I first met Eric Rasmussen, a former Navy doctor and a co-founder of humanitarian tech consultancy IHS (and also a six-time Burning Man veteran), at a charette on refugee issues organized by Rocky Mountain Institute. That led to being embedded in the last of three enormous military/civilian humanitarian exercises known as Strong Angel that he organized. During his decades in the military Eric was deployed 18 times, including stints to Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq. If he hasn't seen it all, he has certainly seen considerably more than the rest of us.
A few months ago Eric gave a keynote at conference organized by the Alliance for Peacebuilding. It is well worth listening to the entire presentation (it's talking head video, so you don't really need to watch). There is a quite a bit to unpack—from energy to social media—and all of it is thought-provoking. My favorite quote, though, is about libraries. It is a small point in a big talk, but still an important one:
"Many don't realize how important public libraries are in the United States and how rare they are in the rest of the world. We rightly put an emphasis on schools, but I think not nearly enough on general access to libraries. Not many people can attend school. Anyone and everyone can walk into a library."
Full disclosure: I am the child of a public librarian. They rock.
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• re reference to photographer Lorenza Moscia - the video did not cut-away to his photographs, so click here to see a portfolio on his website.
• re reference to 19 Copenhagen Goals —click here to see a pdf.
A few months ago Eric gave a keynote at conference organized by the Alliance for Peacebuilding. It is well worth listening to the entire presentation (it's talking head video, so you don't really need to watch). There is a quite a bit to unpack—from energy to social media—and all of it is thought-provoking. My favorite quote, though, is about libraries. It is a small point in a big talk, but still an important one:
"Many don't realize how important public libraries are in the United States and how rare they are in the rest of the world. We rightly put an emphasis on schools, but I think not nearly enough on general access to libraries. Not many people can attend school. Anyone and everyone can walk into a library."
Full disclosure: I am the child of a public librarian. They rock.
•••••••••••••••••••••••
• re reference to photographer Lorenza Moscia - the video did not cut-away to his photographs, so click here to see a portfolio on his website.
• re reference to 19 Copenhagen Goals —click here to see a pdf.
