Design. Oh design how I love you. I hate you so much because my love for you makes me hate myself. I love being a designer but I hate design. I love designing but I hate talking about it. I love talking but I hate people who talk so much. I hate designers but I love to master designing. I am a designer, I love people. I am a designer, I am people. I am passionate and violent, I make and destroy. I want to be a revolution. I am a designer, I am.
Crazy am I?
A little girl who came to Toronto from Tehran, leaving her childhood in the land of fertility. Iran with my mother. Iran with my father. Iran with my brother. I just ran far away from everything, out to explore a new reality.
I tried to define myself so many times. I fell in love easily. Not with boys. No, boys didn’t come into the picture until late in the game. I fell in love with the energy of joy. Joy was all I ever wanted, really. Am I any different from you for craving joy? It was my best friend and I’m sure you are best friends too.
First joy came into my life through the piano. Memorizing notes and completion free of mistakes was joy. I took lessons for a year and learnt all the notes. My teacher loved me and she said I was a great student. I started hating it though. I hated it so I beat myself knowing I wasn’t going to be the best at mastering piano. It made me mad. Others were better, I just wasn’t good enough.
So I left piano and found joy again through sport. It was the start of a very long and brutal relationship. We broke up many times. Joy wasn’t very nice to me, even though I visibly invested energy into joy over anything else. I gave my heart away for the joy of sport. I cried when winning, cried when losing. I would practice for joy. But I hated myself! I hated not being able to master it. I would try so hard but got rejected so many times. Sport wanted it to work too but demanded too much from me. I felt like shit. I felt like I was trying hard and not getting mutual love in return - like as if he could never understand my love for him. I now think the reason for our breakup was because I wanted to master the sport over mastering the joy of the sport. Through my process of mastering, I killed my joy in sport. Others were better, I just wasn’t good enough. I broke my own heart.
The computer. Oh the joy of the computer was there for as long as I can remember. Commodore 64 in Iran was the favourite childhood toy. Gaming was joy. We came to Canada in 1996 and the computer became more embedded in our lives since my dad had always been ahead with computers and software. My brother and I had the advantage of being raised with computers. I still remember the dial-up days, with Yahoo Chat and ICQ. Not that many people in middle school were tech saavy back then. I still remember the computer labs very limited with their computers programs and barely any of them had access to internet. All-the-Right-Type was a speed-typing program that I will never forget. I had a joy for mastering that too. Type fast! Free of mistakes! That was joy.
What about art? Well drawing was fun. I liked drawing things. But hell no, I was by no means the best artist. I was decent but it didn’t give me deep joy and I never thought about doing any masterpieces. I didn’t draw for fun for that long. I forced myself to do it because I wanted to master it. I couldn’t. I wanted to draw from my imagination, but couldn’t. Someway or another, I ended up in a program that was starting in a middle school called CyberARTS. My grade 6 teachers recommended that I go there. So I got in. I think that’s when my life began to take shape. I started dating art and computer fun, but I was still in love with the joy of sports.
From grade 7 to grade 12 (1998 - 2004), I continued getting to know computers and art. I was already in the pot to become a graphic designer. I had no choice, it picked me. Graphic software was fun for me to learn. It was a new language and I loved being given projects to work on using that language. I learnt so much about the life through the process of each project.
Writing? Well as you can see I enjoy doing it. Writing to me has always been the best way to express myself and articulate my thoughts. Writing was a joy for as long as I can remember. Did I ever dream of being a writer? Nope. Did I ever want to master writing? To some degree, but it didn’t bother me as much as my other mastering obsessions. I viewed it as a tool to be creative and expressive. It wasn’t until this past summer when I took a Creative Writing course (after OCAD told me I needed to take one last credit to graduate) that I confessed to myself I am a poet. Lillian Allen empowered me. She told me I had it. She said it to my face. I didn’t take my English teachers seriously in highschool when they would give me high marks and lots of comments on my writing. My grade 11 teacher used to go crazy over the poems I wrote in her class. I just never thought it was worth anything. I liked doing it for myself. It was my method of becoming my own teacher and mentor.
