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Schliersee Files:Lüneburg Fever!!

October 25th, 2009 by timothy
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I totally agree with St. Augustine when he says “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”.Our trip to Lüneburg was a life changing experience quite significant as well.

First of all, the whole activities of day was a big picture of how a young person should tailor his/her life. We formally started with an inspiration session with Bobby Dekeyser where he told us the whole grass to grass story of Dedon furniture. His experience as an entrepreneur validates the fact that the days of small beginnings should never be ignored.

His the session gave way for a period of project review and objective criticism. Fellows were expected to develop a project idea and table it before expects. I was privileged to share my idea with Dr Nobert Losing and Florian Hoffman. They did a good job listening and guiding me on how to bring my ideas to life.

The last two sessions added colour and spice to the whole day :) We had the option of going for aerobics or playing soccer. I wasn’t ready for soccer so I signed up for aerobics. When the aerobics “master” started his thing, I almost changed my mind. My muscles were literally telling me to quit and go drink some orange juice at the Dedon restaurant. We ended on time so I also had the chance to play soccer.

After the sports session we had dinner!

What followed next left me wondering if all the fellows and of course Bobby were graduates of a popular acting school. The Karaoke session was H.O.T. We had all manner of costumes. I had this shiny shirt and hat that left me looking like a combination of Michael Jackson and a circus leader.

What more can be more magical than playing Billiards with a charming lady and breaking all the rules of the game :) . We drove in Katharina Waldschmidt’s car to a popular Billiards and Darts joint. It was the first time I played both games.But who cares, I broke all the rules and still felt like a pro :) ) We were on the game till 12Midnight and it was Brigitte Wasmeire’s Birthday!

Gitti is our mother here in Germany. She joined us in Lunerburg a day after we arrived. Her presence constantly reminded us of the fact that we are all full blown Bavarians hehehe!! We sang her the popular birthday song and shared chocolates . I was just wondering who’s idea it was to present chocolates instead of cake. But it worked! She was moved by the midnight transition from the Billiards and Darts chaos to a chocolate-sharing birthday party!

This whole stretch of activities is a type of life balancing recipe. A time to be inspired, a time to think and plan,a time to share your thoughts and ideas with friends and family, a time to act and work , a time to pay attention to your physical well-being and of course a time to hang out with friends…get lazy and wasted!

Lüneburg is the city of Salt and Sebastian Bach.Believe it or not, these guys literally float on salt. Who knows,Lüneburgers could as well be the salt of the earth Christ referred to in the scriptures :) They are famous for their salt trade across the world. And guess what I saw at the city’s Salt Museum? An exhibition of bags with A.G Leventis, Nigeria written on it! Long time ago, this company imported salt from Lüneburg and distributed it in Nigeria. I instantly felt a strong sense of connection with the city. I never in my wildest imagination thought that my home country would have any form of trade connection with Lüneburg. It’s indeed a small world!

I miss Lüneburg and i miss one special thing in particular.It’s my small secret …DON’T ASK ME :d

Timothy Ogene

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Doing A Spot of Fellowship Project Work in Germany

October 20th, 2009 by timothy
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This interview was conducted by Barry Crisp, the Creative Director of i-genius.

What attracted you to this museum project?

I was attracted by the history and culture of the Bavaria. I have always looked forward to a time when I will travel to this region to see the mountains and connect with the people. At the center of this is the opportunity to literary connect with their culture by restoring a 17th Century Farmhouse. We are rebuilding this farmhouse exactly how they built it in the past. To me it is a rare opportunity to see and feel like they did in time past.

A project of this nature opens one up to other ways of thinking and builds ones capacity to accommodate people from other socio-cultural backgrounds. Here in Schliersee, the team consist of fellows from Rwanda,Switzerland, Nepal,Nigeria, Indonesia,Mexico,India, USA and the Philippines.
Timothy Ogene


How does one go about getting a Fellowship?

