Backing needed to get project on its feet

I always say: ‘Think big to get big results.’ Desiree Michael and the Wing team is working hard to create a global movement away from giving women loans and sending them to NGOs, but instead creating an ecosystem of providing ‘angel’ funds – lowest donation about $13 USD = 10Euros – which will go towards setting up their upcoming Agro-Entrepreneurship: The Next Step to a Future Frontier event on June 2.

I am honoured to be supporting them as part of their ‘brain trust’.

This message is from Desiree: The event is designed as a catalyst event that will eventually create an angel fund for middle-aged female entrepreneurs and gender-conscious companies. We are starting locally with women in Greece, but must raise the funds in 4 more days just for this event to set the ball in motion!! Click link to view details and back us! 

Find link through:

 Wing’s facebook page
 http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/agro-entrepreneurship-the-next-step-to-a-future-frontier
http://ymlp.com/zX3ArA

Wing Summer Speaker Series

I am privileged to be participating in this exciting, upbeat project. More details later as they come out!

Technology blunts transcultural awareness

How many of us have unintentially offended a friend or family member in a quickly written email? Transcultural business blunders may be even more irreparable.

While it’s relatively easy to adjust our behaviour accordingly when looking someone from another culture in the eye, *fast-paced methods of communication frequently encourage slips.

To-the-point native English speakers, for example, like to communicate directly. They often handle email messages, phone calls, teleconferencing, webinars, skype calls and instant messaging differently than those from cultures which communicate indirectly. The latter place the re/establishment of relationships above immediately getting down to business. And individuals from hierarchy-bound cultures usually feel position should be respected – potentially suppressing, for instance, the spontaneity (and purpose) of a teleconference.

Those wishing to use the fast lane would do well to remember to occasionally… apply the brakes.

*Source: http://mobility.worldwideerc.org/i/108881/61 ‘The Medium and the Message’, Mobility (3/1/2013) Farrell, Wendy and Lima, Louis

Integration – not just for people!

Minorities aren’t the only integration beneficiaries: museums across Europe need to integrate, as well.

According to Marie Bourke, Keeper and Head of Education of the National Gallery of Ireland, European museums are feeling the pinch because of limited funding due to the current economic crisis. She suggests that if museums become a part of a community’s regular life – for example, a place to drop in after work, use as a venue for meetings, or visit regularly to attend art lessons - the community will rally to keep its museums flourishing.

Once again, successful integration can be a win-win scenario - for both the participant and society at large.

Source: Marie Bourke, Keeper and Head of Education of the National Gallery of Ireland, ’Key Trends In European Museums of the 21st Century’ presentation, the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece, April 10, 2013

http://http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/embassy/Athens%20EM/englishthessaloniki.pdf

, 2013

Expat Youth Scholarship

Heads up about a *youth scholarship for youngsters who have lived in another country for at least two consecutive years.
(Interesting how they have defined ‘home country’: your home country is the country that issued you your first passport. Would YOU define it as such?)

*Source: http://www.expatyouthscholarship.com/
About the Scholarship
Clements Worldwide is pleased to announce the launch of its 5th annual Expat Youth Scholarship (EYS) contest. Designed exclusively for students aged 13 to 18 experiencing life in foreign countries amidst unfamiliar cultures, the EYS contest is a testament to Clements’ ongoing commitment to the international expatriate community. Clements Worldwide will award US $10,000.00 in scholarship funds to the winners of this year’s contest, so join today at facebook.com/expatyouth and spread the word!
Eligibility
- Students ages 13-18 of any nationality who have resided in a foreign country for at least two consecutive years are eligible to apply.
- You must have lived outside your home country (country of passport). If you have more than one passport, your home country is the country that issued you your first passport.
- Video must be an original and developed by the participating contestants, meaning that the video must not be the work or property of another person or corporation.
Entry Requirements
There is no experience like living in a foreign country to introduce you to new cultures and open your eyes to the greater world around you. By immersing yourself fully in a new culture, you can gain invaluable insight into the challenges facing people from all walks of life. You may even come to develop your own ideas on how to contribute to the global community.
This year we are asking participants to reflect on their time abroad and show through the use of video how you will use your enriching, cross-cultural experiences to make the world a better place. .
To participate and have a chance at winning a scholarship, eligible contestants should:
1. Go to facebook.com/expatyouth and “Like” the page
2. Create a 1:30-2:00 minute video showing how you will use your experience living abroad to make the world a better place.
3. Submit the video at Facebook.com/expatyouth at the Contest application.
|A few things to keep in mind are:
-The video should be dynamic and demonstrate through interesting footage and visuals your passion about your goal and what positive impact it will have on the world. Be sure to show rather than tell in the first-person
- The video should be between 1:30 -2:00 minutes.
- Last but not least… have fun!
Judging Criteria
Entries will be judged by -Originality and style of the video. -The scholarship entrant’s ability to articulate their objective impact on the world, the means through. which they plan to pursue this goal, and how it will benefit society. -Production quality and ability to successfully combine facts with inspirational content
Awards
Clements is awarding a total of $10,000 in scholarships to six students in the following categories:

Category One (Ages 13 -15) 1st Place          $3,000 2nd  Place         $1,500 3rd  Place          $  500

Category Two (Ages 16 – 18) 1st Place          $3,000 2nd  Place         $1,500 3rd  Place          $  500

Submitting your Entry
Final submissions) will only be accepted online at facebook.com/expatyouth for consideration. Limit: one video entry per entrant, please.
Email us at info@expatyouthscholarship.com if you have any questions. Note that the deadline is April 30 at 11:59.

