{"512601":{"#nid":"512601","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Professor touts keys to international community development success","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn a campus known for new technologies and scientific breakthroughs, one professor applies the principles of innovation to the process of community development.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a strategy he calls \u201cidentify, invest and inspire,\u201d Georgia Tech professor Kirk Bowman seeks successful non-profit organizations fighting poverty around the world to learn from them, give to them and tell their story to as many people as possible.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBowman and the students who take his study abroad courses in Georgia Tech\u2019s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts have found out what it takes to make a difference in the global fight against poverty.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI spent a decade working on local development projects in Fiji with an incredible group of scientists and local partners,\u201d said Bowman, associate chair of the Nunn School and the Jon Wilcox Term Professor of Soccer and Global Politics. \u201cWe had the world\u2019s greatest idea for transformative projects along with excellent funding, great local partners, coverage in important magazines, and we sold the product to the incredible Georgia Aquarium. We were going to start some serious ripples! Our great idea, our great project, our giant failure.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a TEDx Peachtree presentation at Georgia Tech, available on the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W51BsasAx8I\u0022\u003ETEDx YouTube channel\u003C\/a\u003E, Bowman outlined the steps to sustainable community development internationally from what he has learned in the impoverished neighborhoods called favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFirst, instead of investing time and money in Western start-ups in developing countries, provide expansion capital to existing, locally originated organizations with a track record of success. Bowman described this approach as the \u201ccommunity bank model.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA banker friend convinced me that there is a better way, the community bank model, which can have success rates as high as 99 percent,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cHow do community banks increase the success rate from 25 percent to 99 percent? Rather than trying to start up new ripples, we should be looking for existing ripples and successful local leaders and help amplify those. This shift would dramatically increase the efficiency of the billions of dollars donated to international charities each year.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESecond, instead of investing in the next great idea, invest in long-term relationships with organizations that are already successful. So far, Bowman has established partnerships with six such organizations in Rio de Janeiro: Crescer e Viver, Miratus, Jongo da Serrinha, Redes de Mar\u00e9, Cinema Nosso and N\u00f3s do Morro.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe third principle in Bowman\u2019s formula for success is focusing on a niche. In his case, it\u2019s performance-oriented organizations for youth. Each of the six partner organizations he is involved with focuses on developing youth in a unique way. Crescer e Viver uses the circus arts and performance; Miratus uses badminton; Cinema Nosso uses audio visual production; Jongo da Serrinha uses dance; Redes de Mar\u00e9 is multifaceted and includes education, dance, photography, and community pride; and N\u00f3s do Morro draws on acting and theater.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe believe that high-level performance provides a ladder of inspiration, teamwork, identity, dreams and career opportunities,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThese include a range of activities such as sports, theater, circus, visual arts, dance and more.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe fourth step is to play the role of the sidekick, not the superhero. Traditionally, international development projects are brought to impoverished communities, and the Western aid agency is the \u201csuperhero.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Bowman\u2019s model, the aid agency brings the capital but is the \u201csidekick\u201d to the local superheroes who have been working in their communities and have established trust.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLocal ideas and innovation are fragile flames in communities in former colonies,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cIf an American shows up with their big idea and their swagger and American exceptionalism, we suck up all the oxygen and crowd out local ideas and local leaders. We need to oxygenate local ideas and nourish their flames of innovation.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the badminton academy, Miratus, the local innovation was incorporating footwork from Samba dancing into badminton. After importing badminton experts and failing to achieve success in competitions, those with the dream of building a badminton center hit on the idea of using Samba to teach the children to have lightning quick footwork. And it worked.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe most recent national badminton tournament took place in Caxias do Sul in September,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cTwenty-eight Miratus athletes traveled nearly 40 hours by bus and slept on the floor in a rented two-room house with only one shower. They were at a competitive disadvantage against the other 205 athletes, but had the advantage of the quickest feet. The kids from Miratus\u2014trained through samba dancing\u2014dominated with 12 gold medals, nine silver, and nine bronze.