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Jen's Journal

November Progress (so far)...

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Sunday November 17
**********************

~ work on progress report
~ attend Soul Art Festival: A celebration of the power of the arts. Attended a session on 'drumming', went to a few 'cooking shows', watched 'glass making', saw the 'Design for every body' - Swedish Design exhibit ~ watched a play at the Harbourfront Centre for the Arts (Alphonse by Wajdi Mouawad) the tagline for the play is amazing - "When we are little, no one tells us very much so we imagine")
~ watched "2002 Dancers for Peace - circle of sacred" - performance

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Saturday November 16
**********************

~ spent entire day responding to e-mails! Went from an in-box of approx. 150 e-mails that have been building up over the past few months, (which does not include all of the newsletters & spam) - to an in-box of 1 e-mail!! Getting e-mails down takes a huge load of pressure of my mind. I hate feeling like I am letting people down because I have not responded to their e-mails.
~ prepare YMCA & TIG partnership document - to outline what to discuss with partnership moving forward ~ prepare initial outline of TIG.org
~ print out approx 5 documents sent by ezekiel and read through in detial. Review his 'report' from the TIG Ghana conference and send to mike so it can be included in next newsletter

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Friday November 15
**********************

~ meeting with REALM Magazine (conference call) to discuss potential collaboration. We came up with a very exciting idea!! A 'Special Edition' of REALM Magainze - that is developed in Partnership with TakingITGlobal. REALM is looking to diversify their funding and wants to have more of an 'international focus'. I talked about our country site strategy and our need to create meaningful 'incentives' for people to contribute content about 'life in their country'. If we created a 'special edition', we could focus on a group of communities/countries - and people could submit content through the country sites so that there is a strong online component, while at the same time, being considered for the print magazine. The magazine could be distributed at Youth Conferences and events and can also be sent to youth NGO's etc. We also discussed the possibility of collaborating on our 'content management' system with current articles from REALM magazine.

~ had lunch with Martin - talked about status of projects, future of TIG, current challenges, lessons learned etc.

~ meeting with Lydia who is working at MAGNA and is establishing an NGO that is focused in implementing Canada's Innovation Strategy.

~ had a conference call with the UN Foundation based in the US. People on the call included:
Stephen – UN Foundation
Pamela – Deputy of Youth Programs
Jessica – Youth – American Red Cross
They spent the first part of the discussion talking about how impressed they are with TIG - and especially our outreach capacity. The UN Foundation was created in 1998 (it was part of Ted Turner's 'gift to the world') and is a public charity in the US. They are working on a project with Red Cross to eliminate measles – mass vaccination campaigns. They want to launch a national youth campaign so that young people can grab a hold of this and help to eliminate this disease in Africa. They want to 'create a movement', build awareness, develop educational components, and bring in organizations that have great networks. This is where they see TIG coming in. They think that there is a massive opportunity to educate people who are online about a major health issue. They want to engage youn gpeople in a global campaign that aims at saving 100’s of millions of lives and has a 'Measurable Tangible outcome'. It costs $ 0.65 / child to vaccinate one child. They have created fundraising toolkits to support youth helping youth. In stephen's words "TIG can make this truly a global movement". I talked to them about how we would be interested in being involved in the project, and how it takes a lot to develop a global online community such as TIG. I talked about the many topical sites that we are developing and how the TIG platform and network is being leveraged to support many movements. I said that a significant investment would need to be made in supporting the growth and sustainability of the network in order for us to be able to engage in this type of partnership. Next steps include them sending me more materials. We will likely set up another conference call soon.

~ spent time watching the video footage that we took from our trip to Ghana and the Youth Employment Summit TIG Open Session in Egypt. It was amazing to hear from members who have had experiences with TIG that have really had an impact on their lives. There is so much potential in what we are doing!

~ feeling a bit stressed at the end of the day - overwhelmed with todo lists, feelings of excitement, juxtaposed with wanting a greater sense of clarity and connectedness

~ while driving to the airport to pick up Mike (arriving back from Sudbury), susheela read e-mails and I 'read' out responses that she typed up. - which was incredibly motivating!

