A Global Walk

By: Cristin Tarr Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Community Polly Letofsky headed west across four continents, 22 countries, and more than 14,000 miles – by foot – to become the first woman to walk around the world.

I had a business meeting late one afternoon with a woman who worked as a sales manager at a local hotel. I was anxious to get through the meeting quickly and go home to my three school-aged children. Little did I know that I was about to meet – Polly Letofsky – an extraordinary woman who had accomplished an extraordinary feat. I asked her my usual client questions, "What have you been doing the last few years? Where have you worked? Where have you lived and what is your favorite hobby?" She sat for a moment and said, "Well, I’ve spent the last five years walking around the world." Needless to say my attention focused and I wanted to hear her story.

The first steps of Letofsky’s "walk" sprouted at age 12. While growing up in Minneapolis, she read about a Minnesota man who had become the first to walk around the world. Inspired, she held the same desire, and wanted to be the first women to walk around the world.

The Inspiration to Walk

In the mid-1990s, several of Letofsky’s family members and friends were diagnosed with breast cancer. So, to ease her mind, she made an appointment with her doctor for a mammogram. Letofsky’s doctor said, "Don’t worry about getting a mammogram; you don’t have any risk factors. It doesn’t run in your family." With great relief, she shared this news with a friend, but her friend was outraged by the doctor’s advice—arguing that 80 percent of those diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risks.

This was Letofsky’s "aha" moment. She thought, "How many women around the world have been told similar tales about breast cancer? How many women around the world have no idea that breast cancer exists?" That’s when she decided to walk for women—to educate women all over the world about the disease that bonds us all—breast cancer. And from that moment, the GlobalWalk for Breast Cancer Awareness was formed. Armed with passion and determination to inform women in every city, town, and rural village about breast cancer, Letofsky began her Guinness World Records-setting journey with very few sponsors and more than 14,000 miles to walk over four continents.

She was not walking for the record books, but rather, for women all over the world. Her hope was that in every country where she walked, she would be a voice to encourage local breast cancer organizations to spread the message of early detection and prevention. Because many countries have cultural sensitivities surrounding breast care, women are often not informed of the severity or the widespread impact of the illness. After two years of planning for the journey, Letofsky sold all of her belongings to fund the work, and she walked out of Vail, Colorado.

The Global Trek

She trekked across the western United States and flew to New Zealand first. After walking across New Zealand, with several substantial mishaps and money running short, she successfully arrived in Australia. In a small rural Australian town, Letofsky met a woman at a stoplight who asked what she was doing. That woman, Margaret, was the president of the local Lions Club; she invited Letofsky into her home that night. What Margaret did next changed the course of the GlobalWalk.

That night Margaret introduced Letofsky to the crowd at the local pub. When they heard her story, the patrons started passing around a hat for contributions to the cause, and within 15 minutes, that little Australian pub had raised $332 for the Breast Cancer Network-Australia. The next morning Margaret called the next Lions Club up the road, and the members took her out to their local pub for fundraising. Then, they called the next Lions Club, and they called the next Lions Club…and in short order, Letofsky found herself doing a 2,000 mile fundraising pub crawl up Australia’s east coast.

With the help of the Lions Clubs, Letofsky was safe every night with someone from the club hosting her with a warm meal and comfortable bed. What’s more, the Lions Clubs of Australia became the primary fundraising venue for the walk, where local excitement generated substantial exposure throughout the region. Their support inspired an entire country to rally behind Letofsky’s GlobalWalk for breast cancer awareness.

As she traveled on, breast cancer groups would hear her story on the radio and throw a fundraising afternoon tea when she walked through their town. The police would patrol "her" road to make sure she was safe. Cancer survivors would host fundraising dinners and "pass" her to the next breast cancer survivor up the road. Even McDonalds jumped on board—by feeding her and hosting fundraising events at every McDonalds up Australia’s Highway 1.

The Turning Point

Six months into the Australian leg of the walk, one of the Lions Clubs invited her to become a member. She agreed and her walk took a major turn. Now with the help of her Lions Club in Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Letofsky’s walk quickly turned into an unprecedented grassroots breast cancer campaign that stemmed from an army of local everyday people who cleared a path from village to village—through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Turkey and other exotic world locales.

While walking through Singapore and Malaysia, her work reached epic levels. As she entered these Muslim countries, she was repeatedly told by officials that she would not be able to talk about breast cancer. They were wrong. "The Lions Clubs are enormous in Southeast Asia, and are very highly regarded. They are planners, advocates, and community leaders, and when they talk, even the government listens," said Letofsky.

As a result of the persistent grassroots efforts of the Lions Clubs across the region, breast cancer was now being talked about in all five national newspapers—almost daily. The clubs arranged radio interviews, television appearances, and organized educational forums in small towns where they would invite a local doctor to talk to their local women. From these successes, the Lions Clubs in Malaysia recruited the Rotary Clubs to help with the advocacy work, who then invited the Red Cross, whose members decided to join the walk every day. Next, the Hash Harrier Running Clubs joined the walk.

With the number of walkers growing and the press coverage swelling, the government of Malaysia could no longer ignore what was happening. When Letofsky and her entourage of concerned citizens reached the capital of Kuala Lampur, they were met by a member of Parliament, Datuk Napsiah Omar, and 100 of her colleagues. Amid a ceremony filled with pomp and fanfare, Omar not only announced that she was starting a breast cancer awareness campaign in her region, but would urge the Malaysian government to subsidize annual mammograms for women aged 55 to 64. It was the first program of its kind in Malaysia.

Similar success stories continued as Letofsky plodded along at 3 miles per hour. After five years, she brought her GlobalWalk for Breast Cancer full circle spanning 14,124 miles, across 22 countries, wearing 29 pairs of shoes, and raising over $250,000 for 13 breast cancer organizations around the world.

Letofsky continues the legacy of her GlobalWalk for Breast Cancer awareness through her highly regarded motivational speaking engagements and outstanding documentary. In her newly released book 3mph: The Adventures of One Woman’s Walk Around the World, Letofsky highlights the successes of the walk and recounts the story that unfolded. She tells how, "truth was stranger than fiction when I took on the world by myself, but was never alone. Thousands of strangers came to my aid in many small ways and in record numbers. On average, 10 people a day for five years—or nearly 20,000 people—formed a human chain of collaboration around the world to help me, keep me safe, and bring me back to Colorado and ultimately spread the word of breast cancer awareness."

As I think about Polly Leftosky and her GlobalWalk, it confirms for me that people all over the world are better when we are working together. Letofsky proved it—a childhood dream undertaken with determination can prove transformative and can create of culture of collaborative action.

Where would the world be if we could all make a little step toward a big feat?

Cristin Tarr is the founder of Business Service Corps (BSC), an organization that helps companies develop, organize, implement, and measure community outreach programs. BSC maximizes corporate charitable and philanthropic outreach goals while minimizing the use of valuable resources, time and money to create a collective shared value. To learn more about BSC visit www.BusinessServiceCorps.com.

Edward D. "Ted" White

By: Catherine Porter Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Advisory Board Chair, Transaction Section Moye White LLP 1400 16th Street, 6th Floor Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 303.292.2900 Fax: 303.292.4510 [email protected] www.MoyeWhite.com

Rising to the top of one’s profession is difficult. Excelling simultaneously as an active member of one’s society is even more difficult, yet strong community leaders are distinguished by their ability to do exactly that. In this way, Edward "Ted" White has risen as a strong leader in Colorado.

A business lawyer by profession, White has been recognized as a leader in his field by many organizations and publications, including Best Lawyers in America, Colorado Super Lawyers, Denver Business Journal PowerBook, and as a Top Lawyer in Law Week Colorado. He was also awarded Best of Bar in International Trade and Finance by the Denver Business Journal in 2008.

However, White’s achievements outside of his work set him apart as a leader, not only in law, but also in Colorado. Currently chairman of the board of trustees for the Boettcher Foundation, White focuses his efforts with the other trustees and the staff on determining how the Boettcher Foundation can have the greatest positive impact given limited resources (Boettcher has a corpus of approximately $300 million). White is also a trustee or former trustee of many community organizations including: AWM Charitable Fund, Colorado Historical Foundation, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Botanic Gardens Endowment, Graland Country Day School, Kent Denver School, Porter Adventist Hospital, Schlegel White Foundation, Tenth Mountain Trail Association, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, the Webb-Waring Institute for Biomedical Research, and the Webb-Waring Foundation.

Additionally, White has met success both as the author of the book, Drafting Business Contracts, published in 2010, and as the founder and managing director of the Estabrook Funds, a multi-asset absolute return hedge fund, which is one of the first of its kind in the United States.

White’s interests in the community extend far beyond his job as a lawyer, where his most recent undertaking combined his profession with his interest in promoting international collaboration among the countries of the Americas. For the past two years, White has served as chair of the board of directors of the Denver Biennial of the Americas while his firm, Moye White LLP, donated over $150,000 in pro bono legal services to the event.

One of the largest international events in the country in 2010, The Biennial of the Americas consisted of dozens of events celebrating the innovation, sustainability, and arts of the thirty-five nations of the Americas. White and his board oversaw the event, which included a series of high-profile roundtable discussions and art exhibitions at forty venues throughout Colorado, from public art exhibits at Civic Center Park to performances by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. The Biennial of the Americas was the largest themed ideas festival in Colorado’s history.

White’s ability to step back and recognize the importance of the international community is apparent outside of his work with the Biennial. White's legal practice focuses on international law. He has worked on projects in each continent, with a focus on the Americas, and is currently the vice president of the International Alliance of Law Firms for which he serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Marketing Committee.

White’s primary full-time job is being a business lawyer with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, financings, and international projects. A "name partner" in the Moye White law firm, he is chairman of the firm’s Transaction Section and serves on the Management Committee.

White combines his extensive knowledge of commercial and investment markets to help clients purchase and sell companies, make strategic investments, arrange financing, and operate profitably. As a strategic partner, White helps clients discern opportunities and make strategic connections that add value to their business. He leads his clients to match their legal structure with business goals and navigate the complexities of growing their business.

White is also an arbitrator for complex commercial disputes through the American Arbitration Association. He has resolved dozens of commercial claims relative to matters such as international transactions, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, professional sports contracts, and other complex business issues.

The world is full of smart, talented people who are successful at their business or profession. What we need are more of them, who like White, keep a broader perspective and are willing to help for the sake of the community. These are the people who truly have a positive impact.

Stephen M. Werner

By: ICOSA Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Advisory Board Steve Werner Consulting 7970 South Vincennes Way Centennial, Colorado 80112 USA Office: 303.793.0932 Mobile: 303.809.8986 Fax: 720.306.3077 [email protected] www.SteveWernerConsulting.com

Steve Werner is a consultant working primarily with international nonprofit organizations by helping them to build stronger programs, fundraising plans, boards of directors, and long-term strategies. He served as executive director for Water For People, an international nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado, whose mission is to assist people in developing nations gain access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Werner also has worked for three of the largest and most successful nonprofit organizations in the United States. He rose rapidly to senior management positions with the American Cancer Society, CARE, and Habitat for Humanity International. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of nonprofit management, administration and fundraising.

Werner previously consulted for national and international organizations in the areas of fundraising and marketing. He also has expertise in the areas of board development and training, planning, advocacy, staff leadership training, and management systems. He developed a team of consultants with strategic planning, major gift fundraising, marketing, and board development expertise. He has served local, national, and international clients.

As senior vice president of programs for Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in Americus, Georgia, Werner was responsible for all house building, volunteer support, and ancillary programs that were carried out by 1,400 affiliate organizations in the U.S. and in 56 countries around the world.

Before HFHI, Werner was regional director for CARE, the international relief and development organization. He was based in Denver, Colorado, where he supervised the major gifts and public relations program for 10 states in the Midwest, Southwest, and Rocky Mountain regions.

Prior to CARE, Werner served as area director of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in San Antonio, Texas. He managed over 30 staff, who in turn managed a volunteer-based program which annually served over 2,000 cancer patients, educated over 500,000 people about cancer risks and prevention, and raised $2 million for cancer research and cancer control programs.

Werner is a fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan, and of the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. He is a past chairman of National Peace Corps Association, the Peace Corps alumni organization. He has also served in leadership positions with Rotary clubs, international festival organizations, and other community associations.

He and his wife, Patti, served together as Peace Corps volunteers in South Korea. They have three grown children. They have also served as foster parents for over 14 years.

