Social Change

Jonathan Lewis - social entrepreneur extraordinaire - has produced a series of thirty videos to help empower your social justice career. Click here to learn more about Cafe Impact.

Latin America Savings Groups Forum

Beginning tomorrow, the SEEP Network will host the first ever Latin American Savings Groups Forum in Bogota, Columbia. From December 4th to the 6th, academics and practitioners will share experiences and results. Participation, live or virtual, is FREE. To learn more, click here.

Wear Orange Today

Wear orange. Say NO to violence against women.

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The facts are staggering:

• Up to 70 per cent of women experience violence in their lifetime.
• Between 500,000 to 2 million people are trafficked annually into situations including prostitution, forced labour, slavery or servitude, according to estimates. Women and girls account for about 80 per cent of the detected victims
• It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM/C, mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries.
• The cost of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceeds $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion is for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.
• Click here to learn more.

ASAP Fall Newsletter

    Click here to read ASAP's autumn newsletter.

Teachers on Pinterest

Teachers on Pinterest is a great place for teachers to find and share creative ideas. In an effort to promote lively learning, this is a place that will inspire our hard-working teachers - who make a difference in the lives of our children everyday.  Click here.

Healthy Money Summit

The Shift Network Healthy Money Summit begins today. "Navigating the shift to our shared prosperity.

• If you want to know specifically what to do to increase your personal prosperity – and also create abundance for your family, your communityand the world...
• If you want to overcome those financial roadblocks that just never seem to go away, so that you can enjoy life and fulfill your mission...
• If you want to feel free instead of fear when you sit down to pay your bills...
• If you want to spread your money in meaningful ways that support your deepest values and passions...

...then, you’ve come to the right place! "

Click Here to learn more.

National Entrepreneurship Month

Barak Obama, President of the US, has proclaimed November 2013 as National Entrepreneurship Month. "I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 22, 2013, as National Entrepreneurs' Day." To learn more, click here. 

African Events

For the entrepreneur, this directory for events, trade shows, conferences, trade fairs, and exhibitions in Africa, and worldwide, is very useful. Click Here.

Can Entrepreneurship be Taught?

  According to Steve Mariotti, The Founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, this is not open to debate. His mission is to build a global movement so every young person can learn how to start a small business. But many disagree with Steven and believe that entrepreneurship is not a  teachable skill; that the intrinsic motivation required to succeed cannot be learned. Click here to read more about these opposing views. Click here to read Richard Branson's thoughts.

Steve shared his five basic lessons for young entrepreneurs recently in Cambodia High Schools:

1. Never compete; instead, find out what everybody else is doing and then don't do it.

1. Hire the best and brightest, and provide incentives for them like profit-sharing.

1. Get your economics of one unit accurate. The unit that solves a problem must be clear and concise and you must know not only its price, but also its full costs.

1. Learn how to communicate your story, which has to be absolutely true and streamlined, but must answer the question of what your life's work will answer. 

1. Always have a business plan that is based on comparative advantage. 

Click here to learn more.

Steve Mariotti believes in teaching entrepreneurship 

Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship

Recognizing African entrepreneurs with the most innovative, sustainable, scalable, and impactful businesses. Click here to see the finalists for 2013.

Save the Date - Friday Oct. 11th

Celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child by providing school fees for a girl in Zimbabwe.
Click here to learn why educating girls will change the world.

International Day of the Girl Child

October 11th is International Day of the Girl.  Voices from girls around the world will be shared through The Girl Declaration. The goal is to ensure that girls take a lead role as we think about the post-2015 development goals. Their insights will help to guide our efforts to break cycles of poverty for girls, their communities, and the world.  To learn more, click here.

Teaching Entrepreneurship in High School

For 25-years the Network for Entrepreneurship has been instilling entrepreneurial mindset in  young people worldwide. A 2013 survey of NFTE alumni shows impressive results; that  NFTE alumni are innovators, creators and leaders.  Click here to see the research.  

But could sooner = better? According to NFTE’s chief executive, Amy Rosen, high school may be best time to start;“Kids are making decisions when they’re 12 or 13 that will destine them to poverty, the question is: Can you change the trajectory of a kid’s life in one year-long course by getting them involved in their work? I’ve seen over and over again that you can.” Learn More.  

