Chris Spagnuolo's EdgeHopper » People Doing Good Things

Condition: Critical, Voices from the War in Eastern Congo

Chris Spagnuolo — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:14:52 +0000

During my graduate studies in the mid-1990′s, I spent a good deal of time working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time, there were political tensions brewing that were threatening to tear the country apart at the seams. Much to my dismay, after leaving the country in 1998, a brutal war broke out that is still raging today. This war in the Congo is the widest interstate war in modern African history. The war involves seven foreign armies and is sometimes referred to as the “African World War”, yet most Americans are unaware that it is even occurring. Today at the dawn of 2009, people in the Congo are dying at a rate of an estimated 45,000 per month. The war is the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II, killing 5.4 million people. There is no end in sight; the violence continues to escalate with the civilian population in the crosshairs. The war has truly gutted this once beautiful country. It troubles me deeply to think that people I worked with, lived with, and broke bread with are enduring such turmoil and hardship.

Today, the incredible organization Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) is trying very hard to bring attention to this tragedy in the Congo through their program Condition: Critical, Voices from the War in Eastern Congo. Condition: Critical is a multi-media initiative launched by Doctors Without Borders aiming to bring global attention to the humanitarian consequences of the intensifying war in the Congo. Through testimonies, photos, and video, Condition: Critical goes beyond headlines and news reports to document how civilians are struggling to survive in Congo’s North and South Kivu provinces, Ituri province, and the Haut-Uélé region – where violence, displacement, and sexual violence are mainstays of daily life.

In addition to these efforts to bring this crisis into view for the world, Doctors Without Borders continue to carry out emergency surgery, treating injuries including gunshot wounds and burns; run mobile clinics to reach those who have fled to safer, more remote areas; provide health care in hospitals and health centers; respond to epidemics like cholera; provide medical care to victims of sexual violence; and provide psychological support for those traumatized by what they have experienced. The scale of this humanitarian crisis in the Congo is extremely large. In 2007, Doctors Without Borders employed more than 2000 field staff and spent more than 39 million euros to fund its projects in the country, most of them coming from private donations.

I personally implore you to please, at the very least, watch the video clip here and if you feel moved to help, please visit the Condition: Critical website or the Doctors Without Borders site to volunteer or donate whatever you can to help these amazing people on their difficult but important mission.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” – The Dalai Lama

The Girl Effect. Global Oneness. (Red)Wire. Starbucks. People Doing Good Things.

Sustainable design interview with Greg Lee, CFO of Livestrong

Chris Spagnuolo — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:00:30 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Greg Lee, the Chief Financial Officer of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Livestrong, about the design and buildout of the new Livestrong world headquarters in Austin, Texas. Livestrong is in the process of converting a 30,000 square-foot, 1950′s-era industrial building into a modern, green, collaborative workspace for their foundation’s efforts to combat cancer. You may have seen some video clips of Lance Armstrong touring the new facility yesterday here on EdgeHopper. In this interview, Greg gives us a more detailed look at all of the sustainable design elements of the new building and discusses the long-term financial savings they will provide. He also delves into the collaborative nature of the space and the teams at the foundation. I was going to turn the interview into a blog post, but Greg provided so much great information in such a passionate way that I wanted to have you hear it from Greg himself. I hope you enjoy this interview with a fantastic person from an amazing organization.

Greg Lee Interview

About the Lance Armstrong Foundation

At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we fight for the more than 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. There can be – and should be – life after cancer for more people. That’s why we kick in at the moment of diagnosis, giving people the resources and support they need to fight cancer head-on. We find innovative ways to raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face. We connect people and communities to drive social change, and we call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease. Anyone, anywhere can join our fight against cancer. Join us at LIVESTRONG.org.

About the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign

Lance made the decision to return to cycling because he thrives on competition. For his Foundation, the competition is the global threat of cancer. Cancer is poised to become the world’s leading cause of death by 2012. The Global Cancer Campaign is a worldwide initiative uniting everyone from survivors like Lance to world leaders and policymakers who must commit to the effort to avoid a public health catastrophe. To put it simply, we’re going to build a global movement against cancer, and we’re going to win.

No related posts.

Global Oneness: Raising consciousness through storytelling

Chris Spagnuolo — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:00:34 +0000

The Global Oneness Project is exploring how the radically simple notion of interconnectedness can be lived in our increasingly complex world (and we’re not talking Twitter and Facebook here). Since 2006, they’ve been traveling the globe gathering stories from creative and courageous people who base their lives and work on the understanding that we bear great responsibility for each other and our shared world.