There are different kinds of fellowship. Some are academic and some are hands-on. One has to know what he/she wants and then go ahead to research available opportunities. The internet is a very import tool. Networks like i-genius can be a great resources because members share opportunities. There are also several social networks where regular fellowship updates are shared.


Is this your first time to visit Germany? If yes, then what were your first impressions?

This is my first time in Germany. Right from the airport I can tell that the Germans are highly organized.

Over the next three months what will you be doing in Schliersee, Germany? What do you hope to achieve during your fellowship experience? And how will this experience help you for future projects?

Over the next three months, I will be actively working on the restoration project with my co-fellows, attending the Dekeyser & Friends Leadership Academy and exploring the local culture!

During this fellowship,i hope to acquired new skills , learn more about the Bavarian culture and broaden my perspective on how to relate with people from different backgrounds. The ability to connect and find a common ground with people who do not share my socio-cultural and religious views is strategic to the success of my career and future projects.

Did you pack anything interesting in your suitcase?

No -:)

Thank you Timothy!

About i-genius

i-genius is a world community of social entrepreneurs and seeks to inspire a new generation of social innovators, social business and social enterprise.

About the Dekeyser & Friends Fellowship

Click here for detail!

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Social Entreprise Summit SAN FRANCISCO 2010!!

October 20th, 2009 by timothy
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A new sector is emerging with the primary purpose of addressing social, environmental and economic challenges of our time. The growth of social enterprise has the potential to be a defining innovation of this century.

Don’t miss this international forum advocating for increased social impact through social enterprise. Join over 500 social entrepreneurs in San Francisco to learn, grow, be inspired, make new connections from around the globe and become part of this expanding movement.

* Session Proposals: We are no longer accepting session proposals for Summit 2010. The deadline for submission was September 28th.

* Help advocate for wider use of social enterprise approaches

* Meet your model for building a sustainable mission-based enterprise

* Get inspired by touring successful social enterprises in San Francisco

* Make new connections to grow your impact

* Enjoy the attractions of beautiful San Francisco

Additional information will be posted here as it is available.

In the meantime, you can get a feel for this unique event by viewing information from:

* the 10th Anniversary Summit, April 15-17, 2009 in New Orleans, LA;

* the 2008 Social Enterprise World Forum held in Edinburgh, Scotland; and

* the upcoming 2009 Social Enterprise World Forum in Melbourne, Australia.

We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

See Details

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Crossing Borders’ Global Studies Programme..APPLY!!!

October 20th, 2009 by timothy
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In the course of Crossing Borders Global Studies you will cross your personal, cultural, and ideological borders to become an aware global citizen.

You will test your ideas and build your capacity to act in the world. You will discover the global perspective in all that you do. You will examine globalisation through the lens of ethics (fair trade and the free movement of peoples), socio-cultural issues (freedom of speech and religious and fundamentalism), the environment (and international efforts to manage it), and post September 11 conflict issues. You will examine the larger geo-political forces at work in the world and observe how they play out in the economic lives of people worldwide. The course combines lectures, workshops, group projects, study tours and presentations. Global activism will be one possibility after this course. Global awareness will be a certainty.

Course instructors: Garba Diallo and Mette Juel Madsen

The Course idea
A globally-oriented, interdisciplinary course in English addressing current global issues
Led by a multicultural faculty and serving a multicultural learning group
Built on interdependent learning/action modules
Deriving key projects and activities from learners’ interests
Delivering concrete learning outcomes – booklets, short films, multimedia presentations, public actions, exhibitions, performances, local or global communications initiatives.
Transmitting relevant skills and perspectives for living and/or working in any part of the world.

The Aim
To provide a unique learning environment for youth from Denmark and abroad to raise their awareness of the key global forces and structures impacting on their lives.
To offer pathways toward becoming active global citizens with the competencies to seek understanding, communicate, connect and cooperate with other people.