David G. Thomson

By: ICOSA Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Advisory Board Founder and Chairman The Blueprint Growth Institute 14223 Eby Street Overland Park, KS 66221 Office: 408.593.5759 Mobile: 913.484.9178 [email protected] www.BlueprintGrowth.com

David G. Thomson is a bestselling author, advisor and speaker. He is the Founder and Chairman of The Blueprint Growth Institute, a specialized management-consulting firm focused on helping companies develop growth strategies and execute the 7 Essentials. His insights that identified the quantitative success pattern of America's highest growth companies—which he wrote about in his best seller Blueprint to a Billion—have been embraced globally. Thomson's Blueprint and 7 Essentials have been featured in media such as The New York Times, Investor's Business Daily, USATODAY, ABCNews.com, BusinessWeek.com, Korean Economic Daily and Sky TV (Australia). As a keynote speaker, he has presented to over 25,000 people and has been globally translated into multiple languages.

Thomson's newest research is identifying how America's growth companies are applying the 7 Essentials during recessionary times to become the leaders for the next growth cycles. He has synthesized these lessons in his recent book, released in 2010 from John Wiley & Sons, Mastering The 7 Essentials of High-Growth Companies. Jim Estill is both a seed investor and board member of Research in Motion (RIM). He commented that, Mastering The 7 Essentials of High-Growth Companies certainly applied to RIM in the early years. The principle of having a breakthrough proposition was the whole basis for the leading BlackBerry® business and because the smartphone market was in its infancy, it was clearly a high-growth market. In the early days to help RIM stay focused on research and development, they setup with co-CEOs. One focused on inside, and the other on outside research and development, while at the same time selling products/services and creating alliances with brand name service providers. David has nailed the essentials required to become a high-growth company."

Thomson's recent research report is GROWTHonomics: The Next 800 Companies to Lead America's Growth. He uniquely applies the quantitative "Blueprint" success pattern to identify the next companies, industries and states that will lead the next growth cycle through 2016. This research identifies that these companies will generate 3.4 million new jobs through 2016.

With the launch of Blueprint Growth Investors LLC, Thomson is uniquely linking management actions to the specific factors that drive shareholder value for high-growth companies. Based on three years of research with Standard & Poor's, Thomson can identify the financial and industry factors that maximize shareholder value and uniquely benchmark company performance based on fundamentals. The impact for management teams is a quantitative measurement of the impact of the 7 Essentials on shareholder value. For investors, Thomson has formed the Blueprint Growth Investors, LLC for private investors to invest in Blueprint Companies based on this quantitative approach.

Thomson has been studying and leading business growth for twenty years in general management and executive sales/marketing at Nortel Networks and Hewlett-Packard and as an associate principal during his five years at McKinsey & Company. Thomson graduated with an electrical engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. Visit www.blueprintgrowth.com for more information and tools to help grow your business; The 7 Essentials Scorecard can help companies measure performance against each essential and The 7 Essentials Workshop will help teams define an actionable roadmap.

Young Leaders Connecting and Collaborating Globally

By: Luke Wyckoff Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Community

ICOSA:What is Junior Chamber International (known worldwide as JCI and in parts of the USA as the Jaycees)?

GREENLEE: The organization was started in 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA to give young people an opportunity for leadership development and networking. Today, the organization has almost 200,000 young men and women between the ages of 18-40 in 120 countries, but there are millions of alumni members who have turned 40, like me. Many have gone on to be heads of state, hold other political positions, are leaders in non-government organizations (NGO), are business and corporate leaders, and are making a difference in many other ways around the world. The mission of JCI is: "To provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change," and the vision of JCI is: "To be the leading global network of young active citizens."

ICOSA: How did you get involved?

GREENLEE: Like most members, I had heard of JCI but was then asked to join and get involved by a current member. I was 23 at the time and looking for chances to meet people and help out my community, and JCI was the perfect vehicle to do both.

ICOSA: What is your most memorable moment as a member of JCI?

GREENLEE: Being elected the JCI world president for 2007 was a real highlight of my time in JCI and my life. Having the confidence of members from around the world and the opportunity to take a year and gain that experience, meet members and people from all over the world, and advance the interests of young people, was great.

ICOSA: As the JCI world president, what were you trying to "do" around the world? How many countries did you visit?

GREENLEE: The JCI president acts as the CEO of the organization for one year. During my tenure I oversaw the board of directors and the almost 100 global member appointments. I also oversaw a 25 member internationally-based staff; served as the chief spokesperson for JCI; and worked closely with our partners like the International Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations, and the Global Compact among others. I also helped to manage the finances while working to make JCI more attractive from a marketing and branding prospective. Our end goal was to increase the number of members, the number of countries JCI was in, and the number of people who were familiar with JCI. I visited 52 different countries that year, many of them multiple times, but have visited 76 total countries through my JCI activities.

ICOSA: Were some countries more receptive to your causes than others?

GREENLEE: Interestingly no. I found that young people around the world, as well as companies and governments share in the same goals of making a better world through active involvement. Different countries have different ideas of specific goals based on their economics, geography, population, etc., however, at the end of the day, each wants to always improve and be better and be involved. JCI is the way for young people to do that.

ICOSA: What were some of the biggest learning points you had from all of your travel?

GREENLEE: As I mentioned above, one of the most important things I learned was that most people share very basic, common goals. I also learned the value of staying in touch as a leader and a networker. One thing that I tried to do after every visit I made was to send a quick email of thanks to each person I met. I think that far too often we attend conventions, functions, or the like and come home with stacks of business cards that sit in a drawer. I made a conscious effort to reach out to each person I met so that I could build rapport, and in many circumstances it led to a higher level of activity in JCI and other business possibilities and deals over the years.

ICOSA: Tell me some stories about the great things that other international JCI chapters and national organizations are doing to better the world?

GREENLEE: Wow—there are so many! In Taiwan, the JCI group partners with the government and does an annual medical and dental relief trip to the Dominican Republic. JCI members in the Dominican work to set up the logistics on their end and Taiwan brings doctors and medicines over for a week to see as many people as they possibly can.

In Hong Kong, the JCI organization annually works with the All China Youth Federation to bring children from Hong Kong to China to provide educational experiences. In Europe, JCI annually visits Brussels for a knowledge transfer, where they meet with members of the EU to discuss issues they are facing as young people while sharing best practices. In Zimbabwe, JCI recognizes the most active citizens of the country for their good works. JCI Monaco runs business networking happy hours for people to meet various corporate leaders. Domestically, like in Victoria, Texas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; and at many other chapters throughout the U.S., JCI members and chapters take underprivileged children shopping at Christmas in an effort to make sure no child misses a holiday.

With over 5,000 chapters worldwide I could give you 5,000 different stories. And of course, these local organizations all run multiple projects every year where their members run the events, gain the experience from doing so and leave the community much better than they found it.

ICOSA: Going forward, where will JCI focus its attention?

GREENLEE: As a major NGO, JCI will stick with its mission and vision, and continue to look for more young people to get involved and gain leadership experience. JCI is also always looking to partnering with organizations and corporations around the world that share the vision of a better world through better future generations. JCI will continue to be a force for good and will become better known and recognized for its works and successes.

ICOSA: Why should someone be a JCI (Jaycee) Member?

GREENLEE: I have always said there are five good reasons for every person ages 18-40 to join JCI. The first and most obvious is leadership development. You can gain skills that will make you a more valuable employee and more marketable, while preparing you to run your own organization. Members gain experience in speaking, organizing, managing people and projects, and proper budgeting. Second, you have the chance to give back through JCI projects. I was raised in a home where I was taught no matter how tough things were, there were always people and things worse off than me and it was my responsibility to try to help out wherever I could. With JCI, you get to join with like-minded people from all over the world in making a real difference through real community service. Third, you will meet potential customers, partners, employers, and others that you would not come in contact with if you did not join and get active. I have met so many people just in my town from joining, not to mention interesting and influential people from my state, country, and the world. Fourth, you make lifelong friends. It is always great to get together with other active young people who share your ideas and want to accomplish things. These are people who are about your age and have similar values—what better people to have as friends? Finally, JCI is just plain fun.

ICOSA: How can corporate America and businesses around the world take advantage of their local JCI (Jaycee) Chapters?

GREENLEE: Great question for this group. Businesses and JCI groups working together are almost always a win-win proposition. Any business that wants a more prepared group of employees would love the training that JCI offers. In addition to the "learn by doing" mindset, there are seminars at local, state, national, and international levels that members can take. Additionally, there is a worldwide training program where members can become certified trainers or certified in various programs. Furthermore, many companies would like the networking that happens and the amount of people whom our members gain exposure to. Additionally, most companies have a CSR program and working with JCI can do a lot in the areas of charitable volunteer work. JCI is always looking for new partners at every level of the organization, so reach out to your local chapter in your town, or search the JCI website at www.jci.cc, or contact me directly at my personal email at [email protected]. I am always glad to help put people together in situations like this.

Luke Wyckoff is the Chief Visionary Officer for Social Media Energy. He can be reached at [email protected].

Lots of People Have Big Ideas, But Are They Really Changing the World?

By: Jan Mazotti Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Letter From The Editor The theme of this issue Big Ideas, Smart People...Changing the World was immediately interesting to me. I thought—lots of people have big ideas, but are they really changing the world?

What I found was the answer was, yes! Each big idea, led by a smart person in this issue is indeed changing the world—some in small ways, and some in enormous ways. And what I also found as I edited the stories was that there were common themes—traits if you will—of the "doers" in this issue.

Every person or organization began with a dream, whether it was to create the Internet, to create global peace, to change the way government is handled, to stomp out breast cancer, to bring light, or just to support a person with a warm meal and a compassionate ear.

The common thread throughout all of the stories in this issue is they begin with hope—a hope to create something, a hope to change something, a hope to make a difference. But more than that, each story has interwoven in its text, a message of perseverance, wherewithal, vision, optimism, and sheer will to accomplish the given goal. What’s more, the subjects of these stories embodied wisdom and grace during these life-changing endeavors.

Each story is inspirational in its own way, and reminds us that it only takes one person to make change happen. Whether famous or ordinary, each person/group represents a "doer", doing their part to change something in the world that is important to them.

Big or small, helping to change the world will happen only when you begin to do something! I hope you are as inspired as I am as you read this issue.

All the best,

- Jan Mazotti

I Am Inspired by Big Ideas and Smart People

By: Gayle Dendinger Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Letter From The Publisher

I am beyond ecstatic to be writing this letter to you. If it weren’t for some of the people featured in our magazine, I would not be typing this on the computer or submitting it via email to our editor. In this issue, we are featuring stories on people who are or have literally CHANGED THE WORLD!

JCI World President Scott Greenlee works with young individuals to start them down the path toward leadership. The organization, started in the early 1900’s, has successfully produced numerous corporate leaders.

Dr. Rick Hodes spends his days helping the poorest of the poor, treating spinal tuberculosis, scoliosis, heart disease, and cancer on the streets of Ethiopia.

Steve Werner works with international nonprofits to build stronger programs and strategies. He has been instrumental in deploying clean water and sanitation strategies in developing nations across Latin American, Africa, and Asia.

Colorado’s newest city, Centennial, focuses on high citizen engagement and involvement, purposefully lean and efficient government, and collaborative partnerships, in order to get the job done.

Ted White’s leadership and passion for the community extends far beyond his job as a lawyer.

Then there is Chuck Adelman who is working to revolutionize the entertainment industry by providing media programming dedicated to health, wellness, positivity, and global philanthropy.

Polly Letofsky is another "big ideas" person. She walked 14,000 miles over four continents to promote breast cancer awareness. Collaborating with various Lions’ clubs, Rotary Clubs, and the Red Cross, Letofsky successfully spread her message around the world.

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, revolutionized technology as we know it, all the while working using his skills in the community to relate and make change at a personal level.

Larry Roberts, the builder of the ARPANET, laid the foundation for the modern day Internet. He founded Telenet, now Sprint, which became the first commercial packet switching carrier in the world.

Vint Cerf, is one of the designers of the Internet as we know it today.

Or maybe it is one of the many Nobel Peace Laureates included in this issue.

Looking back over the last two years that ICOSA has been in existence, I am inspired by the connections and collaborations that occur with and between those within these pages. Whomever it is that influences, excites, or serves as a focal point for service—connect with them, share your ideas, and make the change in the world that you want to see.

-Gayle Dendinger

Business as Unusual

By: Adam Cohen Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Government

If there was a recipe to start a new municipality from scratch, someone should have let the founders of the City of Centennial know. "Iron Chefs" on the Food Network have more to work with than citizens in unincorporated Arapahoe County did in 1999 and 2000 when they set out to establish the City of Centennial.

But, on September 12, 2010, city founders and current city staff and officials celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Centennial’s incorporation – and whipped up some terrific pancakes in true "Iron Chef" fashion. Today, city founders and leaders emphasize hard work while good luck played a part in the smart decisions and actions that formed Centennial.