Rethinking Financial Inclusion

An interesting new course to be offered at the Kennedy School in February. Click here to learn more.

Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught

Dr. Noam Wasserman, professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, believes we can teach founders to use data to avoid common hazards.  While Victor W. Hwang, co-author of "The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley" and managing director of T2 Venture Capital in Silicon Valley,  disagrees; believing the required skills must come from "the aggregate experience" of living.

So far, a recent Wall Street Journal poll reveals that 62% of respondents agree with Dr. Wasserman. 

To learn more about this debate and to cast your vote click here.

Entrepreneurship and Agriculture

Entrepreneurial innovations to help feed our growing population are great, yet there are no simple solutions to this complex problem. This is Africa, a report funded by Rockefeller Foundation, examines cutting edge ideas which could bring on Africa's agricultural revolution.

Food for further thought, Oxfam recently released "The Future of Agriculture". This compilation from two weeks on on-line debate to develop a creative and positive vision of global food production to ensure everyone always has enough to eat.

Madi Sharma’s Global Entrepreneur Envoy

Honored as Asian Woman of Achievement and UK’s Best Boss, Madi Sharma has used her passion and experience to create a global portal for entrepreneurs. At Global Entrepreneur Envoy like-minded individuals and organizations turn ideas into action, promote sustainability and celebrate success.

To blog or not to blog?

Shared from Duncan Green's "From Poverty to Power" blog.

Happy International Youth Day!

In 2010, there were an estimated 27 million international young migrants. Today, International Youth Day, is raising awareness of the opportunities and risks associated with youth migration, which too often results in a life of squalor, discrimination and exploitation. The UN shares this story of a Sudanese migrant's life in Greece. Click here to learn more.

Entrepreneurship and Education

Should entrepreneurship be taught at school? By incorporating entrepreneurship at an early age, children may develop real problem-solving, creativity and innovative thinking through project-based learning in the classroom. Click here to learn more. Source: Grasshopper As educators, we want to open the minds of our youngest learners to the idea that they could change the world.

Mugabe stays

the MDC ........ went into the election like sheep to the slaughterhouse. By participating in the flawed poll, the MDC gave it legitimacy and had no backup plan as to how to challenge Zanu-PF if the election swung in its favour. And now that it did, moaning about flaws in the process and challenging the results in court can do little to reverse Zanu-PF’s massive 76% of the parliamentary vote. See full story

Mugabe out?

The Election in Zimbabwe is imminent and polls say that the old dictator is finished.  We've heard all that before but one never knows.  This could be the year.  For the whole article click here.

A New Kind of Documentary

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, the new documentary film, The Act of Killing portrays the aging men that orchestrated the genocide in Indonesia. The unique portrayal, "with gangsters, cowboys, dancing girls, men in drag and splashy musical numbers". Never held accountable, the regime founded on crimes against humanity may never be punished because"War Crimes are defined by the winner".

Remember to keep Zimbabwe in your thoughts and prayers as the country braces itself for another presidential election on July 31st.

Turn Your Miles into Smiles

Show your compassion for our world.  Help 'Circle Our World With Love" this summer.  Together we will travel 24,900 miles and circle the world.  Every mile counts.

It's easy to join. Take the 'Circle Our World With Love'
challenge on dailymile.com.  Click here. Update your miles each day. Run, walk, cycle, swim, fitness and more .... post pictures, routes, goals, motivations....it's all there. Then download the Electric Miles app for your android or iPhone and update your dailymiles from anywhere.

Your friends will be able to sponsor your individual miles on ASAP’s web site or become a ‘Circle Our World With Love’ sponsor for the campaign.  Our goal is to raise at least one dollar for each mile dedicated to provide ‘Tools for Empowerment’ for entrepreneurs in Haiti. 

Help ASAP 'Circle Our World With Love'

Intention is everything. Dedicate your mileage goal for the next three months to help ASAP 'Circle Our World With Love' by September 30th. Every mile is powerful.

Click Here and submit your registration form today.

Internal Savings & Lending in the USA

According to Frank DeGiovanni, director of financial assets at the Ford Foundation "... more than 30 million low-income families across the U.S. lack access to traditional banking and financial systems". The U.S. Financial Diaries Project is tracking 200 families in order to understand how best to help these families and develop "reliable tools to absorb economic shocks". To read more click here.

