December 4th, 2009
INVITATION LETTER
51Sim would like to invite you to attend its press conference: “Give me Green Confidence: Take Action to Support the COP15 Conference” on Monday, December 7th, 2009, from 9:00 to 11:00
From December 7th to December 18th, 192 world leaders and environment ministers and officials will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP15) to hash out a successor to the Kyoto protocol and sign a new protocol which is to take global actions towards solving climate change. With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, this new climate protocol will be of historical significance. Undoubtedly, it will have a critical impact to bending the current trends of global climate change. This conference – known as “The Last Opportunity to Rescue Humanity” – will be hosted at the Bella Center for two weeks.
Since 2008, 51Sim has been focusing on making commitments and taking actions to solve climate change in China. 51Sim designed, organized and successfully held a series of events and projects such as the closing ceremony of “China International Youth Arts Week” – in the run-up to the Olympics or China’s first Sustainable Innovation Student Competition (SISC), Green Car Low-carbon project?www.kaiche.com?, 51Tree and so on.
In December 2009, 51Sim along with Chinese Award-winning actress Li Bingbing (SISC’s ambassador), Maurice Strong (former UN Under Secretary-General), the winners of SISC and AIESEC as well as CYCAN student organizations, will go to Copenhagen and take actions to show their determination in making efforts to enhance environmental protection and reduce the impacts of climate change.
51Sim’s Press Release Schedule will include:
Three screenings:
- A short movie on 51Sim’s activities,
- A short documentary on Former UN Under-Secretary
- A Phoenix TV talk-show
The commitments of Chinese youth towards finding a solution to solve climate change
- AIESEC
- CYCAN
- SISC Winners
51Sim would like to show its commitment to the Chinese Delegation at the Copenhagen Conference with our actions which aim to solve climate change. We firmly believe that China’s climate change reduction will have a bright future. We are capable and determined to solve these problems.
Press Conference: Give me Green Confidence - Take action to support the Copenhagen Conference, Rescue Our Earth.
Time: 7th, December, 2009 (Monday) from 9-11
Subject: Give me Green Confidence - Take action to support the Copenhagen Conference
Honored Guests: 51Sim’s Co-founder, Maurice Strong – former UN Under Secretary-General, Representatives of CYCAN and AIESEC, winners of SISC.
Location: ???? Press Building
Address: 26 Jianguomen Nei Dajie
Schedule
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Time?Afternoon?
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Events
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9?00-9?30
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Arrival of media and honored guests
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9:30-9:40
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Introduction of guests of honors.
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9?40-9?50
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Speech delivered by 51Sim co-founder.
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9?50-10?00
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Speech delivered by student participants of the Copenhagen Conference (CYCAN)
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10?00-10?05
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Screening
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10?05-10?10
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Presentation of 51Sim’s achievements.
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10?10 –10?20
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Speech delivered by former UN Under Secretary-General Maurice Strong.
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10:20-11:00
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Q&A time for student representatives and beginning of seminar.
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For more information please contact
Joe Wang: wang,zhuo@51sim.org /138 1191 0487
Tags: 2012, 51give, 51SIM, Beijing, British Council, Carbon emission, China, Climate Change, COP15, Copenhagen, Global warming, Innovation, Kaiche, Kyoto Protocol, Li Bingbing, Maurice Strong, Phoenix TV, Pres Conference, SISC, Sustainable Development, United Nations, United Nations Climate Conference
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December 1st, 2009
There is no way to know what tomorrow holds, whether we believe we control it or its destined. Today everything from NASA to scripture to historical remnants are suggesting the year 2012 threatens unmitigated natural disasters and again there is no way to be certain. Whether as Mayan tradition predicts there will be a new world order, the world’s largest volcano will erupt, the north and south poles will reverse, or sunspot activity will alter our atmosphere, there is a lot we can learn and many ways we can prepare for our future.
Preparing for 2012 and working toward a sustainable brighter future are one in the same. Whatever your beliefs about 2012 are, the need to prevent, mitigate, and prepare for natural disasters, like landslides, floods, mudslides, epidemics, earthquakes, catastrophic rain or snow is consistent. We must work towards decreasing our vulnerability to natural disasters and be prepared to respond rapidly and effectively. This involves mitigating sustainable design projects as well as building community awareness, and the provision of communications equipment.
