The second World Humanitarian Day takes place today, August 19th, to honor and celebrate the work of humanitarian workers. The 19th of August has been chosen by the United Nations to commemorate the work of humanitarian workers as it marks the day when 22 employees of the UN, including the UN Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello, were killed in a bomb attack in 2003 in Baghdad.

In the spirit of World Humanitarian Day today, thank you! to all the humanitarian workers around the globe for the important work you do. This year the focus will be on the actual work and achievements of humanitarian workers in the field, with the theme being “we are humanitarian workers”.

This day of recognition also provides an opportunity to remember and honor those who have lost their lives while helping others. A total of 102 humanitarian workers died in the exercise of their functions in 2009. For more info on the events leading up to the establishment of World Humanitarian Day, please visit the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation.

At DiasporaCamp DC we had a fun chat with Obi Onungwa of African Investment Corporation who shared thoughts with us on doing business in Africa and how the African Diaspora can play a role in development on the continent.

Katrina: Thanks for sharing your experience related to business in Africa and for telling us about African Investment Corporation, Obi. What brings you to DiasporaCamp DC?

Obi Onungwa: Well, I was invited by a friend of mine, Lorel who works with the AngelAfrica organization. He mentioned the DiasporaCamp as something he would like me to come out to here in DC. I heard Africa and investment and I figured, hey this is definitely a place I ought to come to, and here I am. It’s been a very fruitful experience – lots of students, professionals, professors who have come and contributed their ideas on how the diaspora can give back to the continent.

The greatest insights I’ve gained today is that the diaspora has a very big role to play in development. I think most of my generation really acknowledges that we are privileged. We’re fortunate – those of us who were born and raised here in the States to African immigrants. There’s this wave to sort of give back to the continent – to use our professional lives to bridge it to something bigger than ourselves. So events like this really remind us and challenge us to get creative with how we can actually do something a little bigger than what we’ve got here in the States. I think that’s the big takeaway.

I’m from DC, born in Silver Springs, Maryland. My parents are Nigerian and I’ve been there fairly regularly since I was a kid, so I guess that makes me a Nigerian-American.

The African Investment Corporation is based in Bethesda, Maryland. They invest in small and medium-sized businesses on the continent, and essentially consult them and show them how to navigate the western marketplace. How to grow their businesses larger than what they are, provide private capital for these small companies.

One of the ones we are working with right now is called Cola Coffee they are a Cameroonian coffee company based in the capital of Cameroon and they produce organic coffee.

The biggest blockade I think for small and medium-sized businesses is infrastructure. It’s infrastructure, it’s really safety, it’s a number of things we take for granted here in the business climate that these guys are dealing with every day. Business in Africa truly is a unique monster. It’s a unique beast and it takes a certain perseverance, a certain attitude to succeed there.

A lot of the laws we have, the legal framework that we have for our businesses here in the West is simply not in place for most African businesses. And that’s probably the greatest challenge that they face.

Katrina: How have the challenges of infrastructure in Africa been addressed today at DiasporaCamp?

Obi: You know, interestingly enough, I was surprised that infrastructure has not been a theme that has been addressed today. I think that that is hands-down probably one of the biggest things to address when we talk about business on the African continent as a proper framework to facilitate businesses.

It’s not like we don’t have the ideas, and it’s not like we don’t have the businesses – but it’s really like a climate, it’s a culture if you will, it’s the framework to support the business. And that really has not been addressed today – maybe it will be addressed later on.

Katrina: When it comes to infrastructure in Africa, what role can the Diaspora play?

Obi: Well there’s a whole wave of engineers who are here in the disapora. And engineering is like the unparalleled career choice of Africans and we’ve got our parents all pushing us to becoming engineers. My dad is still bitter to this day that I did not become an engineer. So we’ve got literally thousands and thousands of engineers here in the United States, engineers of all sorts that if they just channeled even a little bit of their talent, they could rebuild Africa, literally. So absolutely, it’s definitely here in the West.

Katrina: How will you integrate insights from DiasporaCamp into your ongoing work?

Obi: Well there’s an organization I work with that’s very similar to DiasporaCamp known as Harambe Endeavor. And essentially the missions are the same – they look to challenge those in the diaspora to think about Africa and to think about how they can bridge their professional efforts to something broader than themselves. So, one of my colleagues just arrived here and we’ll be discussing how we can contribute to this experience and to what we’ve got going on.