More Information
For more information, please see: http://www.krogerup.dk/Crossing-Borders-Global-Studies

See the Crossing Borders Website http://www.crossing-borders.org/cb-global-studies

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Nigeria Leadership Initiative Business Plan Competition 2009!!

August 8th, 2009 by timothy
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Nigerian Leadership Initiative:

The Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) was established in January 2006 as an international non-profit, non-partisan organization. The mission statement of NLI is to create a growing global network of credible and very accomplished community-spirited Nigerian leaders who are committed to taking responsibility for driving positive change in Nigeria and Nigerian communities. NLI provides a platform for highly accomplished, uniquely qualified older and younger Nigerian leaders to enhance or develop their values-based leadership skills and to assume a transformative role in the future development of Nigeria . The Leadership seminars are by invitation and designed for three main groups:

1. A Senior Leaders class for some of the most successful, credible and senior Nigerians in the Diaspora and in Nigeria .

2. A Future Leaders class for emerging public and private leaders in Nigeria and their peers in the Diaspora.

3. A Special Seminar for the President, Government Ministers and Advisers.

4. NLI is implementing a similar program for universities in Nigeria and the United Kingdom

Barely three years since its establishment, NLI has made remarkable progress in promoting initiatives focused on developing and sustaining values-based leadership amongst Nigerians based locally and internationally. These initiatives have been carried out in various forms such as Seminars, Leadership Projects, and Essay Competitions and have helped to increase engagement between the citizenry and the leadership. NLI is now poised to build on all the work started so far with projects such as its National Reorientation Programme and its Business Plan Competition. For more information on NLI’s programs please visit www.nli-global.org.

Nigeria Leadership Initiative Business Plan Competition:

The Nigeria Leadership Initiative Inaugural Business Plan Competition (BPC) is an effective program to build entrepreneurship skill and kick start Small & Growing Business (SGB) development. Objectives include:

(i) To identify entrepreneurs with high potential business ideas;

(ii) Provide selected entrepreneurs with training, mentoring and access to capital;

(iii) Act as a channel for equity and loan funds to the resulting SGBs;

(iv) Stimulate economic development through the creation of jobs and growth businesses.

Top fifteen entries will participate free of charge in a business plan training program at the Lagos Business School and audience with potential investors to pitch their business. Top three entries will also win cash prizes to develop their businesses. The deadline for entries is August 14th, 2009.

Tags: business, entreprenuership, leadership, nigeria, planning, potential, prize, strategy

Nigerian Leadership Initiative:

The Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI) was established in January 2006 as an international non-profit, non-partisan organization. The mission statement of NLI is to create a growing global network of credible and very accomplished community-spirited Nigerian leaders who are committed to taking responsibility for driving positive change in Nigeria and Nigerian communities. NLI provides a platform for highly accomplished, uniquely qualified older and younger Nigerian leaders to enhance or develop their values-based leadership skills and to assume a transformative role in the future development of Nigeria . The Leadership seminars are by invitation and designed for three main groups:

1. A Senior Leaders class for some of the most successful, credible and senior Nigerians in the Diaspora and in Nigeria .

2. A Future Leaders class for emerging public and private leaders in Nigeria and their peers in the Diaspora.

3. A Special Seminar for the President, Government Ministers and Advisers.

4. NLI is implementing a similar program for universities in Nigeria and the United Kingdom

Barely three years since its establishment, NLI has made remarkable progress in promoting initiatives focused on developing and sustaining values-based leadership amongst Nigerians based locally and internationally. These initiatives have been carried out in various forms such as Seminars, Leadership Projects, and Essay Competitions and have helped to increase engagement between the citizenry and the leadership. NLI is now poised to build on all the work started so far with projects such as its National Reorientation Programme and its Business Plan Competition. For more information on NLI’s programs please visit www.nli-global.org.

