Co-Founders

Haakon Magnus of Norway

His Royal Highness is heir to the Norwegian throne and son of His Majesty King Harald and Her Majesty Queen Sonja. He served in the Royal Norwegian Navy and graduated from the Norwegian Naval A c a d e my in 1995. The following year he served on board a patrol boat. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. He also attended the Foreign Ministry’s one-year trainee course. The Crown Prince has an extensive number of official engagements in Norway. He is patron of various Norwegian associations, including the Norwegian International Film Festival, the Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. The Crown Prince is goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme where he particularly focuses on promoting the Millennium Developmental Goals.

Pekka Himanen

Pekka Himanen is a philosopher and currently teaches as a Professor at the Helsinki Institute of Information Technology. He previously was Director of the Berkeley Centre for the Information Society. His works have been translated into 20 languages. He has recently acted as an advisor to the Finnish Parliament and President, as well as leading international organizations on the issues of global information societies and ethics. Himanen currently works at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology, a joint institute of the Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki University.

John Hope Bryant

John Hope Bryant is a philanthropic entrepreneur and businessman. On January 22nd, 2008, Mr. Bryant was appointed vice-chairman of the President’s Council on Financial Literacy by U.S. President George W. Bush. Mr. Bryant is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, America’s first non-profit social investment banking organization, now operating in 51 U.S. communities and South Africa, having raised more than $400 million from the private sector to empower the poor. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton described Mr. Bryant in his recent bestselling book GIVING saying, “John Bryant is a 41 year-old whirlwind of ideas and action. Lean, intense, focused, and completely positive in his belief in the potential of poor people to prosper, with ‘a hand up and not a hand out.’” A national community leader cited by the past four sitting U.S. presidents for his work to empower low-wealth communities across America, and an active advisor to the past two U.S. presidents, John Hope Bryant is one of the most authoritative and compelling advocates for poverty eradication in America today. Raised in Compton and South Central Los Angeles, California and homeless for 6 months of his life by age 18, John Hope Bryant is today a businessman and social entrepreneur who has traveled the world tirelessly promoting a sense of hope, self-esteem, dignity, and opportunity for the under-served. As a co-founder of Global Dignity, John Hope Bryant has conducted Dignity Day teaching sessions with youth and leaders in Canada, Turkey, India, Switzerland, Finland, South Africa and Amman, Jordan with Her Majesty Queen Rania and HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, amongst other countries.