The Uncultured Project is one young man’s journey into making the world a better place, one project at a time.

Sound familiar? Well, in concept, it is. But here’s the difference:

That man is Shawn, who’s 29 and from Toronto. He was a graduate student whose life took a turn after being inspired by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs (author of the book “The End of Poverty“).

Shawn withdrew from grad school, liquidated his savings and created The Uncultured Project, which he says is about inspiring others to believe that “we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty”.

He says he was tired of seeing the formulaic videos posted by charities on Youtube that show “crying kids with flies on their faces”, and knew that that those images weren’t always true and in fact, do a disservice to those in need. So, Shawn began The Uncultured Project with the belief that there is a better way to engage people on the issue of global poverty.

Shawn uses photos and video on the most popular social media sites and via The Uncultured Project to do just that. His goal is to portray a more realistic view of poverty, one that shows the positivity and complexity of those affected. His approach is also more interactive to get younger people involved. The Uncultured Project is not necessarily about donations – in fact, Shawn says “it’s not a charity, an organization or anything formal”.

Whatever it is or isn’t, The Uncultured Project is different and interesting.

Kudos to Shawn for his passion, vision and dedication to doing something he believes in.

For more information, check out these links:

The Uncultured Project Website

January 25, 2011 CBC Interview

The Uncultured Project Youtube Channel