Monday, August 10, 2009
Asia Society Young Leader
Just found out that I got nominated as a 'Asia Society Young Leader'. At the ripe age of 41 to be called 'young' is flattering but really nothing more than that. I am really more curious than anything else about the whole thing. I stayed out the range of the 'world media' all these years and wonder if that helped or hurt me. Case in point, could Yunus have received the global adulation if he was not a constant on the media circuit? Interesting debating point. However, there is an issue of legitimacy. With information coming out from every direction, people need 'filters' or legitmization more than before that is why high profile entities (e.g. Asia Society, Skoll, Ashoka) have become even more important in 'vetting' ideas and people. So, a lot of 'real people' and 'real work' are being ignored -- sad.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Holding the Purse Strings
Indie is one of my good friends in Singapore with whom I can sit and have those wonderful "Bengali adda" moments. Every few months, over a cup of "deshi cha" we philosophise about life, the world, and -- in true Bengali fashion -- criticise almost everything under the sun.
It was on one of those evenings, after a lazy dinner, while having cha, of course, we were trying to "talk" our way into fixing most of the world problems. All of a sudden, Indie blurted out that she had told her daughter that one profession never to even think about is investment banking -- "those evil bankers."
Having spent a portion of my career as an investment banker, my defenses came into gear. Yes, some bankers are to be blamed for today's problems, but the world does still needs bankers, just as it needs doctors and lawyers. Maybe the world would be a better place today if there were not less bankers but rather more bankers with heart; and even a better place with more women bankers with a heart and a soul. Remember, I was one. I can attest to it.
It was exactly 20 years ago that I was woken up from a late morning sleep by a telephone call from Morgan Stanley. A senior banker called to congratulate me and to offer me a job as a financial analyst in their corporate finance department in New York. I was ecstatic. In those days, getting an offer from Morgan Stanley truly marked one as a "chosen one." Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were two of the most prestigious investment banks in the Street. They interviewed tens of thousands of students from around the globe and selected only 60 to join their Financial Analyst Program (a two year program to get into the management track of the company.) I was one of those 60.
Thus, my career as an investment banker began. I was a 21-year old, armed with an undergraduate degree from a prestigious liberal arts college in New England and a passion to change the world. How would Morgan Stanley help me change the world? I did not know, but what I did know was that as a Bangladeshi woman (the first one in the bank's history I was told), I was getting an incredible opportunity to work with some of the smartest people in the world who were shaping the global financial markets (or making a mess out of them -- whichever you prefer.) Working in a prestigious white-shoe bank, I hoped I would learn the Midas touch of efficient financial markets that I could bring back to my country. Of course in the process, I could also save a little money to go to graduate school -- that was the added bonus.
That summer between graduation and the start of my new job, I was filled with anticipation. Liar's Poker (by a former bond salesman about his experience working on Wall Street) had just come out and was a bestseller. While driving around California with my dear friend Sunita, I read it and everything else I could get my hands on about the new world I would be entering. After all, I had to be prepared -- I would be working with the creme de la creme of the academic institutions. I knew a lot of them would be difficult (jerks, to put it bluntly), but I would survive and thrive. I would be representing my country, my race, and my gender. I had the weight of many people's expectations on my shoulders. Well, if nothing else, I was naïve.
The first day of work was a day-long orientation session. I, of course, overslept. I got up in a
Photo: Amirul Rajiv
panic, could not get a taxi, missed my turn getting in the crowded subways, and eventually walked into the big orientation hall half an hour late, while Dick Fisher, president of Morgan Stanley, was touting the virtues and discipline of banking. Thus, my fist day got started with some rude stares and shaking of heads. The only redeeming factor of the day was that, in the process of being late -- all sweaty and stressed out -- I met my future husband in the elevator, all calm and collected. It was not really love at first sight, but more shared misery at first glance. Anyway, given that this is supposed to be an article about my professional life, I will skip the romance for now.
Looking back on that first day, I don't remember much else except the advice one of the directors gave in his speech. He told us that Morgan Stanley was an intense place, and that a lot will be demanded from us. Consequently, he continued, there will be many moments when we will want to burst into tears. And, when that happens, "go to the toilet, flush it and cry; because frankly nobody wants to deal with a crybaby." I thought the man was insane. Well, sadly, that turned out to be one of the sanest suggestions I took away from that day, as I put it to good use more times than I would like to remember over the course of the next two years.
Despite the tears, in general, my time at Morgan Stanley was intellectually stimulating, and it taught me what I had hoped to learn -- how to be a banker. I learned accounting, finance, and the intricacies of capital markets. I also learned what terrible management styles and awful personal lives most bankers had, and how I never wanted to be one of them when I grew up. It was a badge of honour within the Financial Analyst team to work 100-hour weeks and to count how many all-nighters one pulled. The small handful of women in the bank were told that we had to keep up with the "machismo" of the environment if we wanted to "make it."
It was eye opening to see what the top bankers could get away with if they brought in lucrative deals. I recall one banker who had his phone replaced virtually every week because -- out of rage -- he would regularly throw them against the wall. I also remember brilliant minds like Vikram Pandit (yes, the same one now running Citibank) who could be rude and condescending but who could also solve any problem I might have regarding even the most complicated equity issuance.