Thank you again Obi for taking a moment to join us for a quick chat and for sharing your thoughts on DiasporaCamp and business in Africa!

Obi Onungwa | African Investment Corporation

About: The African Investment Corporation’s goal is to be the leading investment advisory firm identifying finance and investors for strategic projects, market access and opportunities on the African continent. Website: www.AfricanInvestCorp

Following up on a successful event last summer, DiasporaCamp DC takes place again this Saturday, July 24, 2010 with the aim to bring together the African Diaspora and people interested in Africa to exchange ideas on entrepreneurship, innovation, and development in Africa.

With over 100 people planning to attend DiasporaCamp DC 2010, the gathering is certain to be an amazing event. We’re happy to announce that the envisionGood team will be in the house to help capture highlights of the event via video interviews. DiasporaCamp DC 2010 takes place at the School of Advanced International Studies – Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.

The theme of DiasporaCamp DC 2010 is “Financial Innovations For African Small & Medium-Scale Enterprises”. Given that access to capital is one of the greatest challenges that ventures face, the event’s focus on investment capital for start-up, small, and medium-sized businesses is certain to be informative. Stay tuned for insights we gain at DiasporaCamp DC 2010!

P.S. For highlights from last year’s DiaporaCamp, check out the video below featuring our globetrotting producer Shara Karasic‘s interview with Ashifi Gogo, CEO at Sproxil.com, PhD Innovation Fellow at Dartmouth College, Co-founder at mPedigree.org, and 2009 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. In this interview, Ashifi talks about BarCamp Diaspora, mPedigree, and the future of scientific research in Ghana.

Nelson Mandela, freedom fighter, international statesman, and former President of South Africa, spent 67 years of his life serving his community and fighting for the rights of humanity. Today, July 18th, is his 92nd birthday.

In celebration of the life’s work of Nelson Mandela, non-profit organizations 46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation invite the global community to join them in support of an official Mandela Day. Recognized by the United Nations, Mandela Day is an international day to honor the legacy of Nelson Mandela on his birthday and call people to action around the world to take time out to do something good for others in the community.

To celebrate Mandela Day, here is a list of ideas that come to mind. Since we’re based in San Francisco, many of the ideas below are local SF opportunities. What are your favorite ways of getting involved in your community?

10 Ideas & Resources To Find Volunteer Opportunities To Celebrate Mandela Day:

1. Check out volunteer projects or start your own at Citizen Effect
2. Provide technology mentorship at Community Technology Network in San Francisco
3. Check out volunteer opportunities at One Brick – San Francisco
4. Mentor youth through Glide in San Francisco
5. Become a coach or running buddy at Girls On The Run in San Francisco
6. Help build houses with Habitat For Humanity
7. Volunteer with Streetside Stories, to help youth with writing and video projects in San Francisco
8. Check out volunteer opportunities at Volunteer Match or Idealist.org – or put your professional skills to good use, in a few minutes or less at The Extraordinaries
9. Run For Teachers or join the AIDS Walk in San Francisco today
10. Have more time and want to travel? Hands On Disaster Response has a great program for volunteers who want to help out in Haiti

Suggested Reading:

To learn more about Nelson Mandela, this autobiography is a great read: Long Walk To Freedom: An Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

We all know the impact that a quality education can have on the life of a child. Education helps lift people out of poverty, helps to combat disease, gives people a stronger voice, and creates opportunity. Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and international statesman, said it best:

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
- Nelson Mandela

If you are in San Francisco this weekend, there’s a fantastic event called Run For Teachers that is taking place this Sunday, July 18th, 2010 to support education in Africa. We highly recommend checking it out.

Founded in 2009 by Steven Lurie, Run For Teachers is a 5K memorial run (or walk) honoring his late sister, Tracey Lurie-Sklar, a teacher, mother, daughter, sister and community leader. Born in Africa on June 13, 1962, Tracey passed away on November 6, 2008. The run is in honor of her work with students both in the US and abroad and her spirit. Proceeds from the event will benefit Teach With Africa.

Teach With Africa is a non-profit organization also based in San Francisco that works to break down the economic and social barriers to education in Africa by sending teams of educators to implement projects in underserved communities through an exchange of teaching and learning.

