"Leadership Through Philanthropy" remarks by FPCD Executive Director
Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation Dinner
Leadership through Philanthropy
Orlando, Florida, 27 July 2007
Remarks by
Claudia Abate Executive Director
It is a profound honour for me to be with you this evening and I must begin by thanking the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation for inviting me to speak about a subject I feel passionately about – philanthropy and service to others.
Like all of us here tonight, I am indebted to Phi Sigma Sigma for teaching me essential life skills and instilling in me the core value of “aiming high”…..After all, if we are not in it to do our very best, why do it at all? Phi Sig is all about excellence and there is no coincidence that we have a national Philanthropy as opposed to national charity. I believe that there is a big difference between charity and philanthropy. Philanthropy demands excellence yet charity can sometimes be simplistic. Philanthropy is planned giving while charity is the coins we toss in the canister at our local stores. And that is certainly not what Phi Sig taught me. Phi Sig taught me to pay attention to deeper needs and to contribute to finding solutions about how we can truly make a difference. This is really what leadership through philanthropy is all about.
Philanthropy is exactly what our twin ideals proclaim: the love for the brotherhood of man and the alleviation of the world’s pain. And like all of life’s pursuits Philanthropy has to be practical and visionary. We can’t chain ourselves to trees and expect to get the full respect that we deserve for an issue. We must be methodical and well prepared.
Through helping others, we find ourselves. We learn not to take for granted the simple things in life and when we give, we receive far more than we ever thought possible.
For me, I always wanted to help people….it is in fact the very reason why I chose to work for the United Nations. My life changed five years ago when the UN sent me to Timor-Leste to help organize their independence ceremonies.
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is in South East Asia, north of Australia and East of Indonesia. It was once a Portuguese colony and during the de-colonization process that brought independence to countries like Mozambique and Angola, once Portugal withdrew from Timor-Leste, Indonesia invaded. What followed was a brutal struggle for self-determination that lasted 24 years, killed 100,000 people and destroyed more than 80% of the country’s infrastructure. It is today the poorest country in Asia where the average income is 1 dollar a day.
When I arrived in Timor-Leste in 2002, I was faced with a deep moment of discovery that amongst so much visible destruction and poverty, the will and the hope of the people was unlike anything I had seen before. I went to Timor-Leste to help them transition from former colonial life into independence. But in fact, the people of Timor-Leste helped me. They left me the desire to want to do more and this experience is the inspiration for the creation of the Foundation for Post Conflict Development, founded to assist countries emerging from conflict situations. Post Conflict countries are more fragile than other countries. Our mission is simple, through education, action and development we can assist these countries on their road to recovery
I will always be grateful to the United Nations for 13 years of tremendous opportunity to see the world and learn from it, but in the end, I found I was unable to pursue my philanthropic mission through the United Nations.
Through the FPCD, I am using the voice that Phi Sigma Sigma showed me I had. A voice that led us to be invited by one of Timor-Leste’s national heroes and first democratically elected President , Xanana Gusmão, to join as “sister foundations” to the one established in his name. Xanana Gusmão is known throughout the world as the Nelson Mandela of Asia for leading the independence movement from his jail cell and for his philosophy of reconciliation. The FPCD also has the strong support of Timor-Leste’s other national hero, José Ramos Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and was just elected the second President of the world’s newest democracy.
In May, the Foundation caught the attention of Mayor Bloomberg of New York who supported the first Timor-Leste Culture Week held in the Big Apple. I knew I had to entice New Yorkers into knowing more about Timor-Leste with a theme that was ever so familiar. The I ♥ TL logo was devised to inspire everyone into learning about the world’s newest nation – and hundreds of guests that week, in fact did.
All Timorese love their country as much as we do ours. And they desire to sustain the same fundamental values as we do. After all, at the end of the day, we all want our children to be healthy and safe, educated, and cared for, we all want to have a vocation and make a meaningful contribution to society. The Timorese embody these values even more because in the face of adversity, they persevere!
And that’s what The FPCD is all about… reminding us all that we are united through common threads of love, hope and respect. Through embracing each others’ cultural diversity, we can truly alleviate the world’s pains, one heart at a time.
I couldn’t have been happier or more honored than to have played a part in convincing the Monaco Red Cross to fund the first Maternity Clinic in Timor-Leste, named after Prince Albert’s beloved father, Prince Rainer III. The Clinic became operational in February and will have a high profile inauguration in December. Prior to the creation of this clinic, many women in the district of Same would give birth at home, in bed, gripping ropes hanging from the ceiling so that they could push their baby out. Without proper medical attention, the risks to mother and child are high. If the women were brave enough to go to a community health center, many would die in labour on the way, because of the mountainous terrain and distance from their homes.
Many people ask me, “How do you find the time to run a foundation and work as Special Advisor to the Timorese Government?” I respond that we are all given the same 24 hours a day to do whatever we please, including to try to make a difference and change lives. If I can do it, so can you!
