Jacqueline Novogratz on the Life of Immersion

Patient capital pioneer and Acumen Fund founder Jacqueline Novogratz is one of our biggest heroes, an inspired social justice and anti-poverty crusader marrying rigorous investing with pure human kindness in a way that, literally, changes lives. Her book, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, is one of the most important books published in the past decade and should be on every academic curriculum and every self-respecting global citizen’s nightstand.

In this excellent new TED talk on “the life of immersion,” Novogratz talks about the practical components of the greatest human aspiration: Living a life of purpose. From understanding the tender vulnerabilities we all cary, which demagogues exploit to create monsters, to finding inspiration in the powerful stories of human spirit and kindness, her talk is as much a window into the complex duality of human nature as it is a rousing call for moral leadership. It’s the most important thing you’ll watch this week — so do.

What we really yearn for as human beings is to be visible to each other.” ~ Jacqueline Novogratz

Your job is not to be perfect. Your job is only to be human.” ~ Jacqueline Novogratz

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Street Artist JR Wins 2011 TED Prize

In a highly unusual yet utterly inspirational move, TED has awarded the 2011 TED Prize of $100,000 to one of our favorite street artists, the shadowy Parisian JR. Known for his large-scale graffiti murals touching on subjects like freedom, identity and limit, the anonymous 27-year-old artist has recently entered filmmaking — his powerful documentary debut, Women Are Heroes, based on the 2009 exhibition of the same name, premiered to astounding acclaim at Cannes this year.

JR creates “Pervasive Art” that spreads uninvited on the buildings of the slums around Paris, on the walls in the Middle-East, on the broken bridges in Africa or the favelas in Brazil. People who often live with the bare minimum discover something absolutely unnecessary. And they don’t just see it, they make it. Some elderly women become models for a day; some kids turn artists for a week. In that Art scene, there is no stage to separate the actors from the spectators.”

Previous TED Prize winners have included Bill Clinton, marine biologist Sylvia Earle, educational entrepreneur Dave Eggers, and chef and nutrition activist Jamie Oliver.

We’re thrilled to see TED further expand its celebration of creativity and philanthropy with work that lives outside the world of traditional high culture and even the law, yet touches millions of lives in a very human and powerful way, injecting joy, pride and humility where they are needed the most.

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Pencils of Promise: Grassroots School-Building

How to give and own at the same time, or why Facebook is the new Peace Core.

In an ideal world, an invisible hand would be balancing the supply-demand ratio of help for humanity’s problems. The world, however, is far from ideal and we’re faced with more challenges than help is readily available for. And when help does present itself, it’s mostly in the form of donations — which often lack the immediacy of more hands-on approaches that give the help-giver a sense of ownership over the problem, in turn infecting the helpee with this we-can-solve-it resolve and unleashing a chain reaction of empowerment.

That’s exactly the kind of thinking that inspired Pencils of Promise — a powerful grassroots movement that seeks to solve the global education crisis from the bottom up and inside out. The nonprofit is 100% volunteer and its primary goal is to build schools and related facilites across the developing world, but it also embodies something we celebrate here at Brain Pickings — the cross-pollination of skills and perspectives — by empowering people to contribute whatever they are best at and cover different facets of the problem, rather than merely making impersonal and distanced donations.

The project began in 2008, when founder Adam Braun, fresh out of college himself, set out to build a single school in Laos. He put $25 into a bank account and asked friends to contribute however much they could. Little did he anticipate that in a little over a year, they would’ve raised $200,000 through the donations of thousands of individuals and over 150 volunteers would’ve joined the movement.

Our biggest commitment is to sustainability, which means PoP schools aren’t gifted but instead created by the community itself. The entire village helps builds their own school, leading to true ownership and a lasting commitment to their children’s educational future. ~ Adam Braun, Founder, Executive Director

Granted, as much as we’d want to, not all of us can drop our responsibilities and head East to build schools. But here’s how you can help:

Last December, Pencils of Promise won $25,000 through the Chase Community Giving Campaign on Facebook, which made them eligible for the million-dollar grand grant. And because the competition is user-driven, your vote can help tip the scale in the winning direction.

To sweeten the deal, Pencils of Promise is also using a voting system to decide which country to build schools in next — a little something they call “democratic social giving.” And in light of last week’s Haiti colossal earthquake disaster, PoP have just vouched to donate at least $100,000 towards youth-oriented initiatives in Haiti if they win the $1MM grant — a massive gesture of karmic kindness.

So go ahead and cast your vote for PoP in the Chase competition before Friday, when the voting closes — it’s a small effort on your part that can have momentous impact on entire communities. Which certainly beats another mindless round of FarmVille.

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Last Day to Vote for Google’s Project 10^100

What tsunamis have to do with online banking, public transit and better street cred for geeks.

Last fall, Google launched Project 10^100 — a global call for world-changing ideas that help as many people as possible. After over 150,000 submissions from more than 170 countries, 16 inspired finalists emerged and The Big G handed it over to us the people to cull the top 5 who will enter an RFP process and hash it out for the grand funding.

And today, October 8, is the last chance we the people have to cast our votes for ideas that range from fighting for a positive media depiction of scientists, to free online education, to a global genocide monitoring and alert system.

So go ahead, take a look at the contenders and make yourself heard. It may sound like a pageant line, but we are indeed the world — our actions and choices drive its direction, so if Google is willing to put some money into something good, we better make sure it’s the best possible. Vote now.

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