A postcard from Colombo

Aloha, my G12 ohana!

We come to the end of round 2 of the G12 Adventures blog. A very big THANK YOU to the 18 people (62% of the cohort) who blogged in this round and shared your current experiences with the rest of the cohort! It has been wonderful knowing what you are about with the brief glimpses each of you shared.

In the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of the blog, I contacted each one of you to schedule your blog months/ fortnights and then sent reminders nearer to your blogging dates. Even so, some of you who had reconfirmed your blogging schedules did not post. I understand it is difficult to have to post to a schedule rather than posting when you feel like sharing something. As such, I think the third round of this blog should be on a post anytime you want basis. Simply feel free to share what you like, when you want to, on the blog. If you still prefer a schedule, do let me know :)

Gretchen made an interesting blog post likening posting on this blog to shouting down a canyon and not knowing whether there would be a response or not. Since this blog came into being in 2013, I have thought a lot about this, especially as to how to make the blog more interactive. The success of a blog is often measured in terms of the interaction and online dialogue that goes on with each blog post. However, I began to gradually feel that in our specific circumstance, the blog success did not necessarily have to be defined in the same way. When each of you posts something on the blog, I have been delighted to read about what you are up to. I hope it has been the same for you. The blog has been a way of catching up on what you are experiencing at a particular time, which would not have been possible otherwise. I began to feel that our blog posts were more like postcards posted online for the rest of the cohort. Postcards are lovely, one does not generally expect a response but on occasion, one does receive a postcard in return. Perhaps we could rename our blog “Postcards from G12”… what say you?

More importantly, are you happy with the postcard nature of the blog posts? Or, do you want it to be more interactive? If you want it to be more interactive, please do share a few ideas on how to make it so? 

Random thoughts on empowerment & bass guitar

One of the best concepts I have learnt from APLP is the term "empowerment". This is something I have never thought of before my stay in Hawaii. 

The concept of empowerment can be pretty vague, but everyone picks up the idea pretty quickly. Here is one little definition copied from Wikipedia:

 “Empowerment refers to measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities in order to enable them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. Empowerment refers both to the process of self-empowerment and to professional support of people, which enables them to overcome their sense of powerlessness and lack of influence, and to recognise and eventually to use their resources and chances.”

While reading the definition, I can't help thinking that Hong Kong Millennial generation is basically the perfect anti-example of empowerment.

To be fair, my generation in Hong Kong is living with pretty high standard of live, especially when you compare us with the same generations living in developing countries. In a relatively war / terrorism-free city, we enjoy 15-year education, above-par healthcare system and parents who generally benefited from the economic boom in 70’s until early 90’s. Nevertheless, none of the aforementioned is making people feel empowered.

The cost of survival is so high that we are forced to spend most of our life to earn a living. I spent most of my youth striving for good grades, prestigious schools without even reflecting what is the good in it. After returning to Hong Kong for my first job, i have been too busy at work to think my life over.

Working in banking sector is not bad as a career path. At least I could make my living (which is important). But what is making me even more contended is that I am picking up my interest in playing music again by learning bass guitar.  Playing a groove, pursuing higher level of musical technique, learning from masters ---- these are adding tons of color to my life. In addition, playing music enabled me to expressing myself in form music, and to inspire others to join playing.

Empowerment could be a vague and lofty goal, especially when we are talking about empowering the society. Yet it is definite and do-able at the same time, when you start it by empowering yourself to get to do something. At least, playing music is now empowering me to  Hopefully by investing in this little hobby, I would have a chance to inspire my community in the future.

balancing between life and studies

Hello G12-ers,

I started Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP) which is a mid-career professional degree program in March 2015. I just completed this program successfully but balancing between work and studies was quite a challenge. This was particularly an issue for me since I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in February 2015 and start my studies at Fletcher after a month in March.  In balancing work and studies, I tried to take a more reactive approach at work not engaging in areas that I would have had I not had my studies. This really helped me to create some space to use for my studies. I also had to take some days off when I had assignments to complete or exams. It did put me under extra-pressures sometimes that make me question whether I did the right thing to have started my studies while working. Now that I am looking back after finishing my studies, I believe I made the right decision. The biggest takeaway for me out of the hard year of 2015 was that personal growth is not possible unless one gets out of one's comfort zone. I am now back in Kabul, Afghanistan with more time to focus on my career more vigorously in 2016 before moving to thing of other important decisions in life.

