March 8th: Women Declare What We Want and Need – And Are Heard
I had this shirt made in the summer of 2010 when I was living in Dedougou, Burkina Faso. The market always has the most glorious and unique prints, but the most coveted one was the annual International Women’s Day print: the March 8th print. My host-mother had a beautiful garment made with this print, they were … Continue reading
Social innovation is finding creative ways to give each other more hugs
I started this blog three years ago to capture my thoughts about my experience leading up to, during and returning from Burkina Faso. It’s in this small, landlocked country in West Africa that my perspectives on almost everything shifted, especially how I viewed things like creativity and poverty. I was reminded of this time a … Continue reading
Hope: The Belief in Possibilities
The word of the day is HOPE. I just left an incredibly inspiring talk by Bobby Sager who generously shared a few hours with us at the Digital Media Zone in Toronto. Bobby is an entrepreneur, photographer, author and philanthropist. He has created positive impact globally in some of the most dangerous places in the … Continue reading
CrowdFunding is the new MicroFinance
The other day, I got an email from a women named Jess McAvoy who is using IndieGoGo, a crowd funding platform, to fund the production of her 13th record titled “The Women”. Essentially, if 1000 people pitch in to pre-order her record, she will have the funds to produce the music she has written. This … Continue reading
Is Having a Strong Offense or a Strong Defense the Best Way to Build a Business?
I played competitive soccer for a long time and I’m a sucker for sports analogies so bear with me on this one. I have been thinking about the best way to build a business: Is it by having a strong offense or a strong defense? Some believe that the best offense is a strong … Continue reading
Multiple Languages Contributing to Cognitive Dissonance
The 2013 cohort of The Next 36 is gearing up for the start of the Entrepreneurship Institute in Toronto this week. On the first day of Entrepreneurship Institute last May, one of the Founders and Academic Director of the program, Ajay Agrawal, introduced us to a concept called Cognitive Dissonance. Our good friend Wikipedia defines … Continue reading
SELECTED THOUGHTS - Anne-Marie Paquette 