For highlights from last year’s Run For Teachers event, be sure to watch the video at the top of this post. For background on Teach With Africa, the video below provides a great behind-the-scenes view.

Run For Teachers is sure to be a great event, providing an opportunity to come together for a wonderful cause, while having fun, meeting new people, and getting some exercise at the same time. What could be a better combination!

P.S. Coincidentally, July 18th just so happens to also be Mandela Day, an annual celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual ability to make an imprint and change the world around them. If you are in San Francisco, you can join Run for Teachers to benefit Teach With Africa, and celebrate Mandela Day all at once. : )

Can clubbers change the world? Michel Smit, Project Lead for Sustainable Dance Club (SDC), a social business dedicated to showing that having fun and taking responsibility for our environmental impact can go hand in hand, thinks so.

Launched in 2006 through a partnership between Enviu -Innovators in Sustainability and architect studio Döll Lab, Michel explains in this talk given at PICNIC’s Green Challenge that SDC’s challenge is to make as many dance clubs and festivals all over the world sustainable in a cool and hip way. The team aims to inspire more young people to lead a more sustainable life style.

Why focus on clubs? In Holland, Michel explains that over 1.5 million young people go to clubs each week. It’s the place where young people communicate and learn about new products. However the clubbing industry, reports Michel, is one of the businesses that at the moment does not think much about sustainability.

In a study to determine the impact of clubbing on the environment, SDC looked at ten clubs in Holland serving over one thousand people, discovering that clubs on average used 30x the amount of water that an average household of four would use. In addition, the clubs produced 40x more waste and used over 150x more energy. Finally, they discovered that one club alone produces roughly 400,000 kg of CO2 a year. Putting this into perspective, it takes 24,000 trees a year to compensate for this amount of CO2.

The concept for Sustainable Dance Club is amazing: by harnessing the power of movement, Sustainable Dance Club turns clubbers from consumers into sources of energy, triggering thoughts about sustainability in a new way. In an environment where the DJ usually reacts to the energy of the crowd, Sustainable Dance Club has also developed a way to make the energy produced by the clubbers visible on the dance floor. So as you dance, you can see the energy you are producing.

The environmental impact is impressive:

• 30% energy consumption reduced
• 50% water consumption reduced
• 50% refuse generated
• 30% CO2 emissions reduced

If you are in Rotterdam, be sure to check out Club Watt, the world’s first Sustainable Dance Club. Dance on! : )

(Photo thanks to llRed on Flickr.)

Today is World Refugee Day, a special day to remember the over 40 million people worldwide who have been uprooted from their homes due to conflict, persecution and natural disasters.

In the video below, António Guterres of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees calls attention to these refugees, and shares that in the last decade a million refugees have been able to return home every year. However, due to the persistence of conflict in places from Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of Congo, only a quarter as many were able to return home last year – the lowest number in two decades.

Although we often see media photographs of refugees living in isolated refugee camps, the reality is that four-fifths of refugees live in the developing world, mostly in urban cities. Guterres talks about the generosity of the many developing countries that host these refugees. Specifically, Guterres spotlights and thanks Tanzania which has granted over 160,000 people from neighboring Burundi citizenship in their new home, Tanzania.

In a speech given in Washington, D.C. on World Refugee Day last year, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie acknowledged that “the threat of climate change, the competition for resources, and ever-growing global inequality have created deepening, intractable conflicts. Mass migrations will be a feature of our future. We must look beyond the simple numbers,” she said, “and look instead at the individual.”

There are a number of ways to help refugees. A number of ways are noted below. If you know of other ways to help, please do share in the comments below.

Ways To Help Refugees:

1. Be Informed – sigh up for updates from UNHCR
2. Spread the Word
3. Volunteer – visit United Nations Volunteers
4. Get Active Via Social Networks
5. Donate To Help Refugees
6. Give Work. Learn About Samasource

Related Interviews

• Leila Janah, Founder of Samasource, On Using Computers To Create Jobs, Helping Refugees in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya

First, a quick shout-out of thanks to Cynthia Hellen of Girls Who Rock New York for connecting me with her friends Kyle Westaway and Anthony Dodero at The Blind Project.