Nigeria Leadership Initiative Business Plan Competition:

The Nigeria Leadership Initiative Inaugural Business Plan Competition (BPC) is an effective program to build entrepreneurship skill and kick start Small & Growing Business (SGB) development. Objectives include:

(i) To identify entrepreneurs with high potential business ideas;

(ii) Provide selected entrepreneurs with training, mentoring and access to capital;

(iii) Act as a channel for equity and loan funds to the resulting SGBs;

(iv) Stimulate economic development through the creation of jobs and growth businesses.

Top fifteen entries will participate free of charge in a business plan training program at the Lagos Business School and audience with potential investors to pitch their business. Top three entries will also win cash prizes to develop their businesses. The deadline for entries is August 14th, 2009.

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Africa Peace and Conflict Network's new site and publications announcement

June 8th, 2009 by timothy
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You are invited to visit the Africa Peace and Conflict Network’s (APCN) new website, which is accessible to the public as of June 5th, and is steadily being updated and extended as of that date.

There will be online events for the launch, which will be announced on APCN’s email list. We would be glad if you would help publicize this via your website and any associated or other sites or social networking forums.

APCN’s site has much free content including refereed publications like research papers, photo-essays, podcasts, etc.

Submissions are welcome of quality manuscripts or multimedia pieces analyzing issues broadly related to conflict or peace in Africa. In addition to our existing fora, a refereed, print, scholarly and professional journal (Review of African Conflicts and Peacebuilding) will be forthcoming.

APCN also reviews & publishes books and film reviews (see list of available titles) and conference report.s Attendees of thematically relevant symposia are warmly invited to submit enlightening and thoughtful conference analyses- see africapeace.org for style guidelines (website undergoing overhaul, so check back regularly).

Volunteer assistance to our work is greatly appreciated; contact information is on the site. At present, membership in the Network is still free, but this will not be the case for much longer. In the meantime, there is no cost for site registration, subscribing to the APCN email list, or downloading APCN content (but see the citation and usage rules).

Visit www.africapeace.org

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VINYL 2010 ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF SECOND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ESSAY COMPETITION

April 6th, 2009 by timothy
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PRESS RELEASE
31 March 2009

1000 REGISTRATIONS: 5 WINNERS

The winners of the second Vinyl 2010 Essay Competition, which has total prize monies of €11,000, have been announced, following the detailed deliberations of the two judging panels. The independent judging panel chaired by Nadine Gouzée, the Head of the Sustainable Development Taskforce for the Federal Planning Bureau for Belgium, was composed of representatives of the academic and NGO community and also included a representative of the UN Children and Youth Major Group. The industry judging panel was chaired by Ole Grøndahl Hansen, Director of Denmark’s PVC Information Council and was composed of eight industry representatives.

Earlier this year, participants aged 18-30 years from Europe and around the world were invited to submit 1,000 words in response to the following question: “Faced with a food and energy crisis, how can society improve its well-being”. Close to a 1000 people representing 89 nationalities had signed up to take part in the Essay Competition. Over 200 completed essays were finally submitted to the panel of judges.

Prizes have been awarded to the three top contestants from across Europe, in addition to the best global level entry. A special Industry prize has also been added to this year’s prizes.

This year’s winners for each prize category are as follows:

European Economic Area category:

First prize (€3,000) has been won by 28 year old Jon Elms, an MSc student studying Project and Enterprise Management. His key interests are sustainable development and organisational design. He is currently employed as a project manager in the construction industry and lives and works in London.

Second prize (€2,000) has been awarded to 30 year old British / Canadian Fiona Wright who works to actively support the growth and development of skills and competence in strategic sustainable development worldwide. She lives in Sweden and is currently teaching and coaching people in an overarching framework for strategic sustainable development.

