- Rework the World Community: www.reworktheworld.com
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/reworktheworld (Hashtag: #ReworkTW)
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/reworktheworld
Enjoy!
June 4, 2010
Where to Find Us
It's Friday and Rework the World is well underway! The blog has gone quiet because we are busy running around to the many different sessions and discussions happening around Leksand and Ejendals Arena. However, you can get all of the latest news and information (including live video!) using the following resources:
June 1, 2010
Rework the World Starts Wednesday!
Rework the World kicks off on Wednesday, June 2, 2010. Over 1500 participants will gather in beautiful Leksand, Sweden to listen, learn, and collaborate over the next 5 days. The Project Team has been hard at work putting the final touches on the event, volunteers have been in training, and nature guides have arrived. Now it's time to welcome the participants! We can't wait to get started!
A sneak peek of the arena floor in an early construction phase:
The book with all of the information to make the most of Rework the World:
The Dala Horse welcomes participants outside of the Ejandals Arena in Leksand:
May 26, 2010
Building the Green Teams Movement at Rework the World
As we close in on the days to the Rework the World Summit, I would like to share a little about the Green Teams Vision that we are building.
But before that, It is intriguing and exciting to know that we have over 120 Nationalities of over 1500 delegates confirmed, half of which are under 35, and over 40 percent are women. This year, several hundreds are young entrepreneurs who are bringing their projects for us all to discuss. Their voices – and those of other young participants – add knowledge, perspectives, spirit and understanding of issues that is missing in the usual conference envwe will be introducing at the Summit
The World is facing a serious global Challenge that needs to be addressed urgently. There has been missing Links between solutions to the Global Problems and Realities to the Populations that are affected most. This is what the Green Teams Movement for Africa seeks to address. By investing in value chains that will address our youth unemployment situation in Africa , we will not only;
- Better the Livelihoods to the suffering communities
- Create Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment to the massive population
- Create High Dividends for Investors in form of Funds from the business solutions model in the vision
The Green Teams Movement will simply initiate Local Business Solutions to resolving Global Ecological Problems. As you prepare to come to the Summit
If all young people could come together and change the world? I have a strong conviction the Green Teams Vision is part of the Reworking the various dynamics that come with the complexities of addressing the systemic problem that has continually affected humanity. We all know the problems, we have had attempts to resolving the problems but the problems have not been resolved yet. This is our (youth) chance to give a stab at the problem using local solutions that will create opportunities for the youth through real empowerment building local communities. See you at the summit during the plenary session on Friday 4th June 2010 at 10.00Am at the Arena.
Meanwhile joing the forces here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105737886129249&v=photos#!/group.php?gid=124947050868208&ref=ts
Meanwhile joing the forces here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105737886129249&v=photos#!/group.php?gid=124947050868208&ref=ts
Emmanuel
May 8, 2010
The Replication Models from Kenya at Rework the World
Dear Good People,
The Preparations for the Rework the World Summit are coming out very well. I look forward to meeting with innovators, thinkers, doers and financiers in taking the replications to the next level. Through YES Kenya, a multi-stakeholder network of young people and partners, we will be presenting a unique distribution model that investors and producers of innovative life changing products can use to have a market in the communities. After several intensive thinking sessions, we have developed a working model, piloted it and now it has a proven record that it is possible to use unemployed youth in communities, belonging to youth groups to create a distribution network across the country. This model is generic and can be used for any products. The aim is to make sure that we create opportunities for the thousands of youth members in the communities.
In reworking the world, this will be our contribution. We expect sustainable partnerships. The different components of the model include
1. Identification and enrolment of Youth groups
2. Screening and interviews with youth entrepreneurs
3. Development of Skills based training modules fitting various products for distribution
4. Identifying the markets and providing researched data.
5. Piloting of the projects with the replication models and Scaling up to wider geographic area.
We know that majority of the youth lack the start up capital to do business, we provide the skills and the social collateral and link up with Micro Finance Institutions willing to finance the project where the products need heavy investments.
