Global Integrators--15

Global Innovators

Making Important and Sustainable Differences 

“We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path. As we embark on this collective journey, 
we pledge that no one will be left behind.“
Transforming Our World: The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

(United Nations, Preamble, 1 August 2015)

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

(note that the word “innovation” appears 20 times in this document)

First World Problems, Weird Al Yankovic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwvlbJ0h35A

Lyrics:

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/w/weird_al_yankovic/first_world_problems.html#!

We think that the time is coming for a diversity of colleagues to come together intentionally, visibly, and practically on behalf of global integration (GI). GI put simply is how we skillfully integrate our lives and values on behalf of the issues facing humanity. Likewise we think that the time is coming for colleagues to carefully reflect and act on what it means to be good global learners-practitioners--to seriously consider what it means to be what we are calling global integrators (GI-People).

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This entry highlights the need for important innovations to really make a sustainable difference in the plethora of the world’s great problems and the world’s vulnerable people. Specifically, we offer some ideas on personal qualities that can help people like you and me make a difference in our world as global innovators who are helping to build the future we want and wanting to be the people we need. Many of these characteristics overlap with the material in previous entries and can also be understood as commitments. I find them to be especially relevant for the UN’s transformative agenda for sustainable development, with its five overlapping areas of people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships—to which I unswervingly add a sixth crucial area: probity (i.e. virtue, integrity, adherence to the highest principles).  As with many of these entries, this current entry on global innovators is still a work in progress!

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Some Characteristics of Global Innovators

1. Not content with the status quo
--Not business as usual
--Leave no one behind
--Transformation at all levels, from the personal to the macro systemic
**Example: Peoples Health Movement (PHM)  http://www.phmovement.org/

“The PHM is a global network bringing together grassroots health activists, civil society organizations and academic institutions from around the world, particularly from low and middle income countries...We currently have a presence in around 70 countries. Guided by the People’s Charter for Health (PCH), PHM works on various programmes and activities and is committed to Comprehensive Primary Health Care and addressing the Social, Environmental and Economic Determinants of Health. The world is facing a global health crisis characterized by growing inequities within and among nations and millions of preventable deaths, especially among the poor. These are in large degree due to unfair economic structures which lock people into poverty and poor health. In 2000, concerned activists, academics and health workers got together for the first People’s Health Assembly. The People’s Charter for Health (PCH), our founding document was developed and PHM was born.” 

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2.  Making a difference

--Low and middle income countries and colleagues
--Vulnerable people
--Focus on the big stuff
**Example: MHIN/Grand Challenges Canada
http://www.grandchallenges.ca/

“What is a Grand Challenge? A grand challenge is a specific critical barrier that, if removed, would help solve an important health problem in the developing world, with a high likelihood of global impact through widespread implementation….Historically, some of the greatest impacts in global health were from innovators who tried out bold ideas. The discovery of vaccines over 200 years ago and of antibiotics in the last century are classic examples of unorthodox thinking that resulted from bold ideas that have had big impact and saved millions of lives…” 

3. Awareness of the global context

--Staying current with global events, issues, reports, etc.
--Understanding the multi-faceted nature of most major issues
--Pursuing inter-sectoral involvement
**Example: Understanding the Current Global Context, Global Integration Update, Member Care Associates, April 2015
http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e83a5528fb81b78be71f78079&id=18cf5092dc

“How are we doing as a world community? How can we better understand current efforts to promote wellbeing for all? Here are five current materials to help us explore these important questions. The first four materials are reports that overview the state of world's development (items 1-3) and peacebuilding (item 4). We encourage you to take the time to at least read the overviews/summaries and to make some notes/applications as you do so. We have gone over these items many times (and with several colleagues) in order to grasp the content, new terms, and implications for our world, our work, and our lives…”

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4. Ethical Imperatives for the common good

--Personal responsibility with moral courage
--Sense of urgency
--Contempt for evil
**Example: Laudato Si’: On the Care of our Common Home, Pope Francis (May 2015) https://laudatosi.com/watch

“158. In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters. This option entails recognizing the implications of the universal destination of the world’s goods, but…it demands before all else an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor in the light of our deepest convictions as believers. We need only look around us to see that, today, this option is in fact an ethical imperative essential for effectively attaining the common good."

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5. Mentality and Lifestyles

--A way of thinking
--A way of being
--A way of relating
**Example:  See the opening music video, First World Problems…and avoiding consumerism, corruption, complacency, etc.

6. Working together

--Finding common ground
--Building a professional community
--Connecting and contributing
**Example: Mental Health Innovation Network
http://mhinnovation.net/

“We’re a community of mental health innovators - researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, service user advocates, and donors from around the world - sharing innovative resources and ideas to promote mental health and improve the lives of people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders.”

