Humanitarian Intervention at the Global Level

Commencement Address18 October 2013 Pasadena California

By Dr Chris E StoutManaging DirectorCenter for Global InitiativesContact httpaboutmeDrChrisStout Humanitarian Tools httpwwwlinkedincominfluencer3055695

How exciting it is for me to be here today

I know that on such an occasion the emotions of parents and loved ones are mixedmdashwe all feel a little bit sad a little bit relieved a little bit astonished and totally proud

I am honored to here today

To alumni this is a day rich in memory a day when those of a certain age (and I am one) recall our own time as a graduate studentmdashwhich for me took place roughly halfway between the invention of the iPad and the discovery of fire

The opportunities that psychology gives each these graduates also comes with the responsibility to bring psychology to the places it needs to be

Irsquove worked to do that throughout my career and thankfully now you all can join in

I was invited here today to talk about humanitarian intervention at the global level Obviously the need to help others can be down the street as well as across an ocean however most of my work tends to be more international and so that will be the focus of my talk this morning

I just want you all to know that itrsquos taken me almost 30 years to write this speechmdashI hope you like it

After graduate school I began a career blending clinical practice academia and writing as do many others and as many of you will

In the academic area I had the fortunate opportunity to teach some courses at the Chicago School as well as work on projects and even travel to Ghana a while back with Chicago School faculty and students

Semi-simultaneously I was publishing a number of clinically oriented books but in addition I was also publishing books entitled

The Integration of Psychological Principles in Policy Development

1

The Psychology of DiplomacyThe Psychology of TerrorismCollateral Damage

AndThe Psychology of Resolving Global Conflicts From War to Peace

And I would like to thank one of my wonderful publishers Praeger for all their help with those books

These works were the result of participating in conferences dialogs and think tanks

In the late 1990s I was able to join a group of amazing psychologists working at the UN Every month I would fly to Manhattan go to meetings and conduct my research

Subsequently I was invited to things like TED Conferences Renaissance Weekends The World Economic Forumrsquos Annual Meeting in Davos The State of the World Forum and go to other places around the world that very much intimidated me

But I had the chance to meet some amazing and inspirational people that I am humbled to say that to this day are my friends

Many of those folk were founders of amazing nonprofits and NGOs

I went on to publish a three volume set of books called The New Humanitarians based on their work and organizations Thanks againhellipPraeger

Shortly after my stint with the UN had finished I went on my first volunteer medical mission to Vietnam and it was life changing I spent three weeks in Halong Bay working in a 100 year old ramshackle hospital that had no glass in the windows no water in the pipes and no electricity in the wires

But for those three weeks it had a group of visitors that were full of hope and a group of volunteers that rocked at working 10 hour days seeing 100s of patients in 100+ degree temps Ah volunteerismhellip

It is through experiences like these that you can learn many things to augment your graduate educationhelliplike how to bribe a customs official in order to be allowed to cross with the medicines you brought with you or how to manage your own case of dysentery while working in a Bolivian menrsquos prison

I can tell you that that is not an elective in any graduate program I know of

The point is that all of these activities conspired to make me want to move from the prior policy-focused aspects of my international work as important as they are to one that was perhaps a bit more action oriented or in-the-field as they say

2

Also around this time Irsquod just finished reading The White Manrsquos Burden by an economist named William Easterlymdashand that did it

Easterlyrsquos thesis was that small organizations in many instances may be more successful in making real differences in peoplersquos lives than the BIG BOYS becauses small players are more agile and not saddled with moribund bureaucratic procedures

So the Center for Global Initiatives was born

The process of gaining the IRS approval for such is not easy quick or inexpensive But we got it done

And today the results have been wonderful

GuideStar awarded us their coveted Silver ranking and we were named a 2013 Top-Rated Nonprofit We have been invited to help with needs and projects in Bolivia Cambodia Benin Tanzania Rwanda Guatemala India and Ukraine

We founded a kindergarten in Tanzania for orphaned childrenmdashapproved by the Tanzania Ministry of Education To-date we have provided medical services and food to over 20000 Tanzanian orphans and individuals in need and we have graduated more than 70 orphaned children from that kindergarten We funded care for malaria treatment for over 2000 Tanzanian children and adults for 73-cents a patient

