The Rumi Foundation

Clinton Foundation

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The mission of the William J. Clinton Foundation is to improve global health, strengthen economies, promote healthier childhoods, and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organisations, and private citizens to turn good intentions into measurable results.

Since founding the Clinton Foundation in 2001, President Clinton’s work has improved the lives of millions around the world through the provision of HIV/AIDS treatment, the investment in 14,000 American schools, providing training and mentorship to over 26,000 micro-entrepreneurs, and cutting over 2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in some of the world’s largest cities.

On 23rd May 2012, The Rumi Foundation hosted President Clinton for a lunch attended by 90 of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs, politicians, chief executives and philanthropists. The purpose of the lunch was to encourage leaders to think about how they can actively help others in our society. President Clinton discussed the work of the Clinton Foundation and provided inspiration to many guests to get more involved with helping those less fortunate, both in their own communities and all around the world.

Innovation Night at the Royal College of Art

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Innovation Night 2012 at the Royal College of Art, the third of five annual keynote lectures to be endowed by the foundation, was held on 2nd May 2012. Joining us as guest speaker was will.i.am, frontman and founder of The Black Eyed Peas, one of the world’s most successful recording groups.

will.i.am is the founder of the i.am.angel foundation, a charitable foundation focused on transforming communities. The i.am.angel foundation has funded scholarships to underprivileged children, and one of its key goals is to promote the teaching of science and technology in our classrooms.

A self-dubbed UNEEK (a “universal nerd geek”), will.i.am is a firm believer in the role of technology in our society. In January 2011 he was appointed Director of Creative Innovation for Intel Corporation where he is helping Intel to explore how technology can better relate to everyday interactions and how today’s youth can better engage with technology. will.i.am created i.am.FIRST, a programme to encourage the engineering and technological skills of primary and secondary school students, which included a robotics competition and programmes to make science equivalent to sports or music in the eyes of children.

In February 2012, will.i.am hosted the inaugural TRANS4M conference, based in his home town of Boyle Heights, California. The conference brought together brands, businesses, community organisations and philanthropists to create new business models to invigorate the economy and community of Boyle Heights. The Rumi Foundation is working with will.i.am to host a TRANS4M conference in Hackney or another deprived area of London.

An Evening with Professor Muhammad Yunus

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Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2006 for his work as the founder of Grameen Bank, a pioneering microfinance institution supporting mainly women in extreme poverty in Bangladesh. Grameen began as a single loan of US$27 from Professor Yunus’ pocket to a group of 42 women he visited in a rural village.

As at October 2011, Grameen had loaned over US$11 billion to 8.4 million borrowers, 97% of whom were women. Through his innovative “social business” model, Professor Yunus has opened new sources of capital to impoverished communities and is changing how we look at the role and purpose of capitalism.

In March 2012, The Rumi Foundation organised an evening for approximately 250 guests to attend a talk with Professor Yunus moderated by Faisal Islam, Economics Editor for Channel 4 News. Yunus discussed his work and how the Western world can learn from Grameen’s novel approaches. Guests included the Deputy Prime Minister, students, philanthropists and City leaders.

The evening was held at The Ismaili Centre, a cultural, religious and social space which serves as the UK base for the Ismaili Muslim community. The Centre’s activities foster friendship, understanding and dialogue, and have provided the Centre’s 10,000 visitors over 25 years with a glimpse of the Ismaili community’s faith, hospitality and shared values.

Global Poverty Project Fundraising Dinner

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Working with UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, the Global Poverty Project is coordinating a campaign to eradicate polio worldwide. Immunisation has been incredibly effective to reduce polio cases by 99% by 2010, and eradication of the final 1% – usually in the poorest countries – is within sight. Through public awareness, fundraising and discussions with governments, GPP’s End of Polio campaign is helping the world to achieve this goal.

The End of Polio campaign is especially important to The Rumi Foundation’s Founder, as one of his family members is a polio sufferer. The Foundation is planning a fundraising dinner in Perth, Australia for the Global Poverty Project with Cricket Australia.

Akram Khan Dance Company

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Led by legendary contemporary dancer Akram Khan, AKDC creates innovative productions which challenge audiences in their understanding of human interaction and cultures. AKDC unites people around the universal language of dance, mixing traditional Eastern dances with modern, global disciplines. Akram Khan travels with his productions around the world, providing training and education to local aspiring artists.

In keeping with the Foundation’s philosophy to support local communities where it invests its endowment, the Foundation was proud to sponsor AKDC’s Brazilian six-show tour in October 2011. Subsidised tickets were available to encourage audiences from all socio-economic backgrounds, culminating in the finale where tickets were available for R$1 (around 30p) each.

Innovation Night at the Royal College of Art

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Innovation Night 2011 at the Royal College of Art, the second of five annual public lectures to be endowed by the foundation, was held on 28 June 2011. Joining us as guest speaker was Christopher Bailey MBE.

Over the last 10 years, Christopher has been instrumental in transforming Burberry into the fashion powerhouse it is today. Whilst design innovation, like the creation of the new materials, product design and expansion is the driving force behind the business it is the digitalisation of the brand which marks Burberry as true innovators.

The use of dynamic audiovisual content on the Burberry website encourages customers not only to engage but to entertain and interact while the introduction of Retail Theatre technology allows live 3D streaming of Burberry catwalk shows to be watched in their flagship stores across the world. Further digitalisation, supported by supply chain innovation, has for the first time allowed Burberry customers to buy directly from the runway for delivery in seven weeks.