~ went to mike's to discuss future of TIG. Spent time talking through our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats. This led to the following insight (which isn't necessarily a new idea - but one that needs more focus & priority):

In order for TakingITGlobal to grow and be sustainable, we need to focus on the development of our core program, the TakingITGlobal.org Global Online Community. This involves focusing all partnerships, projects, fundraising proposals and other opportunities around enhancing the online community. The TIG Online Community has 5 key sections:

Action :: Community :: Opportunities :: Expression :: Voice

TakingITGlobal needs to both raise funding to cover core operating expenses along with develop core goals and project proposals for each ‘program’ area. Seeing as the online community and technology platform is being leveraged to help foster collaboration among key partners and is integral to developing Topical Sites, it is critical to ensure that the core TIG community has a strong base to work from. This document provides an overview of each online community component, along with core goals and funding needs for each program to expand.

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Thursday November 14
**********************

~ conference call with Heather (An attorney for McDonalds) to discsus commitments made to TakingITGlobal in 2000 that were not fulfilled. We took her through some of the documents sent 6-9 months ago and set up another call for next week.

~ attended a Special Lunch-Hour Screenings called "LIFEquest: A Journey for the Planet"
KELLY ROSS (MES1) was the Project Developer & Expedition Mentor working with 12 youth from 8 countries who produced this series of mini-documentaries. I was impressed with what I saw. The focus of the documentaries was 'sustainable development'. After watching the video's I suggested that she 'get in contact with an organization called TakingITGlobal' and she said that she was already in touch - http://www.takingitglobal.org/community/profile.html?memberid=2758

~ Watched a video called "Language and Mind"

~ renewed library books about aboriginal cultures

~ conference call with UNITED - Personal Injury Associates about website development project. Amanda showed them screen shots of the website and they will select a design by Monday. The timeline for the project has been delayed for 2 weeks.

~ conference call with Clayton Thomas-Muller from Indigenous Mining Campaign Project - about Indigenous people's experiences, values, culture and needs. Also discussed the Indigenous People's page on EarthYouth.net: http://earthyouth.takingitglobal.org/ienyd/ They would like to invite more people to add content to this page.

~ kung fu - learned the 'snake form'

~ conference call with michelle - discussed progress with youth reps, volunteer positions, 2003 schedule (michelle should be able to come to TIG on Friday's!)

~ watched 2 video's about Mass Media and Communications:
* Seeing Ourselves
* Killing Us Softly

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Wednesday November 13
**********************

~ in communication in organizations class, I learned about how small organizatoins grow and "THE ISSUE OF OVERLOAD LEADS TO NEW STRUCTURE". In order for the organization to grow, it needs to do fewer things better. "IT CHANGES ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION FROM MODERATELY HIGH UNCERTAINTY TO LOW UNCERTAINTY"

~ watched two video's about Globalization and Mass Media:
* Showdown in Seattle
Learned more about how the media constructs our reality. Also got to hear views from protestors, how they were treated during the protest, why they are committed to their cause, and how the media did not portray what went on very fairly.

~ in-depth read through Career Edge proposal - and provide feedback for final Report (so that we can ask for further funding)

~ spent time with Jarra at Art Class. Did a watercolour colour painting and learned from a professional artist about 'colour'. One idea that she shared with us - which I will definitely try some time - is as follows: "if you want to learn about colour, then spent time with colour. Cover up the lighting in a room with paper/cloth so that the room is filled with that colour. Spend time thinking and just being with colour." :)

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Tuesday November 12
**********************

~ in the office early. Had a chance to respond to a few quick e-mails.

~ meeting at Women In Motion to discuss CareerDiscover.ca (a career portal that they are developing for youth) There is a lot of similarity between what they are doing, and what we wanted to do with "Connect to your Career". I'm not sure if there is an opportunity for partnership - or if we should still move forward on launching a career site. No matter what we decide to do - I feel strongly about needing to have funding in order to develop or launch anything!