51Give is ready to start taking preventative and risk management measures for future natural disasters. Disaster prevention and mitigation is particularly relevant to 51Give, because many of the poor households, who are the typical microfinance clients, suffer from both a higher disaster risk exposure and a lower risk bearing capacity. There are two prevention strategies, hazard-resistant technologies and portfolio diversification, which 51Give believes will act as Noah’s Ark in the case of any natural disasters be they 2012, tomorrow, or ten years from now.
Hazard-Risk Technology can be anything from house stilts to avoid floods, to solar panels in case electrical grids are destroyed. Many of these options, like solar and wind energy sources, are not only in the best interest of risk management, but offer affordable, sustainable, renewable forms of energy.
Portfolio Diversification offers business opportunities in case the natural disasters destroy farms or the necessary environment for a household or community’s economic foundation. Whether in the case of a natural disaster or not, these entrepreneurial opportunities are sustainable businesses for the poor that empower and mobilize them.
The steps to alleviating poverty, reducing environmental damage, and preparing for whatever the future has to offer are one in the same. 51Give is ready to lead the way to a sustainable future, no matter what our fate is.
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Tags: 2012, 51give, development, earthquakes, empowerment, epidemics, floods, Internet, landslides, Microfinance, mitigation, mudslides, Natural Disaster, Noah's Ark, opportunities, platform, prevention, rescue, survival, Sustainable, Technology
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November 16th, 2009
At 51Give we believe in technology as a solution provider and a way to make processes more transparent. When it comes to Microfinance, one of the main questions has to do with how the money moves and where it goes. We want to provide lenders a chance to see the effect of their loans by giving them periodical reports on the progress of their investments. On the other hand, we also want to make it easier for both the Microfinance Institutions to collect and do the follow-up of the loans. Finally, we aim for the borrower to be able to re-pay its loan in the most cost-efficient way.
We now have moved one step forward in this direction! BlackBerry donated 30 of its smart phones which are being used for this purpose. 51Give gave 28 of these phones to Funding the Poor Cooperative, which has allocated 12 to Laishui County, 8 to Yucheng County and are keeping 8 of the phones at their headquarters.
With these phones, one of our borrower farmers will be able to make a photographic report of the progress of their new initiative, which will be then uploaded to our website so the lenders can follow their success and be part of it! We also aim for this to be a way in which they will be able to pay for their loans in an easy way. At the present, the BlackBerry smart phones are also being used by the collecting officers at the Funding the Poor Cooperative to both collect information and money from the farmers which have received the loans, as well as for managing such information and generating reports on it.
Additionally, the use of the BlackBerry smart phones will contribute to reduce the carbon foot-print of the Microfinance process by diminishing the need for people to transport themselves for reporting, paying and retrieving information.
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November 12th, 2009
Dear Friends,
At the beginning of October, a post by David Roodman started a discussion that was furthered by Stephanie Strom’s article in The New York Times, “Confusion On Where Money Lent via Kiva Goes”. Given the nature of our work as a “peer-to-peer” microfinance platform, we want to address the arguments vocalized throughout this discourse.
It is a priority for us to attend any question this issue may raise in our supporters; therefore we take this opportunity to address them. 51 Give believes in the creation and application of innovative technology to constantly improve the transparency of money-flows during the lending process. 51Give then, uses the benefits of Internet to facilitate fast, low-cost exchanges.
As it is specified on 51Give’s webpage, the funds contributed by lenders to 51 Give go to microfinance institutions (MFIs), who are responsible for distributing the loans to the entrepreneurs and collecting repayment. While the loan is comprised of the lender’s investment, the entrepreneur can in fact receive a loan from an MFI prior to the time the loan is entirely funded on the 51 Give website. This is not because the lender’s money is not going to the entrepreneur. The MFI is temporarily lending from its own resources and will be reimbursed by 51 Give with the lender’s money. This in no way changes the chain, the lender’s money is still supporting the entrepreneur, it is simply a way of expediting this process. If the recipient’s loan is canceled for any reason, the recipient will no longer be a 51 Give recipient and the MFI will permanently fund the loan with its own capital reserves. We hope this illustrates that whether the MFI makes an upfront investment or not, the lender’s money is always invested in the intended entrepreneur.
We also want to clarify the process that takes place when a loan is not funded in time. In this situation, 51 Give will either extend the fundraising period or will cancel the projected loan and allow the lenders to select new recipients. This way, the lender is always in control of their investment and we work hard to make this as clear as possible.
We are grateful for your support and hope that this answers any concern on the topic. Thank you for supporting us; you are responsible for every contribution to a more sustainable environment and for every success 51Give has.
As always, we would love to hear any questions you may have or suggestions on how we can improve our organization
Thank you!
