Friday, March 27, 2009
Where’s The Power In The New Development Paradigm?
Session Description
Development has been transformed over the last decade. Social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, celebrities, new NGOs, and global advocacy networks have injected new energy and ideas into the sector. This creates new opportunities, as additional resources and attention are brought to bear on persistent development problems, but also creates new challenges around coordination and alignment. Representatives from private and public organisations will discuss the challenges and opportunities this new paradigm presents.
When | Where
09:00 - 10:30
Friday, March 27
Session leaders
-
Former President of Costa Rica / CEO , Concordia21
H.E. José María Figueres, President of the Republic of Costa Rica (1994-1998), created a comprehensive national sustainable development strategy while President. In the international arena, President Figueres helped create and lead the United Nations ICT Task Force as its first Chairperson and strengthened corporate ties to social and governmental sectors as CEO of the World Economic Forum. Currently President Figueres is CEO of Concordia 21 in Spain, supporting organisations which promote development and democratic values around the world. He holds an Industrial Engineering Degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and a Masters in Public Administration from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University.
-
President and CEO, CIFF
Jamie Cooper-Hohn is a co-founder of CIFF and serves as the Foundation’s President and CEO. Prior to the Foundation, she served as Co-Director of Shine Trust, a grant making trust supporting children in poverty in England through educational initiatives. She also served as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Development for Gould Partners in New York City and as Associate Director for the Center for Policy Alternatives in Washington, DC. Her other experiences include working for CBS News and the Atlanta Project, an initiative of President Jimmy Carter. Jamie received a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
-
Martin J. Fisher is Co-Founder & CEO of KickStart International, an award-winning, nonprofit social enterprise that is tackling poverty and building an entrepreneurial middle class in Sub-Saharan Africa. KickStart designs and markets low-cost irrigation pumps that transform small-scale farms into profitable year-round businesses, and have enabled over 1 million people to take a major step out of poverty.
Martin holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, from Stanford University. After graduating in 1985, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study the connection between technology and development in Kenya. He stayed for 17 years, initially establishing and running a large rural water program and the Appropriate Technology Unit at Action Aid, and in 1991, co-founding KickStart-International (originally ApproTEC) with Nick Moon. Martin is a pioneer in the ‘business solutions for poverty’, ‘technology for development’ and ‘Social Enterprise’ spaces. He has published articles on high impact development and philanthropy, has designed/patented multiple engineering products (for low-cost construction, sanitation, food processing and irrigation). He has been recognized with numerous awards and honors.
-
CEO, Social Progress Imperative
Michael Green is Chief Executive Officer of the Social Progress Imperative. An economist by training, he is co-author (with Matthew Bishop of ‘The Economist’) of Philanthrocapitalism: How Giving Can Save the World and The Road from Ruin: A New Capitalism for a Big Society. Previously Michael served as a senior official in the U.K. Government’s Department for International Development, where he managed British aid programs to Russia and Ukraine and headed the communications department. He taught Economics at Warsaw University in Poland in the early 1990s. His TED Talks have been viewed more than two million times, and his 2014 Talk was chosen by the TED organization as one of the ‘most powerful ideas’ of 2014 and by The Telegraph as one of the 10 best ever. In 2016, he was named one of “The 100 Most Connected Men in Britain” by GQ Magazine and one of the NonProfit Times‘s “Power & Influence Top 50.”
-
CEO, Global Humanitarian Forum
Walter Fust is CEO/Director of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva. Born in 1945, Walter Fust studied at St. Gallen University and graduated with a Master in Political Science. He worked in banking and public administration before entering the Swiss Diplomatic service in 1975, serving in the integration office (EFTA/EU) and as a personal advisor. He was managing director of the Swiss office for trade promotion (OSEC), Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior and Head of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Walter Fust is chairman of UNESCO’s International Program for Development and Communication (IPDC) and President of
Globethics.net. He serves as member onboards including the Board of the International Risk Governance Council/Geneva.
