Ragnar Ahlström-Söderling is a Swedish business consultant and professor who was fascinated with how former employees left big companies to create new products and form successful enterprises. At first, he believed this should be changed, only to discover that new ideas and innovation happen far more easily outside the established order of a big organization, where forerunners seem to do their best work. Ragnar Ahlström-Söderling is a forerunner… and this is his story.

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Mario Ayara - Costa Rica Filmworks

Mario Araya had become very successful as a film director shooting commercials but he realized his talent was being used just to “sell stuff” – he wanted more. His country and all of Latin America are faced with a critical problem – lack of opportunity and the growing spread between the “haves” and the “have nots”. He discovered that making films was the perfect way for him to make a difference. Mario Araya is a forerunner…and this is his story.

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Erika Bagnarello didn’t know about the trouble Latin America faces until she was asked to make a film about guns and gangs. Making the film gave her a way to bring to light how the absence of control of the sale of weapons has turned many communities into war zones. The lack of opportunity has also been one of the major causes of youth turning to gangs. Erika made the film with the help of the Oscar Arias Foundation in an effort to inform, inspire and challenge change-makers to take action. Erika Bagnarello is a forerunner…and this is her story…

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At age 13, Setsuko Thurlow survived what millions of people did not – the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. She was young, but the images of human destruction never left her. Many people tried to get her to be quiet about what she saw that day. For her it was a journey of turning points which brought her to the realization that her story MUST be told to the people of the world so that nuclear weapons can be eliminated. Setsuko Thurlow is a forerunner…and this is her story.

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As early as age 13, Erika Bagnarello knew she wanted to make films. After film school, she discovered the Peace Boat project and its work on nuclear disarmament and was hooked. “Flashes of Hope” is Erika’s powerful film document about the survivors of the nuclear bomb in Japan, their testimony and their compelling argument for disarmament. Making the film has so powerfully changed her that Erika is now committed to using film as a tool for change. Erika Bagnarello is a forerunner…and this is her story…

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 27:53 — 8.0MB)

The Forerunner motivation is passed down from generation to generation and for Fabiola Ross, her aunt was not only her inspiration and mentor, but her benefactor. Fabiola had a successful commercial law career when she realized she had more important work to do – to fulfill the objectives and passions of her late aunt and to grow women’s health in Costa Rica. The Anna Ross Foundation was born to make positive change…they are forerunners and this is their story.      http://www.ross.or.cr/

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When his father got sick from the chemicals used on his coffee farm, Gabriel Calderon began looking for an alternative to industrialized farming. It has been a journey of discovery, going back to the early days of coffee growing, mixed with today’s best science to produce a superior coffee by working with nature instead of against it. This new approach is called permaculture which is a step beyond organic. Gabriel Calderon is modeling positive change – he is a forerunner …… and this is his story.

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The United Nations has identified a new form of Sexual Exploitation of minors called Commercial Sexual Exploitation which includes minors simulating sex over the Internet and in person, and the non-monetary exploitation of minors for commercial purposes. The Center for Peace Studies is working to train educators and community leaders to identify this crime and act accordingly. Fiorella Lopez is a forerunner fighting for positive change – and this is her story.

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Celina Garcia always believed she had a purpose in life, but she just didn’t know how or when she would become engaged in making positive change – that is, until she retired and returned to Costa Rica and became involved full time in the Alternatives to Violence program. She is now making transformational change in peoples’ lives in prisons, schools and government. She believes we are on the cusp of a world-wide revolution. Celina Garcia is a forerunner…and this is her story…              http://www.ceppacr.org/quienes.php

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The Darien Gap is one of most primitive, unspoiled and resource rich regions in the world, but its people are living in extreme poverty. The “Gap” is a literal wilderness barrier between Columbia and Panama that is the home of revolutionaries, poachers, drug runners, illegal loggers and the Embera–Wounaan 1st nation. Brinkman and Associates is partnering with these people in an innovative plan to sustainably manage their forest and build their communities – Brinkman Associates (Central America) are forerunners and this is their story…

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