I could write volumes about my time at Morgan Stanley, and maybe one day I should. For now, I have to borrow Dickens' words and sum it up as: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity."
Investment banking truly brings out the best and worst in people. One is pushed to the limit of intelligence, creativity, endurance, and at the same time raw competitiveness. Sports metaphors were a part of nearly every conversation. It was basically a testosterone-driven environment where "sink or swim" was practiced and honoured as a law of the jungle. All this was exacerbated because there were so few women around to bring a different sensibility in the picture.
Mcmillan
A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of women employed in London's financial markets believe their gender makes it harder for them to succeed. The machismo of the environment makes it difficult for women to climb the banking ladder, and even if they do, there is definitely a glass ceiling that they cannot go beyond.
Perhaps if more women would stay in this industry, change the macho politics and bring a different sensibility to it, we would not be in the financial mess we are in today. In recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, there was a pretty broad consensus among the participants that if Wall Street had been run by women they would have saved the world from the corrosive gambling culture that dominated many a trading room.
While I did not stay on in Wall Street and fulfill my duty of making the Street a kinder and gentler place (I will leave that to the next generation of women bankers), I did use my banking skills to the fullest in my subsequent careers. I used my financial modeling skills to create growth models at Grameen Bank, my business forecasting acumen at the publishing companies I ran, and my deep financial know-how in starting my own company.
Now my career is coming full circle as I am putting in place the first Social Stock Exchange of Asia. I am making use of what I have learned in the last 20 years of a career that has spanned the social sector, media, academia, and most importantly, banking to create perhaps one of the most important financial platforms for Asia (or the world, for that matter.)
I could not have done this if I had not started my career on Wall Street. Those tears shed in the toilet stall will now help raise money to build toilets for hundreds and thousands of people without proper sanitation in Asia. As a woman, it feels especially good because I not only survived the Street but I am using it to help me change the world. Hats off to all the women bankers -- the world needs us.
Durreen Shahnaz is the Founder and Chairman of Social Stock Exchange Asia and Head, Program on Social Innovation and Change at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Published in Forum Magazine, May 4, 2009
It was on one of those evenings, after a lazy dinner, while having cha, of course, we were trying to "talk" our way into fixing most of the world problems. All of a sudden, Indie blurted out that she had told her daughter that one profession never to even think about is investment banking -- "those evil bankers."
Having spent a portion of my career as an investment banker, my defenses came into gear. Yes, some bankers are to be blamed for today's problems, but the world does still needs bankers, just as it needs doctors and lawyers. Maybe the world would be a better place today if there were not less bankers but rather more bankers with heart; and even a better place with more women bankers with a heart and a soul. Remember, I was one. I can attest to it.
It was exactly 20 years ago that I was woken up from a late morning sleep by a telephone call from Morgan Stanley. A senior banker called to congratulate me and to offer me a job as a financial analyst in their corporate finance department in New York. I was ecstatic. In those days, getting an offer from Morgan Stanley truly marked one as a "chosen one." Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were two of the most prestigious investment banks in the Street. They interviewed tens of thousands of students from around the globe and selected only 60 to join their Financial Analyst Program (a two year program to get into the management track of the company.) I was one of those 60.
Thus, my career as an investment banker began. I was a 21-year old, armed with an undergraduate degree from a prestigious liberal arts college in New England and a passion to change the world. How would Morgan Stanley help me change the world? I did not know, but what I did know was that as a Bangladeshi woman (the first one in the bank's history I was told), I was getting an incredible opportunity to work with some of the smartest people in the world who were shaping the global financial markets (or making a mess out of them -- whichever you prefer.) Working in a prestigious white-shoe bank, I hoped I would learn the Midas touch of efficient financial markets that I could bring back to my country. Of course in the process, I could also save a little money to go to graduate school -- that was the added bonus.
That summer between graduation and the start of my new job, I was filled with anticipation. Liar's Poker (by a former bond salesman about his experience working on Wall Street) had just come out and was a bestseller. While driving around California with my dear friend Sunita, I read it and everything else I could get my hands on about the new world I would be entering. After all, I had to be prepared -- I would be working with the creme de la creme of the academic institutions. I knew a lot of them would be difficult (jerks, to put it bluntly), but I would survive and thrive. I would be representing my country, my race, and my gender. I had the weight of many people's expectations on my shoulders. Well, if nothing else, I was naïve.
The first day of work was a day-long orientation session. I, of course, overslept. I got up in a
Photo: Amirul Rajiv
panic, could not get a taxi, missed my turn getting in the crowded subways, and eventually walked into the big orientation hall half an hour late, while Dick Fisher, president of Morgan Stanley, was touting the virtues and discipline of banking. Thus, my fist day got started with some rude stares and shaking of heads. The only redeeming factor of the day was that, in the process of being late -- all sweaty and stressed out -- I met my future husband in the elevator, all calm and collected. It was not really love at first sight, but more shared misery at first glance. Anyway, given that this is supposed to be an article about my professional life, I will skip the romance for now.