I have been to over 85 countries I have had some of my books and chapters translated into 8 languages All of this has been from the work of unpaid volunteers including myself

I think we have lived up to the standard set by Easterlyrsquos book and Margaret Meadrsquos famous observation to ldquoNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world indeed itrsquos the only thing that ever doesrdquo

Our current work is to bring all of our tools and resources together and make them available to all of you and anyone else for free Irsquom on faculty at the College of Medicine at the U of I and there the credo is ldquosee one do one teach onerdquo So we saw how we could help we did so and now wersquore helping you to be able to do so too

We have created a Curated Library of downloadable tools via DropBox with over 20 categories and 800 full text articles and books

On SlideShare I have posted presentations and videos that have a combined viewership of almost 20000 in just the past few months

I blog on humanitarian issues as a Linkedin Influencer with almost 11000 followers

We have a chapter-by-chapter downloadable medical text library on our website as well as helpful links for multi-lingual medical information translation services and international travel

3

And we have tools to get you reduced airfare if you are working on an international humanitarian mission

We have a downloadable spreadsheet that lists over 100 helpful websites for fundraising non-profit development board recruitment volunteer management and more

And we have over 85 online courses though our CourseWorks Program where you can takemdashfor freemdasheverything from Global Health Technology to Measuring Poverty to Cultural Competency to Volunteer Ethics and Professionalism Or perhaps you may want to work toward one of 19 Certifications offered at whopping $25course We can do that too

So whatrsquos next for our work at the Center

Well with thanks to the vision and leadership of Dr Michele Nealon-Woods and Dr Tiffany Masson our Center is working with the International Psychology Program and developing the first of its kind Consortium for Humanitarian Intervention This is an amazing project and will yield much impact on the world stage

And yes Irsquoll still be writinghellipThe APA will have a new book released in 2014 called ldquoGoing Globalrdquo that I was invited to contribute to and while I continue to write and present you can also count on me being in the field as well

The Chicago School and its staff its faculty its current students and todayrsquos graduates all unite to play a critical role in the public good and the betterment of others

Your school is known for being a pioneermdashinitially when it started and continuing on with programs like the International Psychology PhD

I know each of you already has the right intentions otherwise you wouldnrsquot be here today but you may be tempted to waitmdashwe all are so tempted to wait until ldquosomething happensrdquo instead of acting

We may wait until we can pay off our student loans or get a job or lose 15 pounds or quit smoking Or until we get married or until we get divorced or until we start a familyhellip

And all of a sudden after 30 some-odd years we keep waiting until we run out of ldquountilsrdquo Then it is too late It was long believed that no human could run a mile in less than four minutes Some of you may recall that Roger Banister was the first to shatter this falsely held belief But even more interesting to me is that within one year after he did so then did 10 others For at least 2000 years people thought it could not be done and it couldnrsquot Then once it was 10 more times it happened in one year

Why do you suppose that was

4

My point is that we oftentimes need to challenge so-called limitations Those others put upon us and those we put upon ourselves

From the time you have spent at The Chicago School in tandem with your incredible minds and from your spirits that Irsquove gotten a little sense of today you have virtually limitless possibilities

Think about what interests you or how you could make a difference Scale doesnrsquot matterMother Teresa said ldquoIf you cant feed a hundred people then feed just onerdquo and remember Easterlyrsquos point of The Power of the Small Project

There is a whole world out there that needs YOU ndash down the street or across an ocean

The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said ldquoEveryone can be great because everyone can serverdquo

Graduates we and the world need you

School is out there is nothing stopping you

Now get to work and go be greathellip

For links to the resources mentioned here please see httpaboutmeDrChrisStout and Humanitarian Tools httpwwwlinkedincominfluencer3055695

Cheers

Chris

5

Also around this time Irsquod just finished reading The White Manrsquos Burden by an economist named William Easterlymdashand that did it

