Daniel Lubetzky

Here is an interview about OneVoice, PeaceWorks, and "my life" (the title and theme of the show, Hayati) that aired on the Arabic TV Network Al Hurra.

It is painfully funny to watch how chubby I was…

There are some people in the world that you are just grateful for them being around.  Jeff Skoll is one of them.  He is the most unassuming, down-to-earth, self-effacing guy, and at the same time among the most accomplished, brilliant, strategic, successful and deeply committed to make this a better world.

I have been following him for a few years and wish we could clone him, or at least learn what in his upbringing made him into a person that is so truly committed to human betterment.  Is it Canadian education and society? Jewish family values? Parental role models? Genes? Childhood influences – positive or negative? Socio-cultural exposure?

In his TED talk, he mentions how his Father’s health challenges were a wake up call to him.  But there has to be more.

Anyway, Jeff has now created his next venture: the Urgent Threats Fund, designed to tackle the 5 greatest challenges facing humanity: Global Pandemics, Nuclear Proliferation, Mideast Conflict, Water Scarcity, and Climate Change.

The New York Times reports about it here.

Sally Osberg, President of the Skoll Foundation, shared a note with Skoll Social Entrepreneurs explaining:

I also write to let you know that we will announce today the launch of the Skoll Urgent Threats Fund, which will be led by our dear friend and an extraordinary human being, Larry Brilliant. Larry’s new role will be Senior Adviser to Jeff Skoll and President of the new organization, which Jeff will chair and on whose board both Larry and I will sit. This newest venture joins the portfolio of creations—including the Foundation, Capricorn, and Participant Media—that Jeff has founded to advance his vision of a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Together with the Foundation’s board and staff, I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead for us all!

You can learn more at the Skoll Foundation site.

We are honored that BusinessWeek chose PeaceWorks among 25 of "America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs."

If you like what we do, we’d appreciate you voting here for us – PeaceWorks Holdings – as the top 5 will be featured in the magazine.

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We are so humbled and honored that, following his meeting with our young Israeli and Palestinian leaders in OneVoice, and following his further learning on our movement over the last few months, including the leadership of our colleagues in OneVoice Europe, Paul McCartney agreed to join the OneVoice Movement’s International Honorary Board.

Sample story follows….

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Here is a link to the Opening Plenary at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship where I participated:

http://www.socialedge.org/features/skoll-world-forum

Click on Opening Plenary video

Panel discussion starts around minute 36-ends around min 79. Entire plenary agenda below:

Musical Performance – Taiko Meantime, An enthralling show combining traditional Japanese rythms and techniques with eclectic, original compositions

Opening Remarks – Stephan Chambers, Chairman, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship

Delegate Address – Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation

Framing Power – Roger L. Martin, Dean, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Panel Discussion: Power to the people:Citizen Engagement and Social Transformation

• Ray Suarez (Moderator), Senior Correspondent, The NewsHour, PBS
• Kailash Satyarthi, President, Global Campaign for Education, Chairman, Global March Against Child Labour
• The Honorable Mary Robinson, President, Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative
• Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and President, PeaceWorks Group

Personal Power: A Call to Responsibility – Kenneth S. Brecher, Executive Director, Sundance Institute

His face is so calm
Full of love and tranquility
How blessed we are
to have warm shelter and peace for him.

How hard and how painful
for the millions upon millions
who lack peace, or water or heat,
who may not have bread or milk to give their children.

How hard and how painful
for the parents who’d lose a baby to a missile
or the babies who’d lose a parent to a bomb
and the nations who’d lose their innocence along the way.

That juxtaposition gives me anxiety:
the peaceful nap of our little baby
against the horrors and hatred brewing around our world,
whether a few blocks up, or 7,000 miles away.

For my baby’s peace cannot be guaranteed
his Spring cannot be counted upon
so long as babies anywhere else in our globe
are suffering, being targeted or killed.

It is for our baby here
that peace must be waged there.

A very neat experiment I read about from my sister…

A Violinist in the Metro


A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Here and here are a couple of examples of Joshua Bell’s work…

BusinessWeek’s Stacey Perman asked me to share this opportunity with social entrepreneurs:

…BusinessWeek’s upcoming roundup of the most promising social entrepreneurs in the U.S. – those who aim to both turn a profit and solve social problems. We are now in the process of searching for great candidates, and I want to ask for your help.

Please take a look at the criteria below, then complete the http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/social_entrepreneurs/poll.html and pass this note along to your colleagues. I also hope that you will include mention of the roundup on your own Web site or newsletter. If you are interested you can certainly nominated Peaceworks for this as well.

What are we looking for? Candidates should be for-profit companies based in the U.S. that are tackling social problems in new and innovative ways here or abroad. Concepts are great, but we do insist that companies that warrant coverage have been in operation for at least one year. The call for nominations begins January 13, 2009 and ends February 20, 2009. When this nomination period ends, our staff and a few renowned members of the business and social enterprise community will narrow the candidates to 20 finalists – each of whom will be profiled on our Web site. Readers will be able vote for the finalist whom they feel holds the most promise and we will announce the top five vote-getters on May 2, 2009.

Again, nominations are being accepted through February 20, 2009 via this http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/social_entrepreneurs/poll.html I encourage you to participate and help spread the word. It’s an exciting way to participate directly in identifying and recognizing social entrepreneurs who are changing the world.

If you do nothing else today, make sure you view this – The Story of A Sign – La Historia De Un Letrero – it is well worth it.

http://en.zappinternet.com/video/nilSqaMboM/HISTORIA-DE-UN-LETRERO

(and it happens to be shot in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, a town my Mom is from)

Nice example of grassroots social entrepreneurship to help the poor – follows the biblical tradition of sharing some crops with the poor, with a twist.

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