Twelve pigeons named after the Channel Nine commentary team will be raced today from Glenn McGrath Oval in Narromine to the north-west NSW town of Trangie (about 30 kilometres) in support of the McGrath Foundation. The Pink Pigeon race is sponsored by Betfair, who have framed a market listing Scoob (Simon O'Donnell) as the $3.30 favourite. Slats is next at $4.70 while Chappelli is paying $4.90. Big odds for Kenny ($21) and Ritchie ($18.50). Still on odds, McGrath is the firm favourite with Centrebet to be named Australian of the Year ($1.80), ahead of Aboriginal leader Professor Michael Dodson ($3.50). (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Monday, January 05, 2009
Stars Set To Play Poker For A Good Cause - Entertainment Tonight - 29th December 2008
A group of celebrities are getting their poker faces ready to compete in a star-studded game for charity.
Brad Garrett, Adam Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, Judd Nelson, Chris McDonald and others will play in a celeb poker tournament that will benefit the Therapeutic Living Centers For The Blind (TLC) located in Reseda, Calif. The tournament will also benefit the TLC's new children's center.
The competition will take place at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif., on January 17. The grand prize for the event includes a seat at the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational and $2,500 in cash. The public can buy tickets for the event here.
TLC was founded 30 years ago and provides 'round-the-clock care services for people challenged with both blindness and developmental disabilities. (Credit: Entertainment Tonight)
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Brad Garrett, Adam Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin, Judd Nelson, Chris McDonald and others will play in a celeb poker tournament that will benefit the Therapeutic Living Centers For The Blind (TLC) located in Reseda, Calif. The tournament will also benefit the TLC's new children's center.
The competition will take place at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif., on January 17. The grand prize for the event includes a seat at the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational and $2,500 in cash. The public can buy tickets for the event here.
TLC was founded 30 years ago and provides 'round-the-clock care services for people challenged with both blindness and developmental disabilities. (Credit: Entertainment Tonight)
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Sunday, January 04, 2009
If only the batting were as dazzling as the spectators, by Andrew Stevenson and Eamonn Duff - The Sydney Morning Herald - 4th January 2009
Given the humiliations of Perth and Melbourne, white flags might have been more appropriate but pink - second only in meaning to green among the nation's cricket team - was the colour of the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
South Africa's deadly pace attack had pink stumps to aim at and besieged opener Matthew Hayden defended them with his customary pink bat handle.
Yesterday's crowd of 37,901 - subdued by the events of recent weeks, which have confirmed Australia is no longer the gold standard - flaunted pink bandannas and shirts in a show of support for the McGrath Foundation and for families, victims and survivors of breast cancer. Jane McGrath, wife of Test great Glenn, died from the disease in June last year.
"To come to the ground and walk out onto the middle there, to look around and see all that pink was pretty special … pretty amazing," an emotional McGrath said.
It was a day on which local boy Doug Bollinger - whose childlike enthusiasm belies his 27 years - was presented with Test cap No. 405 and then sang the national anthem with it clasped to his chest. It was the first time in a decade Australia had fielded two debutants in a Test, Victorian all-rounder Andrew McDonald sharing the honour.
The new Victor Trumper grandstand, which swallowed the little that remained of the Hill and lifts the SCG's capacity to 46,000, was far from full and the crowd's mood seemed to match the greying skies and reflect recent performances by the team.
As prime minister, John Howard was ever ready to line up beside sporting success. Yesterday he, Kevin Rudd and a small posse of politicians showed their belief in cricket rather than victory as Australia's batsmen dug in, attempting to graft a revival onto what has been such solid root stock.
Many spectators promised to stay true to the cause, regardless of the team's performances.
"For me, it's about travelling to the new year Test and supporting the green and gold, win, lose or draw," said Shea Flanigan, 30.
"We as a cricket nation have had it good for a very long time. If that means going through a period of transition, I for one will still be here next year."
Ben Tye, 30, from Newcastle, agreed: "It's part of Australian culture to come and watch the cricket, so it's disappointing to see that some people have stayed away today. It should be a full house out there but it's not."
Rob Gardner, a South African-born Sydneysider, was among the many Proteas fans wearing a pink bandanna.
"There are a lot of South Africans here today, and nearly all of them have turned out in the pink for Glenn McGrath and his family, which is a wonderful thing to see," said Mr Gardner, 61, who was originally from Cape Town. "Everyone looks great and they should look even better on Ladies' Day."
Sydney might be the home and soul of this Australian team - city of choice for six players, including skipper Ricky Ponting - but only once a year, and then for only five days at best, does the Test cricket caravan roll into town.
When it does, the new year Test provides the faithful with a ritual as important to them as the official observances of Christmas and New Year. Under cover of darkness, members queue for their seats, renewing friendships forged over their common faith in the game.
After 16 years of virtually uninterrupted success, their faith is now to be tested. Was it the spectacle of cricket they loved or the fruits of victory? "Today is about the occasion and the Sydney Test has begun to enjoy a really good following," said NSW Cricket chief executive Dave Gilbert, who was pleased with the crowd but worried it might drop off by day three.
"We've had a golden run but it's coincided with a very successful Australian team.
"As much as we deny it, Australians don't like losing."
On the pitch there was no surrender, despite Australia entering the match 2-0 down with their crown slipping and their world No. 1 ranking officially on the line. But there was also little to cheer, with Hayden's failure to stave off Father Time and Ponting - unable to match his heroics in the Boxing Day Test - out for a first-ball duck.
At stumps, Australia had fought back to be 6-267, thanks to a fighting knock by Michael Clarke, who, cheered on by glamorous fiancee Lara Bingle, will resume this morning on 73, chasing his first Test century on his home ground. The battle to regain lost pride goes on. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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South Africa's deadly pace attack had pink stumps to aim at and besieged opener Matthew Hayden defended them with his customary pink bat handle.
Yesterday's crowd of 37,901 - subdued by the events of recent weeks, which have confirmed Australia is no longer the gold standard - flaunted pink bandannas and shirts in a show of support for the McGrath Foundation and for families, victims and survivors of breast cancer. Jane McGrath, wife of Test great Glenn, died from the disease in June last year.
"To come to the ground and walk out onto the middle there, to look around and see all that pink was pretty special … pretty amazing," an emotional McGrath said.
It was a day on which local boy Doug Bollinger - whose childlike enthusiasm belies his 27 years - was presented with Test cap No. 405 and then sang the national anthem with it clasped to his chest. It was the first time in a decade Australia had fielded two debutants in a Test, Victorian all-rounder Andrew McDonald sharing the honour.
The new Victor Trumper grandstand, which swallowed the little that remained of the Hill and lifts the SCG's capacity to 46,000, was far from full and the crowd's mood seemed to match the greying skies and reflect recent performances by the team.
As prime minister, John Howard was ever ready to line up beside sporting success. Yesterday he, Kevin Rudd and a small posse of politicians showed their belief in cricket rather than victory as Australia's batsmen dug in, attempting to graft a revival onto what has been such solid root stock.
Many spectators promised to stay true to the cause, regardless of the team's performances.
"For me, it's about travelling to the new year Test and supporting the green and gold, win, lose or draw," said Shea Flanigan, 30.
"We as a cricket nation have had it good for a very long time. If that means going through a period of transition, I for one will still be here next year."
Ben Tye, 30, from Newcastle, agreed: "It's part of Australian culture to come and watch the cricket, so it's disappointing to see that some people have stayed away today. It should be a full house out there but it's not."
Rob Gardner, a South African-born Sydneysider, was among the many Proteas fans wearing a pink bandanna.
"There are a lot of South Africans here today, and nearly all of them have turned out in the pink for Glenn McGrath and his family, which is a wonderful thing to see," said Mr Gardner, 61, who was originally from Cape Town. "Everyone looks great and they should look even better on Ladies' Day."
Sydney might be the home and soul of this Australian team - city of choice for six players, including skipper Ricky Ponting - but only once a year, and then for only five days at best, does the Test cricket caravan roll into town.
When it does, the new year Test provides the faithful with a ritual as important to them as the official observances of Christmas and New Year. Under cover of darkness, members queue for their seats, renewing friendships forged over their common faith in the game.
After 16 years of virtually uninterrupted success, their faith is now to be tested. Was it the spectacle of cricket they loved or the fruits of victory? "Today is about the occasion and the Sydney Test has begun to enjoy a really good following," said NSW Cricket chief executive Dave Gilbert, who was pleased with the crowd but worried it might drop off by day three.
"We've had a golden run but it's coincided with a very successful Australian team.
"As much as we deny it, Australians don't like losing."
On the pitch there was no surrender, despite Australia entering the match 2-0 down with their crown slipping and their world No. 1 ranking officially on the line. But there was also little to cheer, with Hayden's failure to stave off Father Time and Ponting - unable to match his heroics in the Boxing Day Test - out for a first-ball duck.
At stumps, Australia had fought back to be 6-267, thanks to a fighting knock by Michael Clarke, who, cheered on by glamorous fiancee Lara Bingle, will resume this morning on 73, chasing his first Test century on his home ground. The battle to regain lost pride goes on. (Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Flock to Pink Pigeon Race, punters urged - 3rd January 2009
Australia has a new race to stop the nation but this time the competitors have wings.
Twelve elite racing pigeons will be flapping it out on Monday in The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race launched on Saturday.
The aim is to raise dollars for breast care nurses in rural and regional Australia.
Proceeds will go to the McGrath Foundation - named after Jane McGrath, the late wife of Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath, who died from breast cancer last June.
The inaugural event at Glenn McGrath Oval in Narromine, in NSW's central west, is a 30km race that will finish at the tiny wheat town of Trangie on day three of the Sydney Test between Australia and South Africa - renamed Jane McGrath Day by Cricket Australia.
Punters will be able to place bets on the pigeons named after the Nine Network's cricket commentary team through online betting exchange Betfair.
Betfair spokesman Hugh Taggart said the event was starting in the hometown of the Glenn "Pidge" McGrath.
"We hope the Great Betfair Pigeon Race captures the imagination of the Australian public and becomes an annual event on the Australian sporting calendar for many years to come," Mr Taggart said.
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Twelve elite racing pigeons will be flapping it out on Monday in The Great Betfair Pink Pigeon Race launched on Saturday.
The aim is to raise dollars for breast care nurses in rural and regional Australia.
Proceeds will go to the McGrath Foundation - named after Jane McGrath, the late wife of Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath, who died from breast cancer last June.
The inaugural event at Glenn McGrath Oval in Narromine, in NSW's central west, is a 30km race that will finish at the tiny wheat town of Trangie on day three of the Sydney Test between Australia and South Africa - renamed Jane McGrath Day by Cricket Australia.
Punters will be able to place bets on the pigeons named after the Nine Network's cricket commentary team through online betting exchange Betfair.
Betfair spokesman Hugh Taggart said the event was starting in the hometown of the Glenn "Pidge" McGrath.
"We hope the Great Betfair Pigeon Race captures the imagination of the Australian public and becomes an annual event on the Australian sporting calendar for many years to come," Mr Taggart said.
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Betfair
Network Nine Australia
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Charity work gives magnate Andrew Forrest an edge, by Gavin Lower - The Australian - 31st December 2008
His fortune has taken a hit as the global financial crisis has eaten into Australia's resources boom, but mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest still found a multi-million-dollar Christmas present for charity this year.
The head of the Fortescue Metals Group gave 30 million shares in his company, valued at $54 million on a Christmas Eve closing price of $1.80, to selected charities.
Mr Forrest has said he never aspired to amassing great wealth, and he plans to give away most of his fortune before he dies.
"I have a philosophy (about wealth) and that is that it doesn't do much for you," Mr Forrest said earlier this year.
"I know very wealthy people who have survived and become good guys despite their wealth but I also know many others around the world who haven't."
The year saw Mr Forrest, who topped the BRW rich list, determined to do what he could to combat Aboriginal disadvantage, launching a plan to create 50,000 new jobs for Aborigines in just two years.
His Australian Employment Covenant attracted support from business leaders and the federal Government, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promising to provide funds for training.
Mr Forrest also spearheaded a push to restrict the sale of takeaway alcohol, scourge of Aboriginal communities across the Kimberley region of Western Australia, through his charity, the Australian Children's Trust.
Mr Forrest is outspoken and passionate about bettering the lives of Aborigines, vowing to use his influence to eradicate chronic Aboriginal unemployment within a generation. On top of that, Mr Forrest celebrated his first shipment of iron ore to China from his Pilbara mines.
Mr Forrest's charity work and business acumen make him a worthy candidate for The Australian's Australian of the Year award.
The winner will be announced on January 24 in The Weekend Australian after final selection by a board of senior editorial staff headed by editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell.
(Credit: The Australian)
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The head of the Fortescue Metals Group gave 30 million shares in his company, valued at $54 million on a Christmas Eve closing price of $1.80, to selected charities.
Mr Forrest has said he never aspired to amassing great wealth, and he plans to give away most of his fortune before he dies.
"I have a philosophy (about wealth) and that is that it doesn't do much for you," Mr Forrest said earlier this year.
"I know very wealthy people who have survived and become good guys despite their wealth but I also know many others around the world who haven't."
The year saw Mr Forrest, who topped the BRW rich list, determined to do what he could to combat Aboriginal disadvantage, launching a plan to create 50,000 new jobs for Aborigines in just two years.
His Australian Employment Covenant attracted support from business leaders and the federal Government, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promising to provide funds for training.
Mr Forrest also spearheaded a push to restrict the sale of takeaway alcohol, scourge of Aboriginal communities across the Kimberley region of Western Australia, through his charity, the Australian Children's Trust.
Mr Forrest is outspoken and passionate about bettering the lives of Aborigines, vowing to use his influence to eradicate chronic Aboriginal unemployment within a generation. On top of that, Mr Forrest celebrated his first shipment of iron ore to China from his Pilbara mines.
Mr Forrest's charity work and business acumen make him a worthy candidate for The Australian's Australian of the Year award.
The winner will be announced on January 24 in The Weekend Australian after final selection by a board of senior editorial staff headed by editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell.
(Credit: The Australian)
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Monday, December 22, 2008
Virgin Unite
Media Man Australia has been delighted to pro actively assist Virgin Unite this year, and looks forward to further building upon this in 2009.
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Virgin Unite
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Virgin Unite
Monday, December 15, 2008
Charities, banks eye child-care centres - 15th December 2008
A group is interested in taking over all of the 241 ABC Learning child-care centres deemed by the receiver to be unviable.
The Community Sector Banking Service, a joint venture between the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and a consortium of charities and community service agencies, said yesterday that it had had talks with the Federal Government about taking over the centres.
"We have brought together a group of organisations that have an enormous track record in the provision of child care throughout Australia," the executive director of Community Sector Banking, Peter Quarmby told Sky News.
"We've also brought into that some other non-profit organisations that have a great interest in seeing that these child-care centres are maintained in their communities."
Mr Quarmby said the consortium would like the opportunity to look at running all of the centres considered unviable.
"We believe that we have the expertise and the financial models to make this package work. We would always try to take all these businesses to profitability, but because profit isn't the motive in the community sector or non-profit sector, sustainability is prob- ably the thing that we are striving for."
Mr Quarmby said the profits of one centre could be used to support a centre considered unviable at this stage.
"We've been looking at alternative models, so that maybe we may well change the dynamic at some centres. Maybe incorporating the likes of a kindergarten … Maybe looking at utilisation of disability services for young children and having early intervention, which brings another income stream into the centre but also brings new services into that community."
A takeover of the unviable centres may require some government support in the early days, but the consortium's objective would be to limit that as much as possible.
ABC Learning, Australia's largest child-care operator, went into administration and receivership last month, owing more than $1 billion. It had about 1000 centres, of which 241 have been deemed unprofitable.
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The Community Sector Banking Service, a joint venture between the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and a consortium of charities and community service agencies, said yesterday that it had had talks with the Federal Government about taking over the centres.
"We have brought together a group of organisations that have an enormous track record in the provision of child care throughout Australia," the executive director of Community Sector Banking, Peter Quarmby told Sky News.