GREETINGS FROM BOSTON

Dear APLP G12,

It has been a long time since I last wrote here and been in contact with some of you. I really miss my time in Hawaii and with you. I wanted to share an update of what I am up to these days. I just came back from an APLP happy hour in Algier Cafe in Boston where I met Gretchen after one year. Today was a specially day for me as I defended my thesis at the Fletcher school and completed my Master's program with the Fletcher school.

I started the Global Master of Arts Program (GMAP)  last year. GMAP is a highly competitive mid-career degree program with the Fletcher school, and I had the honor to be given admission into it. Thanks to APLP for opening this opportunity for me and special thanks to Christina Manroe for providing me a very good recommendation letter that helped me got into this program. GMAP refreshed alot of good memories from APLP specially with its focus on leadership.

I am attaching a photo Gretchen and I took to share with you. There is alot more to write and I will come back to you soon with more stories and thoughts.

Take care,
Amir

New Year New You and Toxic Terrors

G’day G12!

I am down for the next two weeks to provide motivational advice, inspirational stories and thoughtful insights….or maybe just ramblings from an Aussie J

Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about my goals, probably brought about by the new year and that I love new years resolutions! For the first week of this year I was laid up in bed and when that quickly became boring I looked back on some of the APLP work, it made me realise what a productive time that was for us – how much work, thinking, research, community engagement, friendship occurred during that time. The greater the distance that grows between the now and APLP, the greater the appreciation I have of it and the greater the recognition that this was a privilege, a luxury almost to have a period of six months (for some longer) of time to consider your goals, your strengths, your weaknesses, explore those issues that you always wanted to research and never had time for. I look back with nostalgia at our time there, I glaze over the super small dorm rooms, the old dragon on reception, the never-ending orientation fortnight, the peeping tom – oh the memories! I don’t know whether my life will provide me with it, but I sincerely hope I get the chance to have a six month sabbatical in the future and reap the benefits in the years afterwards. For now I try to create the space in my days, weeks and months to think and reflect.

The last few months of 2015 were extremely challenging for me, I was dealing with some significant staffing issues, primarily caused by a middle-aged man in my team who was quite simply toxic. This man had been in the team for more than eight years. He was considered as the agency’s most experienced officer in coordinating Australian Government assistance for domestic and international disasters. And while he didn’t hold any qualifications as such, he was in fairness experienced and did hold a significant amount of corporate knowledge and was well liked and respected by some of his colleagues. However, he was not open to a much younger, female coming in and being his boss. I have dealt with being a young (female) boss on many occasions and so have developed strategies and a thick skin to work through it. Like all relationships at work (and in your personal life) we would have moments and periods of working well together and the atmosphere in the team would be positive and energetic. Over time I noticed that these periods were when he had got his own way on something (so I had comprised) or during or after the response to a major event (where research shows that people generally display cooperative behaviour and attitudes). And while the benefits lead a more positive environment within the team, they caused me to deeply analyse my behaviour, question my ability to lead and my commitment to what I thought were my set of morals or principles. It was a roller coaster, which was not only unstainable but disruptive to the direction I wanted to take the team and the changes I wanted to make. He was a road block to change within the team, if he did not agree with my decision he would rally the troops and bring them around to his approach and I would be lobbied by my own staff on an alternative approach – normally one that was ineffective, costly or unimaginative at best and further entrenched an old way of doing business. The effective on me over the last ten months was both physical and emotional. When you are in a workplace (of which you are the boss!) that makes you question some of the fundamentals about yourself, you should use that as an opportunity to self reflect and question some of your behaviours and attitudes and make those improvements where you need too – this I did. But when I started to realise that these opinions were not shared by my peers nor by the entire team, I started to see his behaviour for what it was – bullying. For those of you that work in any Government institute you will understand that it is incredibly difficult to fire permanent staff, they basically have to demonstrate gross negligence or behaviour – and like most bully’s he was smart enough to stay well under this line. After long negotiations, he has been moved to another agency for 12 months which he begun at the start of the year and I can not begin to tell you the relief that I feel, physically and emotionally, every day going into work. My energy and enthusiasm for work has dramatically increased and I am excited to be there again. It has been liberating and illuminating – while you should also take the opportunities to reflect on yourself (and your leadership) you

