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Hi – David has been championing Peter Gabriel like mad this week! – so I’ll just briefly champion myself…!?
Im starting a new job tomorrow as ‘Creative Communications Director’ at Comic Relief – and basically just to say I am overseeing all the creative output of Comic Relief so will be looking for all the latest inspirational stuff that I can find – so please forward / upload anything that you think is cool / relevant etc.
Comic Relief do far more than anyone realises – one of my first jobs is to make it more obvious that CR does – Red Nose Day, Sport Relief, American Idol Gives Back, Owns ‘Monkey’ (currently being used by PG Tips), is looking to do substantial / massive work in the interactive space (should be owning comedy online at least…), runs charities for / with Robbie Williams, Steve Redgrave, Annie Lennox etc, co-owns the chocolate bar ‘Dubble’, has international versions of Comic Relief, a global online day, a massive public education campaign around Mental Health and a few more really exciting potentially huge projects – not a lot then.
I will be overseeing a team of 45 that looks after all print, new media, broadcast & public education output. I want us work with the very best people – so please recommend excellent agencies and people doing good work….
Also – would be good to know anyones honest thoughts on Comic Relief generally / creatively…?
Thanks – now back to Peter Gabriel….
The Nature Conservancy is dedicated to ‘preserving the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth’. Their website has just published 14 essential tips from Nature Conservancy staff and leading environment bloggers on how to make personal, science-based choices to help save the planet.
Read their tips and contribute your own at the Nature Conservancy website.
Peter Gabriel, one of the world’s truly great men was honored by MIDEM (The World’s Music Market) last night at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes for his achievements in music, in technology as well as for his inspirational work for human rights, social and environmental causes.
As a musician, he is a legend. He built on his early success with Genesis and then become a globally successful solo artist. He also was hugely influential in bringing world music to the western world through WOMAD and his own label Real World.
As a pioneer and innovator, he has always been on the forefront of new technology whether through his use of video technology (Sledgehammer video, anyone?), multimedia/CD-Rom projects way before it was mainstream, launching the first online music distribution services (OD2) or more recently by being involved with two web startups we7 (ad-funded music downloads) and The Filter (personalised music recommendation service).
Peter Gabriel believes passionately about making a difference. Not only has he touched millions through his music and other projects, but he is also making a significant difference to the world. He has given his time and energy to a number of causes through the years including helping human rights through his Witness project that gives people the communication tools to document human rights abuses, as well as through the recent launch of The Elders which he set up with Sir Richard Branson and Nelson Mandela (see our Sign The Declaration of Human Rights story for more details on The Elders)
Peter Gabriel is an inspiration to anybody who wants to make a difference. He doesn’t just talk about it, he makes it happen. A truly great man. I am really pleased he has been honored in this way by the music industry.
One of my favourite places for online shopping is the Natural Collection website. They are perfect for Christmas and birthday gifts if you haven’t got much time and you want to avoid the highstreet. Before you get to the purchasing they also offer you the opportunity to donate to a number of charities in the same transaction.
They sell all sorts of home supplies plus great fair trade fashionable clothes and gorgeous health and beauty products. I bought all of my nappies there until I discovered the Nature Baby range in Sainsbury’s.
I particularly like their gadgets section. You can see what new innovations are out there to make everyday life just that little bit more green. Check out this gizmo that turns one newspaper into a log that will burn for one hour! Not sure if it’s smoke free though!
They have a sale on at the moment so get there quick!
Peacekeeper Cause-metics is the only cosmetics company we know of that gives every single penny of its profits to charitable causes.
When you buy your lip gloss, eye-liner, nail polish or lipstick from the Peacekeeper online store you can be sure that some of your money will go to support women’s health or human rights issues around the world.
Last week The Independent announced that Belu Water founder Reed Paget won the 2007 social entrepreneur award.
It turns out that The Schwab Foundation and the Boston Consulting Group have been the driving forces behind the search for social entrepreneurs not just in the UK, but throughout the globe. The Independent award for the UK is just one of 22 different country awards. The winners from the other countries have been announced over the last 12 months (with a few more to come):
France: Anne-Karine Stocchetti for Gepetto – a network that delivers childcare in the home for parents that work odd hours (nights, weekends, early mornings).
Singapore: Kenny Low for CHEC – an education centre that targets youths that have dropped out of the mainstream school system.
Israel: Bilha Piamenta for Kav-Or – distance learning for children in hospital using computers and tailored software to provide education, companionship, and opportunities to play.
Germany: Rose Volz-Schmidt for Wellcome – a support network for families with newborn children, providing help and respite if the mother feels overwhelmed.
Canada: Geoffrey Cape for Evergreen – whose missions is to bring communities and nature together for the benefit of both.
India: Harish Hande for Selco Solar Light – provides access to rural solar electrification for below poverty line families.
Brazil: Sebastião (Tião) Rocha for Centro Popular de Cultura e Desenvovimento (CPCD) – romote informal education and community development through reciprocal leaning, play, games, mobile libraries, theatre and music.
Indonesia: Anton Sudjarwo for Yayasan Dian Desa – focuses on product and service innovations that enhance the quality of life of marginalised communities, as well as to set them on a path towards self-reliance.
Argentina: Gustavo Gennuso for Fundación Gente Nueva – the foundation focuses on education and enterprise development for at-risk youths.
Colombia: Alvaro Dávila for Fundación Social – the foundation uses the interest of community savings accounts to invest in for-profit business enterprises. This has helped them towards their missions of “contributing to overcome the structural causes of poverty in Colombia by building a more humane, prosperous and just society”.
Chile: Mary Anne Müller for Fundación Origen and The Escuela Agro-Ecológica de Pirque – a revolutionary educational model taking organic agriculture as the inspiration for the work undertaken with at risk youth from low income families.
South Africa: Taffy Adler for Johannesburg Housing Company – refurbishing occupied buildings and construct new ones to offer affordable, safe housing in the Johannesburg inner city.
Turkey: Mustafa Sari for Nature Observers’ Society – by reversing the extinction of a commercial species of fish Mustafa Sari came up with a new approach to fishery management which he has been using since 1996 in the Lake Van region. As a result of this approach, fishermen have seen their revenues rise from 10% to 60%.
Czech Republic: Vojtech Sedlacek for Agentura ProVas – a venture that incubates projects and businesses that employ disabled individuals; a percentage of whom are employed in highly public areas to increase the awareness of the public and policy makers.
Switzerland: Markus Gander for Infoklick – focuses on promoting activities for children.
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2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. For the last 60 years, governments across the globe have signed up and pledged their support for the Universal Declaration. The Elders (includes Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan amongst others) have launched a site and a campaign (Every Human Has Rights) that urges every individual to sign up and pledge to live their lives by the principles of the Universal Declaration.
The Pledge:
I wish to take responsibility for upholding the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my daily life and in my community.
I will do my best to speak out to protect the freedom and rights of others in my community.
I affirm the following principle:
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”
I believe Every Human Has Rights.
The aim is to capture 1 billion signatures. Make sure yours is one of them.
The ‘Most Likely To Make The World a Better Place’ Award at the inaugural Crunchies (a start-up flavoured awards cermenony lead by Techcrunch in partnership with Read/Write Web, VentureBeat and GigaOM) went to Donorschoose.
Donorschoose is a US site that highlights the needs of public schools and enables users to donate to help schools get the proper teaching materials and improve the quality of teaching. The concept was started by just one teacher in the public schools of the Bronx back in 2000 when he saw first hand the effects of the inequality of funding and distribution of funds for learning materials.
