Right! But if you…

…talk about teaching people to fish and it’ll feed them forever, you’ve read way to many Paul Coelho books.

…develop a participatory action plan to increase people’s fish acquisition capability, you’re a junior development expert [...]]]> Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed  him for a day.

Fish (by mahalie stackpole, via flickr)

Right! But if you…

…talk about teaching people to fish and it’ll feed them forever, you’ve read way to many Paul Coelho books.

…develop a participatory action plan to increase people’s fish acquisition capability, you’re a junior development expert in the headquarter’s planning department.

…develop a participatory action plan to increase people’s fish acquisition capability (in response to the Paris Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the Bali Action Plan contained in the Bali Roadmap*), you’re a senior development expert in the headquarter’s planning department.

…figure out that you don’t know shit about fishing, you’re a development consultant arriving on it’s first field mission.

…develop a strategy for strengthening the inclusion of local fishermen in global food production and consumption value chains, you’re a BoP 2.0 consultant.

…claim that white men is in no position to tell black men if, where and how to fish, you’re a neo-colonialism-development critic.

…proclaim that a “right to fish” should be included in international declarations and national constitutions to guarantee adequate provision of fish for everyone, you’ve probably never tried to get a fishing permit (much less, fish), from an average Indian bureaucrat.

…post an image of an “epic” or “awesome” fish on facebook you’ve just dragged out of the some river in Austin during SXSW, you’re probably a member of sandbox.

…make! and share! “FISH 2012″ video to make FISH famous! you’re a social media changemaker.

…post a hand-shake photo with Yunus holding a fishing rod and be convinced that the most important thing is that there is no profit allowed from teaching someone how to fish, you’re a social business evangelist.

…let go of you inner assumptions and listen to your real self before fishing, you’re a systems-thinking life-coaching developmentalist.

…only teach people to fish that you’ve selected on a random basis to see if if fishing really helps them to feed themselves in statistically significant way, you’re a development economist living in Boston.

…give a man and / or woman a fish, and consider the gender-related impacts of teaching people how to fish, you’re a gender-conscious-gender-mainstreaming development experts.

…important to listen to people’s fish eating stories and summarise them on neon-coloured post-its, you’re a design thinking expert.

* yes, the do exist. No I didn’t need to look them up

While it started with a video, the real phenomenon is the storm that followed – criticism, advice, comment, background, debate. While [...]]]> From NGO experiment to global media phenomenon to shit-storm and back? The Kony 2012 campaign is already a remarkable – the most remarkable? – social media and social change phenomenon in 2012.

While it started with a video, the real phenomenon is the storm that followed – criticism, advice, comment, background, debate. While I find the debate highly interesting and valuable, it’s easy to get lost.

So, here a 10-step-guide to what happened in the first 2 days of the Kony debate:

0 – the work behind

It all actually started years back – with the (rather small) NGO called Invisible Children working on projects, including such hands-on and local based as the LRA Crisis Tracker.

1 – the video

Then came THE VIDEO – the video that was supposed to get 500,000 hits in 2012, but got 50 million in two days:

2 – the Visible Children response

Success breeds critique – here’s one of the first, written by an independent blogger, published on the ad-hoc blog http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

3 – a controversial pic

Whatever you do as an NGO – don’t pose with guns. Pics stay online forever.

4 – a viral mess and a drinking game

Viral success over-night breeds it’s own problems – and what used to be your midnight-joke can be come global politics.

5 – complicated things in foreign policy

Then, media outlets jumped on it, in a speed unimaginable before. See that response in Big Old Auntie Foreign Policy – guess what, African matters are complex!

6 – a book-length self-defense

If social media is all about dialogue – here we go, with a lengthy and detailed self-defense.

7 – a case of charity envy?

With criticism abounding – is the Kony 2012 debate a case of charity envy?

8 – african voices responding

Let’s have a real global debate – and Africans voices are obviously now a natural part of this- See an overview on African voices on Kony 2012 here, or watch the powerful one below:

9 – the ‘first’ interview

While we’ll see a lot more interviews probably, here’s a GOOD and early one.