How they established the city in 2001 is a good, solid success story. However, it becomes a great story of exceptional accomplishment when you understand the principles the city was founded on: high citizen engagement and involvement, purposefully lean and efficient government, and collaborative partnerships.

Grassroots Support and a Few Miracles

Before a proposed annexation of commercial land by the City of Greenwood Village inspired the journey to incorporate Centennial, residents of unincorporated Arapahoe County didn’t want or expect much from government.

The city’s "founders," including Randy Pye, Brian Vogt, John Brackney, Ed Bosier, and Pete Ross mobilized support for the incorporation out on the front lines. They attended Homeowners Association (HOA) meetings, spoke at community groups and events, held over 100 "regional meetings," and even took their message to the streets, meeting and greeting local residents at area grocery stores and knocking on homeowners’ front doors.

Their message, stressing the opportunity for incorporation and self-determination, along with lean government and low taxes, instilled a sense of civic passion. Two years of public engagement, and navigating state legislature and Supreme Court hurdles resulted in a historic landslide vote: 77 percent of voters approved formation of the largest incorporated city in U.S. history, approximately 100,000 residents strong.

Cathy Noon is emblematic of the type of citizen engagement the city needed to succeed. She moved to unincorporated Arapahoe County from Aurora in 1999 and became involved in her HOA, leading to involvement in the Arapahoe County Citizens for Organized, Responsible Development (ACCORD) group, then the Centennial Council of Neighborhoods (CenCoN). Through ACCORD, Noon met Randy Pye, eventually succeeding him as chairperson. Next thing she knew, and completely outside of her comfort zone at the time, Noon found herself in front of a local King Soopers grocery story advocating for formation of the new city. She then volunteered to work on the Comprehensive Plan, Identity and Signage, Land Development Code, and Home Rule Charter committees. In 2009, Noon was elected Centennial’s second-ever mayor.

Pye was Centennial’s first mayor, serving two terms, from the city’s formation through 2009. Forming a new entity and positioning it for service requires determination and a little luck. One would expect former Mayor Pye to speak passionately about the hard work that characterized the city’s formation, but it’s his image of the "Centennial Miracle" that leaves a lasting impression.

The "Centennial Miracle" combines both determination and luck, seasoned with a heavy dose of inspirational vision. Pye reflects on the "miracles" that occurred to help the fledgling city get off the ground. "Whenever we needed something, the right people and the right resources would appear at the right time," according to Pye. Miracles come in all shapes and sizes, and Centennial’s miracles were many and varied.

Pro bono legal services helped navigate state legislative and Supreme Court hurdles. Then, a local bank donated rent-free office space to the city. Professional public relations experts stepped up to help Pye and his team communicate with the public. Contacts through the Colorado Municipal League resulted in the hiring of a part-time city manager, Mark Achen, whose vision was perfect for the job. The part-time manager brought in the first full-time city manager, John Pazour, a finance expert whose acumen helped the City stabilize funding, cut expenses, and transition smoothly from Arapahoe County services. Today’s city manager, Jacque Wedding-Scott, was hired by Pazour and was an immediate cultural fit with the organization.

Founder Brian Vogt called early citizen engagement "awe-inspiring," saying that Centennial’s citizens "represent everything America is supposed to be." Pye and his initial 2-person city staff relied on citizens as volunteers, with literally hundreds of unpaid citizens helping the city get on its feet. Along with the other founders, Mayor Pye spent hundreds of hours asking citizens, "What do you want Centennial to be?" He listened, learned, and implemented their vision of limited basic services, low taxes, and high customer service.

In 2007, Pye led a Centennial 2030: Our Voice, Our Vision visioning process to capture and consolidate citizen, business, and community expectations, needs, and dreams for the city. And, this guiding vision continues to set the path forward. As part of an annual city council strategic planning workshop, Mayor Noon reports that participants "tie their priorities back to Our Voice, Our Vision, to ensure our priorities meet what we said we are about." City Manager Wedding-Scott and her team also link their operational activities, budgetary requests, and performance measures to Our Voice, Our Vision.

Today, city leaders rely on citizen input and engagement as much as ever to understand how changing citizen demographics and service expectations affect operations. For example, a majority of citizens participating in a "Snow and Ice Plan" outreach effort decided that they preferred to travel an extra eighth of a mile to access a major plowed street rather than pay extra for additional side street clearing.

And, citizen survey results just came back in late 2010, giving the city an opportunity to do what Mayor Noon calls "assess and address" or analyze the data and take action. S.M.A.R.T. Government and Its Partners

Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Realistic. Timely. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. describes a popular template to establish business goals. However, city leaders use the template to guide performance measures and targets for their operational activities. At the same time, beyond a goal-setting device, S.M.A.R.T. is what Centennial’s Business As Unusual approach to government is all about.

Dubbed an "intentional city" by Pye, Centennial strives to keep taxes low and provide superior services. Researching municipal service models from California to Florida, talking with Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, and exploring Indianapolis’ experiences in consolidating government, Pye’s team settled on a contract services model designed to keep city staff lean, minimize bureaucracy, and optimize resources with little or no redundancies.

Operation of the contract services model is based on a simple principle: establish service level expectations and find the best, most affordable way to fulfill them. "It’s other people’s money," Noon says. "Our number one goal has to be efficiency."

In its staffing, the city intentionally eliminated elected city clerk and city attorney positions, staples of most municipalities, finding that city staff could handle regulatory compliance activities of the clerk, and a service-for-fee arrangement with an outside legal practice made more sense than in-house legal services.

City Manager Jacque Wedding-Scott describes a process by which city staff prepares in-house cost-comparative models for all services. Wedding-Scott’s team constructs apples-to-apples cost models before soliciting bids for contracted services. This discipline ensures fairness to the contractors and also enables city staff to hone in on operational needs and cost categories that make or break successful service delivery. Staff analyzes in-house and solicited estimates relative to service levels, and then makes recommendations to city council.

The city’s service contracts range from police and public safety (to public-sector Arapahoe County Sheriff), to public works (to private-sector CH2M HILL), but contracting outside the city is not a fait accompli. Balancing service level needs, cost, and contract administration challenges led the city to reject outside bids for land use and community development in favor of in-house performance. Wedding-Scott credits the "the right leader," Director Wayne Reed, for bringing experience and a collaborative style to the job.

Wedding-Scott, whose first official duty as city manager in 2006 was to field blizzard-emergency calls from citizens, knows that service contracting comes with successes as well as headaches. Contracting police services to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office resulted in accolades as Colorado’s safest city for the sixth straight year, and Sheriff Grayson Robinson "gets our culture of excellence," according to Wedding-Scott. Englewood-based CH2M HILL brings a unique high-performance culture and partnering expertise from more than 30 years of municipal contracting around the world.

Still, the city experiences challenges such as building service expectations and cultural values into contracts, ensuring contractors actively portray the city’s unique brand and culture in public, clarifying contract roles and responsibilities, and integrating contractor staff into city management activities without violating employer-employee legal boundaries.

Don’t bet against Centennial’s contracting model, which Wedding-Scott calls "intriguing from a government and governance perspective," as its creative staff and contract-partners tackle these issues.

Sustaining a Legacy

Starting a city from scratch and building a non-traditional culture of excellence is challenging enough, so how will the city leverage what it has learned and grow "smartly" into its adolescence and beyond?

Creating a sense of place and an identity remain challenges. Citizens prefer lean government, and the city has delivered with only 50 full-time employees, limited services, and contract partnerships. However, successes abound, such as the recent redevelopment of The Streets at Southglenn, the soon-to-open IKEA store, cost-share funding for County Line/Chester turn lane, Arapahoe/Parker Road improvements, and recognition awards from Colorado Performance Excellence and the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

With success comes tough choices that face the city now and into the future, like balancing commercial and residential needs, responding to a changing demographic with an average citizen age of over 40, managing precious financial and human resources, and staying focused on its unique brand of government. And, the city’s success and commitment to non-traditional government means it is under the microscope.

Former Mayor Pye believes the city must continue to challenge itself to do what makes sense for the citizens whose aspirations and expectations created Our Voice, Our Vision. He emphasizes listening to citizens and keeping them involved in problem-solving so they retain ownership in the outcomes. "Always create a coalition," Pye says, "and remember that people are drawn to a vision."

Centennial continues its legacy of strong, active neighborhoods. No Colorado city of its size had a greater response to mail-in 2010 Census returns—83 percent—placing it third nationally for like-sized cities. According to founder John Brackney, "An active and engaged citizenry is the essential element of all vibrant cities. The city was founded on the principal of self-determination and that culture remains strong. We all have a role in effective government. Involvement is not something that can be delegated or ‘hired out.’ "

Mayor Noon puts the 10-year journey into perspective. "Take time to celebrate where we have come from and who we are," she says. "Then, take a deep breath and work hard to do what we do to the best of our ability." She regards the "incredible" staff, their responsiveness and accessibility, and their tremendous commitment as the keys to sustaining a high level of service and culture of efficient, small government. Noon encourages the city to challenge itself to find better ways to operate by thinking outside the box, comparing performance to other cities, and finding public-private partners who bring fresh and innovative thinking to the table.

Leadership is a contact sport and, just like in business, an organization’s level of success rises and falls with the ebbs and tides of its leadership. Wedding-Scott believes the city’s success relies on its elected officials, management team, staff, and citizens alike to demonstrate leadership.

"It’s not the model, it’s the governance," says Wedding-Scott. "Can the vision be sustained as community leadership evolves? It depends on how they embrace the vision."

Adam Cohen, principal of Accelerant Performance Solutions, lives nearby Centennial in unincorporated Arapahoe County. He helps organizations achieve and sustain high strategic, operational, and human performance. Contact him at [email protected].

We Have it in Our Reach to Make the World Better

By: Jan Mazotti Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

Many people could not tell you where East Timor is or who Jose Ramos-Horta is. East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, is a small country in South East Asia located just northwest of Darwin, Australia, and Ramos-Horta is its president. It is a country with a complex and challenging history.

As an integral figure in the politics of East Timor, Ramos-Horta has helped to lead the country to its independence from Indonesia. His efforts began in the early 1970s when his political activism against the "Portuguese empire" caused him to flee the country for more than two decades. Three days after leaving, Indonesian forces invaded his tiny country and approximately 200,000 people, almost one-third of the country’s population, were killed, including his brothers and sisters. Ramos-Horta said, "The most frustrating thing was the hypocrisy and duplicity, of countries like the United States, that preached human rights and democracy, yet were supplying weapons and aircraft to Indonesia, which was bombing East Timor. One of my own sisters was killed by a U.S.-supplied aircraft."

Jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with fellow East Timorese Bishop Carlos Belo, the men hoped the award would bring international attention to the widespread abuses in the country by acting President Suharto. And it did. It brought visibility to the problems in East Timor and caught the attention of President Clinton. In May 1998, the people of East Timor held an independence vote where more than 78 percent of people voted to break the ties with Indonesia. Then, in 1999 President Clinton played a pivotal role in helping put international pressures on Indonesia to formally free the country. Ramos-Horta returned after the vote, and the country was declared independent in 2002.

Having served as East Timor’s foreign minister and prime minister, in May 2007, Ramos-Horta assumed the role of president. In what has been described as an attempted coup, in February 2008, Ramos-Horta was shot by a renegade soldier. Living through the assassination attempt, Ramos-Horta began his journey to build up East Timor’s rich and untapped oil, gas, and mineral resources in a smart and beneficial way. He wanted for his people to make more than the average $2.00 day and wanted the malnutrition in his country to end. A positive force, Ramos-Horta has publicly acknowledged his strategy toward Indonesia by saying, "I don’t like to rub salt in the wounds of people who I know have lost. For me, the great principle is in victory—be magnanimous. Be magnanimous toward adversaries who feel that they have lost. Try to make them feel like they didn’t lose and that we all won." Because of his ability to be magnanimous, his country has made enormous progress over the last two years.

President Ramos-Horta graciously agreed to talk to us for this issue of ICOSA, reflecting on his own life and political ordeals. When asked about his greatest accomplishments and motivations, he directed the answer back to the people of his country and said, "The true heroes in my own situation, in my country, are the unknown people, the common people." He said that when he arrived back in East Timor in 1999, he was received like a national hero, which embarrassed him because the people of his country were really the ones who had endured 24 years of occupation without losing hope. "Thousands and thousands of people came to the streets to welcome me, and wherever I went in the following days and weeks, there were thousands more. The real heroes, the Timorese people, taught me a tremendous lesson in humility. In the face of their greatness—the greatness of giving me the status of being a national hero—they were the real heroes. It really humbled me – it was overwhelming," he said.