"We've also brought into that some other non-profit organisations that have a great interest in seeing that these child-care centres are maintained in their communities."
Mr Quarmby said the consortium would like the opportunity to look at running all of the centres considered unviable.
"We believe that we have the expertise and the financial models to make this package work. We would always try to take all these businesses to profitability, but because profit isn't the motive in the community sector or non-profit sector, sustainability is prob- ably the thing that we are striving for."
Mr Quarmby said the profits of one centre could be used to support a centre considered unviable at this stage.
"We've been looking at alternative models, so that maybe we may well change the dynamic at some centres. Maybe incorporating the likes of a kindergarten … Maybe looking at utilisation of disability services for young children and having early intervention, which brings another income stream into the centre but also brings new services into that community."
A takeover of the unviable centres may require some government support in the early days, but the consortium's objective would be to limit that as much as possible.
ABC Learning, Australia's largest child-care operator, went into administration and receivership last month, owing more than $1 billion. It had about 1000 centres, of which 241 have been deemed unprofitable.
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Saturday, November 22, 2008
I was misunderstood, says furious Harvey, by Paul Bibby - The Sydney Morning Herald - 22nd November 2008
Australian charities have lambasted billionaire Gerry Harvey over his statements in a new book that donating money to charities that help the homeless is wasted, but the retail king says his comments have been misunderstood.
"I'm furious. I haven't suggested that homeless people shouldn't get anything. What I said was that I believed in helping people reach their potential," he told the Herald
"I've done plenty of giving in my time. I've given heaps of money to bloody charity. This caused me a lot of pain. It's bullshit."
Mr Harvey's offices were inundated with calls after the release of a new book, in which he says that giving money to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".
"You could go out and give a million dollars to a charity tomorrow to help the homeless. You could argue that it is just wasted," Mr Harvey said.
Charities contacted by the Herald said his comments were misguided. "I think Mr Harvey would have a hard time trying to find an organisation that would waste a million dollars in the way he said it might be," Anglicare spokesman James Wackett said.
"Organisations like ours … are about solving problems, not perpetuating them. We've all moved … from simple charity to addressing the causes of poverty."
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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"I'm furious. I haven't suggested that homeless people shouldn't get anything. What I said was that I believed in helping people reach their potential," he told the Herald
"I've done plenty of giving in my time. I've given heaps of money to bloody charity. This caused me a lot of pain. It's bullshit."
Mr Harvey's offices were inundated with calls after the release of a new book, in which he says that giving money to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".
"You could go out and give a million dollars to a charity tomorrow to help the homeless. You could argue that it is just wasted," Mr Harvey said.
Charities contacted by the Herald said his comments were misguided. "I think Mr Harvey would have a hard time trying to find an organisation that would waste a million dollars in the way he said it might be," Anglicare spokesman James Wackett said.
"Organisations like ours … are about solving problems, not perpetuating them. We've all moved … from simple charity to addressing the causes of poverty."
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Friday, November 21, 2008
Harvey: charity not so sweet, by Michael Evans - The Sydney Morning Herald - 21st November 2008
The retail king Gerry Harvey may have a personal fortune of about $1.6 billion but the Harvey Norman founder thinks donating to charity is "just wasted".
Asked in a new book about the role he and Harvey Norman play in the community, Mr Harvey said giving money to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".
He said he believed in helping "develop people to their potential" because "when they achieve [their potential] they will put a lot more back into the community".
"You could go out and give a million dollars to a charity tomorrow to help the homeless. You could argue that it is just wasted. They are not putting anything back into the community.
"It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing? You are helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason. They are just a drag on the whole community.
"So did that million you gave them help? It helped to keep them alive but did it help our society? No. Society might have been better off without them but we are supposed to look after the disadvantaged and so we do it. But it doesn't help the society."
Mr Harvey added: "That is not to say we don't give money away to charities because we have given plenty away over the years. At the end of the day, the more quality individuals you develop in the community, the better off the community should be."
Earlier this year, Harvey Norman donated beds to a charity, Bridge Back to Life, that helps homeless men find rental accommodation.
The comments are in a new book, Master CEOs, by the Sydney funds manager Matthew Kidman.
Clare Martin, the chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said: "I have really been impressed at corporate Australia and their real involvement in the wider community … and I always thought that Harvey Norman shared that as well.
"It does surprise me that Gerry Harvey, who's a very significant business figure, should not share the values of many other corporates."
In the interview, Mr Harvey also said that despite his wealth, "I still have a fear about going broke. I always think about it."
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Gerry Harvey
Asked in a new book about the role he and Harvey Norman play in the community, Mr Harvey said giving money to people who "are not putting anything back into the community" is like "helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason".
He said he believed in helping "develop people to their potential" because "when they achieve [their potential] they will put a lot more back into the community".
"You could go out and give a million dollars to a charity tomorrow to help the homeless. You could argue that it is just wasted. They are not putting anything back into the community.
"It might be a callous way of putting it but what are they doing? You are helping a whole heap of no-hopers to survive for no good reason. They are just a drag on the whole community.
"So did that million you gave them help? It helped to keep them alive but did it help our society? No. Society might have been better off without them but we are supposed to look after the disadvantaged and so we do it. But it doesn't help the society."
Mr Harvey added: "That is not to say we don't give money away to charities because we have given plenty away over the years. At the end of the day, the more quality individuals you develop in the community, the better off the community should be."
Earlier this year, Harvey Norman donated beds to a charity, Bridge Back to Life, that helps homeless men find rental accommodation.
The comments are in a new book, Master CEOs, by the Sydney funds manager Matthew Kidman.
Clare Martin, the chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, said: "I have really been impressed at corporate Australia and their real involvement in the wider community … and I always thought that Harvey Norman shared that as well.
"It does surprise me that Gerry Harvey, who's a very significant business figure, should not share the values of many other corporates."
In the interview, Mr Harvey also said that despite his wealth, "I still have a fear about going broke. I always think about it."
(Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald)
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Gerry Harvey
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
Richard gets Holly and Sam involved in star-studded fundraiser - Hello Magazine - 6th November 2008
For most father-children teams typical family activities might include a trip to the cinema or a day at the park. Not for the Bransons, though. Weeks after Richard Branson and his 26-year-old daughter Holly and son Sam, 23, braved ferocious storms and choppy waters on a transatlantic speed sailing attempt, the trio reunited to host a glittering charity fundraiser.
Holly - who left her medical career earlier this year to take up a position with her father's company - and Sam, who intends to follow his sister's lead in the future, joined high profile guests at the charity auction supper in London. Those attending included Holly's royal pal Princess Beatrice and her mum the Duchess of York.
Partygoers bid for lots, including a holiday at Sir Richard's private island in the British Virgin Islands and a trip to Jamaica hosted by Bob Marley's wife, to raise funds for the billionaire entrepreneur's Virgin Unite organisation. The charity gives aid to a number of causes, from global health issues to the homeless.
Other famous faces at the event included British funnyman David Walliams, Welsh actor Rhys Ifans and US singer Kelly Rowland. Providing the entertainment on the night was Aussie songbird Natalie Imbruglia, who perform a set of her hits.
(Credit: Hello Magazine)
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Virgin Unite
Holly - who left her medical career earlier this year to take up a position with her father's company - and Sam, who intends to follow his sister's lead in the future, joined high profile guests at the charity auction supper in London. Those attending included Holly's royal pal Princess Beatrice and her mum the Duchess of York.
Partygoers bid for lots, including a holiday at Sir Richard's private island in the British Virgin Islands and a trip to Jamaica hosted by Bob Marley's wife, to raise funds for the billionaire entrepreneur's Virgin Unite organisation. The charity gives aid to a number of causes, from global health issues to the homeless.
Other famous faces at the event included British funnyman David Walliams, Welsh actor Rhys Ifans and US singer Kelly Rowland. Providing the entertainment on the night was Aussie songbird Natalie Imbruglia, who perform a set of her hits.
(Credit: Hello Magazine)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Australia’s richest entrepreneurs support indigenous jobs pact, by James Thomson - 31st October 2008
Some of Australia’s richest entrepreneurs including Rupert Murdoch, James Packer and Andrew Forrest have backed a historic agreement designed to provide 50,000 jobs for indigenous Australians.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the Australian Employment Covenant in a ceremony in Canberra yesterday. The pact, which was created by one of Australia’s richest men, Fortescue Metals Group chief Andrew Forrest, is aimed at breaking the welfare cycle by providing more than 50,000 jobs to indigenous Australians.
More than 15 major companies have signed up to the agreement, including Fortescue, Santos, Lindsay Fox’s trucking group Linfox and James Packer’s casino group Crown. More than 5000 jobs have already been committed to.
Forrest told the group that Australia had to address the challenge of helping indigenous people and thanked his fellow entrepreneurs for supporting the initiative despite the uncertain economic climate.
“Yes, times are crook in Tullarook right now, but nowhere will it be crooker, nowhere will the suffering be more intense during any monetary meltdown than in our most underprivileged.”
The Federal Government will also set up a program offering $20 million worth of scholarships to help up to 2000 indigenous students attend some of the country's top secondary schools.
Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson wept after the singing of the agreement.
“We're going to look back on this... as that moment in the history of the country when government and society made a commitment to people that if you take up the cudgels of responsibility we will guarantee you a job, we will set forth before you a prospect of climbing up in the world, a home, a future for your children, a fair stake in this, your own land.”
Companies interested in participating in the Australian Employment Covenant can find more information at www.fiftythousandjobs.com.au
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Rupert Murdoch
James Packer
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the Australian Employment Covenant in a ceremony in Canberra yesterday. The pact, which was created by one of Australia’s richest men, Fortescue Metals Group chief Andrew Forrest, is aimed at breaking the welfare cycle by providing more than 50,000 jobs to indigenous Australians.
More than 15 major companies have signed up to the agreement, including Fortescue, Santos, Lindsay Fox’s trucking group Linfox and James Packer’s casino group Crown. More than 5000 jobs have already been committed to.
Forrest told the group that Australia had to address the challenge of helping indigenous people and thanked his fellow entrepreneurs for supporting the initiative despite the uncertain economic climate.
“Yes, times are crook in Tullarook right now, but nowhere will it be crooker, nowhere will the suffering be more intense during any monetary meltdown than in our most underprivileged.”
The Federal Government will also set up a program offering $20 million worth of scholarships to help up to 2000 indigenous students attend some of the country's top secondary schools.
Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson wept after the singing of the agreement.
“We're going to look back on this... as that moment in the history of the country when government and society made a commitment to people that if you take up the cudgels of responsibility we will guarantee you a job, we will set forth before you a prospect of climbing up in the world, a home, a future for your children, a fair stake in this, your own land.”
Companies interested in participating in the Australian Employment Covenant can find more information at www.fiftythousandjobs.com.au
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Rupert Murdoch
James Packer
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Theron dreams of being Virgin boss - The Press Association - 25th October 2008
It would seem billionaire tycoon Sir Richard Branson has a new number one fan, none other than Hollywood superstar Charlize Theron.
While the entrepreneur is all at sea after abandoning his bid to break the world record for crossing the Atlantic, the Academy Award-winning actress stepped out in Hollywood for a special fundraiser for his charity Virgin Unite.
And Charlize couldn't say enough about Sir Richard: "He's got to be that guy that we all just secretly want to live his life."
"Even if it's just for a week I mean wouldn't that be incredible? If you had to pick one person he would be the guy for me, I would want to be him for a week."
Despite having her own hugely successful career, the actress confessed to being in awe of the Virgin boss: "He's an inspiration, I think we want to surround ourselves with people who inspire you and push you and this guy does that on a level that is out of control."
At the same event, Scream actress Neve Campbell, who is now based in London after marrying an Englishman, revealed she has acquired a taste for fish and chips.
"I like the chips, there's nothing wrong with the chips," she said.
And these days she said it's rare you'll find her hanging out in swanky bars: "You can find some really good British pubs can't you? I have a local, I'm not going to say which one, but yes I do."
But there's one thing the actress hasn't quite managed to stomach: "Marmite? No, I can't stand Marmite but its one of those things. You either love it or you hate it and I hate it."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
While the entrepreneur is all at sea after abandoning his bid to break the world record for crossing the Atlantic, the Academy Award-winning actress stepped out in Hollywood for a special fundraiser for his charity Virgin Unite.
And Charlize couldn't say enough about Sir Richard: "He's got to be that guy that we all just secretly want to live his life."
"Even if it's just for a week I mean wouldn't that be incredible? If you had to pick one person he would be the guy for me, I would want to be him for a week."
Despite having her own hugely successful career, the actress confessed to being in awe of the Virgin boss: "He's an inspiration, I think we want to surround ourselves with people who inspire you and push you and this guy does that on a level that is out of control."
At the same event, Scream actress Neve Campbell, who is now based in London after marrying an Englishman, revealed she has acquired a taste for fish and chips.
"I like the chips, there's nothing wrong with the chips," she said.
And these days she said it's rare you'll find her hanging out in swanky bars: "You can find some really good British pubs can't you? I have a local, I'm not going to say which one, but yes I do."
But there's one thing the actress hasn't quite managed to stomach: "Marmite? No, I can't stand Marmite but its one of those things. You either love it or you hate it and I hate it."
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Reporting anonymous claims from gambling addicts
24th October 2008
Press Release: Charity Gaming Association
From Charity Gaming Association (Inc)
Issues with reporting anonymous claims from gambling addicts
In the New Zealand Herald of 23 October, its 2008 Qantas award winning journalist, Simon Collins, reported the claims of a self-confessed "pathological gambler" who refused to give his surname because he had a public profile.
According to the NZ Herald "Matt" made the following claims:
• Gaming machine manufacturer Aristocrat is being sued in a civil court action in Australia for designing machines to hook addicts • Aristocrat makes $1.4 billion a year in turnover • He had sunk $1m into poker machines.
The first claim is totally untrue. There is no civil action in any court in Australia which seeks damages from Aristocrat for designing machines to hook addicts. The only civil court case Aristocrat has been involved with in Australia has been over stock exchange issues.
A simple phone call by the reporter to check the assertion would have revealed the facts of the matter.
The second claim is that Aristocrat makes $1.4 billion a year in turnover. This too is wrong and could have been checked with a simple phone call. The fact of the matter is that Aristocrat New Zealand's revenue in 2007 was $25.2 million.
The self confessed gambler could have checked that what he was saying in that public forum, organised by the Problem Gambling Foundation, was true.
The Problem Gambling Foundation should have checked that what their client was going to say was true. After all he didn't just turn up there. His participation was arranged by the PGF to make a point to the candidates. They should have ensured the points being made were accurate otherwise they are guilty of trying to mislead the Parliamentarians and prospective Parliamentarians who were present.
But, most of all, the Herald's reporter had an ethical duty as a journalist to confirm that the claims against Aristocrat were accurate before reporting them without qualification.
The industry is concerned that people with problem gambling behaviours receive all the help they need to recover from their addiction.
That is why the industry has always willingly supported the concept of the Problem Gambling Levy - which now fully funds treatment and research into problem gambling at a cost of $20m a year.
Often, making a public confession can be a useful and cathartic part of the treatment process.
But, problem gamblers are often very adept at denying reality and have developed very comprehensive deception strategies to themselves and others. They frequently exist in a world where the truth and facts about their gambling behaviour, and gambling itself, are reconstructed to suit their distorted world view.
It is also natural, when confronted with the inescapable truth that their personal behaviour has caused their problem, to seek to blame others.
People with gambling addictions are very similar to people recovering from alcohol addictions. They are struggling.
It is unlikely that journalists would uncritically publish assertions about breweries putting additives in their beer to make people drink more if they were made by recovering alcoholics.
It is important that the news media apply the same standards of skeptical scrutiny to claims made by recovering problem gamblers - particularly when they are made in a political forum by an organisation which has a political agenda.
(Credit: Scoop.co.nz)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Press Release: Charity Gaming Association
From Charity Gaming Association (Inc)
Issues with reporting anonymous claims from gambling addicts
In the New Zealand Herald of 23 October, its 2008 Qantas award winning journalist, Simon Collins, reported the claims of a self-confessed "pathological gambler" who refused to give his surname because he had a public profile.
