GLOBAL SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR COMPETITION

March 3rd, 2010

I had the privilege of participating as a judge in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) March 2, 2010.

NASH equilibrium competitors and Alyssa Johnson discuss viability of their cassava saline product in Bangladesh.

NASH equilibrium competitors and Alyssa Johnson discuss viability of their cassava saline product in Bangladesh.

As a judge for the Investor Award — one prize out of the $17,000 (US) that will be awarded — I was inspired by each competitor’s ingenuity and determination. It was no easy task dividing up my $1000 “Monopoly money” investment among the 11 semi-finalists.

Committed teams from/working in China, Canada, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, and Rwanda presented innovative social business plans seeking to alleviate a problem(s) of poverty in developing economies. Among the judging criteria, business plans were required to have a Double Bottom Line: they had to demonstrate the financial Return on Investment (ROI) and the Social Return on Investment (SROI).

Among some of the most promising contestants in my opinion, were NASH Equilibrium and ToucHb. NASH developed an inexpensive treatment for diarrhea and water borne diseases using cassava grown locally in Bangladesh. Not only does this address a major health crisis but the local farming of cassava and production of the oral re-hydration solution will create jobs.

TouchHB is a prick-less anemia scanner used by low-skilled village health workers in India that measures, helps diagnose, monitors and screens for anemia. I was impressed by the global outlook for this plan and the fact that the cost of production is significantly lower than its main competitor in Isreal.

The 2010 semi-finalist teams were selected from a pool of 161 applicants from 36 countries. Winners will be announced March 4.

The GSEC entered its fifth year strongly with a record 161 applications from student teams in 36 countries. That’s more than double last year and I hope this worthy program continues on the upward slope. I hope to hear about these companies making a a positive impact in poverty alleviation and profits for investors in the near future!


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Congratulations to Danielle Moss on this month’s launch of newearthreview.com, a portal for alternative business reviews, practitioners, events, articles, and classifieds.

February 28th, 2010

new_earth_review_headerreduced1

Congratulations to Danielle Moss on this month’s launch of newearthreview.com, a portal for alternative business reviews, practitioners, events, articles, and classifieds.

It was a pleasure to work closely with Danielle and design the company logo and website header. Danielle asked us to use the images of a lotus flower, dragon fly, and the earth to communicate the interrelatedness of spirituality and the environment in a global world.

New Earth Review offers free and affordable business listings and business reviews for like minded businesses. I found one of the site’s articles on Top Antiviral Herbs quite fascinating. You can read it at: http://www.newearthreview.com/article/top-antiviral-herbs.html

We’re honored to help launch this new environmentally and socially conscious company and wish Danielle much success!

news-earth-reviewlogofinal

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Oro Azul promotes clients at American Music Awards and Dancing with the Stars Grande Finale

December 15th, 2009
In November Oro Azul LLC organized celebrity promotions for The Escapes GroupTrips4fundraising and Island Soul Caribbean Restaurant at Celebrity Gifting Suites honoring The American Music Awards at Evo, and Dancing with the Stars Grand finale for Season 9 at CBS Studios in Los Angeles.

 Oro Azul Founder, Alyssa Johnson presents Latoya Jackson with Caribbean Escapes coffee table book.

Oro Azul Founder, Alyssa Johnson presents Latoya Jackson with Caribbean Escapes coffee table book.

American Music Awards gifting suite for presenters,nominees and VIPs was  located at EVO-South’s 3500 square feet condo, steps away from Nokia Theatre. Celebrities included Latoya Jackson, Edi Gathegi from Twilight and New Moon, Kara Dioguardi from American Idol, Carmit from Pussy Cat Dolls, Colbie Caillat, Alec Mapa and many others.

The event also sponsored Special E, a unique green business that rescues items that are left over from “Special Events”, recycled and re-purpose the left over materials in ways that help our planet and people in need. Three charities were also recipients of the profits of this event:


Environmental Media Association- http://www.ema-online.org/
Leeza Gibbons

Leeza Gibbons

Adrienne Papp of Atlantic Publicity reported, the show Dancing with the Stars ran its ninth season this  year and ranked as the No. 1 most popular show by Nielsen, with 40 million viewers around the country scoring consistently as one of the most-watched shows of the fall. Celebrities and professionals consider it a dream to enter, and exhibit unparalleled drive and stamina when competing on camera. The practice alone preceding each performance is enough to change lives. A teary-eyed Kelly Osbourne, daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, credited the show for her newly found strength and personal power. Co-host Samantha Harris said Osbourne had become “a swan.”