Reflecting on the global situation, relative to when Ramos-Horta began his work, he discussed globalization and the indifference that is often commonplace with development. He said that 50 years ago (or maybe less) the West—specifically the rich in the West—seemed to be immune and indifferent to the problems in the developing world But as a result of globalization, of global interconnectedness, and the fast movement of people and of goods, the rich no longer feel so immune from events that happen elsewhere in the globe. He said, "I’m not talking only about terrorism. I’m talking about diseases. We have had in recent times the threat of Avian Flu, of SARS, and HIV. Globalization has brought diseases that have been eliminated in the West, but are still prevalent in many developing countries. And, these diseases might come to the shores of the western countries, if the developed countries don’t do enough to eliminate them." According to Ramos-Horta it is the inevitability of globalization—both negative and positive that, "forces humanity to realize that our destinies are intertwined. We have to work together for the common good of humanity."

When discussing current events and his concerns, Ramos-Horta said much of the world’s issues are rooted in ignorance, lack of vision and lack of compassion. He commented, "If you have people who are uneducated, then they are more vulnerable to manipulation, brainwashing and instigation by demagogues, whether political or religious, irresponsible demagogues." To combat the problem, he says we must provide better education, more access to the Internet, more access to news, and more access to books that teach respect and tolerance for each other. "It is the only way you can defeat the evils of the demagogues, whoever they are."

He went on, "My greatest fear is that because of lack of vision, lack of compassion, and because of absence of leadership in the United States, in Europe and in other countries, we are moving further and further towards alienation, towards a real clash of cultures and people. I believe that we will see a clash of civilization where there will be rampant violence all over the world—in the streets of Europe, in the streets of the United States. That would be an enormous tragedy and unforgivable because we have it in our hands, in our reach, to change—to make the planet and the world a far better one that we are living in today."

Believing in the rights of people to self-determination, Ramos-Horta supports the Timorese in their quest for territorial independence, not just through language and culture, but for the protection of their lands from, "rapacious multinationals." Committed to a three-pronged plan to settle historical conflicts, Ramos-Horta is well on his way on behalf of his country to bring humanitarian awareness to East Timor through the release of prisoners and with the end of torture. He is further committed to genuine political autonomy and has publicly stated that East Timor will have no standing army and will create a Zone of Peace and Development.

When asked about his plans for the next decade, Ramos-Horta prefers to set modest goals, with a focus on one or two issues that are indeed achievable. "I know we can eliminate extreme poverty from the face of the Earth. We can and must bring clean water to villages, enhance education, and bring modern information with the international community led by countries like the United States and Europe, but working with other countries like India, Brazil, China, Japan—the powers that be—because they have the resources and the know-how."

Another of Ramos-Horta’s goals is to work with everyone concerned—with schoolteachers, with parents, with community leaders, with church spiritual leaders to eliminate prejudice and ignorance that is easily appropriated and manipulated by agitators who spread hatred. He says that we must address the issue that, "...causes phenomena like we have today with international terrorists where they make each and every one of us uncomfortable and feel insecure in our homes or when we travel."

He went on, "If people are extremely poor, if they feel they have been excluded, well, they are easily manipulated. If they are uneducated—if they have no access to education—we leave the demagogues— the religious demagogues, the political demagogues—to feed them with propaganda and false information about others. The two are inextricably linked. If we would set those two goals, I believe we could defeat the forces of hatred and prejudice."

The Peace Corps - Rotary Connection

By: Arianne Burger Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Community For those who have served in the Peace Corps, the journey is never over. We return home from our countries of service seeing the world with a new perspective and possessing a determination to live our lives in a meaningful way. That new-found determination leads us to seek experiences at home that are as important as our service and that oftentimes leads Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) to Rotary International.

Sue Fox had an idea. As a returned volunteer from Liberia (1968-‘70) and a past-president of the Denver Rotary Club, she knew that there was a natural connection between Rotary and Peace Corps. She felt that, "RPCVs and Rotarians are kindred spirits, seeking the same goals embodied in Rotary’s motto, ‘Service Above Self.’" She followed up on her idea by bringing together a group of Rotarians and RPCVs in November, 2009.

Since that November morning, the "Tiger Team," named after Fox’s aging Golden Labrador Tiger, has met on numerous occasions and made incredible progress on formalizing how an official partnership between Peace Corps and Rotary International could work. The committee has grown to include other non-RPCV Rotarians, representatives from the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Colorado, as well as the Peace Corps Community at the University of Denver. Together, the team has drafted a resolution to Rotary International, proposing that a formal alliance be formed between the two organizations that will serve as a prototype for similar alliances between Rotary and the international volunteer service organizations in many countries around the world. Conversations have also been held with top members of the Peace Corps administration, who are also keen on moving forward with the idea.

The Goal

Connect Rotarians with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

There are teams of Rotarians working on projects around the world. Many times, representatives from clubs in the U.S. will travel to other countries to provide technical assistance with those projects. While technically prepared for the work ahead, many Rotarians are not as culturally prepared for what they will encounter while abroad. Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, however, have a fundamental understanding of cultural mores in their countries of service. By connecting outbound Rotarians with RPCVs, they can provide valuable information that can lessen the culture shock and provide an easier working environment for the new volunteers. It has in fact worked. A team from the Meade, Colorado club visited Nicaragua in the fall of 2010, armed with valuable cultural information and connections to the "in-country" Peace Corps office, provided by three RPCVs who had recently returned from their service. The connection was facilitated by Rotarian and Tiger Team member, Ted Bendelow, who just happens to be a member of the RPCV of Colorado (Liberia 1964-‘66).

Connect Outgoing Peace Corps Volunteers to Rotary Clubs Both Here and Abroad

Once abroad, many Peace Corps Volunteers create projects that require funding as well as technical expertise. By formalizing a relationship between the Peace Corps and Rotary clubs, groups both here and abroad could be connected to these projects and provide either financial or technical support. Judy Beggs, an RPCV from Senegal and member of Englewood Rotary started a nonprofit called Friends of Gueoul, whose mission is to educate girls in the village of Gueoul. She received a large matching grant from the Rotary Foundation to build a computer classroom in Gueoul, and Peace Corps Senegal has assigned a new Small Enterprise Development Volunteer to the project, with a PCV assigned to it for a total of six years (three tours) to maximize the possibility of the facility becoming self-sustaining. This is just one example of the ad hoc partnerships that are already underway around the world between Rotarians and Peace Corps Volunteers.

Create a Stronger Community of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers by Introducing Them to Rotary International

Many of the RPCV-Rotarian members of the District 5450 Rotary-Peace Corps Alliance Committee have found kindred spirits in their fellow RPCV-Rotarians. Sue Fox has found that, "Rotary gives Returned Volunteers the opportunity to continue their service to the world while they are occupied with careers and family responsibilities. And it even offers a way to teach these values to their children."

Steve Werner, RPCV (South Korea 1976-‘78) and 23-year member of Rotary Club of Denver Southeast, assisted Fox in the creation of the committee because he felt that the partnership would, "Generate more members for each other's programs and create more fellowship among the constituents of each organization who believe in service above self and world peace." Steve has a long history with both organizations, having served as Chair of the Board of the National Peace Corps Association.

Charlie Hunt, RPCV (Vanuatu 2006-‘08) joined Rotary later in his career. After returning to the U.S in 2008 and settling in Denver with his wife, Nancy Cole, Hunt started his own project back in Vanuatu with the support of his LoDo Rotary Club in Denver. The LoDo club is working to demonstrate how to use smokeless cook stoves to the rural women of Vanuatu. Hunt has connected his home club with the Vanuatu Port Vila Rotary Club through Assistant District Governor Robert Bohn. His club and the New Zealand District are supportive of the project.

Hunt contacted the program and training officer at the Vanuatu Peace Corps office to ask if the cook stove demonstration could be provided through their 15 Community Health Volunteers who work in the Shefa Province. Peace Corps Vanuatu approved the project, so now Hunt is working with the Peace Corps and his Rotary club to determine the next steps. Currently, the LoDo Club will facilitate a demonstration in the rural villages with Peace Corps Volunteers monitoring usage to see if the village women will consistently use the clean stoves.

Peace Corps Volunteers and Rotarians have been working together for years on projects such as the ones described. And, as Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary in March 2011, we believe it is time to formalize this partnership so that future generations of Rotarians and Peace Corps Volunteers can continue the legacy of promoting peace and fellowship throughout the world.

Arianne Burger is RPCV (Kazakhstan 1999-2001) and serves as President, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Colorado. To learn more about how your club can work together with RPCVs in your community, or to share your own success stories of Peace Corps/Rotary collaborations, please contact Sue Fox at [email protected].

President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oscar Arias

By: Maria Luna Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel Leaders have stories; it’s what makes history.

"In any Costa Rican town, you will find a school built, equipped or staffed with money we spent on students rather than soldiers. In any Costa Rican city, you will find clinics and hospitals of the universal health care system created on money we spent on doctors and medicines instead of guns and bombs. Walking along any Costa Rican street you will find happy school children who have never seen a tank or machine gun. And in our forests, and skies, and seas you will see not troops, or armed helicopters, or submarines but rather centennial trees, colorful toucans, and unique underwater ecosystems that are the legacy of Costa Rica; that is the story we’ve chosen," said Óscar Arias at a recent speech.

President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias’ continued progress for the promotion of peace and environmental conservation spans from the beginning of his first presidency in 1986 to the present. Originating from a country that abolished its standing army in 1948, Arias has extensive knowledge of creating security without a military. Former President Arias describes his country’s path to de-militarization as a, "story of a people who choose to make their destiny a different one."

He went on, "It is a story that is not yet finished and needs all of your help to give it a fitting end. This story began in 1948—the year Costa Rica was gripped by civil war. That year the clash between armies yielded a winner, and the war came to an end. Most importantly of all however, it was the year when our soldiers finally laid down their weapons. It was the year that my country decided that they would never pick up those weapons again. My country decided that its fathers and cousins, brothers and friends, would never again transform themselves into agents of violence. My country became the first in history to abolish its army and declare peace to the world."

In 1948, Arias was only eight years old and knew little of the impacts of his country’s decision, except that as he grew up, so too did Costa Rica’s commitment to peace. Today, Costa Rica is a bio-diverse rainforest of blooming almond trees and Coprinus mushrooms. There are over 10,000 types of vascular plants, bromelaids, epiphytes and vines, 1,500 species of orchids, great green macaws, red-eyed leaf frogs, green basilisks, orange-chinned parakeets, two-toed sloths, crimson-collared tanagers, and the northern tamandua. What’s more, Costa Rica’s rainforests are the foundation for security in three ways—education, jobs, and health. Costa Rica’s focus on the preservation of its world renowned rainforests is only part of the solution to being ecologically responsible. The rainforest creates jobs and promotes a healthy society.

When asked how companies or individuals could positively engage in environmental conservation and humanitarian efforts, Arias gave several examples like The Peace with Nature Initiative. He commented that Costa Rica has a tradition of being very ecologically minded—with more than 25 percent of its territory environmentally protected and more than half of its territory covered with trees. The Initiative proposes to make Costa Rica carbon neutral by the year 2021, the 100 year celebration of independence. "It will be quite a challenge. I don’t know if we can accomplish that. Certainly, individuals as well as companies can help us to achieve these goals," he said.

Instituting carbon neutrality is difficult in industrialized countries like China and the U.S. because of growth and industry. Arias said, "They are not really committed to cut CO2 emissions as the world deserves. It seems to me that, what we need is to change the prevailing value system, because the values that have prevailed in the past century and in this one are greed and selfishness. People have put profits before principles. With those values it is going to be very difficult to really live in a more peaceful world."

Arias argued that the arms trade is the best example of putting profit before principle—and he used the example of selling the arms to poor countries that do not need them simply because countries want to make a profit. "The U.S. is about to sell $60 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East. Eventually Israel is going to purchase more weapons or produce more weapons because the U.S. is selling arms to other countries, modern and friendly countries, but still fueling more conflict in the Middle East. This is a very good example of putting profits before principles," he said.

Currently, Arias’ organization is working on an arms trade treaty that was introduced to the U.N. during his presidency, which would inhibit the sale of weapons around the world. "The world is spending $1.5 trillion on arms and soldiers. Latin America is spending $60 billion on arms and soldiers. I come from a country without an army for 60 years. I think that it’s the worst perversion to spend on arms—to keep purchasing weapons that are not needed—instead of educating our kids. Latin America has never been more democratic than now, yet we still continue purchasing sophisticated weapons that we do not need." He went on, "There is a different mindset in children who have never seen a tank, an armed helicopter, or a missile. Their values are different. In Costa Rica, we spend 70 percent of gross domestic product on education and 8.5 percent of GDP on healthcare. It’s a very peaceful country and a very democratic country," articulated Arias.