When the athlete in me died, I was dead. I knew I had to fall in love again. So I gave it all to graphic design. I’m free baby. I’m out to love you. I had 4 years of professional loving at Ontario Collage of Art & Design to master the joy of design. I did it, and quite well actually. I mastered the joy of design and I’d like to take this time to thank myself for mastering this joy. I could not have mastered this joy if I didn’t love myself. So I thank me for loving myself and staying in this relationship. I continue to call myself a professional graphic designer but I thank myself for realizing that I am by no means the best at anything. Because the only thing I am is me. And that is the story I just told you.
I am love.
I seek the joy of mastering design because I am Ghazaleh. I want to learn. I want to apply my learning and I like to use my brain. I don’t want to be the best at anything that confines me because I want to be free of order. I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. I learnt that being a graphic designer is a privilege so I used it to my advantage. I threw myself out to the world with it. Here I am world! I design!
I could have never learnt more about myself by letting go of what I thought was best for me. I broke up many many times. But I was me. I had only me, my two eyes, ears, and my gut. I went to Florida with it, Chicago, New York, UN headquarters and even the MIT and Harvard campuses, on my own two feet with my own money. I admitted that I had some things to figure out.
Here I am now. 2009. What can I tell you?
I am Ghazaleh, the girl you always knew — doing what I want, designing from what I learn. Because design is beyond what you ever thought was real. Design is the process of mastering joy for people. So in order to master the joy of design, you have to design for people, constantly. Design is the ultimate creative force in each human being. Design means taking responsibility to make something that impacts those who interact with it. Whether its one person, a neighbourhood, or a nation, design is not an object - it is energy. It’s not what you make but the people who it resides in. It is people.
Be a designer. Listen. Look. Think. Link. Plan. Do…and never stop.
The fancier you think you are, the further away you drift from being a real designer. Stay true. Stay real. Find joy. Suck it up and fight for it. You have to be mean to win the grand prize. And winning the grand prize of mastering joy takes a lot of designing, even the grand prize itself.
I'd like to share a note of thanks to all of you who have been part of TakingITGlobal's V6 celebration of our online community relaunch!!
The event on Tuesday December 16th was a hit and attracted many members, partners, friends, staff, board members and supporters who shared in the spirit of celebrating our success! The theme of our event was “How do thriving communities form, grow, influence and sustain?"
Guests were invited to share their reflections of the theme on the wall. During my brief remarks, I shared my own inputs on how this question about thriving communities is what heavily influenced our decisions in the process of imagining and creating the new version of our website, and that it remains relevant as we move forward.
Tonight I joined a dynamic discussion about how to make TheStoreFront Community project self-sustaining...and I couldn’t help but flash back into the early days of when TakingITGlobal was founded and we had our discussions on what future directions we would take and how our ideals and dreams could be transformed into actionable plans. Of course, even after 9 years of having the ‘idea’ of TIG, the essence of having challenging strategic conversations still remains part of my current reality – however the energy in the room this evening reconnected me to the Fall of 2000, when we hosted meetings with invitations sent out to friends, organizations and those who joined our website from Toronto.
The dynamics of the room jolted from cohesive and interconnected to somewhat tense given the financial realities of the project. Earlier this year, a 1000 square foot store front space was established in order to serve as a support and communication network in the context of an urban village. Starting in January, the costs of rent will be doubled and the project in its current state does not generate enough revenue to afford costs of rent or administration. That said, an exciting range of events have taken place in recent months including a documentary with interviews of people in the neighbourhood, the inaugural BIG on Bloor Festival (bigonbloor.com/festival), the “b-l-o-o-o-o-r” design campaign including sales of well designed American Apparel t-shirts and bags, the “Everything Local” silent auction event and hosting of meetings, events and exhibits including the Afri Village Fest front window presence & photo documentation.
The project was made possible through a partnership between ThinkTankToronto, Business Improvement Area Office, and a group of students and faculty at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD).
A key driver and designer of the initiative is a former TakingITGlobal staff member, Ghazaleh Etezal who is currently 21 and worked with us as a graphic designer in 2006. As I connected with Ghazaleh this evening, it was amazing to see her in action in her role as one of the connectors and in hearing people reference her contributions of design, research and coordination for TheStoreFront. It was also great to chat with Ghazaleh this evening and hear her attribute TakingITGlobal as part of her inspiration for the project.
