Make that Change

Last weekend, I decided to take a breather from complex discussions about how to solve social issues through commerce, and I went to see an 80’s cover band concert in downtown San Francisco.  The band, Tainted Love, sparked up the nostalgia of the eighties with Billy Joel’s “We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning,” Tears for Fears “Everybody wants to Rule the World,” and my very own Jersey boys, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Bruce’s “I’m on Fire.”  As you can imagine, my soul almost burst as I swayed in fond remembrance of my younger days at the Jersey shore.  In the end, however, I realized that all these songs combined with Paul McCartney’s “We all stand together,” and Depeche Mode’s “I just can’t get enough,” only made me think about how changes in the eighties are affecting our decisions and circumstances today.  These forms of poetic expression forced me to keep on assessing solutions about how to solve social problems around the world, just like these songs made me want to “change the world” and join the World Affairs Club as a kid growing up in the eighties.  If these issues have been burning this long, according to Billy, Bruce and Bon Jovi, now is the time to stop them, right? 

Twenty-five years later, as I work on the Project Good initiative, I’m still thinking about complicated issues.  I know that now is the time to bridge the gap between business and government; now is the time for those training for a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Public Policy, a Master of Environmental Management, or a Master of Public Health to get into the world and work hand in-hand to solve these concerns.  The fact is, no longer can the business sector shun the environmental sector, or those in government shun the business sector, if public-private partnership is to work.  There are some who say that public-private partnership will never work, or that corporations cannot be responsible; that the corporate social responsibility sector, for example, is just about improving image.  I say that this view is ignorant and pessimistic…we need to believe; you have to believe that all sectors attempting to work hand-in-hand to effectuate positive change, is the wave of the future.  Society has to believe that using the power of business to create the platform, and the mission of social organizations to instill the responsibility, is the way to a solution. 

Throughout the eighties, while I was rocking out and beginning my youthful quest to “save the world,” federal agencies were starting to make integral policy decisions that have allowed business and technology to shape communication around the world, which has effectively broken geographical boundaries.  The internet, for example, has allowed us to connect and provide widespread informational exchange and infrastructure.   I find myself continually speaking about Project Good in the context of “it’s time for a revolution”…that’s what the internet has done.  It has essentially revolutionized the way we communicate issues and disseminate information. It’s almost 2008, let’s move forward now…let’s tackle question’s like “can business or ecommerce be used to solve social issues?”  Some organizations have been trying to answer this question for years…let’s give them an answer, a solution, an implementation plan.  I am looking to Project Good to provide that.  With greater partnership among all sectors, and increased informational exchange, transparency and capacity building, the broader social impact and economic development created will translate into increased quality of life for communities around the world.

Power to the Peaceful

When the attacks on September 11^th occurred, the Power to the Peaceful event in Golden Gate Park took on a new mission; serving as a day of remembrance for the victims and a place to promote peace around the globe. In my own effort to remember, I realized that I still had the email my cousin Craig sent to my hotmail account the morning after September 11^th dated 9/12/01 at 6:39 a.m., with the subject line World Trade Center (dad is o.k.). At that time, I was just sworn-in to begin my two-year service term as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala. The first paragraph of his email read: “Well Court, I don't know how fast news travels to Guatemala, so I'll start from ground zero (If you know what happened already, then you can skip this paragraph.) Tuesday, September 11, 2001, four acts of terrorism amassed the largest disaster ever incurred upon our nation, even greater than Pearl Harbor. Four airplanes were hijacked: two heading from Boston to LA, one heading from Newark to San Fran, and one heading from D.C. to LA. Both twin towers came crashing down, and a good portion of the Pentagon has been destroyed. Luckily, my uncle (who worked with many members of our New Jersey community that were lost in this tragic event) was at a meeting and missed the majority of the disaster.

As I strolled into Speedway Meadow for the Power to The Peaceful event on Saturday morning (the weekend before the memorial of that tragic day, September 11^th) to promote our very own Project Good, on the way to our tent I noticed all kinds of people from all over the world reaching out toward peace in all directions to the powerful yogic practices of Eddie Modestini and Nicki Doane; the latter a daughter of diplomat parents, who grew up all over the world. I then continued further into the park to see the colorful explosions of pink, purple and yellow silk scarves, green eco-friendly signs, international-style orange curried vegan delicacies, smooth-pastel colored healing arts tents, Buddhist peace participants, and environmental and political organizational displays. In this small journey I saw hints of my own experiences that took me from Peace Corps Guatemala and back, Newark to San Fran and D.C. to LA in the promotion of peace…these same trips taken by terrorists that resulted in great sadness for people around the world on Sept. 11, 2001.

I couldn’t help to think of how fitting this Power to the Peaceful scene was for Matt and I to be promoting Project Good, the global initiative to create an organized social movement that positively impacts people from around the world. When I got into our Project Good booth, this reminded me to speak about how powerful Project Good is, because it is not only a global initiative to build the largest marketplace for socially conscious goods that positively impact the lives of those who make them, but as a forum for discussion on how we can make good decisions, and become more educated on social, political and environmental concerns. When we do this; information and ideas are transparent, giving the public power to choose how they want to make a change. When given good options, people make good choices; they choose things that are socially just, environmentally sound, and contribute to sustainable development. Which brings me to Michael Franti and Spearhead, who have dedicated the Power to the Peaceful event to peaceful oppression and their mission to not only make music that we can all enjoy, but to elevate the consciousness of his musical community through lyrical expression, so they are empowered to make good choices.

When Franti emerged at the festival right behind our Project Good tent….I had just finished speaking with a small, kind-hearted man who was really concerned and interested in Project Good’s mission. He said it was his first time at Power to the Peaceful and he had been hoping to attend the event for years. He even bought an event t-shirt with Michael Franti’s name on it and asked me if I knew when the musician would start playing. I kid you not, two seconds later when I turned around to grab one of our Project Good informational post-cards, I saw Michael Franti with a big smile on his face and I turned to the little man and said “there he is.” The man walked over to six-foot four Franti who greeted him with a warm hand-shake and a friendly pat on the back and made the man’s day. This is the kind of camaderie and spirit that we need to effectuate positive change in the world; bringing all the players together big or small, to share in ideas that encourage power to the peaceful. Project Good promotes the same core values as Franti, evident in his music and his new children’s book “What I be,”- to empower people to make a conscious choice about who they want to be and the changes they want to see happen to make the world a better place.

by Courtney A. Katz