Third prize (€1,000) has been awarded to 26 year old Robert McSweeney who is an environmental scientist for a consultancy firm in London and works predominantly on climate change impact and adaptation assessment. Global Category :

The Global prize (€3,000) winner is Christian Williams a 28 year old New Zealander who studied Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury and specialises in Highways and Transport Engineering. He is also interested in conservation and sustainability. The Industry prize (€2,000) has been awarded to 22 year old Wei Chao Zhou a student from Singapore at University College London currently pursuing a MSc degree in physics.

The winning essays, as well as the 35 runners-up, can be read on the competition website: www.vinyl2010essaycompetition.org . Visitors are encouraged to give their views and engage in dialogue with the other 200 authors. To date over 200 comments have been made. The 40 top essays will be published in a book that will be available shortly on the competition website. Some of the winners will be invited to speak at various high-level events focused on sustainable development.

The competition has exceeded the expectations of all the team at Vinyl 2010 considerably. Speaking as the independent Judging Panel meeting drew to a close and this year’s winners were announced, General Manager of Vinyl 2010, Jean-Pierre De Grève, commented: “The interest shown by so many contestants in this year’s competition is simply overwhelming. We are delighted to see the willingness of this age group to offer solutions to some of the biggest issues facing society today. This is the second such contest that Vinyl 2010 has organised and judging by participatory levels this year, we certainly see the value of continuing to offer young people a platform to air their view on this important subject in the future”

Chair of this year’s Judging Panel, Nadine Gouzée, said: “The Vinyl 2010 Essay Competition is a great forum for a vital and creative debate on how society needs to address these crucial issues. It is inspiring to see how engaged and enthusiastic the young people can be when discussing our future and the different kind of futures we need to consider. They offer the inspirational energy which we all need to see if we are to create the political will to truly develop a sustainable future.”

This year’s Competition was organised in conjunction with a wide range of partner organisations with interests in the field of sustainable development, including this year’s lead media partner, Cafe Babel (www.cafebabel.com)

For more information on this year’s competition, please visit: www.vinyl2010.org/essaycompetition.org.

Media contacts:

Chris Welton Head of Communications PlasticsEurope
+32 2 676 7443
chris.welton@plasticseurope.org

Martin Todd, Cambre Associates,
+32 2 645 79 90
mtodd@cambre-associates.com

-Ends-

Note to editors:

The Vinyl 2010 voluntary commitment is a 10 year plan to improve PVC production processes and products, invest in technology, minimise emissions, reduce waste and boost collection and recycling. Vinyl 2010 is a Partnership registered with the Secretariat of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

2007 saw the launch of Vinyl 2010’s first Sustainable Development Essay Competition which led to young people across Europe submitting essays in response to the question, “Are sustainable development and economic growth mutually exclusive?” To read the essays of last year’s entrants, visit: http://www.vinyl2010.org/Home/Competition/Theme/.

For more information on Vinyl 2010, this year’s Essay Competition and other Vinyl 2010 activities, please visit: www.vinyl2010.org and www.vinyl2010essaycompetition.org

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Living World Peace – an introduction to our Drop in the Ocean Campaign!

March 31st, 2009 by timothy
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Cross posted from http://drop-in-the-ocean-campaign.blogspot.com/

 

Hello everybody,

My name is Miri and I’ve recently been contacted by Living World Peace – an organisation out to have a peaceful world be experienced by one and all. They’ve asked me, a filmmaker from Sydney Australia, to help set up an exciting campaign where YOU will get to contribute!

We are currently creating an exciting video to kick off this campaign and we can’t wait to see what YOU come up with in response…

And, we’re going to call on you to spread the word! Because there is nothing more powerful that your word about something you are passionate about!!

I’ll be back in touch with you very soon to give you the details, but for now, a little more about our purposes and aims.

We want to create a stand for a peaceful world. Living World Peace is not about an ‘ideal’, it’s not about living as if one day, someday, maybe the world can experience peace…. oh no! Living World Peace is a challenge. We are challenging YOU the individual to LIVE WORLD PEACE TODAY!!! We are challenging YOU. We are suggesting that by EACH OF US, living world peace right now, we will create peace in the world around us.