In many ways, the place based goals of creating community for TheStoreFront initiative are aligned with the global online community objectives for TIG. As explained on the website, TheStoreFront aims to be “the common space between two separate disconnected worlds of youth, institutions, neighbourhood NGOs, programs and services available within the BloorCourt and BloorDale Villages (Christie to Lansdowne on Bloor West).” On a conceptual level, it is intriguing for me to observe and be part of a conversation about how to grow and sustain a space that supports vibrant community engagement.
Some of the ideas shared this evening that are most interesting to me include:
- Having a paid membership fee (i.e. $10/month)
- Hosting regular meetings (weekly or monthly) for ‘members’ to attend which would serve as a social space, with topics of discussion
- Utilizing the space to feature the products of local artists (i.e. clothes, jewlery, artwork)
- Having a cafe space with organic chocolate & other organic snacks sold
- Renting out the space to community organizations for events/meetings
- Offering workshops to help meet needs of community members (i.e. English as a second language, or focusing on a particular craft/skill with guest speakers etc).
- Establishing a core base of volunteers (i.e. a partnership with the neighbouring Working Women Community Centre), to offer an experience for newcomers to Canada living in the neighbourhood which would help to ensure that core responsibilities are fulfilled (i.e. keyholders with people who are responsible for opening & closing up the space)
One concern that emerged from the discussions was the issue of timing and how challenging it will be to raise sufficient funds in time for the end of the year. There was some discussion on what the concept or project would be if it did not live in the specific space at 957 Bloor W – however most of the ideas generated were aimed at trying to keep the space alive.
If it ends up not being feasible to maintain the 957 Bloor W StoreFront space due to costs, my recommendation is to develop stronger partnerships with existing places designed for the community (i.e. local community centres, employment centres, libraries etc) and try to help revitalize existing spaces that are supported by the government and that have a history of serving the community. While I love the idea of transforming commercial spaces into being community driven and serving, it may be too challenging to develop a financially sustainable model at this current time due to current economic realities.
On a final note...I do hope that the financial challenges can be overcome and that a proven model can be developed, shared and scaled with other communities!
Here's a list of who came:
Night at the Indies / Meow Films: Gurbeen
Community Arts Collective / Daily Bread Food Bank: Jim
BIG and BIG Festival: Ann
People Plan Toronto: Ann
DIG IN: Donna / Ann
Torontopedia: Himy
Working Women: Diana / Jessica
BloorCourt BIA: Shelley
IF Theatre: Sara
Supportive, active, creative, engaged dedicated locals: Ryan / Michelle / Phil / Darcy / Leah / Leigh / Chatherine S / Craig / Camilo
Delaware Residents (Street Festival): Rosalie
Delaware Open Space: Darcy
Humanist Movement: Nick / Roberto
Sistering (past Chair): France
Green Party: Steve
Annex Lions Club: Monica
Wireless Toronto: Gabe
Concord Café: Genoveva
Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre: Tim
Dufferin Grove Residents Association: / Rob
Anarchist U: Christian / Maggie
Laidlaw Foundation: Ana
Globe & Mail: Nadja
Property Owner 957: Robert Markovits
Chemistry Branding (consultant and partner): Will
Jim Allen Photo: Jim
TakingITGlobal: Jennifer
[unconfirmed]
Freedom Clothing: Amanda
Parkdale Liberty: Jennifer
ArchiTEXT: Zahra
Long & McQuade: Jon
Toronto Poets: Jason / Hajile
Linux Caffé: David
What the hell is it? Who knows best? What is the best schooling?
School assignments give you something to do. If you’re not in school, no one will give you any assignments, so you have to make up your own assignments, and not too many people are good at that. So that’s why school works. It puts you around people, you’re in a social setting, you make friends and you remember the recesses, lunch breaks, team practices and secret crushes. It gives you a reason to keep going and its manual is:
listen to your teacher
make your parents happy
do your homework
study
get good marks
and you will have a better life.
That was SO me baby! I loved school. It was awesome.
But then something kicked in. I grew up. I realized that it wasn’t school that I liked, it was the act of DOING. I was the one motivating myself. I was the one questioning things, reading things and getting stuff done. I was the one who was teaching myself. I was the one who beat myself, worried myself, stressed myself and hated myself. I was passionate and I didn’t know why I just couldn’t get to what I wanted. I pursued a creative arts program in grade 7 and that’s when I discovered graphic design. It was fun! I liked computers and programs and it had no boundaries! I could teach myself as much as I wanted and the teacher had no control. So I kept teaching myself. At the age of 12, the computer became my toy. So much to explore! Graphic design was what kept me going in school, but what I really wanted was to be a super sports star.