Writing about migrant ‘truths’

What’s one of the greatest dangers of covering migration in the media? *Avoiding complexity in order to present a specific ‘truth’, says Charles Autheman, the Program Manager of Institut Panos. 
He continues on that ‘…if you try to describe a migrant’s situation and you don’t want to confront the complexity, then you’re doing a lot of harm to your audience, and you’re doing a lot of harm to the public perception of migrants.’
Those of us who live (and write about) migration know that no matter what the migrant’s reason for being elsewhere – economic (high-end and low-end), seasonal work, transient preferences, family unification, repatriation, the quest for asylum/refuge or self-fulfillment - our transnational status is nothing if not complex…. Indeed, how can this be whittled down to a single ‘truth’?

*Source: Covering Migration Challenges: Met and Not Met,’What are the best practices?’, the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the Missouri School of Journalism, 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErzwsbihLKY&list=UU1UIqCsaXeUCSGR8cfcaXAQ

Ready to work till you’re 70?

Will we work till we drop? If *present trends continue, workers in the UK may see themselves in the work force until their 70s. Cedefop (the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) says employers must step up the training for their elderly workers, encouraging them to update their skills in technology, learn new tasks and adapt to different ways of working. On the plus side, Cedefop points out there is no replacement for the experience they bring with them.

My interest lies in what mindset this older workforce will harbour. Will it be a sage labour force, tempered by wisdom gained from years of living/travelling/experience of the Other? Or will it be one set in the past, stubbornly set in its ways, resisting change – bitterly and jealously guarding its spot in the work place?

Will an aging workforce make the world a better place?

*Source: Cedefop press release, Thessaloniki, 19 March 2013 (below):

What about the (older) workers?
Policies for older workers involve more than increasing the retirement age
The reality of the UK’s ageing workforce is that most of us face the real prospect of having to get out of bed in the morning to go to work until we are around 70.
The recent House of Lord’s report Ready for Ageing? discusses the implications of an older workforce for pensions, health and social care. Things mainly provided by the state. Although the report entreats employers to be more positive about employing older people, it doesn’t say much about jobs or working conditions for older workers.
Between now and 2020 the number of people in the UK aged over 50 either in or looking for a job will increase by more than a million and will make up nearly a third of the workforce. In contrast there will be half a million fewer young people aged between 15 and 24.
According to Cedefop (the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), Employers recognise the problem of ageing, but do not appear ready. Older workers will have to cope with advances in technology, new tasks and changing work organisation. To do that they need to learn, but older workers tend to receive less training and their participation has been consistently below European targets.
Older workers need help to stay fit and keep their skills up-to-date if UK businesses are to be both competitive and environmentally aware. The problem is that neither employers nor ageing workers always see the benefits of investing in their skills. New approaches are needed to keep people in the workforce and to tap an ageing workforce’s potential.
Investment in older workers is not all one way. Although some capacities diminish with age others increase. In particular, there is no replacement for experience. Older workers not only use this in their jobs, but if conditions are right they can through mentoring, tutoring and coaching pass it on to other generations of workers for the benefit of the firm.
How older workers’ skills are developed and used will determine growth and innovation opportunities and ultimately shape the form and nature of future economies and societies. Successful policies for older workers involve more than increasing the retirement age.

 Links for related publications:
House of Lords – Select Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change: Ready for Ageing?
Cedefop Briefing Note – Silver workers – golden opportunities
Cedefop Skills forecast – Online data and results

Sensitive global topics

Which topics are currently sensitive? One way to gauge this is to look at which subjects are banned from international English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks.

According to *David A. Hill, these topics typically include the following: alcohol, anarchy, stereotypes, terrorism, violence, narcotics, nudes/flesh, abuse, AIDS, Israel, religion, racism, names (of famous people), politics, pork, sexism, science, & sex.

While he pointed out that some of the avoidance is purely practical (famous people and scientific finds can quickly lose their trendiness), much is culturally based. I see a strong contemporary focus on religious orientation – an added confirmation that the world is slipping into greater intolerance….

*Source: Hill, David A, plenary presentation ‘Language Play & Creative Language Learning’, at the Tesol Macedonia-Thrace, Northern Greece, 20th International Annual Conference, 10 March, 2013

‘Transnational’ – the physical entails the emotional

The ‘Discovering transnational education’ conference coming up in Greece uses the term that my three-year Athens News ‘On the borderline’ column brought to the public forefront. And, of course, as we all know, physical ‘transnationalism’ entails (even harder) emotional ‘transnationalism’…

http://www.britishcouncil.org/greece-society-discovering-transnational-education.htm

Good relationship? Check out the chores!

A fascinating study (link below) on how chore distribution between partners living together reflects – and can potentially damage – their relationship.

The following quote reveals just how deeply the distribution of household tasks runs:

”More important, close examination of how husbands and wives collaborate on or fail to coordinate their household activities allows us to contemplate more encompassing phenomena such as gender roles, issues of power, respect, intimacy, and attempts to broker an equitable or fair partnership.”

Add two or more different cultural upbringings to the mix, and… bang… in practical terms we can see how much more difficult living-together may be for those of us who originate from different countries.

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/03/the-difference-between-a-happy-marriage-and-miserable-one-chores/273615/#.UTWYvcNPUxY.facebook