Some of the products we are piloting currently are
1) Entrepreneurship 101 - Develop a High end Youth Business Training Curriculum
YES Kenya network is working to develop a locally designed entrepreneurship training curriculum. The curriculum will help create markets and unleash entrepreneurship in the grass root areas of Kenya by helping young people to identify business opportunities, prepare their business plans and compete for the best ideas.
YES Kenya has finalized a public survey to identify needs on entrepreneurship development among youth that will aid in developing the curriculum. The project will help young people identify business opportunities, prepare their business plans and compete for the best ideas through training, incubation, coaching and scale up. The program will integrate financial linkages for small scale risk capital, start up funding and innovative business development services for youth entrepreneurs to start their businesses.
2) Young Solar Entrepreneurship Project
YES Kenya is currently carrying out a Young Solar Entrepreneurship Project that seeks to extinguish 1 million Kerosene Lamps in Communities in Kenya. The first pilot was launched in March of 2010 in Kitui West Constituency where two schools have benefited from the Large Scale Community Solar Panels Installations. Over 1000 community members will benefit from its entrepreneurship component. Over 30 Young and Women Entrepreneurs are also geared to set up distribution networks through the Energy Kiosks that will be established in the community. The second pilot will be established in Western and Nyanza Provinces with replication expected in all the 8 provinces.
3. Eco Charcoal Production
Eco Charcoal Production from dry agricultural biomass, this charcoal is generally cheaper than wood charcoal and does not produce Carbon Dioxide and it is very safe and clean. The Markets are amazingly huge since trees are very expensive and it is illegal to log down trees. We are thus contributing to environmental safety.
There are more Pilots that will be rolled out soon once we find financing for them. This include the following;
1. Renewable Energy
• Creating sustainable alternative energy sources for agro-based industries.
• Designing and installing small power plants for institutions.
• Maintaining renewable energy systems and selling and installing small home solar systems/panels.
• Manufacturing solar lanterns for fishing activities during the night and renewable energy based ICTs to enhance access to income generation opportunities.
• Installing and maintaining solar-powered community facilities in rural areas.
2. On-farm and off-farm
• Exploring agriculture extension services for bringing micro credit to help set up small enterprises, provide business development services.
• Working with rural banks (where they exist), micro credit institutions and cooperatives, and youth groups to set up agricultural credit schemes to help young people acquire livestock, equipment and other productive assets of their own.
• Developing community based entrepreneurial/enterprise development-based education programs for young women in rural areas through vocational training, integrating elements of micro-entrepreneurship in the curriculum
3. Water and Sanitation
• Developing rain water-harvesting methods for communities to secure supplies and manage their own systems.
• Building and maintaining low cost toilets in the rural areas and tackle the sanitation needs of the people in the villages.
• Building and maintaining hand pumps to provide water supply to rural communities.
• Developing effective on-farm water technologies.
4. Information Communication Technology
• Developing “Youth in Business Centers” to help young men and women explore credit options and financial management programs and assist in marketing, product development and access to a wide array of books, manuals, videos and other materials related to starting and maintaining a small business.
• Developing web-based services such as website development assistance, e-marketing, and distance learning and on-line business development programs.
• Supporting agriculture though ICT tools.
Our Focus at the Rework the World is to profile the work of YES Kenya and its potential to create millions of jobs for youth in communities in East Africa and thus contributing towards creating the next 2 billion jobs for the world’s youth through the following itemized focus.
• Designing a concrete youth social entrepreneurship replication model for support and implementation in East Africa that will benefit thousands of youth through entrepreneurship trainings and skills transfer.
• We are targeting strategic linkages with networks which will lead to partnerships that will enhance YES Kenya’s idea generator for piloting and replication
Rework the World offers an amazing opportunity for us to meet and exchange ideas, present concrete plans and create lasting partnerships that will help us create sustainable livelihoods for the youth.
We need your support and Help
…All good ideas are pipe-dreams if not backed by committed leadership and investment – we are seeking yours. We need your help to move the Youth Entrepreneurship Agenda to the next level to our shared passion for generating youth employment to the resources that can make it happen. We have identified promising sectors for employment generation; discovered quantifiable, innovative and practical solutions; and overseen the development of a national-wide youth network of over 8000 members that provide the perfect vehicle for unleashing the talents and energies of youth to create sustainable social enterprises. With your active involvement we can make a world of difference in the lives of thousands of youth in un reached communities in Africa.
