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yoda
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| 10/28/2009 7:39 PM |
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The rise of social change makers
Elim Chew, Founder and Owner, 77th Street
Oct 19, 2009 Monday, 05:31 PM
Elim Chew looks at this year's Social Innovators Forum award winners.
ON OCTOBER 1st, we held the SIP (Social Innovation Park) Awards for the second year running during the Gobal Social Innovators' Forum 2009 Gala Dinner at the Marina Barage.
It was a beautiful place with a wonderful set-up. Like-minded leaders both local and global gathered together to share ideas and experiences and enjoyed an awesome evening hosted by Nadya Hutagalung, VJ and the founder of Green Kampong.
At the Global Social Innovators Forum 2009 gala dinner. -- PHOTO: DARREN CHIN
This year, our SIP Distinguished Fellow Award was presented to Rob Walton, the chairman of Wal-mart since 1992. This award honors legendary leaders whose lives have positively influenced generations and communities around the globe. The distinguished Fellow motivates collaborations and inspires extraordinary innovations across sectors. SIP Distinguished Fellows are outstanding role models and stalwarts of SIP's community of change makers in shaping a more inclusive, sustainable and better world.
In his role, Mr Walton has seen Wal-Mart grown to serve more than 200 million customers per week at more than 8,000 retail units in 15 countries, generating $401 billion in sales in fiscal year 2009.
We also presented SIP Fellow Awards to six outstanding and high achieving individuals, for creating systematic change in the community that they live and work in.
The SIP Fellow Award winners are:
1) Calvin Chin - Co-founder and CEO of Qifang, China
2) Dea Sudarman - President, Alun Alun, Documentary Film Maker, Indonesia
3) John Hope Bryant - Founder, Chairman and CEO of Operations Hope, USA
4) Melissa Kwee - Chairperson, Halogen Founder and Co-founder and Director of Good Company
5) Peter A. Seligmann - Chairman of Conservation International, USA
6) Suhas Gopinath - Founder and CEO of Globals Inc., India
7) Dr. Ting Choon Meng - Doctor, Inventor and Author, Singapore
Elim (second from right) with the SIP Fellow Award winners and Board of Directors. -- PHOTO: JONATHAN WIJAYA
These are individuals who are highly inspiring and great models to learn from. Through the works and the causes they championed, they have exemplified what it means to be "doing well by doing good", to quote John Hope Bryant.
Our world's downward spiral into one of the worst economic recessions in human history today boils down to greed and fear and top leaders who appear focused in benefiting themselves rather than the communities. As such, there is a great demand for good leaders who care not just for personal gain or corporate profits alone, but who genuinely care for community interests and are willing to take actions to bring change. This is what social innovation calls for and this is what I believe will positively impact and change the lives of our future generations.
John Hope Bryant, for example, founded Operations Hope, USA with a mission to eradicate poverty, help under-served communities by promoting opportunities and empowerment for them to succeed, and give them a sense of dignity where others have neglected them. He believes in providing a 'hand up, not hand out', so as to have a sustainable model to help elevate the poor to more enriching lives with a better standard of living.
He recently launched a book titled "Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-Based World" in which he shared his philosophy that "power is the ability to give more than you receive, to lead more than you follow, and to love more than you hate."
We need more good leaders like him who embrace social innovation to rise up and make our world a better place with better communities.
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