We have some very real, very exciting, and very tangible goals that also go along with this challenge that we have set for ourselves… and we’ll be in touch with you to lay out our targets and goals very soon… but for now, why don’t you try on our challenge… even for just a minute.

LIVING WORLD PEACE: an exercise
For you to try at home.

Close your eyes and experience peace. Not airy fairy, wouldn’t it be nice. No, I’m saying, close your eyes right now, where you are sitting at your computer and notice the stillness in all the chaos, notice the stillness just behind your eyes, when you focus on your breath coming in… and out… and you will notice that stillness, that peace flowing gently down your arms, down your body, and into your feet. Feel the ground, the chair underneath you. Notice the air coming in and out of your lunges. And when you are in touch with that sense of real peace, in the moment, right now… I want to you to think about what it would look like to see peace in your community, all around… What would it feel like to be moving about your day, experiencing world peace around you, sheltering you, flowing out from you and into the world… What would you hear in the conversations around you that told you world peace was being experienced right now? What would you think, what would you know, that told you ” Yes. I am living world peace.” “Yes, I am experiencing world peace right now. And so are people in my community”… Imagine that they too are spreading world peace out into the world… and realise, that Living World Peace is not just an idea. It’s not an airy fairy ideal. I don’t just have to be a tree hugger or a hippie to experience this fantastic feeling… I don’t have to be an extreemist to experience this. I can experience it whoever I am. Simply by living it. Living World Peace.

Try it, see what it feels like. Sit there and close your eyes – even for just a few minutes a day and go through this meditation. And see what small changes start to show up in the world around you as YOU Live World Peace.

You may have noticed that this exercise involves nothing more than closing your eyes and breathing…. and playing a bit of ‘make believe’. That’s ok. ‘Make believe’ is fun. You’d be surprised at the difference your play can make.

Next up, we’ll tell you how you can get involved in this campaign “A DROP IN THE OCEAN 4 PEACE”. For now, sit back and live it, a little each day.

Take care,
Miri
from LIVING WORLD PEACE, right now.

If you want to know more about me you can check out my website: www.lunarwolfproductions.com

or my filmmaking blog
www.digital-dreaming.blogspot.com

Bye for now.

Drop in the Ocean 4 Peace

A campaign created by LIVING WORLD PEACE – an organisation created to make a stand for Peace, experienced by one and all, TODAY.http://drop-in-the-ocean-campaign.blogspot.com/

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Youth Participation Guide: Assessment, Planning, and Implementation

March 7th, 2009 by timothy
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Including young people as meaningful partners in programmes that target them with information and services can improve their effectiveness. However, fostering meaningful youth participation remains a challenge. This resource seeks to increase the level of meaningful youth participation in programming at an institutional and programmatic level.

DOWNLOAD HERE

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4th UCW seminar on child labour, education and youth employment (15-16 October 2009, Istanbul-TURKEY)

March 7th, 2009 by timothy
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15-16 October 2009
Istanbul, TURKEY

UCW Program and University of Galatasaray are organizing a two-day seminar to present recent research on child labour and its linkages with educational and youth employment outcomes.
The seminar will also aim at identifying key information gaps relating to these themes, thereby helping to guide future research efforts. We are calling for papers relevant to the following themes for presentation at the seminar:
- Determinants of child labour and education;
- Link between child labour and education;
- Impact of child labour involvement on youth employment outcomes;
- Labour market entry processes and school-to-work transitions.

Papers with a geographical focus on Middle-East are particularly encouraged.

All papers should be submitted in .pdf or .doc format by 1 June 2009 to
nkoseleci@ucw-project.org and
gbreglia@ucw-project.org.

The papers will be reviewed by a scientific committee; applicants will be notified by 15
July 2009 as to whether their paper has been accepted for presentation at the seminar.

Details

 

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