We welcome you to meet us, talk with us and work together to change the World.
The Team
Country Coordinator – Emmanuel Dennis – emmanuel@yesweb.org, emmanuel@yeskenya.org
Programs Manager – Linda Wamalwa – lwamalwa@gmail.com, linda@yeskenya.org
Projects Outreach Manager – Rachel Wariko – rwariko@gmail.com, rachel@yeskenya.org
The Preparations for the Rework the World Summit are coming out very well. I look forward to meeting with innovators, thinkers, doers and financiers in taking the replications to the next level. Through YES Kenya, a multi-stakeholder network of young people and partners, we will be presenting a unique distribution model that investors and producers of innovative life changing products can use to have a market in the communities. After several intensive thinking sessions, we have developed a working model, piloted it and now it has a proven record that it is possible to use unemployed youth in communities, belonging to youth groups to create a distribution network across the country. This model is generic and can be used for any products. The aim is to make sure that we create opportunities for the thousands of youth members in the communities.
In reworking the world, this will be our contribution. We expect sustainable partnerships. The different components of the model include
1. Identification and enrolment of Youth groups
2. Screening and interviews with youth entrepreneurs
3. Development of Skills based training modules fitting various products for distribution
4. Identifying the markets and providing researched data.
5. Piloting of the projects with the replication models and Scaling up to wider geographic area.
We know that majority of the youth lack the start up capital to do business, we provide the skills and the social collateral and link up with Micro Finance Institutions willing to finance the project where the products need heavy investments.
Some of the products we are piloting currently are
1) Entrepreneurship 101 - Develop a High end Youth Business Training Curriculum
YES Kenya network is working to develop a locally designed entrepreneurship training curriculum. The curriculum will help create markets and unleash entrepreneurship in the grass root areas of Kenya by helping young people to identify business opportunities, prepare their business plans and compete for the best ideas.
YES Kenya has finalized a public survey to identify needs on entrepreneurship development among youth that will aid in developing the curriculum. The project will help young people identify business opportunities, prepare their business plans and compete for the best ideas through training, incubation, coaching and scale up. The program will integrate financial linkages for small scale risk capital, start up funding and innovative business development services for youth entrepreneurs to start their businesses.
2) Young Solar Entrepreneurship Project
YES Kenya is currently carrying out a Young Solar Entrepreneurship Project that seeks to extinguish 1 million Kerosene Lamps in Communities in Kenya. The first pilot was launched in March of 2010 in Kitui West Constituency where two schools have benefited from the Large Scale Community Solar Panels Installations. Over 1000 community members will benefit from its entrepreneurship component. Over 30 Young and Women Entrepreneurs are also geared to set up distribution networks through the Energy Kiosks that will be established in the community. The second pilot will be established in Western and Nyanza Provinces with replication expected in all the 8 provinces.
3. Eco Charcoal Production
Eco Charcoal Production from dry agricultural biomass, this charcoal is generally cheaper than wood charcoal and does not produce Carbon Dioxide and it is very safe and clean. The Markets are amazingly huge since trees are very expensive and it is illegal to log down trees. We are thus contributing to environmental safety.
There are more Pilots that will be rolled out soon once we find financing for them. This include the following;
1. Renewable Energy
• Creating sustainable alternative energy sources for agro-based industries.
• Designing and installing small power plants for institutions.
• Maintaining renewable energy systems and selling and installing small home solar systems/panels.
• Manufacturing solar lanterns for fishing activities during the night and renewable energy based ICTs to enhance access to income generation opportunities.
• Installing and maintaining solar-powered community facilities in rural areas.
2. On-farm and off-farm
• Exploring agriculture extension services for bringing micro credit to help set up small enterprises, provide business development services.
• Working with rural banks (where they exist), micro credit institutions and cooperatives, and youth groups to set up agricultural credit schemes to help young people acquire livestock, equipment and other productive assets of their own.