The 51 Give team
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November 5th, 2009
Winning Teams, SISC Celebrity Ambassadors Li Bingbing and Maurice Strong
This Monday, Beijing-based 51Sim successfully held the “Final Round” and “Award Ceremony” for its first Sustainable Innovation Student Competition (SISC), where 36 Chinese university finalists participated. SISC is a competitive program designed to encourage students all over the world to develop imaginative proposals for sustainable solutions to alleviate climate change. It is open to university students throughout China, generating interest in over 280 cities in China, and 30 different countries. During the CGI Asia Meeting in Hong Kong in December 2008, where SISC was selected as a key “commitment to action” by the Clinton Global Initiative Asia, Former President Clinton said that these initiatives “will bring real, measurable change to millions of lives in Asia and across the world” (See the speech here).
The competition was divided into 3 categories: Green Transport, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy, the winning teams being C-Fingerprint, Green E and Green 4U respectively. The 12 winning individuals received substantial awards including RMB 100,000 seed funding to implement their projects, and travel to “COP15” — the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2009. In our next delivery, you will be able to have knowledge of what each of the winning proposals consist of.
SISC Celebrity Ambassador, Li Bingbing accompanied by former Under Secretary General UN, Maurice Strong, presented the awards for the winning teams. The judging panel consisted of Ken Yeung -CEO of TOM Group Limited-, Gao Yunlong -Deputy Managing Director of Camco International-, Wu Zhimin -Director of Sales & Marketing of Giti-, Daniel Foa -51SIM Co-Founder-, and Yuan Jinhong -Climate Change Officer for the State Forestry Administration-.
Winners
“The SISC aims to foster teamwork, creative thinking and increase climate change awareness,” says 51Give Co-Founder Daniel Foa. “51Sim’s ambition is to encourage everyone in China to be environmentally aware, to make eco-friendly decisions and to help find innovative solutions for sustainable development.”
SISC is a 51Sim initiative in partnership with 51Give, the British Council– the United Kingdom’s international organization for cultural relations and education opportunities (operating in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy), and Camco — a global leader in the business of climate change and sustainable development. All of them were present during the ceremony as well as the rest of our major supporters: Camco International, PingAn Group, and Martin Bloom -Chairman of the UK-China Venture Capital Joint Working Group-.
The British Council, recognizes that young people will be the most affected by climate change and that they care passionately about their future world. “Climate change is a global problem, which requires a global solution,” says Rebecca Nadin, “and we help young people to work together across the globe to develop ideas that can help tackle climate change and provide a platform for them to voice their opinions to decision makers.”
51Sim Co-Founder Hiu Ng says this program demonstrates that a large percentage of young people want to drive innovation and a harmonious economy. “Young social entrepreneurs in the private sector can contribute to big topics such as employment and innovation in a country, and can play an effective role in delivering programs that can help with national social welfare,” she says. “We are working to encourage more government partnership and support for social enterprises that also contribute to improving the environment, reducing carbon, alleviating poverty and enhancing access to clean energies in China.”
The SISC Final Round and Award Ceremony will be screened on China Central Television’s “Green Space” program in January 2010.
Tags: 51give, 51SIM, Beijing, British Council, China, Climate Change, Entrepreneurs, Environment, Event, Innovation, Li Bingbing, Maurice Strong, SISC, Student Innovation, Technology
Posted in 51give, Environment | No Comments »
October 22nd, 2009
51Give is proud to take part in Spark09 at Beijing!
At 51Give we are devoted to providing loans to farmers all around China to invest in environmentally friendly technologies. A small loan can not only help people lift themselves out of poverty, but does so while diminishing their carbon footprint.
Together, we can really make a change. Join us tomorrow at Spark09 and start giving!
Spark09:
As the World Economic Crisis has increased our workload over the last year, it is increasingly important to work smart. Innovation training is the key to improving your thinking and the best way to add value to your role, company, and life. As Premier Wen JiaBao said last week, “We will make China a country of innovation.”
Spark is building the community of innovation in Greater China, and scheduled to host the next event right here in Beijing October 23rd! Join us in learning about innovation in China, and Sparking new ideas. Additionally, you can:
* Listen to 20+ leaders of industry
* Practice your in creativity workshops and breakouts
* Network with the most active innovators across industries in Beijing
* Return to the office with new ideas to add value to you role, team, and company!
What’s more, all proceeds from this event go directly to charity, The Library Project and via 51GIVE.