That didn’t work out. So I chose an art school and studied graphic design — why the hell not? It was easy and fun.
Then I started discovering that, um, I need a passion. I started seeing what graphic design for what it truly was and then I started hating it as “school”. Everyone was doing it. It wasn’t as fun as before. It was like everyone else was discovering it and the profession of it became dull for me.
Who am I? Why am I doing this?
School couldn’t answer that question because school has only one answer and the answer is: “it’s not my problem - you chose to go here”
So education became exploring myself.
And that really happened in my last year of school. From 0 to 21, it took me that many years to realize that education is freedom of expression, networking and collaboration.
I take full responsibility for thinking that way because I know who I am now.
Art for me
is a journey
into the unspoken, unknown, unwanted and unheard
realities of our shadows
and of our hopes.
We are suspended in time
glimpsing in the mirror
of our future and our past
They flash before us and cause a jolt
of hope, of fear, of want, of release.
Our senses on overload
we admire and adore
our object of fascination
representing the idol we love
and demon we hate.
we forgive
we empathize
we heal
we bathe
in beauty
and bliss.
I don’t know if I know anyone who doesn’t. And I also don’t believe that people enjoy seeing people suffer and die unless they disconnect themselves from reality and live in illusion.
Speaking of illusion, I think Time is an illusion. I don’t believe that it exists. Everyone knows that we live in the Now. But it’s not just Now that we can focus on. Our brains are much more complex than that and unless we live in the countryside, down in the valley or up on the mountains, life just ain’t all that simple as Now. What about doing things and getting things done without having any preconceived ideas of how long it will take? What about doing what your heart desires, what your brain connects, what your vision gravitates? What about all that energy inside you that you didn’t know existed until you saw that photo, that film, that book, that baby, that child, that boy, that girl, that woman, that man, that old man, that old lady, that store, that game, that dance, that song, that laughter, that smile?
Does any of that have anything to do with Time?
Oh, I guess that boy, girl part does.
So let me ask you: Are you old? Or are you young? Are you a baby, a child?
We watch our bodies develop and as they develop we start basing our actions on Time, because that’s what our parents tell us, that’s what the institutions tell us, the teachers tell us, the family tells us, the media tells us, the best friend tells us, the spouse tells us, the sibling tells us.
Let it go.
Time don’t exist baby.
You want to change the world - get to it. Follow your heart, feel the energy and use your brain. Love and power are determined by the number of people you touch. Grow your networks and together you are one.
If you are afraid (to do what you wanna do), you’ll never be happy. If you are brave (and do what you wanna do), you’ll be a leader. It’s as simple as that.
Are you ready for the challenge? Or are you still afraid to change the/your world?
So now that I’ve revealed my disbelief in Time, I should at least make some sense of the theory of relativity and science in regards to this matter.
I don’t believe in perfection, absolutes or even words being the best way to define Nature. Nature is nature. Can nature talk, write, pay your bills, or tell you what you need to do to get a good paying job? No, I don’t think Nature had a clue that that’s what humans cherished in life. Nature is God. I don’t care who you are or what you think. Nature is God. It’s simple, I’ll say it again: Nature is God. All together now: “NATURE IS GOD.”
Good.
So now that we have that straight, why are we trying to define Nature through Science and God through Religion? Science and Religion are systems designed by humans to break apart Nature and God and make them more complex. I don’t blame us though - we are Humans. It is Human Nature to be inquisitive and since we have Nature in Human Nature, we are naturally responsive to our Body and Mind. Our Senses are what keep us alive and guide us to happiness.
It is Time to:
Follow your Senses through Body and Mind
Accept Nature as God
Experience the naturally inquisitive Human Nature respond to Nature
Assuming you could live a whole century and witness society develop decade by decade, at some point you’ll realize that you were always a child and no one listened to you, not even you. All you really wanted to do was play, and no one thought it was the right thing to do, especially the people who loved you dearly. So you didn’t even dare to, because it was Time that was holding you back. It was your fear of Time and everyone else’s proof of Time that stopped you. You started something, it didn’t go well, and you thought it wasn’t the right Time. So you beat yourself and cried inside. “No one gets what I’m trying to do!” You brushed it off and went back to being afraid.
