This pledge has been successful and is now closed. However the project is underway and you can find out more about it and how to get involved by going to www.mentoringworldwide.org/blog/
"I will mentor a minimum of two people in the developing world in the area of my skills base and expertise (media, communications, broadcasting , democratic media building, participatory media, community video). I will do this for free for a minimum of six months (in my free time). The mentoring will be in person or via email/skype and the mentoring connections will be established by a website and database that I am willing to take responsibility for creating but only if 250 other people will mentor a minimum of two people in their skills."
— Lucy Hooberman
Deadline to sign up by: 15th January 2006
349 people signed up (99 over target)
More details
This kind of idea has been around for a while, and it surfaced again for me at TED last year at a big brainstorm. It would be great finally to launch it. 250 people will give us enough critical mass to offer, at launch, a really compelling collection of mentoring topics to people in the developing world. From there the idea could spread to become something really big.
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Lucy Hooberman, the Pledge Creator, joined by:
Comments on this pledge
I think this is a wonderful iniative and I would like to talk with you about it further. You can reach me at bill@sobel.com
Sincerely,
Bill
- Chris
I'm in - my skills are patent development, manufacturing and new product marketing. I will mentor two people in the process of taking thier idea to the marketplace from inspiration to market by sharing with them my knowledge and some contacts (only those that agree) to further their goals. I will also send people to your pledge to assist you in your goal.
I'm a TED WANNABE so I've been subscribing to your newsletters which is how I found out about this wonderful idea.
Since launching www.mypetfat.com in January of 04 I've been fortunate to have had my thoughts + product connect with people all over the world and I can't think of a better way to share what I've learned in the process with others.
I can't wait to get started.
- Thanks Chris! Jay
What a wonderful idea and I look forward to getting started. My background in is Design, Marketing, PR and Product Development, basically bringing ideas into reality.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you think I can be of service while you're getting things up and running.
Thanks, Jay
Thanks for providing the opportunity!
Patricia
Frank
Count me in!
Warm regards,
Gary
I have always wondered what we, as simple citizens, could do to help individuals in developing countries in a sustainable way (as opposed to sending a shot of money or actually going on "assignment"). Skype & co open up a whole new range of possibilities, and your website will provide the missing link by connecting skills and needs. Your idea is great, I wish that you succeed and am looking forward to be part of it. I am proud to support you by joining your pledge.
Boaz.
Cheers,
Teddy
Mentoring can be so very powerful.
We've established a global mentoring website called Women With 2020 Vision to provide mentoring to girls in developing countries so that they might start businesses in 2020 after having been coached, encouraged, and mentored through the years - I have found that the most successful mentoring is long-term, several year process.
I'd be happy to work with you on this.
Best,
Sarah McCue
Founder, Women with 2020 Vision
This is a fantastic idea and I'd love to be involved. I don't know how useful I will be - I am a professional opera singer, working in the UK and internationally, but I'm also a qualified Sound Healer and workshop leader, working with people to uncover their natural voice. I have a lot of experience working with children and am developing a self empowerment workshop for children who have experienced the trauma of war / displacement using singing and the visual arts. If I can be of any help to someone in a developing county I would jump at the opportunity and I will send this link to other people who I think would have great mentoring skills.
I'm very excited to see this pledge succeed!
Darren
Robert Debelle
My background is in IT Leadership and Technology Solutions (most specifically in how they relate to Higher Education).
Ashi.
For the last 15 years I have mentored dozens and dozens of students of Architecture to repay this debt. Why? Because I can.
I would like to mentor two Native American writers. Not sure if this meets your criteria of the 'developing world.'
I want to tell you and others about a project that I founded in 1995 in Seattle, WA called The Alliance Community Psychotherapy Clinic. We developed a win-win-win model. People seeking affordable psychotherapy are matched with a volunteer therapist who in turn are provided mentorship by a senior psychotherapist. That means people can receive high quality treatment while therapists gain access to intimate personalized mentoring and mentors have the opportunity to pass on decades of clinical wisdom to a new generation. We have provided tens of thousands of hours direct service and mentoring and are still growing.
Here we are with a chance to be all we can be and not give up our souls doing it. I'm in. A very large gesture of kindness - I like that.
Thanks Lucy
I would be able to tutor in mathematics and statistics up to undergraduate level (I do it as part of my work already) and could probably tutor scientific subjects (except for biology) up to A-level grade.
I would also be happy to tutor in English.
However, my work can make me very busy at times, so an email only scheme where I had a week to respond to queries would suit me best.
Could we arrange a central scheme of giving notes and problem sheets but then mark and tutor in these individually? I am happy to help a little in discussing and organising effective schemes, ideally for teaching of mathematics.
I will be happy to tutor by email for the forseeable future as long as I could find a workload to suit my diary. If that sounds good enough I would love to make a pledge.
Please get in touch,
Niall
My expertise is in Internet Business Development, helping small businesses in the UK to profit from the web.
I am happy to provide the same for a small cluster of entrepreneurs in the developing world, via Skype and email.
Looking forward to it.
Richard
1) computer technologies are not easily accessible to many people, especially in the rural areas, the prices are high and the Internet connection is not very good. That can be frustrating.
2) not many people speak fluent English, even though almost everybody studies English at school. If some of the mentors speak other languages, it would be nice to somehow let potential mentees know about that. If the language barrier is not going to be a problem, you could potentially reach broader auditory, not only those who studied, worked, lived abroad, or majored in English.
I have an online mentor myself, I think it's great to talk to a real person who is knowledgeable and friendly.
I am signing in because I could provide you with access to potential mentees, activists and concerned citizens, who have Internet access and speak English.
Good luck!
i can do this in spanish or english or both!
in a world of communication
with respect for everybody's live...
let us give eachother the things we have to share together...it is also given unconditional to us and it is cold love...
I'm a musician/sound engineer/sound tech teacher and would like to give some of my knowledge to people in developing countries.
Thank you
My "mentor lens" includes development of emerging media & technology, physical & experiential environments, and event & broadcast management.
This experience has taught me that the exchange of ideas, skills and opinions has a farther reach than money. Looking forward to continue!
This is a fantastic idea.
I am in a community group in a developing world- Kenya. In the group we have many job seeking members. My pledge this year is to mentor some of them to start their own business and to assist those in other proffessions to get mentors.
My 'mentors lens' are business and security management.
In Kenya we have so many unemployed people. If they can be mentored to start business, a big difference will be made in this developing country.
Proud to be part of the team...
This is a great idea and congratulations on your success so far. My area of expertise is information technology management and outsourcing.
Thanks to Chris Anderson and Bill Jensen for spreading the news!
Regards,
Scarlett Hu
Manar
manar-pledgebank@ivision.co.uk
Do you have more information on what happened to this pledge? Those of us who found it after the pledge had closed don't seem to be able to get any information.
Many thnanks in advance,
& hoping you set the "Email me future comments on this pledge" option and get this.
m
I also encourage you to read the PPT essays at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net that illustrate ways programs and funders can collaborate to sustain the growth and constant improvement of programs that connect volunteers and youth in every big city in the world.
In the Program Locator section of the same site you'll see how GIS maps and interactive databases can be used to show where poverty is most concentrated in a big city, and where exising programs are located.
In my blog I write about why this is so important.