Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, a long-standing partner of the ELAS Fund, was the Key Note Speaker at the GIFE Congress. His special lecture on "Philanthropy and inequalities" took place on the first day of the event.
In his speech, Darren spoke about inequalities. He told a bit of his story to exemplify racism in the American South in the 1950s, when he was born: "Art and dance saved my life in a small town in the American South. My grandmother was a maid, we were poor, art books stimulated my imagination. For people living on the margins, the ability to imagine nourishes the soul. I'm passionate about art.
For him, exclusions are political, economic, racial, gender, etc. Walker said that when hope is taken away from people, anger and frustration arise. And if these people are marginalized, it's even worse.
According to Darren, in order to achieve a strong democracy, we need a vibrant and resilient civil society that is able to confront and react to urgent emerging issues. This is why the support of social investors is essential, directing resources towards strengthening civil society organizations.
He stressed that the Ford Foundation's philosophy is not to tell its partners what to do. "Our role is to give our partners a voice. We care about justice. Yes, we care about numbers, but we also care about justice. The Ford Foundation is committed to the long term, as was the case with the investment in South Africa. It's been 40 years since apartheid ended, since the Ford Foundation gave its first support in 1952."
"Leaders should be transparent, say what they are, not hide it. For example, I'm gay and black. Today's challenges are structural, systemic. Those of us who are privileged have to ask ourselves how we use our privileges, to deconstruct the structures and systems. How can we have a more shared economy and democracy?" he asked. "Anyone who invests in social justice and opportunities should care about the Internet, about supporting access."
Recently, Darren Walker published an article in "The New York Times" in which he defended the idea that it is not enough to give back to society, but that the structural causes of inequality must be tackled. In other words, philanthropy can no longer simply deal with what is happening in the world, but must also question how it is happening and why.
Click here and check out the online debate promoted by GIFE on the subject of philanthropy and inequalities.