According to the NZ Herald "Matt" made the following claims:
• Gaming machine manufacturer Aristocrat is being sued in a civil court action in Australia for designing machines to hook addicts • Aristocrat makes $1.4 billion a year in turnover • He had sunk $1m into poker machines.
The first claim is totally untrue. There is no civil action in any court in Australia which seeks damages from Aristocrat for designing machines to hook addicts. The only civil court case Aristocrat has been involved with in Australia has been over stock exchange issues.
A simple phone call by the reporter to check the assertion would have revealed the facts of the matter.
The second claim is that Aristocrat makes $1.4 billion a year in turnover. This too is wrong and could have been checked with a simple phone call. The fact of the matter is that Aristocrat New Zealand's revenue in 2007 was $25.2 million.
The self confessed gambler could have checked that what he was saying in that public forum, organised by the Problem Gambling Foundation, was true.
The Problem Gambling Foundation should have checked that what their client was going to say was true. After all he didn't just turn up there. His participation was arranged by the PGF to make a point to the candidates. They should have ensured the points being made were accurate otherwise they are guilty of trying to mislead the Parliamentarians and prospective Parliamentarians who were present.
But, most of all, the Herald's reporter had an ethical duty as a journalist to confirm that the claims against Aristocrat were accurate before reporting them without qualification.
The industry is concerned that people with problem gambling behaviours receive all the help they need to recover from their addiction.
That is why the industry has always willingly supported the concept of the Problem Gambling Levy - which now fully funds treatment and research into problem gambling at a cost of $20m a year.
Often, making a public confession can be a useful and cathartic part of the treatment process.
But, problem gamblers are often very adept at denying reality and have developed very comprehensive deception strategies to themselves and others. They frequently exist in a world where the truth and facts about their gambling behaviour, and gambling itself, are reconstructed to suit their distorted world view.
It is also natural, when confronted with the inescapable truth that their personal behaviour has caused their problem, to seek to blame others.
People with gambling addictions are very similar to people recovering from alcohol addictions. They are struggling.
It is unlikely that journalists would uncritically publish assertions about breweries putting additives in their beer to make people drink more if they were made by recovering alcoholics.
It is important that the news media apply the same standards of skeptical scrutiny to claims made by recovering problem gamblers - particularly when they are made in a political forum by an organisation which has a political agenda.
(Credit: Scoop.co.nz)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Monday, October 20, 2008
Kevin Rudd takes $2m stride with Andrew Johns, by Clementine Cuneo - The Daily Telegraph - 20th October 2008
League great Andrew Johns called it his "hare-brained idea" - but after just one day of his week-long charity trek, the former Newcastle Knight has raised more than $2 million for bipolar disorder research.
With Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at his side, Johns yesterday began his six-day walk from Newcastle to Sydney in a bid to raise money for the Black Dog Institute.
It was only a year ago that the former Australian captain revealed his secret battle with mental illness.
Andrew Johns' diary: Rudd put spring in my step
Telegraph cares: Our new initiative to help charities
Now he says the NIB Andrew Johns Walk is his way of giving something back to the people who helped and supported him though the toughest time of his life.
"It was a hare-brained idea I came up with to do this, but I wanted to say thank you and also help other people out there who are struggling with mental illness," Johns said.
More than 600,000 people across Australia suffer from bipolar disorder.
Announcing a $2 million donation to the Black Dog Institute, Mr Rudd praised Johns for speaking about his battle with depression, describing him as an inspiration to millions of people dealing with mental illness.
"What we are doing and what Andrew has been doing for a long time is removing that last great Australian taboo - talking openly about mental illness," Mr Rudd said.
Walker Chris Osborne, said it wasn't until he read Johns' biography that he realised he may also have bipolar disorder. "Being on this walk for me is about dealing with bipolar disorder and learning more about it."
(Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Charity
With Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at his side, Johns yesterday began his six-day walk from Newcastle to Sydney in a bid to raise money for the Black Dog Institute.
It was only a year ago that the former Australian captain revealed his secret battle with mental illness.
Andrew Johns' diary: Rudd put spring in my step
Telegraph cares: Our new initiative to help charities
Now he says the NIB Andrew Johns Walk is his way of giving something back to the people who helped and supported him though the toughest time of his life.
"It was a hare-brained idea I came up with to do this, but I wanted to say thank you and also help other people out there who are struggling with mental illness," Johns said.
More than 600,000 people across Australia suffer from bipolar disorder.
Announcing a $2 million donation to the Black Dog Institute, Mr Rudd praised Johns for speaking about his battle with depression, describing him as an inspiration to millions of people dealing with mental illness.
"What we are doing and what Andrew has been doing for a long time is removing that last great Australian taboo - talking openly about mental illness," Mr Rudd said.
Walker Chris Osborne, said it wasn't until he read Johns' biography that he realised he may also have bipolar disorder. "Being on this walk for me is about dealing with bipolar disorder and learning more about it."
(Credit: The Daily Telegraph)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Charity
Friday, October 17, 2008
He's trying to raise $15,000 to meet Richard Branson, by Benson Ang - Singapore Press Holdings - 17th October 2008
But man tells people on Orchard Rd that money is for business school
You may have seen this man on Orchard Road on Tuesday, clad in singlet and pants, carrying a signboard and offering bookmarks and hugs.
The sign reads: 'Help Me Raise Funds to Enter a Business School and Get a Free Hug!'
Speak to him and you discover what he really wants is money to fly to Los Angeles to meet his idol, the flamboyant English billionaire Richard Branson, at a charity dinner.
The 24-year-old did not want to reveal his real name, explaining: 'I do not know how my family and my relatives will react to this.
'So if anything negative comes out, I can just say it's another person, for the time being.'
But he has already exposed his identity by agreeing to be photographed, we told him. His reply: 'Do you know how many people look like me? I'm quite surprised. Just today, I saw four people who looked like me.'
So he asked to be known by his alias, Casper White, instead.
Why is he raising money like this? He said: 'If you think I am crazy, you are not the first person to say so.'
He said he and two friends were trying to raise money for three plane tickets to Los Angeles, so that they could attend a charity dinner called Rock the Kasbah, organised by Mr Branson. (See report on facing page.)
Casper and his friends have until Sunday to raise $15,000, or $5,000 a person.
He declined to reveal how much money he had on his own.
Just finished NS
He said he graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Information Technology two years ago and finished his national service last month.
He became interested in business in August last year, and began to be inspired by Mr Branson, whom he calls his 'Kurt Cobain' (the late frontman of rock band Nirvana).
'The people (at the charity dinner) are all very experienced and wise businessmen who can sell ice to Eskimos, who can make millions just out of a few bucks.
'When we go there, and are surrounded by these businessmen, they will pass their knowledge to us, and we can be just as successful.'
Casper said he had some business projects in mind, but declined to reveal further details.
'First, I'm going to tell him (Mr Branson) the things I went through just to be there. Second, I want to tell him how much I respect him, his values, his principles.
'Third, I will ask for what opportunities he can offer to my homeland - Singapore - which I can take up and spread throughout the country.'
Casper has been asking people to buy bookmarks from him 'at a minimum of $2'. He bought the bookmarks for about 20 cents each that morning from a neighbourhood stationary shop.
He raised about $570 on Tuesday, and hugged six people. Yesterday, he managed to raise another $60.
What if he fails to raise enough money? 'I don't think of the negative. But in the worst-case scenario, we'll just donate all proceeds to Virgin Unite.'
Virgin Unite is the independent charity arm of Mr Branson's Virgin Group.
Was he being honest by saying on his sign that he wanted money to enrol in a business school? 'I'm not lying. When I go to Los Angeles, I will be meeting up with some very successful people, millionaires and billionaires. And they will pass down to me wisdom, information, teachings and principles, which I have to take in and apply, to be successful.
'Isn't that like school also?'
Do his parents approve? His mother, accounts assistant Azizah Latiff, 47, said: 'Initially, I told him that it's not such a good idea because the stock market was crashing. But he insisted that he wants to go, and is putting all his effort into it. I just hope it will become a reality.'
Said his father, Mr Shariff Ahmad, 58, who is unemployed: 'At first, I told him that it was crazy to do this. I think it's not easy. But I hope the best for him, lah.'
Casper, who lives in a five-room HDB flat in the East with his parents, said: 'They told me to get a job. But I don't want a job. The only way to be truly happy and secure is to have a business, or a business mindset.'
Did he consider other ways to raise money?
He said: 'We have two days to raise $15,000. If we want to work, the only job I can think of is called The Italian Job, meaning we go rob a bank, and steal the money.
Gaining experience
'We thought of borrowing (the money), but it's more of a hassle because of interest. We also want to gain the experience, and go through the challenge, to make us grow stronger, wiser and more mature.'
Casper claims his success rate is about one in 40 people approached, and that the highest amount he received was $100.
A police spokesman told The New Paper: 'Such sales are considered as illegal hawking if there is no prior approval from the National Environment Agency (NEA).
'The public is advised to lodge a complaint with the NEA should they encounter such street sales.
'The public may also call the police for assistance should they be harassed during the pitching of such sales.'
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
You may have seen this man on Orchard Road on Tuesday, clad in singlet and pants, carrying a signboard and offering bookmarks and hugs.
The sign reads: 'Help Me Raise Funds to Enter a Business School and Get a Free Hug!'
Speak to him and you discover what he really wants is money to fly to Los Angeles to meet his idol, the flamboyant English billionaire Richard Branson, at a charity dinner.
The 24-year-old did not want to reveal his real name, explaining: 'I do not know how my family and my relatives will react to this.
'So if anything negative comes out, I can just say it's another person, for the time being.'
But he has already exposed his identity by agreeing to be photographed, we told him. His reply: 'Do you know how many people look like me? I'm quite surprised. Just today, I saw four people who looked like me.'
So he asked to be known by his alias, Casper White, instead.
Why is he raising money like this? He said: 'If you think I am crazy, you are not the first person to say so.'
He said he and two friends were trying to raise money for three plane tickets to Los Angeles, so that they could attend a charity dinner called Rock the Kasbah, organised by Mr Branson. (See report on facing page.)
Casper and his friends have until Sunday to raise $15,000, or $5,000 a person.
He declined to reveal how much money he had on his own.
Just finished NS
He said he graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Information Technology two years ago and finished his national service last month.
He became interested in business in August last year, and began to be inspired by Mr Branson, whom he calls his 'Kurt Cobain' (the late frontman of rock band Nirvana).
'The people (at the charity dinner) are all very experienced and wise businessmen who can sell ice to Eskimos, who can make millions just out of a few bucks.
'When we go there, and are surrounded by these businessmen, they will pass their knowledge to us, and we can be just as successful.'
Casper said he had some business projects in mind, but declined to reveal further details.
'First, I'm going to tell him (Mr Branson) the things I went through just to be there. Second, I want to tell him how much I respect him, his values, his principles.
'Third, I will ask for what opportunities he can offer to my homeland - Singapore - which I can take up and spread throughout the country.'
Casper has been asking people to buy bookmarks from him 'at a minimum of $2'. He bought the bookmarks for about 20 cents each that morning from a neighbourhood stationary shop.
He raised about $570 on Tuesday, and hugged six people. Yesterday, he managed to raise another $60.
What if he fails to raise enough money? 'I don't think of the negative. But in the worst-case scenario, we'll just donate all proceeds to Virgin Unite.'
Virgin Unite is the independent charity arm of Mr Branson's Virgin Group.
Was he being honest by saying on his sign that he wanted money to enrol in a business school? 'I'm not lying. When I go to Los Angeles, I will be meeting up with some very successful people, millionaires and billionaires. And they will pass down to me wisdom, information, teachings and principles, which I have to take in and apply, to be successful.
'Isn't that like school also?'
Do his parents approve? His mother, accounts assistant Azizah Latiff, 47, said: 'Initially, I told him that it's not such a good idea because the stock market was crashing. But he insisted that he wants to go, and is putting all his effort into it. I just hope it will become a reality.'
Said his father, Mr Shariff Ahmad, 58, who is unemployed: 'At first, I told him that it was crazy to do this. I think it's not easy. But I hope the best for him, lah.'
Casper, who lives in a five-room HDB flat in the East with his parents, said: 'They told me to get a job. But I don't want a job. The only way to be truly happy and secure is to have a business, or a business mindset.'
Did he consider other ways to raise money?
He said: 'We have two days to raise $15,000. If we want to work, the only job I can think of is called The Italian Job, meaning we go rob a bank, and steal the money.
Gaining experience
'We thought of borrowing (the money), but it's more of a hassle because of interest. We also want to gain the experience, and go through the challenge, to make us grow stronger, wiser and more mature.'
Casper claims his success rate is about one in 40 people approached, and that the highest amount he received was $100.
A police spokesman told The New Paper: 'Such sales are considered as illegal hawking if there is no prior approval from the National Environment Agency (NEA).
'The public is advised to lodge a complaint with the NEA should they encounter such street sales.
'The public may also call the police for assistance should they be harassed during the pitching of such sales.'
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Thursday, October 16, 2008
'Iconoclasts' returns, bright-eyed if a bit pat, by Ted Cox - Daily Herald - 16th October 2008
Two people can bring out the worst in each other, as anyone who's seen the presidential debates can attest. But a unified couple can also have the opposite effect - on themselves and those around them.
"Iconoclasts," the wonderfully whimsical celebrity-on-celebrity interview program, returns at 9 p.m. today on the Sundance Channel, and its fourth season premiere is testimony to that beneficial impact we sometimes have on one another.
In a series based upon unlikely pairings, the season debut offers one of the unlikeliest: South Africa's Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and British entrepreneur, adventurer and billionaire Sir Richard Branson. What could they possibly have in common? Well, a remarkable fondness for each other, to start, but also a bright-eyed optimism about the state and fate of the world, no matter how dire the current situation.
I have to say, in some ways the Branson-Tutu pairing is "Iconoclasts" at its best, but it also reveals some pitfalls to the show's premise. When the subjects are so big, as these two world figures are, they aren't likely to be pushed to any new insights by the producer-director and crew. Although Tutu and Branson express a clear and mutual affection for each other and a remarkable buoyancy, they don't really get to interact all that much, unless you count Branson trying to give Tutu a short-lived swimming lesson in the ocean-view pool he has on his private island.
There is none of the fascinating conversational back-and-forth that can make "Iconoclasts" so captivating, as was the case between Quentin Tarantino and Fiona Apple in the second season. Instead, there is a lot of historical background on both as individuals, mixed with a few heartwarming scenes of them together.
Yet they are genuinely heartwarming. These are two huge souls, and it's a kick to see them together, even when tossed in with a self-important, idealistic mission organizing a group called the Elders.
That too is a problem, however. Branson and Tutu hope to make the Elders a force for world peace, using well-respected leaders like former Irish President Mary Robinson and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to mediate conflicts in global hot spots. Yet what does it have to do with Branson and Tutu when fellow Elders organizer Peter Gabriel sits down at the piano to do a singalong on his anthem "Biko" with Roslyn and Jimmy Carter?
The setting is kind of off-putting, too, for anyone not to the manor born. Yes, it's easy to dream of world peace when you're sitting on your own private island, taking discussion breaks with catamaran races and ending the day with your own personal fireworks display.
Yet Tutu, for one, cuts right through the opulence. It's not as if he hasn't seen the other side of life in South Africa under apartheid.
"People are dying in wars," he acknowledges, "but there's goodness and laughter." In effect, he engages a one-man attack on cynicism, and that battle is joined by Branson. "I was just thinking how easy it is to pooh-pooh attempts to change the world," Tutu says. "Because what can a few individuals do in the face of all the ghastliness?" That makes the fight to turn the world into "a slightly more compassionate place" all the more noble.
"You can't be human all by yourself," Tutu says. "We are all connected. - When you are successful, it spreads out."
Branson couldn't have a more eloquent friend and ally, and he projects his own jolly mission to make the world a better place - whether through world peace or simply a better airline.
