A U.S. State Department Advisor, Jacqueline Novogratz, is advising developing countries to embrace new ideas when discussing how to defeat world poverty. She recently said in a speech in the Pentagon, “The world is at an extraordinary moment in time to harness new ideas to defeat global poverty.”

One way to do this is through a new website created by the State Department, which is devoted to advising and providing a discussion board for combating poverty. The site will be a way for individuals and countries to share research and strategies as well as new innovations and possible global threats.

This approach will mostly benefit non-government organizations and other individual groups that do not have the capacity to perform their own research or are in need of recommendations.

Despite technological advances and increased global connectivity, Novogratz is concerned that the developing world is not engaging in seeking out new ways of addressing poverty and are “clinging to old ideas.” This, she says, it what causes a “persistent poverty cycle.”

Some concepts that need to change are relying on private companies, which often exclude the poor, and the idea of top-down economics. Instead, the future lies in the hands of companies and organizations that focus on helping the poor and improving the lives of ordinary people, not just the wealthy.

Although applying these changes may be a slow process, Novogratz is adamant that the results will be worth the investment. Rather than merely trying to improve people’s incomes, she believes in improving overall lifestyles, which include clean water, affordable housing, agriculture and healthcare.

Once these changes to our systems occur, people will truly be lifted out of poverty.  Novogratz urges her listeners to start thinking about global poverty from a different perspective. She states, “The more we do it from a place of honesty and start by looking at the problem at hand from the perspective of the poor themselves and build from there, the more we actually have the chance to extend that assumption that all men are created equal.”

– Mary Penn

Source: U.S. Department of Defense
Photo: Acumen