I would say that most of you may find this boring and for that I am sorry, but this is the first time I have actually really thought about this deeply or put my thoughts onto paper – it has been cathartic and for that I am thankful for your indulgence.

I will make the next post more exciting! 

P.S keep all the reunions across the world happening - so great to see! 

Canyons, Napping, and Outsight

Blogging here's a bit like yelling into a canyon - I think somebody should hear me, but I'm never really sure! Or maybe it's like journaling, and it's really for my own benefit. Anyway, a warm shout-out to those of you reading this.

I mentioned in my last post that I was having a lot of fun working with the APLP team at the East-West Center, and promised to write about that. Among the many fun bits, here are three:

ONE: My colleagues can be pretty inspiring. Christina and I co-directed APLP this year (G15!) and working with her was something akin to sharpening pencils: we were always seeking the finer point of what we were designing and delivering, and this process generally felt really good. There's great pleasure in spending the time to get things right (or right enough). In these first weeks of January, Christina and I are reviewing the first semester of G15, and the sharpening continues. I hope to always have co-workers who are as focused, open, and funny as Christina. Hoping the same for all of us, in fact. Seek out people like this!  

TWO: APLPers can be pretty inspiring. When we were all together in G12, I had a sense that our diversity was unique and that we were learning a lot because of it. Now, as an instructor, I see it very clearly. There are few places where adults from such varied backgrounds come together and forge common learnings and outcomes. It takes a lot of patience and discipline on the part of all (or most) involved. Watching successive groups struggle to create a shared identity that is flexible enough for everyone's differences is energizing. It makes my small part of it seem worthwhile, and makes me want to do better.

THREE: The Japanese Garden. This past year, I discovered its great napping opportunities. Not sure why it took me so long.

Regardless of the fun - I do still miss you all in APLP-land, and wish there were a way to bring you back for a visit.

Cheers - Gretchen

PS - Read this article recently about how we as leaders (or anyone wishing to make change) must intentionally make ourselves uncomfortable by taking action outside of our core areas. Acting beyond our "comfort zones" can help us gain new learning and skills (what the author calls "outsight") through action. In fact, that is one thing that working with EWC - and having to get up in front of a class and deliver - has provided me: multiple opportunities to feel uncomfortable, and perhaps develop outsight. Have you had similar experiences lately?

See the article here: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00319

How it should end...

Two Gretchens (really!) hike Innstidalur - hot springs are still 7 hours away...

Aloha G12!

Last year, at the height of (my) summer, I went to Iceland with some friends to run a half-marathon at midnight. The race ended at some hot springs, and we all got in for a midnight steam bath. All races should end this way!

The next day, we went on an epic hike, which also ended at some hot springs. We spent three hours lazing about in very hot water, every so often getting out to cool off in some very cold snow-melt. All hikes should end this way!

On the way to the airport for our flight back to Boston, we stopped once more at some hot springs, for one last bath at the well-known tourist place called the Blue Lagoon. It's filled with blueish-white clay that everyone rubs all over their skin as they sip cocktails. It's quite a sight: all sorts of people, completely covered in clay, walking through the steamy water, with sunglasses on and drinks in their hands. All vacations should end this way!

In a year filled with a ton of travel and a fair amount of adventure, Iceland competes for "top adventure" with snorkeling in jellyfish-infested waters in the Gulf of Oman, and - just a few weeks ago - participating in a Native American sweat lodge ceremony in the mountains of North Carolina. (The jellyfish stung, however, and the sweat lodge was extremely hot - I got burned.)

