringing about positive social change. Our ‘ Fellows Speak Out’ series on this blog will present a platform for  these leading social entrepreneurs to share their views, to spread their message and to describe their daily work to create lasting impact in the Arab world.

This post comes from Raghda Boutros, a social innovator from Jordan who is working to reframe the policies and strategies of development work in Jordan and the Levant to be more responsive to real needs while providing a more cost effective, reliable and systemic structural change. She is introducing a comprehensive collaborative model whereby the private sector and the poor communities can interact and learn from each other. Raghda is promoting a comprehensive, participatory approach to development through her  initiative Hamzet Wasel. .

As active citizens, we are both entitled to and responsible for the preservation, development and sustainable growth of our cities, and the only way I believe we can achieve this is by genuinely engaging with each other and building authentic relationships, so that together we can find creative ways to tackle complex challenges and explore unique opportunities. This is the essence of Hamzet Wasel, an initiative I formed, along with several other citizens of Amman from all walks of life, and one which has quickly begun to gain momentum.

Hamzet Wasel stems from a passion for venturing into communities to meet people, interact and discuss new ideas and the simple realities of everyday life. The discovery of a new place, the stories that lie undiscovered in its alleyways and homes, the very existence of worlds within worlds and truths beyond stereotype, coupled with a deep desire to create change, is what takes me time and time again into Amman’s oldest and less-trodden neighborhoods.

The latest adventure takes place in Jabal Al-Qala’a, where human settlement dates back 7500 years and where excavations have revealed numerous Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic remains. Jordanian and tourists alike come to Jabal Al-Qal’a to visit the Islamic Ummayad Castle, the Byzantine basilica and the remains of the Great Temple of Hercules.

I have often visited the area to do the same, and to enjoy Jabal Al-Qala’a’s serenity and the spectacular view of Amman from the top of the highest hill in old part of the city, but this time, I was there for a different reason. Nestled behind the famous site, is one of Amman’s oldest neighborhoods and among its most intriguing. Given the area’s history, it’s no wonder that this is where Amman’s modern urban settlers, Circassians, Syrians, Jordanians and Palestinians among others, chose to make their beautiful stone homes, some of which still standing today. I can only imagine what life was like in Jabal Al-Qala’a in the first half of the 20^th Century. Fancy cars and donkey-drawn vegetable carriages leisurely moving along while children flew kites and people in their varying headdresses, each according to their culture and heritage, went about their business, reminding me of why my friend and renowned urban heritage expert Dr. Rami Daher calls Amman “the city of many hats”.

Overlooked by the Citadel from above, its main street overlooking the Roman Theater, and only a downward stairway away from the “Balad”, Amman’s thriving downtown; Jabal Al-Qalaa has long enjoyed fabulous open views and easy access, contributing to its residents’ entrepreneurial, progressive and welcoming nature. Even today, and despite the fact that the neighborhood has gone through several setbacks, with people moving out, government policies negatively affecting people’s livelihoods and time taking its toll on its homes and streets, Jabal Al-Qala’a is still a place of beauty and hospitality.

I was attracted to Jabal A-Qala’a’s diversity, the fact it is a truly urban community formed by choice, not by happenstance; the way it still resembles the Amman of my childhood, with children playing safely in the streets and close-knit neighbors sharing joys and sorrows, but also because of the threat, sometimes subtle, sometimes manifest, that hangs over the neighborhood and could lead to its eventual demise. The threat comes from tourism plans, from “development” projects, from neglect and from the insularity that keeps most “Ammanis” from taking much of an interest in the place.

It was easy to meet and get to know the people of Jabal Al-Qala’a, to make friends with the kids and to apply the lessons I had learnt from the experiences of others and from my own in other communities. Instead of asking “what are your issues and problems?” and “what can we do for you?” as is the trend in development work, I kept asking “what’s great about your community?” and “what can you teach others?”

This led to the very first activity that Hamzet Wasel organized in Jabal Al-Qala’a where kids from the community taught a group of adults and children from elsewhere in Amman to make and fly kites. That and subsequent similar experiences have proven to be incredible for building trust, changing stereotypes and helping to alter the view that people from marginalized communities are “beneficiaries”, rather equal partners and “benefactors” in their own right. They also allows members of the community to share their abundant love and pride in their community with others.

These initial experiences have paved the way for continued work in Jabal Al-Qala’a where Hamzet Wasel is now developing a community-led effort, in partnership with volunteer businesspeople, heritage architects and activists from all over Amman, to revitalize the area and benefit from increased tourism and a regained interest by the people of city in the area. This is alongside efforts to bring the attention of government entities to the service-related needs that exist in the area, which they have already begun to respond to.