10 – to be continued…

For sure! Feel free to post your responses below…

(Re-post vom betahaus Köln Blog)

Soziale Innovationen leben vom regelmäßigen Austausch – was passiert, was funktioniert, wer bietet welches Seminar an, welches neue [...]]]>

Zum GoodLunch im betahaus trifft sich die Nachhaltigkeits- und Design-Szene –  mit einen inspirierendem Impuls, mit leckerem Essen, und viel Austausch!

(Re-post vom betahaus Köln Blog)

Die Idee

Soziale Innovationen leben vom regelmäßigen Austausch – was passiert, was funktioniert, wer bietet welches Seminar an, welches neue Unternehmen oder Projekt steht kurz vor dem Start?

In Köln gibt es zwar eine Reihe von Initiativen, Netzwerken, Projekten und Veranstaltungen, aber keinen regelmäßigen Treffpunkt für die “Nachhaltigkeits-Szene”. Das “GoodLunch” ist daher ein regelmäßiger (ca. alle 2 Wochen) Anlaufpunkt für Aktive und Interessierte im Bereich von sozial-ökologischen Innovationen und Unternehmertums.

Das betahaus und sein Café fungieren als ‘Gastgeber’ und ‘Location’. Das Café ist nicht nur ein schöner, zentraler Ort und bietet leckeres Essen – auch die im betahaus aktiven Freiberuflichen und Kreativen sind herzlich eingeladen – auf dass die beiden Welten zusammenkommen!

Jedes GoodLunch steht unter einem Thema, oft mit einem Gast der kurz in das entsprechende Thema oder eine Initiative einführt. Beim Auftakt war dies Michael Dietz mit “Quartiermeister – Kölsch für dein Veedel”, beim 2. GoodLunch der Ashoka-Fellow Frank Hoffmann, der Gründer von Discovering Hands (hier ein Rückblick). Danach gibt es Kennenlernen, Diskussion und den freien Austausch.

Der Ablauf

Das GoodLunch beginnt um 12:30 – bitte pünktlich kommen! Neben dem Kurzvortrag zur jeweiligen Initiative gibt es genug Zeit zum essen, trinken debattieren & austauschen!

Für die Teilnahme am GoodLunch fallen nur die Kosten für das Mittagessen an. Interessenten bitten wir, sich kurz anzumelden.

Das Nächste

Das nächste GoodLunch findet wie folgt statt:
24. Februar 2012, Freitag, 12.30, betahaus | Café
Maya Wiseman zu “Bottled City – give one / take one micro apprenticeship”
bottled.at / bitte anmelden!

Bottled City ist eine Plattform für “Mikro-Engagement”, gegründet von Maya Wiseman, die das Konzept und ihre nächsten Schritte vorstellen wird.

Die Kontakte

Das GoodLunch ins Leben gerufen hat Martin Herrndorf (martin@herrndorf.de), gemeinsam mit Anu-Cathrin Beck, Gründerin des betahaus Köln (anu@betahaus.de). Beide geben gerne Auskunft!

Wer Vorschläge für Referenten hat, oder selber vortragen will, sollte am Besten bei einem der Termine vorbeikommen oder uns per Email kontaktieren!

The GoodLunch is a regular lunch-get-together for “change-makers” – people active on or interested in sustainability. Today, it took proudly place the second time today at the betahaus Köln, with Ashoka-fellow Frank Hoffmann as  a guest, the [...]]]> A short recap of the second GoodLunch @ betahaus Köln with Frank Hoffmann, founder of Discovering Hands.

The GoodLunch is a regular lunch-get-together for “change-makers” – people active on or interested in sustainability. Today, it took proudly place the second time today at the betahaus Köln, with Ashoka-fellow Frank Hoffmann as  a guest, the founder of Discovering Hands.

Discovering Hands

For all those who didn’t make it: Frank Hoffmann is a gynecologist, who was annoyed by the lack of in-depth, careful screening offer for younger woman in Germany (older get mammography paid by the medical system). He started education blind women in the art of discovering breast cancer – and founded Discovering Hands. This social enterprise promotes the approach, in Germany and beyond, and has set up a full nine-month course with a basic medical education, communication training and, the core, an introduction into his special methodology to discover breast cancer at an early stage.