My niece and me on Christmas Eve

And so once again we are at the start of a new year, full of adventure-potential. Once again, I'll divide my year roughly in half between Boston (where my family is) and Hawaii (where my job is). In between, I'm considering walking the Camino de Santiago - a pilgrimage route in northern Spain. It's been on my mind for well over a decade, and this may be the year! Or, it may not be. Regardless, the best parts of life continue to be spending time with family and friends, new and old. Hope to see some of you this year, too!

(Also - it continues to be a lot of fun working with new generations of APLP - I'll share a bit more about that in the next post.)

My warmest wishes for good health and much love in the new year,

Gretchen

Happy New Year to you all

Hello G12

Greeting from Myanmar  and I do hope all of us could pass a great time with great experiences after our G12 life during these 3 years. 

For Myanmar, 2015 become special and historic. Landslide victory of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party National League for Democracy in the election was clear message for change. We all wish to see many dreams and aspiration which reflected this result come through in 2016 and years ahead. 

Now is a really transition time for us as there is a dawn for real development with full of opportunities, challenges and excitement. I do hope to improve more on my adaptive leadership skills from the situation with lots of uncertainty and rapid change.  And  I feel that I am very lucky to be part of this transition and will try to support the best for this development.  

From Nang Seng

Yangon, Myanmar

January 4, 2016

Seasons Greetings!

The past several months have been super busy filled with travel, teaching classes, research, meetings, and packing on some pounds eating southern comfort food. I'm currently in Toronto spending time with family for the holidays before the semester starts again in January.

The last time on the blog, I reported on developing a faculty-led study abroad trip. In June of this year, I embarked on one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences in my life -- taking 18 students on a 10-day trip to tour some of the most remarkable sights in Switzerland and France.  The trip was amazing but it surely was not absent of adaptive challenges!

Students touring Chateau de Chillon

Prior to the Switzerland trip, I was in Greece developing a future study abroad experience. During my time there I spent most my time in the islands of Rhodes and Crete. 

Lindos, Greece

In addition to seeing new sights, I've been able to munch on some really tasty desserts like the bread pudding pictured below. 

I hope all is well and that the New Year brings great joy and good favor to everyone!

XOXO  

Aloha from London!

Greetings from a new city

Departure from Hawaii and arrival in the UK

After spending the past few years in Honolulu working for the president's office at the EWC, I moved to the UK in October to pursue a graduate degree at University College London. With this move, I believe that I'm at least the fourth member of G12 to pursue graduate study in the UK. It was a tough decision to leave Hawaii and the work that I was involved in with President Morrison but I ultimately determined that it was the right time to pursue a graduate degree.

I appreciate the advice that Taku and Ahila provided in support of my move and it has been great to meet with Nafiseh, who is living in the UK right now. I've also been able to reconnect with Alisha when she was in town for a visit. I hope to see other APLP alumni here in the future.

Meeting with Nafiseh in Central London for lunch

Meeting with Alisha in East London one evening

Library expert for the moment

While my graduate program means that much of my time is spent in the library, I am enjoying getting to know London as time allows. If you happen to find yourself in London, but in the mood for some food and atmosphere that reminds you of Hawaii, you'll be pleased to know that there are two Kua 'Aina locations in the city.

Entrance to one of the libraries at University College London (UCL)

India wedding weekend

As I write this entry I have just returned from a friend's wedding in Jaipur, India. This was my first wedding in India (no plans for another one at the moment) and it was a tremendous experience. Beyond seeing my friend Surya get married - one of the first people I met when I moved to Jakarta - it was great to reconnect with many other friends from that time period who also came to join the celebration. 

The groom's father is in the center

APLP Global Happy Hour

The APLP Alumni Board Board launched the Global Happy Hour initiative in September 2015 to bring APLP alumni and friends together around the world on a single night. Several members of G12 took part in the APLP Happy Hour in their local community and I hope that we'll see even stronger turnout for the next gathering, which will likely take place sometime in March 2016. As one of my final activities in Honolulu, I was grateful for the chance to serve as overall coordinator for the initiative and co-host the gathering in Hawaii.