Looking back on that first day, I don't remember much else except the advice one of the directors gave in his speech. He told us that Morgan Stanley was an intense place, and that a lot will be demanded from us. Consequently, he continued, there will be many moments when we will want to burst into tears. And, when that happens, "go to the toilet, flush it and cry; because frankly nobody wants to deal with a crybaby." I thought the man was insane. Well, sadly, that turned out to be one of the sanest suggestions I took away from that day, as I put it to good use more times than I would like to remember over the course of the next two years.
Despite the tears, in general, my time at Morgan Stanley was intellectually stimulating, and it taught me what I had hoped to learn -- how to be a banker. I learned accounting, finance, and the intricacies of capital markets. I also learned what terrible management styles and awful personal lives most bankers had, and how I never wanted to be one of them when I grew up. It was a badge of honour within the Financial Analyst team to work 100-hour weeks and to count how many all-nighters one pulled. The small handful of women in the bank were told that we had to keep up with the "machismo" of the environment if we wanted to "make it."
It was eye opening to see what the top bankers could get away with if they brought in lucrative deals. I recall one banker who had his phone replaced virtually every week because -- out of rage -- he would regularly throw them against the wall. I also remember brilliant minds like Vikram Pandit (yes, the same one now running Citibank) who could be rude and condescending but who could also solve any problem I might have regarding even the most complicated equity issuance.
I could write volumes about my time at Morgan Stanley, and maybe one day I should. For now, I have to borrow Dickens' words and sum it up as: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity."
Investment banking truly brings out the best and worst in people. One is pushed to the limit of intelligence, creativity, endurance, and at the same time raw competitiveness. Sports metaphors were a part of nearly every conversation. It was basically a testosterone-driven environment where "sink or swim" was practiced and honoured as a law of the jungle. All this was exacerbated because there were so few women around to bring a different sensibility in the picture.
Mcmillan
A recent survey found that nearly two-thirds of women employed in London's financial markets believe their gender makes it harder for them to succeed. The machismo of the environment makes it difficult for women to climb the banking ladder, and even if they do, there is definitely a glass ceiling that they cannot go beyond.
Perhaps if more women would stay in this industry, change the macho politics and bring a different sensibility to it, we would not be in the financial mess we are in today. In recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, there was a pretty broad consensus among the participants that if Wall Street had been run by women they would have saved the world from the corrosive gambling culture that dominated many a trading room.
While I did not stay on in Wall Street and fulfill my duty of making the Street a kinder and gentler place (I will leave that to the next generation of women bankers), I did use my banking skills to the fullest in my subsequent careers. I used my financial modeling skills to create growth models at Grameen Bank, my business forecasting acumen at the publishing companies I ran, and my deep financial know-how in starting my own company.
Now my career is coming full circle as I am putting in place the first Social Stock Exchange of Asia. I am making use of what I have learned in the last 20 years of a career that has spanned the social sector, media, academia, and most importantly, banking to create perhaps one of the most important financial platforms for Asia (or the world, for that matter.)
I could not have done this if I had not started my career on Wall Street. Those tears shed in the toilet stall will now help raise money to build toilets for hundreds and thousands of people without proper sanitation in Asia. As a woman, it feels especially good because I not only survived the Street but I am using it to help me change the world. Hats off to all the women bankers -- the world needs us.
Durreen Shahnaz is the Founder and Chairman of Social Stock Exchange Asia and Head, Program on Social Innovation and Change at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Published in Forum Magazine, May 4, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Creating Social Stock Exchange Asia
My phone beeps. I forgot to put my mobile phone in silent mode. I am thoroughly embarrassed because I am sitting in the first of hopefully many important meetings with the officials of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. We are discussing the merits of situating a Social Stock Exchange in Singapore. I cannot resist -- I look at my phone under the table and see that the text message is from the company registration board telling me that the registration of Social Stock Exchange Asia (SSXA) has been approved.
I am ecstatic. I have been on pins and needles because the registration took several weeks to process (as opposed to the 24 hours it usually takes to register a company in Singapore). I had worried that this was because the only other exchange in the country is the Singapore Stock Exchange, partly owned by the government. Needless to say, even the mere registration of SSXA had the potential to raise a few eyebrows.
Raised eyebrows aside, the fact remains that on March 20, 2009 SSXA was created to provide a capital market for social good. This indeed is the start of a new era and an apt response to the financial greed that gripped most parts of the developed world for the past several decades. The best part is that SSXA has the potential to be the sensible Asian response to the Western mayhem and bring social consciousness to the forefront of global financial markets.
Creating a Social Stock Exchange is indeed a lofty goal, but I cannot aim at anything less lofty. Exactly ten years ago, I created my first social purpose company, oneNest. It was an idea that germinated from my time at Grameen Bank when I saw many micro-entrepreneurs struggling due to a lack of market access for their products. These entrepreneurs needed more than access to credit, they needed help managing the supply chain. Grameen Bank ultimately recognised this and eventually responded by creating Grameen Check and Grameen Shamogri.
A few years later when the twists and turns of life gave me the opportunity to start a company, I reached back to my Grameen days and created a marketplace where I brought together, on the one hand, thousands of microcredit borrowers and cooperatives creating beautiful handmade personal and household products with, on the other hand, luxury catalogue companies, boutiques and department stores in the Western market. I ran and grew oneNest and eventually sold it (granted I had a very little control of the company by the end -- but that is another story). However the thought always nagged me that I could not do enough for the disadvantaged millions of the world. I had to do more. Now is my second chance.
