Why Indigenous Assets Lie At The Heart Of Social Change
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Session Description
In 2005, there was an unprecedented focus on overcoming world poverty. But debate focused on the ‘what’s’ without sufficient attention to the ‘how’s’. Bunker Roy argues that people in poverty must – and can – be the authors of better livelihoods. Top-down approaches won’t work. This important address is intended to ground the Forum’s predominant concern with finance and capital market development in real needs, and the practical ways social entrepreneurs utilise different assets to bring about change.
Time & Location
Time:
16:30 - 17:00, Wednesday, March 29, 2006
BST
Speakers
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Speaker
In 1966, as a young post-graduate student from a privileged urban background, Bunker Roy volunteered to spend the summer working with famine affected people in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. This experience changed him. He committed himself to fight poverty and inequality. He founded the Barefoot College in Tilonia (also known as Social Work and Research Centre) in 1972 to bridge the inequality gap and demystify technology with the people and put it to good use in the hands of poor communities. This radically simple approach to ending poverty, by tapping the wisdom, skills, and resourcefulness of the poor themselves, is less expensive and more successful than approaches that rely on external experts. Barefoot College recruits illiterate villagers and trains them to build and maintain life-changing technologies and systems such as solar electricity, water and sanitation, schools and clinics, artisan businesses, and community engagement.