As I talked to President Arias, his passion for this subject grew. He went on to discuss the eight nuclear weapons states—the U.S., Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, and Israel—who combined, possess more than 7,500 nuclear weapons ready to be deployed at any time. He reiterated that military expenditures reached $1.5 trillion last year, representing 2.7 percent of the world’s GDP. "This is nothing less than an outrage, an immoral failure. Just think of what we could have achieved with a fraction of those funds. If the world reduced its military spending by just 25 percent, we could buy 1.9 billion computers, or one laptop per child. That means not just every child in Costa Rica or every child in Latin America, but every child in the developing world would walk into her classroom tomorrow and find her own laptop waiting for her," he proclaimed.

Arias went on, "Let us say that reduction seems too extreme—if the world reduces its military spending by just 10 percent we could provide scholarships like those I instituted in Costa Rica to keep kids in school, 153 million high risk young people for an entire year. If 10 percent is still too much, with a reduction of just five percent, we could buy enough mosquito nets to protect the entire population of the developing world from malaria three times over. With a reduction of just one armed helicopter, we could provide school lunches for thousands of children throughout our schools. With a reduction of just one combat plane, we could protect dozens of square miles of primary forest. With a reduction of just one soldier’s salary, we could pay for at least one English teacher. Or with a small change, we could equip all homes with electricity, or achieve universal literacy, or eradicate preventable diseases. That is what we would gain if we put an end to our Russian Roulette of military spending. Our countries would never then be the same!"

The recent disaster in Haiti provides additional fodder for Arias’ position. While there was no way to prevent the earthquake and hurricanes in Haiti in 2010, Arias argues that the world could have prevented what followed. "With just one-fifth of one percent of world military spending—that’s 0.2 percent—we could have built a safe home for every single family in Haiti left homeless by the earthquake and provided clean drinking water for every single Haitian, thus preventing the cholera epidemic. We could have built a brand new hospital, provided a hot meal for all of Haiti’s children every single day, and put all of those children through a year of school. Their suffering only continues because of the world’s priorities."

Of course, there are those who would argue that cutting military spending would be risky and dangerous. But President Arias purports that the global village indeed risks more by staying the same; that the world is more dangerous when it values profits over peace. He says choices are not out of a matter of necessity but that they are a matter of will. "The greatest reason for the failure of the international community to become part of this story of peace is the fact that around the world too many people do not believe that the story is possible—they just don’t buy it," Arias said.

To help world leaders gain buy-in to the "story of peace," Costa Rica is pursuing three projects that are aimed at changing perceptions and attitudes. The Costa Rican consensus, an initiative of Arias’ recent administration, creates mechanisms to forgive debts and use international financial resources to support developing nations that spend more on environmental protection, education, healthcare, and housing for the people and less on arms and soldiers. Arias is convinced that this approach will bring greater development, greater security, and greater peace than all the money that is now set aside for militaries.

Another pursuit is an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which prohibits the transfer of arms to states, troops or individuals if sufficient reason exists to believe that the arms will be used to violate human rights or international law. During his last administration and after more than a decade of hard work, the Treaty was taken under consideration by presidents and prime ministers, before congresses and parliaments, as well as the United Nations.

In his closing statements, Arias said, "I make this call to you today with every bit as much passion and conviction because every voice raised in favor of these efforts will help make them a reality. My hope for the future is that if we want to be a more peaceful world, we need to change our value system."

As a Noble Peace Prize laureate, President Arias motivates individuals to take part in creating a future of peace and sustainability, of course leading by example and making history. He wants people to contemplate creating their own "story."

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Óscar Arias was elected President of Costa Rica: 1986-1990, 2006-2010.

President Arias was awarded the Noble Peace Prize for his promotion of peace in Central America.

On August 7, 1987, President Óscar Arias’ Peace Plan was signed by five countries—Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica—which called for a cease-fire, the granting of amnesty to political prisoners, and the holding of free and democratic elections.

According to the latest Gallop World Poll, Costa Rica is the happiest nation on the planet (2010).

The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress is a Costa Rican nonprofit, civil society organization. It was created in 1988 with the endowment from the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to its founder and then-President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Dr. Óscar Arias Sánchez, in recognition of the efforts that led to the achievement of a "firm and everlasting peace" in Central America. The Foundation is dedicated to the consolidation of peace and the building of safer, fairer, and more democratic societies.

To participate or donate in President Arias’ efforts, visit http://www.peacewithnature.org or visit the Arias Foundation at http://www.arias.or.cr.

Leadership to Protect Human Dignity is a Duty

By: Ben Bryan Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

Aung San Suu Kyi, as the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), a major political party in Burma, undertook a speaking tour of her country in the spring of 2003. While travelling in a convoy with many of her supporters on May 30th of that year, an armed attack took place, widely believed to be an assassination attempt by Burma’s ruling military junta.

Because of the courage of her driver, Suu Kyi narrowly escaped injury, but 70 of her followers were beaten to death. This was but one of the many instances of violence perpetrated on the people of Burma, now known as Myanmar, by its totalitarian dictators. Although such violence has been widespread in Myanmar since the country’s representative democracy was crushed in 1962, it was the closest and certainly most personal brush with violence suffered by the Lady, as Suu Kyi is widely and adoringly known, since she became the leader of the pro-democracy opposition in Myanmar in 1988.

Following the assassination attempt, Suu Kyi was put under house arrest "for her own protection." This marked her third protracted stay under house arrest, totaling 15 years between 1990 and 2010. While under house arrest, the Lady was prevented from being by her dying husband’s side, who passed away in 1999, and she now has grandchildren that she has never met.

The Nobel Prize

Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, while she was under house arrest for the first time. The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited her "nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights," and noted her "interest in Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent protest".

In November 2010, Myanmar’s governing junta released Suu Kyi after nearly seven years of house arrest. Her release was a major international news story, demonstrating her global standing as a pro-democracy leader and icon. More importantly, her followers in Myanmar appeared as devoted and jubilant as ever, and to the presumed dismay of the country’s military leadership that must have hoped for an "out of sight, out of mind" outcome, her popularity among the people of Myanmar had not diminished. She drew a crowd of thousands to a rally the day after her release.

Despite her personal suffering at the hands of the junta and the continuing violence perpetrated by the junta on the people of Myanmar, and at one time directed to her personally, Aung San Suu Kyi has remained steadfast in her nonviolent principles. She professes no grudge or resentment against the ruling generals. She continues to adhere to the moral high ground. The New York Times, reporting from the rally featuring Suu Kyi the day after her release, commented "... she had emerged with her popularity and moral authority intact."

Preaching nonviolence and promoting reconciliation does not mean Aung San Suu Kyi shrinks from confrontation. In fact, her November 2010 rally, just after release, and subsequent public appearances were direct challenges to the military and simply a renewal of the confrontational style that has been a hallmark of her pro-democracy leadership since 1988.

The Daughter of a Hero

Born into a prominent Burmese family in 1945, Aung San Suu Kyi shied away from direct involvement in her country’s politics until events compelled her to step forward in 1988. That year in Burma is sometimes compared to the 1968 Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia—a time of popular uprising against a repressive regime. In Burma’s case, the regime agreed to democratic elections, and Suu Kyi helped to form the NLD, becoming its general secretary.

Suu Kyi’s father, Aung San was the commander of the Burma Independence Army in the 1940’s and was a key figure in Burma’s struggle to break free of British colonial rule. Still regarded as a national hero, Aung San was assassinated in 1947 when his only daughter was two years old, and just six months before Burma gained independence.

As the child of a privileged family, Aung San Suu Kyi spent many of the first 30 years of her life abroad. She was educated at Oxford University in the mid-1960’s and worked at the United Nations in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, when fellow countryman U Thant was Secretary-General. She married an Englishman, Michael Aris, in the early 1970’s and they had two sons.

Returning to Burma in March 1988 to care for her ailing mother, Suu Kyi was galvanized by the rapid political changes and ensuing popular protests that took place that spring, as well as the repressive response by the ruling dictators. Soon she was speaking before crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands, espousing Buddhist values and Gandhian principals of nonviolence. The NLD rapidly became the leading political party in the run up to the elections. In a speech on August 26, 1988 she said, "I could not, as my father’s daughter, remain indifferent to all that was going on."

However, by 1989, Suu Kyi’s popularity and uncompromising criticisms of the military and its tactics resulted in her being prohibited from personally standing for election and her first house arrest. She undertook a hunger strike that succeeded in guaranteeing better treatment of anti-government student protesters.

The NLD won 82 percent of the seats in the new parliament despite her detention, a result so anathema to the military that it refused to sanction the result, and the nascent democracy movement in Burma was crushed.

Myanmar has today emerged from a long period of isolation to recognize its strategic geopolitical importance as a country bordering both China and India. Those countries are now competing for Myanmar’s abundant natural resources, promising economic revitalization in the face of a long-standing U.S.-led economic boycott. Emboldened, the military regime in Myanmar held elections in November 2010, the first in 20 years.

Still under house arrest, Suu Kyi called for a boycott of the elections, which were widely perceived in the West to be a sham. As a result of the boycott, the NLD was stripped of its political rights, and a new constitution containing clauses specifically designed to keep Aung San Suu Kyi from ever serving as Myanmar’s leader were enacted.

Symbolically released from house arrest just a week after the sham elections, an undeterred Suu Kyi told The New York Times that she intends to lead a nonviolent revolution.

Now 65 years old, the Lady is still described in news reports as "lissome" and "regal." Her hair remains black, is usually adorned with a flower, and tops a long face dominated by a brilliant smile and piercing dark eyes. Reporters who meet her comment on her discipline and calm, but it belies an energy that continues to excite her supporters.

Often compared to Nelson Mandela as, "a symbol of hope and change," Suu Kyi may be ultimately judged by whether, like Mandela, she can lead her people to an overthrow of the repressive Myanmar regime and personally take the reins of a new democratic government. But, this comparison to Mandela would be unfair on a number of levels.

The situation today in Myanmar is very different from that in South Africa in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The regime in Myanmar is not in danger of collapse and there is not a reform process underway; in fact the military junta may be stronger than ever given their new found economic opportunities. It is thought that members of the junta would have to turn on their colleagues for democratic reform to ultimately succeed, but this would not be unprecedented given recent history in the neighboring Asian countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea.

Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it is not Suu Kyi’s mission to be a hero, as her father was before her. Although an NLD colleague, Win Htein asserts, "She is like her father in that she has no qualms about losing her life." In fact, she has said in recent news reports, "I’m not very much concerned whether I personally come to power, but I am concerned about the power of the people. One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing genuine democracy to a country."

Aung San Suu Kyi has transcended the day-to-day squabbles of her political party, the ethnic strife that has plagued Burma, and the pressures laid on her—fairly or unfairly—by the international community. Her concerns are larger— "lack of spiritual development, ignorance, and selfishness." And she works tirelessly to promote "compassion and understanding." As a practicing Buddhist, she insists that, "regret is unacceptable."

A recent Time profile concluded with Suu Kyi asserting that she "considers herself lucky—not because of the people’s adoration of her but because of their respect—a value she believes stems from a generosity of spirit." She unites a commitment and tenacity around democracy, respect for human rights, reconciliation between groups, non-violence, and personal and collective discipline. Whether or not events unfold in Myanmar that might ultimately allow Aung San Suu Kyi to emerge as its governmental leader is yet to be seen. But, she is unquestionably Myanmar’s spiritual exemplar as well as a symbol of hope to anyone in the world who is fighting for democratic and human rights.

Ben Bryan is president of Owl Properties LLC, a project management firm working in the commercial real estate and financial services industries.

If We Don't Disarm Our Consciousness - We Are Divided

By: Jan Mazotti Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

In his 1980 Nobel lecture, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel said, "I do not assume a personal honor, but receive it in the name of the people of Latin America, and most especially in the name of the poor, the most small and needy, the indigenous, the peasants, the workers, the young, and the many thousand members of the religious orders who work in the most inhospitable places, and of all of those persons of goodwill who work and struggle to build a society free from domination."

Pérez Esquivel is the son of a Spanish Catholic father who was raised primarily by his grandmother, an Argentinian Guarani Indian. He is a world-renowned artist. In fact, his large-scale murals and art works can be viewed in parks across Latin America and Europe. His faith in humankind and his belief in God are reflected in his paintings, drawings and sculptures. But in the mid-1970s, Pérez Esquivel became concerned about human rights abuses in his country, especially the treatment of local leaders who had been working for peace and democracy. So, in 1974, Pérez Esquivel gave up teaching and devoted his time to building non-violent movements for change in Latin America. That same year, he was named secretary-general of the newly formed Servicio Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice Service or SERPAJ), a group that coordinates non-violent movements in the region.

