On March 29, 2011 The University of the Pacific’s Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship will host its second annual U.S. China Social Enterprise Summit in San Francisco, CA. Through a generous commitment from Pacific, we have partnered with the Cordes Foundation, Schoenfeld Foundation of Hong Kong, and the HUB Bay Area to engage 30 young social enterprise leaders from Mainland China and Hong Kong. This year, ECSEL received over 2000 applications for 30 fellowships. The 30 ECSEL fellows will also join Pacific’s Delegation of 15 students to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University in San Diego.

The Global Center has invited a panel of distinguished impact investors, social enterprise leaders, and academicians throughout the Bay Area to discuss China and its role in creating high impact social ventures.

For additional information, please contact the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship at 209.946.7656 or globalcenter@pacific.edu

View The ECSEL 2011 Delegate Facebook (PDF)

SCHEDULE

Heidi Kühn, Founder/CEO
(415) 455-8008
Dhyan Or, ROP
West Bank +972 546 707106

International Community Celebrates Success of Campaign Led by12-year old Landmine Survivor

March 14, 2011—Jerusalem—Last February, when young Daniel Yuval said he wanted to do something to rid his country of landmines, even he did not expect that his call to action would result in a dramatic shift in Israeli landmine policy this year.

Today, the Israeli parliament, in an historic vote of 43 to 0, passed legislation to establish a National Mine Action Authority to implement a systematic national plan to clear nearly one million landmines from Eilat to the Golan within years. Today, mine accident survivors and residents of affected communities celebrate the success of “Mine-Free Israel”—a campaign coordinated by Roots of Peace, together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Center of Regional Councils, and Council for a Beautiful Israel.

Israelis and Palestinians have lived with the invisible but constant threat of landmines claiming their lives and limbs.  Minefields left from past wars have blocked access to nature reserves and agricultural fields.

The unprecedented legislation, which passed a second and third reading today, includes the Government of Israel’s commitment to dedicate at least NIS 27 million annually for humanitarian mine action, and it also creates a mechanism to receive donations for mine clearance activities.  A delegation from the U.S.Department of State is visiting Israel this week to assess the needs of Israel’s nascent mine action program.  The United States has provided more than $1.9 billion to help over 80 mine-contaminated countries clear minefields and explosive remnants of war as well as to destroy small arms and light weapons since 1993.

“This is life-saving news for Israel and its neighbors,” says Jerry White, an American who helped launch Mine-Free Israel and is a recognized leader in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Peace.  Like young Daniel, White also lost his leg to a mine explosion some 27 years ago as a tourist hiking in the Golan.  “Israel can clear its minefields in less than ten years, following the example of Jordan, which has already cleaned up its border with Israel and is expected to be mine-free by July of this year,” White says.

Jordan is a member of the 1997 International Landmine Ban Treaty, along with more than 150 countries.  The United States and Israel have not yet joined the Treaty, which requires members to cease all landmine production and use, destroy stockpiles, clear minefields and assist the victims worldwide.

“This landmark legislation paves the way for humanitarian removal of explosive litter preventing the use of agricultural lands and access to religious sites sacred to Christian, Jewish and Muslim people alike. The Holy Land is not ‘holy’ when there are landmines in the ground.” said Heidi Kühn, Founder and CEO of Roots of Peace. “It took the voice of a young boy to remind the world that once they are removed, fertile grounds become available for planting peace in both Israel and the West Bank.”

MISSION STATEMENT: Roots of Peace an international humanitarian, non-political organization works to unearth dangerous landmines in war-torn countries and empowers the local communities scarred by these inhumane weapons. Working to build sustainable crops on land once too dangerous to traverse is how we transform the scars of conflict into the roots of peace. See www.rootsofpeace.org

SEND YOUR RSVP TO GLOBALCENTER@PACIFIC.EDU

Mike Del Ponte is the founder of Sparkseed. Del Ponte had been traveling the world, involved in various activist and charitable projects. As he saw social entrepreneurship take off, he decided to create Sparkseed, “We identify the most promising social entrepreneurs, we help them launch their ventures, connect with capital, and scale their impact.”

Dear GCSE Entrepreneur,

We’re excited to announce an official pipeline partnership with the Unreasonable Institute and are writing you now because we believe you should consider applying!

To give you a little background, the Unreasonable Institute accelerates high-impact entrepreneurs with mentorship from 60 global thought leaders and investors, ranging from the co-founder of Google.org to an entrepreneur who’s lifted over 24 million farmers out of poverty. These entrepreneurs form relationships with 30 impact investment funds like Acumen Fund, obtain guidance from premier consulting organizations like IDEO, and pitch to hundreds of investors and partners in Silicon Valley. They do it all while living under the same roof in Boulder, Colorado for 6 weeks with 24 peers dedicated to defining progress in our time! For more information:

• Watch the 3-minute Unreasonable Institute Trailer
• Check out results and reactions from Unreasonable Alumni
• See everything you get at the 2011 Unreasonable Institute!

You can review eligibility criteria here. If you believe this would be a valuable experience for you, submit your application here by December 15!

You can email Unreasonable VP of Partnerships and Communication, Teju Ravilochan, with any questions. His email address is teju@unreasonableinstitute.org. We hope you’ll consider the opportunity!

Most sincerely and unreasonably yours,
Spencer Ton

Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges, President Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world.

Each year, CGI U hosts a meeting for students, national youth organizations, and university officials to discuss solutions to pressing global issues. The third annual CGI U Meeting was held at the University of Miami from April 16-18, 2010. At this meeting, nearly 1,500 attendees came together to make a difference in CGI U’s five global challenge areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

CGI U is more than just an event. It is a growing community of young leaders who don’t just discuss the world’s challenges – they take real, concrete steps toward solving them. Throughout the year, and as a prerequisite of attending the CGI U meeting, students, youth directors, and university officials develop their own Commitments to Action: a specific plan of action that addresses a pressing challenge on their campus, in their community, or in a different part of the world.

Commitments range from installing energy-efficient light bulbs to establishing campus bike share programs, from distributing life-saving water filtration kits to designing medical backpacks for nomadic doctors in Africa. Since the inaugural meeting in 2008, nearly 3,000 commitments have been made.

Throughout the year, students are also invited to join the CGI U campus representative network. Nearly 200 student representatives from over 25 countries are working together to spread the word about CGI U on their campuses. To learn about becoming a campus representative, click here.

CGI U is proof that young people have the power to make a significant impact by confronting some of the world’s most urgent challenges.