American expert teaches students how to manage non-profit organisations ****************************************************************************************** * American expert Shippen Bright teaches students how to manage non-profit organisations ****************************************************************************************** What makes studying at CU exceptional are the opportunities that students are given at the One of these is the opportunity to attend courses run by not only Czech scientists and spe but also by top lecturers from abroad. Thanks to the support of the Fulbright Commission [ www.fulbright.cz/"] , students have had the chance to learn about how to run non-profit or seminars run by American specialist and Harvard graduate Edward Shippen Bright, MBA, MPA. semester, Shippen Bright taught at the Department of Civic Society Studies at the CU Facul What brought you to Charles University and the Czech Republic from the United States? Around six years ago I came to Prague as a tourist. Back then, I really liked the people h attitude to life. I fell in love with the Czech Republic and since then I’d been thinking get back. I spoke to a few people here who were interested in the workings of non-profit o and were looking for advice on how to start that kind of project. I saw how the Czech Repu changing and developing since the Velvet Revolution. I wanted to be part of that, so I fil Fulbright Commission form, even though I didn’t really believe I’d be successful. And in t out (smiles). Charles University is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe. Right start I knew that I wanted to teach at this exceptional institution, so I contacted my col the Department of Civic Society Studies at the CU Faculty of Humanities, who then sent me invitation. We usually discuss how to get a Fulbright grant with students. How difficult is it to get lecturer? It’s a long, drawn-out process. It takes a year before they tell you whether you’ve been s You have to fill out lots of forms, go for a personal interview in the US, and if you pass have to go to another interview with the Czech Fulbright Commission. Only then do they dec give you a grant. How did your seminars at Charles University turn out? I created a course for students, intended to teach them how to manage a non-profit organis them to see life differently, find something that really interests them and which they can develop. Say by starting up their own non-profit organisation. I simply wanted to show the possible to change bad things in society for the better. People really can achieve this if told the students how to go about it and taught them to think about what they’re doing. During my seminars I tried to use real-life examples. I and the students then together sou the given situations. One of these examples was the story of a woman who wanted to set up to help and advise new mothers on how to care for their children, while helping women to d for finding employment. I didn’t run classic lectures, where I’d stand up in front of students and talk for an hou the contrary, we all sat together at a table and debated about how to set up an organisati with financing, management, and setting the organisation’s goals. We basically discussed e have to take into account if you want to give society a high-quality service. Are Czech students different to American ones? Here I had a very international group of students, including Spaniards, Russians and Germa Czechs and Slovaks. Are the Czechs different? I wouldn’t say so. I think they’re very well educated. First of quiet, while I’m the exact opposite. From the start I made jokes. I said to everyone that during my lessons, I’ll just ask them more questions. I joked that the only way to protect from my nosey questions will be to say something themselves. In the end they overcame it, teaching style and started to speak openly about what they thought. And I must say that th some excellent observations and ideas. I’m sure that the Czechs are fed up of constantly hearing, particularly from Americans, th believe in themselves more. But I can’t help it; it has to be said again. That fact that t able to overcome a totalitarian regime, virtually without bloodletting, and that the entir was led by an artists and playwright, says a lot about the Czechs. Who else has achieved t Czechs achieved that, and no-one else. I think that’s one of the most amazing things in th why I constantly repeated to my Czech students that they should be proud of who they are a from. What happened here was truly amazing. The Czechs really should believe in themselves same thing applies to building non-profit organisations. If you really want to change thin it. Is it possible to compare life at Czech and American universities, or are they worlds apar I am not an academic, so maybe I have a slightly different point of view than a professor teaching at an American university for ten years. But I did study and work at Harvard, so compare a bit. I think the biggest difference is that American universities have large cam students from different faculties can meet each other, and there’s more space for a variet activities. I’d also say that, compared to our universities, there isn’t a lot of communic cooperation between the individual faculties at Charles University. I really miss that her You came to the university not as an academic, but as a person who can convey his rich pra to students. Could you describe the projects you’ve so far been involved in? I run my own real-estate company, so I have experience in the private sector. I’ve also wo public sector, though, when I worked for the Maine Department of Conservation in the Ameri Maine. I also set up my own non-profit organisation. I have therefore worked in all three a democratic society, which is highly unusual. Few people have experience from all three s people spend their career in only one, and at most two. When I was working in the public sector and running my own real-estate company, I always h that I was missing something and that I wasn’t content. That’s why I set up my non-profit wanted to do something for society. Maybe I got it from my parents, who were also very act working on various organisations benefiting society for as long as I could remember. At the same time you’re also the development director for Audubon Alaska, which works to c natural environment in Alaska. Could you describe the work of this organisation? I’m in charge of marketing and fundraising and it’s a job I really enjoy. We work on some The conservation of the environment in Alaska affects the whole planet. Thousands of birds from all continents every year to bring up their young. It’s an amazing place and I am del of a team helping to conserve it. My children used to always ask me what I’m trying to do. And I said to them: “It’s simple; to change the world. And that’s it…”