As a result of his malcontent for the leadership, Pérez Esquivel became a target of the military dictatorship and in 1977, he "disappeared" and was imprisoned and tortured by the Argentinean military for 14 months. He was released only after being named Amnesty International’s Political Prisoner of the Year in 1978, which led to thousands of letters being written to the Argentinean government demanding his release.

Today, he continues his work with SERPAJ, where their focus has been to call for a cancellation of the debt of third world countries. He has also started two "Peace Villages" which provide training and housing for homeless and orphaned children in Argentina. As he said in his Nobel acceptance speech, he continues to believe in, "A change based on justice and built with love will bring us the most anxiously desired fruit of peace."

In an interview with ICOSA, Pérez Esquivel offered a proverb of the safari that says that the darkest hour is right before the rising of the sun—that there is hope even in the worst of circumstances—words which set the stage for the remainder of the interview. He urged that, "The youth of today never lose hope. There always exists a possibility and a new dawn."

ICOSA: When you look at the situation in Latin America now, relative to when you began your work there as a younger man; where do you see the most fundamental/real change like Bolivia, Salvador, Chile, Guatemala, etc.? What impact do those changes or lack thereof have on the region and the world?

Pérez Esquivel: There are changes taking place in Latin America every day. After the military dictatorships, we needed to review several things: the democratic processes, whether human rights issues were truly enforced, and the rights of peoples—not just those of individuals. The resistance of people against dictatorships, deaths, disappearances of people, torture, jails...it is here that we need to find the rights of peoples. The rights of peoples include the ability to be able to live in democracy and be able to build other spaces within that democracy. That is why we always relate democracy to human rights. If human rights are violated, democracy is weakened and a nation ceases being a democracy.

ICOSA: What current problems concern you the most?

Pérez Esquivel: In this moment there are so many problems in the world—wars, conflicts, hunger, social exclusion—I think it is necessary to analyze the world’s situation. An imposed neo-liberal model has been exhausted. We need to provoke change in the world away from today’s situation where humanity is unjust and asymmetric. We must ask how we can restore equilibrium in human relations. But also, we must ask how we can restore equilibrium when our planetary equilibrium is affected by the destruction of the ecosystem, biological diversity and water problems.

Discourse is not enough. It’s not enough to send letters to governments that don’t listen—they don’t even read the letters. Instead, we need a strong call to humanity’s conscience and the central axis. Words must be accompanied by actions or else they are without effect. We can compose tons of declarations, but if they aren’t accompanied with concrete actions, we are simply blowing air. In order to achieve concrete action, concrete decisions need to be made in international situations so that certain distinct organizations, churches, communities, social movements arise—and from there we can begin to make change.

There have been requests for this. In 2003, the Global Social Forum launched an international call to say "no" to war. And in all parts of the world people heeded that call. And, I supported the social cultural resistance. People have a great potential of which they are not aware. If this unity could be put into animated action, they could demand change. For example, the United Nations needs profound reform in order to democratize it. It is important to say no to foreign debt, which is a mechanism of domination and imposition on our people. And, we need to scale back the growing militarization of wealthy countries against poorer ones.

ICOSA: If you were sitting in front of world leaders, what issues would you ask them to focus on? What changes would you ask them to strive for? And, what advice would you offer them?

Pérez Esquivel: The crux of humanity exists in the present—so we must prepare a lesson of the present for those in the future. The lack of an international equilibrium—the imposition of one power like the United States, which wants to dominate the world—needs to have limits. And, international bodies need to be strengthened. My hope is that there are resistance movements in all parts of the world.

I always speak of small rivers that can’t be seen, but unite at some great point, and that how in some determined moment those rivers are like small historical movements of resistance which will contribute to one great cause. Those social movements have the ability to change the world. There are many such movements, like the French Revolution. There have been other movements such as the student movement known as "May ‘68" in Paris, and there have been many, many more. The social forums in Puerto Alegre, India are another case of an historical resistance movement. I think that these social forums are going to provoke changes while consolidating social, cultural, and political resistance in order to see other horizons in life. The global case of the women’s movement is one vital form of resistance today.

My other hope is a return to thinking about humankind’s relationship with Mother Nature, because we are losing Her—this little planet called Earth is being destroyed. I believe the greatest challenge for social and cultural movements is creativity and thought. We are at a stage of disarming "armed consciousness." If we don’t manage to disarm our consciousness—we are divided.

Our future depends on the lessons and the courage we have to have in the present. There is no other way! Concrete decisions need to be made. If not, we will not see change and we will be facing enormous challenges for the survival of humanity.

A New World and A New Reality

By: Heidi A Heltzel Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the 14th Dalai Lama in a line that began in 1391. The Lama was born as Lhamo Dhondon on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in northeastern Tibet, and, at the age of two, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. A man of peace, the three major commitments of the Dalai Lama are the promotion of human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline; the promotion of religious harmony and understanding among the world’s major religious traditions; and to act as the free spokesperson of the Tibetan people in their struggle for justice.

His Holiness has met with presidents, prime ministers, and crowned rulers of major nations. He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many of the world’s leading scientists. Having brought his message to more than 62 countries, spanning six continents, he communicates his message not just to the world’s political, scientific, and spiritual leaders, but to the general public as well, and has become an inspirational leader to millions of people all over the world. In fact, as a modern day means of spreading his message, His Holiness has gone "viral" with nearly 1,250,000 Facebook supporters and even more Twitter followers. Truly a leader, even on Twitter he "follows" no one. The combined participation on these two social media sites approaches the entire Tibetan population.

Since 1959, the Dalai Lama has received more than 84 awards, honorary doctorates, and prizes in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility, and compassion. His efforts have been consistent even in the face of extreme aggression. In 1989, His Holiness was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet, and was the first Nobel laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.

In his leadership role to free Tibet from oppression, in 1963, His Holiness presented a draft democratic constitution, followed by a number of reforms to democratize their administrative set up. The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile," which enshrines freedom of speech, belief, assembly, and movement. It also provides detailed guidelines for the functioning of the Tibetan government with respect to those living in exile.

In May 1990, the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realization of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community, whereby the cabinet members were then elected on a one-man, one-vote basis, rather than being appointed by His Holiness. Two years later, His Holiness issued guidelines for the constitution of the future—a free Tibet.

A further step in democratization was taken in 2001 when the Tibetan electorate directly elected the Kalon Tripa, the senior-most minister of the cabinet. The Kalon Tripa, in turn, appointed his own cabinet who had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly. In its long history, this was the first time that the people elected the political leadership of Tibet.

The day Tibet becomes free is the day that His Holiness has proclaimed he would transfer all of his historical and political authority to the interim president and live as an ordinary citizen. In any case, however, His Holiness describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.

I had the distinct pleasure of learning from the Dalai Lama. Here is what he said.

ICOSA: In the time that you have been the Dalai Lama, how have political and religious changes throughout the world changed the way you work toward promoting values and religious harmony?

DALAI LAMA: We are in a new reality now. We are in a new world, because of the economy, because of the crisis of ecology—all of these things. I think in this new world, everything is heavily interdependent. So our approach also should be changed according to this new reality.

I think the sense of community and the sense of global interdependence, in itself, can be a moral principle, meaning that we can no longer have a narrow-minded, self-centered sort of attitude. Respecting others and taking serious consideration of others’ welfare is a fundamental moral principle. It is the concept of love—the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood—this is the meaning.

We need ethics in order to have a happier humanity. We need to be more compassionate, more peaceful and equal, have less gap between rich and poor, and give everybody sufficient basic necessities. Then, I think there would be less quarreling, less jealously, less extreme competitiveness, and I think we would be more peaceful. Thinking peacefully with a feeling of concern for each individual part of society – our own daily life should be something according to these principles and that’s marvelous. This benefits the whole world, and that means it will definitely benefit each one of us. A better world is the best guarantee for our own individual future.

ICOSA: Many of your efforts promote interconnectedness, combined with personal empowerment and leadership. However, as the world becomes smaller through technology, it also seems to become more divided. How do you hope to fulfill these objectives?

DALAI LAMA: The new realities of the world are compelling us to think with a wider perspective. I think in ancient times, people viewed their situation more individually and saw things in terms of the distance between "we" and "they." They said, "Our population can remain isolated and self-sufficient, not dependent on others." Under that set of circumstances, the concept of "we" and "the enemy" made some sense, and the destruction of the enemy through war was your victory. The current reality is no longer the same. Today, the destruction of your neighbor is the destruction of yourself. So the basic view of "we" and "they"—that we are not dependent on others, that we can be independent—is no longer true. We are compelled to take care of them because they are also a part of us. There is a new ethic because we recognize a new reality. And irrespective of whether we are on our own or not, we have to act according to that reality.

ICOSA: What is the role, beyond profit, that businesses throughout the world should focus on achieving in order to support and encourage better societies?

DALAI LAMA: In our society today, the media especially has great responsibility. I have always believed that on this planet, we are one human family, and now because of many new factors today, we have to think of the entire human race as "we." There is no more "my interest" or "your interest." All of our interests are related to the whole world, to all people. We are now one global family, so when there is a problem or a threat to one of us, all of us will suffer. There is no escape.

Now that the world has become a much smaller place, much depends on each one of us. In order to go forward positively, the main factor is the human mind, the human consciousness. The sense of commitment toward a better future is our real hope. All professions should play a role—educators, the media, scientists, religious leaders, economists, and of course, politicians. They all have different activities, but they all must be for humanity, because now when we talk about humanity we cannot make a distinction between "us" or "them."

ICOSA: Tibet’s democratization efforts seem to be increasing in tempo and effectiveness, while China’s oppression is increasing. How will this increased push-pull affect efforts to resolve the situation and the outcomes?

DALAI LAMA: In spite of the very serious, harsh, and repressive nature of what is happening in Tibet today, basically, I am very hopeful, because the overall situation in the world is showing us that the totalitarian communist way of ruling doesn’t work. In China, the democratic movement not only survived, but is now very active. And I also think that economic development has brought political liberalization. At the same time, the Tibetan spirit is very high, very strong, especially among the younger generation. Awareness about Tibet is increasing around the world, year by year, and as a result, the feeling of sympathy and the feeling of solidarity is increasing. So due to these factors, for the long run, I am very optimistic.

We Can Only Be Free Together

By: Kim DeCoste Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

As I wrote this article on a beautiful, clear day in Keystone, Colorado, I felt close to the prevailing sense of hope and optimism that was shared by Bishop Desmond Tutu. While he and I have little in common, I have long been inspired by his work and his influence around the world.

I must preface this piece by saying that Bishop Tutu has been in my lexicon since the early 1980’s, when I learned of Apartheid. I heard about it first at the dinner table from my stepfather who had lived in Africa as a young man.

While my interview with Bishop Tutu was conducted via email, his tone was so clear that I felt as if I could hear him—quite literally—in my head as I read his words. I asked him about progress, collaboration, leaders who inspired him, and his own personal source of joy. And as I read his responses I was reminded that we have the ability to effect change in the world in all that we do. But perhaps, we just don’t think about it as often as we should.

ICOSA: When you look at the situation in South Africa now relative to when you began your work, where do you see the most change? What makes you most proud?

BISHOP TUTU: Well, it is the people. The people have proved to be really incredible. I mean, obviously we have spectacular examples like Nelson Mandela, but there are many, many, many others. I could give so many examples here. Long before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I was the general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and I was sitting in my office minding my own business, when a young man came in who had been tortured in detention, and had been serving a banning order, and I still remember so vividly him saying to me, "You know, Father, when these people are torturing you, and they say that they are in charge, you say ‘yes’ they are running this country. But you look at them, and you see these are God’s children, and they are losing their humanity. They need us to help them recover their humanity." Now that was a young man who was probably in his late twenties. At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I remember a white woman who had survived a hand grenade attack, but it had left her so badly injured that she spent six months in ICU, and when she was discharged, she could not do things for herself—she had to be helped by her children to bathe, to clothe, to eat, and she had shrapnel still in her. She said of the experience, that had left her in this condition, that it enriched her life, and she said, "I want to meet the person who did this in a spirit of forgiveness; I want to forgive him." She went on to say, "I hope he will forgive me." Now all you can say is it is mind-boggling when you have people of that kind of character, and we have been blessed in our country that we have many such.

ICOSA: Are there any particular leaders in human history who have inspired the work you do?