How does that look in practice? See yourself:

The discussions during lunch touched a broad range of issues.

How does having such a jobs affect the self-esteem of the blind women? Positively, as Katrin Kasten, one of the (almost) blind women already trained, was ready to testify at the GoodLunch.

Can the effects be quantified? Yes, but some numbers are from abroad, where more detailed studies have been conducted.

How can the concept be spread further? Participants brainstormed new features for the online platform of Discovering Hands, and how they could use social networks to promote their concept.

A nice, cheerful and superbly informative lunch!

To be repeated – the next lunch is on 24 Feb – with Maya Wiseman from Bottled City.

And as the GoodLunch is slowly coming out of it’s ‘beta’ phase, it will be officially launched on the betahaus blog soon! Stay tuned.

Man selber treibt den Diskurs voran. Die neue Partnerschaft zwischen der Zeit und der “Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft” ist ein interessantes Beispiel für die Unterwanderung von Medien durch Partikularinteresse und ideologische Lobbyarbeit.

Die Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft, ein neoliberaler Think-Tank hat seine [...]]]> Lobbyismus machen immer die Anderen. Über die Zeit und die Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft.

Man selber treibt den Diskurs voran. Die neue Partnerschaft zwischen der Zeit und der “Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft” ist ein interessantes Beispiel für die Unterwanderung von Medien durch Partikularinteresse und ideologische Lobbyarbeit.

Die Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft, ein neoliberaler Think-Tank hat seine Besten Zeiten wohl hinter sich. Auch gilt, laut Zeit Online-Artikel vom 19.10.2011, die “Lehrmeinung der INSM (…) mittlerweile als diskreditiert”.

Dies hindert dieselbige Zeitung aber nicht, gemeinsam mit dem “Lautsprecher des Kapitals” (Zeit vom 4. Mai 2005) einen Essaywettbewerb für Studenten ins Leben zu rufen. Üppig ausgestattet mit 10,000 Euro Preisgeld sollen diese Beiträge zur “Sozialen Marktwirtschaft” einreichen.

Immerhin ist die Ausschreibung recht transparent, was hier unter “Sozialer Marktwirtschaft verstanden wird. Als “Fundament von Werten und Regeln” zählen “Freiheit, Eigentum und Wettbewerb” – zugestanden wird in ordo-liberaler Tradition noch ein “ordnender Rahmen”. Ein bemerkenswertes Fundament, wo doch grade in einer sozialen Krise genau diese Institutionen im großen Umfang in Frage gestellt werden. Und würde aus der “Marktwirtschaft” eine “soziale” nicht erst, wenn man tatsächliche gesellschaftliche Werte, die diesen Namen auch verdienen berücksichtigt? Zum Beispiel “Chancengleichheit”, “Gesellschaftliche Verantwortung” oder “Globale Gerechtigkeit”?

Die Zeit, als führende deutsche Wochenzeitschrift, hat die Initiative Soziale Marktwirtschaft über die Jahre kritisch begleitet. Umso erschreckender, dass sie jetzt selbst zum Lautsprecher macht.

The Skateistan project is a beautiful illustration of the principle that “to change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” (Buckminster Fuller).

Started in Kabul, Afghanistan, it replaces the old [...]]]> Social change meets art meets skateboarding. And all of that in my hometown, Cologne. Yeah!

Skateistan – the project

The Skateistan project is a beautiful illustration of the principle that “to change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete” (Buckminster Fuller).

Started in Kabul, Afghanistan, it replaces the old model – a circle of violence, insecurity, lack of perspectives and poverty – with a new model: Skateboarding. Young kids, boys & girls, get on the boards and learn to skate. And much more – learn to learn, to respect each other, build relationship, build their confidence, to get ahead in life. And to leave the old model!

A wonderful project that has attracted some media attention. Now, this is social change, visible at its best (never mind the sheep-head):

The project has not stayed in Kabul, but a “second branch”, with the same principle, has open in Phnom Phen, Cambodia.

22 für Kambodscha – the support

Even if there’s a lot of volunteering involved, Skateistan needs money.

One way to get it is donations.

