Dean of the Faculty of Law and Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Author, Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History After Genocide and Mass Violence
How can anyone make a difference in a world marked by genocide, civil war, refugee crises, disease epidemics? With conscience, hope, and sweat equity, Dr. Zachary Kaufman and the other contributors to this book have offered aid, created organizations serving victims of human rights violations, and learned from set-backs and failures. Their insight into challenges of sustainable fund-raising, organizational design and management, and skepticism about young Western volunteers can inspire and instruct others who hope to address suffering and injustice through initiative, analysis, and commitment.
President, Ashoka
This book makes an all too rare and important point: One of the distinguishing characteristics of social entrepreneurs is the way their actions and their example pave the way for peace. Kaufman gives us multiple examples here to demonstrate that the kind of empathetic leadership exhibited by these social entrepreneurs builds an alternative to conflict and contributes to the stability and security of societies.
Mayer Brown / Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and Director, Center for International Human Rights, Northwestern University School of Law; former U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues; Author, All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals
Under the able editorship of Dr. Zachary Kaufman, an upstander in his own right, this pathbreaking book demystifies social entrepreneurship, namely, citizen-inspired initiatives that may have as much potential to overcome the challenges burdening victims of atrocities and other assaults on humankind as social media has demonstrated in revolutionizing how people communicate in the 21st Century.
Professor of International Law, Middlesex University (London); Author, Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes; Commissioner, Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The accounts of social entrepreneurs contained in this volume could well inspire a future shortlist for the Nobel Peace Prize. Zachary Kaufman has coupled impressive narratives with compelling analysis in a collection that informs observers but that will also stimulate more young people to take up the challenges of responding to atrocities.
Simeon E. Baldwin Professor Emeritus of Law, Yale Law School
This splendid book is more than a primer on social entrepreneurship for human rights in the developing world. It is also a compendium of searing testimony about the immense practical challenges that idealistic changemakers can overcome by dint of their unflagging energy, incandescent visions of humanity and justice, and on-the-ground skills and resourcefulness. Zachary Kaufman has performed a great public service in orchestrating this admirable volume about how hope for the future can be vindicated even under the most unpromising conditions.
United Nations Under Secretary-General in charge of Innovative Financing for Development; Chairman, UNITAID (international facility for the purchase of drugs against HIV / AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis); former French Minister of Foreign Affairs
At last, a compelling narrative of recent achievements to address pressing global issues through social entrepreneurship! This book is a tribute to Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s ethical convictions and the generation of innovators that he represents. As Chairman of UNITAID, the first laboratory of innovative financing, I’ve seen how a small levy on airline tickets can save thousands of lives every year through market solutions. It warms me to see how young thinkers continue to innovate and act to provide global public goods. Pay attention to them!
President, The American Enterprise Institute; Author, Social Entrepreneurship: A Modern Approach to Social Value Creation
At a time when so many reflexively look to government action as a remedy for today’s ills, this valuable book demonstrates the power of social entrepreneurs to take on some of the world’s great challenges. Social entrepreneurship is grounded in real-world experience. The projects the book profiles demonstrate the impact of individuals as agents of change – taking ideas and turning them into action that can help transform entire societies.
former U.S. Congressman; former Special Advisor to the Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone; Co-Founder, DarfurGenocide.org; current President & CEO, Center for American Progress Action
For anyone who doubted one person could change the world or just wondered how to get started, Dr. Kaufman’s book is equal parts inspiration and how-to guide. He has lived and studied social entrepreneurship, and provides a serious contribution to the emerging field of social entrepreneurship, particularly as it relates to genocide and other atrocities.
Co-Founder, Enough Project, Center for American Progress; former Director for African Affairs, U.S. National Security Council; Co-Author, Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption; Co-Author, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond
Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities is a welcome contribution to the study of one of the most promising social movements in recent time, the mobilization of engaged citizens, or Upstanders, in the face of mass atrocities around the world. Zachary Kaufman incisively investigates how social entrepreneurs are taking on tough issues including conflict prevention and transitional justice, and presents practical lessons learned from the perspective of activists on the ground.
Co-Founder & Board member of United to End Genocide (formerly Save Darfur / Genocide Intervention Network); Ashoka Fellow; Echoing Green Fellow
Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities interweaves two critical movements: social entrepreneurship and human rights. Kaufman is one of the first to explore these intersections in a powerfully informative way. He and his fellow social entrepreneurs provide concrete examples of, and offer practical advice about, the power of ordinary people to confront one of the most intractable problems: mass atrocities. Kaufman demonstrates how we can all be ‘upstanders’ in the face of such conflicts.