Easterlyrsquos thesis was that small organizations in many instances may be more successful in making real differences in peoplersquos lives than the BIG BOYS becauses small players are more agile and not saddled with moribund bureaucratic procedures

So the Center for Global Initiatives was born

The process of gaining the IRS approval for such is not easy quick or inexpensive But we got it done

And today the results have been wonderful

GuideStar awarded us their coveted Silver ranking and we were named a 2013 Top-Rated Nonprofit We have been invited to help with needs and projects in Bolivia Cambodia Benin Tanzania Rwanda Guatemala India and Ukraine

We founded a kindergarten in Tanzania for orphaned childrenmdashapproved by the Tanzania Ministry of Education To-date we have provided medical services and food to over 20000 Tanzanian orphans and individuals in need and we have graduated more than 70 orphaned children from that kindergarten We funded care for malaria treatment for over 2000 Tanzanian children and adults for 73-cents a patient

I have been to over 85 countries I have had some of my books and chapters translated into 8 languages All of this has been from the work of unpaid volunteers including myself

I think we have lived up to the standard set by Easterlyrsquos book and Margaret Meadrsquos famous observation to ldquoNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world indeed itrsquos the only thing that ever doesrdquo

Our current work is to bring all of our tools and resources together and make them available to all of you and anyone else for free Irsquom on faculty at the College of Medicine at the U of I and there the credo is ldquosee one do one teach onerdquo So we saw how we could help we did so and now wersquore helping you to be able to do so too

We have created a Curated Library of downloadable tools via DropBox with over 20 categories and 800 full text articles and books

On SlideShare I have posted presentations and videos that have a combined viewership of almost 20000 in just the past few months

I blog on humanitarian issues as a Linkedin Influencer with almost 11000 followers

We have a chapter-by-chapter downloadable medical text library on our website as well as helpful links for multi-lingual medical information translation services and international travel

3

And we have tools to get you reduced airfare if you are working on an international humanitarian mission

We have a downloadable spreadsheet that lists over 100 helpful websites for fundraising non-profit development board recruitment volunteer management and more

And we have over 85 online courses though our CourseWorks Program where you can takemdashfor freemdasheverything from Global Health Technology to Measuring Poverty to Cultural Competency to Volunteer Ethics and Professionalism Or perhaps you may want to work toward one of 19 Certifications offered at whopping $25course We can do that too

So whatrsquos next for our work at the Center

Well with thanks to the vision and leadership of Dr Michele Nealon-Woods and Dr Tiffany Masson our Center is working with the International Psychology Program and developing the first of its kind Consortium for Humanitarian Intervention This is an amazing project and will yield much impact on the world stage

And yes Irsquoll still be writinghellipThe APA will have a new book released in 2014 called ldquoGoing Globalrdquo that I was invited to contribute to and while I continue to write and present you can also count on me being in the field as well

The Chicago School and its staff its faculty its current students and todayrsquos graduates all unite to play a critical role in the public good and the betterment of others

Your school is known for being a pioneermdashinitially when it started and continuing on with programs like the International Psychology PhD

I know each of you already has the right intentions otherwise you wouldnrsquot be here today but you may be tempted to waitmdashwe all are so tempted to wait until ldquosomething happensrdquo instead of acting

We may wait until we can pay off our student loans or get a job or lose 15 pounds or quit smoking Or until we get married or until we get divorced or until we start a familyhellip

And all of a sudden after 30 some-odd years we keep waiting until we run out of ldquountilsrdquo Then it is too late It was long believed that no human could run a mile in less than four minutes Some of you may recall that Roger Banister was the first to shatter this falsely held belief But even more interesting to me is that within one year after he did so then did 10 others For at least 2000 years people thought it could not be done and it couldnrsquot Then once it was 10 more times it happened in one year

Why do you suppose that was

4

My point is that we oftentimes need to challenge so-called limitations Those others put upon us and those we put upon ourselves

From the time you have spent at The Chicago School in tandem with your incredible minds and from your spirits that Irsquove gotten a little sense of today you have virtually limitless possibilities

Think about what interests you or how you could make a difference Scale doesnrsquot matterMother Teresa said ldquoIf you cant feed a hundred people then feed just onerdquo and remember Easterlyrsquos point of The Power of the Small Project

