This is a topic which is very pertinent, as the Social Sector is the one which takes care when there is no one to help in a disaster or the marginalized in Society, who are not plugged in to the Global Economic Grid. Like the Fourth Estate- The Media, the business world is the one which feeds it through advertisements and other products. The messenger is dependent on the protagonist for its survival!

To extend an analogy from the media- the Social Sector is financial aid dependent on the goodwill of people and of institutional donors like foundations. The social enterprise space is a novel concept but it has intrinsic limitations as far as the scale of impact is concerned. Sometimes, Good Old Charity is the best way to fund a cause!

This post is the initiation of a conversation…Lets Talk!

The ‘Second World’ is a book which I had recently read (Its new paperback edition) authored by Parag Khanna, a fellow with the New America Foundation. I had got hooked to his writing by watching his TED Talk, which I thought was a fascinating and a refreshing take on the Post-Soviet Geopolitics and its ramifications on the developing world power dynamics. Its a book on the Developing World, Globalization and the geopolitical chess-game for the hearts, minds and markets of the developing world. The book covers Central Asia, South East Asia and Latin America comprehensively. The books USP is its honesty and ‘no holds barred’ approach to analysing power dynamics. The analysis of the politics of the Arab World is a note-worthy mention as well.

The author is very impressed with Singaporean way of Governance (I second him on this point completely) and completely omits India and Pakistan out of this purview of research. The book’s approach is very meticulous in its details and filled with quips and anecdotes which makes it a fun read.

The book is a relevant read even after two years of its publication.

On this Christmas day, lets remember why is Christmas is Christmas…it is because Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born as a symbol of hope and love for his people. Christmas has been turned into a day where the retail industry has a field day- with all shopping and the dining (well, drinking in some parts of the world)…Christmas and the holiday season has been a time period for economic vibrancy creating part-time and temporary jobs  as well as tourism dependent economies depend on this time of the year for a financial short in the arm.

On this Christmas lets remember the resource poor but spirit rich cousins in our backyard, our kampung or our community. Lets buy someone dinner, lets buy a gift for the elderly and more importantly lets spend some valued time with our loved ones in this rat race called work-life.

Lets have a Christmas to remember!

Well, I have just finished up on my masters in Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore (results came out a few days back!) and there are loads to thank Singapore for in this life-changing transformational experience in Singapore over the last 18 months. I learnt how to think like an engineer at NUS, met amazing people and made great friendships to treasure.

Singapore has taught me things that are intangible jewels and cannot be quantified on a transcript. It has given me a passion for excellence, a hunger for making a difference with the opportunity called life and teaching me that the ultimate identity is humanity which is above ethno-social characterizations.

In this first blog post of mine, I treat this as an opportunity to thank the amazing talents who have tutored me in Singapore.

I wish my Friends a Merry Christmas!

 

 

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!