Last week I had the good fortune to meet with Kyle and Anthony to learn about The Blind Project, as well as to learn about their new fashion brand called Biographe. In this interview, Kyle and Anthony tell us about the origins of The Blind Project, an organization comprised of a team of passionate professionals who contribute talents and skills to empower survivors of the commercial sex trade in Southeast Asia.

Right now millions of women and children are enslaved and exploited in the multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade. According to a recent report from the U.S. State Department, over 12 million people are trafficked each year. Treated like meaningless commodities, victims are sold and bought, and sold and bought again. Often, even when rescued, many fall back into the trade because of limited resources, scarce economic opportunities, and/or negative social stigmas.

This is Part I of a three-part series. Please also see Part II and III (coming soon!) where Kyle and Anthony talk about “Biographe”, the for-profit initiative of The Blind Project. Biographe is a global fashion brand that provides dignified work and training opportunities to survivors of human trafficking.

Part I: Behind-The-Scenes: The Story of The Blind Project

Katrina: Well I’m super excited to meet with both of you, so thank you so much for joining. I’m with Anthony and Kyle of The Blind Project. And, can you please share what is The Blind Project?

Anthony: Yes, absolutely. The Blind Project is an organization. It started in New York City about three and a half years ago. I’m one of the co-founders, and there are two others, Chad Riley and Liem Nguyen.

We were roommates at the time. And we were all working in creative fields and we were inspired to go to Southeast Asia to investigate the issue of human trafficking and how it existed and really just ask questions about how we can be a part of the solution.

Katrina: And what got you initially interested in this issue?

Anthony: My journey is that I actually worked with another friend of mine on a documentary – this was back in college. And it really focused on human trafficking in the U.S. And at the time, I had never heard of it, and it was really a wake-up call to me that this was happening in my own backyard. Then, fast forward a few years later and I’m living with these guys in New York City. We’re all in a sense “burned out with our careers” and wanted to do more with our talents. A friend of ours handed us a book called “Terrify No More” which is written by Gary Haugen of IJM. And (the book) really detailed the problem of human trafficking and what was going on in Cambodia. And that for us sparked this interest in, hey, let’s go see for ourselves really, is it hype? is it sensationalized? Let’s see what the truth is behind closed doors. That was the initial launch for us going.

Katrina: And what is IJM?

Anthony: International Justice Mission. For those of you who don’t know, check out their website. Amazing organization. They do a lot of on-the-ground stuff in Southeast Asia, all over the world. Their focus really is on bringing down these brothel owners. They build cases, they document. They don’t just go in and pull these women out of exploitive situations. They really build surmounting evidence so that they can bring change on the legal side.

Kyle: So that’s how I actually got introduced to this issue as well, through IJM separately. Anthony and team were reading a book and I was in law school in Virginia. International Justice Mission is an amazing organization. And they tend to work on the rescue side and on the legal prosecution side, so it had that appeal to me. We co-founded a campus chapter at my school. And I just learned a ton about what the issue was, how it was going on, the extent of trafficking.

Katrina: Is that how you both connected with one another? Through IJM?

Kyle and Anthony: No. (laughter)

Katrina: How did the two of you meet?

Kyle: I think it was through a mutual friend of ours, through a non-profit fundraiser or something.

Anthony: Yes, through mutual interests. The Blind Project was just starting and we were looking for more people to help out and you know, Kyle is just amazing. He has a lot of skills that I don’t have, and that is really what our team is all about. It’s about using our collective skills.

Collecting Data: Field Research & Meeting With Partners In Southeast Asia

Katrina: That’s fantastic. So Anthony, you are one of the co-founders, and you and your friends traveled to Southeast Asia to check out the scene for yourself, right?

Anthony: I think for us it was that two of us quit our jobs. We needed a change. And this was something that we felt we could be invested in. We were very passionate about it. This was something that really touched us on the emotional side. And even being a woman’s rights issue, it was something that we could be a part of the solution.

So we spent a month over there. We literally did cold calls. We looked in phone books and looked in any organization that was doing work on the ground, and said “hey, we want to get together with you, we want to see what you are doing to combat this issue, and maybe how we can be a part of that solution”.

What we found is that a lot of organizations did not have the infrastructure – they were doing amazing things on the ground, things that we could not be doing. But what we found was a lack of, basically, in what our strengths were: marketing, business development – they did not have any of that. And that was basically what focused us in on where we are at now.