In the end, "Iconoclasts" wipes away most if not all of the preconceptions and suspicions a viewer might bring to it, to revel in unlikely yet enduring connections between human beings. "There is an extraordinary alchemy that happens between two people," Tutu says, and that expresses the wonder of "Iconoclasts" in its essence.
• Ted Cox writes Tuesday and Thursday in L&E and Friday in Sports and Time out!
Media Man Australia Profiles
Richard Branson
The Elders
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
"Iconoclasts," the wonderfully whimsical celebrity-on-celebrity interview program, returns at 9 p.m. today on the Sundance Channel, and its fourth season premiere is testimony to that beneficial impact we sometimes have on one another.
In a series based upon unlikely pairings, the season debut offers one of the unlikeliest: South Africa's Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and British entrepreneur, adventurer and billionaire Sir Richard Branson. What could they possibly have in common? Well, a remarkable fondness for each other, to start, but also a bright-eyed optimism about the state and fate of the world, no matter how dire the current situation.
I have to say, in some ways the Branson-Tutu pairing is "Iconoclasts" at its best, but it also reveals some pitfalls to the show's premise. When the subjects are so big, as these two world figures are, they aren't likely to be pushed to any new insights by the producer-director and crew. Although Tutu and Branson express a clear and mutual affection for each other and a remarkable buoyancy, they don't really get to interact all that much, unless you count Branson trying to give Tutu a short-lived swimming lesson in the ocean-view pool he has on his private island.
There is none of the fascinating conversational back-and-forth that can make "Iconoclasts" so captivating, as was the case between Quentin Tarantino and Fiona Apple in the second season. Instead, there is a lot of historical background on both as individuals, mixed with a few heartwarming scenes of them together.
Yet they are genuinely heartwarming. These are two huge souls, and it's a kick to see them together, even when tossed in with a self-important, idealistic mission organizing a group called the Elders.
That too is a problem, however. Branson and Tutu hope to make the Elders a force for world peace, using well-respected leaders like former Irish President Mary Robinson and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to mediate conflicts in global hot spots. Yet what does it have to do with Branson and Tutu when fellow Elders organizer Peter Gabriel sits down at the piano to do a singalong on his anthem "Biko" with Roslyn and Jimmy Carter?
The setting is kind of off-putting, too, for anyone not to the manor born. Yes, it's easy to dream of world peace when you're sitting on your own private island, taking discussion breaks with catamaran races and ending the day with your own personal fireworks display.
Yet Tutu, for one, cuts right through the opulence. It's not as if he hasn't seen the other side of life in South Africa under apartheid.
"People are dying in wars," he acknowledges, "but there's goodness and laughter." In effect, he engages a one-man attack on cynicism, and that battle is joined by Branson. "I was just thinking how easy it is to pooh-pooh attempts to change the world," Tutu says. "Because what can a few individuals do in the face of all the ghastliness?" That makes the fight to turn the world into "a slightly more compassionate place" all the more noble.
"You can't be human all by yourself," Tutu says. "We are all connected. - When you are successful, it spreads out."
Branson couldn't have a more eloquent friend and ally, and he projects his own jolly mission to make the world a better place - whether through world peace or simply a better airline.
In the end, "Iconoclasts" wipes away most if not all of the preconceptions and suspicions a viewer might bring to it, to revel in unlikely yet enduring connections between human beings. "There is an extraordinary alchemy that happens between two people," Tutu says, and that expresses the wonder of "Iconoclasts" in its essence.
• Ted Cox writes Tuesday and Thursday in L&E and Friday in Sports and Time out!
Media Man Australia Profiles
Richard Branson
The Elders
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
The World Bank - Broadcasts
Website
The World Bank - Broadcast
Media Man Australia Profiles
Financial News
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
The World Bank - Broadcast
Media Man Australia Profiles
Financial News
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
More needs to be done for Sydney's homeless: Welfare agencies, by Erin Maher - Macquarie National News - 4th October 2008
Welfare agencies want more to be done to help Sydney's homeless - claiming some services are poorly coordinated.
Over the past 20 years NSW spent up to $1 million on emergency assistance for one homeless man who had a severe drug addiction.
John O’Connor died last Saturday - but welfare groups say, if the money was spent on pro-active help he may still be alive today.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Over the past 20 years NSW spent up to $1 million on emergency assistance for one homeless man who had a severe drug addiction.
John O’Connor died last Saturday - but welfare groups say, if the money was spent on pro-active help he may still be alive today.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Find My Family - Putting Families Back Together
Legendary Australian actor Jack Thompson knows there can be no stronger bond than blood.
As a bloke adopted as a child and reunited with his father as an adult, Jack also knows that two people don't need to have met for them to share unconditional love.
On that note, Channel Seven is proud to announce Jack Thompson as the host of its brand new program, Find My Family.
Find My Family shares Jack's sentiment as it reunites lost souls and mends hearts that have been broken for a lifetime.
So many Australians have grown up without a mother, father, brother or sister, and often that absence leaves a gaping hole in their identity.
On Find My Family, long-lost loved ones are reunited and that hole is filled with tears of joy.
The hardest heart will be moved by the mother, pregnant too young and forced to bravely give her baby up for adoption, when she is reconnected with her son, grown up and with a child of his own.
Or there's the elation and devastation when a young woman looking for answers about her absent father, finds both a devastating truth from her long-lost uncle and a whole other family she never knew existed.
"When I was invited to host Find My Family I recognised immediately that in reuniting families I would be involved in something very dear to my heart," says Jack.
"I was adopted by a wonderful family, The Thompsons, but the reunion with my birth father that occurred after 42 years was an important moment of resolution in both his life and mine."
Channel Seven's Director of Programming and Production Tim Worner says Thompson's personal experience adds empathy and authority to these emotional moments.
"Find My Family is intensely human. It's deeply moving, joyous, sad, but enormously uplifting, all at the same time," says Tim.
Thompson's warmth and career-long association with distinctly Australian stories of trial and triumph, such as the films Breaker Morant and The Man from Snowy River, offers a welcome tender touch as the show deals with the repair of fractured family relationships.
"Above all, this show is a hero. The bonds that it has already created and will create for many years to come are something that makes Channel Seven immensely proud," Tim adds.
Find My Family is produced by Quail Television for Channel Seven. Executive Producers are John Rudd (Channel Seven) and Greg Quail (Quail TV).
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Jack Thompson
Channel Seven
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
As a bloke adopted as a child and reunited with his father as an adult, Jack also knows that two people don't need to have met for them to share unconditional love.
On that note, Channel Seven is proud to announce Jack Thompson as the host of its brand new program, Find My Family.
Find My Family shares Jack's sentiment as it reunites lost souls and mends hearts that have been broken for a lifetime.
So many Australians have grown up without a mother, father, brother or sister, and often that absence leaves a gaping hole in their identity.
On Find My Family, long-lost loved ones are reunited and that hole is filled with tears of joy.
The hardest heart will be moved by the mother, pregnant too young and forced to bravely give her baby up for adoption, when she is reconnected with her son, grown up and with a child of his own.
Or there's the elation and devastation when a young woman looking for answers about her absent father, finds both a devastating truth from her long-lost uncle and a whole other family she never knew existed.
"When I was invited to host Find My Family I recognised immediately that in reuniting families I would be involved in something very dear to my heart," says Jack.
"I was adopted by a wonderful family, The Thompsons, but the reunion with my birth father that occurred after 42 years was an important moment of resolution in both his life and mine."
Channel Seven's Director of Programming and Production Tim Worner says Thompson's personal experience adds empathy and authority to these emotional moments.
"Find My Family is intensely human. It's deeply moving, joyous, sad, but enormously uplifting, all at the same time," says Tim.
Thompson's warmth and career-long association with distinctly Australian stories of trial and triumph, such as the films Breaker Morant and The Man from Snowy River, offers a welcome tender touch as the show deals with the repair of fractured family relationships.
"Above all, this show is a hero. The bonds that it has already created and will create for many years to come are something that makes Channel Seven immensely proud," Tim adds.
Find My Family is produced by Quail Television for Channel Seven. Executive Producers are John Rudd (Channel Seven) and Greg Quail (Quail TV).
Media Man Australia Profiles
Jack Thompson
Channel Seven
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Monday, September 29, 2008
Newman planned for charitable legacy after death, by Susan Haigh - AP - 29th September 2008
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Paul Newman broached the subject of his philanthropic legacy several years ago while fishing with friends Robert Forrester and David Horvitz off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Even though he was a Hollywood icon — a 10-time Academy Award nominee known for his performances in such classic films as "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" — it was a rare moment in which Newman reflected on how he would be remembered after his death, Horvitz recalled Sunday.
"Most of the time he didn't think about legacy," he said. "He was pretty much in the moment."
But Newman, who died Friday of cancer at age 83, told the men he wanted to be remembered for the "Hole in the Wall" camps he helped to start across the world for children with life-threatening illnesses and to make sure that 100 percent of the profits from his popular food company, Newman's Own, would continue to benefit such camps and thousands of other charities.
Horvitz is chairman of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, which has 11 camps across the globe. Newman told him that he had been lucky in life, born with piercing blue eyes and gift for acting, and how it was unfair that so many innocent children were unlucky to have been burdened with devastating diseases such as AIDS or leukemia.
"He felt a need and an obligation to try to give back," Horvitz said.
"He loved the camps. He loved being there. He loved being with the kids," he added. "He loved their smiles and their laughter."
In 1982, Newman and writer A.E. Hotchner started Newman's Own to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. It began as a joke and grew into a multimillion-dollar business.
Newman and his food company have given more than $250 million to charity over the years. Last year, $28 million from the sale of pasta sauces, salad dressings, popcorn and other products was distributed to a variety of social causes, including the Safe Water Network, which Newman helped start to provide safe drinking water to impoverished communities in places like India and Africa.
Until two years ago, Newman had the task of personally distributing the company's profits. But he and Forrester set up a private, independent foundation, known as Newman's Own Foundation, to carry on the work without Newman.
"Really, everything is in great shape," Forrester said of the foundation and the company after Newman's death.
"He said, 'When I'm not here, this foundation is to continue the tradition of giving all of this money away,'" Forrester said.
Forrester joked how such planning wasn't part of Newman's nature. A sign famously hangs in Newman's Westport, Conn., offices that reads, "If I had a plan I would be screwed."
Newman welcomed the opinions of others as he pursued the business and his philanthropic efforts. Forrester explained how the actor believed in the benefit of "creative chaos," where, as in a movie set, different people offer ideas about how a scene should be handled.
"That was Paul's enduring philosophy, and it worked," Forrester said. "It sounds awful, but it was part of Paul saying everybody had a voice."
At Forrester's request, Newman came up with what he wanted the Newman's Own company — he hated the word "brand" — to stand for. Newman listed quality food, fair labor practices, a mission focused on philanthropy and not profit, and an open environment in the workplace, not a bureaucratic one.
Forrester said that mission will continue, even though Newman is gone.
Also, his smiling face will still appear on bottles of marinade and boxes of frozen pizza, and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, will still sit on the Newman's Own Foundation Board of Directors. Newman typically sat in on all the board meetings, with the exception of the most recent one, about a week ago.
Forrester said Newman's friends at Newman's Own — some who have worked there from the early days of the company — plan to look for ways to expand the business in order to carry out the actor's wishes and give away even more money.
"We're stewards of this legacy," he said.
On the Net:
* Newman's Own: http://www.newmansown.com
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Even though he was a Hollywood icon — a 10-time Academy Award nominee known for his performances in such classic films as "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" — it was a rare moment in which Newman reflected on how he would be remembered after his death, Horvitz recalled Sunday.
"Most of the time he didn't think about legacy," he said. "He was pretty much in the moment."
But Newman, who died Friday of cancer at age 83, told the men he wanted to be remembered for the "Hole in the Wall" camps he helped to start across the world for children with life-threatening illnesses and to make sure that 100 percent of the profits from his popular food company, Newman's Own, would continue to benefit such camps and thousands of other charities.
Horvitz is chairman of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, which has 11 camps across the globe. Newman told him that he had been lucky in life, born with piercing blue eyes and gift for acting, and how it was unfair that so many innocent children were unlucky to have been burdened with devastating diseases such as AIDS or leukemia.
"He felt a need and an obligation to try to give back," Horvitz said.
"He loved the camps. He loved being there. He loved being with the kids," he added. "He loved their smiles and their laughter."
In 1982, Newman and writer A.E. Hotchner started Newman's Own to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. It began as a joke and grew into a multimillion-dollar business.
Newman and his food company have given more than $250 million to charity over the years. Last year, $28 million from the sale of pasta sauces, salad dressings, popcorn and other products was distributed to a variety of social causes, including the Safe Water Network, which Newman helped start to provide safe drinking water to impoverished communities in places like India and Africa.
Until two years ago, Newman had the task of personally distributing the company's profits. But he and Forrester set up a private, independent foundation, known as Newman's Own Foundation, to carry on the work without Newman.
"Really, everything is in great shape," Forrester said of the foundation and the company after Newman's death.
"He said, 'When I'm not here, this foundation is to continue the tradition of giving all of this money away,'" Forrester said.
Forrester joked how such planning wasn't part of Newman's nature. A sign famously hangs in Newman's Westport, Conn., offices that reads, "If I had a plan I would be screwed."
Newman welcomed the opinions of others as he pursued the business and his philanthropic efforts. Forrester explained how the actor believed in the benefit of "creative chaos," where, as in a movie set, different people offer ideas about how a scene should be handled.
"That was Paul's enduring philosophy, and it worked," Forrester said. "It sounds awful, but it was part of Paul saying everybody had a voice."
At Forrester's request, Newman came up with what he wanted the Newman's Own company — he hated the word "brand" — to stand for. Newman listed quality food, fair labor practices, a mission focused on philanthropy and not profit, and an open environment in the workplace, not a bureaucratic one.
Forrester said that mission will continue, even though Newman is gone.
Also, his smiling face will still appear on bottles of marinade and boxes of frozen pizza, and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, will still sit on the Newman's Own Foundation Board of Directors. Newman typically sat in on all the board meetings, with the exception of the most recent one, about a week ago.
Forrester said Newman's friends at Newman's Own — some who have worked there from the early days of the company — plan to look for ways to expand the business in order to carry out the actor's wishes and give away even more money.
"We're stewards of this legacy," he said.
On the Net:
* Newman's Own: http://www.newmansown.com
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Social Entrepreneurship Awards Announced, by Heather Joslyn - The Chronicle of Philanthropy - 25th September 2008
Grass-roots programs focused on helping homeless people, rebuilding hurricane-devastated New Orleans, and rescuing girls from the sex trade are among the winners of the eighth annual Social Entrepreneurship Awards, given by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a think tank in New York that focuses on free-market issues.
The award focuses on groups whose work either replaces or complements existing government efforts, says the institute. “At a time when both major party presidential campaigns are emphasizing the importance of national and community service, these award winners underscore the fact that the impulse to serve—and creativity about how to do so—runs deep in America,” said Howard Husock, the institute’s vice president of programs and director of its Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, in a statement announcing the award winners.
The institute’s William E. Simon Lifetime Achievement Award, which carries a prize of $100,000, goes to George T. McDonald, founder of the Doe Fund,in New York. Created in 1990, the charity works to develop and implement programs that attack the problems of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism.
Prizes of $25,000 each will be given to the following Social Entrepreneurship award-winners:
* Richard Grausman, founder of Careers through Culinary Arts Program, commonly known as C-CAP, a New York group created in 1990 to give high school students preparation for careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry, via home-economics courses and afterschool and summer programs.
* Rachel Lloyd, founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, or GEMS, a New York group created in 1999 that works to rescue girls as young as 11 from the prostitution and pornography industries. The charity serves more than 1,200 girls per year through a variety of programs.
* Susan McWhinney-Morse, a co-founder of Beacon Hill Village, a Boston membership organization started in 2001 that helps elderly local residents reamin in their homes. More than a dozen similar groups have sprung up around the country, following Beacon Hill’s model.
* Zack Rosenburg, co-founder of St. Bernard Project, a New Orleans group started after Hurricane Katrina that has rebuilt more than 140 homes with the help of more than 8,000 volunteers.