What will SSXA do? Simply put, it will increase access to capital for enterprises with a social mission. On a bigger scale, it will help social enterprises further develop the professionalism of their operations and create a whole ecosystem around them to support social enterprises -- some of which are already in the works. SSXA will be the Asia's first social stock exchange, providing a trading platform and an efficient capital raising mechanism for Asian Social Enterprises (SEs), including both for-profit and not-for-profit entities with a social mission. SSXA will connect these SEs with impact investors seeking to achieve both a social return and an economic return on their investment while providing capital to fund innovative social businesses. This platform will also enable philanthropic donations.
Such an exchange will bring all the relevant players in the ecosystem together, speaking the same language and assisting one another in creating greater social good. It will encourage the governments, civil societies, academics, investment banks, research companies, auditing bodies and social enterprises to agree on a framework to measure social value, common terminology, transparency, and social and financial goals.
Social enterprises seeking to list shares or bonds on the exchange will go through proper social and financial auditing (third party validation) and report regularly to investors on both their social and financial results. Investors purchasing shares and bonds on the exchange will be attracted by the transparent disclosure of social returns and will evaluate companies based on both their social and financial returns. They will understand that a social enterprise may not maximise its earnings due to the cost associated with fulfilling its social mission. And they will be willing to accept a limited financial return in order to support this mission. Of course, given the current dismal state of the market for profit-maximising businesses, any economic return topped with a social return may feel like a windfall to an investor.
Social investors are an emerging group of investors in the financial market. In Europe, and especially in the UK, they are a rapidly growing group, which initially focused on Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) but now includes many investors focused on investing in social enterprises and social purpose businesses. These investors comprise of private investors, high net worth individuals, family offices, investment funds and charitable foundations with the common thread being that they seek double bottom-line returns (i.e. social and financial returns) from their investments. Given the current financial climate, more and more charities are leaning towards 'mission-related investment' as well. In the UK alone, there are now over 25 billion pounds dedicated to socially responsible investment.
In Asia the social investor pool is smaller, but growing. Bodies such as UNPRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing) and ASRIA (Association for Socially Responsible Investing in Asia) are actively promoting the notion of socially responsible investing. A number of family offices and wealthy individuals in Asia are also focused on social investment. Much of the interest so far has been focused on microfinance institutions. In addition, Islamic banking has been very active in Southeast Asia in promoting its unique brand of responsible investing. SSXA will push the envelope on the existing socially responsible investing, bring forward social enterprises and social purposes companies (in addition to microfinance) in energy, water/sanitation, media, fair-trade, health, education, and cottage industry and bring to the attention of these investors a whole new set of enterprises that would not have been noticed otherwise.
Such a platform or exchange cannot be created overnight. It will take years before SSXA is a robust trading platform. However, with the proper assistance and support from other members of the social investing ecosystem, it can become the cornerstone of a potentially very large social enterprise economy. Given the current economic climate, I have to say, organisations and government bodies are ready to pause and listen. I thank them for that. As more players embrace the idea of SSXA, each will become a crucial part of a peaceful revolution in the making.
The author is founder of Social Stock Exchange Asia and head of Programme on Social Innovation and Change at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
THis article was published in Daily Star, April 22, 2009
I am ecstatic. I have been on pins and needles because the registration took several weeks to process (as opposed to the 24 hours it usually takes to register a company in Singapore). I had worried that this was because the only other exchange in the country is the Singapore Stock Exchange, partly owned by the government. Needless to say, even the mere registration of SSXA had the potential to raise a few eyebrows.
Raised eyebrows aside, the fact remains that on March 20, 2009 SSXA was created to provide a capital market for social good. This indeed is the start of a new era and an apt response to the financial greed that gripped most parts of the developed world for the past several decades. The best part is that SSXA has the potential to be the sensible Asian response to the Western mayhem and bring social consciousness to the forefront of global financial markets.
Creating a Social Stock Exchange is indeed a lofty goal, but I cannot aim at anything less lofty. Exactly ten years ago, I created my first social purpose company, oneNest. It was an idea that germinated from my time at Grameen Bank when I saw many micro-entrepreneurs struggling due to a lack of market access for their products. These entrepreneurs needed more than access to credit, they needed help managing the supply chain. Grameen Bank ultimately recognised this and eventually responded by creating Grameen Check and Grameen Shamogri.
A few years later when the twists and turns of life gave me the opportunity to start a company, I reached back to my Grameen days and created a marketplace where I brought together, on the one hand, thousands of microcredit borrowers and cooperatives creating beautiful handmade personal and household products with, on the other hand, luxury catalogue companies, boutiques and department stores in the Western market. I ran and grew oneNest and eventually sold it (granted I had a very little control of the company by the end -- but that is another story). However the thought always nagged me that I could not do enough for the disadvantaged millions of the world. I had to do more. Now is my second chance.
What will SSXA do? Simply put, it will increase access to capital for enterprises with a social mission. On a bigger scale, it will help social enterprises further develop the professionalism of their operations and create a whole ecosystem around them to support social enterprises -- some of which are already in the works. SSXA will be the Asia's first social stock exchange, providing a trading platform and an efficient capital raising mechanism for Asian Social Enterprises (SEs), including both for-profit and not-for-profit entities with a social mission. SSXA will connect these SEs with impact investors seeking to achieve both a social return and an economic return on their investment while providing capital to fund innovative social businesses. This platform will also enable philanthropic donations.
