Corporate Social Review Magazine 1st Quarter 2013 | Page 94

of women’s rights. That way they can
create a dialogue and hopefully facilitate
change.
What ideas and insights did you take from
the UBS Forum?
MB I think the notion of how important it
is to see ourselves as part of a collective.
While we lead individual lives, we need to
take care of the world we live in and see
ourselves as responsible for it. The talk
[by moral philosopher Clemens Sedmak]
on how important it is that we find ways
to coexist effectively was inspiring and
illuminating.
What’s frightening is how few
environmental resources we have. We
have to address that immediately; it’s
not something we can leave to the next
generation. It would be nice to see how
we can translate big ideas into effective
action. So often we talk about big ideas
and we don’t make the next step to how
we make them actionable; or we talk
about little actions and don’t understand
how they fit into the bigger picture.

AL I was thinking about all the things the
former president of Norway [Gro Harlem
Brundtland] was saying, about climate
change and women’s rights and so on.
The big challenge is that all the systems
exist together and we can’t make the
necessary changes slowly when we
don’t really have much time. The topics
she explored were just the surface layer.
There are much deeper levels under
that. But I think these get-togethers are
an opportunity for dialogue, for ‘a-ha’
moments in individuals’ lives.
Is there anything you’re likely to change in
your own work when you go back?
AL I pretty much follow the path I’ve
been taking for the last decade. I try to
follow one guideline, which is ‘stay with
the issue’, because it gets confusing
for people if one moment I’m talking
about cancer and then I’m talking about
something else.

developing or developed countries. I think
it’s all fascinating and I love to participate
as one of the agents of change in some
way. But I’m going to focus mainly on
HIV/AIDS and women’s issues because
at the root of the whole thing is misogyny.
If you look at HIV/AIDS and how it affects
women and children, you can take it down
to human rights and women’s rights: the
gender bias, violence against women,
the lack of power that women have in
societies where they can’t choose who
they’re going to marry. They have a male
will imposed on them; they don’t have the
protection in the law that they really ought
to have. You cannot look at HIV/AIDS and
women and children without connecting
them down to that root.
For more information go to:
www.annielennox.com
www.annielennoxsing.com
www.m2m.org

To be frank with you, I’m very passionate
about living life and the challenges we
all face as human beings, whether in

THE DEPARTMENT OF COFFEE
Their dream started with Baleni who was a seasonal fireman. ‘I
liked the idea of setting up a business as I worked as a fireman
from December to June only. The rest of the year I spent as a
casual selling meat in taverns.’
After meeting Sibusiso “S’bu” Momoti of the NGO Connect
Community D