• Developing community based entrepreneurial/enterprise development-based education programs for young women in rural areas through vocational training, integrating elements of micro-entrepreneurship in the curriculum
3. Water and Sanitation
• Developing rain water-harvesting methods for communities to secure supplies and manage their own systems.
• Building and maintaining low cost toilets in the rural areas and tackle the sanitation needs of the people in the villages.
• Building and maintaining hand pumps to provide water supply to rural communities.
• Developing effective on-farm water technologies.
4. Information Communication Technology
• Developing “Youth in Business Centers” to help young men and women explore credit options and financial management programs and assist in marketing, product development and access to a wide array of books, manuals, videos and other materials related to starting and maintaining a small business.
• Developing web-based services such as website development assistance, e-marketing, and distance learning and on-line business development programs.
• Supporting agriculture though ICT tools.
Our Focus at the Rework the World is to profile the work of YES Kenya and its potential to create millions of jobs for youth in communities in East Africa and thus contributing towards creating the next 2 billion jobs for the world’s youth through the following itemized focus.
• Designing a concrete youth social entrepreneurship replication model for support and implementation in East Africa that will benefit thousands of youth through entrepreneurship trainings and skills transfer.
• We are targeting strategic linkages with networks which will lead to partnerships that will enhance YES Kenya’s idea generator for piloting and replication
Rework the World offers an amazing opportunity for us to meet and exchange ideas, present concrete plans and create lasting partnerships that will help us create sustainable livelihoods for the youth.
We need your support and Help
…All good ideas are pipe-dreams if not backed by committed leadership and investment – we are seeking yours. We need your help to move the Youth Entrepreneurship Agenda to the next level to our shared passion for generating youth employment to the resources that can make it happen. We have identified promising sectors for employment generation; discovered quantifiable, innovative and practical solutions; and overseen the development of a national-wide youth network of over 8000 members that provide the perfect vehicle for unleashing the talents and energies of youth to create sustainable social enterprises. With your active involvement we can make a world of difference in the lives of thousands of youth in un reached communities in Africa.
We welcome you to meet us, talk with us and work together to change the World.
The Team
Country Coordinator – Emmanuel Dennis – emmanuel@yesweb.org, emmanuel@yeskenya.org
Programs Manager – Linda Wamalwa – lwamalwa@gmail.com, linda@yeskenya.org
Projects Outreach Manager – Rachel Wariko – rwariko@gmail.com, rachel@yeskenya.org
April 21, 2010
Ideas on the future of energy
As an American, it's been exciting to learn about the new ways in which Tällberg is connecting ideas on the future of energy. I come from the Pacific Northwest where the issue of where to get electricity was addressed long ago chiefly through the installation of hydro-electric dams. Woodie Guthrie wrote some great songs celebrating the completion and success of these large-scale projects that prepared my home for the 20th century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vLZOKshJPs (I dare you to listen to this twice and not get the song stuck in your head)
Tallberg, though, has some people coming to talk about energy in the 21rst century, and the concepts are quite intriguing. Instead of huge, expensive government projects and grids, there may be small "mini-grids" where users can both take out power and put it back in. Instead of energy coming from a few large sources, instead it may come from thousands of small sources using renewable energy. Just as a sample of some of what may be coming, check these projects out:
Decentralised sustainable energy production leverage mobile phone towers, CleanStar FundCleanStar Fund, India, led by a group of young entrepreneurs in India and the UK, is partnering with the Confederation of Indian Industry, DESI Power, the Government of India, and mobile phone companies to design and implement viable models for decentralised sustainable energy production that leverage mobile towers as “anchor customers” for supplying rural energy services.