* Robert L. Woodson Sr., founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a Washington organization created in 1981 whose Violence Free Zone program aims to link adults in a troubled neighborhood with local schools to prevent school violence. The program has expanded to cities across the country from its pilot effort in Washington in 2004.
The awards will be given out to winners at an event October 27 in New York.
The Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, created in 2001, is supported by the William E. Simon and JM Kaplan foundations, both of New York.
Greg Tingle comment
Sometimes just giving is reward enough in itself. Mind you, recognition also has its rewards. I know a great many people who have done some wonderful work in society, their names you will never hear about in the news, and that’s just the way they like it. Some of the world’s most worthy work often goes unreported, but the community whose lives are changed for the better are well aware of their gifts. Of course the scale of the hurricanes to hit the U.S did see some good deeds reported. It appears that the U.S government has realised the benefits in working closely with society and corporates. One doesn’t require a trophy or formal award to be a hero or world beater however there’s strong merit in the accolades. It also serves to remind us that we can always do more and to reach for the stars.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
The award focuses on groups whose work either replaces or complements existing government efforts, says the institute. “At a time when both major party presidential campaigns are emphasizing the importance of national and community service, these award winners underscore the fact that the impulse to serve—and creativity about how to do so—runs deep in America,” said Howard Husock, the institute’s vice president of programs and director of its Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, in a statement announcing the award winners.
The institute’s William E. Simon Lifetime Achievement Award, which carries a prize of $100,000, goes to George T. McDonald, founder of the Doe Fund,in New York. Created in 1990, the charity works to develop and implement programs that attack the problems of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism.
Prizes of $25,000 each will be given to the following Social Entrepreneurship award-winners:
* Richard Grausman, founder of Careers through Culinary Arts Program, commonly known as C-CAP, a New York group created in 1990 to give high school students preparation for careers in the restaurant and hospitality industry, via home-economics courses and afterschool and summer programs.
* Rachel Lloyd, founder of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, or GEMS, a New York group created in 1999 that works to rescue girls as young as 11 from the prostitution and pornography industries. The charity serves more than 1,200 girls per year through a variety of programs.
* Susan McWhinney-Morse, a co-founder of Beacon Hill Village, a Boston membership organization started in 2001 that helps elderly local residents reamin in their homes. More than a dozen similar groups have sprung up around the country, following Beacon Hill’s model.
* Zack Rosenburg, co-founder of St. Bernard Project, a New Orleans group started after Hurricane Katrina that has rebuilt more than 140 homes with the help of more than 8,000 volunteers.
* Robert L. Woodson Sr., founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, a Washington organization created in 1981 whose Violence Free Zone program aims to link adults in a troubled neighborhood with local schools to prevent school violence. The program has expanded to cities across the country from its pilot effort in Washington in 2004.
The awards will be given out to winners at an event October 27 in New York.
The Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, created in 2001, is supported by the William E. Simon and JM Kaplan foundations, both of New York.
Greg Tingle comment
Sometimes just giving is reward enough in itself. Mind you, recognition also has its rewards. I know a great many people who have done some wonderful work in society, their names you will never hear about in the news, and that’s just the way they like it. Some of the world’s most worthy work often goes unreported, but the community whose lives are changed for the better are well aware of their gifts. Of course the scale of the hurricanes to hit the U.S did see some good deeds reported. It appears that the U.S government has realised the benefits in working closely with society and corporates. One doesn’t require a trophy or formal award to be a hero or world beater however there’s strong merit in the accolades. It also serves to remind us that we can always do more and to reach for the stars.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Clinton Global Initiative - Philanthropy's Faults - The Chronicle of Philanthropy - 26th September 2008
A panel at the Clinton Global Initiative on philanthropy in rural areas sparked a broader discussion — and complaints — about charitable giving.
The discussion’s moderator, Steve Gunderson, president of the Council on Foundations, struggled to keep the speakers focused on the main topic when one of them, Wangari Muta Maathai, said that not enough is done to help Africans lift themselves out of poverty.
“You have to help these people rise up and walk,” said Ms. Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, a charity in Kenya.
Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church, which does antipoverty work in Rwanda and elsewhere, agreed. “So much of what we do in philanthropic development robs people of dignity, removes initiative, destroys their own economy. It’s actually counterproductive,” he said.
Good giving works like an injection of yeast into dough — a relatively small amount can have expansive results with the right ingredients, he said.
“There’s a way to give that sustains and there’s a way to give that makes people dependent,” he said.
For Native Americans, however, that type of positive contribution has been hard to come by from the government and philanthropy, said Elsie Meeks, president of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a charity in Rapid City, S.D.
“Native American tribes are really under the radar for most folks. There’s poor in the United States, if we can’t solve that issue in the United States, how are we going to do it in any other country?” she asked.
“One of the largest foundations in this world has a new CEO and was getting educated by some of his program officers about some of the poorest people in the United States — Native American women — [and] he said, So what? His point was there’s not enough of us,” she said.
Concerned that the session was getting too negative, Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning founder of the Grameen Bank, said, “The message I think we don’t want to give as a panel is, Don’t give money for philanthropy. That’s not the message. The message is, Please do give, but it could be used much more powerfully.”
“Let’s not confuse things,” he said to the business executives and philanthropists in the crowd, “we need to share the wealth.”
— Ian Wilhelm
Greg Tingle comment
Wise words from Muhammad Yunus. As the old Chinese proverb goes, Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. It also sounds like he was getting at giving a hand up, not a hand out. If a hand out is required to help get someone to the stage of a hand up, I think its generally the way to go. It's the old crawl, walk, run scenario.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Muhammad Yunus
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
The discussion’s moderator, Steve Gunderson, president of the Council on Foundations, struggled to keep the speakers focused on the main topic when one of them, Wangari Muta Maathai, said that not enough is done to help Africans lift themselves out of poverty.
“You have to help these people rise up and walk,” said Ms. Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement, a charity in Kenya.
Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church, which does antipoverty work in Rwanda and elsewhere, agreed. “So much of what we do in philanthropic development robs people of dignity, removes initiative, destroys their own economy. It’s actually counterproductive,” he said.
Good giving works like an injection of yeast into dough — a relatively small amount can have expansive results with the right ingredients, he said.
“There’s a way to give that sustains and there’s a way to give that makes people dependent,” he said.
For Native Americans, however, that type of positive contribution has been hard to come by from the government and philanthropy, said Elsie Meeks, president of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a charity in Rapid City, S.D.
“Native American tribes are really under the radar for most folks. There’s poor in the United States, if we can’t solve that issue in the United States, how are we going to do it in any other country?” she asked.
“One of the largest foundations in this world has a new CEO and was getting educated by some of his program officers about some of the poorest people in the United States — Native American women — [and] he said, So what? His point was there’s not enough of us,” she said.
Concerned that the session was getting too negative, Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning founder of the Grameen Bank, said, “The message I think we don’t want to give as a panel is, Don’t give money for philanthropy. That’s not the message. The message is, Please do give, but it could be used much more powerfully.”
“Let’s not confuse things,” he said to the business executives and philanthropists in the crowd, “we need to share the wealth.”
— Ian Wilhelm
Greg Tingle comment
Wise words from Muhammad Yunus. As the old Chinese proverb goes, Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. It also sounds like he was getting at giving a hand up, not a hand out. If a hand out is required to help get someone to the stage of a hand up, I think its generally the way to go. It's the old crawl, walk, run scenario.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Muhammad Yunus
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tanzania set to host 2008 Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference
By Apolinari Tairo
22nd September 2008
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) - Tanzania will officially be the second host of Travelers Philanthrophy Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Northern tourist town of Arusha early December this year.
The Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has announced its acceptance to sponsor part of the conference and participate in the conference that will take place from December 3 - 5 this year with high expectations to attract over 300 participants, most from tourism business and environmental partnerships.
Ethiopian Airlines has been named the conference’s “preferred international airline.” It is providing a 50 percent discount on tickets for journalists covering the conference, as well as complimentary tickets for the US-based conference organizers. Ethiopian Airlines has an active travelers' philanthropy program, including Greener Ethiopia, which is aiming to plant two million trees in Ethiopia.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Jane Goodall Institute, is supporting the plenary session on “HIV AIDS: Responses from the Travel Industry” and the workshops under the stream “Travelers’ Philanthropy: Contribution to Conservation.”
Another conference sponsor will be the Conservation Corporation of Africa (CC Africa) is hosting the December 4 cocktail reception which will feature the company’s Ngorongoro Lodge Choir and will showcase the company’s educational outreach programs on HIV AIDS prevalence in Africa.
The regional offices in East and Southern Africa of the Ford Foundation are supporting the conference by providing several dozen scholarships for attendees and speakers, while the ProParques Foundation in Costa Rica and Basecamp Explorer Foundation will finance a new documentary on travelers’ philanthropy projects in East Africa and Costa Rica. The documentary by two young filmmakers from Stanford
University will be premiered at the conference.
Other co-sponsors and active supporters of the three-day event, which is being held at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge outside Arusha in Northern Tanzania, include Country Walkers, Spirit of the Big Five Foundation, Thomson Safaris, Virgin Unite, Asilia Lodges and Camps, Africa Safari Lodge Foundation, and Honeyguide Foundations. International travel, airport transfers, and hotel bookings at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, the conference venue outside Arusha, is being handled by Safari Ventures, a Tanzanian-owned travel agency which supports community projects.
Under the banner “Making Travelers’ Philanthropy Work for Development, Business, and Conservation,” the conference will focus on the growing trend among responsible tourism businesses to support community and conservation projects in the host countries where they operate.
The opening keynote speaker is Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai, founder and leader of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Biologist Dr. David Western, who is founder of the Africa Conservation Centre and former director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), will give a keynote address on "Ecotourism,
Conservation and Development in Eastern Africa." Other speakers and the full conference program are listed on the conference.
Arusha is a vibrant tourism town near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru that serves as a gateway to Tanzania’s world renowned game parks. The conference also features eight outstanding safaris that combine wildlife viewing with visits to community projects supported by tourism businesses, as well as visits to Zanzibar and a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro.
“This conference marks the most comprehensive examination to-date of travelers’ philanthropy – the growing global initiative by which tourism businesses and travelers are helping to support local schools, clinics, micro-enterprises, job training, conservation, and other types of projects in tourism destinations around the world,” said Dr. Martha Honey, co-director of the Center on Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development (CESD).
“We have chosen to hold the conference in East Africa because there are many fine examples of responsible tourism businesses,” she added. “The conference also features eight outstanding safaris that combine wildlife viewing with visits to community projects supported by tourism businesses, as well as visits to Zanzibar and a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro.”
The conference is being organized by the US-based nonprofit organization, the Center on Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), and a three-person team is in Arusha to coordinate the conference programs.
22nd September 2008
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) - Tanzania will officially be the second host of Travelers Philanthrophy Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Northern tourist town of Arusha early December this year.
The Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) has announced its acceptance to sponsor part of the conference and participate in the conference that will take place from December 3 - 5 this year with high expectations to attract over 300 participants, most from tourism business and environmental partnerships.
Ethiopian Airlines has been named the conference’s “preferred international airline.” It is providing a 50 percent discount on tickets for journalists covering the conference, as well as complimentary tickets for the US-based conference organizers. Ethiopian Airlines has an active travelers' philanthropy program, including Greener Ethiopia, which is aiming to plant two million trees in Ethiopia.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), together with the Jane Goodall Institute, is supporting the plenary session on “HIV AIDS: Responses from the Travel Industry” and the workshops under the stream “Travelers’ Philanthropy: Contribution to Conservation.”
Another conference sponsor will be the Conservation Corporation of Africa (CC Africa) is hosting the December 4 cocktail reception which will feature the company’s Ngorongoro Lodge Choir and will showcase the company’s educational outreach programs on HIV AIDS prevalence in Africa.
The regional offices in East and Southern Africa of the Ford Foundation are supporting the conference by providing several dozen scholarships for attendees and speakers, while the ProParques Foundation in Costa Rica and Basecamp Explorer Foundation will finance a new documentary on travelers’ philanthropy projects in East Africa and Costa Rica. The documentary by two young filmmakers from Stanford
University will be premiered at the conference.
Other co-sponsors and active supporters of the three-day event, which is being held at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge outside Arusha in Northern Tanzania, include Country Walkers, Spirit of the Big Five Foundation, Thomson Safaris, Virgin Unite, Asilia Lodges and Camps, Africa Safari Lodge Foundation, and Honeyguide Foundations. International travel, airport transfers, and hotel bookings at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge, the conference venue outside Arusha, is being handled by Safari Ventures, a Tanzanian-owned travel agency which supports community projects.
Under the banner “Making Travelers’ Philanthropy Work for Development, Business, and Conservation,” the conference will focus on the growing trend among responsible tourism businesses to support community and conservation projects in the host countries where they operate.
The opening keynote speaker is Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai, founder and leader of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. Biologist Dr. David Western, who is founder of the Africa Conservation Centre and former director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), will give a keynote address on "Ecotourism,
Conservation and Development in Eastern Africa." Other speakers and the full conference program are listed on the conference.
Arusha is a vibrant tourism town near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru that serves as a gateway to Tanzania’s world renowned game parks. The conference also features eight outstanding safaris that combine wildlife viewing with visits to community projects supported by tourism businesses, as well as visits to Zanzibar and a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro.
“This conference marks the most comprehensive examination to-date of travelers’ philanthropy – the growing global initiative by which tourism businesses and travelers are helping to support local schools, clinics, micro-enterprises, job training, conservation, and other types of projects in tourism destinations around the world,” said Dr. Martha Honey, co-director of the Center on Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development (CESD).
“We have chosen to hold the conference in East Africa because there are many fine examples of responsible tourism businesses,” she added. “The conference also features eight outstanding safaris that combine wildlife viewing with visits to community projects supported by tourism businesses, as well as visits to Zanzibar and a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro.”
The conference is being organized by the US-based nonprofit organization, the Center on Eco-tourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), and a three-person team is in Arusha to coordinate the conference programs.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Charities and non-profit groups set for shake-up, by Daryl Passmore - The Sunday Mail - 21st September 2008
When you pop a box of Weet-Bix into your trolley during the weekly supermarket shop, do you feel like you are doing your bit for charity?
Sanitarium Health Foods is one of the country's biggest breakfast cereal companies, with a turnover of more than $300 million and about 1500 staff. But it pays no company tax on its profits.
That's because Sanitarium – Australia's first health food company, established 110 years ago – is owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and donates all its profit to the church for charitable activities including hospitals, educational facilities, indigenous programs and aid to people in developing countries.
In Sydney's western suburbs, a soccer club runs a used-car sales lot. It does not pay tax on its profits, either, because Australia is unique in the developed world in not taxing charities or non-profit organisations on this type of "related business income".
On the flipside, a community centre that starts running bus trips for lonely old folk could jeopardise its status as a Deductible Gift Recipient, with donations tax-deductible, because that is viewed as a "social", not "benevolent", activity.
All are part of a massive not-for-profit sector that includes everything from your child's local footy club to the Catholic Church, which turns over $15 billion a year from insurance companies through to funeral services.
The sector includes about 700,000 organisations – 150,000 of them incorporated – turning over more than $74 billion a year, according to the National Roundtable of Nonprofit Organisations.
It employs more than 884,000 paid staff and about 2.5 million volunteers. Nearly 90 per cent of Australians are members of a non-profit group and a third of adults have volunteered with one.
Much of the money is public funding – either through direct donations or government contracts to deliver services.
But despite it enormous size, the sector is characterised by a bewildering, almost chaotic array of laws, regulations, standards, governance models and methods of accountability.
A review is in progress, which could lead to the biggest overhaul of the sector in decades.
The Senate's standing committee on economics is holding an inquiry into the disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations which, among other things, will examine the legal structures for registering and running groups, reporting requirements and improving transparency in the use of public and government funds.
Submissions closed last month and the committee will report by the end of November.
The inquiry was initiated by Democrat senators Lyn Allison and Andrew Murray, both of whom have since left Parliament, following a study by consumer group Choice in March.