Such an exchange will bring all the relevant players in the ecosystem together, speaking the same language and assisting one another in creating greater social good. It will encourage the governments, civil societies, academics, investment banks, research companies, auditing bodies and social enterprises to agree on a framework to measure social value, common terminology, transparency, and social and financial goals.
Social enterprises seeking to list shares or bonds on the exchange will go through proper social and financial auditing (third party validation) and report regularly to investors on both their social and financial results. Investors purchasing shares and bonds on the exchange will be attracted by the transparent disclosure of social returns and will evaluate companies based on both their social and financial returns. They will understand that a social enterprise may not maximise its earnings due to the cost associated with fulfilling its social mission. And they will be willing to accept a limited financial return in order to support this mission. Of course, given the current dismal state of the market for profit-maximising businesses, any economic return topped with a social return may feel like a windfall to an investor.
Social investors are an emerging group of investors in the financial market. In Europe, and especially in the UK, they are a rapidly growing group, which initially focused on Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) but now includes many investors focused on investing in social enterprises and social purpose businesses. These investors comprise of private investors, high net worth individuals, family offices, investment funds and charitable foundations with the common thread being that they seek double bottom-line returns (i.e. social and financial returns) from their investments. Given the current financial climate, more and more charities are leaning towards 'mission-related investment' as well. In the UK alone, there are now over 25 billion pounds dedicated to socially responsible investment.
In Asia the social investor pool is smaller, but growing. Bodies such as UNPRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing) and ASRIA (Association for Socially Responsible Investing in Asia) are actively promoting the notion of socially responsible investing. A number of family offices and wealthy individuals in Asia are also focused on social investment. Much of the interest so far has been focused on microfinance institutions. In addition, Islamic banking has been very active in Southeast Asia in promoting its unique brand of responsible investing. SSXA will push the envelope on the existing socially responsible investing, bring forward social enterprises and social purposes companies (in addition to microfinance) in energy, water/sanitation, media, fair-trade, health, education, and cottage industry and bring to the attention of these investors a whole new set of enterprises that would not have been noticed otherwise.
Such a platform or exchange cannot be created overnight. It will take years before SSXA is a robust trading platform. However, with the proper assistance and support from other members of the social investing ecosystem, it can become the cornerstone of a potentially very large social enterprise economy. Given the current economic climate, I have to say, organisations and government bodies are ready to pause and listen. I thank them for that. As more players embrace the idea of SSXA, each will become a crucial part of a peaceful revolution in the making.
The author is founder of Social Stock Exchange Asia and head of Programme on Social Innovation and Change at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
THis article was published in Daily Star, April 22, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Social Stock Exchange Asia
Social Stock Exchange Asia just got registerd as a company in Asia. I have started my second social enterprise exactly ten years after the first one. The mission is to create capital markets for social good. Let us see where this leads to. With the financial meltdown, the timing cannot be more perfect...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Witnessing a Movement
Like many Bangladeshis living overseas, I was energised by the US election, which produced a remarkable president and, as importantly, mobilised the young and old like no other political event in recent history.
Was it possible for such an election to occur in Bangladesh? I was sceptical. But, I flew to Bangladesh with hopes of being a part of history in the making. Thankfully, my scepticism was proven wrong. What I experienced was far beyond my fondest imagination.
On returning home and embarking on election work, I not only witnessed a remarkably orderly election process, but also had the feeling that it was just the most recent manifestation of a movement that is gripping the nation. I witnessed that the citizens cared about the election and wanted to make a difference through their votes.
Like my fellow citizens, I got swept into the wave of optimism and felt that anything was possible. Only when I stepped out of this wave did I realise that what I had experienced was a movement, a powerful movement that none of our political parties could have imagined gripping the nation after years of political, social and economic abuse of the people.
While I was basking in the warm glow from the excitement of the election process, I had another reason to feel good as I saw that the new cabinet would contain four women ministers. For the first time, our politicians realised that we needed women more than just as figureheads of the political parties.
Dr. Dipu Moni, whom I had the chance to meet a few weeks ago on the campaign trail, is the new foreign minister. My “chance meeting” with Dr. Moni took place in Chandpur at a Mukho Mukhi program organised by Shujon (Shushashoner Jonnyo Nagorik). This and many other Shujon programs gave me opportunities to meet the candidates.
As a proud participant in Shujon's democratic process, I sent Dr. Moni a congratulatory text message. Just think about thisI, an ordinary citizen, had the chance to actually speak with a potentially powerful candidate and then text her. If this is not a sign of a powerful new movement, I don't know what is.
There were a number of organisations that can take credit for bringing this new voice to the people. The social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations played their role in uplifting and empowering Bangladeshis over the past several decades. In this election, however, this empowerment was put to practice by entities like Shujon. Shujon collected information on all 1500+ candidates and organised over 80 Mukho Mukhi programs.
As a witness to the process, I can definitely say that Shujon's process of disseminating information and publicising its message of electing the “clean and right candidates” influenced many thousands of voters. My congratulations and gratitude to the more than a hundred thousand volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this process possible.