There is a whole world out there that needs YOU ndash down the street or across an ocean

The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said ldquoEveryone can be great because everyone can serverdquo

Graduates we and the world need you

School is out there is nothing stopping you

Now get to work and go be greathellip

For links to the resources mentioned here please see httpaboutmeDrChrisStout and Humanitarian Tools httpwwwlinkedincominfluencer3055695

Cheers

Chris

5

And we have tools to get you reduced airfare if you are working on an international humanitarian mission

We have a downloadable spreadsheet that lists over 100 helpful websites for fundraising non-profit development board recruitment volunteer management and more

And we have over 85 online courses though our CourseWorks Program where you can takemdashfor freemdasheverything from Global Health Technology to Measuring Poverty to Cultural Competency to Volunteer Ethics and Professionalism Or perhaps you may want to work toward one of 19 Certifications offered at whopping $25course We can do that too

So whatrsquos next for our work at the Center

Well with thanks to the vision and leadership of Dr Michele Nealon-Woods and Dr Tiffany Masson our Center is working with the International Psychology Program and developing the first of its kind Consortium for Humanitarian Intervention This is an amazing project and will yield much impact on the world stage

And yes Irsquoll still be writinghellipThe APA will have a new book released in 2014 called ldquoGoing Globalrdquo that I was invited to contribute to and while I continue to write and present you can also count on me being in the field as well

The Chicago School and its staff its faculty its current students and todayrsquos graduates all unite to play a critical role in the public good and the betterment of others

Your school is known for being a pioneermdashinitially when it started and continuing on with programs like the International Psychology PhD

I know each of you already has the right intentions otherwise you wouldnrsquot be here today but you may be tempted to waitmdashwe all are so tempted to wait until ldquosomething happensrdquo instead of acting

We may wait until we can pay off our student loans or get a job or lose 15 pounds or quit smoking Or until we get married or until we get divorced or until we start a familyhellip

And all of a sudden after 30 some-odd years we keep waiting until we run out of ldquountilsrdquo Then it is too late It was long believed that no human could run a mile in less than four minutes Some of you may recall that Roger Banister was the first to shatter this falsely held belief But even more interesting to me is that within one year after he did so then did 10 others For at least 2000 years people thought it could not be done and it couldnrsquot Then once it was 10 more times it happened in one year

Why do you suppose that was

4

My point is that we oftentimes need to challenge so-called limitations Those others put upon us and those we put upon ourselves

From the time you have spent at The Chicago School in tandem with your incredible minds and from your spirits that Irsquove gotten a little sense of today you have virtually limitless possibilities

Think about what interests you or how you could make a difference Scale doesnrsquot matterMother Teresa said ldquoIf you cant feed a hundred people then feed just onerdquo and remember Easterlyrsquos point of The Power of the Small Project

There is a whole world out there that needs YOU ndash down the street or across an ocean

The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said ldquoEveryone can be great because everyone can serverdquo

Graduates we and the world need you

School is out there is nothing stopping you

Now get to work and go be greathellip

For links to the resources mentioned here please see httpaboutmeDrChrisStout and Humanitarian Tools httpwwwlinkedincominfluencer3055695

Cheers

Chris

5

My point is that we oftentimes need to challenge so-called limitations Those others put upon us and those we put upon ourselves

From the time you have spent at The Chicago School in tandem with your incredible minds and from your spirits that Irsquove gotten a little sense of today you have virtually limitless possibilities

Think about what interests you or how you could make a difference Scale doesnrsquot matterMother Teresa said ldquoIf you cant feed a hundred people then feed just onerdquo and remember Easterlyrsquos point of The Power of the Small Project

There is a whole world out there that needs YOU ndash down the street or across an ocean

The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said ldquoEveryone can be great because everyone can serverdquo

Graduates we and the world need you

School is out there is nothing stopping you

Now get to work and go be greathellip

For links to the resources mentioned here please see httpaboutmeDrChrisStout and Humanitarian Tools httpwwwlinkedincominfluencer3055695

Cheers

Chris

5