What they found was that existing and potential supporters often faced huge challenges in finding out how money was used, how much made it to the intended target, how much was dwindled in administration and fund-raising costs, and how effective charities are in achieving their goals.
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said nearly nine out of 10 adults give to charity, with an annual average of more than $400.
"But despite such widespread support and high trust in the charitable sector, donors have concerns," Mr Zinn said.
"The problem is getting and comparing the information. Our research, including a survey of charities, found wide variability and inconsistency in the way they communicate key information to donors.
"That's if they communicate it at all. Sometimes, the information simply isn't publicly available.
"This absence of transparency means that the 90 per cent of us who want to donate have an almost impossible task in comparing charities and ensuring our money has the best effect.
"It's important not to have to rely on faith and trust keeping charities going."
Gina Anderson, chief executive officer of Philanthropy Australia, agrees greater scrutiny is essential to ensuring the continued growth in support from charitable trusts, foundations, corporations, families and individuals.
"Philanthropists, donors and social investors are asking for greater transparency to understand who is doing a good job and who isn't," she said.
She argues that the term "non-profit" has negative connotations and should be replaced with "Community Benefit Entity", and advocates a financial reporting system that differentiates between those established for charitable purposes and those with community purposes such as sporting groups and private clubs – with the level of public accountability varying according to size.
"The vast majority of not-for-profits turn over less than $500,000. Do we really want them to provide a full annual report? Probably not."
Most organisations welcome the inquiry, saying regulatory reform is well overdue.
"We now have the first opportunity for a generation – the first chance, perhaps, since Australia has been a nation – to consider the goals and needs and structures of the community sector from the ground up," said Rhonda Galbally, chief executive officer of Our Community, a resource centre for the sector.
Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, director of the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology, said: "There are quite a number of problems, particularly the outdated and archaic laws.
"When I was an articled clerk 25 years ago and went to register a company, it would take three weeks. Now I could walk in with my $300 and 10 minutes later, walk out with the certificate of incorporation and get on with business. But it still takes months to register incorporated associations."
Prof McGregor-Lowndes has devised a standard chart of accounts which could be adopted across the whole charity and non-profit area and for which there is virtually unanimous support. The issue, according to most in the sector, is not a lack of controls – but an excess. National charities have to register in each state, under nine separate pieces of legislation.
Anglicare Australia, in its submission to the inquiry, highlights the problem of overlapping jurisdictions "with 93 state, territory and Commonwealth bodies able to make a determination about an organisation's charitable status".
Depending what they do, groups have to comply with a raft of laws covering employment, insurance, child protection, aged care, environment, land ownership, privacy, food preparation and occupational health and safety.
It's time-consuming and expensive.
Rodney Brady, chief financial officer with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, said that while people were concerned about funds being chewed up by administration, regulatory requirements meant more and more money had to be used that way.
"A few years ago, we were able to run our overseas aid programs using other resources to cover overheads. The burden of requirements now means we have to use 10 per cent from the funds to cover the overheads."
Professor Mark Lyons from the University of Technology said: "Current regulatory arrangements encompassing non-profit organisations are a dreadful mess, they are costly to governments and non-profit organisations and disadvantage the public."
So complex and muddied were they that only a completely new, purpose-built system would work, he said.
"Tacking non-profits on to corporations and requiring ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) to regulate them is certainly not appropriate," said Prof Lyons.
There is widespread support for a dedicated national regulator for the sector and one possible outcome of the inquiry is a Charity Commission.
Britain has had one for more than five years and New Zealand established one this year.
Strong supporters of the concept include Mission Australia and Oxfam Australia. They say that such a body should be responsible not only for registering and monitoring charities, but also for advocating to government and raising awareness and profile among the public.
Oxfam Australia executive director Andrew Hewett said an Australian Charity Commission would need to be well-resourced to avoid the risk of it becoming "a toothless tiger".
Prof McGregor-Lowndes said a Charity Commission would be the "Rolls-Royce" response – with a price tag to match.
With the UK body costing $75 million a year to look after 190,000 organisations and the New Zealand version costing about $15 million for 25,000 groups, an Australian commission would require about $60 million to handle up to 150,000.
Prof McGregor-Lowndes suspects the Federal Government would baulk at that and hand the job to ASIC.
Mr Brady, of the Adventists, said one of the strengths of the New Zealand commission was that it was a voluntary registration system.
"You don't have to join, but if you do then you get the benefits of having charitable status," he said.
And they include tax rebates on all donations. New Zealand has also joined other countries such as the US and Canada in removing an upper limit on the rebate allowed.
"People bemoan the fact that Australia is one of the lowest-giving countries in the world. But we do not have a tax regime that encourages donations to charity."
Mr Brady said the assumption by many people that charities, and churches in particular, did not pay any tax was inaccurate and frustrating. While they did not pay income tax, if profits went to charitable activities they were taxed "at many stages along the way", including GST.
Mission Australia is calling for current tax concessions to remain – and for charities and non-profits to be exempted from state taxes such as stamp duty.
Some of the major players – the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul among them – are unconvinced by the need for a commission, however.
"I think you would need to question whether we need another bureaucracy. Our preference would be to make the current regimes simpler and more effective," said Ms Anderson, of Philanthropy Australia.
Dr Ted Flack, who has 32 years' experience in the sector including periods as president of the Fundraising Institute of Australia and Volunteering Queensland, sees a danger of overkill in redesigning the regulatory regime and said it would not necessarily do anything to increase accountability.
"About 80 per cent of incorporated associations already comply and send their annual returns to the regulator. I'm not sure what that accomplishes because they are just filed, so apart from creating some public service jobs I'm not sure what difference it makes."
Dr Flack, now Queensland state director of communications and fund-raising for St Vincent de Paul and a part-time lecturer at the Centre for Philanthropy, said what mattered was that the people who were interested could find out about particular non-profits, and that would differ from large national charities and small fishing clubs with a handful of members.
He advocates different approaches for "public" non-profits which seek public money through donations and government grants, and "private" non-profits which don't.
"All we need to do is require those seeking some tax-exemption status ("public" non-profits) to prepare an annual report which includes a full financial statement and put it on a website," Dr Flack said. "It's the simplest and easiest way. It does not involve new bureaucracies or new forms of legal identities. The information is there for those who want it."
(Credit: News Limited)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Charity
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Sanitarium Health Foods is one of the country's biggest breakfast cereal companies, with a turnover of more than $300 million and about 1500 staff. But it pays no company tax on its profits.
That's because Sanitarium – Australia's first health food company, established 110 years ago – is owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and donates all its profit to the church for charitable activities including hospitals, educational facilities, indigenous programs and aid to people in developing countries.
In Sydney's western suburbs, a soccer club runs a used-car sales lot. It does not pay tax on its profits, either, because Australia is unique in the developed world in not taxing charities or non-profit organisations on this type of "related business income".
On the flipside, a community centre that starts running bus trips for lonely old folk could jeopardise its status as a Deductible Gift Recipient, with donations tax-deductible, because that is viewed as a "social", not "benevolent", activity.
All are part of a massive not-for-profit sector that includes everything from your child's local footy club to the Catholic Church, which turns over $15 billion a year from insurance companies through to funeral services.
The sector includes about 700,000 organisations – 150,000 of them incorporated – turning over more than $74 billion a year, according to the National Roundtable of Nonprofit Organisations.
It employs more than 884,000 paid staff and about 2.5 million volunteers. Nearly 90 per cent of Australians are members of a non-profit group and a third of adults have volunteered with one.
Much of the money is public funding – either through direct donations or government contracts to deliver services.
But despite it enormous size, the sector is characterised by a bewildering, almost chaotic array of laws, regulations, standards, governance models and methods of accountability.
A review is in progress, which could lead to the biggest overhaul of the sector in decades.
The Senate's standing committee on economics is holding an inquiry into the disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations which, among other things, will examine the legal structures for registering and running groups, reporting requirements and improving transparency in the use of public and government funds.
Submissions closed last month and the committee will report by the end of November.
The inquiry was initiated by Democrat senators Lyn Allison and Andrew Murray, both of whom have since left Parliament, following a study by consumer group Choice in March.
What they found was that existing and potential supporters often faced huge challenges in finding out how money was used, how much made it to the intended target, how much was dwindled in administration and fund-raising costs, and how effective charities are in achieving their goals.
Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said nearly nine out of 10 adults give to charity, with an annual average of more than $400.
"But despite such widespread support and high trust in the charitable sector, donors have concerns," Mr Zinn said.
"The problem is getting and comparing the information. Our research, including a survey of charities, found wide variability and inconsistency in the way they communicate key information to donors.
"That's if they communicate it at all. Sometimes, the information simply isn't publicly available.
"This absence of transparency means that the 90 per cent of us who want to donate have an almost impossible task in comparing charities and ensuring our money has the best effect.
"It's important not to have to rely on faith and trust keeping charities going."
Gina Anderson, chief executive officer of Philanthropy Australia, agrees greater scrutiny is essential to ensuring the continued growth in support from charitable trusts, foundations, corporations, families and individuals.
"Philanthropists, donors and social investors are asking for greater transparency to understand who is doing a good job and who isn't," she said.
She argues that the term "non-profit" has negative connotations and should be replaced with "Community Benefit Entity", and advocates a financial reporting system that differentiates between those established for charitable purposes and those with community purposes such as sporting groups and private clubs – with the level of public accountability varying according to size.
"The vast majority of not-for-profits turn over less than $500,000. Do we really want them to provide a full annual report? Probably not."
Most organisations welcome the inquiry, saying regulatory reform is well overdue.
"We now have the first opportunity for a generation – the first chance, perhaps, since Australia has been a nation – to consider the goals and needs and structures of the community sector from the ground up," said Rhonda Galbally, chief executive officer of Our Community, a resource centre for the sector.
Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes, director of the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at Queensland University of Technology, said: "There are quite a number of problems, particularly the outdated and archaic laws.
"When I was an articled clerk 25 years ago and went to register a company, it would take three weeks. Now I could walk in with my $300 and 10 minutes later, walk out with the certificate of incorporation and get on with business. But it still takes months to register incorporated associations."
Prof McGregor-Lowndes has devised a standard chart of accounts which could be adopted across the whole charity and non-profit area and for which there is virtually unanimous support. The issue, according to most in the sector, is not a lack of controls – but an excess. National charities have to register in each state, under nine separate pieces of legislation.
Anglicare Australia, in its submission to the inquiry, highlights the problem of overlapping jurisdictions "with 93 state, territory and Commonwealth bodies able to make a determination about an organisation's charitable status".
Depending what they do, groups have to comply with a raft of laws covering employment, insurance, child protection, aged care, environment, land ownership, privacy, food preparation and occupational health and safety.
It's time-consuming and expensive.
Rodney Brady, chief financial officer with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, said that while people were concerned about funds being chewed up by administration, regulatory requirements meant more and more money had to be used that way.
"A few years ago, we were able to run our overseas aid programs using other resources to cover overheads. The burden of requirements now means we have to use 10 per cent from the funds to cover the overheads."
Professor Mark Lyons from the University of Technology said: "Current regulatory arrangements encompassing non-profit organisations are a dreadful mess, they are costly to governments and non-profit organisations and disadvantage the public."
So complex and muddied were they that only a completely new, purpose-built system would work, he said.
"Tacking non-profits on to corporations and requiring ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) to regulate them is certainly not appropriate," said Prof Lyons.
There is widespread support for a dedicated national regulator for the sector and one possible outcome of the inquiry is a Charity Commission.
Britain has had one for more than five years and New Zealand established one this year.
Strong supporters of the concept include Mission Australia and Oxfam Australia. They say that such a body should be responsible not only for registering and monitoring charities, but also for advocating to government and raising awareness and profile among the public.
Oxfam Australia executive director Andrew Hewett said an Australian Charity Commission would need to be well-resourced to avoid the risk of it becoming "a toothless tiger".
Prof McGregor-Lowndes said a Charity Commission would be the "Rolls-Royce" response – with a price tag to match.
With the UK body costing $75 million a year to look after 190,000 organisations and the New Zealand version costing about $15 million for 25,000 groups, an Australian commission would require about $60 million to handle up to 150,000.
Prof McGregor-Lowndes suspects the Federal Government would baulk at that and hand the job to ASIC.
Mr Brady, of the Adventists, said one of the strengths of the New Zealand commission was that it was a voluntary registration system.
"You don't have to join, but if you do then you get the benefits of having charitable status," he said.
And they include tax rebates on all donations. New Zealand has also joined other countries such as the US and Canada in removing an upper limit on the rebate allowed.
"People bemoan the fact that Australia is one of the lowest-giving countries in the world. But we do not have a tax regime that encourages donations to charity."
Mr Brady said the assumption by many people that charities, and churches in particular, did not pay any tax was inaccurate and frustrating. While they did not pay income tax, if profits went to charitable activities they were taxed "at many stages along the way", including GST.
Mission Australia is calling for current tax concessions to remain – and for charities and non-profits to be exempted from state taxes such as stamp duty.
Some of the major players – the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul among them – are unconvinced by the need for a commission, however.
"I think you would need to question whether we need another bureaucracy. Our preference would be to make the current regimes simpler and more effective," said Ms Anderson, of Philanthropy Australia.
Dr Ted Flack, who has 32 years' experience in the sector including periods as president of the Fundraising Institute of Australia and Volunteering Queensland, sees a danger of overkill in redesigning the regulatory regime and said it would not necessarily do anything to increase accountability.
"About 80 per cent of incorporated associations already comply and send their annual returns to the regulator. I'm not sure what that accomplishes because they are just filed, so apart from creating some public service jobs I'm not sure what difference it makes."
Dr Flack, now Queensland state director of communications and fund-raising for St Vincent de Paul and a part-time lecturer at the Centre for Philanthropy, said what mattered was that the people who were interested could find out about particular non-profits, and that would differ from large national charities and small fishing clubs with a handful of members.
He advocates different approaches for "public" non-profits which seek public money through donations and government grants, and "private" non-profits which don't.
"All we need to do is require those seeking some tax-exemption status ("public" non-profits) to prepare an annual report which includes a full financial statement and put it on a website," Dr Flack said. "It's the simplest and easiest way. It does not involve new bureaucracies or new forms of legal identities. The information is there for those who want it."
(Credit: News Limited)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Charity
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
List of social entrepreneurs (Wikipedia)
A social entrepreneur is an entrepreneur who works to increase social capital, often by founding humanitarian organizations.
Historical examples of leading social entrepreneurs
* Susan B. Anthony (U.S.) - Fought for women's rights in the United States, including the right to control property, and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.
* Vinoba Bhave (India) - Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km²) of land to aid India's untouchables and landless. Mahatma Gandhi described him as his mentor.
* David Brower (U.S.) - Environmentalist and conservationist, he served as the Sierra Club's first executive director and built it into a worldwide network for environmental issues. He also founded Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation Voters and The Earth Island Institute.
* Akhtar Hameed Khan (Pakistan) - Founder of grassroots movement for rural communities Comilla Model, and low-cost sanitation programmes (Orangi Pilot Project) for squatter settlements.
* Maria Montessori (Italy) - Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.
* John Muir (U.S.) - Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.
* Florence Nightingale (UK) - Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.
* Frederick Law Olmsted (U.S.) - Creator of major urban parks, including Rock Creek Park in Washington DC, Central Park in NYC, and Mount Royal Park in Montreal, he is generally considered to have developed the profession of landscape architecture in America.
* Gifford Pinchot (U.S.) - Champion of the forest as a multiple use environment, he helped found the Yale School of Forestry and created the U.S. Forest Service, serving as its first chief.
* Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (Germany) - Pioneer of the rural bond of association as a substitute for collateral in microfinance, and a principal founder of the credit union and cooperative bank sectors that now form a major segment of the European banking system.
* Margaret Sanger (U.S.) - Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world.
* John Woolman (U.S.) - Led U.S. Quakers to voluntarily emancipate all their slaves between 1758 and 1800, his work also influenced the British Society of Friends, a major force behind the British decision to ban slaveholding. Quakers, of course, became a major force in the U.S. abolitionist movement as well as a key part of the infrastructure of the Underground Railroad.
