If country coordinators (or prospective country coordinators) have any questions, their first point of contact should be their continental coordinator:

Meet Our SAGE Continental Coordinators

SAGE Africa – Agwu Amogu

My name is Agwu Amogu, the Continental Coordinator for Africa. I am a free market advocate and founder/CEO of Blue Solutions Ltd., a business intelligence and strategic communication consultancy firm. Our clients include governments, small and medium enterprises and international development agencies like DFID.

I am interested in the SAGE programme because it practically re-enforces my belief that poverty and the global environmental problems and conflicts can be solved through a conscious effort. We can do so by galvanizing the abundant resources on earth (human and natural resources) for effective production and building of effective social trust globally. SAGE is at the center of my philosophy and like Curtis DeBerg will put it: “SAGE is an incubator out of which comes the next generation of social entrepreneurs who see their communities and indeed the whole world as their responsibility.”

In Africa the SAGE programme is established in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Congo DRC… and more to follow. It is my target to see that SAGE is present in at least 70% of the countries in Africa. Because of the low economic situation in Africa it is really difficult to receive sufficient donations or grants from the private sector to drive the programme well. My aim is therefore to seek and obtain accreditation and affiliation status from the African Union by the end of 2010. This, I believe, will leap-frog a transnational social movement in Africa capable of ending the conflicts in Africa and moving it out of poverty quickly.

I want to see SAGE seek and obtain United Nations recognition status before the end of 2011. Also, I want to see SAGE become the world’s most outstanding transnational social movement with business and political influence in the world. I want to see—by the year 2020—many SAGE Alumni (former SAGE students) as leaders in their respective countries. I dream that today’s SAGE youth will become successful national, regional and global entrepreneurs, politicians, governors and civic leaders.

SAGE Asia – Irina Danikova

Hello. I am Irina Dannikova from Russia. My current job is to train economics teachers in Tula Teachers’ Retraining Institute. I graduated from the Pedagogical University with a specialty in math. I have worked in economic education from 1992 as a school teacher at first and, later, as executive director of an NGO called the “Center on Economic Education in Tula.” We have common programs with some educational organizations in USA, Italy in teacher’s training, teacher’s and student’s exchange publications for teaching the economics at schools. A month ago together with my husband I have completed two books “Student’s Manual Book on Economics for 8-9,” and “Economics in Tests and Exercises”. I devote my free time to SAGE because I share the responsibility what will be our future generation, what problems will disturb them, how successful they shall be in business and how they shall understand and help the people who need in their attention.

SAGE in Russia today is not comprehensive organization, but every year new cities and school teams from different regions of Russia learn about SAGE and join us. My day job allows me direct contact with schools and teachers in economic education, and this helps me to spread information about SAGE. Also, our website for SAGERUSSIA helps. It is not simple time now to find sponsors and funds and we haven’t any tax concessions for the sponsors or charitable organizations in Russia. It was very upsetting for our SAGE Winner of 2008 miss SAGE Word Cup event in Abuja. But I am trying to find support this year. I see this most difficult today. What about SAGE in other countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe? We will be happy to work together with all who would like to join the SAGE network. I hope that political situation becomes better. It can not be differently. Just now our politicians know so little about SAGE.

It is a honor for me to work with my international colleagues in SAGE program. I believe that world will become better and people will understand better each other by our common efforts—young people and adults. I’m sure that young people from our countries will be the trusted partners in business and friends in life.

SAGE North America – Peter Eimer

Hello everyone! My name is Pete Eimer and I am the SAGE Continental Coordinator for North America. I’d like to thank Curt and Rob for this opportunity. A little background on myself….I am a CPA but haven’t been in that field for quite a while. After a few years with KPMG after college, I moved into banking and worked in Product Management for about 15 years. Since then, I moved into teaching at the university level. I teach at D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York and also and CEO at the Brothers of Mercy – a 126 acre campus that includes independent, assisted and skilled nursing care for the elderly. At D’Youville I have run their SIFE team for seven years and that was where I discovered SAGE – through Curt! I have been with SAGE for about five years now and love what it does for young students – it inspires them to think “outside the high school classroom box” and make something good happen in the real world. Last year’s World Cup in Nigeria was a real inspiration for the students and adults alike!

This year we were able to get SAGE Canada up and running. So we are very happy about that. Canada is a big country so that is a lot of room to expand – but we have a foothold in Toronto and a very good Country Coordinator there. I am also working on a plan to significantly expand the number of schools and states for SAGE in the U.S. Even though these countries aren’t in North America – because I have some contacts – I am going to looking to establish SAGE in Ireland and Germany as soon as possible. In five years I believe SAGE can be in more than 300 high schools in the U.S. and at least 150 in Canada. (I hope much more for each!)