Donny Osmond and Oro Azul Founder, Alyssa Johnson

Donny Osmond and Oro Azul Founder, Alyssa Johnson

Donny Osmond was declared the new champion,  taking home the ABC show’s mirror ball trophy and said the “show has been a highlight” in his career. The competition picks a winner with a combination of judges’ scores and viewer votes, thus involving everyone to share in the excitement. Osmond’s performance of the tango with his professional partner,Kym Johnson made Judge Carrie Ann Inaba hail it as “artistry in motion.”

Among the contestants was former Congressman Tom DeLay, who grabbed the most headlines and had to withdraw in the third week of competition because of stress fractures in both feet. A healed DeLay returned Tuesday night to dance the Texas two-step routine he had hoped to perform.

The basic formula for Dancing with the Stars is three opinionated judges, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Len Goodman; sixteen professional dancers dancing in pairs with sixteen celebrities; two hosts, Samantha Harris, and Tom Bergeron and lots of glitter and spray tans.

This season’s pairs were: Aaron Carter and Karina SmirnoffNatalie Coughlin and Alec MazoMark Decascos and Lacey SchwimmerTom DeLay and Cheryl BurkeMacy Gray andJonathan RobertsAshley Hamilton and Edyta SliwinskaMelissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas; former supermodel, Kathy Ireland and Tony DovolaniMichael Irvin and Anna Demidova;Joanna Krupa and Derek HoughChuck Liddell and Anna TrebunskayaDebi Mazar andMaksim Chmerkovskiy; Mya and Dmitry Chaplin; Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel; Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson; Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower.

Steve Wozniak, Founder of Apple

Steve Wozniak, Founder of Apple

Notable guests in the audience were Stephen  Wozniak, founder of AppleDenise RichardsonJane SeymourLa Toya JacksonLisa RinnaLeeza Gibbons among many others, and Whitney Houston performed the very appropriate megahit, “I Wanna Dance .


Jane Seymour

Jane Seymour

The real attraction, however, was the backstage gifting lounge honoring Dancing with the Stars Season 9 Finale that offered gift bags valued over $30,000 to the stars, cast members and guest celebrities as they walked through a pool of hand picked, high-end, market leader products and services. “Extraordinary with gorgeous details,” said Kathy Ireland about the lounge.  “It is awesome and this should happen every year,” remarked Karina Smirnoff while posing for shots in her feathery light outfit. The biggest fan of the gifting services was Donny Osmond, stating: I came over “After 3 months of hard work thanks to gifting services it was all worth it.” (Source: www.atlanticpublicity.com)

We are now planning promotions for The Grammy’sSundance Film Festival and theSuperbowl in January and February. So if you want to be
involved in promoting your own company, let us know!

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Local Project Funding for Community Climate Change Projects

May 3rd, 2009

ClimateFrontlines.org has a call out for local projects that impact climate change and adaptation.

With assistance from the Government of Denmark, UNESCO’s Frontlines Forum is funding local projects on climate change impacts and adaptation.

What are they funding?
Community-level projects focusing on local experiences with climate change impacts and adaptation. These could involve field research, interviews with community members, workshops, photo projects, film projects, etc.

Who are they funding?
Proposals can be made by interested groups or individuals, for example, local and indigenous organizations, research centers, researchers, graduate students with interdisciplinary training, community members (youth groups, women, elders) etc.