They have an incredible library of films available for free on their website. The hope of the project is that by showing the diverse ways oneness is expressed—in the fields of sustainability, conflict resolution, spirituality, art, economics, indigenous culture, and social justice—others will be inspired to create solutions to personal and community challenges from their own lived understanding of oneness. Each one of the videos is downloadable for iTunes, iPod and also in HD Video. They’re all subtitled in at least twelve languages and are open for sharing under a Creative Commons license.

You can subscribe to the Global Oneness Blog here and the iTunes Video Podcasts here.

Here’s a beautiful trailer for the project that is very moving and indicative of the quality of the materials available on the website.

The Global Oneness Project is a special project of Kalliopeia Foundation, a private grant-making foundation in northern California committed to honoring the unity at the heart of life’s rich diversity.

Starbuck’s asks: Are you in?

Chris Spagnuolo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:16:27 +0000

Yet another great visual example of Starbuck’s willingness and ability to get folks involved in some social goodness. This time, they’ve recruited MC Yogi to help get people answer the call: “What if we all gave just 5 hours to help our community?”. If we all did a little, each little contribution can add up to something big. And if you’ll pledge just 5 hours to volunteering, they’ll even give you a free cuppa joe. So get out and volunteer today and check out another great example of visual zen from Starbucks:

(RED)WIRE: Great music saves lives

Chris Spagnuolo — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:42:49 +0000

Today, World AIDS Day, MSN is celebrating the launch of (RED)WIRE, (RED)’s new digital music magazine designed to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Some of the greatest artists on earth have contributed amazing songs to (RED)WIRE. To subscribe to (RED)WIRE or to get two issues free visit http://www.redwire.com/. And to join in the launch party and enjoy (RED)WIRE videos and music visit http://red.msn.com/. And remember, it takes just one person at a time to make a difference in this world. Make a difference today!

In addition to being a great cause, the (RED)WIRE site and the main (RED) site have some great design elements to check out.

What if: We all did presentations like Starbucks?

Chris Spagnuolo — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:00:08 +0000

Whether you drink Starbucks coffee or not, whether you agree with their business model or not, you have to admit that they’ve really nailed the art of communicating ideas and values using very simple presentation styles and dynamic, text-based messages (Garr Reynolds calls it Kinetic Typography). Very similar in style to the Girl Effect presentation I discussed earlier this month, these two presentations not only communicate a good message, they move people to action. And that’s the key to good presentations: moving people to action. Plus, I love the theming in both of these. Simple, clear, effective: “What if?“. So, enjoy these two “What if?” themed videos below and if you’re moved to action, do something about it. The first is for (STARBUCKS) RED: Starting today, November 27, every time you buy a special (STARBUCKS) RED product, a contribution will be made to the Global Fund, to help save lives in Africa. It’s all part of Starbucks commitment to give back to the communities where Starbucks does business, which is a key component of Starbucks Shared Planet. The second video was from Election Day and moves us to care about voting as much on November 5th (and all the time) as we did on November 4th. Enjoy and be inspired!

T. Boone Pickens’ Energy Plan

Chris Spagnuolo — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:00:18 +0000

T. Boone Pickens has an awesome four-minute presentation about his plan to save America’s energy future. Great topic. Great ideas. Great presentation. It’s the perfect combination of whiteboard simplicity mixed with some really connected and compelling graphics.

Boone’s message: “America is in a hole and it’s getting deeper every day. We import 70 percent of our oil at a cost of several hundred billion a year. I’ve been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil. On January 20, 2009, a new President gets sworn in. If we’re organized, we can convince Congress to make major changes toward cleaner, cheaper and domestic energy resources.To get this done, I need your help. Check out the plan. If you think it’s worth fighting for, please join our effort, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.”

If a guy who made his fortune in oil and gas can say this and put out a plan to do it, maybe we should take notice and listen…and do something about it! This guy rocks. Find out more at http://www.pickensplan.com.

The Girl Effect

Chris Spagnuolo — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:22:04 +0000

The Girl Effect: The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society. This is an amazing presentation and deeply profound. I hope after you watch it, you’re moved to action. And I hope you see that less is more when it comes to presentation design.

11/05/2008 UPDATE: Lots of people have emailed me asking how they can help and make a difference. My recommendation is to check out Kiva: Loans that Change Lives. Kiva lets you lend to a specific “entrepreneur” in the developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.