A former U.S. diplomat is coming to Sarasota to talk about leading a cadre of nonprofit agencies helping people in underdeveloped nations overcome poverty and marginalization.
Daniel Speckhard, the president and CEO of Corus International, says his organization uses what he calls a holistic approach to tackle the interconnected issues of poverty, health care and climate change.
"The idea is, if you take a place ... like Mali, for instance; very poor," Speckhard said. "They're dealing with the problems of desertification, so that's an environmental problem, and you have to address how you're going to manage water and conservation and how you're going to change it."
But the problem, he says, doesn't end there. "You need to think about the community economics of these places ... what else besides just growing crops is going to help them out."
Speckhard will share his ideas on the Suncoast Jan. 9-10, as part of the 2024 Global Issues speaker series sponsored by the Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning.
"The reality is, the world is not going to become a better place until we get and improve our relationships between peoples ... not governments, not diplomatic missions, but people."Daniel Speckhard
A former U.S. ambassador to Greece and Belarus, Speckhard served as deputy assistant secretary general at NATO and deputy chief of mission in Iraq, coordinating Iraq's post-war reconstruction and recovery.
"You don't have to look far to see a world that is in a state of crisis," he said. "In the old days, it was pretty much rely on the federal governments, the United Nations and others, to kind of handle the big stuff."
Speckhard says that's no longer true. "The United States is struggling just to keep up with a couple of crises," mainly Ukraine and Palestine.
"Well, there's also a war going on in Sudan. Remember that? There's a war in Yemen. There are challenges in Central America as they're starting to re-shift the politics," he said.
The top-down, centralized approach simply doesn't work anymore, he said. "We've got to be thinking way outside the box here."
He said the vision was to bring a specialized group together, "a family of former agencies and organizations that have worked independently, to try to take a more holistic approach."
His organization is made up of a group of nonprofits and businesses, including faith-based aid groups Lutheran World Relief and AMI World Health. The partnership also includes a technology company and an organization that provides money for start-up and small agricultural enterprises.
Transcending politics
Speckhard says after doing development and anti-poverty work for nearly a decade, he's gained valuable insight. "I've really come to the conclusion that ending poverty is not a project, it's about relationship.
"The reality is, the world is not going to become a better place until we get and improve our relationships between peoples ... not governments, not diplomatic missions, but people."
Speckhard urged people everywhere to commit to getting involved. "I can't change the whole world, but we can help build the relationship," he said. "Just pick a place, learn about it, pick a community in a country, and try to get to know it," he suggested. "Just make that your calling and just decide, 'I care about someplace.'"
Speaker series in its 52nd year
The Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning has been offering this speaker series for more than 50 years. For its Global Issues series, the Institute invites diplomats, journalists and academics to speak on issues of global interest.
The Institute's vice president, Jeff Olesen, said while the topics are wide-ranging, "In recent years, we've focused on conflict areas such as Ukraine and Russia."
The Mideast has also been a popular topic. "We have a lot of residents here in Sarasota who are interested in what goes on in the Middle East, as it pertains to Israel," Olesen said.
The Institute also offers a second lecture track, Music Monday. "We're bringing in artists from all over the country," Olesen said. "It might be instrumentalists, they might be composers, they might be impresarios. it's a conversational-type approach between our hosts and artists."
You can purchase a season subscription to a 12-lecture series for $110 or pay $15 to attend an individual session. A flex plans is also offered, to be able to attend any 12 lectures, including Music Monday, for $150.
For more information, go to the Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning website.
Jim DeLa is a reporter for the Community News Collaborative. Reach him at jdela@cncfl.org