It’s time to let go of Time and let it only be determined by the impact of what you have done. You take it out of you, put it out there, and see what sticks and what doesn’t. You enjoy the stickies — they can get you a little high. Sometimes they can get you too high and you might loose your head. The one’s that didn’t stick are your friends too, and they came to fight for their right. You love the stickies so much that you may forget what was in you in the first place and what you were trying to do. But that’s not Time! That’s learning by doing! It’s called research, art, poetry, design, activism, development, growth — it’s all of those things that are simply experienced. It’s not slow, or fast, it just gets determined by how much you do and how many people you tag on the way.
Congratulations to Mali Bickley, Grade 5 teacher at W. H. Day Elementary School, Bradford, Ontario who wins over $10,000 in classroom technology and thanks for the mention of TakingITGlobal in your video! We are so thrilled that you are using TIGed.org in your classroom.
Preface: At this moment in time, I have so much work to do and I need to write a Report with a ferocious focus but I simply can't begin until I have written some words on this momentous occasion.
VICTORY!
Barack Obama won the American presidential race in a landslide last night with many sighs of relief from supporters and booos and hisses from the opponents. But the American people have spoken, and for the first time in eight years the majority has made the right decision.
I have never felt a sense of solidarity or pride in this country where I was born and raised. But I feel it today. There is some new electrical charge in the air encapsulating hope and optimism for a brighter future. But it is also a sense of pride tinged with humility.
I wish I would have taken notes on the speeches that both candidates gave last night but finding myself in such a daze, I wasn't able to take my eyes off the candidates as they spoke (except to write a congratualtory text message to everyone I know!). But a few impressions stuck with me and don't consider this to be anything other than my own interpretation and personal take-aways:
First of all, I have to commend John McCain who proved his integrity and humanity last night when he urged his supporters, some of whom are ruthless racist biggots and many of whom are not, to accept and support Obama moving forward. He quickly discouraged negative outcries and literally asked people to lay down their differences. It was crucial for McCain to do so in a country where many people were not reluctant to admit they would not vote for Obama because of the color of his skin. He essentially called for his supporters to move forward into a new era with the president elect and adapt to a changing world. He shone through the defeat with a grace and a message that many Republicans would never be able to achieve.
And as for Barack - he was absolutely pragmatic and inspirational all in one moment. He said its not about him but rather us. Its about the American people as well as the global community, those on both sides of the digital divide. What stands out the most is his mention of finding security through peaceful means, as well as his call for us all to be of service. His belief is that individual liberty can prevail when we take care of one another and make that our focus. No American president has called for altruism as a means in itself in my lifetime and that is one amongst many traits that sets Obama apart from other leaders of our country. JFK said it as wel,l but after him the focus shifted. And that shift has led us into the economic crisis as well as our deteriorated reputation in the global community.
Inshallah Barack Obama will be strong enough to stand up against the forces of corruption and a very powerful machine in Washington DC that few of us will ever have access to understand. And in shallah, Barack Obama will be shielded from forces that few of us wish to understand, the leftovers of a dark past of slavery and racism that despite what John McCain claims has not yet been fully confronted.
But he's going to need help. It is going to take much effort from the people, cooperation between all sectors, and insight into each of ourselves. There are many paths to achieve this and that diversity must be respected. Change has got to come from within and compassion must prevail.
In a day and age when most do not agree on anything, from east and west, to conservative and liberal politics, to issues of race and geography, and amongst differing religions and faiths, I believe, along with the founders of Global Dignity, that dignity is the one thing that everyone in the world wants equally. Dignity can be the unifying force that brings us all together at a time when the world needs this more than ever.
On Monday, October 20th 2008, I, in concert with the co-founders of Global Dignity (www.globaldignity.org), His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Professor Pekka Himanen and John Hope Bryant, and several other Young Global Leaders (as associated with the World Economic Forum) conducted our first ever GLOBAL DIGNITY DAY 2008 in 30 countries, inclusive of every continent.