In 2008, alongside Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, Christopher set up The Burberry Foundation, committed to dedicating global resources to help young people realise their dreams and achieve their goals and potential through their power and creativity.

Coexistence Trust

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Founded in 2005 by His Royal Highness, Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan & Lord Janner of Braunstone QC, the Coexistence Trust aims to combat Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism by developing and strengthening relations between British Muslim and Jewish communities. By targeting students with University Campus FaithHubs and Campus Ambassadors, students take an active role in promoting understanding between the Jewish & Muslim faiths.

Mosaic

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Mosaic was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in November 2007 to challenge the growing concern around the issues facing young Muslims living in deprived areas of Britain. Mosaic aims to increase education opportunities for those who do not have them and to increase opportunities for understanding between people of different backgrounds. Mosaic’s mentoring programme matches volunteer mentors with young Muslims and their peers at schools and in community groups to raise aspirations and to provide access to opportunities in education and employment.

In June 2011, The Rumi Foundation hosted a reception for Mosaic, which was attended by the HRH Princess Badiya bint El Hassan of Jordan, Chairman of Mosaic, and Rageh Omar, a prominent BBC journalist who gave a fascinating insight into the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings.

Meeting with President Jimmy Carter

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After stepping down as U.S. President in 1981, Jimmy Carter founded the Carter Center, an NGO which advances peace and health worldwide. Today, the Carter Center operates in 70 countries, helping to resolve conflicts, advance democracy, advocate for human rights and prevent diseases. The Center has alleviated the suffering of millions of people in disadvantaged areas, focusing on often-neglected but preventable diseases such as Guinea worm disease, river blindness, trachoma and malaria.

The Rumi Foundation is looking to work with President Carter on his Peace and Health Programs in Africa, particularly on providing access to rural health care and training health care workers.

Innovation Night at the Royal College of Art

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The Rumi Foundation officially launched on 29th June 2010 at Innovation Night at the Royal College of Art with the first of five annual public lectures to be endowed by the foundation. Joining us as guest speaker will be Chad Hurley, co-founder and CEO of YouTube.

Chad Hurley and fellow PayPal employees Steve Chen and Jawed Karim were the first to come up with the idea of creating a public space on the internet for sharing videos. Launched in 2005, YouTube quickly became an internet sensation and was bought the following year by Google for $1.65 billion. Today, the figures are staggering: approximately 24 hours of footage are uploaded every minute and the site receives two billion hits a day.

YouTube continues to innovate its business model and service to a global community, and has partnerships across the world including the BBC, Channel 4 and Five. Chad has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, where he spoke in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Kisakye Children’s Trust

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Launched in 2005, UK-based charity Kisakye Children’s Trust helps in the relief of poverty, suffering and disease in Africa. Its first major project has been to develop a paediatric hospital and treatment centre in Mbale, Uganda, for children affected by HIV/AIDS. The first of its kind in the region, the hospital opened its doors in 2009. While it currently offers out-patient facilities there are plans to develop it further as a centre for training in paediatric HIV and related subjects. It will also provide a much-needed focus for outreach services to rural areas, where a combination of poor infrastructure and poverty prevents families from visiting the hospital.

Iwokrama International Centre (IIC)

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Established in 1996, the IIC manages Iwokrama – a unique reserve of nearly 1,000,000 acres of rainforest in Guyana. Its aim is unique: to conduct research and test the proposition that conservation, environmental balance, and sustainable economic activity are mutually reinforcing. In other words, that it is possible to use a forest without losing it.

Over the last 12 years the IIC has developed sustainable models that include timber harvesting and eco-tourism in close cooperation with local communities. In 2008 the forest received Forest Stewardship Council certification in recognition of its sustainable management.

Inter-Religious Dialogue in Rome and Dubrovnik

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Organised by Rumi Verjee under the auspices of the Young Presidents’ Organization, this conference brought together eighty business leaders from around the globe to discuss the relationships between the world’s major religions and examine how experience in business could be used to solve some of the conflicts which religion creates.

In Rome, the group had an audience with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and had discussions with Cardinal Tauran, the Vatican’s representative for inter-religious dialogue. In Dubrovnik, the group was able to see the effects of religion-driven conflict first-hand. Lord Paddy Ashdown, former UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, introduced the group to the Balkans conflict as a case study.

The Verjee Fellowship in Medicine

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Having been educated at Downing College, Cambridge, where he is now an honorary fellow, Rumi Verjee wanted to give back to the academic institution that gave him so much.

In 2003, The Rumi Foundation established a fellowship in perpetuity to support ongoing research in the field of Medicine. The first fellowship is to Dr Nick Coleman for his research into cancer diagnosis, using improved understanding of cell biology to suggest ways to manage patients with cancer. His research aims to identify genes of potential importance in the biology of malignancy and improve screening, particularly for children.

 

Mother Teresa Projects in Calcutta, India

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Mother Teresa dedicated her life to offering much-needed relief for Calcutta’s poor. Through her Mission she gave aid to the hungry, sick and dying, creating schools, orphanages, soup kitchens and hospices. At the time of her death Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity were operating over 600 missions in 123 countries.

In 1995, during an educational trip to India, Rumi met with Mother Teresa and visited her Kalighat Home for the Dying, where he saw first hand the compassion and dignity Mother Teresa gave to those who were most vulnerable. The individuals brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity according to the rituals of their faith.