On Tuesday night Raymond Offenheiser, the president of Oxfam America, a non-profit organization that works to end global poverty, fosters fair trade, and provides disaster relief, among other humanitarian efforts, spoke with Boston College students and faculty. Offenheiser's lecture was one in a series presented by the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics through the Chambers Lecture Series program. The series is designed to bring speakers to campus for the purpose of offering their experiences and views on ethical leadership to the undergraduate student body. The series is also open to the public.
Richard Keeley, associate dean of the Carroll School of Management, gave a brief overview of some of the interdisciplinary programs at BC that are founded on the study of leadership and ethics. He commented on the rapidity with which these programs have grown, saying, "So much good is going on, one might think there is a conspiracy afoot."
Keeley introduced Offenheiser, commenting that Oxfam is an organization that works for "just relations amongst men and women, and an end to exploitation."
Offenheiser said that he was pleased to have the opportunity to speak before the BC undergraduate population, and said that Oxfam places great importance upon "leadership, youth leadership, and ethics." Offenheiser spoke of the mission of Oxfam, and elaborated upon his personal experiences in the world of nonprofit enterprise and the importance of enthusiasm among concerned youth.
British citizens concerned with the plight of Greek refugees founded the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in 1942. Their scope has expanded somewhat over the years, but the mission has remained fundamentally the same: to uncover and remedy the root causes of poverty.
Speaking of this mission, Offenheiser said, "Poverty is a human invention caused by social structures and cultural norms." Oxfam is involved in a wide variety of programs and initiatives worldwide designed to combat poverty. The organization favors working on a local level, but incorporates dialogue on all levels in their efforts to eradicate poverty.
Offenheiser spoke of the role of governments, and the way in which Oxfam works with them. "It is the responsibility of governments to care for the needs and well-being of their citizens," Offenheiser said. He went on to explain that Oxfam attempts to work within the society's existing structures, and reform problems within the system itself. He illustrated this point with examples such as that of the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Oxfam has influenced major suppliers of AIDS medication, lowering the cost of treatments within the reach of far greater numbers of infected Africans then ever before.
Offenheiser said that, in his experience, the poor are, "locked out of the kinds of opportunities and services that they need to work their way out of poverty." Speaking of the neutrality of markets and the need for fair trade, Offenheiser observed that the poor have absolutely no ability to influence the world market, and yet they suffer the most as a result of it's injustices.
Oxfam is involved in efforts to ensure that small crop producers around the world are paid fairly for their goods. Such fair trade initiatives provide crucial sources of income for individual growers and developing nations.
Offenheiser explained that his own educational background was in agriculture, and said, "I probably know more about raising livestock in the tropics then anybody else in this room." Speaking of choosing a career path, he stressed the importance of a foundation in values, and said that 30 years ago he never would have guessed he would be where he is today. He said that he could not imagine a more rewarding career then one involved in humanitarian service.
He stressed the importance of youth activity and enthusiasm in confronting the world's problems. "Many of the problems first seem impossibly complex," Offenheiser said, adding, "When we identify a cause we seek to find a solution." He spoke of his own foundational experiences in the activist culture of the 1960s, especially his experiences meeting Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy.
Oxfam personnel have died in both Iraq and Darfur while serving on humanitarian missions. "The work we do is often tough, and sometimes dangerous," Offenheiser said. "Helping the poor overcome exclusion from opportunities is what the work is all about."
Offenheiser closed the lecture by briefly stating some of what, in his experience, has proven meaningful to the cause of eradicating poverty. "Active citizenship matters," he said, "equitable markets matter." Speaking directly to the students in the audience, Offenheiser said, "You are about to inherit a rather strange and awkward world." He spoke of the academic excellence of BC, and exhorted the students to be "leaders not only in academics, but moral leaders as well."
"Care about injustice, and fight it tenaciously wherever you find it," he said.
Offenheiser closed by saying, "Go out and change the world. It desperately awaits your arrival."
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