Many low income families are forced to be very creative when it comes to accessing funds in times of hardship. Click here to view "When people make their own banks", which aired on NPR's All Things Considered Friday, June 14.  ASAP is proud to be working in collaboration with the Northern Lights, to share ideas and learning on how best to adapt IS&L to countries in the "North". Click here to learn more.

Increase Your Good Today

Donations for these ASAP projects on the Global Giving website will be matched beginning at 9:00 am EDT Today. Thank you for your interest and compassion.

Donate Tomorrow at 9:00 am EDT!

School Fees for 40 Young Girls in Zimbabwe

Donations for ASAP's projects on the Global Giving website will be matched tomorrow beginning at 9:00 am EDT. Timing is everything - donations will only be matched until the available funds are gone. Remember to increase the good of your gift tomorrow.

Tools for Empowerment for Artisans in Haiti

UN May Leave Haiti

Delegates from around the world will converge on Port-au-Prince May 31 to take part in a two-day Continental Conference aimed at bringing an end to the United Nations Mission to Stabilize Haiti or MINUSTAH, which marks its ninth anniversary on Jun. 1.

The military occupation force, which now comprises about 9,000 armed soldiers and police officers from some 50 countries and costs some $850 million per year, was deployed by the UN Security Council at the behest of permanent members U.S. and France following the Feb. 29, 2004 coup d’état (which Washington and Paris fomented) against former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At the time, the world public was told that the mission would be deployed for only six months, time enough to hold new elections. Instead, MINUSTAH is now entering its 10^th year. Its latest one-year mandate ends Oct. 15, 2013.'

For the full story click here.

Up Your Impact On June 12th

ASAP's new Tools for Empowerment for Artisans in Haiti is now featured on the Global Giving website. Click here to view the project. Your donation to kick-start this project will go even further on June 12. Beginning a 9:00 am EDT, Global Giving will match your donations 50%. Please mark your calenders. Help even more families become self-reliant by donating on June 12th. Click here to learn more.

Over 9 Million Households Out of Banking Loop

It’s amazing that about 8% of US households don’t even have a checking or savings account. And in the case of an emergency, someone without credit cards must often turn to triple-digit interest rate payday loan companies! This group of society may want to give consideration to Savings Groups as an alternative to formal banking as is being promoted by the Northern Lights coalition.

To read the full article click here. 

Education for All

Attending school is not enough.
Education quality and learning outcomes
must be addressed in post 2015 framework

 The 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs is fast approaching. Global development education and finance leaders came together recently to discuss concrete steps to accelerate progress toward ensuring that all children go to school and learn. The MDGs, with their focus on education access, do not put sufficient attention on education quality and learning outcomes, which must be be addressed in the post-2015 development framework. Click here to read more.


The ministerial meeting ended with the premier of “Girls Rising”.(see previous post).  

Educate Girls - Change the World

Richard Robbins' new film, Girl Rising  is a testament to the  strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world. This film is a MUST SEE. For show times in your area click here.

UNDP 2013 Human Development Report

The 2013 Human Development Report,  "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World", is now available. It identifies more than 40 developing countries that have performed better than expected. China has overtaken Japan as the worlds second biggest economy, India and Brazil are reshaping their economies. Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, South Africa, Indonesia and many other developing nations are also becoming leading actors on the world stage.
Click here to download the important information in this new free report.

A New Constitution for Zimbabwe?

Last week-end Zimbabweans voted in a referendum to ratify a new constitution. The new Constitution limits the president to two terms, a crucial provision given that Mr. Mugabe, 89, has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. But Mr. Mugabe’s previous terms will not count, so he is free to run twice more.
To learn more click here.

Tools for Haiti

Young artisans in Haiti eager to enter the workforce will receive the first tool kits from ASAP's new Tools for Empowerment project. The Salesian Timkatec2 Training Center graduates will each receive a tool kit to enable them to use their newly learned skills whether it is plumbing, carpentry, or electrical.

These hardworking young people will be equipped with the skills needed to help rebuild their devastated country and the tools needed to put those skills into action.  These tool kits are life changing in a country where 80% of the population lives under the poverty line with over 40% unemployment. Haiti will be the focus of this years annual Circle the World With Love campaign.