Along the way, there has been resistance from several sources. Those with vested interest in changing the face of the neighborhood, government entities not wanting anyone to rock the boat with regards to their plans for the area, others wondering what made us take interest in this particular neighborhood. Strangely enough, however, there has been little suspicion of our motives from within the community. There also has been no shortage of people wanting to become involved and give their time. I believe that the former is owing, in part, to the make-up of this particular community, but that both these facts are an indication that the people of Amman are eager to come together and reach beyond the radius of their comfort zones to meet, connect and work together for their city.

There is an awakening in Amman as to the importance of our roles as citizens and as people who love and appreciate our city, and I’m excited as to what new and wonderful forms this awakening will take. For my part, I’m very much enjoying the Jabal Al-Qalaa experience, while also looking forward to my next adventure in a new community.

Social Entrepreneurship and Private Equity: Should it always sound like an oxymoron?

By Nayim Khemais – Ashoka Arab World ASN Member.

I joined Ashoka Arab World as a support network member in March 2009, for I was thirsty to make a difference in a region known for the daunting challenges it is facing. The private equity field – that I work in – would not obviously be the first place to look at to learn transferable social practices. As you may know, this part of the financial sector is more publicly known for its unethical greed by means of notorious tactics such as stripping companies’ assets and laying off employees. Nevertheless, underneath the often superfluous contrast between these two worlds, “the nice vs. the nasty”, which may be just the tip of the iceberg, there is a connecting fine line between private equity and social entrepreneurship, a link that could unlock an untapped and powerful potential for the region.

In order for me to expound on the similarities between the two sectors, I should first introduce the world of private equity. Private equity has many definitions, from the most esoteric to the simplest one. I will define private equity in broad terms, as seeing in any asset an opportunity where others see a challenge. Most of the time, the asset is a family-owned unlisted company that you buy, grow – by bolstering sales and improving operational performance for instance – and then resell for a profit. As a seasoned investment professional, you are supposed to look at a company from an angle that others don’t see and substantiate that view with judgment and facts. Buying a company, private equity firms generally seek to partner with smart and motivated management teams to migrate the company to a completely new dimension, a dimension that will attract more buyers because of the compelling success you have instilled into the company. Due to the fact that private equity is about changing and empowering organizations with the best available resources, the most successful private equity investment tends to realize, more than any other form of investment, the importance of emphasizing vision, creativity, and ethical leadership as key success factors of a lasting and positive change for a company and its stakeholders. By now then, you may start to see the similarities between private equity and social entrepreneurship. What private equity aims to do for the corporate sector is akin to what social entrepreneurship endeavors to bring to citizens and society as a whole.

My interest in social entrepreneurship and private equity has reinforced each other strongly over the past few months. When I started learning about social entrepreneurship – reading an inspiring article by Bill Drayton in the Stanford Social Innovation Review – I still didn’t know much about private equity. Oddly enough, when I set out to work in private equity, I quickly became convinced that there would be no chance whatsoever to escape from the dollar profit obsession and that it was inevitable to turn into a “nasty coldhearted dealmaker”. However, reflecting back on these two experiences, I figured out that I started subconsciously shaping a new personal understanding of these two fields. Particularly, I started to think deeply about social entrepreneurship from a practical, “bottom line”-oriented point of view and how my current experience could be of any benefit. And yes, there are benefits, because to me social entrepreneurship is about utilizing business skills to leverage social impact. The process of going from business to social value was not obvious to me, nor was it systematic and rigorous. The Arab region is facing a number of pressing societal issues; this puts a premium on applying the appropriate problem-solving tools and approaches to fruitfully solve these complex social problems. These social problems are only the symptoms of the real issues, though. Dealing with the whole iceberg problem, and not just its appearing tip, implies taking the courage to change mindsets and behaviors towards the identified new social standards, be they in women rights or education or any other area of social concern. Similarly, oftentimes in private equity deals, management incentives plans are put in place – the underwater part of the iceberg to take the same analogy – to enable the smooth and successful transformation of a business. These core incentives carry oftentimes more weight than the most apparent issue of driving a company’s day-to-day operations – the tip of the iceberg.

Many of the solutions to some of the long-standing issues the Arab region is grappling with can be imagined through a private equity, or social entrepreneurial, lens – by capitalizing on leading social entrepreneurs and supporting their efforts to scale their “social business model” up. The private equity approach can teach social entrepreneurs to create a roadmap to capture the best change – exploiting opportunities and thickening the “skin” of their enterprises for social profit to weather the roadblocks impeding their full potential.