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYoung people from Miratus now travel Brazil and the globe playing badminton, even winning medals in the Pan American games, and lifting the self-esteem of individuals and an entire community. One of their members is even currently qualified for the Brazilian Olympic team competing in Rio in 2016.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the final step, Bowman inspires the partner organizations, their communities and the world through one-hour documentaries by award-winning filmmakers. Katia Lund, the co-director of \u201cCity of God\u003Cem\u003E,\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d is directing the six films based in Rio de Janeiro.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBowman isn\u2019t the only one learning from the development projects in the favelas of Rio. When Bowman teaches his study abroad course on community development, Georgia Tech students have the opportunity to travel to Rio and see the successful programs for themselves.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI got involved with Rise Up \u0026amp; Care in August after my summer abroad in South America,\u201d said Hannah Todd, a business major from Peachtree City, Ga. \u201cDr. Bowman was the director of the trip, so I got to hear a lot about this project from him. What really made me want to get involved was my time in Brazil. At the end of my few weeks studying in Rio de Janeiro, all I could think was \u2018Wow. Now this is something I need to be a part of.\u2019\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETodd went on to intern for Rise Up \u0026amp; Care and continues to advocate for its mission. Another Georgia Tech student, Hannah Musall of Augusta, Ga., followed a similar path that included an internship with Rise Up \u0026amp; Care. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Rise Up \u0026amp; Care is a very personal experience for me,\u201d said Musall, who is majoring in international affairs and modern languages. \u201cI have visited with two of the partner organizations, Miratus and Crescer e Viver, and have felt the inspiration and courage that they offer to their communities. To be able to help share this with the world has been a very fulfilling experience, and I am excited to see where the future takes us.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy no means does Bowman want to discourage international aid or investing in development. He believes in it so strongly that he has put his time and money where his mouth is, founding his own non-profit, Rise Up \u0026amp; Care. He and longtime friend and colleague, Jon Wilcox, a California banker, have caught the vision for successful community development, and putting their innovation into practice.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBe generous and charitable but strategic. If we invert and twist the model, contributions to international projects can be\u2014just like samba-badminton\u2014transformative, efficient and lightning quick.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELearn more about Bowman\u2019s work at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.riseup.care\u0022\u003Ewww.riseup.care\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn a campus known for new technologies and scientific breakthroughs, one professor applies the principles of innovation to the process of community development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith a strategy he calls \u201cidentify, invest and inspire,\u201d Georgia Tech professor Kirk Bowman seeks successful non-profit organizations fighting poverty around the world to learn from them, give to them and tell their story to as many people as possible.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On a campus known for new technologies and scientific breakthroughs, one professor applies the principles of innovation to the process of community development."}],"uid":"28797","created_gmt":"2016-03-11 17:21:06","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:05","author":"Lance Wallace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-03-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"512581":{"id":"512581","type":"image","title":"Hannah Musall","body":null,"created":"1458923712","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:35:12","changed":"1475895275","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:35","alt":"Hannah Musall","file":{"fid":"205971","name":"hannah.musall_cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hannah.musall_cropped.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/hannah.musall_cropped.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":384163,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/hannah.musall_cropped.jpg?itok=xljsphKV"}},"512591":{"id":"512591","type":"image","title":"Kirk Bowman","body":null,"created":"1458923790","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:36:30","changed":"1475895275","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:35","alt":"Kirk Bowman","file":{"fid":"205972","name":"bowman_daumas_cropped.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bowman_daumas_cropped.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bowman_daumas_cropped.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1090100,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bowman_daumas_cropped.jpg?itok=DGUt1waW"}}},"media_ids":["512581","512591"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/riseup.care\/","title":"Rise Up and Care"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W51BsasAx8I","title":"\u0022The World Doesn\u0027t Need Another Nonprofit\u0022 TedX video"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/bowman","title":"Kirk Bowman"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"170024","name":"Hannah Musall"},{"id":"171822","name":"Hannah Todd"},{"id":"955","name":"ivan allen college"},{"id":"1747","name":"Kirk Bowman"},{"id":"171823","name":"non profit"},{"id":"170025","name":"Rio de Janeiro"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELance Wallace\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["lance.wallace@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}