Anne-Marie Bakker – Planting Trees for Peace & Security
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
Release Date: 03/08/2017
Sumitra Pasupathy, Global Partnerships Director, Ashoka
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
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Cynthia Cheung, Incubation Program Lead at UNDP and Citi Foundation's Youth Co:Lab
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
In this episode we meet Cynthia Cheung, who leads the incubation programs for young entrepreneurs in over 24 countries at the Youth Co:Lab, an initiative co-led by the UNDP Asia-Pacific and Citi Foundation to economically empower the next generation in the region, through youth entrepreneurship and government innovation.
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Kevin Moon, Head of Impact Investments at Lonsdale Capital on Finding and Scaling Startups that Change the World
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
Now you might have heard about impact investing before, but for many people this is quite a new and up and coming area of investing. So, we’re going to find out more about what exactly it’s all about.
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Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the United Nations World Food Program Innovation Accelerator; Accelerating Solutions to End World Hunger
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
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Catherine Chen, Founder of AvantFaire Investment Management on Impact Investing
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
The impact investing space has boomed in popularity over the past decade, with many institutions adapting the idea that you can invest & generate financial returns from assets, ideas and businesses that also generate positive impact. Founded in 2017 by Catherine Chen, Avantfaire is one of the very few signatories of the United Nationals supported Principles of Responsible Investment, are a member of the Global Impact Investing Network, and are a certified B-Corporation.
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John 'Bob' Ranck, CEO of Orbis International; Home of the Flying Eye Hospital
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
Imagine living without sight. A shocking 75% of all visual impairment can be prevented or treated. Orbis International is an international non-profit that trains medical professionals around the world, rallying world class experts to train local eye care teams. They partner with local hospital and clinics to improve and strengthen services and, though their most iconic tool – the Flying Eye Hospital – they deliver most of their program work in country, on the ground alongside local communities and partn
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Susan Bissell: Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
In this interview I chat with Susan Bissell who is the Director at the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children at UNICEF. Although this episode was recorded a few years ago (I know, I’m sorry I’m slow at editing), Susan’s insights on the work to eliminate violence against children is still highly relevant with 1 in 2 children experiencing violence every year.
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Pete Yao; Chief Impact Officer at Thankyou
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
In this interview I chat with Pete Yao who is the Chief Impact Officer of Thankyou. I love Thankyou because they’ve flipped the whole FMCG model on its head and as a result are doing incredible work and creating huge impact. In this episode we go into detail about how they track impact with a custom-made system that they’ve built. We chat about how they’ve managed to effectively combine the business and social elements into a thriving social enterprise that has impacted over 750,000 people in 20 count
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Andy Last: Leveraging Authentic Communications for Social Impact
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
In this episode I had a chat with Andy Last who is the co-founder of Salt. Recently acquired by MullenLowe, and now known as MullenLowe Salt, the company is a strategic communications agency. As one of the first companies in the UK to be accredited as a B-Corporation, MullenLowe Salt advises organisations on they can use social issues to drive growth, and how communications can effect change to bring about better business results and social progress.
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Tharani Jegatheeswaran: Intrapraneurship, Career Changes and Social Impact Consulting at Deloitte
Doing Good Podcast by Amra Naidoo
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info_outlineThis week on the podcast, I’m chatting to the one and only Anne-Marie Bakker. Power-woman. Environmental advocate. Don’t mess with her, passionate, problem-solver, connector. Tree-planter. And all round, bad-ass. She is a solid driving force in the fight for environmental conservation in the Philippines - one of the last remaining tropical rainforest areas.
Some estimates state that forest cover in the Philippines has dropped from 70% down to 20% over the course of the 20th Century (check this report). Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink—soaking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Deforestation undermines this important carbon sink function.
According to WWF, some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year—equivalent to 48 football fields every minute, and it is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation. So what are the causes of deforestation? Well, illegal logging, fires used to clear land for agriculture, and fuel-wood harvesting.
The impacts are overwhelming. But in this episode we’re going to hear from an environmental warrior extraordinaire. Anne-Marie is truly at the forefront of the effort to restore the lungs of the world.
I remember one night, there was a group of us and we were all chatting. It was late at night and over a few beers and Anne-Marie was telling a story about a time that she was in walking by herself down a dirt road in one of the remote village-islands and how she scared away a group of rowdy guys with a large knife that she was carrying for scenarios like that. If you’re looking for stories of adventure, look no further than Anne-Marie. She is humble, down to earth, and a great storyteller. As the VP Operations & Partnerships at Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED) in The Philippines, Anne-Marie chats about how she does it all, her family history of and personal motivation for conservation, as well as some of the projects that she runs; one in particular that I find so fascinating, is the planting for peace program - engaging the people of Mindanao in environmental conservation through tree planting projects with the Philippines Defence Force, as a way of promoting peace in that region. I’m not going to give any more away – I hope you enjoy the show!