BISHOP TUTU: Well, you know, I had tuberculosis as a child, and went to the hospital for nearly two years. During that time, about once a week, Trevor Huddleston, a priest who became a renowned anti-Apartheid activist, came to see me in the hospital. I wasn’t aware at the time that maybe something was etching itself into my consciousness, but I must have been taken in, because the impression that it made was of someone caring…and caring for me. In South Africa, a white person caring for a black township urchin went to contributing to a lack of bitterness against whites, because there was at least one white man who seemed to be a nice white man. He lived in Sophiatown where he shared the life of the deprived people. He touched my life, and I’m so very grateful that he did, because he was just a tremendous advertisement for God and goodness. He was a champion of the dispossessed and really cared enormously.

ICOSA: What gives you the greatest joy? What inspires and invigorates you?

BISHOP TUTU: I am quite taken by young people. I’m always amazed, really, at their idealism—the fact that they do indeed believe that this world can become a better world. Myself, I have very great hope for the world. We face enormous problems—there is hunger, there is conflict, there is poverty. We, particularly in South Africa, are being devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and in a way, you almost want to say there is no hope, that the world is going down the tubes. But I think, No!

There are these fantastic people, especially these young people, who dream dreams, who are idealistic, who really do believe that the world can become a better place and I think that is one of our greatest hopes. So it is young people, not exclusively, who usually have demonstrated against war, who have demonstrated against international organizations that seem to favor the affluent, and they are saying, "This world can become a better place. This world can become a place that is hospitable to peace, to justice, to compassion. It can become a world where poverty is indeed history."

ICOSA: How does collaboration play into your approach to solving different problems?

BISHOP TUTU: In South Africa, we have something we call Ubuntu. Ubuntu means that a person is a person through other persons. In other words, I can be human only through relationships with other human beings. Because I wouldn’t know how to speak as a human being, I wouldn’t know how to walk, I wouldn’t know how to be human except through learning it from other human beings. And so we see eliminating poverty, ensuring that people are healthy, providing education and things of that kind is not being altruistic, it’s the best form of self-interest. It means that we’re safe. Actually, I say that we can be human only together. We can be prosperous only together. We can be free only together. We can be secure, ultimately, only together. This is God’s dream, that we will realize that we are family. That at our best, it is when in fact we show that we are connected. And until we do, we’re going to find that all kinds of things go wrong.

I could not find a more perfect ending for this article than Bishop Tutu’s simple words, "We can be human only together. We can be prosperous only together. We can be free only together. We can be secure, ultimately, only together. This is God’s dream, that we will realize that we are family."

These simple words written from a man in Africa to a woman in Colorado—two distant people, who will likely never meet, inspire me to work harder to be understanding and to be more "human" in the spirit of hope and optimism.

Kim DeCoste is the Director of Career Services for Colorado Technical University and President of DeCoste & Associates, LLC. She can be reached at: [email protected] or 303.362.2948.

Listen to the Truth of our Opponent

By: Michael Connors Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

Before speaking with Mairead Maguire, I had the privilege of interviewing Rigoberta Menchu-Tum for a previous ICOSA piece, and what I have found is that Nobel Peace Prize winners have a deep understanding and connection with what is best in the human spirit. This may be so because as Nobel Peace Prize winners, they have often experienced the worst that humanity has to offer in the perils of war. Rigoberta lost much of her family in the Guatemalan civil war. And for this article I was fortunate enough to speak with Mairead Maguire, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who, along with Betty Williams, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her dedication, tireless efforts and passionate pleas in the cause of peace for Northern Ireland.

Williams was a witness to the deaths of a family of four who were killed by an Irish Republic Army (IRA) member while fleeing from British soldiers. Those killed were Maguire’s nieces and nephews. These tragic deaths led Maguire’s sister to take her own life four years later. Shortly after the funerals of the children, Maguire and Williams formed, with the help of journalist Ciaran McKeown, the Community of the Peace People, and organized a march of more than 35,000 participants who demanded an end to the violence that had gripped their country for decades. Today, many would argue that this manifestation of unity and focused collaborative effort was the beginning of the end of the Northern Ireland conflict. After speaking with Maguire, it was evident that passion, dedication, and hope are often what pulls people through such events and enables others to finally believe that peace is possible.

While her passion and dedication are apparent, what Maguire imparted was the importance of the process and collaboration. How is peace actually achieved? She helps others understand some of the fundamental underpinnings of peace that must be in place before the fighting stops. "Many believe that conflict and war are often based on religious, ethnic or racial biases, and while these may be the marks of the underclass being persecuted, they are often only superficial traits. The truth is that these traits are what help those in power segregate groups of people in order to maintain their own power," said Maguire.

Since the 12th century, Northern Ireland has experienced internal and external strife, but on December 6, 1921 with the signing of the Irish Free State Treaty, Northern Ireland officially became part of the British Union, the same union that caused the 1922 Civil War. The conflict in Northern Ireland continued for decades and became worse during the period from 1969-1998. That period, known as The Troubles, was not caused by differences between the Catholic and Protestant religions, but was instead a conflict rooted in economic and political dichotomies. In Northern Ireland, Catholics often faced discrimination—they usually lived in poorer neighborhoods and were often prevented from getting good jobs or receiving a good education. Because of this, many Catholics, or Nationalists, wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the republic to the south. However, Protestants/Unionists wanted things to remain as they were, with Northern Ireland linked to the United Kingdom.

Maguire was raised in a Catholic ghetto in Belfast during some of the hardest years of the conflict, and she explained that much of the fundamentals of the conflict were about basic civil rights. "When the civil rights movement started here, it took its cue from the civil rights movement in America. The root causes here were injustice and inequality and we had a minority community that didn’t have the right to vote. Had we had real political leadership in those days, you would have had to deal with the root causes of division and inequality in order to really have peace, but tragically that didn’t happen for all sorts of reasons. Instead of going down the road of social and political reform, we went down the road of violence," she said.

She explained, "As long as you have populations that are segregated and inherently unequal, you will have political, social, civil and economic inequalities that are part and parcel of the system. These inequalities and the injustices, perpetuated in the absence of equality under the law, fester and over time lead to violence. Thus, it is imperative that individuals and governments work together through collaborative models in order to facilitate change."

This focus on human rights as an integral function of peace is also why Maguire and Menchu-Tum belong to the Nobel Women’s Initiative. "Women and children often suffer the most as a silent population with the least rights within an already oppressed group. So while it is fairly easy to identify those who are disenfranchised, it is the work of peacemakers and those dedicated to the hope of nonviolence to ask, what is the solution here?" said Maguire.

Because the world is becoming so interconnected today, it almost seems to share one large consciousness. The importance and relevance of international influence is not to be understated or ignored. Maguire outlined some of the actions that individuals and governments could participate in to help bring peace to the Middle East. "We won’t solve the problem. We are outsiders. But, we can stand in solidarity with the Israelis and Palestinians and say that militarism and paramilitarism is not going to solve the problem here. Let’s do it through dialogue," she maintained.

"The American government currently funds the Israeli government’s huge military budget. If American officials firmly said to Israel tomorrow morning that there is a solution here and that what they are doing affects everyone in the Middle East—problem solved! America has the power to do that because it holds the purse strings. It is in everyone’s interests that the Israeli government moves toward policies that are fair and just. But, what is lacking is the political will inside the Israeli government to move forward. There are solutions and it is possible. I have hope. I really do have hope that there will be great changes in Israel and Palestine," asserted Maguire.

While the direction may be clear, political will and diplomacy often seem to be lacking, perpetuating a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. But this is where the new global consciousness and cooperation becomes paramount according to Maguire.

Perhaps no generation personifies this new global consciousness better than the youth of today. For the last 15 years, Maguire has been involved in PeaceJam (www.peacejam.org) and has supported its mission to infuse young people with a passion for peace by connecting young people with the tools and inspiration they need in order to create change. Co-founded by Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff, PeaceJam is an organization that gives voice to Nobel Peace Prize laureates to inspire, instruct and personify the business of peace. Her hope is that future generations may grow up in a world where peace is no longer the exception, but the rule, and that violence is intolerable.

Of PeaceJam, Maguire states, "I just love Dawn and Ivan, the founders of PeaceJam. What that couple has done through PeaceJam has really spread—not only in America but in other countries. Billions of young people have gotten involved in works of peace, and it is a wonderful model of really how we will build a new culture of non-killing and nonviolence starting with our children. That is a model that can be used in any culture."

Maguire shared her thoughts on peace. They should be highlighted and promoted in order to inspire all of us to action. She said, "Gandhi taught that nonviolence does not mean passivity. It is the most daring, creative, and courageous way of living, and it is the only hope for our world. Nonviolence is an active way of life which always rejects violence and killing, and instead applies the forces of love and truth as a means to transform conflict and the root causes of conflict. Nonviolence demands creativity. It pursues dialogue, seeks reconciliation, listens to the truth in our opponents, rejects militarism, and allows God’s spirit to transform us socially and politically."

Michael Connors has an M.A. in literature and an extensive background in teaching. He is a Colorado native and spends his free time in the Rockies skiing and hiking.

Jody Williams

By: Judith B. Taylor Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

Jody Williams, the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner is a woman with a global mission. As a teacher and aid worker, she is a relentless proponent for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and has helped save thousands of lives.

Williams’ first position as an aid worker was in the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project as a grocery worker. Following that, she became the deputy director of a Los Angeles–based charity, Medical Aid for El Salvador. Then, in 1992, she accepted a position with the ICBL, whose goal was to free the world of antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions.

At the onset of her work at the ICBL, Williams felt the need for global recognition and a resolution to ban landmines. After almost five grueling years, the organization achieved one of its goals—The Axworthy Challenge. The Axworthy Challenge was the momentum gaining point where 50 governments and 24 influential observers met to craft an agenda for action which highlighted steps to reach a global ban on landmines. Just over a year later, in 1997, a series of meetings occurred around the world to develop the diplomatic channels and negotiations to put a worldwide treaty in place. Later that year, The Ottawa Treaty was signed in Canada by 122 nations and was in force within two years—faster than any treaty of its kind in history.

Williams said about the treaty, "A treaty is merely words on a piece of paper; unless you force governments and militaries to comply, to obey their own words on paper, then things don’t change. None of us in the campaign, none of civil society saw that as victory. We actually saw it as the first step toward the possibility of victory. It was our responsibility to continue public pressure, to make sure that governments obeyed the treaty, and to make sure that armies no longer used the weapons."

"We didn’t start the campaign in order to get the Nobel Prize. I don’t think I ever thought much about the Nobel Peace Prize. We started the campaign because it was a crisis situation—landmines were killing people all over the world. We thought it was something, a little contribution that we could make, making the aftermath of war easier for poor people to deal with. That’s why we did it. We thought it was right," she emphasized.

Personally for Williams, the work was bigger than the treaty that was signed, the awards that were won, and the accolades that were bestowed on the organization. It was about accountability and responsibility. It was about the rule of law. "Every time the international community and governments come together and make beautiful words on paper that they do not obey, it fosters belief that armies can get away with whatever they want—that soldiers, the military, and the police can act with impunity, and are above the law," Williams said. She emphasized the importance of re-educating soldiers, police, military, governments, as well as people like you and me—that laws apply to everybody.

She described her work in El Salvador as the "scariest country I have worked in" because there was no law that applied to the army. She said that there was no law that applied to the soldiers, the police, the paramilitary, and the "fake military." They could do whatever they wanted, to whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and nothing would happen to them, she expressed.

While outlawing antipersonnel landmines is impactful, Williams, along with other female Nobel Peace Prize winners founded The Nobel Women’s Initiative. The Initiative consists of six brilliant and influential women representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. All have brought together their experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality by supporting women’s rights around the world.

Today, Williams teaches Global Justice Patterns: Perspectives and Strategies at the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work. The class builds a practical and theoretical understanding of international political, economic, and human rights issues with a focus on the rights and responsibilities of global citizenship and effective citizen-advocacy strategies for achieving social justice goals. She continues to serve with the ICBL as a campaign ambassador and editor of the landmine report, as well.

Jody Williams is a humble woman with global reach, a global voice, and a Nobel Peace Prize. She says, "I’m an ordinary gal from Putney, Vermont, a town of 1200. Who would believe that I would change the world on this issue? But, I have. It is important to remember that ordinary people, when they believe in themselves and the things they want to do, can achieve extraordinary things. It’s what makes a person extraordinary."

Interestingly, at the end of our interview, Williams said, "Don’t be me; be better than me. I’m not all that great. I’m not Mother Theresa." Perhaps Jody Williams is not Mother Theresa, but she is extraordinary in many ways. She is certainly a woman who has changed the world for the better and made it safer for us all.

Note: Although not a party to the treaty, the United States remains the world’s largest donor to humanitarian de-mining and has banned all persistent antipersonnel mines.