Author, Smart Stewardship for Nonprofits: Making the Right Decision in Good Times and Bad and Social Entrepreneurship: The Art of Mission-Based Venture Development
Dr. Kaufman’s book is a huge addition to the field, and his focus on atrocities is spot on. Looking at social entrepreneurship through the lens offered in this book will provide the field with new insights and inspiration. Bravo!
Founder and President, International Peace & Security Institute
Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities: Changing Our World deftly outlines how young global peace entrepreneurs are successfully fostering smart and agile solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems. Gone are the tired images of doves and peace signs, rightfully replaced with laptops and smart phones. This is a must read for all young leaders who strive to have real impact in their careers, as well as the old guard if they care not to be left behind by the winds of change.
Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; Co-Founder, Oxford Transitional Justice Research, University of Oxford; Author, The Gacaca Courts, Post-Genocide Justice and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Justice Without Lawyers; Co-Editor, After Genocide: Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, and Reconciliation in Rwanda and Beyond
In an age of austerity, with governments and international organizations limited in their capacity to address atrocities, Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s book is a timely reminder of the power of social entrepreneurs to effect critical change. But this is no romantic account of the ability of inspired individuals to make a difference after mass conflict. As an insiders’ view of entrepreneurship, this book gives a warts-and-all account of the personal, political, social, and economic challenges that must be overcome and the energy, risk-taking, and good fortune required to achieve even modest results. Highlighting the crucial work of social entrepreneurs, this collection also provides a necessary critique of the failures of governments and international bodies such as the UN to respond coherently to the challenges of post-conflict societies.
Founder & Executive Director, Humanity in Action
Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities is a bold work of definition and analyses. It presents both concepts and histories – focused on individuals and groups – in response to mass violence and atrocities. This significant study, edited by Zachary Kaufman, is a work of clarification and inspiration.
Social Innovation Leader, Innosight; former Senior Team Member, Ashoka; former management consultant, McKinsey & Company; former Executive Director, Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
This book is nothing less than an antidote against despondency. In and of itself an innovation, Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s collection of personal narratives by change agents reveals a pattern of how people are bringing light to areas where there seems to be nothing but darkness. The remarkably simple recipe of these social entrepreneurs is to take a good dose of caring, add an innovative solution, and finally knead the project through the phases of iterative testing and growth until impact is achieved. Finally we have in this book an addition to the ever-growing library of literature on human rights and atrocities that is not a call to arms or a cry of accusatory indignation, but a cheerful invitation to roll up one’s sleeves.
Associate Director, Conflict Resolution Program, Georgetown University; Founder, Peace and Collaborative Development Network
Dr. Zachary Kaufman provides powerful lessons for anyone committed to preventing atrocities, ending conflicts, building peace, and fostering systematic and sustainable positive social change. The compelling and honest first-hand accounts by leading social entrepreneurs working in diverse sectoral areas help ground the field by providing unique insight into the many opportunities, successes, and challenges encountered through the difficult task of change making. This powerful text will inspire many young people and others to take action and work hard in pursuing innovative ways to address some of the most complex, seemingly intractable problems facing the world today. This book should be required reading for anyone seeking to positively impact the world, one step at a time.
Executive Director, Program on Social Entrepreneurship, Stanford University; former President & CEO, Global Fund for Women
Zachary Kaufman’s new book expands the term social entrepreneur to include human rights advocates—in this instance, young people from the Global North, who have chosen to speak out, stand up, and intervene in the complex contexts of war, atrocity, and civil conflict. Kaufman’s provocative book includes case studies that will help challenge prevailing definitions of this emerging field as it explores how, where, and why social entrepreneurs are engaging with the intersection of geo-politics, international law, and social change.
This splendid book is more than a primer on social entrepreneurship for human rights in the developing world. It is also a compendium of searing testimony about the immense practical challenges that idealistic changemakers can overcome by dint of their unflagging energy, incandescent visions of humanity and justice, and on-the-ground skills and resourcefulness. Zachary Kaufman has performed a great public service in orchestrating this admirable volume about how hope for the future can be vindicated even under the most unpromising conditions.”