The private equity analogy can help social leaders think in new ways about creating a plan to get there in the most efficient and traceable way. If private equity firms in the region realize the importance of bolting a far-reaching social goal to their profit-maximizing goals, they could easily double the impact they are making. As Ronald Cohen, co-founder of Apax Partners, a prestigious UK private equity firm, and one of the most iconic figures of this industry, recently said in Private Equity News: “I think the private equity industry has the skills and the resources to turn social entrepreneurship into mainstream activity and social investment into an asset.” These two fields have much in common and are here to help the rare breed of visionary individuals, those passionate social and business entrepreneurs, lead more and better and leave their mark on society for the benefit of all.

تبرع لأشوكا الوطن العربي في شهر رمضان المعظم

إذا كنت تريد أن تحسن حياة أطفال الشوارع، ذوي الإحتياجات الخاصة والمرأة وتؤثر علي الحقوق المدنية والبيئية، التعليم، والصحة تبرع لأشوكا

إذا كنت تريد يكون تبرعك ذو فائدة كبيرة ومستمرة، تبرع لأشوكا

تضمن لك أشوكا ذلك من خلال زملاء أشوكا الوطن العربي

لأن زملاء أشوكا هم الرواد في مجال العمل الإجتماعي ويمتلكون الحلول المبدعة والعملية للمشاكل الإجتماعية الملحة حيث يبلغ عدد زملاء أشوكا الآن في الوطن العربي 48 زميل وزميلة

تبرعك لأشوكا سوف يضمن فاعلية إستثماره وإستخدامه، حيث تقوم أشوكا بتقديم الدعم الفني والمساندة والمتابعة ومراقبة الجودة لزملاء أشوكا من أجل تحقيق أكبر أثر إجتماعي ممكن من التبرعات المتاحة

مع العلم أن أشوكا الوطن العربي لا تقبل أي تمويل من الحكومات، شركات الخمور أو شركات التبغ

تبرعك لأشوكا في رمضان سوف يساعد:

سهام إبراهيم: تتمثل فكرة سهام ابراهيم في تغيير المنهج المتبع في معالجة مشكلة أطفال الشوارع من قبل كافة الجهات و الأطراف المهتمة بالقضية و التى تعمل منذ أوائل التسعينيات على تحسين الظروف المعيشية لأطفال الشوارع دون تبني منهج متكامل و مستدام لمعالجة المشكلة من جذورها الأساسية.

تامر بهاء: يقوم تامر بهاء بارشاد الصم للمطالبة بحقوقهم كمواطنين و القضاء على الانماط الفكرية المعتادة و التى تشكك فى قدراتهم.

مها هلالى : تعمل مها هلالى على دمج ذوى التوحد فى المجتمع بناء على احتياجتهم و قدراتهم ومدى اصابتهم بالتوحد وذلك لرفع كفائتهم ليكون لهم القدرة على اختيار نمط الحياة المناسب لهم.

مروة الدالي: تقوم مروة الدالي باحياء و تحديث ما اصطلح على تسميته مسبقا ب ” الوقف الإسلامي” و ذلك من أجل تفعيل العطاء الاجتماعي في مصر مستفيدة بالخبرات و التجارب السابقة و ذلك بهدف الحد من الاعتماد المتزايد على التمويل الاجنبي و بالتالي ضمان استدامة المبادرات التنموية المحلية.

سامي جميل: سامى يعمل على دمج و تمكين الصم اولا عبر تغيير مفاهيم المجتمع السلبية و اثبات انهم قادرين على المنافسة فى سوق تكنولوجيا المعلومات و ثانيا بدعم الصم بالادوات التى تمكنهم من تحسين اداؤهم الوظيفى ورفع ثقتهم بإمكانياتهم

تنديار سمير: بدأت تنديار سمير تطبيق فكرتها في صعيد مصر و المتمثلة في العمل على تحسين مهنة التمريض في مصر بهدف توفير و تحسين الرعاية الصحية بالاضافة الى خلق فرص عمل جديدة في هذا المجال.

وائل حميدان: يعمل وائل على تغيير النظرة السائدة في المجتمع اللبناني التي تقيس النجاح بمقدار الثروة والسلطة ليجعلها تعتمد علي مساهمة الفرد في المجتمع، حيث يدعم وائل المبدعون الاجتماعيون أو “النشطاء المستقلون” الشباب في مشاريعهم ويشجعهم على خلق حلول جديدة للمشاكل الاجتماعية، والبيئية والتنموية الحالية.

سامح سيف: تتمثل فكرة سامح غالي في تقديم أنظمة صرف في القرى المصرية ذات تكلفة أقل و باسلوب المشاركة وتتماشى مع احتياجات المجتمع و ذلك بهدف الحفاظ على البيئة و الصحة العامة.

