Melinda Gates pledges $1 billion to women's rights

NEW YORK - Philanthropist Melinda Gates plans to put $1 billion toward expanding women's power and influence in the United States over the next decade, saying on Wednesday she loses sleep over fears the nation will stop caring about inequality and diversity.

Women's marches, the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and record numbers of female political candidates can mean real, immediate change, said Gates, co-chairwoman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"There is no reason to believe this moment will last forever," Gates, founder of investment and incubation company Pivotal Ventures, wrote in a Time.com opinion piece.

"Too many people - women and men - have worked too hard to get us this far," she wrote. "There are too many possible solutions we haven't tried yet."

Pivotal Ventures will fund partners who pursue innovative approaches to expanding women's power and influence, Gates said, adding: "One billion dollars is a lot of money, but I also recognize that it's only a small fraction of what's necessary."

Goals include dismantling barriers to women's job advancement such as care-giving obligations and sexual harassment and fast-tracking women in influential job sectors such as technology, media and public office.

The effort also aims to encourage shareholders, consumers and employees to pressure companies to reform.

"Here's what keeps me up at night: I imagine waking up one morning to find that the country has moved on," Gates wrote. "That the media has stopped reporting on systemic inequalities.

"That diversity remains something companies talk about instead of prioritizing. That all of this energy and attention has amounted to a temporary swell, instead of a sea change."

National Organization for Women head Toni Van Pelt wrote in an email that she welcomed Gates' investment, saying: "The more we see women in positions of power and influence, the more it will become the norm rather than the exception."

Such an investment can be a big incentive driving other contributions, said Barbara Gault, acting co-president of Institute for Women's Policy Research, a Washington-based think tank.

"The non-profits and advocacy groups that are trying to make change often are underfunded and are operating on shoestring budgets, so it's going to be very valuable ... to have that funding available," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"I don't see a downside," she added.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, run by Melinda Gates and her husband Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., focuses on world health, infectious diseases, child mortality, sustainable growth and other global philanthropic issues. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Green warrior': Senators hail environmentalist Gina Lopez

MANILA- Senators paid tribute to the late environmentalist and philanthropist Gina Lopez who died Monday due to multiple organ failure.

Lopez, the long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and President Rodrigo Duterte's former environment secretary, passed away at the age of 65. 

Senator Sonny Angara honored Lopez as a "one-person green warrior," saying the staunch eco-warrior left the public with a "bucket list to comply with and follow."

"Gina did not preach what she did not practice. She was not a Powerpoint crusader but a living example of how to live a life that will not bankrupt earth’s resources to support us," Angara said in a statement.

"She was a one-person green warrior who took the fight to where it matters – in boardrooms, chatrooms, government offices, and in her favorite office – out in the open, under a forest canopy or underwater, where she was in her element with people she loved in a country she never gave up hope on," he said.

Senators Nancy Binay and Leila de Lima thanked Lopez for her service to the government, noting her determination.

"A staunch defender of the environment, she was steadfast in her beliefs and inspired us all through her passion for the environment," Binay said.

"Maraming salamat former DENR Secretary, Gina Lopez. 🙏," De Lima said in a tweet.

For Senators Bong Go, Richard Gordon, and Grace Poe, the late philanthropist will always be remembered for her passion in pushing for her advocacies.

"She was a fearless advocate and a tireless philanthropist, dedicating most of her life for the betterment of her fellow Filipinos. Her exceptional dedication in protecting our environment has no equal today," Go said.

"She was a staunch advocate of significant and meaningful causes for the country. She stood her ground firmly on issues she felt needed to be addressed," Gordon said.

"Sec. Gina Lopez came in our midst and taught us love for mankind and the environment, our common home. Thank you for touching our lives in your impassioned way," Poe said.

Minority Senator Risa Hontiveros meanwhile noted how "Gina fought with everything she had against big polluters" while Senator Francis Pangilinan recalled how it was a privilege to have someone like Lopez as an eco-warrior in public office.

"She’ll always be remembered that way: as a fighter whose legacy will be remembered by many," she said.

"Rest well and rest in peace, Gina. You did well in helping transform thousands of lives and it was a privilege to have worked alongside you in helping change our world," Pangilinan said.

Senators Bong Revilla and Joel Villanueva, on the other hand, extended prayers to the Lopez family.

"Tinitingalang earth warrior, philanthropist at cultural advocate, malaking kawalan siya sa ating bansa. Maraming salamat sa paglalaan ng iyong buhay upang pangalagaan ang kalikasan at kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino!" Revilla said. 