APLP Global Happy Hour in Honolulu on September 8th, 2015

Wish you all the best for the final weeks of 2015 and a great start to the new year!!!

Start Uppppp !

I just have this feeling on this September …. 

Yes! I’m on the new path of my life’s journey…

beginning to do my own business.

Nothing the same as many books I read about startups. At the point of uncertainty, I struggle to go forward and look backward all the time.

My business idea is so simple that many people don’t think it will work out well. 

It begins from the book called ‘Business Model Generation’ that I read on January of this year.

The first time I read the book, I did not think about doing business. I read it because a friend wanted me to share about this topic among their friends. After the first time as a trainer to speak about this topic, I fall in love with it!   

Moreover, one of the participants invited me to teach their business partners…. That was the beginning!!

After learning about Business Model Canvas, the theory in Business Model Generation book, and teach amount of people, finally, I wanted to test it with myself.

On September, I told this idea with a friend who is a web expert. Then my idea became real…we create content about Business Model Canvas (BMC) together into our new web. Without any skill and experience about website, I did the hard work to learn how to write it by many examples that my friend show me.

More than 1,000 people access to our website after opening only 2 week! We create the line group to collect people that tell us on the web that they are interested to discuss more about this topic.

My first one day seminar began on 3^rd October with a little amount of people. However, the good word-of-mouth spreading to the social network increases the participant number.

I just organized 1^st BMC meeting on last Friday (27 Nov) at Tooney Toy Museum again the feedback of the event was amazing. The participants stayed overtime to discuss their creative idea.

I do not know where my path to lead me to. I like the sentence about the Startup’s problem of Dr. Alexander Osterwalder, the writer of BMC theory that Startup business is changing too fast all the time to find the right direction to jump in.

I am on it… the fast changing and high flexibility in every aspect of my life. I talks to new people to find out the new possibilities almost every day, some may agree some may not and some give me the good suggestion. I do not know how long does this period take, but I know in my mind is I am growing and walking closer to my dream to have my own company.

By the way, if you want to see what I am doing, here is my web

 www.businessmodelrecipe.com

(Thai language only)

Mahalo.... Thanks for reading,  

Nam

Transitions

Quite frankly, I’m writing this in the midst of turmoil.

About two months ago, I submitted my resignation letter to the managing board of my organization. I would not go into the details here, I haven’t yet articulated my experience in “leadership in practice”. Two and a half years of work and life in Tokyo - It’s not long but rough road where my values and beliefs were tested. Changes are happening both in my career and personal life. These changes – good or bad - are shaking the core of who I am.

Once again, I’m in the process of unlearning and re-learning about myself.

Did I expect this when I was in APLP? I remember I was preparing myself for the new responsibilities at work and the new life in Tokyo. I saw challenges but also opportunities. Just like in my twenties and thirties, I thought I had a rather clear vision in terms of what I wanna do in my life, and plans to reach there. There were some obstacles foreseen but I took them as exciting challenges rather than the cause of distress.

A friend of mine recently gave me a book called “Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Change”, written by William Bridges and translated into Japanese (and many other languages). Knowing what I have been through, he thought the book might help me to deal with the situation – or more likely, myself.

Reading the book, I realized that I hadn’t really expected to go through such a big internal change at this point of my life. I had simply assumed that I build a kind of “foundation” by the time I reach a certain age, and what I have to do is to keep building up on it.  But now, what I might have to do is to rebuild the foundation from the ground up. The journey to find who I am seems to be never ending.

Now I see myself in the middle of a wide open space. I no longer continue to take the same path that leads to the destination I used to set. I don’t even know if I should move forward or back, or start digging where I’m standing.

That being said, I am not too anxious about the situation and am giving myself a time and space to figure the new destination and paths gradually. In any case, I still have 6 months to leave my work and there are still a lot to deal with till then!

I hope I can share with you some exciting news in the near future – till then, wish me good luck!