While the Americans celebrate the beginning of a successful grassroots movement initiated by a charismatic leader, we need to celebrate Bangladesh's successful grassroots movement initiated by its citizens. There was no one leader or party that mobilised the citizens. It was the people themselves.
Platforms like Mukho Mukhi allowed the people to speak up. In gatherings of several thousand people, women got up and asked the candidates what they would do for women, young people asked about job opportunities, and young/old all asked how clean the candidates would be. They were making clear to the candidates that they must serve the people.
This fire of citizen movement that has been ignited needs to be nurtured and developed. If not dealt with carefully, such a fire can become uncontrollable or die. The winning party not only has to live up to its election mandates but also has to listen to the millions of voices across the nation. In the US, President Obama's team is keeping the fire of his movement burning by creating “Organizing America.” We need to do the same.
Shujon, along with similar organisations, will continue to push along the democratic system by promoting: accountalibility of the elected officials; decentralised governance; grassroot participation in democracy; women's, children's and minority rights; youth involvement; and self reliance. However, all political parties need to become a part of this process.
The new government needs to work with community leaders to empower the citizens and mobilise them for good governance, social justice, clean politics and correct policies. It should with start communicating with the people.
Perhaps our leaders can take a page from the Obama book and keep the line of communication open with the people. Dr. Moni, I am looking forward to your response to my text to you!
Durreen Shahnaz is the Head of the Social Innovation Program and Adj Assoc Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
This article was published on The Daily Star on January 23, 2009
Was it possible for such an election to occur in Bangladesh? I was sceptical. But, I flew to Bangladesh with hopes of being a part of history in the making. Thankfully, my scepticism was proven wrong. What I experienced was far beyond my fondest imagination.
On returning home and embarking on election work, I not only witnessed a remarkably orderly election process, but also had the feeling that it was just the most recent manifestation of a movement that is gripping the nation. I witnessed that the citizens cared about the election and wanted to make a difference through their votes.
Like my fellow citizens, I got swept into the wave of optimism and felt that anything was possible. Only when I stepped out of this wave did I realise that what I had experienced was a movement, a powerful movement that none of our political parties could have imagined gripping the nation after years of political, social and economic abuse of the people.
While I was basking in the warm glow from the excitement of the election process, I had another reason to feel good as I saw that the new cabinet would contain four women ministers. For the first time, our politicians realised that we needed women more than just as figureheads of the political parties.
Dr. Dipu Moni, whom I had the chance to meet a few weeks ago on the campaign trail, is the new foreign minister. My “chance meeting” with Dr. Moni took place in Chandpur at a Mukho Mukhi program organised by Shujon (Shushashoner Jonnyo Nagorik). This and many other Shujon programs gave me opportunities to meet the candidates.
As a proud participant in Shujon's democratic process, I sent Dr. Moni a congratulatory text message. Just think about thisI, an ordinary citizen, had the chance to actually speak with a potentially powerful candidate and then text her. If this is not a sign of a powerful new movement, I don't know what is.
There were a number of organisations that can take credit for bringing this new voice to the people. The social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations played their role in uplifting and empowering Bangladeshis over the past several decades. In this election, however, this empowerment was put to practice by entities like Shujon. Shujon collected information on all 1500+ candidates and organised over 80 Mukho Mukhi programs.
As a witness to the process, I can definitely say that Shujon's process of disseminating information and publicising its message of electing the “clean and right candidates” influenced many thousands of voters. My congratulations and gratitude to the more than a hundred thousand volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this process possible.
While the Americans celebrate the beginning of a successful grassroots movement initiated by a charismatic leader, we need to celebrate Bangladesh's successful grassroots movement initiated by its citizens. There was no one leader or party that mobilised the citizens. It was the people themselves.
Platforms like Mukho Mukhi allowed the people to speak up. In gatherings of several thousand people, women got up and asked the candidates what they would do for women, young people asked about job opportunities, and young/old all asked how clean the candidates would be. They were making clear to the candidates that they must serve the people.
This fire of citizen movement that has been ignited needs to be nurtured and developed. If not dealt with carefully, such a fire can become uncontrollable or die. The winning party not only has to live up to its election mandates but also has to listen to the millions of voices across the nation. In the US, President Obama's team is keeping the fire of his movement burning by creating “Organizing America.” We need to do the same.
Shujon, along with similar organisations, will continue to push along the democratic system by promoting: accountalibility of the elected officials; decentralised governance; grassroot participation in democracy; women's, children's and minority rights; youth involvement; and self reliance. However, all political parties need to become a part of this process.
The new government needs to work with community leaders to empower the citizens and mobilise them for good governance, social justice, clean politics and correct policies. It should with start communicating with the people.
Perhaps our leaders can take a page from the Obama book and keep the line of communication open with the people. Dr. Moni, I am looking forward to your response to my text to you!
Durreen Shahnaz is the Head of the Social Innovation Program and Adj Assoc Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
This article was published on The Daily Star on January 23, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Media's Role in Social Change
I have been quite nostalgic lately. My nostalgia stems from my recent 'temporary' retirement from the media world to focus more fully on promoting socially responsible businesses. As I look back at my career and try to give myself an honest 'report card' on how well I lived up to my goal of making a positive impact on society through my media work, I can't help but to also question and explore the media industry's role in the broader context of social change. Like me, do media companies take their responsibility toward society seriously? How much impact can media really have in advancing social change? Bringing it close to home, what does it all mean for the media scene in Bangladesh?