A small group in Cologne tried a slightly different way. They’ve asked artists – most of them engaged in urban arts / graffiti, some of them disabled – to take old, used skateboards and convert them into pieces of art (you can see two of them above). The sales revenue goes straight to Skateistan Cambodia.

The boards are getting exhibited at Café im Bauturm for the next weeks, with an opening Vernissage on 7 January 2012, 7pm. Check the facebook page of 22 für Kambodscha for updates!

Planning has some obvious appeals – make a sound plan, then execute, then see if [...]]]> Classical “planning” is unlikely to help when innovating in the surprising complexity of BoP markets as mapped in ‘Poor Economics’ – but “chaos” and ‘anarchy’ are not the answers either. What about “improvisation’” then?

The fallacy of planning

Planning has some obvious appeals – make a sound plan, then execute, then see if it worked. For BoP markets, however, I doubt that this approach will get us very far.

Why? Planning is ubiquitous, not only in socialist states, but also in big businesses and development cooperation. Whether called “Five-Year Plan for the National Economy” or “Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper” – planning assumes that the general environment is stable, will react to interventions in a foreseeable way, and that “experts” far away from ground realities can assemble such a plan.

These assumptions might not hold, neither for development issues, nor for the development of strategies in large companies.

Taking development issues first: The realities of poor markets are tricky – and the responses to interventions often will be surprising and counterintuitive (some of it described in the excellent Poor Economics published earlier in 2011). As a consequence, often (highly-paid) experts may provide only limited value in ‘planning development’ (argued William Easterly). Innovation will more likely come from outsiders, from chance encounters, from the periphery.

The situation is similar in large businesses. Planning works (reasonably) well in established, stable markets. But emerging markets behave differently. And for business entering (or creating!) completely new areas at the BoP, planning will not lead them very far. And there are few, if none, ready-made “business opportunities” in BoP markets that could be exploited with a plan, however smart.

The charm of freedom and the importance of rules

If planning fails, why shouldn’t we try freedom? Freedom for new ways of solving problems. Freedom, which is often seen as “crazy” from an expert field (as one correspondent in my doctoral research mentioned). The early BoP literature, like C.K. Prahaldad’s book, has stressed the need to take a radically different approach to BoP business.

Can such freedom be unfettered? Probably not, for several reasons.

First and foremost, poorly executed BoP initiatives can have severe impacts on local communities – gone wrong, they can undermine local communities and livelihoods, which they are meant to improve. So, certain “ethical” rules in dealing with communities and expectations are important. This should not imply a return to (often failing) planning, however comforting that promise might seem, but to openness about the need to experiment – and to deal with the different outcomes of these experiments.

Second, funders and project champions will normally require a certain rigor and assurance that their resources are spent well. That’s true in the “impact investing” world, with its questionnaires and reporting duties, as well as in the corporate world.

And last, rules can actually support the learning process itself. For example, the process of “randomized control” trials is extremely rule-bound: Keeping “everything constant” (or random) can help to figure out the impact of what changes. This holds a general lesson for innovation: Changing too much at the same time can make it difficult to see what’s “going on,” and inhibit learning.

The power of improvisation

But how can freedom and rules be brought together? Improvisation could provide a metaphor that allows us to understand this fragile balance.

Improvisation in music, and especially in jazz music, is based on similar balances of freedom and rules. ‘Outsiders’ are often amazed by the results of improvisation. Insiders know that behind most improvisation, there’s a system of tight rules.

What can BoP innovation learn from improvisation? Here are some hints:

• Repetition: Musicians typically improvise over a certain, repeated scheme, which allows them to develop and advance over the different rounds. Similarly, BoP projects often go in “rounds,” improving and adjusting over time.

• Common rules: Improvisation requires a shared understanding of the “rules of the game.” Some of these rules are emerging for BoP innovation as results of lessons learned collective from successes and failures at the BoP: Don’t push technology. Consider scaling issues early on. Be cost-focused. Be patient. Listen.

• Common vision: More than when playing classic sheet music, jazz musicians need a “joint vision” and understanding of what they are, and where they go. I feel most people in the BoP community, whether pushing for change in NGOs, big businesses or through small start-ups, are enthusiastically in it for “the change” and the challenge of poverty reduction – but with a thoroughly pragmatic mindset.