Between London and Tokyo

The two years have passed like a whirlwind, and in the end I have finished my masters course at LSE. As the name stands, the program itself served the definition of intensity, if not brutality, and I am forever indebted for the people who supported me throughout this journey of knowledge. Putting aside the ordeal, as for one, not many could truly understand, and also it would be boring, I have also experienced a great deal in London and gained some insight, and it is what I would like to shed spotlight on here in this article.

London, known for its terrible weather, to me was amazing. Amazing in a sense that it was so comfortable that I had no trouble climatising myself. Amazing in that it was so multinational/cultural no one had to feel minority. It was not too long after I had arrived in the UK when I asked myself why I could associate myself with this lovely city. First thought that came to mind was the fact I was a city person after all. However, this idea was turned down as it did not apply to all the big cities I had visited. London was different.

It was heard that good 60% of its population was immigrants. But there was something that did not let me call it a melting pot, which can be a synonym of other metropolitan cities without much thought. That something, I reckon, does not come from the stats, but from how people live. It is a place where each nationality does not have to meld together but keep their own cultural roots and coexist as they are. It does not force the populace to be alike, but has got the capacity to embrace all. Such an environment promotes mutual understanding and consideration, keeping itself ever stimulating.

Then I, as a natural occurrence, compared London with other cities, especially Tokyo. Though I have seen some gradual change over time, it is still a very homogeneous society. On top of its geographical causes of being islands detached from the continent, how the society operates, in my humble opinion, is another thing. People start every phase of schooling practically at the same pace, do not move around, start job-searching at the same time every year, and tend to work in the same firm till retirement. Such societal consonance leads to similar life experiences among the nationals. On the other hand, in London, everyone comes from different countries, speaks different languages, believes in various religions, and has done assorted things before and after reaching the UK. As each has a different philosophy, one, whether to like it or not, feels the multitudes of values on their skin and has to live in them. This, as I think, is closely associated with my experience of not often hearing the word ‘common sense’ in London. ‘Social norm’ is the word more often used. If you try to find the common ground among all, it is the hardest thing. Nothing can be considered for granted. On the other hand, their homogeneity makes it possible to expect more or less the same quality among Tokyoites. ‘Common sense’ is often used as an undestructible fortress whenever something abnormal, good or bad, is seen. It is a very comfortable place to be as well as an easy idea to manage situations; however, it can be a dangerous conformity that kills originality and innovations.

(Having written till this point, I realised that ‘common sense’ might be a word that can be most distrusted by APLP fellows.. my apologies if my writing is giving you all repugnance.)

Nonetheless, as one who loves his own country, I am not to criticise Japan. Despite the harshness that I might have impressed above, I am sure that the social uniformity contributed to the conservation of traditions throughout history. The Japanese are much cultured to my eyes, though we might not be aware of it ourselves, and that is why the country remains fascinating to the rest of the world. I am just one who wishes for the population to reach out to the world and develop more multifaceted values let alone know who they really are and become proud of it.

Where I am now after three and half years residing in Hawaii

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been residing in Hawaii for three and half years. Since I left the East-West Center, I’ve been working at the University of Hawaii, supporting for their international collaboration and exchange programs with the Southeast Asian countries.

Life is peaceful in Hawaii – a common saying by many peoples. However, I feel my life has been flowing with workload in the program administration associated with a lot of paper work and logistic arrangement. Moving from the business environment, my background and work experience in Vietnam, to the field of international education in Hawaii, I’ve been passionate and inspired, first by the APLP, then the UH-College of Education. This has made my major of international relations slightly switching to the international academic affairs. In fact, I have a desire to pursue a master or PhD in student affair administration. Would this be too ambitious at this mid-age? Would this help me to achieve my long-term goals for my career of international affairs? Would this allow me to have time for myself, family, kids, and social activities?  I am still struggling for a final decision.  