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عصام غنيم :فكرة عصام تعتمد على تقديم برنامج غذائى مكثف لتطبيقه فى المدارس الابتدائية و الحضانات لتحسين مستوى صحة الاطفال و رفع ادائهم الدراسى مع تأهيل اخصائيون التغذية المدربين على تنفيذ البرنامج

علا أبو الغيب: تهدف علا الى تمكين المرأة الفلسطينية من ذوى الاحتياجات الخاصة و خلق بيئة تمنكهم من الاندماج الكامل في المجتمع من خلال تمتعهم بالمساواة و المشاركة الكاملة وذلك من خلال زيادة الوعى و التعبئة المحلية و الاقليمية عن الحقوق المدنية للمرأة ذات الاحتياجات الخاصة بالاضافة الى توفير الخدمات لها. و تنفذ علا الفكرة من خلال جمعيتها الأهلية و التى يديرها بصورة أساسية نساء من ذوى الاحتياجات الخاصة.

للتبرع علي حساب أشوكا

البنك التجاري الدولي حساب رقم 1090002500

أشوكا الوطن العربي

93 شارع عبد العزيز أل سعود، المنيل – القاهرة

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Ashoka’s Million Dollar Challenge!

Google is one of the most innovative for-profit organizations in the world. Ashoka supports the most innovative social entrepreneurs to create social profit. Given these parallels in commitment to innovation, dramatic change and relentless inspiration, the decision of Google co-founders Anne Wojciki and Sergey Brin to invest 1,000,000 USD in Ashoka makes sense.

Only two years ago, Sergey Brin admitted that his philantropic investments would be picked with the utmost due diligence. “I take the philosophical view that, aside from some modest stuff now, I am waiting to do the bulk of my philanthropy later, maybe in a few years, when I feel I’m more educated,” he says. “I don’t think it’s something I have had time to become an expert at.”

Now, Ashoka is challenging others to join these social change leaders and match their donation; inspiring a global movement of social innovation to take force right now.

For more information on how to join this challenge; click here.

Daily News Egypt publishes article on Social Entrepreneurship

” The social entrepreneurial sector holds the key to reform and sustainability long after the oil wells run dry. “

In a commentary that appeared in the Daily News Egypt yesterday, Iman Bibars, Regional Director of Ashoka Arab World and VP of Ashoka Global, argues that in times of financial hardship investing in social entrepreneurs makes more sense than ever.

What do you think? Do you agree?
We’re waiting for your comments.

Fellows Speak Out: Influencing International Agreement & the Case of Current Climate Negotiations

Our Fellows represent some of the region’s most innovative social innovators – Arabs that are experts in their fields, and have committed their lives to bringing about positive social change. Our ‘ Fellows Speak Out’ series on this blog will present a platform for  these leading social entrepreneurs to share their views, to spread their message and to describe their daily work to create lasting impact in the Arab world.

The first post comes from Wael Hmaidan, a social innovator from Lebanon who is promoting youth activism by identifying ‘local heroes’. Based on his own experience as a climate activist for Greenpeace, Wael is now working to spread social activism amongst young people in the Arab world through his ‘league of  independent activists’; IndyACT.

Ashoka Fellow Wael Hmaidan

What would cause any individual to leave everything at the drop of the hat, and live for two weeks with little food and even less sleep, and without any pay during the UN climate negotiations? It is the same reason why IndyACT exists: passion to save the planet. We first and foremost are activists working for a better future for us and generations to come.

People think we enjoy our work (which we do, though sometimes we wish we had a different job) and some believe we might be paid well for it (in fact most of us are not paid, let alone paid well). But we at IndyACT do know one thing: if we do not reach a strong agreement on climate change in the Copenhagen UN summit at the end of the year, life on earth will be threatened.

A typical day in the life of a climate activist is not a normal day by anybody’s definition (maybe only normal to the climate activists themselves). Take the Climate negotiations sessions for example; up by 6am to finish up yesterday’s work, 7am is breakfast time (or better known as the only meal of the day), 8am is when the meetings start. You spend the day lobbying, lecturing, intervening, organizing events, meeting delegations, publishing reports, etc. By 11pm, those of us who aren’t on editing shifts to produce the daily NGO newsletter at the negotiations head to the hotel to work and prepare for the next day, we are lucky when we are in bed by 2am.

Being a change maker working on climate policy negotiation is not an easy job to do. You have to be at the top of your game 24/7, reading and following on any climate change related research, discussion, or policy position every day of the year. You also have to be an expert on foreign and domestic policy of each country, their economies, political issues, social behavior, etc. in order to know how to talk to delegates, how to influence countries to change their policies, and how to get the NGO community to stay united at all times. You have to understand that while you are doing all these enormous tasks, you are considered a hero if you are able to change one sentence in the whole negotiation text.

By Wael Hmaidan – IndyACT (www.indyact.org)