December 17, 2010

Today, Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer spoke with a City Club audience about how fostering economic opportunity for young adults in places like Haiti, Colombia, and Gaza can help to heal broken communities.

He also talked about Mercy Corps' new program in Yemen, which helps kids reduce their vulnerability to the negative influence of violence groups, and about providing economic opportunities for low-income earners right here in Portland.

He shared 8 lessons he's learned during his 16 years as CEO of Mercy Corps (read the text of his speech here):

• Focus on the bottom 1 billion people in the developing world
• View crisis as opportunity
• Put people first
• Focus on youth; half the world is younger than 25
• Find and support the heroes, the bright lights - especially among youth
  
• Catalyze partnerships between and among civil society, the private sector, and government
• Promote social innovation
• Leverage the humanitarian bridge to support peaceful change and human rights

Mercy Corps works to help people worldwide build secure, productive, and just communities.

Many thanks to Mercy Corps and photographer Edy Purnomo for letting us use this great photo of Neal Keny-Guyer in Jakarta