A World We Dare To Imagine Part One

Brief summary of The Blue Sweater
The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz focuses on complex global issues such as wealth disparity, gender inequality, corruption, and poverty through a personal lens. Also, I admire Jacqueline's ability to abide and promote her value of accountability, which she claims can transform human lives and have a measurable impact. An example of where the author ensured accountability was when she held impoverished women in Rwanda liable for a loan. This example of accountability illustrates how if a fortunate person is willing and able to help a less-fortunate individual then both parties should be held accountable for their actions or else the agreement would be meaningless. Also, I found it interesting to learn about the concept of "patient capital." Patient capital is a model of investment that produces both social and financial returns with the intent of alleviating issues regarding poverty.

Education can make the world a better place
Education is a human right. Every single boy and girl who wants a world-class education should have access to one since it can empower others to create lasting change. Consequently, my thesis is that education combined with technology can solve all the problems making this world a better place. Quality education is a path to economic success and social mobility, which lead to new opportunities in areas such as philanthropy, technology, and science. According to Nelson Mandela, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

"More than 120 million children do not complete primary education" as stated by Børge Brende, President, Member of the Managing Board, World Economic Forum Geneva. This statistic illustrates how millions of children globally do not have the opportunity to help support their families, develop their communities, escape poverty or a fair chance to get a decent job because they have no access to education. Also, the challenge is that a significant proportion of the youth and children around the world who are not pursuing education are the hardest to reach, as they reside in countries that are experiencing epidemics, disasters, and conflict. According to Jacqueline Novogratz, "Today, poor people the world over are seeking opportunity and choice to have greater dignity in their lives - and they want to do it themselves, even if they need a little help. Today we have the tools and technologies to bring real opportunities to people all across the world" (Novogratz, Page xii). So, think about how free, top-quality education can change the world and empower the poor by using technology to provide wireless internet in remote areas of the world, which is a problem that Facebook is already trying to solve through an initiative known as OpenCellular. Given that technology is powerful, relatively cheap, and global in its reach it can be used as a tool to provide less-fortunate boys and girls around the world with a quality education especially since the average price of a college education exceeds $100,000 according to the Insitute of Education Science and Pew Research Center (Carr, 2018).

Knowledge is power. To get an education teaches people how to problem-solve, think critically, and be creative, which can help advance research and development in the field of technology. Thus, allowing less-fortunate individuals who did not have access to education at one point to solve problem they found in their local community like wealth inequality and food shortages. According to the Global Partnership for Education, "420 million people would be lifted out of poverty with a secondary education, thus reducing the number of poor worldwide by more than half" (Collier et al, page 16). Also, "if the enrollment rate for secondary schooling is 10 percentage points higher than the average, the risk of war is reduced by about 3 percentage points" ("Reducing Global Poverty through Universal Primary and Secondary Education"). As a result, children who have access to quality education will have more opportunities and the right skills to succeed in the workplace having the ability to provide a more prosperous future for their families and communities, given that education is a fundamental human right and value.

Works Cited
Brende, Børge, and World Economic Forum Geneva. "Why Education is the Key to Development." World Economic Forum, Project Syndicate, 7 July 2015, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/why-education-is-the-key-to-development/.

Carr, Nicholas. "The Crisis in Higher Education." MIT Technology Reveiw, MIT Technology Reveiw, 20 Apr. 2018, www.technologyreview.com/s/429376/the-crisis-in-higher-education/

Collier, et al. "Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Volume 1. Africa." Open Knowledge Repository, Washington, DC: World Bank, 1 Jan. 1970, openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986,7437.

Novogratz, Jacqueline. The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. Rodale, 2010.

"Reducing Global Poverty through Universal Primary and Secondary Education." UNESCO, June 2017. http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/reducing-global-poverty-through-universal-primary-secondary-education.pdf

Regalado, Antonio. "The Most Important Education Technology in 200 Years." MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 11 Dec. 2013, www.technologyreview.com/s/506351/the-most-important-education-technology-in-200-years/.