Global Perspectives

1. Ignatius taught that we can find God in all things. 2. Ignatius was courageous – his leg was famously broken by a canon ball when French soldiers attacked the town of Pamplona, in 1521. When it did not set, Ignatius demanded it be re-broken (without anaesthetics) so that it could heal properly. 3. Ignatius gave up his ‘old plans of romance and worldly conquests’ to pursue without reservation what was more important (which for him meant taking vows of chastity and poverty and becoming a priest). 4. Ignatius’ ideas stood the test of time - he founded the Jesuit order which today has over 20,000 people serving communities in 112 nations 5. Ignatius said that the central ingredient for spiritual growth was gratitude 6. Ignatius combined intellectual integrity with a clarion call to serve the interests of the poor. 7. Ignatius believed that personal fulfillment was dependent upon reflection. He developed the Examen of consciousness – a call to discern God’s spirit by reflecting on our em...

The goal of eradicating extreme poverty is within the means of this generation. Never before has it been more important that we make courageous decisions, driven by compassion and love. What depresses me is how desperately conservative, cautious and risk-averse so many of our choices are. I may still be in culture shock. Earlier this year, we were living and working on Thai/Burma border. We travelled inside Burma to visit internally displaced Karen and Shan communities. These people have been forced from their homes by the Burma Army. These are surviving in the jungle – refusing to leave their homeland or come under the control of their enemies. In Burma, I learnt the meaning of courage and of resilience. I will never forget a man I met in Shan State in Burma, called Waling. He had and epic story of survival. He told me that a few years before the military junta had attacked his village in Northern Shan State. Of the 70 families in his village, only 4 made it to safety; he didn’t know...

Charles Handy, listed as one of the world’s top ten gurus, has a new book out. The New Philanthrapists documents the lives of 23 individuals and their contribution to, you guessed it, philanthropy. Certainly, philanthropy is experiencing something of a renaissance. It may be to do with the unprecedented wealth that has been generated over the last ten years. In the UK alone, there are approximately 450,000 millionaires. These are people with cash assets of more than a million and don’t include the countless more sitting on millions in their properties. Handy has built his career on spotting the signs of the times. He has discerned that these new millionaires are becoming increasingly engaged in making a social return. After they have achieved great wealth, they want to use it. In the words of one leading industrialist ‘I don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard!’ These individuals are different from the traditional donor. Scarily, they want to be involved . This is sendin...

Robert Louis Stevenson summed up how many of us feel when he wrote; ‘The world is so big and I am so small, I do not like it at all, at all.’ The world faces a giddying array of problems. At times they seem to dwarf hope, intimidate courage and undermine action. I work in International Development. One of the great challenges we face is convincing partners, supporters and stakeholders that progress and real accomplishment is possible. We need not be on the losing side. The Make Poverty History coalition was a testament to that. Hundreds of organisations, hundreds of thousands of individuals energised and enthused with a freshly articulated vision. Inspiring confidence that we can make a serious dent to poverty is critical. Every generation has to re-discover this idealism. Every generation has to decide how highly it values changing the world. However sympathetic people are to cause, if they are not convinced that progress can and will be made, their support will not be forthcoming. ...

We are all embroiled in retail. And I mean all of us. No one can opt out. From the moment we existed, we became a consumer. But something has changed. Like never before, we are all connected. What our generation eats, buys, wears and even cheers on a Saturday afternoon hails from a foreign land. A global work force is deployed in the search to manufacture products at a price that will meet our insatiable desire to consume. This unfettered desire is a threat to our future but may also hold the key to a brighter tomorrow. Bono’s new Product (Red) is a case in point. It aims to harness consumer power not undermine it. A percentage of the profits generated by its branded items (now including trade-mark Bono wrap arounds, mobile phones, shoes, clothes and credit cards) go to fight AIDS in Africa www.joinred.com . The products aim to rival any on the market. They aim to win you as a consumer (and as a compassionate, enlightened human being.) Bono makes one emphatic point: as consumers, we h...

in a world of spiralling injustice and poverty, why are so many of us unconcerned, unnaffected and disconnected? despite globalisation, it seems our worlds are becoming smaller, our perspectives narrower. my experience working on the thai/burma border augmented in me a conviction that we mustn't let a gulf between those who are suffering greatly and the rest of us remain unchallenged. how can we find a way of inspiring this generation to be more engaged, more active, more alert and more compassionate? how much further can each of us grow in our capacity to be kind, couragageous, and loving? I believe it is possible to build an army of young people who are inspired to stand up for the marginalised, who will defend the rights of the innocent, who will take responsibility for the future of our planet. returning from abroad, it becomes apparent that deep set indifference is common. that is not a judgement, it just the truth. yet the onus of us to live with compassion and reject apathy ...