Reimagining Philanthropy through Human Rights Education and Global Civics

By: Elaine Degale

The rise of technological tools used for fundraising is increasingly becoming an avenue for individual actors to promote social change in the 21st century. Since we all agree that the liberal arts education provides a holistic experience to build future leaders with the capacity to change the world, we should start reimagining the ways that technology can be leveraged to nurture innovative global citizens invested in lifelong learning. I believe an increased integration of a human rights-based curriculum paired with international spatial contexts in higher education can cultivate creative capacities in order to develop innovation across all industries in the 21st century. Moreover, if we can learn to see our existential issues as shared challenges, perhaps we are more inclined to contribute towards a better world.

I was in the process of completing a second masters in higher education at Teachers College of Columbia University where I was studying the nexus between Higher Education, Human Rights, and Philanthropy. I sometimes got in trouble for insisting on taking courses outside my degree requirements. However, advocating for an interdisciplinary approach to learning cultivated in me a sense of purpose I previously never conceptualized when I only took courses in my major. Education and philanthropy technologies are increasingly becoming commonplace, and philanthropic innovations currently being used in the global marketplace is shifting the discourse as fundraising technologies use artificial intelligence data to increase depth of donor relationships in the market. Experts believe that education is currently at an inflection point -- stark changes so profound of the likes that we haven’t witnessed since the Industrial Age. I argue that these recent technological changes can be leveraged in a way that enhances creativity and problem solving skills needed to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. Technology innovations can be empowering and impactful if learners are immersed in human rights ideology because it encourages global civics. Though we may quibble with the perceived dangers of AI, we should see this as an opportunity to develop the key characteristics that make us human. And I believe that starts with understanding the value of human rights and cultural exchange experiences in education.

What role can technology play in empowering future leaders in higher education in an increasingly interconnected world? What is the value of teaching human rights in the future of higher education --and education writ large? In a world that is increasingly becoming morphed with technological tools, what does the future of education look like in a time when our very existence and ways of understanding the world’s most pressing problems are becoming more reliant on the innovations that a technological future may offer?

There is currently a misconception that views the ideals of democracy as foreign to the human rights framework, where human rights is viewed as an ideology solely applicable to developing nations in need of saving. This is not true. The human rights framework is designed to encourage a globalized view of humanity that sees opportunities to co-create our vision of humanity as unified nations serving the dreams of progress. A better world means that we understand the necessity of pushing the boundaries of care and activism beyond the confines of classroom pedagogy. A better education in the Digital Age, therefore, requires a reimagination of traditional institutional giving assessments in ways that accounts for the unique ways that students are contributing to social justice efforts in many communities around the world.

Birth Pangs of Progress

There is a natural tension between the past and the present as new ways of thinking, acting, and associating emerge and gain substance. The transition towards furthering progress will see a fierce struggle between the existential questions of an increasingly obsolescent past as it contends with an increasingly alluring and more interconnected digital future. This is the birth pangs of progress. The most culturally equipped person will be a globally-minded citizen who engages the world with a flexibility that allows for a mindset that sees opportunities in the face of adversity, while seeing solutions beyond the confines of their industry or academic discipline.

There is a trend in current higher education institutions that demands for students to be more and more specialized as they ascend up the academic ladder. An approach to education where opportunities for interdisciplinary approaches to learning are discouraged due to the strictures of rigid course requirements, which tend to encourage silos over civics. Research has shown that scholars concerned with the future of liberal arts education are reorienting the mission of a liberal arts degree beyond the fulfilment of course requirements, and towards a more global and interdisciplinary approach that leverages creative capacities for human development and problem solving. This idea of revamping the liberal arts curriculum anticipates that the upcoming disruptions of automation in the labor market will create more professions in global companies. The capacity for students to integrate their values into their future work through global advocacy will require a vast developmental holistic approach to pedagogy that promotes global-orientedness - a gap that the human rights education can be designed to fulfill in order to promote cross-cultural partnerships.