Katrina: That’s amazing. And what did you experience when you were in Southeast Asia speaking with these organizations?

Anthony: There’s a great organization called Hagar that were intially working with a few years ago and they do phenomenal work. And so we investigated their after-care facilities. The other side of it which looking back now I think was a little bit of probably a mistake, is that we did go into some brothels. We kind of had this mentality like “we’re going to be these heroes – we’re going to go in and we’re going to pull these women out, and we’re going to rescue them and bring them to these shelters where they can be protected”.

And we found some girls. I think the youngest was eleven years old. We tried to purchase her out. We tried to bring her out, and they would not let her go. She was from Vietnam and the brothel owner would not negotiate a deal to let her leave the brothel.

And I think on the emotional side for me it was one of the lowest places as far as me feeling like I could not do anything. I’ll give the analogy. You know you walk around New York City or wherever you live in the States and you see homeless people. There are things you can do. And this was the first time in my life that I felt that I could not do anything. And I left emotionally torn, angry. And it became this fuel over the months to get this started and to continue to do it after all these years, I still think back to that girl.

Katrina: And how are the women and girls rescued? Do they escape of their own accord?

Kyle: Generally what happens is they either figure out a way to escape or leave, or they are somehow rescued by a police raid or something like that. Those are the two general ways that it happens.

Anthony: Part of it is getting the word out regarding which organizations can take them in. That’s part of it, a lot of these women do not know where they can go. So that’s a big tip if they hear that an organization will help them, that’s a big plus for them to take that risk and leave. A lot of them can’t go back to their home villages. It’s very difficult for them to be accepted back, so these shelters are a great step that brings them back and rehabilitates them to a place where they are strong again.

Anthony’s Advice On Direct Efforts To Rescue Victims
Anthony: (On attempts to rescue victims directly): I won’t do this anymore and I don’t recommend anyone else to do it. I think it’s unsafe and I think a lot of times it’s actually more detriment to the women.

Kyle Talks About What You Can Do To Help
Kyle: For people with good intentions out there, there are so many ways that your talents can be used that trying to make that rescue is probably futile and is most likely counter-productive.

Katrina: So based on your experience, you decided with your friends to start The Blind Project. Can you share a little bit more about what The Blind Project is and how it helps these women and the victims of sex trafficking?

Anthony: That title, the name of our organization, comes from the fact that we ourselves were a bit blind to this issue. So that is where the word comes up and also it’s because a lot of people don’t know about it. A lot of people don’t realize that this issue exists in this world today. So it’s part of our job to put the world out there and get people discussing about the issue.

Kyle: The secondary meaning of the idea of The Blind Project is not only that our eyes in the west were blind, but that these women are blind to the potential of what their life could be. A lot of them are trafficked at the age of eleven, twelve, thirteen years old, and they’re told that their only value is really in the brothel. So we want to open their eyes to the potential of what their life could be.

The Solution: Preventing Human Trafficking Through Skills Training & Dignified Work

We spent the last three years going back and forth with a bunch of trips, and learned a lot over the last three, four years, and have come to realize that the commercial sex trade has so many different elements to it. But I think one of the most pre-dominate elements is economic in nature.

And we’ve realized that what makes these women vulnerable to the sex trade is that they are living in abject poverty. And what is probably the biggest hurdle for them to come out of that if they can escape of if they are rescued is how can they put food on their table – for them and their families.

After hearing a lot of stories and meeting women face-to-face, and talking with a ton of organizations we felt that we should probably look at an economic solution. That is probably the best way that we can do our contribution to solve this problem.

Thank you so much Kyle and Anthony for sharing your insights and for time to do this interview.

Stay tuned for Part II of this interview with Kyle and Anthony. To learn more about another extraordinary organization that is creating economic opportunities as a way to prevent human trafficking, check out our previous interview with Eve Blossom, Founder of Lulan Artisans.