In this blog, I am sharing an update on Global Dignity Day in Canada. I have taken part in other Dignity Day events including one in Vancouver and another in Jordan that involved Her Majesty Queen Rania in Jordan. I am pleased to report back on Global Dignity Day in Toronto, Canada on October 20th, 2008! We reached 40 grade 9 students (14 years old) in a Leadership Course at Greenwood College (http://www.greenwoodcollege.com/)
I had about an hour to deliver the course for each of the two classes. We kicked off with having the students write what Dignity means to them on a sheet of paper that I handed out, and then it led into a group discussion and a brief presentation on the Dignity Principles. I found that most of the initial definitions people wrote down on defining dignity related to self-respect. My co-facilitator was a grade 11 student (Celine Caira) from the school who helped me to prepare for the event. Celine shared a story about what dignity means to her based on a recent encounter with a 14 year old girl that she met in a recent trip to India with her family. I shared a few personal stories and gave context on the work of TakingITGlobal.org and how we are growing a global community of youth making a difference. I connected the mandate of our website to the dignity principles. In helping the students further understand the meaning of dignity, I asked them to share their own examples of increasing or even decreasing the dignity of others. They were able to generate many strong examples of what dignity is NOT - which actually transformed the energy in the room to be more supportive (for example after talking about the negative impact of making fun of someone for who they are).
As a process note, it was very helpful to have the students read each of the dignity principles out loud and talk about what that particular principle means to them. There were certain words that they did not understand - such as interdependent - so I took time to explain the meaning behind the word.
The bulk of the interactive time was when I had the students break out into groups of 4-5 and develop their own ABC’s of Dignity. They had about 6-7 minutes and I was amazed to see how our their depth of understanding about dignity had significantly increased since I first entered the class. At first, in doing the ABCs, we started out as a full class discussion, but I quickly realized that it would be better to have them work in teams - and this was a very smart decision. Each of the group then had a representative read out their ABCs of Dignity to the class and they were all eager to hear about the different impressions and interpretations.
At the end of the class, I unveiled the ‘Dignity Flag’ which I prepared (a huge canvas with bright colours) with Celine and Caitlin (another student) prior to Dignity Day. The Flag stated ‘We Pledge to DIGNITY’ and the students were invited to put their name on the flag, along with a word that relates to dignity starting with the first letter of their name (i.e. Jennifer - Justice). They were eager to make their pledge and I noted that many of the words were difficult for the students to spell (which could lead to future vocabulary activities in their studies). The Dignity Flag is now being hung in the school and I am hoping that at the next school wide assembly, it will be shared by some student representatives with the entire school!
Thanks for the opportunity to work together!
Special appreciation goes out to Kim Samuel-Johnson who is part of the World Economic Forum community and was a former Global Leader for Tomorrow. Kim helped bridge the connection with Greenwood College and hosted the Dignity Day planning meetings. I would also like to thank Caitlin Samuel-Johnson and Celine Caira, who are the Grade 11 students that helped me in preparing for Dignity Day. Here is our team photo taken at one of our planning sessions! Also, closing reflection from Celine, “Seeing the way Greenwood students responded to Dignity Day gives me hope that one day we will live peacefully with global dignity”.
I am incredibly energized from my experience at World Blu Live in New York last week – what a dynamic group of thinkers and leaders in the area of organizational democracy.
While at the conference, I delivered a presentation in the section on ‘NEXT’ – where I was asked to share examples of democratic and inclusive practices at TakingITGlobal. After providing an overview of the mission, vision and programs our organization offers, I talked about the value of the WorldBlu Scorecard process and how it has provided an opportunity for our core team to improve our internal communications and processes as a result of the feedback from the surveys. TakingITGlobal has been recognized in both 2007 and 2008 on the WorldBlu list of Most Democratic Workplaces. Here are a few quotes from staff members who completed the scorecard:
• “TakingITGlobal is a unique organization not only in the work it does that inspires, informs and involves members, but in the way the organization functions, which is equally inspiring for its team.”