• Teamwork: While there is brilliant solo improvisation, most of it is teamwork. It’s about getting the right talent together in the room. Similarly, BoP projects require getting together multiple talent under a common vision – globally and locally.

• Communication: Improvisers will closely listen to what their fellow musicians do, and react to it. Information flows constantly, through observation and “joint work,” rather then through writing handbooks and protocols. In the end, the sum is more then the parts.

• Practice: Most jazz musicians have extensive and year-long experience in improvisation, refining their skill along the process. The same will be true for BoP business (and we’re probably just at the beginning of our joint learning process).

So, improvisation does not imply chaos and complete anarchy – on the contrary!

Is there failure in improvisation? Yes! There is good and bad improvisation, and there’s failed improvisation, where musicians loose track, hit wrong notes and don’t reach a pleasurable and enjoyable end-result. Similarly, there is good and bad innovation at the BoP – and failed innovation, as in the case of the Tata Nano car, or failed partnerships, like the ones between a series of German companies and Grameen (pdf, german only).

Improvisation could thus capture the essence of what companies and innovators need to succeed in innovation at the BoP.

Sidenote: Written listening to “Bitches Brew” from Miles Davis.

First published on NextBillion.net, thanks to @scotterAnderson for editing.

You’ve probably gotten a series of them by now. Christmas emails. Not from friends. But from organisations that have proven their ability to look into their calender – gosh, it’s late December! – and send out a “happy christmas” [...]]]> Christmas mailings are boring. This one, from the Hub Zurich, is not.

From dull duty…

You’ve probably gotten a series of them by now. Christmas emails. Not from friends. But from organisations that have proven their ability to look into their calender – gosh, it’s late December! – and send out a “happy christmas” mass mail.

…to marvelous mission!

But this one is different. The Hub Zurich, a social-innovation-entrepreneurship-etc co-working space in Zurich, has sent its members and friends a solicitation to go into their (grand, grand-grand) parents basement and crawl for hidden jewels to beautify their space.

It’s activating, it’s eco-friendly-recyclingish, it’s fun, it’s beautiful!

and with this – happy holidays!

It tackles a “tiny” problem, but could be live-changing for some: Annoyed by the traffic situation below their office window, some staff members of the web service agency denkwerk teamed up to make a small, but [...]]]> Online campaigns fight for big change – like, addressing “global climate change”. This one is different.

It tackles a “tiny” problem, but could be live-changing for some: Annoyed by the traffic situation below their office window, some staff members of the web service agency denkwerk teamed up to make a small, but beautiful and smart page to lobby for safer street-crossing on Vogelsanger Straße.

The unsafe crossing is close to kindergardens and elderly homes. And it could be changed, easily!

Check that little piece of citizens engagement, smart design and online interaction-art on https://route66.denkwerk.com/. And don’t forget to sign their petition! (and slow down on Vogelsanger Straße and elsewhere).

Foodwatch is a laudable NGO, and it’s campaign against food speculation at Deutsche Bank – www.haende-weg-vom-acker-mann.de – has stirred a lot of attention for a [...]]]> I’ve said it already – best intentions can reinforce racial stereotypes – but here’s another one: The new Foodwatch video. Time for Clichéwatch?

Foodwatch is a laudable NGO, and it’s campaign against food speculation at Deutsche Bank – www.haende-weg-vom-acker-mann.de – has stirred a lot of attention for a good cause.

So, please, what could be wrong with this video?

Black is poor, White is rich.

Black is stupid, White is smart.

Black is powerless, White is powerfull.

Black is ugly, White is shiny.

And so on…

Why is that a problem?

It reinforces stereotypes. Besides raising attention for food speculation, and rightly so, it tells “a single story about black people”. Why that’s a problem has been most beautifully explained by Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian writer, in the following video:

But aren’t we beyond such stereotypes, anyway?

Maybe, some are. Maybe, most not.

Günter Wallraff, in his movie “Schwarz auf Weiß” would probably say “no” for Germany.

Nicholas K Peart would probably say “no” for the states.

And these kids say “no” for Mexico:

Now?

Go, and sign the foodwatch campaign to stop food speculation.

And watch out for single stories.