Suddenly and recently, I’ve had time to review my short-term and long-term goals as written in my PAPs during our time studying at APLP. Perhaps many of you may remember it J. It’s only recent I have time to think about the PAPs because of the summer break. While many professors and students were enjoying their vocation, as usual, I made a three week-trip to Vietnam to support for the UH faculty developing new partnerships in higher education. Again, I was extremely busy to organize a lot of activities such as conference, workshops, and meetings - a lot of administrative and logistic arrangement. Many times I told myself, the paid-off and reward from my work, is a free trip back to my home country so I have time to visit my family, relatives, and friends.  Well, I am kind of thinking again – is this worth for working in the administration area for 9 months to trade off with a few weeks for both work and fun in Vietnam? Now, I’ve become a dual citizen. I have my own company (www.viethawaiistrategic.com) that was established since March 2013. Haven’t been able to do anything profitable because of the UH workload. And I have quite some project ideas, for example, developing some student exchange (summer) programs between Hawaii and Vietnam. Again, I have not had time to make it happened.

Then I started to hear the opportunity for working with the Federal Government.  One of many other benefits (compared to the State job at UH) to work for the Federal Government is a better income and flexible working hours. Taking a chance, I submitted a couple of application in July.  Just received an offer for a position as a Regional Coordinator for a DOD agency, working remotely with colleagues and supervisors in DC! I have not really accepted the offer yet due to another opportunity with the Hawaii Pacific University. Had two interviews with them early this week for the position as the International Student Advisor. Both of the jobs match well with my career interest.  It would be tough for me to choose which one if I receive offer from HPU as well. Hmmm…..I would appreciate any comments and advice from my dear G-12 fellows. Mahalo! Loan

Futures and Babies!

The biggest adventure in my life so far has been the birth of my daughter, Shirin. She was born on May 24th and is named after my grandmother who recently passed away. As the APLPers with kids (Hafiz) know, children can really change your life. And Shirin certainly has. I've been on maternity leave for 10 weeks now just getting used to her routine and exploring my new neighborhood of Brooklyn. 

However, it is hard for me to stay far from my work. So when Shirin was 7 weeks old, she, Mark, and I went to San Francisco for the World Futures Society annual conference. I spoke about the future of the retail industry in the US and a project I've been working on.

I also attended a lot of interesting sessions. Three of the topics discussed would be interesting to the rest of G12. 

1. First I attended a talk on FOOD DESERTS. Food deserts refer to areas in which access to food is impossible due to logistic and economic reasons. Many Americans live in these food deserts and can't get fresh food. There is also the concept of a "food swamp", an area where there are tons of fast food restaurants but no places to get healthy food. Solving the problem of food deserts, now, and in the future, is a tricky one. The name implies a supply side problem - lack of stores selling food, but the issue is one with both supply and demand side problems. One of the highlighted solutions included grocery stores working with the communities in which they operate to create stores that will best serve them. By involving the community in decision making, and asking them what they want (cultural foods, cooking classes, etc.) great progress can be made. 

2. I then went to play the IMMORTALITY GAME, a negotiation based game on the topic of human immortality. Remember the country negotiation game that I, and other members of G12 created (Megan and Matt I think)? This was very similar. In the game, the group broke up into small groups of 5. In our small group we were presented with the following scenario:

A large US pharmaceutical company has created a drug that can stop aging. It doesn't make you immortal, it simply stops aging so you can still die from an accident, cancer, and so on. You may be 60, but every year you take the drug, you will be frozen in time. So if you take the drug every year from age 25, you will look 25 for 35 years and your body will behave like that of a 25 year old. The drug has been tested for 10 years and passed clinical trials. Should it be released to the public?

Each table had to discuss, vote yes or no, and add any stipulations. Like with many futures scenarios, the game itself was a hypothetical situation, but brought up a deeper conversation on population control, the aging population, economic inequality, and other issues. 

3. Finally, I went to workshop on the future of PRO BONO. There are a small group of companies that operate as for-profit companies but give away some of their work pro bono. The business model was a bit complicated, but the companies that use this model find that the pro bono work can make employees more passionate about the paid work. The free work also enables people to experiment, something I can attest to and feel like I took advantage of during APLP. 

All of these sessions seemed very relevant to the things we learned in APLP. It might seem odd that I'm still so involved in futures stuff while on leave, but I see the two as very related. After all, having a child is a very long term futures endeavor. I think about what the world is going to be like when she graduates from college in 2037, and I hope that it is one filled with hope and wonder.