~ meeting with Chris Chopik (over lunch and then presentation) about developing our Technology Solutions 'arm'. There are a few key 'solutions' that we can better package and try to sell:
* Event Management System
* Content Management System / Relationship Management System
* Chapter Management System

~ Meeting with Harvy Skinner at UofT - Health Sciences. Discussion about Global Youth Voices initiative. I have taken a look through the report and there are many 'insights' that they have gained, that support our work. We should definitely 'quote' some of this research in our reports.. Ie:

"Youths may turn to social action to speak out and effect change in relation to issues affecting their lives. The challenge is to find ways of engaging and empowering youn gpeople in community participation and social change." p.363

"Initiatives that focus on youth-driven social action help young people achieve Blum's '4Cs' of healthy youth development: i) competence in areas such as literacy and interpersonal skill; ii) connection to others through caring relationships; iii) character-building through the promotion of values such as individual responsibility and community service; and iv) confidenc-building and fosters hope and a sense of success in setting and meeting goals."

"The need for devoted funds for youth programmes was highlighted, given the high costs of internet and telephone connections, and financial barriers in relation to travel, both worldwide and nationally. In addition, the difficulty in gaining funds for connection work was discussed, given the 'intangibility' of the work, and the common inability to point to direct outcomes and results."

~ discussion with Fireman Lofranco Law firm about Access/Excel workshops that they want for staff

~ signed MOU with GYAN after doing a final in-depth review. Partnership is finalized

~ learned about the history of 'humans' in cultural geography. Discovered that the earliest forms of 'humans' were initially thought to be from 'eurasia' (Europe/Asia) - and later, people discovered even older fossils from Africa.

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Monday November 11
**********************

~ meeting with Araz Najarian from AIESEC. Discussion about how to 'engage members'. Shared experiences and ideas on potential partnership.

~ Elizabeth is in town! She flew in last night - to spend time working on how she can promote/develop the TIG online community while travelling in Africa, Asia and Europe. I gave her admin access and spent much of the day brainstorming ideas and then explaining how to add content to the site (content is now able to be categorized by country), adding spotlight stories, adding events/organizations, adding featured members, adding artwork and adding updates! Liz plans on adding a lot to the site while she is away. She wants to involve UWC (United World College) students & alumni. She plans on interviewing members with her camera and then sending us CD ROMS with footage so we can upload it to the site!

~ meeting with susheela and karis about TIG Toronto meeting.
Objective: community involvement is an important part of TIG
Because we are based in Toronto – it is important to set an example
Barrier: how to get members involved in Toronto? They are not as interested?
Take load off of members to have to do too much themselves Low-commitment level
Agenda:
4:30 – Setup
• projector – with slideshow

5:15 – Registration
• need name and e-mail address of each person
• refreshments – what do you want to have?

5:30 - Icebreaker & Welcome
• if you could change one thing about your community, what would it be?
• what are your interests?
• Welcome to TakingITGlobal – goal of organization / purpose of meeting
• Explain format of workshop

THEME: what are some of the challenges that young people face in Toronto? 3 things to discuss in your group:
1. identify the problem
2. share ideas on potential solutions
3. chose 1 or 2 solutions and discuss how it could be implemented

6:00 – Group 1
6:20 – Group 2
6:40 – Group 3

7:00 – 7:05 break
7: 05 – 7:20 - presentations

7:20 – Next Steps
• what do we want to do? What is each person interested in doing?
• What connections does each person have?
• Theme nights / theme of the month / karis & sush wrap-up and summarize

7:30

~ attend karate class

~ wrote approx. 40 e-mails in th evening

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Sunday November 10
**********************

~ spent the day creating a 'dream painting' for art class with my grandmother (who watched and gave tips ;)

~ enjoyed singing frank sanatra songs with grandparents - ha! And my brother even painted with us for a while

~ spent some time with baby cousins (age 1 & 2 - rocco & amanda)

~ went to see the 'kung fu' performance at massi hall with mom, dad and brother

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Saturday November 9
**********************

~ work on TIG stuff day. Wrote 50 e-mails, sorted through in-box e-mails

~ mike implemented a few things for country sites; spotlight stories can be added to country sites through admin tool, zine content now appears on country sites in 'life in country' section, countries with '0' activity are not listed in ranking

~ worked with martin to update a few pics in aboutus, spotted workshop application error, responded to relevant 'country site' related e-mails

~ went to uncle rockey's with family in the evening and spent time writing the speech that he will give on November 29th at the fundraising dinner for the National Congress of Italian Canadians. I am the youth achievement award recipient.

