EMPOWERMENT

. . . in a globalized world

The act of taking authority or control over some aspect

of one’s life.

Unit 7: Responsibility and Hope for the Future

Meaning: the world is so large and its population so great that individuals often feel insignificant and unable to control important aspects of their lives.

Do you think this is a problem?

The problem with globalization is that it is so global

Socially Responsible Investing Is it possible to invest money while being

socially responsible? When people who believe in SRI make

decisions about how to invest their money, they take their moral values into consideration and choose companies who share these values.

Avoid investing in companies that damage the environment or cause illness.

SRI growing quickly in Canada ($64 billion in 2004 to $504 billion in 2006)

Microcredit

Providing small amounts of money to people to help build a better livelihood and break out of the cycle of poverty

Pioneered by: Dr. Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh

2000 delegates from over 110 countries

Rep. over 3000 microcredit institutions

Helped almost 100 million of the world’s poorest people

Definition/OriginGlobal Microcredit Summit

Kiva: A microcredit example

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world

www.kiva.org

Success and Development

High repayment rates Little amount needed

for great amounts of success

Provides $$ to people who would otherwise not be granted loans from larger financial institutions

CIDA spends about $32 million on microcredit in developing countries

Larger banks are not involved b/c they see this as too high a credit risk

Formal institutions are needed in order to expand (ie. MicroPlace, Kiva, etc.)

Need to get UN and World Bank involved and dedicated to helping the disadvantaged

Success Development

Final thoughts for today

Poverty exists to a great extent b/c society has created institutions, including banks and governments, that discriminate against a wide variety of people, such as the poor.

This discrimination is not necessarily deliberate, but reflects a lack of understanding about people’s practical situations.

Ultimate solution: institutions have a responsibility to ensure all people are treated with respect and human dignity.

In your notes:

Using text p. 440-442 Complete an “In the News” profile of Dr.

Yunus’ (use p. 14 of the text to help you) What are the 7 principles of the Grameen

Bank? Choose an individual/group that you would

loan money to using Kiva How much would you loan? Describe the person/group you chose. Why did

you choose this person? Might this be something you might actually

consider? Why or why not?