Judith Brissette Taylor is a journalist, speaker and speech writer. She has been a practitioner in the women's market for over twenty-five years as a writer, editor and publisher. She served for two years as president of the Women's Regional Publications of America. Email her at [email protected].

Betty Williams

By: Jan Mazotti Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Nobel

In the early 1970s, Betty Williams was a wife, mother, and office receptionist in Northern Ireland. But, by the mid-1970s, Williams was well on her way to becoming a Nobel Peace laureate committed to active non-violence. What started as a car accident on August 10, 1976, proved to be a turning point in her life. The car accident was the result of a shooting of an IRA member by British authorities. The IRA driver died at the wheel and his out of control car hit and killed a group of children. Moved by the events, Williams, along with fellow Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire, began their campaign for peace. Within two days, Williams obtained 6,000 signatures for a petition for peace. As their peace movement gained momentum, Williams began to organize mass protests and peace marches. In fact, the first march hosted 10,000 Protestant and Catholic women, but was quickly quashed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Undeterred by the IRA, the next march was attended by more than 35,000 protestors.

Today, Williams is the head of the World Centers of Compassion for Children (WCCC) International, founded in 1997, an international organization working to protect children’s rights and promote children’s welfare. The organization is committed to change how governments deal with children’s issues and is currently proposing the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Rights for Children by governments worldwide and the General Assembly of the United Nations. Her motivation to work with children is embodied in her thoughtful words, "I had no concept of the depth of the children’s suffering until witnessing their pain. Yet in a world that we know can feed itself, upwards of 40,000 children die every day from conditions of malnutrition. Surely we must question why we are allowing this carnage to continue." Headquartered in the Republic of Ireland, WCCC is building the first City of Compassion in southern Italy.

Williams is, perhaps, a beacon for those who believe active non-violence is the way through sometimes tragic and horrific circumstances. She says, "It is not enough to know what you want; you must know how to achieve it with integrity. No matter what the goal, if the path is without integrity, it will lose its way and be destroyed." Below, are thoughts shared by Williams with ICOSA.

ICOSA: With so many notable achievements, what motivates you?

WILLIAMS: Well, the hope for me, that's an easy one. I see hope in the young people, and I know, because I'm with young people on very regular occasions, that they're very displeased with the way their world is going at the moment. They desperately want to change that. So, if there's hope to be had, it'll come through the youth.

ICOSA: If you were to visit with young future leaders, what advice would you offer?

WILLIAMS: I hate to use the word responsibility, especially in terms of saying that youth have the responsibility of taking care of our mistakes. But the bottom line on it is that we have made so many mistakes and those of us—I'm in my 60's now—who see clearly those mistakes, and we've left the youth to deal with them. We must teach the youth how to deal with these problems, which is one of the things I love about our program in PeaceJam is that it does just that. I've never been at a PeaceJam yet where a youth or several (or more than that) ask questions that are so deep that they blow my mind. They're very aware of what's going on around them. We've got to empower them, to help them change what we've left them—we must change the legacy of violence and misunderstanding and mistrust. They're aware; it's just showing them how to do it.

ICOSA: What current issues/problems concern you the most and why?

WILLIAMS: My greatest fear at the moment is that the future looks like it's going to be pretty violent. We have countries that are surpassing themselves in terms of terrorism and acts of terrorism camouflaged under the name of governments. There is really only talk about one kind of terrorism. We should be talking about the terrorism of governments and that it’s got to be stopped.

ICOSA: You regularly address the issues of military spending and how if we even cut into the budgets in small percentages we could change things for the better. What could it mean to the world?

WILLIAMS: Right now military spending is out of control—the United States spends $420.7 billion and China spends $62.5 million. It's ludicrous that these incredible amounts of money are used for death and destruction when it could be put into life and creation.

ICOSA: Do you believe there are any problems that are "just too big" to be solved? Can any challenge be broken down to sub-parts and addressed incrementally over time and be solved? In other words is persistence or lack thereof a bigger problem than we think it is?

WILLIAMS: You know, everybody thinks that because the problems are so huge that there's really no way of addressing them. To me, that's a complete cop-out, because if you're not doing something to solve the problem, then you're very definitely a part of it. If you want to change the world, you have to do it one person at a time. Even in the work that we do—well, particularly in the work we do—it's amazing what happens, because in the beginning it's all over the place, and at the end it's totally interconnected. It's all a system of education, of showing youth how they can connect to build a better future and a better world for us all. I don't want to sound like an idealistic flip, but we see these programs of interconnection; when you make them happen, they work.

ICOSA: You said in a recent speech, "Peace in the world is everybody’s business. Turmoil is everywhere and the whole world is waiting for solutions to come from the top-down. That’s not how it works—community change from the bottom up is what makes a real difference." How do community members get involved in a bottom up approach?

WILLIAMS: We have to hold governments responsible for what they do, and that’s number one. I remember the days when the world looked at the United States and the Constitution of the United States of America—it was something that every country wanted. In fact, my own country of Ireland, and the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland was based very much on the Constitution of the United States. I think that the biggest threat to peace in our world is the fact that militarism rules the day. We have to get to the stage where pacifism rules the day. To be a pacifist doesn’t mean that you have to be non-violent, and when I say that, I mean I have a very violent tongue when it’s necessary. Violence comes in all forms, whether it be from a gun or a tongue. The gun destroys. I hope what I say provokes thought because I think dissention provokes thought. Your question is a very difficult question to answer because each day, we get some news from somewhere about mass destruction. It’s very hard to keep yourself stabilized and say to yourself, "I’ve got to be stronger." Every blow that is thrown at non-violence means we have to be able to take it on the chin and prove that non-violence is the weapon of the strong.

To learn more about the World Centers of Compassion for Children, visit www.centersofcompassion.org.

A Defender of Human Rights

By: Beth Parish Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Academics

Iran is an enigma. It is an industrialized nation steeped in Islamist ideology, where women are educated and can legally vote, but are subject to arrests, beatings, and imprisonment. It is a country that has access to the Internet and other communications portals, like Facebook, yet free speech does not exist. In modern Iran, human rights activists are perceived as agitators and are subject to beatings, arrest, torture, and even execution.

Ms. Shirin Ebadi, the first Muslim female Nobel Peace Prize recipient (2003), has advocated for the human rights of women, children and political prisoners in her native Iran and spoke out against the current regime in her homeland, only to be exiled and stripped of her Prize. A lawyer, judge, professor, and activist, Ebadi is focused squarely on her opposition to cultures that deny equal rights to women and girls—representing almost half of the world’s populations. At her Nobel presentation speech, she was described as a "conscious Muslim" who sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights and who is determined to insure that things change in her native land and around the world.

In our interview, we discussed how future leaders and young people could make a difference in the human rights movement. With great gusto, Ebadi admonishes young people to not pattern their life after anyone else. She said, "Don’t imitate anybody! Refer to your own nature and your own essence! Don’t be afraid of making mistakes! Everyone has the right to make mistakes. It is important that we make mistakes, and when we find out we made a mistake, we must try to correct it. If we’re afraid of making mistakes, we can never move forward with our programs and advance. Youth must move forward with confidence."

Ebadi, the mother of two daughters, says they face the same problems that young people all over Iran are facing today—they want more freedoms. While looking for financial stability, the young people in Iran are looking for jobs that use the skills that they have gained through their studies and education. She believes that freedom and finding work are the two most important issues for Iran’s young people, and for her daughters, these concerns are amplified because they are female.

As we have seen recently in the news, the governments of the Middle East are under increasing pressure to support more equal environments, especially for those at the bottom of the social ladder. Frankly, with the upheaval in the region, it appears that many governments have but two options—they will either listen to the will of the people or they will generate negative media and could ultimately fall.

In a recent interview with Euronews, Ebadi commented on the human rights agenda in the Middle East and its importance to people around the world, and more specifically in Iran. "The west is still preoccupied with its own security and is not stressing the principles it claims to defend," she said. When asked about the various global interpretations on human rights issues Ebadi purports that the Iranian government resorts to cultural differences. And while Iran has publically and unconditionally accepted the conventions on civil, political, and economic rights of its citizens, Ebadi argues that they have not been implemented. "This is an international code of behavior and has nothing to with East and West or Muslim and Christian. If Muslims take it upon themselves to write a Declaration of Human Rights in accordance with religion, then naturally they should allow the same religious rights of other denominations. We should witness a Jewish Declaration of Human Rights, a Buddhist Declaration of Human Rights, a Hindu Declaration of Human Rights, and thousands of others. Human rights are an international code of behavior."

Because of her outspoken nature on human rights, the Iranian government confiscated all of Ebadi’s property, using the excuse that she had failed to pay taxes on the Nobel Peace Prize she won in 2003. "It was interesting that the amount of the tax was greater than the amount of the Prize," she said. "My whole family was imprisoned and now they are not allowed to leave the country. In short, it has caused me a lot of trouble. In 2008, they illegally closed Tehran’s Human Rights Center which I established with my prize money. I complained because they had acted illegally, but to this day, no judge has dared open the file on it. When I tell you that Iran’s judiciary has lost its independence, that’s what I mean."

Growing up as a tomboy, Ebadi admits that she had great dreams. As she says, "Let me confess to you, from childhood I had big dreams. I always believed I would become a great person, but these great dreams had different interpretations at different times of my life. When I was a kid, I wanted to become a math teacher and that was the most important person for me at that time in the world. Now, I wish to help all the children in the world. As one grows up, one’s own dreams also become larger." And indeed Ms. Ebadi continues to grow her dreams, fighting for human rights, publicizing government initiated murders of dissidents, and rising above the focus of scrutiny and harassment by the Iranian government.

A fierce advocate for women, children, and the underserved, Ebadi reminds us that in most countries the budget for the military is larger than the budgets for programs addressing the needs of children. The Nobel laureate argues that children are vulnerable and cannot defend themselves; therefore they need more care and concern from leaders, governments, society, and the adults in their lives. She contends, "When setting country budgets, money must be set aside first for educating the children and then second for their health and hygiene."

And while most countries of the world have military budgets that are larger than the budget for children, we cannot ignore them. Ebadi says emphatically, "The killing of children is not from a bullet that we fire at them—but rather when we forget their rights."

Beth Parish teaches marketing and business classes at Regis University where she is committed to helping her students understand the strength of products and services that benefit the community and minimize their impact on the environment. Beth is honored to be a member of the Board of YouthBiz, an organization devoted to advancing the empowerment of youth.

Play It Forward

By: Judith B. Taylor Issue: Big Ideas, Smart People Section: Collaboration Close Up

It was the first, and it won’t be the last. Play It Forward presented by the Women With A Cause Foundation moved forward with the gusto of a long lasting, unique and fun event held on February 18 at the beautiful Denver Seawell Ballroom. The Women With A Cause Foundation promotes economic development programs that focus on education and skills training, enabling women to be lifted out of poverty toward self-sufficiency while earning a sustainable income.

Although it was the inaugural gathering, there was a sellout crowd, along with a unique auction, and gourmet hors d’oeuvres. A distinctive talent show of music and dance acts were selected by Women With A Cause judges and votes from the community. Then, the acts performed and a group of celebrity judges picked the top three acts. It culminated in an entertaining evening full of laughter, appreciation, and local talent.

Along with the talent show, nonprofit unsung heroines, Jill DiPasquale and Sandee Walling were honored for their outstanding grassroots, behind-the-scenes efforts in numerous volunteer endeavors.

One of the event’s main goals was to raise money for homeless mothers and female veterans to attend nursing schools at area universities. "It was a little different type of event," said Susan Kiely, CEO and founder of Women With A Cause. "The feedback has been kind of interesting. People were so surprised. They loved the energy and loved the event. A number of my friends heard about the rave reviews we got. And, we made over $100,000."

Some of the beneficiaries included The Matthew Shepard Foundation from T Strickland who won first place in the talent showcase. Sixteen year old Raeanna Clark performed a moving vocal performance that earned her second place. She "played it forward" for Friends First. Third place winner, Rikka Zimmer, a singer/songwriter "played it forward" for Denver’s Road Home.

Plans are already in the works for what Kiely hopes will be an annual event for Women With A Cause Foundation’s WE Initiative. The WE Initiative will be conducted in conjunction with Regis University: Rueckert-Hartman College Professionals, the University of Colorado College of Nursing, and the Community College of Aurora. These institutions have agreed to admit 10 qualified women from the WE Initiative into their nursing programs.

Clearly, Women With A Cause Foundation and its premiere event, Play It Forward, met its goal of assisting homeless mothers and women veterans to attend nursing schools at local universities. With such a success in its debut, Play It Forward is likely to become one of Denver’s premier annual events. "We have been floored by the accolades," Kiely said.