David Bornstein

David Bornstein (picture here), author of How to Change the World, told Global X (picture here) what happened when he was a young journalist and he first met Muhammad Yunus (picture here) in Bangladesh.

He also talks about his aunt Suzan, who taught him to climb the fence when necessary: "The world is a playground, and one shouldn't follow the rules at all times."

Not too long ago, Global X had lunch with Bill Drayton (in California) and with David Bornstein (in New York). Interestingly enough, both men addressed the same topic: “Everyone is a change maker.”

Bill Drayton, the well-known founder of Ashoka, told Global X that he liked talking about social entrepreneurship to college students: “They understand what is at stake. They also realize how important social entrepreneurship is to their lives, and how relevant it is to them personally, and to their friends and relatives.”

His point: “Social entrepreneurs should work with all these change makers who are so eager to help and so talented.” This is echoed in this week’s online discussion on the Edge – Engaging youth to be social entrepreneurs.

David Bornstein gave a crowd of aspiring social entrepreneurs, including this one and this one, some valuable advice: “You should start building relationships now with the kind of people you want to work with five years from now. This is true whether you are in college or later.”

He also told StartingBloc Fellows that after going to McGill, he became a computer programmer and dreamed of owning a Jaguar. Then he decided to write. He found out about the Grameen Bank (Village Bank) and spent five months in Bangladesh, where he met Muhammad Yunnus. The rest is history –or at least a very important book.

His point: “You may not have noticed it if you read the newspaper lately, but there are actually more social entrepreneurs than terrorists.” Everyone is a change maker indeed.


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