(A notable earth warrior, philanthropist, and cultural advocate, she is a great loss for our country. Thank you for dedicating your life to our environment and the well-being of Filipinos.)

"Indeed to live in Christ and to die is gain. Rest in Peace Ms Gina Lopez 🙏 Prayers for your family and loved ones. God bless!" Villlanueva said in a tweet.

In lieu of flowers and mass cards, the family requests that donations be made to the ABS-CBN Foundation. There will be a public viewing at the La Mesa Eco Park on Aug. 22 to 23.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Zuckerberg: from Harvard dropout to Silicon Valley legend

SAN FRANCISCO, United States -Mark Zuckerberg has grown from a Harvard dropout who changed what it means to be social into a billionaire philanthropist bent on shaping a better world for his daughter.

Zuckerberg and his doctor wife, Priscilla Chan, set the Internet abuzz this week with news of the birth of their first child, a girl named Maxima.

Zuckerberg and Chan also pledged to give away their Facebook fortune to make the world a "better place" for baby daughter Maxima and others.

In a letter to Maxima posted on his Facebook page, the couple said they were going to give away 99 percent of their company shares -- estimated value $45 billion -- during their lives in an effort to make a happy and healthy world.

Zuckerberg cemented his fortune, and a place in Silicon Valley history, by leading Facebook to a historic Wall Street debut in 2012. Facebook shares on Wednesday were trading at nearly triple the initial public offering price of $38.

The $16 billion IPO was structured to keep control of Facebook in the hands of Zuckerberg, who has been Time's "Person of the Year" and cracked the Forbes list of 20 richest people in the world.

The hoodie-wearing 31-year-old, depicted in the Hollywood drama "The Social Network" as a socially challenged computer geek, has evolved into a confident chief executive presiding over an online community boasting more than 1.5 billion users monthly as of September.

Despite his massive wealth, Zuckerberg still favors t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, topped off by his trademark hooded sweatshirt and a mop of brown, curly hair.

He has donned suits, though, while meeting with high-profile figures such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.

Zuckerberg is known for setting annual goals, which have included wearing ties every day; only eating meat of animals he kills himself; and learning to speak Chinese to be able to chat with members of his wife's family who speak that language.

He has grown more outspoken socially and politically. Zuckerberg has marched with hundreds of Facebook employees in San Francisco's grand Gay Pride Parade and publicly backed US immigration reform.

Quotes credited to Zuckerberg included "What would you do if you weren't afraid" and "Move fast and break things."

Zuckerberg is known for advocating a "hacker way" of boldly twisting software or systems in promising directions.

- Thefacebook -
Born on May 14, 1984, Zuckerberg was raised in Dobbs Ferry outside New York, one of four children of a dentist father and a psychiatrist mother.

He began writing computer programs at the age of 11, including one said to resemble Pandora's musical taste program which reportedly drew the interest of AOL and Microsoft.

He went to high school at the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy, where he was captain of the fencing team, before entering elite Harvard University.

Zuckerberg launched Thefacebook.com, as it was then known, from his dorm room on February 4, 2004 with some of his roommates and classmates.

The stated goal: "Making the world more open and connected."

Facebook's early years were not without controversy, however.

In 2008, a $65 million settlement was reached with three Harvard classmates -- twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra -- over their charges that Zuckerberg had stolen the idea for Facebook from them.

The conflict was at the heart of "The Social Network," the Oscar-winning film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher.

Zuckerberg left Harvard in May 2004 for Silicon Valley, where he received his first major funding -- $500,000 -- from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel followed by nearly $13 million the next year from Accel Partners.

Despite recurring privacy complaints, Facebook has gone from strength to strength. Analysts credit the social network with innovating, or acquiring new technology, to stay popular in an Internet Age known for fleeting loyalties to online services.

Zuckerberg's Facebook page, which is "followed" by more than 43 million people, features pictures of his wife and daughter, along with their dog, Beast.

"Having this child has made us think about all of the things that should be improved in the world for her whole generation," Zuckerberg said in a video of himself and Chan posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

His "likes" include charities such as his newly formed Zuckerberg Chan Initiative; US politicians Obama and Hillary Clinton, actors Seth Rogen and James Franco, and the book "Ender's Game."

Zuckerberg has been referred to by some as being struck in the mold of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Zuckerberg has praised Jobs as a friend and a role model.

Similarities between the men have been said to include not being afraid to risk falling down while chasing big dreams, and passionately pursuing visions despite obstacles or detractors.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com