Links I Like (LIL's) #3

Ideas/Model/Paper
- Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra in Kinshasa, Dem Rep of Congo. Basic orchestras in poor areas of DRC. I saw this on a BBC docum & was blown away. This might seem unusual & maybe impractical, but music & art provide some of the intangibles to development, culture, & life. Interviews share about how the orchestra has united blacks & whites, allowed for a starting pad for creating Africa's own classical music, & brought an avenue for the expression of passion & life. #ART #MUSIC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8709592.stm BBC docum
http://www.solokinshasa.com/?p=175 short description & video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pURObHVM8JM video w/commentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFDdSTjwS0c extended performance

Person/Thinkers
- Paul Polak – proponent of developing small appropriate technologies to serve poor. Author of “Out of Povery: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail” & founder of International Development Enterprises (http://www.ideorg.org/) & D-Rev (http://www.d-rev.org/) #ENG #BUSINESS http://paulpolak.com/html/paul.html

Group/Organization
- Kick Start (HANDS DOWN favorite organization this week; Amazing five-step process (1. Identify opportunity, 2. Design product, 3. Establish a supply chain, 4. Develop the market, 5. Measure & move along) I love this group. Kickstart has a growing portfolio of technologies that are given to indigenous entrepreneurs to start businesses. Amazing model. #ENG #BUSINESS
http://www.kickstart.org/what-we-do/
- Three Groups that use business to serve the poor
1. Technoserve (approach – empower entrepreneurs, build businesses & industries, transform lives) #BUSINESS
http://www.technoserve.org/who-we-are/our-approach.html
2. CDC development solutions (engages MBA’s in supply chain development, tourism development, global citizenship & volunteerism w/ "MBA’s w/o borders", & stability and economic recovery); great way of mobilizing volunteer MBA’s to serve. #BUSINESS
http://www.cdcdevelopmentsolutions.org/about-us
3. Enterprise Works (work in Energy, Water & Sanitation, Natural Resources, & Agribusiness) #ENG #BUSINESS
http://www.enterpriseworks.org/display.cfm?id=2&sub=2
- Relevant magazine “Reject Apathy” - a channel devoted to serving the poor & social justice. It’s a bit trendy, but it’s encouraging to hear from Christians trying to grapple through these issues & seek the Lord. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy #GOSPEL

News/Prayer
- YEMEN “Is Yemen the Next Afghanistan?” Fantastic 10-page nytimes piece on Yemen
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/magazine/11Yemen-t.html
Basic primer on Yemen from Good Magazine
http://www.good.is/post/what-you-should-know-about-yemen

Opportunity/Grant/Contest
- Ashoka Changemakers (fantastic list of ongoing competitions & grants)
http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/competitions/browse/all
Ashoka recently partnered with G20 to look for solutions/models for SME’s (small & medium enterprises). Deadline August 25, 2010
http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/SME-Finance

Random/Fun
- For the dorks out there, here’s a comic about depth-first search applied to dating: http://xkcd.com/761/
- The World Cup is almost over, but keeping in the spirit here are some amazing World Cup soccer visualizations & infographics from Umbro.
http://blog.umbro.com/2010/06/30/football-as-art-the-vital-stats-as-youve-never-seen-them-before/

What I’m currently reading:
Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles by Richard Dowden
Journalist who has spent over 30 years in Africa looks at almost each of the major countries in Africa providing history & his own experiences and anecdotes. I’m slowly getting through the 500+ page book, but I just love it. Just helps me with praying for Africa, learning about the history in an engaging way, and growing a heart for it, especially when I can’t be there in person right now to learn myself.