Anthony Dodero | Co-Founder, The Blind Project

About: Anthony co-founded The Blind Project, an organization that empowers survivors of the commercial sex trade in Southeast Asia through media and a new global fashion brand called Biographe. Website: www.TheBlindProject.org & www.BeABiographer.com

Kyle Westaway | Director of Business Development, The Blind Project

About: By day, Kyle is founder of Westaway Law and an attorney with experience focused on entertainment, small to mid-sized businesses and non-profits. After hours, Kyle leads business development efforts at The Blind Project, an organization comprised of passionate individuals who have joined together to contribute talents and skills to empower survivors of the commercial sex trade in Southeast Asia. Website: www.TheBlindProject.org & www.WestawayLaw.com

Women Deliver 2010, a global conference on maternal health, takes place in Washington DC this week, June 7-9, 2010. The theme of the conference is: “Delivering solutions for girls and women”, with a focus on political, economic, social/cultural, and technological solutions. To join the conference via live webcast, check out http://livestream.com/womendeliver or visit envisionGood where we will be featuring the live webcast.

What Is The Mission Of Women Deliver?

Launched at a groundbreaking conference in 2007, Women Deliver works globally to generate political commitment and financial investment for fulfilling Millennium Development Goal #5 — to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health. The initiative builds on commitments, partnerships, and networks mobilized at the conference, fighting to end the deluge of preventable deaths that kill between 350,000 – 500,000 girls and women from pregnancy-related causes every year. Women Deliver’s message is that maternal health is both a human right and a practical necessity for sustainable development.

Women Deliver 2010 builds on the success of the Women Deliver 2007 conference during which over 2,000 participants from 115 countries gathered to engage in discussions focused on Women’s and Newborn Health, Promoting Women in the World, Expanding Financial Resources, Advancing Human Rights, and Building Political Will. Participants in 2007 included more than 100 government officials from more than 30 countries. To follow Women Deliver 2010 conversations on Twitter, check out @womendeliver and #wd2010.

We are absolutely thrilled to welcome our newest member to the envisionGood team, environmentalist Igor Kharitonenkov from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The timing could not be better – with today being World Environment Day (WED). Igor joins us as a Media Producer on all things “Environment”. Check out his great video above on 5 ways to live a greener lifestyle. Thanks Igor!

What is World Environment Day? First celebrated on June 5, 1972, WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations raises worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. Through World Environment Day, the United Nations aims to give a human face to environmental issues and motivate everyone to realize our collective responsibility and power to become agents for change in support of sustainable development.

5 Ways To Live A Greener Lifestyle

1) Bring a Bag:
One of the simplest things to do to protect the environment and reduce oil consumption is to bring your own bag. Save 12 million barrels of oil, enough to run roughly 800,000 cars, are used every year to make more than 100 billion plastic bags. One canvas bag will prevent 1,000 plastic bags from being produced.

2) Change your light bulbs:
Compact fluorescent light bulbs use 75% less electricity and last up to ten times longer than incandescent bulbs. They may cost a bit more at the register, but studies suggest they can save up to fifty five dollars a year on one’s energy bill.

3) Ride Your Bike:
Riding a bicycle when you can is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. A gallon of gasoline emits 20 pounds of pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. For a healthy way to start the day that saves gasoline, think about commuting by bicycle.

4) Take Shorter Showers:
We’re lucky to have an abundance of water, considering that millions of people around the world have to walk for miles to get it. Those of us in the U.S. use more water than anywhere in the world – about 100 gallons in each home each day. Taking shorter showers is a great way to respect our vital resource – water – while saving money at the same time.

5) Bring Your Own Bottle:
One and a half million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic bottles every year. Transporting these bottles takes even more oil. Keeping in mind that a lot of bottled water is simply re-purified tap water, you can save money while staying healthy and hydrated by investing in a durable bottle you can carry on-the-go.

Igor Kharitonenkov | envisionGood Media Producer | Boston USA

About: Born in Moscow, Russia, Igor also lived in Munich, Germany and Indianapolis, Indiana, before graduating with a degree in psychology from Indiana University. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts. Igor has a never ending thirst to explore human behavior, culture, and society and loves traveling, adventure, and the outdoors. However, he is most passionate about environmental conservation and sustainability. Igor hopes to express himself through writing, photography and video to inspire people to get outdoors, enjoy the beauty of the backcountry, and build an appreciation of nature. He wants to captivate readers with excellent photojournalism and environmentally relevant news articles. Ultimately, Igor’s goal is to raise awareness of environmental issues and share steps we can all take to live a greener lifestyle. Website: www.igoroamandreport.wordpress.com