What topics?
Projects could explore any topic relating to climate change and local communities. For example:

a) Local observations and understandings of climate change impacts (negative or positive) on communities, livelihoods and/or local environments;
b) Ways that your community is adapting to or dealing with climate change;
c) Strategies and practices developed by local communities to cope with changes in the environment;
d) Local impacts (positive or negative) of measures to fight climate change. For example, planting trees to reduce greenhouse gases (through carbon sequestration); or building hydroelectric dams or avoiding deforestation (e.g. REDD) to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

What output?
Your project should result in a detailed account – either in the form of a written report, a video or other media production - in English, Spanish or French. It should contribute to a growing body of information about community-level concerns, observations and experiences relating to climate change impacts and adaptation. These submissions will also contribute to the development of postings and discussions on the Frontlines of Climate Change Forum.

How much funding are they providing?
Between US$3000 and USD$5000 per project. Further funding may subsequently be provided for projects with interesting outcomes.

When are they funding?
Project grants will be distributed from mid-2009 onwards. Initial results would be expected before October 2010.

What is the deadline for submission?
Proposals should reach UNESCO on or before 15 July 2009..

How do I apply?
See detailed information and download a project proposal form from
http://www.climatefrontlines.org/en-GB/node/191



¡CONVOCATORIA PARA PROPUESTAS DE PROYECTOS!

Con el apoyo del gobierno de Dinamarca, el Foro En Primera Línea frente al Cambio Climático está financiando proyectos locales sobre cambio climático y adaptación.

¿Qué financiamos?
Proyectos a nivel comunitario que tengan como punto focal las experiencias locales en relación al cambio climático, sus impactos y adaptación. Estos proyectos pueden incluir trabajos de investigación en el campo con miembros de las comunidades, talleres informativos y de debate, proyectos de fotografía, proyectos documentales, etc.

¿A quiénes financiamos?
Las propuestas pueden ser hechas por grupos o individuos interesados, por ejemplo, organizaciones locales e indígenas, centros de investigación, estudiantes graduados con experiencia interdisciplinaria, miembros de las comunidades (grupos de jóvenes, mujeres, ancianos) etc.

¿Qué temas?
Los proyectos pueden explorar cualquier tema que ponga en relación al cambio climático con las comunidades locales. Por ejemplo:

a) Observaciones y entendimientos locales sobre el cambio climático y sus impactos (negativos o positivos) en las comunidades, medios de vida y/o medio ambientes locales;
b) Maneras en las que su comunidad se adapta o hace frente al cambio climático;
c) Estrategias y prácticas desarrolladas por las comunidades para hacer frente a los cambios del medio ambiente;
d) Impactos locales (positivos y negativos) de las medidas para combatir el cambio climático. Por ejemplo, plantar árboles para reducir los gases de efecto (secuestración de carbono) o evitar la deforestación (ex. REDD) o construir plantas hidroeléctricas para reducir la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero.

Sin embargo, invitamos a todo tipo de proposiciones relacionadas al cambio climático y comunidades locales, no se sienta limitado por estas sugerencias.

¿Qué resultados esperamos?
El proyecto debe resultar en un informe detallado – ya sea bajo la forma de un reporte escrito, un video u otro tipo de producción multimedia, en inglés, español o francés. Debe colaborar al incremento de las informaciones existentes que relacionan cambio climático y adaptación a nivel comunitario: preocupaciones, observaciones y experiencias. Las propuestas también contribuirán al desarrollo de artículos y discusiones en el Foro en Primera Línea frente al Cambio Climático.

¿Dónde financiamos?
Invitamos las propuestas de todas partes del mundo, siempre y cuando se trate de proyectos a escala local, que involucren pueblos y regiones vulnerables al cambio climático.

¿Cuánto financiamiento estamos otorgando?
Entre 3000 y 5000 dólares americanos por proyecto. Un financiamiento adicional puede ser otorgado posteriormente a los proyectos que muestren resultados interesantes.

¿Cuándo estamos financiando?
Las subvenciones para los proyectos serán distribuidos a partir de mediados del 2009 en adelante. Los resultados iniciales son esperados para antes de octubre del 2010.

¿Cuál es el plazo de envío de las propuestas?
Las propuestas deben llegar a la UNESCO el 15 de julio del 2009 o antes.

¿Cómo postular?
Para mayor información y descargar el formulario de proposición de proyectos vaya a la página web
http://www.climatefrontlines.org/es/node/192;

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Testing

April 3rd, 2009

Testing this.

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