Paul Polak: Out of Poverty: Caltech Y Social Activism Speaker Series

Join us in Room 206 in Thomas Laboratory for lunch with Paul Polak, the founder of International Development Enterprises, which currently assists rural farmers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethhiopia, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. An expert on sustainable economic development, he recently authored Out of Poverty - What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail. Polak currently head D-Rev: Design for the Other 90%, which helps multi-nationals profitably develop affordable products to help he world's poor.

“If we learn to listen to poor people, understand the specific contexts in which they live and operate, and find ways to harness their entrepreneurial energy to increase their income, I have no doubt that at least 500 million families now surviving on less than a dollar a day will find practical ways to end their poverty within one generation.”
  -   Paul Polak, Out of Poverty

In his new book, this impassioned and iconoclastic author, entrepreneur, inventor and self-identified "troublemaker," tells why mainstream poverty eradication programs have fallen so sadly short and how he and his organization developed an alternative approach that has already succeeded in lifting 17 million people out of poverty.

A box lunch will be provided for the first 40 guests, and a book-signing will follow the event.

This event is part of the Caltech Y's Social Activism Speaker Series, focussing attention on current social and political issues by inviting prominent activists to share their experiences and perspectives with the Caltech community and the public. This student-run series is coordinated with the help of the Caltech Y, and is made possible by contributions from the Moore and Hufstedler Funds, Student Affairs, Campus Life, the Alumni Association, the Graduate Student Council, and the Associated Students of Caltech, as well as the Caltech Y.

www.paulpolak.com

Sponsors:

Social Activism Speaker Series E/ME 105 Product Design for the Developing World Engineers for a Sustainable World