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7. Etc.: funding, organizational and governmental backing, perseverance, creativity....
**Examples: Forces for Good (nonprofit organizations), How to Change the World (social entrepreneurs), A Path Appears...

Finally, and pulling some of these ideas together, watch the trailer for the film A Path Appears:
http://apathappears.org/film/

MC-MH: Global Integration—10

Conclusion:
Moral Courage and Global Duty  

Certainty of death, small chance of success...
What are we waiting for?

Gimli, contemplating going to the Black Gate of Mordor,
based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

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This is the final entry regarding future directions for integration. We defined integration as a field of study which brings together the disciplines of mental health and theology in order to better understand and help humans. Ultimately the desire in all of our integrative endeavors is to glorify God, and as  Paul says, ‘whether we are here on earth or at home with the Lord, our ambition is to be pleasing to Him' (2 Cor. 5:8). We have been discussing how the ongoing/additional links between member care (MC) and mental health (MH) are highly relevant for the global development of integration—global integration (GI). And we have looked at how GI can be very relevant (currently and potentially) for the global development of mission/aid and human health.

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Our exploration has really just begun. It awaits development by other colleagues in the field of integration (ranging from senior to early career to students). These are colleagues who recognize the opportunity and duty to take integration far more globally. I believe that their moral courage and competencies will chart a strategic course for GI, right into the heart of the challenges facing humanity. So what are we waiting for?

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Here is a summary list of the 10 areas (entries) that we have covered in our journey into GI. I have also included some of the main points for each entry.  

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1. Foundations and Directions

GI involves: growing deeply and going broadly; building on foundations; developing new competencies; breaking bubbles; crossing sectors; taking risks; and challenging the status quo. And doing all these things on behalf of humanity in need.

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2. Windows and Agendas

Depending on the work-life expectancy for those involved in integration, there is a 10-40 year “window” of development. What will integration be like and where will it be during this time period—from now until say 2050? Should we intentionally shape it in different ways? If so, how?

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3. Tran(s)pan in the GI Commons

We must go further and deeper if we are to truly develop GI, or better, a “GI Commons” in which a diversity of humans can meet on a level field for mutual exchanges and mutual support. Something new needs to emerge…I think it will involve in its core a shift in mentality and a shift in lifestyle.

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4. Global Integration and Psychology International

As we stay in touch with global mental health resources and developments, including psychology international, we will be better equipped to provide member care in mission/aid and beyond.

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5. Mapping GI

Based on my recent article on global mental health, six initial categories of resources and involvement are suggested for “mapping” GI. These  include: organizations, publications, conferences, training, human rights, and humanitarian action.  

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6. Finding Our GI Voices

How can we practically connect and contribute, with some current examples involving global health and the United Nations.

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 7. GI Footprints

Explores where GI is making its mark and where it is not. Where does integration need to go globally?

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8. Climbing or Confining: Three Commitments for GI

Reviews the need for staying current, reviewing resources, and being actively involved in GI.

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9. Drafting Your GI Statement

Suggestions for writing a short personal statement about how your work, life, values, and aspirations connect/contribute to the global world.

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10. Conclusion: Moral Courage and Global Duty

Humanity is waiting. So what are we waiting for?
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Tu nobis Victor Rex, miserere.

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Reflection and Discussion

Which of the 10 entries was the most challenging, helpful, and/or directional for you?

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In what ways are moral courage and global duty part of your life?

Member Care and Transparency—Part 4

Developmental Musings on Blowing Whistles

Whistle blowing is a difficult and risky aspect of transparency.

It takes moral courage, skill, and support.

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Whistle blowing is a term taken from the sports world. A referee overseeing a game will blow a whistle when some type of wrong behavior (breaking the rules) is committed by a player or even by a coach. The game is temporarily stopped when the whistle blows. The infraction is pointed out clearly and “publically” to all the participants. There is usually a consequence—a penalty.

One example of a misbehavior meriting a referee’s whistle would be intentionally or accidentally kicking someone in a football match. Another example would be intentionally or accidentally pushing someone down during a basketball game. Still other examples would be the far more minor violations like being off sides in a football match or dribbling the basketball with both hands at the same time.