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Friday November 8
**********************

~ morning presentation at STAO (Science Teacher's Association of Ontario) 2002 Conference. The topic of my presentation was "Connecting Your Students to Global Opportunities through IT!" Many teachers were fascinated with the opportunities that TIG offers and will be connecting their students to our site through their 'peer-support' program.

~ read through UNESCO 'Youth' programs brochure. Realize that we really need to develop a stronger partnership with UNESCO as their goals and priorities (especially concerning youth) are very aligned with where we are going. In addition, with all the youth conferences that they hold, I think that we should offer our 'event management' & TIG online community - as a solution that they can licence - so that the young people who attend events can sustain their energy, ideas and momentum.

~ received e-mail from Minsiter of Opportunity, Innovation and Enterprise (as follow-up from Innovation Challenge) - yay! Responded to that e-mail and a few others

~ meeting with Martin about co-op students and how their efforts can be channeled. Discussed the need for a 'homepage' in the computer lab. Essentially it can welcome people to the computer lab, explain the rules, provide employment and technology-related links.

~ hard-core focused work session with reggie. Finalizing 'Guide to Developing and Promoting Country Sites', along with the e-mails that we created which announce the need for youth reps to re-apply, and inviting those interested in being country site facilitators to begin the process.

~ went to see a play put on by students at UofT with tania (good friend from high school)

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Thursday November 7
**********************

~ spent time going through communication in organization course notes for essay:

PERCEPTION AND COMMUNICATION
¥ WE ARE HIGHLY SELECTIVE
¥ WE SEEK CONSISTENCY
¥ IF WE CAN’T ALTER CHALLENGING DATA, WE DISTORT OR IGNORE
¥ PEOPLE WILL CHANGE PERCEPTIONS IF ACTIVELY INVOLVED

WHY DISTORT OR IGNORE REALITY: PROTECT SELF
¥ MOST IMPORTANT PERCEPTUAL SET= THE SELF
¥ SELF-CONCEPT
¥ RELATIVELY STABLE IMPRESSIONS OF YOURSELF
¥ ANSWERS TO “I AM....”
¥ DEVELOPED OUT OF YOUR PERCEPTION OF FEEDACK FROM OTHERS AROUND YOU

WHY DISTORT OR IGNORE REALITY: PROTECT SELF
¥ MAINTAIN OUR SELF-ESTEEM
• FEELINGS OF SELF-WORTH
¥ DO I MATTER?
¥ AM I CAPABLE?
¥ CAN I INFLUENCE MY LIFE?
¥ BASED ON:
¥ PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
¥ CULTURAL LEARNING
¥ GENETIC PREDISPOSITION


DEFENDING THE CONCEPTUAL SYSTEM
¥ WHEN OUR EXPECTATIONS VIOLATED: DEFENSE
¥ NOT ALWAYS HARMFUL:
¥ ALLOWS US TO HOLD ONTO VIEW UNTIL WE GET MORE DATA
¥ SHORT RUN PROTECTION OF SELF-RESPECT, ALLOWS US TO FUNCTION IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS
¥ A PROBLEM WHEN HABITUAL, PROLONGED

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATING EMOTIONS
• BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE EMOTIONAL COMMUNICATION:
• SOCIETAL RULES AND GENDER
• FEAR OF MAKING ONESELF VULNERABLE
• DENIAL
• INADEQUATE COMMUNICATION ABILITIES OR COMPETENCE

EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION OF EMOTIONS
• ACCURATE DESCRIPTION
• IDENTIFY REASONS FOR YOUR FEELINGS
• ANCHOR IN THE PRESENT
• AVOID ALLNESS STATEMENTS
• OWN YOUR FEELINGS
• USE “I”-MESSAGES, NOT “YOU”- MESSAGES
• SAY WHAT YOU WANT LISTENER TO DO

~ attended class

~ went to meeting at UNITED Personal Injury to discuss website project

~ wrote essay

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Wednesday November 6
**********************

~ sent follow-up e-mail to everyone that I met at Ontario's Innovation Challenge

~ meet with cultural geography teacher to discuss mark

~ spent time developing list of priorities & responding to e-mails

~ did research and found library books - for aboriginal studies

~ Presentation to Art Class about Global Gallery & presented digital photos taken in Africa

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Tuesday November 5
**********************

~ early morning rise and shine! Attend full-day Ontario's Innovation Challenge, organized by Ontario's Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation. This event was a success! I had the opportunity to speak (and was the only youth & only woman!) I spoke about how the role of young people is changing and how young people are an untapped resource and can be a source of 'innovation' for government, business & the non-profit sector. I shared the vision of TIG and also thanked Royal Bank - who was part of the audience. RBC is grateful for the words of thanks :)

~ review exam during cultural geography class

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Monday November 4
**********************

~ presentation from Karam about TakingITGlobal's 'brand'

~ meeting with Sarah, who is interested in working with TIG to develop 'ICT' initiatives

~ have lunch with Maja and discuss YCDO.net - online community development

~ conference call with elizabeth about involving UWC peeps in country site content

~ meeting with the Student's Commission and conference call with Canadian Commission for UNESCO to discuss upcoming 'World Congress' - being run by the Peace Child International...they want to run a national youth consultation to help with selecting canadian youth to participate - and to develop a 'report' to submit as part of the process.

~ attended pre-summit dinner for Ontario's Innovation Challenge. Met Minister, CEO of Royal Bank and other influential people.

~ learning about Fallacies in Modes of Reasoning course. I have been learning how to construct effective arguments and how to spot flaws in arguments. These tips can be usful in trying to ensure that you have a good 'argument':

1. Both parties have a right to present their position and their doubts about the position of the other

2. A party that advances a position is obliged to defend it if the other party asks them to do so

3. A challenge to a position must relate to the position that has actually been advanced by the presenter

4. A presenter can defend a position only by advancing considerations relevant to that position.

5. A Presenter may not disown an implicit consideration (premise)

6. An arguer may not present a false starting point nor simply deny a premise representing an accepted starting point.

7. A party may not take a position as conclusively established or defended if it has not been defended by appropriate argument. Argument patterns flawed.

8. A party may not only use arguments in its argumentation that are logically valid or capable of being validated by making explicit one or more unexpected premises.

9. If a presenter fails to defend a position, she must withdraw it; if the presenter conclusively establishes the position, the challenger must withdraw her doubts.

10. A party must be sufficiently clear and unambiguous; both parties must interpret the other’s claims as carefully and accurately as possible.

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Sunday November 3
**********************

~ painting for art class
~
~

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Saturday November 2
**********************

~ responded to approx. 50 e-mails & did some readings for school

~ work on 'guide to promoting and developing' country sites

~ filled in feedback form for stockholm challenge

~ send out notes from oct.23 strategy session with virginia & ron
Purpose: Take TIG to the next level – to increase global impact in a way that is sustainable We discussed what we do well, what we can improve on, what we wish for, and next steps.

~ sent TIG splash page idea to ben for feedback

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Friday November 1
**********************

~ Speaking engagement at the TSX Conference Centre (toronto stock exchange) about role of youth. People attending this conference are 'meeting planners' who are interested in new ideas and interesting people. Met an olympian and the founder of an amazing non-profit organization in Pittsburg!

~ meeting with 4 people from the Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation to discuss upcoming presentation

~ meet with Evelyn from Art class and spent time looking through a few really interesting art exhibits about the protests in Quebec from the Summit of the America's and another exhibit about 'trees' and landscape - and how technology is affecting the envioronment.

~ saw a play called "Swollen Tongues"

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