so, why me at ignite?

My passions:– Words: read, written and

spoken– Pictures: capture

imagination and make memories timeless

– The world: our role in, & responsibility to, it

context

Fortunate to have my employer’s support (time & money) to pursue international volunteer efforts

Pitched these opportunities as strategic personal development initiatives, with value added for Western

context

Employers increasingly see value in, and support, international experiences

Stories cover philosophies/lessons learned from four trips to six countries, and what I did to ‘bring them home’

malaysia, 2006

Recently developed nation status

One of worst for GINI index (gap between rich and poor)

Restricted media freedoms and freedom of assembly

Vowed to not censor the Internet as government is reliant on technology for development

malaysia, 2006

Opportunities for new media to express political dissent

Participated in Aliran National Roundtable on Internet Media

Is technology really a panacea for all that ails the world?

bringing it home

Gave me a taste for global political, economic and social issues

Paper published in Canadian Journal of Development Studies, June 2010

Role of new media in development and political engagement

kenya/tanzania, 2007

Nearly three weeks with Western Heads East probiotic yogurt, HIV/AIDS project

17-25 per cent HIV/AIDS infection rate

Coke - seven times cheaper than water

36 per cent live below basic needs poverty line, on .79 cents/day

kenya/tanzania, 2007

$5 covers all medical examinations – but many hospitals don’t even have generators and power is often out

Hospitals cannot afford surgical gloves

Our society is often numbed to statistics, and they don’t tell the whole story

bringing it home

Biggest difference is lack of opportunity; at the core, we share many common values and interests

Despite very real challenges, Tanzania is one of the happiest societies I’ve seen

Does our pursuit of ‘things’ make us ‘unhappy’?

rwanda/dr congo, 2009

Seven weeks helping establish the Kitabi College of Conservation and Environmental Management

Most densely populated country in Africa (more than 250/sq. km)

Teaches nature conservation for tourism & development, creates jobs

rwanda/dr congo, 2009

Can’t seem to move past images of 800,000 dead in 100 days.

That was 16 years ago

And yet, general apathy about ongoing war in DR Congo (the world’s second-poorest), killing more than five million. Why?

bringing it home

Umuganda – mandatory community work day each month

If Rwanda can move toward conciliation, how can we not?

How can we allow “Never Again” to happen? Again…and again?

peru, 2010

Alternative Spring Break program, which teaches service learning to students

Team of 20 to Urubamba, Peru, where we helped build the second floor of a school

First time off the continent for many, and to the developing world for most

peru, 2010

Overcoming language and cultural differences through commonalities, like sport, games and crafts

Importance of reflection Week timeframe may be too

short, but opens eyes to develop interest at an impressionable age

bringing it home

Many were surprised at what they had been able to accomplish

A changed impression of what the trip was all about (no longer just about getting away/résumé building)

Ongoing communication through pictures, partnership with local elementary school

the big finish

We can make change, even if it’s in one person’s life, in our community or around the world

James Brooks from London created 1,000 Classrooms initiative to save apes, environment and people in Central Africa. He was 11

the big finish

Regardless of life’s challenges, we are extremely fortunate

The world is bigger than us –and we owe a responsibility to it

Lessons from the greater world can change who we are at home. And vice versa

the big finish

Change begins within our communities, but at the individual, then communal level

How can we motivate others to see the importance of effectuating change - in our personal lives, our communities and globally?

final thought

I have come to believe that if everyone has the opportunity to see the greater world firsthand, we can potentially begin to live in a more peaceful, tolerant, understanding and empathetic society