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brought its foreign reserves to near zero…New Delhi had reserves in 2004 of 100
billion； giving it the resources to help more of its people into the flat arena。
Ramesh Ramanathan； an Indian…born former Citibank executive who returned to India
to lead an NGO called Janaagraha； dedicated to improving local governance； is
precisely the kind of new populist I have in mind。 〃In India；〃 he said； 〃clients of
public education are sending a signal about the quality of service delivery： Whoever
can afford to opt out does so。 The same goes for health care。 Given the escalating
costs of health care； if we had a solid public health…care system； most citizens would
opt to use it； not just the poor。 Ditto for roads； highways； water supply； sanitation；
registration of births and deaths； crematoria； driver's li389
censes； and so on。 Wherever the government provides these services； it ＇should be＇
for the benefit of all citizens。 ＇But＇ in fact； in some of these； like water supply
and sanitation； the poor are actually not even getting the same basic services as
the middle class and the rich。 The challenge here is therefore universal access。〃
Getting NGOs that can collaborate on the local level to ensure that the poor get the
infrastructure and budgets to which they are entitled could have a major impact on
poverty alleviation。
So although this may sound odd coming from me； it is totally consistent with this
whole book： What the world doesn't need now is for the antiglobalization movement
to go away。 We just need it to grow up。 This movement had a lot of energy and a lot
of mobilizing capacity。 What it lacked was a coherent agenda for assisting the poor
by collaborating with them in a way that could actually help them。 The activist groups
that are helping alleviate poverty the most are those working at the local village
level in places like rural India； Africa； and China to spotlight and fight corruption
and to promote accountability； transparency； education； and property rights。 You
don't help the world's poor by dressing up in a turtle outfit and throwing a stone
through McDonald's window。 You help them by getting them the tools and institutions
to help themselves。 It may not be as sexy as protesting against world leaders in the
streets of Washington and Genoa； and getting lots of attention on CNN； but it is a
lot more important。 Just ask any Indian villager。
Collaboration in poverty alleviation is not just for NGOs。 It is also for
multinational corporations。 The rural poor in India； Africa； and China represent a
huge market； and it is possible to make money there and serve them …if companies are
ready to collaborate horizontally with the poor。 One of the most interesting examples
I have come across of this form of collaboration is a program run by Hewlett…Packard。
HP is not an NGO。 HP began with a simple question： What do poor people need most that
we could sell to them？ You cannot design this stuff in Palo Alto； you have to cocreate
with the user…customer beneficiary。 In order to answer that question； HP created a
public…private partnership with the national government in India and the local
government in Andhra Pradesh。 Then a group of HP technologists convened a series of
dialogues in the
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farming village of Kuppam。 It asked residents two things： What are your hopes for
the next three to five years？ and What changes would really make your lives better？
To help the villagers （many of them illiterate） express themselves； HP used a concept
called graphic facilitation； wherebywhen people voiced their dreams and aspirations；
a visual artist whom HP brought over from the United States drew images of those
aspirations on craft paper put up on the walls around the room。
〃When people； particularly people who are illiterate； say something and it gets
immediately represented on the wall； they feel really validated； and therefore they
get more animated and more engaged；〃 said Maureen Conway； HP's vice president for
emerging market solutions； who headed the project。 〃It raises self…esteem。〃 Once
these poor farmers living in a remote village got loose； they really started aspiring。
〃One of them said； 'What we really need here is an airport；'〃 said Conway。
After the visioning sessions were complete； HP employees spent more time in the
village just observing how people lived。 One technological thing missing in their
lives was photography。 Conway explained： 〃We noticed that there was a big demand for
having pictures taken for identification purposes； for licenses； for applications
and government permits； and we said to ourselves； 'Maybe there is an entrepreneurial
opportunity here if we can turn people into village photographers。' There was one
photo studio in downtown Kuppam。 Everyone around ＇is＇ farmers。 We noticed that people
would come back in from villages on a bus； spend two hours； get their pictures taken；
come back a week later for the pictures； and find out that they were not done or done
wrong。 Time is as important for them as for us。 So we said； 'Wait a minute； we make
digital cameras and portable printers。 So what is the problem？' Why doesn't HP sell
them a bunch of digital cameras and printers？ The villagers came back with a very
short answer： 'Electricity。' They had no assured supply of electricity and little
money to pay for it。
〃So we said； 'We are technologists。 Let's get a solar panel and put it on a backpack
on wheels and see if there is a business for people here； and for HP； if we make a
mobile photo studio。' That is the approach we took。 The solar panel can charge both
the camera and the printer。 Then we went to a self…help women's group。 We picked five
women and said；
'We will train you how to use this equipment。' We gave them two weeks of training。
And we said； 'We will provide you with the camera and supplies； and we will share
revenue with you on every picture。'〃 This was not charity。 Even after buying all their
supplies from HP and sharing some of the revenue with HP； the women in the photography
group doubled their family incomes。 〃And to be honest； what we found out was that
less than 50 percent of the pictures they took were for identification pictures and
the rest were people just wanting pictures of their kids； weddings； and themselves；〃
said Conway。 The poor like family photo albums as much as the rich and are ready to
pay for them。 The local government also made this women's group its official
photographers for public works projects； which added to their income。
End of story？ Not quite。 As I said； HP is not an NGO。 〃After four months we said；
'Okay； the experiment is over； we're taking the camera back；'〃 said Conway。 〃And they
said； 'You're crazy。'〃 So HP told the women that if they wanted to keep the camera；
printer； and solar panel； they had to come up with a plan to pay for them。 They
eventually proposed renting them for 9 a month； and HP agreed。 And now they are
branching out into other villages。 HP； meanwhile； has started working with an NGO
to train multiple women's groups with the same mobile photography studio； and there
is a potential here for HP to sell the studios to NGOs all over India； with all of
them using HP ink and other supplies。 And from India； who knows where？
〃They are giving us feedback on the cameras and ease of use；〃 said Conway。 〃What it
has done to change the confidence of the women is absolutely amazing。〃
Too Frustrated
One of the unintended consequences of the flat world is that it puts different
societies and cultures in much greater direct contact with one another。 It connects
people to people much faster than people and cultures can often prepare themselves。
Some cultures thrive on the sud…
392
den opportunities for collaboration that this global intimacy makes possible。 Others
are threatened； frustrated； and even humiliated by this close contact； which； among
other things； makes it very easy for people to see where they stand in the world
vis…a…vis everyone else。 All of this helps to explain the emergence of one of the
most dangerous unflattening forces today…the suicide bombers of al…Qaeda and the
other Islamist terror organizations； who are coming out of the Muslim world and Muslim
communities in Europe。
The Arab…Muslim world is a vast； diverse civilization； encompassing over one billion
people and stretching from Morocco to Indonesia and from Nigeria all the way to the
suburbs of London。 It is very dangerous to generalize about such a complex religious
community； made up of so many different ethnicities and nationalities。 But one need
only look at the headlines in any day's newspaper to appreciate that a lot of anger
and frustration seems to be bubbling over from the Muslim world in general and from
the Arab…Muslim world in particular； where many young people seem to be agitated by
a combination of issues。 One of the most obvious is the festering Arab…Israeli
conflict； and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and East Jerusalem…a
grievance which has a powerful emotional hold on the Arab…Muslim imagination and has
long soured relations with Ameri