While studying at the University of Notre Dame on a scholarship, Toronto native Shawn Ahmed heard a speech by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on extreme world poverty that would change the direction of his life.
In 2007, Shawn left the University of Notre Dame, liquidated his savings, and embarked on an unplanned and “uncultured” journey. With some money, a camera and a computer, he flew to Bangladesh to start The Uncultured Project.
The Uncultured Project is a social experiment where the powers of technology and community are combined to create social and economic development. Using social media outlets, such as YouTube and Twitter, Shawn informs his supporters on all community enhancement projects he is involved in. His goal for this project was to make the world a better place. But Shawn frequently emphasizes that he is not running a charity or an NGO or any formal institution. It’s more of an experiment.
Some of Shawn’s involvements include building pond sand filter to provide safe and clean water in a Bangladeshi village, assisting the LA Regional Foodbank to distribute 10,000 pounds of food, and providing blankets to 40 Peruvian families. His recent project is about building an inter-faith elementary school in rural Bangladesh.
Shawn recognizes the need for “do good” projects to be financially sustainable and has become a YouTube Partner in the process. Last year, he was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, after winning the Davos Debates from 100 entries, where he shared his ideas on ending global poverty – what got him involved in the first place – with the world’s most influential people.