Video of Edna Adan at CGI

At a time when the world finds itself on an unsustainable course, facing an increasing number of complex challenges for which traditional approaches are no longer sufficient, innovation stands as a key to addressing many of the issues confronting us today. During this session, experts in the field will discuss the importance of innovation as a vehicle for building a sustainable future. Where does innovation begin? What should be the role of government in promoting and facilitating innovation? Which countries are leading the charge, and how do you best position yourself and your organization to take advantage? This panel will provide a broad introduction to innovation, various approaches to cultivate it, and implications for those who pursue it and those who don’t.

You are able to skip ahead – Edna is introduced at about the 37-minute mark:

Edna gives a real nice little speech about determination in difficult circumstances at about the 1:02 mark.
At 1:16 she begins discussing the causes of high rates of maternal mortality, leading into an assertion that the most important thing anybody can do to show support for women is to support greater educational opportunities.
At 1:24 Edna speaks about how Somaliland’s success is representative of what a people can do with limited resources if they have sufficient resolve to improve their circumstances.

A Stoning in Somalia

Incidentally, for anyone interested in Somalia, there is a superb aid project in the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland: a maternity hospital run by Edna Adan, a former U.N. official who used her savings and pension to build the hospital and fight death in childbirth. Edna is truly waging a heroic battle to improve health care and raise the status of women among Somalis, and it’s being supported by various Americans who know Edna and have been moved by her work. I visited her and have this video of her work.

Here is Devin’s second video from Somaliland. This one is a little more focused on the country itself but it also includes an interview with Edna Adan Ismail, who, previously served as Somaliland’s foreign minister between 2003 and 2006.