• “This is a genuinely democratic organization with an informal yet effective management system in place. Hierarchy is virtually non-existent. It is idea driven and riding the very crest of the tech-wave. Intellectual blossoming is only one of the benefits of working here”
In my presentation, I talked about how we have created evolving visualizations of or organizational model including an earlier version of a tree. For those interested in understanding this model, here is a description that I wrote in 2003 as part of a mid-term paper that I wrote as part of my Masters course on Management in Turbulent Times. Through the roots, the organization is grounded in its core vision and values. The trunk is where much of the administrative support and technology development occurs, which all helps to nurture the growth and development of TakingITGlobal’s key program areas which are depicted through the fruit. In the diagram, the red fruit symbolize the core areas of engagement which address the various key gaps. These areas focus on engaging key stakeholders that work to support youth such as international and youth-led organizations, educators, local communities etc. The online community which is placed at the centre of the organizations activities and focus, highlights the nature of its core program. The yellow circles which connect to the online community are nodes which are drawn in a way that illustrates each of the various online community components (Action, Community, Opportunities, Expression, Voice), and how they are organized in a way that transcends the notion of a tree/organism. The research and sourced projects are ‘low-hanging fruit’ which provide support for other program areas. The overall framework is best explained in the context of a living system because it is one that needs to be able to respond and adapt to changes in external environments. In contrast to the purpose of most organizational charts, this structure does not exist to support people at the top of a hierarchy, but rather, to serve and support the growth and development of key program areas (‘fruit’) which are supported, nurtured and grounded in the shared vision (roots). The issue of survival is one of great importance to living systems, as it is to TakingITGlobal. In order for organizational objectives and ideals to be achieved, a sustainable and healthy ‘system’ must be maintained.
Another important part of our organizational culture includes teambuilding activities which have ranged from bowling and indoor beach volleyball, to taking part in a ropes course. One of the challenges for our organization is the difficulty in having teambuilding activities that are inclusive our staff and volunteers who are based in different parts of the world and often in different time zones. When Philip Rosedale, Founder and Chairman of Linden Lab, spoke at the conference, he talked about how they utilize Second Life to conduct meetings. Here is a photo of their board room and the various personalities that emerge through the avatars developed! Organizational practices that have been inspired by discussions with other WorldBlu Democratic Companies include the As and Os weekly emails that all staff send out to an 'As and Os' mailing list - each focused on objectives for the upcoming week and accomplishments from the past week. Additionally, we have a monthly Above and Beyond Award based on a staff voting system and a 'kudos' tool where you can send comments through an online system to other staff that are archived on our intranet. For ongoing knowledge management and sharing of information, we have developed an intranet and are constantly using collaborative tools such as wiki's.
Here are a few thoughts that stayed with me after listing to the diverse array of presentations (http://www.worldblu.com/live/schedule.php)
- Bill Shannon, Chief Wisdom Officer at DaVita talked about how their company is oriented around a village-like culture. They have regular town hall meetings, the office of the CEO has a 'Mayor' sign on it and executive employees have a 'uniform' which is designed like a superhero style costume. Considering the large size of the organization, they are able to maintain an atmostphere of community.
- Rodney North, Vice Chair and Answer Man of Equal Exchange focused his talk on the importance of governance and how their company entitles each employee to one vote and one share. This shared sense of ownership creates shared accountability. They believe that the role of a company include the aim of training better citizens.
- Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer and Author talked about how everyone can achieve happiness at work and that it starts with the simple act of how you say 'good morning'. He shared the '5 Levels' - starting off with 1 being a mumble, 2 saying good morning with no eye contact, 3 is good morning with eye contact and a smile, 4 is good morning with eye contact, a smile and a question about how they are, and level 5 includes everything in level 4 plus physical contact through a handshake. The best part of this session was being part of a transformation of energy in the room when we tried out each of the levels.
- Mike Ferretti, CEO of Great Harvest Bread Company talked about the high levels of customization and localization in their franchise model and shared a powerful diagram that includes about 6 concentric circles highlighting various spheres of their competition.
- Brett Jackson, CEO of Generation Think Tank shared his experience in being part of the first 10 employees at Crocs and some of the negative impacts of the hyper growth experienced by the company.
- A personal highlight of the WorldBlu experience was outside the conference venue at at Carnegie Hall where we watched an awe inspiring performance of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra who played in absolute harmony without a conductor!
- Other insights included learning about a simple practice of having an anonymous question/suggestion box where the CEO can respond to what is submitted during staff meetings, several comments on the importance of expressing appreciation, and the significance of having a results-focused workplace. Also, there was discussion on the concept of scarcity and how it is in your mind - as as the concept of abundance. It is important to choose your views carefully. On the last day, someone observed me taking notes based on my notes, he called me a 'concrete random' essentially based on a matrix model where the y axis includes concrete + abstract and the x axis includes sequential and random. I thought it was interesting to have my thought process being analyzed on the basis of my notebook!