Training Barefoot Solar Engineers, Barefoot CollegeBarefoot College runs a training program for rural unemployed youth and women to become solar engineers and to manufacture solar kits - kits that are already used by 100,000 people in rural India. The program is now replicated in Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
Living in the US, it's easy to feel like you are locked into a debate between either sacrificing personal comforts for a greener lifestyle or continuing dirty, wasteful energy habits without limit. The truth is that it isn't nearly that simple, and things are changing fast. I encourage my American friends to check out different ways energy will change, and look at how you, too, might rework the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vLZOKshJPs (I dare you to listen to this twice and not get the song stuck in your head)
Tallberg, though, has some people coming to talk about energy in the 21rst century, and the concepts are quite intriguing. Instead of huge, expensive government projects and grids, there may be small "mini-grids" where users can both take out power and put it back in. Instead of energy coming from a few large sources, instead it may come from thousands of small sources using renewable energy. Just as a sample of some of what may be coming, check these projects out:
Decentralised sustainable energy production leverage mobile phone towers, CleanStar FundCleanStar Fund, India, led by a group of young entrepreneurs in India and the UK, is partnering with the Confederation of Indian Industry, DESI Power, the Government of India, and mobile phone companies to design and implement viable models for decentralised sustainable energy production that leverage mobile towers as “anchor customers” for supplying rural energy services.
Training Barefoot Solar Engineers, Barefoot CollegeBarefoot College runs a training program for rural unemployed youth and women to become solar engineers and to manufacture solar kits - kits that are already used by 100,000 people in rural India. The program is now replicated in Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
Living in the US, it's easy to feel like you are locked into a debate between either sacrificing personal comforts for a greener lifestyle or continuing dirty, wasteful energy habits without limit. The truth is that it isn't nearly that simple, and things are changing fast. I encourage my American friends to check out different ways energy will change, and look at how you, too, might rework the world.
March 4, 2010
Water is Life
Its only a few weeks to World Water Day 22 March. In the conference Rework The World we have 5 main themes one of them is WATER, and I thought I would present some of the water projects here.
Over 1 billion people all over the world lack safe drinking water and over 2.6 billion have no access to basic sanitation facilities. One part of the problem is the lack of adequate business models for efficient water services. If we create distribution systems for water and also implement sustainable sanitation solutions and waste handling these systems can provide enormous new employment possibilities.
These fantastic projects and many more will come to Leksand on the 2nd to the 5th June to Rework The World.
Sometimes you can see the difference between good water and bad water.
Which glass would you drink from?
Which glass would you drink from?
The picture is from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbg_photos/2419471868/
A global campaign to build awareness on sanitation and commercialize sanitation products
Jack Sim, World Toilet Organization
The 2.5 billion people without access to proper sanitation cannot be solved by charity alone. Now the World Toilet Organisation is building the market infrastructure for an efficient sanitation marketplace. The opportunity for economy of scale here is massive. The World Toilet Organisation is setting up a SaniShop franchising system, where training from how to determine local demand, starting & operating a SaniShop, promotion, installation, maintenance and a full menu of choices of products and services bundled with financing options. The ability as neutral party to convene and unite the whole global sanitation community to collaborate is unprecedented. As partner of USAID's WaterShed project, the World Toilet Organisation started the sanitation marketing program which proves very successful. Now is the moment to scale. The goal is to have complete the SaniShop franchise manual and field test it within next 12 months. To roll-out SaniShop franchises in all of Mekong region in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma ( about 30 SaniShops in 2011). Scale to 300 SaniShop world-wide in 2012. And let the geometrical progression continue by "power of 10" each year, meaning: 3000 in 2013, 30,000 in 2014, etc. Decentralized and globally self-sustainable model will include micro-manufacturing, micro-cosignment, micro-financing, non-interest tontine system, import of more intelligent parts from centralized design and manufacturing centers.
Selling small, simple sanitation solutions
Karin Ruiz, Peepoople
Today 2,6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation facilities. This affects both the society and the individual through the contamination of fresh water and ground water. Peepoople has re-thought the problem and by using a bottom up approach created a simple viable solution that will be able to reach the most poor. The Peepoo is a self-sanitising single-use biodegradable toilet bag and it puts the users needs first. It also opens up several opportunities for services systems to establish themselves. After use the Peepoo bag offers a value as fertilizer which enables collection and reuse systems to arise, informally or formally, privately or publicly, small scale or large scale. With one million people using the Peepoo toilet in 2015, there will be some 1000 employment opportunities for distribution and collection services.
