David Bornstein talks about a project to bring electricity to poor people in Brazil: single wires going to houses, grounded in the soil, low voltages. The project is also bringing solar panels to rural areas, renting them for what people generally pay for candles, kerosene, etc. He also talks about "child line" in India, now in 55 cities. It's a number you can call if you see a child in distress. It started with one woman who spent 3 years trying to get the equivalent of an 800 number for it. It's deeply affected India's child protection policies.

David Bornstein is the author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, and The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank which chronicles the worldwide growth of the anti-poverty strategy "micro-credit." The Price of a Dream, which drew on ten months of research in villages in Bangladesh, won second prize in the Harry Chapin Media Awards, was a finalist for the Helen Bernstein New York Public Library Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, and was selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best business books of 1996.

Bornstein's articles have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, New York Newsday, Il Mondo (Italy), Defis Sud (Belgium) and other publications. He co-wrote the two-hour PBS documentary series To Our Credit, which focuses on "micro-credit" programs in five countries.

Bornstein received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal and a Masters of Arts from New York University. In addition to writing, he has worked as a computer programmer and systems analyst. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

Facilitation graphics by Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studio
David Weinberger's blog

This presentation is one of many from the IT Conversations archives of Pop!Tech 2004 held in Camden, Maine, October 21-23, 2004.