Leadership through Philanthropy
Orlando, Florida, 27 July 2007
Remarks by
Claudia Abate Executive Director
It is a profound honour for me to be with you this evening and I must begin by thanking the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation for inviting me to speak about a subject I feel passionately about – philanthropy and service to others.
Like all of us here tonight, I am indebted to Phi Sigma Sigma for teaching me essential life skills and instilling in me the core value of “aiming high”…..After all, if we are not in it to do our very best, why do it at all? Phi Sig is all about excellence and there is no coincidence that we have a national Philanthropy as opposed to national charity. I believe that there is a big difference between charity and philanthropy. Philanthropy demands excellence yet charity can sometimes be simplistic. Philanthropy is planned giving while charity is the coins we toss in the canister at our local stores. And that is certainly not what Phi Sig taught me. Phi Sig taught me to pay attention to deeper needs and to contribute to finding solutions about how we can truly make a difference. This is really what leadership through philanthropy is all about.
Philanthropy is exactly what our twin ideals proclaim: the love for the brotherhood of man and the alleviation of the world’s pain. And like all of life’s pursuits Philanthropy has to be practical and visionary. We can’t chain ourselves to trees and expect to get the full respect that we deserve for an issue. We must be methodical and well prepared.
Through helping others, we find ourselves. We learn not to take for granted the simple things in life and when we give, we receive far more than we ever thought possible.
For me, I always wanted to help people….it is in fact the very reason why I chose to work for the United Nations. My life changed five years ago when the UN sent me to Timor-Leste to help organize their independence ceremonies.
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is in South East Asia, north of Australia and East of Indonesia. It was once a Portuguese colony and during the de-colonization process that brought independence to countries like Mozambique and Angola, once Portugal withdrew from Timor-Leste, Indonesia invaded. What followed was a brutal struggle for self-determination that lasted 24 years, killed 100,000 people and destroyed more than 80% of the country’s infrastructure. It is today the poorest country in Asia where the average income is 1 dollar a day.
When I arrived in Timor-Leste in 2002, I was faced with a deep moment of discovery that amongst so much visible destruction and poverty, the will and the hope of the people was unlike anything I had seen before. I went to Timor-Leste to help them transition from former colonial life into independence. But in fact, the people of Timor-Leste helped me. They left me the desire to want to do more and this experience is the inspiration for the creation of the Foundation for Post Conflict Development, founded to assist countries emerging from conflict situations. Post Conflict countries are more fragile than other countries. Our mission is simple, through education, action and development we can assist these countries on their road to recovery
I will always be grateful to the United Nations for 13 years of tremendous opportunity to see the world and learn from it, but in the end, I found I was unable to pursue my philanthropic mission through the United Nations.
Through the FPCD, I am using the voice that Phi Sigma Sigma showed me I had. A voice that led us to be invited by one of Timor-Leste’s national heroes and first democratically elected President , Xanana Gusmão, to join as “sister foundations” to the one established in his name. Xanana Gusmão is known throughout the world as the Nelson Mandela of Asia for leading the independence movement from his jail cell and for his philosophy of reconciliation. The FPCD also has the strong support of Timor-Leste’s other national hero, José Ramos Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and was just elected the second President of the world’s newest democracy.
In May, the Foundation caught the attention of Mayor Bloomberg of New York who supported the first Timor-Leste Culture Week held in the Big Apple. I knew I had to entice New Yorkers into knowing more about Timor-Leste with a theme that was ever so familiar. The I ♥ TL logo was devised to inspire everyone into learning about the world’s newest nation – and hundreds of guests that week, in fact did.
All Timorese love their country as much as we do ours. And they desire to sustain the same fundamental values as we do. After all, at the end of the day, we all want our children to be healthy and safe, educated, and cared for, we all want to have a vocation and make a meaningful contribution to society. The Timorese embody these values even more because in the face of adversity, they persevere!
And that’s what The FPCD is all about… reminding us all that we are united through common threads of love, hope and respect. Through embracing each others’ cultural diversity, we can truly alleviate the world’s pains, one heart at a time.
I couldn’t have been happier or more honored than to have played a part in convincing the Monaco Red Cross to fund the first Maternity Clinic in Timor-Leste, named after Prince Albert’s beloved father, Prince Rainer III. The Clinic became operational in February and will have a high profile inauguration in December. Prior to the creation of this clinic, many women in the district of Same would give birth at home, in bed, gripping ropes hanging from the ceiling so that they could push their baby out. Without proper medical attention, the risks to mother and child are high. If the women were brave enough to go to a community health center, many would die in labour on the way, because of the mountainous terrain and distance from their homes.
Many people ask me, “How do you find the time to run a foundation and work as Special Advisor to the Timorese Government?” I respond that we are all given the same 24 hours a day to do whatever we please, including to try to make a difference and change lives. If I can do it, so can you!
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posted by Claudia Abate at 7:50 AM
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