Q: How are you projecting change?

I am working with an amazing volunteer team on the start-up of a new non-profit called Peace Geeks. We help strengthen the technological and professional capabilities of non-profit organizations working on peace, accountability and human rights initiatives by remotely connecting them to skilled volunteers. Our client organizations gain the benefit of skilled volunteers, while our volunteers (over 100 and counting) can stay at home and have the opportunity to make an impact globally. We also have a secondary objective of raising public awareness about the important work done by individuals and organizations working on these issues around the world. We don’t hear their stories often enough through traditional media channels and we want to help change that.

We want to work on projects that advance the strategic objectives of our client organizations so what that looks like will vary from one organization to another, but projects can include: developing organizational web sites to disseminate important information with relevant audiences; setting up data collection or crowd sourcing tools to assist with research, programming and policy advocacy efforts; implementing mobile phone applications to assist with early warning tools or to support awareness-raising campaigns; creating training programs for social media strategy, web site management, etc. We also work on the development of strategic management and planning skills, including team coaching, marketing strategy, human resources management, program strategy, etc. We will also explore developing new tools or integrating several existing tools if and when we see that it addresses a broad need.

Q: Do you feel film has power to create social change?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, this team initially came together after 14 individuals who didn’t really know each other met up watch the documentary film ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ at the Amnesty International Film Festival this past November. This movie tells the amazing story of the Liberian women’s movement, which played a pivotal role in helping to end the 14-year civil war in that country. When the screening ended, the energy was palpable. Many of us wanted to do something to support the amazing work of organizations such as Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), featured in the film. I have since toured this film across the country for different audiences, and no matter where I show it, people are inspired by the courage and fiery determination of the Liberian women.

Q: Tell me about the inspiration behind your newly founded NGO…

Apart from the screening, the idea for Peace Geeks culminated from my experience in the private sector where I worked on IT projects for eight years, and later in the non-profit sector and with the UN where I worked on peace and security issues. I came to realize that many of the organizations working in this space lacked the basic tools, systems and skills they needed to be most effective with their limited resources. Sometimes cost is the most significant barrier to accessing these tools, but more often than not, it is lack of awareness about the options available or limited access to the skills needed to get them. Some non-profits also may have limited strategic management capabilities and in some cases we may have a role to play in supporting the development these skills.

Another important piece of the puzzle was that I could see that many people with professional backgrounds wanted to contribute their skills and time to support such organizations, but just didn’t know where to get started. We help make these connections and harness this potential. We recognize that while the core work on these issues happens on the ground in the countries where our clients operate, we can nevertheless play an important support role in building their technological and management capabilities so they can be most effective with their resources and make the greatest impact in their communities.

Interested in finding out more about Peace Geeks? Checkout the website at www.peacegeeks.org .

Want to get involved? Send an email to volunteer@peacegeeks.org or register as a volunteer at www.peacegeeks.org/pg/volunteer_registration.php

- Rebecca @rebeccaapeel

Tom is a carbon finance and clean-tech IT entrepreneur. He works on emission reduction and renewable energy projects, recently founding Habitat Carbon Assets. In addition to his work with Habitat Carbon, Tom also works with Green Angel Energy. Hopefully I managed to ask the right questions to get us all informed on what clean tech is and how we can get involved – checkout the interview!
 

 

Q: Tell us about your work with Habitat Carbon?

Habitat Carbon has developed software that allows anyone who is installing clean technology – technology that reduces energy, reduces carbon, or produces renewable energy – to find out exactly what incentives they can get and to secure those incentives.

90% of clean technology installations rely heavily on incentives. 60% of people aren’t properly accessing the incentives – like solar or carbon credits – they are able to get. With the computing power and data mining available today, we think its a no brainer to use software to solve that problem.

Q: How does Habitat Carbon contribute to positive shift in Vancouver’s green initiatives?

Vancouver is doing a ton of positive things to reduce carbon and reduce energy usage in the city and is trying to become the greenest city in the world in a few years. That work is going to require the help of incentives like tax incentives, carbon offsets, and renewable energy credits. We aren’t working with the City yet, but its possible they could use our software to optimize their carbon and energy incentives to accelerate more of the carbon and energy reducing work they are already doing.

Q: How can an event like the Projecting Change Film Festival affect climate change?

I think the most important thing about projecting change is that it is really inspirational. For years I have been supporting the festival and bringing friends to it. Fighting climate change is hard – it is the biggest issue we face. Keeping the energy up of those fighting it, and keeping a community inspired is incredibly important. Projecting Change does that better than anything else in Vancouver in my opinion.

Q: GreenAngel Energy?

My work with GreenAngel Energy stems from my work with Habitat Carbon. Habitat is one of the six companies that Green Angel has invested in, I become a shareholder of Green Angel as part of that transaction. We are working with Green Angel to find promising companies in BC that are commercializing technology that reduces energy or carbon. Early stage, Angel style, investing in technology companies is key to new crazy ideas getting off the ground growing into the game changing solutions we need to combat climate change.

Q: What is the biggest challenge Vancouver faces in fighting climate change?

We’re in a fortunate position to act as a leader but being a leader is never easy. Vancouver must work hard to show the world what’s possible in terms of the technologies that we can commercialize to help fight climate change and reduce energy and carbon. This also means political commitment to policies to clean energy, cap and trade, and carbon taxation. Because Vancouver operates in the context of BC, it means the Premier must step up in the ways that Mayor Robinson is and Premier Campbell did. Our biggest challenge will be staying the course of commitment to being a leader, even though that might seem scary and hard to do.

Q: What action can individuals take to get involved with clean technology and organizations like Habitat Carbon?

The best ways to get involved are investing in clean tech start-ups, starting clean tech start-ups (or related impact focused ventures), or setting/supporting the right types of policy. Depending on who you are, pick one of these. If we want real results, we as individuals must commit our resources – time or money – to real change. Carrying cloth bags is good, but bigger commitment is being demanded of all of us by the planet at this point. Habitat is working with a number of local clean technology and a few clean tech investment funds to give them access to the maximum potential incentives they can get to make their work more profitable and more doable. GreenAngel allows anyone with $5000 they want to put into clean tech to invest in a basket of 6 promising clean tech start-ups that are all based in BC. This is huge, before GreenAngel, non-”accredited” investors, those with under a million in liquid capital or a very large annual income, could not invest directly in early stage clean tech companies.

Find out more about clean technology, GreenAngel Energy http://greenangelenergy.ca/, and Habitat Carbon Assets http://habitatcarbon.com/ and how to turn your carbon and energy reductions into revenue.

If you find clean tech and energy efficiency interesting you’ll want to be in attendance at the Projecting Change 2011 premier of Powerful: Energy For Everyone. http://projectingchange.ca/schedule/powerful-energy-for-everyone-2/ After the film Power Plant Vancouver http://www.powerplantvancouver.com/ will be hosting guest speakers and clean technology conversations.

Rebecca – @rebeccaapeel

Enter to win 2 free tickets to Powerful: Energy For Everyone by tweeting the following: 

I just entered to WIN 2 tickets to Powerful Energy For Everyone @pcffVancouver http://ow.ly/4WTyx ^A #pcff2011 RT to ENTER