Referees can blow whistles without fear of reprisal because they have recognized and legitimate authority to do so. Their job is to enforce the rules and ensure fair play. Staff in organizations on the other hand, do not usually have the authority of a referee. Neither do staff usually have a set of rules (recognized organizational guidelines) regarding how to do whistle blowing and handle grievances. They can thus be reticent to query/challenge possible misbehaviors and if they do so they may be vulnerable to reprisals. The same applies, as well, to leaders in many organizations. Could such reprisals happen in faith-based organizations and others that espouse good relationships, justice, compassion, and high ethical values? Well, quite possibly!

Whistle blowing in organizational settings can include lots of things. It might mean an employee talking to a supervisor about someone’s inappropriate sexual comments or relentless teasing of others. It could be confronting a leadership team that is withholding information about environmental damage or undisclosed political contributions related to the organization’s activities. Or it could entail filing a formal complaint with the governing board or an external regulatory or police body about possible inappropriate allocation of funds. Whistle blowing serves as a protective function. It is a call for transparency and accountability.

Moral Courage and Moral Cowardice, with Lots In-Between

Let’s imagine that there were some major international frauds in the faith-based sector. Many people were devastated by them. What would people in the sector do who heard about the frauds? Would they inquire more about the frauds and confront the frauds in spite of possible negative consequences? What if there was very little response in terms of transparency and accountability by people who had been involved or affected? Is it OK then to just let things be and to move on? What if the situation malignantly spread to also involve various overlapping issues including discrediting, wrongful dismissals, cover ups, and other injustices? How involved would people likely become in order to do something about it? What would you do? Or what would you want if you were one of the victims?

Note that there have in fact been numerous financial scandals that have affected the faith based sector. This year, 2009, for example, marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the New Era scandal in the USA. As you will see in the staggering information linked below, fraudsters in the more recent news like Bernie Madoff certainly have had their predecessors in people like New Era’s John Bennett who embezzled some 135 Million US dollars from over 1000 donors in the Christian charities and organizations.

Thank goodness for the courage, determination, and research of whistle blowing people like Harry Markopolis and Albert Meyer. Markopolis was a financial analyst who “chased” Madoff for some nine years and Meyer was an accounting teacher who insisted that Bennett’s scheme was fraudulent. In spite of being ignored or opposed by others (especially people/institutions benefiting from these “amazing and benevolent” profit-making investments), their ethical commitment to confront wrongdoing and to protect others continued to impel them to take a stand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_New_Era_Philanthropy

Fortunately in major situations like this the details usually go public in due course. The concerted voices from the citizen sector, often with support from people of influence, usually win the day. Government investigators/agencies begin to investigate then prosecute and the international media carry the story. The wheels of justice turn slowly yet the state ultimately does not wield the sword in vain upon those who practice evil (Romans 13: 4).

What could we learn from such situations in the faith-based sector? First we probably have to acknowledge that we may not in fact have learned very much from previous history. We continue to be vulnerable to unscrupulous people who we “trust” and of whom we find it difficult to believe that they could intentionally dupe others and cover up. So we would have to be transparent about the reality that these things do in fact happen, even as the New Testament, business sector, governments, and history warn us over and over again. (See the weblog post from 6 November 2008 for example on New Testament warnings. Go to this internal link and then scroll down to the date: http://coremembercare.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-02-18T21%3A06%3A00Z&max-results=25).

Second we would need to acknowledge our limitations, mistakes, and fears in addition to what we have done well. How have we responded and why? Have we acted with moral courage or have we acted with moral cowardice, or something in-between? In other words we would have to be willing to openly review the specific fraud situations and how they have been handled. We would have to minimize rationalizations and making excuses for not confronting those who are guilty or getting more involved to protect vulnerable people. This individual and group commitment to soul-searching, including doing external independent reviews and internal “morbidity and mortality” consultations, would be one of the best safeguards for preventing similar injustices in the future in which people and organizations get exploited and damaged.

For some related thoughts on fostering organizational health and for dealing with serious deviance and dysfunction, see the article and links at the Reality DOSE web site (link is below). This material goes along well with the recent research by Transparency International et al on Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Assistance. See the link below for the research report, especially the two-page "Executive Summary". By and large the mission and humanitarian sector, for all our admirable and exemplary qualities, can be vulnerable, naïve, and lack the basic training and recognized protocols to report and deal with serious misconduct.
http://MCAresources.googlepages.com/realitydose

http://transparency.org/publications/publications/other/humanitarian_assistance_report_2008

God is Pro-Transparency

The main actor in situations where there is serious injustice and a paucity of transparency/accountability would seem to be God Himself. He truly hears the cries of the afflicted. He really hears the whistles blowing loud and clear. He Himself will be transparent about the truth even if people are not. Psalm 37 is very instructive here. The promises in this Psalm on the part of God are encouraging and substantial. Here are some excerpts that can be of much help to anyone who is struggling with life’s injustices.