Moreover, a human rights lens can afford us a more panoramic view of the development factors and pedagogy that inspire students to make their mark in history to enact social justice. In what ways are students giving back to their institutions by embodying the institutional mission of a liberal arts education? Human rights is the future because it is a globally relevant approach that encourages students to think about themselves beyond the context of their local communities and selected majors. The concept of human rights and international ethics recognizes that all societies across the world manifest a value for human life, while placing value in virtues like friendship, cooperation, and philanthropy. Despite the mainstream narratives that assume an image of what donors should look like, many studies are increasingly showing that identity markers have far less significant impact on giving attitudes.

Most significantly, current trends suggest that the growing omnipresence of technology have made fundraising tools more accessible to common people. When we think about the future of philanthropy and humanity writ large, we can model social justice efforts that value people beyond increasingly outdated boxes of identity, and replace this mentality with the human rights lens. Because the truth is, you are human before you are your job, your wealth, your pedigree, your race, or your political leaning. Perhaps only when we learn to see each other beyond the boxes of color and income will we begin to see the true value of people beyond the single narratives these labeled boxes suggest. A human rights lens can dismantle the narratives that these boxes enforce on an individual because it guides us to see our fellow human beings as unique individuals. And once we learn to see a person's value beyond the dictates of identity and its politics, perhaps we can explore the vast opportunities to learn from each other as we work towards a dream of a more humane global society.

And this is why I started Operation Merienda.

From Research to Practice: The Birth of #OperationMerienda

Merienda means "snack", and the element of surprise is what makes it an "Operation" - #OperationMerienda. The hashtag implies it was a crowd-sourcing effort using our new technological tools in fundraising and social media. It started from a simple, very human touch idea: I wanted to surprise my friend Regine who worked as a nurse on the frontlines during the global pandemic. I secretly organized a fundraising effort among my friends so I can deliver a merienda spread to Regine and her co-workers. It made such a positive impact on their workplace morale that I convinced Regine to tap into her network of nurses to see if we can replicate this venture in other hospitals.

I hired a couple of local caterers that I recruited through a Facebook post. Together, we designed impromptu merienda events that delivered food to frontline workers in creative ways in the SOCCSKSARGEN region of the Philippines. Some caterers helped me write hand-written cards and made signs of support to encourage frontline workers stuck in quarantine on their days off. Some caterers delivered merienda (snack/food) spreads hidden in the back of their trunk that opened into a well-decorated “Car Trunk Surprise” filled with balloons and food that made people really happy. I can’t imagine anything more aligned with my personal mission to impact the world in fruitful ways than leveraging the magic of technology to produce impromptu culinary events that spread happiness through food all around the world.

In my spare time, I engage in various fundraising activities for the community I've built throughout my life in the Philippines. I’ve built a small team with teachers in rural areas in Southern Philippines where we’ve been fighting the digital divide by printing school activity worksheets for underserved youth. For Christmas, I worked with community-based organizations and educators in indigenous communities to engage in “Paskomunidad” (Christmas Outreach Ministry) that has provided groceries to over 400 households. I’ve also built, and continue to cultivate long-standing relationships with most of the caterers who’ve worked on my Operation Merienda civic engagements. I design logos and help local caterers build an online presence, free of charge. I don’t make any money out of any of my fundraising initiatives, but somehow I am the happiest I’ve been in the last three years. Serving the purpose of the common good is central to my philosophies around philanthropy. It is my dream to discover a path where I can serve the greater good in a more impactful capacity.

Two years after I started this initiative, I’ve developed partnerships with local government units, community-based organizations, local caterers, and numerous educators in rural areas of the Philippines whom are hoping they will be the next lucky winner to be delivered a surprise culinary event through Operation Merienda. With the support of my family and friends in the Philippines and the United States, I’m on the path to creating a nonprofit out of what started out as a visceral inclination to spread joy during a time when the pandemic caused so much uncertainty. As the world gradually accommodates the whirlwind changes technology and the pandemic has brought into our social realities, we must choose to create.

So ask yourself: How do you envision a world that promotes the greatest good? Then ask yourself: “What will you do today to serve this vision?”