Regular price: 580rmb
Members’ Group and 10+ tickets: 480rmb
Early Bird (before October 14th): 430rmb
*contact tickets@spark09.org or +86.10.8447.7115
I have included a flyer below. Please also visit www.spark09.org for more!
Enjoy our last event here: http://www.vimeo.com/4627306 Founders Andy Anderson and Morry Morgan were recently interviewed on China Radio International, listen here for more insights on Innovation in China: http://media.iphone.cri.cn/magazine/today/2009/10/091009today1.mp3
Many people are talking about Spark, here is some of what they are saying:
English:
http://www.smartshanghai.com/blog/1223/Fire_It_Up.html
http://shanghai.urbanatomy.com/index.php/i-ahearts-shanghai/85-i-love-shanghai/1280-spark-up-on-saturday
Chinese:
http://www.z-vita.com/shenghe/index.php?&subclassID=87&CurYear=&articlID=326&page=1
http://sh.sohu.com/20090319/n262887406.shtml
http://house.online.sh.cn/gb/content/2009-03/20/content_2895269.htm
Tags: 51give, Activities, Beijing, Creativity, Events, Innovation, Spark
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November 9th, 2008
In the last few weeks, much of the world has been concerned about the economic downturns and the end to the unsustainable. The question is how will we move to become sustainable?
Traditional capital liberalism has shown that is also can have vunerablities and has not accounted for the world of limited resources. The limited resource of the land, sea, air and water, the impacts of the unseen pollution impacting us all.
However, on the otherside, charity has existed for hundreds of years with handouts for this cause or that cause. In the last few years social entrepreneurship has emerged (both with for profit and non profit models) and made massive progress for humanity.
Charity does serve a purpose, but it will only account for a small percentage of the global economy. Social entrepreneurship could realistically account for 30% or more within our life times.
We are on the way around the world for social lending to expand, for communities to grow and to regenerate and for “Finance for our Future”
Posted in 51give, Environment, Microfinance | No Comments »
May 20th, 2008
51Give.com is looking for volunteers to help develop www.51give.org to help orphans and rebuild schools after the Earthquake, please email volunteer@51give.com
For immediate relief, one of the best things to do is send a few SMS to the China mobile number to donate. The simplest way to do that is to send ‘1? or ‘2? by SMS to 1069999301, to donate 1 or 2 RMB to the Red Cross Society of China. The number of SMS donations is not limited and China Mobile users can send up to ‘30′ in one message. Other ways to donate here.
Posted in 51give, Environment, Natural Disaster | No Comments »
May 17th, 2008
We all know about the devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China. But why did so many schools collapse? So far the estimates are near to 7,000.
This is a question being asked by many in China and has got a rapid response from the government.
“If quality problems do exist in the school buildings, we will punish those responsible severely and give the public a satisfactory answer,” Han Jin, head of the Ministry of Education’s development and planning department, said on Friday’s state-run forum.
Also state ran People’s Daily is keeping a pretty open policy with lively debate on the subject on their discussion forum. Users are freely pointing out corners must have been cut on the school construction.
On the international media -Time Magazine’s online edition:
“It was built out of tofu,” says Hu Yuefu, 44, of the school building that collapsed in the magnitude 7.9 quake and killed his 15-year-old daughter Huishan. He believes local government officials and the building contractors are responsible. As he speaks, a crowd gathers around to listen and offer their support. “I hope there is an investigation,” Hu says. “Otherwise, there are a thousand parents who would beat them to death.”
Other media praised Wen Jia Bao for moving so quickly, something that doesn’t always happen in other countries, remember Katrina.
Following on from my previous posting, now Nortel China employees have raised so far 320,000 rmb fully on their own backs and now Nortel has agreed to match this figure up to 100,000 USD (700,000RMB).
The challenge of survival is today, however soon the even bigger challenge of rebuilding lives, business and homes will begin.
Today the Red Cross ww.redcross.org.cn can help with immediate needs.
Soon when the rebuilding begins 51Give will to take an active role, we are currently in talks with partners on the next steps to make a difference.
51Give team
Posted in 51give, Environment, Natural Disaster | No Comments »
May 15th, 2008
Earthquake Disaster - We are all the same
I am amazed at the generosity of people in China. For example, in 2 hours the Nortel Beijng employees gave 135,000 RMB to this cause and they are expecting more to be given this week.
Many gave 200-500 RMB each which would be like an average employing giving 150-300 USD each.
Open the attached slide pack, it reminds us after all the talk we are all the same.
Daniel
Posted in Environment, Natural Disaster | No Comments »
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