Selling small, simple sanitation solutions: Peepoople.com
Water for All Always
Vijay Chaturvedi, Development Alternatives
In cooperation with Arghyam Trust, Development Alternatives initiated a project to increase water security in Bundelkhand, India, by involving the community in developing and delivering solutions. The management of water supplies has had a focus on conservation and on community management. Women and young people in the village have been trained to deliver and install 'Jal-TARA' water purification systems (Slow Sand Filtration technique, developed by DA) in the villages to purify bacterial contamination which is the main problem in the region. The impact of the initiative can be seen in how thewomen from these villages are now enjoying the freedom from drudgery and diverting their efforts for productive employment such as food processing or poultry rearing, to raise their income levels. In these villages, village committees are responsible for collecting payments by users of the water supplied and consumed and use water meters to keep track of excessive consumption. In certain villages the water delivery enterprises are set up by the community while in others it is set up by an individual entrepreneur. So far, the initiative has been implemented in 10 villages, generating various employment opportunities. Development Alternatives estimates that with an investment of 10Million USD over the next 5 years, the initiative has the capacity to create more than 1000 enterprises and 300 jobs in approximately 100 villages.
Water for All Always: community driven water security solutions: Development Alternatives (devalt.org)
February 3, 2010
The unemployment debate we need in Sweden
Part 2: The way forward
There is an alternative more pragmatic way forward that recognizes the limits of government programmes to create jobs, and instead tries to capture the political momentum in the employment debate to address the strategic long-term challenges that governments interventions do have the power to influence.
The first of these is social exclusion. This is a very real concern, with 5000 people under 30 permanently leaving the labour force every year, and with 10% of high school students having such poor educational record to be considered “at risk”. Social exclusion is related to employment. But the inability of groups ”at risk” to get a job is more a consequence of broader social and educational failures, than the result of unemployment. In simplified terms: it is not the inability to get a job that is the problem, it is the sense of exclusion that makes you stop looking for one. If this is recognised, new policy instruments, new actors and a new tools can be brough in to address the challenge. Furthermore, the business of social integration - alternative education, afterschool activities, etc - is in itself an emerging sector with large employment potential which must be encouraged.
The second question is the sustainability-imperative. We are facing a structural transformation of our economy of a dimension hitherto unseen in peacetime. But so far politics has failed to build anything even resembling adequate political support for the interventions required. And unless it can be shown that sustainability policies could be the way to provide the employment of the future, the support for change is certain to stay elusive.
Since employment is so central to people’s lives, that debate will always have the political centre stage. This puts a particular responsibility on politicians and interest groups to help frame the debate so that it also addresses long-term strategic issues. Politicians need to tell new stories that help voters see unfamiliar challenges in familiar terms. So far this is not happening, unfortunately.
There is an alternative more pragmatic way forward that recognizes the limits of government programmes to create jobs, and instead tries to capture the political momentum in the employment debate to address the strategic long-term challenges that governments interventions do have the power to influence.
The first of these is social exclusion. This is a very real concern, with 5000 people under 30 permanently leaving the labour force every year, and with 10% of high school students having such poor educational record to be considered “at risk”. Social exclusion is related to employment. But the inability of groups ”at risk” to get a job is more a consequence of broader social and educational failures, than the result of unemployment. In simplified terms: it is not the inability to get a job that is the problem, it is the sense of exclusion that makes you stop looking for one. If this is recognised, new policy instruments, new actors and a new tools can be brough in to address the challenge. Furthermore, the business of social integration - alternative education, afterschool activities, etc - is in itself an emerging sector with large employment potential which must be encouraged.
The second question is the sustainability-imperative. We are facing a structural transformation of our economy of a dimension hitherto unseen in peacetime. But so far politics has failed to build anything even resembling adequate political support for the interventions required. And unless it can be shown that sustainability policies could be the way to provide the employment of the future, the support for change is certain to stay elusive.
Since employment is so central to people’s lives, that debate will always have the political centre stage. This puts a particular responsibility on politicians and interest groups to help frame the debate so that it also addresses long-term strategic issues. Politicians need to tell new stories that help voters see unfamiliar challenges in familiar terms. So far this is not happening, unfortunately.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)