“Do not fret because of evil doers…
they will wither quickly like the grass.

Trust in the Lord and do good…commit your way to the Lord.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
and your judgment as the noonday.

For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones.

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in Him.”

Transparency—The Book

Consider carefully this next set of quotes from Bennis et al in Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor (2006). I think that this is a timely book for all of us in member care and mission/aid. Remember too that it is not just about the “them” out there somewhere or the “bad” people in our midst. It relates to all of us.

“But legislation alone [the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the USA] cannot make organizations open and healthy. Only the character and will of those who run them and participate in them can do that….If a culture of collusion exists instead of a culture of candor, participants will find ways around the rules, new or old, however stringent.” (p. 8)

…Glazer's study revealed that they [whistleblowers] almost always found the courage to speak out in their deep commitment to the core values of the organization. Even when labeled traitors by their colleagues, such tellers of unsettling truths often feel passionate loyalty to the organization and act because they feel the secret activity violates its mission and ethical core.” (10)

“The charge of disloyalty is as easy for leaders to bring against followers as it is difficult for the accused to counter and disprove. Moreover, as loyalty is typically an admirable trait, it is also a convenient blind for cowardly followers to hide behind.” (p. 79)

For more information on whistle blowing see the helpful suggested policy/white paper on the web site of the Evangelical Council for Finacial Accountability (ECFA):

http://www.ecfa.org/TopicDisplay.aspx?PageName=TopicPolicy_SuspectedMisconduct

For some additional perspectives on fraud in Christian circles, see the June 2009 article "Popping the Fraud Bubble" and related links in the magazine Christianity Today.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/june/4.14.html?start=1#related

Reflection and Discussion

1. Recall a time when you blew a whistle. What was it like and what happened?

2. What protocols exist in your organization for grievances and whistle blowing? How adequate are these protocols?

3. List three thoughts from Bennis et al that make the most sense to you. How can you apply these in your setting?

4. Respond to this statement and give an example: Often times there is not a need for more light to shine. Rather the need is to act upon the light that is already clearly shining.

Member Care and Doing Good II

Beauty and the Good

Sandro Botticelli, 1500, detail from Mystic Nativity

May we see beauty and do good

in spite of pain and darkness.

Courage.

Not cowardice.

“Be totally ready
to receive the gift that’s coming
when Jesus arrives [again].”
I Peter 1, The Message

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And in the meantime,

dance with angels.

Member Care and Moral Courage

Your task is to be true not popular.

Popularity contests are not truth contests.
Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
Luke 6, The Message

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Transparency is understood to be a key part of good governance. The ideal seems to be that the more a company discloses about what is happening within it, the less chance there will be for misconduct, and the greater chance there will be for effective performance. Yet companies can and still be deceptive and commit fraud even if they disclose what they are required to do so legally. Two recent examples are Enron and Parmalat. They disclosed all kinds of of data per statutory requirments in the United States and Europe. However both companies deceived the public about what was really going on in their businesses. The issue was certainly not transpparency. Rather it was honesty--telling the truth.
paraphrased from The Myth of Transparency, Zachary Karabell, Newsweek July 14, 2008, page 47

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Reflection and Discussion
**Think of a time when telling the truth was very costly for you personally.
**Think of a time in the near future when telling the truth may also be very costly.
**Do you have the moral courage to be more true than popular?

Member Care and Moral Courage

Recreancy: Cowardly Betrayal

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Deus lux est et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae

I John 1:5

Who among us has the moral courage:

to be a light--for relational reality

to be a bridge--for relational resiliency?

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Who has the moral courage to truly love:

to confront the recreancy

the lies the fraud the political stealth the cover ups the cheap discrediting the dirty money the scapegoating the pseudo unity the demonic acquiescence?

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Who in our member care/mission community will take the risk?

Our wounds will not go away.

Member Care and the Body of Christ

Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi

miserere nobis.

We are looking at "wounds" in the Body of Christ. We are relating specific paintings of Christ's "passion" from El Prado Museum in Madrid, to the mission/member care world. The level of health/dysfunction (wounds) in our own communities will be reproduced in the communities that we seek to strengthen and form.

The painting below, The Descent from the Cross, was done around 1435 by the Flemish artist Rogier van der Weyden. Who among us also has the moral courage to request and to hold and to care for the broken Body?

Reflection and Discussion
Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Is there something within your sphere of influence that needs justice and mercy? Mercy with justice brings healing--for our communities and those we seek to support/form.
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We will not prosper if we cover a transgression.
But if we confess and forsake our transgressions, we will find mercy.
Proverbs 28:13