When I first joined the publishing industry in New York, my boss gave me a piece of paper which he felt held the key to success in publishing -- “The purpose of publishing is not to make money".
"The purpose of publishing is to be of remarkable, outstanding, extraordinary, superior, notable, exciting, wonderful, sensational, marvelous, unheard of, exceptional, unprecedented, astonishing, awesome, indescribable, fabulous, fantastic, incredible, prodigious, unspeakable, phenomenal and stupendous USE, BENEFIT and SERVICE to the reader. Then it will follow, as night the day, you cannot help but make money…”
Since then, I have tried to create exceptional publications, programmes and internet outlets that provided a distinct benefit to society. However, I always struggled with the definition of 'benefit'. Was I really benefiting the society?
Economic benefit is quantifiable, but how does one really measure the social benefit created by media? Do media outlets really change people's lives? (Well, Oprah certainly does and I did work on the 'O the Oprah Magazine' deal) Do readers/viewers really know what is good for them? Should I decide what is good for them? How will this also benefit the advertisers who are actually paying the bills? When I moved to Asia, I added a few more questions to the list: do I really want to help the government get its message across to my readers? Can I pass on this information, which is a benefit to the society but will cost me my publishing license? Should I really publish this even if it means I will lose some advertisers?
The answers to many of the questions were clear-cut for me, and sticking to my guns on these issues and the ethical dilemmas surrounding them was part of the contribution I made to social change and social benefit -- at least that is what I think.
As with a lot of my colleagues in the media industry, I joined the industry because of an idealistic desire to act as an agent of social change. Throughout my media career -- at the glamorous fashion magazines in New York (yes, I had the pleasure of managing editors like the one in The Devil Wears Prada), where I had to fight tooth and nail to get minority representation on the covers; or in the restricted media world of many Asian countries, where I had to explain to the higher authorities why a 'lifestyle' magazine needed to write about human rights -- I always told myself that, albeit in a small way, I am making my own social change. The question still gnaws at me though -- how much more could I or should I have done in my positions in media?
Fast forward to the present day in Bangladesh a month from now a history-making election will take place. Instead of a media change maker, I am now a media observer. As an observer, I am at the receiving end of whatever information my media colleagues are publishing and broadcasting. I am reading a lot about the preparations for the elections, the usual squabbles between the two begums, and the caretaker government's reassurance that it will be a 'fair and clean election'. However, I am still missing the most important information -- I know next to nothing about the candidates.
Of course I know about the comings and goings of the big party honchos, but I want to know about the potential parliamentarians from every corner of the country. I want to know (as do my fellow citizens and readers/viewers) everything about them their views on economic and social policies, their personal stance on important issues, and their character. These men and women will be shaping the future of the country, and the citizens have a right to unbiased information about them. However, such information is nowhere to be found.
Gathering and disseminating information about candidates may be tedious, boring and may not make business sense to publish. (Advertisers may not be interested in advertising next to such material). However, this information needs to get to the public, and in Bangladesh, newspaper and television are the best media to get this information out.
I have been thinking about what is the most cost-effective way to get this important but monetarily non-lucrative message across and came up with an interesting solution. I would like to propose a 'win-win' solution for all the parties involved: as part of fulfilling their corporate social responsibility (CSR) duties, Bangladeshi media companies should donate their remnant space (their unused advertising space) to an unbiased third party (such as Shujon) which is dedicated to getting information out to the public about the potential member of parliament candidates. This remnant space donation should qualify for a tax rebate as the current government has already promised for CSR activities for the private sector. In a system where there is no public financing for election campaigns, I feel an initiative such as this one will be a step towards a campaign finance/information dissemination system of some kind where the media companies can play a significant role in stimulating positive social change.
In my experience, Bangladesh media are one of the relatively freer ones in Asia (albeit with potential of danger on individual level). The media companies need to use that freedom and make more of an effort to embrace their responsibility to create social benefit and change. Some outlets are already embracing this, but more needs to be done. Perhaps my media colleagues in Bangladesh are asking the same questions I asked myself before -- do the readers/viewers know what is good for them? Should I decide what is good for them? It is indeed a slippery slope. However, the election information dissemination is a no-brainer. People need this information and you, the media company can give it them while enjoying tax benefit, a clear win-win situation one does not always get.
The writer is an adjunct associate professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and a former media executive.
Published on November 25, 2008 in Daily Star, Bangladesh
When I first joined the publishing industry in New York, my boss gave me a piece of paper which he felt held the key to success in publishing -- “The purpose of publishing is not to make money".
"The purpose of publishing is to be of remarkable, outstanding, extraordinary, superior, notable, exciting, wonderful, sensational, marvelous, unheard of, exceptional, unprecedented, astonishing, awesome, indescribable, fabulous, fantastic, incredible, prodigious, unspeakable, phenomenal and stupendous USE, BENEFIT and SERVICE to the reader. Then it will follow, as night the day, you cannot help but make money…”
Since then, I have tried to create exceptional publications, programmes and internet outlets that provided a distinct benefit to society. However, I always struggled with the definition of 'benefit'. Was I really benefiting the society?