I believe SAGE can grow within each country (already established) as well as expand to 40+ countries in 5 years. A big key is going to be establishing the optimum business model for growth. Is it a franchise type model that has been utilized successfully in Brazil? Is it a model similar to Junior Achievement? DECA? What I do know is that this is a life-changing organization. I have had 2 daughters involved with SAGE who have been changed forever because of their experience! I see SAGE not only as an entrepreneurship type of program – but as an organization that provides a real sense that we are all just one world with many somewhat artificial boundaries called countries. SAGE has shown the youth of the world that they can work together to help solve world-wide problems.

SAGE Southeast Asia – Maria Theresa Garcia

I am Tess Garcia. I am taking a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines, but my undergraduate degree is Political Economy and Development. I am interested in expanding SAGE in my continent because I believe it’s a viable solution to the problems of economic underdevelopment. Most of the countries here in Southeast Asia are considered developing economies and through SAGE, young people can take a proactive role in an economy’s progress. I believe SAGE inculcates among young people the important life skills and the advantages of having an entrepreneurial spirit. By the time the youth will become adults they will be more confident and equipped, and will have developed a deep concern for the communities they live in.

Currently, SAGE is in Southeast Asian countries such as Philippines and Singapore. SAGE is also present in East Asian countries like China and Korea. Since SAGE Philippines is now working closely with the British Council in Manila this year, I hope to take advantage of the British Council network and work closely with their offices in Southeast Asian capitals in Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, and Phnom Penh. The idea is to educate champions from these cities first by hosting them at our national competition and perhaps replicate the model in the following years. My goal is to have at least three solid country networks in five years, which I think is a realistic approach and more sustainable considering these countries’ economic climates. My concern lies in not only putting up a SAGE network but to actually empower these networks as social businesses in order to anticipate the economic and political trends in the region.

I envision SAGE as the ultimate catalyst to economic change fueling young people’s idealism and energy to create a world that does not strip human dignity through poverty, conflict, and environmental degradation. I wish to see the overall quality of life in the Philippines and other countries improve within my lifetime and I am confident this shared value will be realized through SAGE.

SAGE South Korea – Geena Chung

I am Geena Chung. I studied M.B.A. after graduating the Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, majoring bio chemistry. Since then I worked for Unilever at marketing dept for more than 10 years, and I started to develop my own self employed educational consulting business.

Now, I am running the corporate company of educational consulting field, with four staffs, and I have a partner newspaper company to work in a joint cooperation. As I also personally have had many trial and error by doing myself during the past years, I started to realize that I should share my hands on experience with young people. We have run our own business plan competition five years ago, simulating the model of Harvard Business School, and later two years ago, I found SAGE by internet.

By reviewing all details, I felt confident that it is very valuable, and future oriented program for especially young people in 21st century.

As an example, Harvard Model is just a profit oriented business model, where SAGE is more combined with social, global, and civic engagement. I think it is marvelous, based on my personal business experience. In general, everyone including young students think business is just a tool of making more money to be rich, but I think it is not 100% true.

And by practicing, and by understanding such roles of business, young people can gradually learn how to do the business in the future, and how they have to contribute to the society they live in. That is why I am doing this on a voluntary basis. I am also learning a lot by meeting young students, and they really make me inspired, and keep me young.

As other coordinators mentioned, SAGE is located in China, Korea, and other South East Asia. I think it has great potentiality to grow in the future in this region. As many African countries make great progress each year, I think the demand of SAGE in Asia will continue to grow.

Only in Asia, the economic infrastructure is not healthy, even in Korea, showing ups and downs sensitively. To grow locally, as an example, we have to find the proper official sponsors to support such young, bright students. We have been contacting many companies, and will continue to do in the future. Every business, it always needs some patience, and that is also something we have to teach for students. Nothing will be turned out to be easily. In the coming five years, I believe SAGE will be recognized as a very unique, socially beneficial, educational and motivational program for the youth; we will be proud laying the basic foundations for youth entrepreneurship.

In Asia in the coming five years, we have very professional, active, and passionate coordinators already, and our future for the growth is positive and bright. We can continue to make the close networks to share the ideas, suggestions, and problems and etc. I already have been communicating with Singapore, Philippines and China often, and it will go on continuously to develop regional cooperation.

As I was fascinated by the idea of SAGE compared to my past, original business plan competition, it is a great idea, and program for young students to formulate their own business, followed by the missions of SAGE. Then they will later realize how great and important the lesson of SAGE is. But it really needs social, corporative support with sincere insight and cares, for such young youth to continue to maintain their interests and social responsibility. Now, we adults have to participate actively to provide basic mentoring services and experiences to share.