Present day leading social entrepreneurs
* Ibrahim Abouleish (Egypt) - Founder of SEKEM, a biodynamic agricltural corporation, alternative medicine, and educational center located outside of Cairo.
* Ela Bhatt (India) - Founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the SEWA Cooperative Bank in Gujarat.
* Nicholas Chan (Singapore) - Co-Founder of Project:Senso Ltd, the Pledge a Book movement and active advocate for Asian entrepreneurs in incorporating volunteerism and social enterprise into their lives and businesses.
* Bill Drayton (U.S.) - Founded Ashoka, Youth Venture, and Get America Working!
* Marian Wright Edelman (U.S.) - Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and advocate for disadvantaged Americans and children.
* Dr. Abraham M. George (India) - Founder of The George Foundation (TGF).
* Alan Khazei (U.S.) - Co-Founder of City Year, a leading national service program.
* Dr. Verghese Kurien (India) - Founder of the AMUL Dairy Project.
* Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (India) - Founded Art of Living Foundation and International Association for Human Values.
* Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - Founder of microcredit and the Grameen Bank. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
(Credit: Wikipedia)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Muhammad Yunus
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Historical examples of leading social entrepreneurs
* Susan B. Anthony (U.S.) - Fought for women's rights in the United States, including the right to control property, and helped spearhead adoption of the 19th amendment.
* Vinoba Bhave (India) - Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km²) of land to aid India's untouchables and landless. Mahatma Gandhi described him as his mentor.
* David Brower (U.S.) - Environmentalist and conservationist, he served as the Sierra Club's first executive director and built it into a worldwide network for environmental issues. He also founded Friends of the Earth, the League of Conservation Voters and The Earth Island Institute.
* Akhtar Hameed Khan (Pakistan) - Founder of grassroots movement for rural communities Comilla Model, and low-cost sanitation programmes (Orangi Pilot Project) for squatter settlements.
* Maria Montessori (Italy) - Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education.
* John Muir (U.S.) - Naturalist and conservationist, he established the National Park System and helped found The Sierra Club.
* Florence Nightingale (UK) - Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions.
* Frederick Law Olmsted (U.S.) - Creator of major urban parks, including Rock Creek Park in Washington DC, Central Park in NYC, and Mount Royal Park in Montreal, he is generally considered to have developed the profession of landscape architecture in America.
* Gifford Pinchot (U.S.) - Champion of the forest as a multiple use environment, he helped found the Yale School of Forestry and created the U.S. Forest Service, serving as its first chief.
* Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (Germany) - Pioneer of the rural bond of association as a substitute for collateral in microfinance, and a principal founder of the credit union and cooperative bank sectors that now form a major segment of the European banking system.
* Margaret Sanger (U.S.) - Founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she led the movement for family planning efforts around the world.
* John Woolman (U.S.) - Led U.S. Quakers to voluntarily emancipate all their slaves between 1758 and 1800, his work also influenced the British Society of Friends, a major force behind the British decision to ban slaveholding. Quakers, of course, became a major force in the U.S. abolitionist movement as well as a key part of the infrastructure of the Underground Railroad.
Present day leading social entrepreneurs
* Ibrahim Abouleish (Egypt) - Founder of SEKEM, a biodynamic agricltural corporation, alternative medicine, and educational center located outside of Cairo.
* Ela Bhatt (India) - Founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the SEWA Cooperative Bank in Gujarat.
* Nicholas Chan (Singapore) - Co-Founder of Project:Senso Ltd, the Pledge a Book movement and active advocate for Asian entrepreneurs in incorporating volunteerism and social enterprise into their lives and businesses.
* Bill Drayton (U.S.) - Founded Ashoka, Youth Venture, and Get America Working!
* Marian Wright Edelman (U.S.) - Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) and advocate for disadvantaged Americans and children.
* Dr. Abraham M. George (India) - Founder of The George Foundation (TGF).
* Alan Khazei (U.S.) - Co-Founder of City Year, a leading national service program.
* Dr. Verghese Kurien (India) - Founder of the AMUL Dairy Project.
* Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (India) - Founded Art of Living Foundation and International Association for Human Values.
* Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - Founder of microcredit and the Grameen Bank. He was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
(Credit: Wikipedia)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Muhammad Yunus
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Monday, September 15, 2008
A hand-up to school offers a way out of poverty, by Jen Rosenberg - The Sydney Morning Herald - 15th September 2008
One young student started a charity to help others learn, writes Jen Rosenberg.
When a group of people in Uganda approached Phoebe Williams and her father last Christmas asking for $50 for a chicken pen, she hesitated. "I was standing there thinking: 'If we give you the equivalent of 50 bucks, are you really going to buy these chooks, or where's the money going?'"
The group convinced them to donate the money and the Williams thought no more of it. But, says Williams, she recently received an email from them: "Dear Phoebe, we're so excited because today we've been able to sell so many of our fully grown hens in town that we could buy a cow with the profits."
For a community where poverty and sickness is rife, a cow is, as Williams puts it, a big deal - something families might save years for - but within seven months, the group had turned their $50 opportunity into a viable income.
Creating opportunities is the centrepiece of Williams's mission in Africa. In Kenya and Uganda, her charity, Hands of Help, provides education and medical care for street children. They are malnourished, many are HIV-positive or drug-addicted or both, and many are orphans. Primary school education is free but after that, children drop out of the school system with no funds for education, and no prospects for work. The charity links sponsors - private donors from Australia, the United States and Britain - with children in need.
"It is completely lifting that child out of the circle of poverty by giving them access to secondary education and if they don't make it through the exams, we then offer them a place in a vocational training college," Williams says.
What makes a twentysomething university student from Sydney's eastern suburbs decide to take on the cause of African children?
A bout of meningococcal meningitis at 14 gave Williams a surprisingly mature sense of mortality. The potentially fatal experience left her with a sense of survivor's guilt and inspired her own educational choices. She had read Bryce Courtenay's epic The Power Of One as an impressionable teenager, then a holiday in Africa sealed the deal. She wanted to do something useful but she needed to have the right tools to make a difference.
With degrees in commerce and science - majoring in development economics and finance - under her belt, she enrolled in a postgraduate medical degree at the University of Sydney.
"I was writing honours' essays on things like how HIV impacts on Africa economically and how a disease like malaria can trap a family in poverty forever because they are constantly sick and can't go to school or constantly can't get a good income from work."
In 2005, as a first-year medical student, Williams led a group of 17 volunteers, and $100,000 they had raised, to Uganda where they lived for three months and built a primary school for 650 children.
This first expedition led to the founding of the non-religious, non-profit charity Hands of Help.
Being a crusader while studying full-time is fulfilling but is a tiring business and does not leave much time for a social life. Williams says she could not do it without her partner, the photographer Hamish Gregory. He travels with her as a volunteer and exhibits his photos, partly as an advertisement for their work, and a percentage of their sale goes back into the charity. Some of his photos can be seen this month at the Sydney Africa Film Festival at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, from September 26-28.
Williams describes their perceptions of Africa as more like the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series than World Vision ads. Gregory's photographs do not aim to pull at the heartstrings but to show these stoic, heroic people who are getting through each day with the worst conditions possible but with the most amazing frame of mind and love of life.
Given her sheer entrepreneurial skills, it comes as no surprise that Williams has turned her attention to issues closer to home. Looking for some practical work during her medical degree, she established a partnership with an Aboriginal health and education program in Arnhem Land, which has been so successful that medical students at the University of Sydney can participate as an elective in their degree.
Once she finishes her own degree after exams this week, Williams will head to Oxford where she will take up a scholarship to study a masters in global health science with a view to a return to Africa or perhaps to work with the United Nations in the field of international public health. It's a long way from a humble chook pen.
(Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Education
Charity
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
When a group of people in Uganda approached Phoebe Williams and her father last Christmas asking for $50 for a chicken pen, she hesitated. "I was standing there thinking: 'If we give you the equivalent of 50 bucks, are you really going to buy these chooks, or where's the money going?'"
The group convinced them to donate the money and the Williams thought no more of it. But, says Williams, she recently received an email from them: "Dear Phoebe, we're so excited because today we've been able to sell so many of our fully grown hens in town that we could buy a cow with the profits."
For a community where poverty and sickness is rife, a cow is, as Williams puts it, a big deal - something families might save years for - but within seven months, the group had turned their $50 opportunity into a viable income.
Creating opportunities is the centrepiece of Williams's mission in Africa. In Kenya and Uganda, her charity, Hands of Help, provides education and medical care for street children. They are malnourished, many are HIV-positive or drug-addicted or both, and many are orphans. Primary school education is free but after that, children drop out of the school system with no funds for education, and no prospects for work. The charity links sponsors - private donors from Australia, the United States and Britain - with children in need.
"It is completely lifting that child out of the circle of poverty by giving them access to secondary education and if they don't make it through the exams, we then offer them a place in a vocational training college," Williams says.
What makes a twentysomething university student from Sydney's eastern suburbs decide to take on the cause of African children?
A bout of meningococcal meningitis at 14 gave Williams a surprisingly mature sense of mortality. The potentially fatal experience left her with a sense of survivor's guilt and inspired her own educational choices. She had read Bryce Courtenay's epic The Power Of One as an impressionable teenager, then a holiday in Africa sealed the deal. She wanted to do something useful but she needed to have the right tools to make a difference.
With degrees in commerce and science - majoring in development economics and finance - under her belt, she enrolled in a postgraduate medical degree at the University of Sydney.
"I was writing honours' essays on things like how HIV impacts on Africa economically and how a disease like malaria can trap a family in poverty forever because they are constantly sick and can't go to school or constantly can't get a good income from work."
In 2005, as a first-year medical student, Williams led a group of 17 volunteers, and $100,000 they had raised, to Uganda where they lived for three months and built a primary school for 650 children.
This first expedition led to the founding of the non-religious, non-profit charity Hands of Help.
Being a crusader while studying full-time is fulfilling but is a tiring business and does not leave much time for a social life. Williams says she could not do it without her partner, the photographer Hamish Gregory. He travels with her as a volunteer and exhibits his photos, partly as an advertisement for their work, and a percentage of their sale goes back into the charity. Some of his photos can be seen this month at the Sydney Africa Film Festival at the Chauvel Cinema in Paddington, from September 26-28.
Williams describes their perceptions of Africa as more like the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series than World Vision ads. Gregory's photographs do not aim to pull at the heartstrings but to show these stoic, heroic people who are getting through each day with the worst conditions possible but with the most amazing frame of mind and love of life.
Given her sheer entrepreneurial skills, it comes as no surprise that Williams has turned her attention to issues closer to home. Looking for some practical work during her medical degree, she established a partnership with an Aboriginal health and education program in Arnhem Land, which has been so successful that medical students at the University of Sydney can participate as an elective in their degree.
Once she finishes her own degree after exams this week, Williams will head to Oxford where she will take up a scholarship to study a masters in global health science with a view to a return to Africa or perhaps to work with the United Nations in the field of international public health. It's a long way from a humble chook pen.
(Credit: Fairfax)
Media Man Australia Profiles
Education
Charity
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Adknowledge Social Advertising lands on Australian shores - press release
10th September 2008
Adknowledge, the US-based behavioural targeting firm has launched an Australian operation to host advertising across Facebook’s, Myspace, and Bebo’s 39,000 applications.
Adknowledge's Social Advertising division has announced that it is now serving more than 10 billion ad impressions per month globally and close to 300 million in Australia on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster and Hi5. These impressions are generated from social applications.
Targeting display, video and text ads within applications advertisers can choose categories such as games, music or dating, as well as user profile information. It will also offer advertisers opportunities to brand applications, through re-skins or sponsorships.
This volume, now more than five times as large as Social Media, its next largest competitor in the space, makes Adknowledge the unrivalled leader in social network advertising.
Recent studies have shown that more than 16% of all online time is spent on Social Networks, which is greater than the amount of time spent on Google. Additionally, social applications engage users for longer than any other activity on social networks such as Facebook.
Adknowledge are able to target and cap campaigns by a users social ID, rather than by IP address or cookies. This means that they are the only network to target users even when they move between the different social platforms.
Adknowledge are launching their social media product in Australia with a Social media Seminar – ‘Advertising 3.0 Bringing Order to the Social Revolution’ – with two dates 30th September Sydney and 2nd October Melbourne. The key note speaker is Brett Brewer, President of Adknowledge, and co-founder of Myspace.
Brett successfully sold Intermix, which launched Myspace, for $673 Million to NewsCorp in October 2005.
Mr. Brewer has been an angel investor in several technology start ups, including video search site, Dabble.com, mobile texting company Frengo.com, mobile social networking site Treemo.com, and RealtyTracker.com. He is either on the board of or a strategic advisor for, all of these companies.
Also speaking at the event is Melanie Ingrey, research director at Nielsen Pacific, and Lachlan Brahe, Managing Director, Emitch.
For more information about Adknowledge or the upcoming Social Media Seminar please contact Markus von der Luehe (MD) on mvonderluehe@adknowledge.com / +61 (0) 2 8235 9471. Interviews with Brett Brewer are available on request.
Website
Adknowledge
Adknowledge, the US-based behavioural targeting firm has launched an Australian operation to host advertising across Facebook’s, Myspace, and Bebo’s 39,000 applications.
Adknowledge's Social Advertising division has announced that it is now serving more than 10 billion ad impressions per month globally and close to 300 million in Australia on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster and Hi5. These impressions are generated from social applications.
Targeting display, video and text ads within applications advertisers can choose categories such as games, music or dating, as well as user profile information. It will also offer advertisers opportunities to brand applications, through re-skins or sponsorships.
This volume, now more than five times as large as Social Media, its next largest competitor in the space, makes Adknowledge the unrivalled leader in social network advertising.
Recent studies have shown that more than 16% of all online time is spent on Social Networks, which is greater than the amount of time spent on Google. Additionally, social applications engage users for longer than any other activity on social networks such as Facebook.
Adknowledge are able to target and cap campaigns by a users social ID, rather than by IP address or cookies. This means that they are the only network to target users even when they move between the different social platforms.
Adknowledge are launching their social media product in Australia with a Social media Seminar – ‘Advertising 3.0 Bringing Order to the Social Revolution’ – with two dates 30th September Sydney and 2nd October Melbourne. The key note speaker is Brett Brewer, President of Adknowledge, and co-founder of Myspace.
Brett successfully sold Intermix, which launched Myspace, for $673 Million to NewsCorp in October 2005.
Mr. Brewer has been an angel investor in several technology start ups, including video search site, Dabble.com, mobile texting company Frengo.com, mobile social networking site Treemo.com, and RealtyTracker.com. He is either on the board of or a strategic advisor for, all of these companies.
Also speaking at the event is Melanie Ingrey, research director at Nielsen Pacific, and Lachlan Brahe, Managing Director, Emitch.
For more information about Adknowledge or the upcoming Social Media Seminar please contact Markus von der Luehe (MD) on mvonderluehe@adknowledge.com / +61 (0) 2 8235 9471. Interviews with Brett Brewer are available on request.
Website
Adknowledge
Free loans for bills - Reporter: Rodney Lohse - Channel Seven 'Today Tonight'
Broadcast Date: January 08, 2008
As families sink to record levels of household debt and bankruptcy while credit default rates skyrocket, struggling Australian communities are seeing the emergence of financial white knights handing out free loans.
Belinda Drew heads up the non-profit organisation Foresters ANA, which assists communities to establish loan circles and other no-interest loan schemes as an alternative to controversial high-interest loans also known as pay-day loans.
"[People] know they're not going to get done over ... they're not going to be exploited and they are not going to be judged either and that's really important to people," Belinda said.
"All you have to do is join a local circle, put in $10 a month and after six months you can borrow money in times of need."
Mother-of-five Kerry Deller is a case study in financial salvation, rescued by a lending scheme that required nothing more from her than what she borrowed.
"I found myself single after 20 years of marriage and I had five children and it was something that I hadn't planned for in any way shape or form," she said.
Surviving on welfare, Kerry was about to abandon a university degree.
