I
had just returned from Nairobi and was having dinner with
great friends - great philanthropists. It was a rainy night and a
cool breeze wisped among the trees along the screened-in patio
as we sat in deep conversation beneath the comfort of heat
lamps.
Each
of us had spent a number of years assisting Africa, a
nation suffering from incredible disease, and as I told the
phenomenal tale of visiting and being the only white person
among the more than two million people within the largest
shantytown in the world, my friend's husband interjected with
much excitement. He spoke of the upcoming Munk Debate
featuring former United Nations special envoy Stephen Lewis
and Oxford economics professor Paul Collier arguing for
the benefits of foreign aid. Arguing against them would be
Dambisa Moyo, a Goldman Sachs economist, and Hernando
de Soto - hailed as the greatest living economist by former U.S.
president Bill Clinton.
We
attended the debate and were blown away not only by
the four debaters but also by the immense presence of the
co-organizer and moderator of the Munk Debates, Rudyard
Griffiths.
Rudyard
is also the co-director, together with Patrick Luciani,
of the Salon Speakers Series. He's been recognized as one of
Canada's Top 40 Under 40, is the co-founder of the Dominion
Institute, an advisor to the Woodrow Wilson Center in
Washington, D.C. and the author of Who We Are: A Citizen's
Manifesto (Douglas & McIntyre).
JO
LEE: And what a privilege to talk with you, Rudyard! Do
you suppose the uniqueness of your name is part of the maze
that encompasses the rarity of what you do - oh so well?
RUDYARD
GRIFFITHS: My name sometimes feels like a
curse insofar as I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time
spelling it to reservation clerks and telephone operators - oh
to be named Peter, Paul or John! That said, the Just So Stories
were a favorite of mine as a child and whether you agree with
my namesake's politics or not he was an outstanding writer who
captured the spirit of his age for posterity.
JO LEE: Tell me, how did the Munk Debates come about?
I
understand that the Munk Debates is a signature initiative of
the Aurea Foundation, a charitable organization, established in
2006 by Peter and Melanie Munk, that supports individuals
and institutions involved in the study and development of
public policy debate and research. www.munkdebates.com
RUDYARD
GRIFFITHS: Jo Lee, Peter Munk of Barrick Gold,
was a very generous supporter of the Dominion Institute
when I was executive director.
When I stepped down after more than a decade, I
was fortunate enough to get the nod from Peter to take on the
challenge of launching and building what Peter envisioned as
an international class debating series. The goal was to bring
the world to Canada. He believed strongly that the forces of