Jai Nepal!

READ Nepal is the NGO I will be working with this summer for my International Public Service project. READ has established libraries in many of the rural districts around Nepal. It's a pretty big deal because the literacy rate is low and the people did not have access to books. For my project, I will explore the existing women's art and craft cooperatives and determine the feasability of linkage to the libraries as for-profit ventures. I will also be a part of the team planning to establish regional computer centers. These centers may open the way for e-commerce. Here's some additional info about READ for those of you with a longer attention span:

VISION: A better world through universal educational opportunityand rural development - one person, one village, one country at a time.
WORLDWIDE MISSION: To empower communities using a replicable model of sustainable economic and community development that pairs non-profit libraries with for-profit ventures.

READ Nepal was established in the early 1990's. An American, Dr. Toni Neubauer, came to Nepal on a trekking expedition and asked the Sherpa what was most needed in his village. His answer "A library!" sparked the beginning of the international NGO, READ. For almost two decades, READ has brought life, learning, and literacy to underserved rural communities of Nepal by pairing non-profit library community centers with for-profit businesses in partnership with the local population.

Here is a map of Nepal with the locations of the READ libraries:
To date 553,380 people have benefited from these projects, 75 librarians have been trained, 95 computers serve the community, an average of 3,500 books fill the shelves, and each library employs an average of 5 people. READ library centers serve as community meeting halls and health clinics. English and literacy classes are held, entrepreneurial training takes place,conferences are conducted, and many other events unfold, all aimed at enriching the community and its people.

This year, READ Global received a grant from the Gates Foundation to expand the model into four additional developing countries. Ultimately, a global network of READ country projects will share resources and best practices much the way the Nepal network is functioning today.

My Clinton School of Public Service practicum team planned and hosted an Arkansas DeltaMade Marketplace at the Clinton School on March 16, 2008. The objectives of the Marketplace event were to raise awareness of the Arkansas DeltaMade brand among the general public in central Arkansas, attract the interest and support of local business and political leaders, open new markets, and foster relationships among the producers.


In preparation for the event, the team developed an event plan, and mailed an informational packet to Arkansas DeltaMade producers. The team created a mailing list of Central Arkansas retailers, business leaders, elected officials and other key stakeholders, and produced the event invitation. Ben Beaumont, UACS Director of Communications, coordinated the event publicity including a segment on KTHV’s Positively Arkansas, print articles in the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, coverage on the Clinton School website and blog, and a press release which was picked up by numerous local and regional print and online media outlets.



Public officials, economic development professionals, central Arkansas gift and food retailers and buyers attended the preview party hosted by Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe. Immediately following the preview party, the Marketplace opened to the general public for shopping with an estimated attendance of 350. The event grossed just over $10,000 for the 30 Arkansas DeltaMade producers who participated. In addition, buyers from retail outlets including Wal-Mart and the Peabody Hotel gift shop made appointments with selected producers to discuss future wholesale orders.

• November Programs at the Clinton School
  
  I realize that I missed quite a few opportunities in November while deep in the trenches of the end of the term and FINALS!!!
  
  Michael Brown, CEO and co-founder of City Year
  Thursday, November 1, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
  – Brown leads City Year, a program for 17 to 24-year-olds to give 10 months of full-time community service to their community and country. The success of City Year helped to inspire President Clinton to create AmeriCorps in 1993.
  
  10th Anniversary of Clinton Presidential Center site selection
  Wednesday, November 7, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)– A panel of city leaders discussed the economic development impact of President Clinton’s decision to locate the Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock. Panelists included City Director Dean Kumpuris, City Manager Bruce Moore, developer Jimmy Moses and Dan O’Byrne, CEO of the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.
  
  Steven Brill, founder of Court TV
  Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)
  After September 11, 2001, Brill became a columnist for Newsweek and an analyst for NBC on issues related to the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
  
  Michael Beschloss, Bestselling author and NBC’s Presidential Historian
  Monday, November 19, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)– Beschloss was recently appointed NBC News’ Presidential Historian – the first time any major network has created such a position – and appears regularly on Meet the Press, Today and all NBC News programs, providing viewers with expert analysis of the executive branch.
  
  Lou Dobbs of CNN
  Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 7:15 p.m. (Sturgis Hall)– Dobbs is the anchor and managing editor of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight. He also hosts a nationally syndicated financial news radio report, The Lou Dobbs Financial Report, and is a columnist for Money magazine and U.S. News and World Report.
  His affect and attitude reminded me of George Wallace!
  
  
  OPPORTUNITIES I MISSED THIS MONTH
  Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU
  “Why Arkansas doesn't have Casinos or a Lottery"– Michael Nelson, professor of Political Science at Rhodes College
  Kevin Sack, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times
  Little Big Minds: Teaching Philosophy to Kids – Marietta McCarty
  Arkansas Smart Core with Ken James, director of the Arkansas Dept. of Education “Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Internment Camps in Arkansas” – Rosalie Gould
  

October Programs at the Clinton School

October 1: Ocean McAdams, Vice President and Director of MTV News McAdams discussed youth activism in philanthropy and the work of MTV to incorporate pop culture into the youth activism movement.

October 2: Kemal Dervis, Head of the United Nations Development Program
The third highest ranking officer of the United Nations, Dervis has had a distinguished career in international development. The former minister for economic affairs and the treasury for Turkey, Dervis also worked for more than 20 years in various positions with the World Bank.

October 11: "Korea and Nuclear Proliferation," a seminar in partnership with the Korea Economic Institute
This seminar focused on a variety of issues facing the Korean Peninsula. Participants in the conference include Daniel Poneman, former senior National Security Council official; Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, mission manager for North Korea; Jack Pritchard, ambassador to the People's Republic of Korea; and Stanley Roth, former assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific.

October 12: Terry McAuliffe, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee
McAuliffe is the author of What A Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals. He spoke about the 2008 election and his life in politics.

October 16: Kevin Klose, President and CEO of National Public Radio
A career journalist, Klose is a former editor and reporter for The Washington Post. National Public Radio is the largest nonprofit radio outlet for news and cultural programming in the country.

October 16: Wesley Clark, Retired Four-Star General
In his new book, A Time to Lead: For Duty, Honor and Country, Clark sets forth a need for change and a new direction for America. Clark served in the U.S. Army for 34years, becoming NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

October 23: Alan Keyes, conservative intellectual and politician Keyes was ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under President Reagan.

October 25: Brett Kavanaugh, Federal Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Washington, D.C. A former staff secretary in the Executive Office of President Bush, Kavanaugh is considered to be on the shortlist for appointment to the Supreme Court.

OPPORTUNITIES I MISSED THIS MONTH:October 17: Judith Stiehm, Author of Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
October 19: Donna Shalala, President of the University of Miami
October 29: Craig Minassian, media consultant for HBO and Comedy Central
October 30: Joseph Wu, chief representative of Taiwan to the United States