Wittenberg University welcomes Ernesto Sirolli with special guest Loren Cardeli for the Fred R. Leventhal Family Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at Pam Evans Smith Arena as the 2016-17 Wittenberg Series continues.
An economic developer and enterprise facilitator, Sirolli is one of the world’s leading consultants on the topic of economic development. His address is titled “Do Well AND Do Good”.
Sirolli started working in the field of international aid in Africa in 1971 and has since worked in local economic development in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Africa, Latin America, the United States and Asia on projects that promote local entrepreneurship and local self determination.
He received a Laurea di Dottore in political science from Rome University in 1976 and a Ph.D in Local Enterprise Facilitation from Murdoch University, Australia, in 2004. An Industry Fellow at CSRM University of Queensland, Sirolli has authored two books: Ripples from the Zambezi: Passion, Entrepreneurship, and the Rebirth of Local Economies, a bestseller that is used by economic development faculties and universities around the world, and How to Start a Business & Ignite Your Life: A Simple Guide to Combining Business Wisdom with Passion.
Sirolli currently resides in the United States where he established in 1995 the Sirolli Institute, a non-profit organization and social enterprise that teaches community and civic leaders, governments and corporations how to capture the passion, energy and imagination of its own citizens, and how to manage Enterprise Facilitation Communities. During the past three decades, Enterprise Facilitation has demonstrated that the provision of caring, competent, dedicated advice and support to entrepreneurs is as important as the development of physical infrastructures to the development of a stable and prosperous economy. His 2012 Ted Talk “Shut up and Listen” has been translated into 31 languages and downloaded more than 1.9 million times.
Cardeli is the co-founder and executive director of A Growing Culture, a non-profit created to connect farmers with the resources they need to contribute to an ecologically sound food system and prosperous planet. The organization's mission embraces three pillars: information exchange, outreach and advocacy.
Originally from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., Cardeli is the grandson of Fred and Maxine Leventhal. He studied sustainable agriculture and worked on a mixed-crop and livestock farm while earning his bachelor’s degree at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. In 2006, Cardeli spent a semester at the University of Hawaii in Hilo, studying tropical agriculture. After college, he helped successfully run an organic brewery in Asheville before working to create A Growing Culture in 2010. Since then, he has embarked on a journey to frame a new narrative on the role of agrarians around the globe in search of technology and innovations to feed countless generations through the absence of harmful chemicals.
Cardeli has visited farmers of the Himalayas, the Mekong Delta, Bedouins who farmed the desert oasis, and indigenous tribes in Africa. He has helped to set up and run organic farms and projects in Kenya and Vietnam. He also consulted in Egypt and Uganda. By promoting farmer-led research, extension and outreach to help create sustainable, self-driving futures, Cardeli is a leader in a small but growing movement of farmer-centric organizations.
Prior to the evening’s lecture, Wittenberg will host a colloquium featuring both speakers at 3:45 p.m. in Bayley Auditorium of the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center.
Now in its 34th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, request a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Lisa Watson at WatsonL4@wittenberg.edu. All Wittenberg Series events are free and open to the public.
Additional 2016-17 Wittenberg Series Events:
- Sunday, Oct. 30: Festival Choral Eucharist for Reformation Service, 7 p.m., Weaver Chapel.
- Tuesday, Nov. 1: Allen J. Koppenhaver Literary Lecture, 7:30 p.m., Bayley Auditorium featuring Eavan Boland, poet.
- Monday, Nov. 14: Concert with Sybarite5, 7:30 p.m., Weaver Chapel.
- Friday, Dec. 9: Lessons and Carols, 7:30 p.m. (Pre-service at 7 p.m.), Weaver Chapel.
- Monday, Jan. 16, 2017: Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, 11:15 a.m., Weaver Chapel featuring Dorothy Tillman, Civil Rights Activist and former Chicago Alderman.
- Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017: Concert with Goldstein, Peled, Fiterstein Trio, 7:30 p.m., Weaver Chapel.
- Wednesday, March 15, 2017: - IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences, 7:30 p.m., Bayley Auditorium featuring Valentina Salapura, IBM.
- Friday, March 31, 2017: William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture, 7:30 p.m., Bayley Auditorium featuring Michael Blakey.