My final highlight of WorldBlu live was listening to Bill Taylor, Founding Editor of Fast Company Magazine, who talked about how important it is for those of us to stay connected and ‘stay in the game’. A very special thank you goes out to Traci Fenton, Founder and CEO of WorldBlu for putting this event together and for her vision and dedication towards promoting and supporting organizational democracy in the workplace. Here’s a photo with Traci, Bill and I.
My parents moved to Canada when I was just entering senior kindergarten. I’ve grown up with clean water, a bed and electricity. I’m lucky. When I was in grade 6 I went to the Philippines, where my family is originally from, and I saw people who are not so lucky.
We were riding along in a jitney, a colourful cross between a taxi and a bus, and I am just minding my own business when I feel a rough cloth scrape across my foot. I looked down to find a small child, who was maybe 5 or 6, cleaning my sandals. At first I was surprised and then I just started to feel awkward. I felt awkward because this kid was cleaning another kid’s sandals, my sandals. Then I started to feel guilty, I wanted to give him anything that would take that look out of his eyes but my 11 year old self had to settle with having my parents give him a few pesos so that he could carry on his way.
I think that was my turning point in life when I realized that those kids you see on TV are real, they are in the streets, they are cleaning shoes, they are eating left over McDonald’s fries left on restaurant tables and they’re just kids- kids who are just minding their own business, just like I was minding my own business on the jitney.
I believe that the first step to alleviating poverty is through understanding. An understanding that we are in this world together; after all we all feel the heat of the same sun, all gaze up at the same stars and sleep under the same moon so why can’t understanding and overcoming poverty be something we all do together? It's time we open our minds and realize that poverty affects us all.
I believe birth and death are dependent on the title of this blog - the root of all problems. God is a woman, didn’t you know? If she was a man, then she couldn’t give birth to Eve. Doesn’t life have to be born? How else can it last?
Marriage, religion, porn, prostitution, power, violence … why not put them all in one bar and call it chocolate because it tastes so sweet.
Who are you, brother? Who are you, sister?
Why are we growing in the gay and lesbian population? We all want to be like God, do we not? God, god, gOd, goD - which letter should I capitalize? Or should I spell it backwards and see if there’s a trick to wiggle my tail to? Maybe I’ll add another “o” and it’ll all be good.
Woman, why do you want to be a man of history? If you want to be a man of history, you’re no good sister. Woman, be a man of nature; a man of love. Woman, depending on where you are in the world right now, you have the title. I don’t blame you for thinking you’ve got to be the man because the man did you wrong, but I think you’re way too good for that - you are GOD: Good Old Daemon by virtue of love.
Woman I believe in you. Woman you are the mother of your son. Woman, let the fire of nature light your eyes, warm your heart and steam the curves on your body. Woman, save life, save your children, save your soul tonight.
At the beginning of my presentation, I asked the audience to think about the following question: "What contribution can young people make to addressing global poverty?" People sent in text responses via their mobile phones. I was really impressed with the responses and followed up with Matt McKenna at Red Fish Media who sent along the list of text messages for me to post on my blog:
- Volunteering
- Money.
- Communication
- Conserve conserve conserve
- The ability to connect
- Be more selfless
- Promote conservation
- Spend some time walking in their shoes
- Spend less volunteer more vote democrat
- Micro investments and localglobal involvement can be very impactful.
- Just getting involved in one key focus and acting against it
- Teach
- Provide education and employment to the poor
- Start recycling cheaper use of electricity fewer car trips etc.
- Consume less in developed nations.
- Social networking can bring countries and people much closer....
- After graduating college young people can pay it forward by volunteering in impoverished nations.
- First become aware. second start donating .
- Start education programs
- Young people can connect across cultures via the web to create greater awareness at a personal level.
- Create friendships to harness Energy.
- Improve knowledge of the burdens poverty places and spur collective action to take ownership of the problem and make a difference.
- Organize create opportunities for each other and for adults
- Set an example Start a business and employ other young people.
- Mentoring and outreach
- Since poverty is rising in North America young people can get directly involved by working in soup kitchens halfway houses etc.