"The car had broken down and I had raked every cent together to get my car back," Kerry said.
"Without the car I couldn't go to uni and I just didn't know where to go or what to do, and out of the blue I got this phone call."
The call was from a so-called community savings and loan circle, Foresters ANA.
Sydney father Mervyn Peka has used several no-interest loans to pay for household needs but he said the most important gift the companies have given is the ability to educate his children.
In just the first three months of this year, more than 6500 Australians applied for bankruptcy and across the nation, credit default rates soared.
The worst state, Tasmania, suffered an almost 60 per cent increase.
In the Northern Territory, the rate jumped by almost 50 per cent.
It was a similar story in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
Victoria had the best rate with just a 10 per cent increase.
Community loans are available in most capital cities and are generally for smaller amounts for cars and household bills.
Foresters ANA can be contacted to find out if there are branches in your area.
"There's enormous power in people coming together to help themselves," Belinda Drew said.
Contact Foresters ANA Mutual Society Ltd.
Website: www.forestersana.com.au
Tel: (07) 3210 6772
(Credit: Channel Seven)
As families sink to record levels of household debt and bankruptcy while credit default rates skyrocket, struggling Australian communities are seeing the emergence of financial white knights handing out free loans.
Belinda Drew heads up the non-profit organisation Foresters ANA, which assists communities to establish loan circles and other no-interest loan schemes as an alternative to controversial high-interest loans also known as pay-day loans.
"[People] know they're not going to get done over ... they're not going to be exploited and they are not going to be judged either and that's really important to people," Belinda said.
"All you have to do is join a local circle, put in $10 a month and after six months you can borrow money in times of need."
Mother-of-five Kerry Deller is a case study in financial salvation, rescued by a lending scheme that required nothing more from her than what she borrowed.
"I found myself single after 20 years of marriage and I had five children and it was something that I hadn't planned for in any way shape or form," she said.
Surviving on welfare, Kerry was about to abandon a university degree.
"The car had broken down and I had raked every cent together to get my car back," Kerry said.
"Without the car I couldn't go to uni and I just didn't know where to go or what to do, and out of the blue I got this phone call."
The call was from a so-called community savings and loan circle, Foresters ANA.
Sydney father Mervyn Peka has used several no-interest loans to pay for household needs but he said the most important gift the companies have given is the ability to educate his children.
In just the first three months of this year, more than 6500 Australians applied for bankruptcy and across the nation, credit default rates soared.
The worst state, Tasmania, suffered an almost 60 per cent increase.
In the Northern Territory, the rate jumped by almost 50 per cent.
It was a similar story in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
Victoria had the best rate with just a 10 per cent increase.
Community loans are available in most capital cities and are generally for smaller amounts for cars and household bills.
Foresters ANA can be contacted to find out if there are branches in your area.
"There's enormous power in people coming together to help themselves," Belinda Drew said.
Contact Foresters ANA Mutual Society Ltd.
Website: www.forestersana.com.au
Tel: (07) 3210 6772
(Credit: Channel Seven)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
GTA Addresses Federal Senators - Media Release - 12th September 2008
Gaming Machine manufacturers today called for a new approach to the development of research and regulations controlling the gaming industry in Australia.
Addressing the Senate Community Affairs Committee Public Hearing today in Sydney, Ross Ferrar, Chief Executive of the Gaming Technologies Association, stated that Australia’s gaming jurisdictions are widely regarded as the most regulated in the world.
“The companies which manufacture gaming machines work in a highly regulated and strenuously audited, total compliance environment,” Mr Ferrar stated.
“No gaming machine products enter the marketplace in Australia without undergoing comprehensive testing and technical review.”
“We have no complaint about the level of Government scrutiny to which our members are subjected. On the contrary, we believe that these high standards are important and that we can very confidently state that this industry operates with great probity and integrity.”
Mr Ferrar stated that much of what is described as “Harm Minimisation strategy” in the various Australian jurisdictions has not actually achieved anything positive. He said that many of the measures introduced in the late 1990s and early this century around Australia were not based on real evidence and as a result, have subsequently been proven to be useless.
“Australians deserve better than this. They deserve policy which will provide help if and when it’s needed – and leave the rest of the Australian public to enjoy a legitimate, legal form of entertainment.”
The GTA is pleased that the Government has announced that the Productivity Commission will review its 1999 Report into Australia’s Gambling Industries.
“We believe that this review will reinforce the various analyses that have been conducted by State and Territory Governments in the years since 1999, which have shown a decline in problem gambling in the community,” Mr Ferrar said.
“We hope that this will result in the use of current data on the incidence of problem gambling instead of ten year old statistics.”
Mr Ferrar called for the establishment of a new ongoing national research body funded by federal, state and territory governments to conduct a more comprehensive and objective research program. It should involve operators, manufacturers and related private sector businesses, as well as community and counselling sectors and regulatory authorities.
“This new body should examine all aspects of gaming in Australia, including the effectiveness of current regulatory regimes, harm minimisation strategies, the efficacy of counselling and support services, and possible future features of gaming machines,” Mr Ferrar said at the Senate Committee Hearing.
“There should be evidence-based research on the economic and social impact of gaming in Australia, both positive and negative. And all research should be required to be conducted transparently and objectively.”
“The result would be a body of knowledge in which all stakeholders could have confidence and on which all governments could build policy and regulation to protect and promote the interests of the whole community.”
“We would all be protected from the false opinions and claims of self-interested individuals whose motivations appear to us to lie in seizing a greater share of government expenditure on research for their own personal financial benefit.” Mr Ferrar claimed.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Ross Ferrar 0418 686 075
Garrie Gibson 0417 626 853
GTA hosts and operates the annual Australasian Gaming Expo and the New Zealand Gaming Expo.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Gaming
Poker
Poker and Casino News
Casino News Media
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Addressing the Senate Community Affairs Committee Public Hearing today in Sydney, Ross Ferrar, Chief Executive of the Gaming Technologies Association, stated that Australia’s gaming jurisdictions are widely regarded as the most regulated in the world.
“The companies which manufacture gaming machines work in a highly regulated and strenuously audited, total compliance environment,” Mr Ferrar stated.
“No gaming machine products enter the marketplace in Australia without undergoing comprehensive testing and technical review.”
“We have no complaint about the level of Government scrutiny to which our members are subjected. On the contrary, we believe that these high standards are important and that we can very confidently state that this industry operates with great probity and integrity.”
Mr Ferrar stated that much of what is described as “Harm Minimisation strategy” in the various Australian jurisdictions has not actually achieved anything positive. He said that many of the measures introduced in the late 1990s and early this century around Australia were not based on real evidence and as a result, have subsequently been proven to be useless.
“Australians deserve better than this. They deserve policy which will provide help if and when it’s needed – and leave the rest of the Australian public to enjoy a legitimate, legal form of entertainment.”
The GTA is pleased that the Government has announced that the Productivity Commission will review its 1999 Report into Australia’s Gambling Industries.
“We believe that this review will reinforce the various analyses that have been conducted by State and Territory Governments in the years since 1999, which have shown a decline in problem gambling in the community,” Mr Ferrar said.
“We hope that this will result in the use of current data on the incidence of problem gambling instead of ten year old statistics.”
Mr Ferrar called for the establishment of a new ongoing national research body funded by federal, state and territory governments to conduct a more comprehensive and objective research program. It should involve operators, manufacturers and related private sector businesses, as well as community and counselling sectors and regulatory authorities.
“This new body should examine all aspects of gaming in Australia, including the effectiveness of current regulatory regimes, harm minimisation strategies, the efficacy of counselling and support services, and possible future features of gaming machines,” Mr Ferrar said at the Senate Committee Hearing.
“There should be evidence-based research on the economic and social impact of gaming in Australia, both positive and negative. And all research should be required to be conducted transparently and objectively.”
“The result would be a body of knowledge in which all stakeholders could have confidence and on which all governments could build policy and regulation to protect and promote the interests of the whole community.”
“We would all be protected from the false opinions and claims of self-interested individuals whose motivations appear to us to lie in seizing a greater share of government expenditure on research for their own personal financial benefit.” Mr Ferrar claimed.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Ross Ferrar 0418 686 075
Garrie Gibson 0417 626 853
GTA hosts and operates the annual Australasian Gaming Expo and the New Zealand Gaming Expo.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Gaming
Poker
Poker and Casino News
Casino News Media
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Friday, September 12, 2008
Namatjira housing estate in Chifley hosted a community day attended by Minister for Volunteering, Ho, by Nick Moncrieff-Hill - The Southern Courier
11th September 2008
A new landscaped barbecue area at Namatjira housing estate in Chifley may seem like a simple gesture from the State Government, but Maroubra MP Michael Daley said it was a significant way to address isolation.
The garden and barbecue area were installed as part of the Community Greening Project spearheaded by Housing NSW and the Botanic Gardens Trust.
“From small beginnings come better things and that’s what today is all about,” Mr Daley said.
“There are so many social problems in Sydney that can be overcome just by people working more closely together and by talking to each other and volunteering, so this initiative today is all about getting the people to work together, enabling them to communicate a bit better.”
Local residents, football players, government and non-government officials and workers attended the community event, which the former Volunteering minister Linda Burney, said was to encourage community participation within the estate.
“Today is really about two things: it’s about creating more connection between the residents here but also providing a space where residents can have other people in to sit and talk and gather in a really pleasant environment,” Ms Burney said.
Randwick Council provided native plants and Botanic Gardens staff assisted with their planting while ambulance workers and firefighters offered educational entertainment.
Rabbitohs Shannon Hegarty and Germaine Paulson ran an impromptu coaching clinic with local children.
Local community initiative co-ordinator Rozita Leoni said the new area had provided the community with a valuable opportunity.
“These community events really help people come together and the more isolated we become it feels like our problems escalate, whereas if you talk to someone you can work it out a lot quicker,” she said.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Rozita Leoni
A new landscaped barbecue area at Namatjira housing estate in Chifley may seem like a simple gesture from the State Government, but Maroubra MP Michael Daley said it was a significant way to address isolation.
The garden and barbecue area were installed as part of the Community Greening Project spearheaded by Housing NSW and the Botanic Gardens Trust.
“From small beginnings come better things and that’s what today is all about,” Mr Daley said.
“There are so many social problems in Sydney that can be overcome just by people working more closely together and by talking to each other and volunteering, so this initiative today is all about getting the people to work together, enabling them to communicate a bit better.”
Local residents, football players, government and non-government officials and workers attended the community event, which the former Volunteering minister Linda Burney, said was to encourage community participation within the estate.
“Today is really about two things: it’s about creating more connection between the residents here but also providing a space where residents can have other people in to sit and talk and gather in a really pleasant environment,” Ms Burney said.
Randwick Council provided native plants and Botanic Gardens staff assisted with their planting while ambulance workers and firefighters offered educational entertainment.
Rabbitohs Shannon Hegarty and Germaine Paulson ran an impromptu coaching clinic with local children.
Local community initiative co-ordinator Rozita Leoni said the new area had provided the community with a valuable opportunity.
“These community events really help people come together and the more isolated we become it feels like our problems escalate, whereas if you talk to someone you can work it out a lot quicker,” she said.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Rozita Leoni
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Model thoughts on charity, children and eating squid, by Amy Verner - Globe and Mail - 8th September 2008
These days, when supermodel Petra Nemcova's name is attached to a splashy soiree, you can bet that she's out to raise money and awareness for the Happy Hearts Fund, which she established after her life-changing experience during the 2004 tsunami. Nemcova and her fiancée, photographer Simon Atlee, were staying at a resort in Thailand. Atlee died in the tsunami and Nemcova was seriously injured. Last Friday, both Nemcova and Kate Hudson were honoured for their charitable work at a mega-party thrown by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Unite and produced by Torontonian Barry Avrich.
Just hours before the event (which attracted more than 3,800 guests who paid a minimum $75 admission), she sat down to talk about Happy Hearts, Vietnam and why she's not afraid to eat squid.
Teaming up with Virgin Unite and throwing a big party seems like a great way to let Canadians know about your organization.
Tonight is all about a beautiful celebration of a partnership with a common goal. Virgin Unite focuses on children, as does Happy Hearts. They do education and medical relief, whereas our focus is mainly education in 12 countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Congo. Richard is a very successful businessman and very creative and he approaches philanthropy on a grand scale. I have a lot to learn from him.
How are you able to sustain and build interest for Happy Hearts now that the immediate concern over tsunami victims has dissipated and the media has moved on?
There's a huge gap between first response and when government takes over. We try to fill that gap. We don't do first response. If people want to see what we do, they can come with us and see firsthand; we will take them on our trips.
You travelled extensively as a model. Now you travel for a different reason. What has been the most striking difference?
I travelled to Vietnam for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot a few years ago. We stayed in a beautiful hotel and beside the hotel, people were living in boxes. At that time, I could see it but I could not do anything about it. Now I can. When what I see makes me frustrated, I will turn it into action.
You must admit that being the face of the organization has helped it grow.
I feel like a bridge because I'm not just connecting information, but also two worlds. It's not just those who are more fortunate helping those who are less fortunate. I always say that helping others is actually selfish because when you make them happy, this makes you even happier.
What prompted you to become a vegetarian?
Mostly I'm a vegetarian, but my reason was the sustainability of fish. If we continue consuming at the same rate, there will be no fish in 40 years. This does not apply to squid, so I eat lots of squid and I eat fish that is caught freshly by a fisherman.
Do you think you would have made those changes if the whole tsunami experience never happened?
It would have taken longer. My goal in life has always been to help people, especially children, but the tsunami accelerated things.
What is the biggest difference between the children you see in North America and those in developing countries?
Assuming we're taking about average American children, if you ask them here what they would like, most of the time they say a new PlayStation or toys. When you ask children in Cambodia, they say education. They want to get the best possible education elsewhere in the world so they can come back to Cambodia and make sure other children don't suffer the same way.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Richard Branson
Just hours before the event (which attracted more than 3,800 guests who paid a minimum $75 admission), she sat down to talk about Happy Hearts, Vietnam and why she's not afraid to eat squid.
Teaming up with Virgin Unite and throwing a big party seems like a great way to let Canadians know about your organization.
Tonight is all about a beautiful celebration of a partnership with a common goal. Virgin Unite focuses on children, as does Happy Hearts. They do education and medical relief, whereas our focus is mainly education in 12 countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Congo. Richard is a very successful businessman and very creative and he approaches philanthropy on a grand scale. I have a lot to learn from him.
How are you able to sustain and build interest for Happy Hearts now that the immediate concern over tsunami victims has dissipated and the media has moved on?
There's a huge gap between first response and when government takes over. We try to fill that gap. We don't do first response. If people want to see what we do, they can come with us and see firsthand; we will take them on our trips.
You travelled extensively as a model. Now you travel for a different reason. What has been the most striking difference?
I travelled to Vietnam for a Sports Illustrated photo shoot a few years ago. We stayed in a beautiful hotel and beside the hotel, people were living in boxes. At that time, I could see it but I could not do anything about it. Now I can. When what I see makes me frustrated, I will turn it into action.
You must admit that being the face of the organization has helped it grow.
I feel like a bridge because I'm not just connecting information, but also two worlds. It's not just those who are more fortunate helping those who are less fortunate. I always say that helping others is actually selfish because when you make them happy, this makes you even happier.
What prompted you to become a vegetarian?
Mostly I'm a vegetarian, but my reason was the sustainability of fish. If we continue consuming at the same rate, there will be no fish in 40 years. This does not apply to squid, so I eat lots of squid and I eat fish that is caught freshly by a fisherman.
Do you think you would have made those changes if the whole tsunami experience never happened?
It would have taken longer. My goal in life has always been to help people, especially children, but the tsunami accelerated things.
What is the biggest difference between the children you see in North America and those in developing countries?
Assuming we're taking about average American children, if you ask them here what they would like, most of the time they say a new PlayStation or toys. When you ask children in Cambodia, they say education. They want to get the best possible education elsewhere in the world so they can come back to Cambodia and make sure other children don't suffer the same way.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Unite
Richard Branson
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