Economic benefit is quantifiable, but how does one really measure the social benefit created by media? Do media outlets really change people's lives? (Well, Oprah certainly does and I did work on the 'O the Oprah Magazine' deal) Do readers/viewers really know what is good for them? Should I decide what is good for them? How will this also benefit the advertisers who are actually paying the bills? When I moved to Asia, I added a few more questions to the list: do I really want to help the government get its message across to my readers? Can I pass on this information, which is a benefit to the society but will cost me my publishing license? Should I really publish this even if it means I will lose some advertisers?
The answers to many of the questions were clear-cut for me, and sticking to my guns on these issues and the ethical dilemmas surrounding them was part of the contribution I made to social change and social benefit -- at least that is what I think.
As with a lot of my colleagues in the media industry, I joined the industry because of an idealistic desire to act as an agent of social change. Throughout my media career -- at the glamorous fashion magazines in New York (yes, I had the pleasure of managing editors like the one in The Devil Wears Prada), where I had to fight tooth and nail to get minority representation on the covers; or in the restricted media world of many Asian countries, where I had to explain to the higher authorities why a 'lifestyle' magazine needed to write about human rights -- I always told myself that, albeit in a small way, I am making my own social change. The question still gnaws at me though -- how much more could I or should I have done in my positions in media?
Fast forward to the present day in Bangladesh a month from now a history-making election will take place. Instead of a media change maker, I am now a media observer. As an observer, I am at the receiving end of whatever information my media colleagues are publishing and broadcasting. I am reading a lot about the preparations for the elections, the usual squabbles between the two begums, and the caretaker government's reassurance that it will be a 'fair and clean election'. However, I am still missing the most important information -- I know next to nothing about the candidates.
Of course I know about the comings and goings of the big party honchos, but I want to know about the potential parliamentarians from every corner of the country. I want to know (as do my fellow citizens and readers/viewers) everything about them their views on economic and social policies, their personal stance on important issues, and their character. These men and women will be shaping the future of the country, and the citizens have a right to unbiased information about them. However, such information is nowhere to be found.
Gathering and disseminating information about candidates may be tedious, boring and may not make business sense to publish. (Advertisers may not be interested in advertising next to such material). However, this information needs to get to the public, and in Bangladesh, newspaper and television are the best media to get this information out.
I have been thinking about what is the most cost-effective way to get this important but monetarily non-lucrative message across and came up with an interesting solution. I would like to propose a 'win-win' solution for all the parties involved: as part of fulfilling their corporate social responsibility (CSR) duties, Bangladeshi media companies should donate their remnant space (their unused advertising space) to an unbiased third party (such as Shujon) which is dedicated to getting information out to the public about the potential member of parliament candidates. This remnant space donation should qualify for a tax rebate as the current government has already promised for CSR activities for the private sector. In a system where there is no public financing for election campaigns, I feel an initiative such as this one will be a step towards a campaign finance/information dissemination system of some kind where the media companies can play a significant role in stimulating positive social change.
In my experience, Bangladesh media are one of the relatively freer ones in Asia (albeit with potential of danger on individual level). The media companies need to use that freedom and make more of an effort to embrace their responsibility to create social benefit and change. Some outlets are already embracing this, but more needs to be done. Perhaps my media colleagues in Bangladesh are asking the same questions I asked myself before -- do the readers/viewers know what is good for them? Should I decide what is good for them? It is indeed a slippery slope. However, the election information dissemination is a no-brainer. People need this information and you, the media company can give it them while enjoying tax benefit, a clear win-win situation one does not always get.
The writer is an adjunct associate professor at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and a former media executive.
Published on November 25, 2008 in Daily Star, Bangladesh
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Social Innovation
I wanted to share some writing I recently did on Social Innovation. While I was writing it, I was thinking of the enormous power social entpreneurs have now for social change -- we need to encourage and nuture them all over the world --
"Governments, corporations and civil society each have their own defined approach to governance which at times leaves a gap in effective governance in a society. There are an increasing number of instances where this gap is being filled by social enterprises both in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Individuals who are leading the effort are known as Social Entrepreneurs. These enterprises and entrepreneurs are tackling issues ranging from the environment to social equality to the economy. Social innovations such as micro-credit, alternative technology, fair trade, eco-tourism, rural education, health care reform are examples of areas where much inroad has already been made. Additional areas where social enterprises can provide innovative solutions are emerging as a response to global crises such as the affects of climate change, political conflicts or economic crisis."
"Governments, corporations and civil society each have their own defined approach to governance which at times leaves a gap in effective governance in a society. There are an increasing number of instances where this gap is being filled by social enterprises both in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Individuals who are leading the effort are known as Social Entrepreneurs. These enterprises and entrepreneurs are tackling issues ranging from the environment to social equality to the economy. Social innovations such as micro-credit, alternative technology, fair trade, eco-tourism, rural education, health care reform are examples of areas where much inroad has already been made. Additional areas where social enterprises can provide innovative solutions are emerging as a response to global crises such as the affects of climate change, political conflicts or economic crisis."
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