ATD 工作坊报告

Today, 25th of September 2009, is the first day of the Global Gathering of Awakening the Dreamer facilitators around the world.  On 5 continents there are groups coming together to celebrate all that we are doing in 40 or more countries around the world spreading the message of awakening.  So there is no better day than this to share the latest news from China.

United International College in Zhuhai, China , is the first full-scale cooperation in higher education between the Mainland and Hong Kong. Its mission is to build a new model for liberal education in China and to nurture talented future graduates with international perspectives so it is just thrilling to know that the school is beginning to embed the Awakening the Dreamer symposium in its Whole Person Education curriculum.  The inspiration for this is Paul Wong, a faculty member with a strong background of activism within China.  Paul was introduced to the symposium in Hong Kong and trained there as a facilitator so that he could take the message back to his work at UIC – Paul, we salute you.

So the symposium is alive and growing within one of the most innovative approaches to tertiary education in China, and through this will become available to secondary and maybe even primary education there.  The approach is also a model of what’s possible in every other country in the world, so please feel free to spread this inspiration far and wide.

UIC students engaged in the symposium

And here are some of their comments, which just remind me of our shared humanity, regardless of nationality, race or other differences;

这节课印象最深的事一段十分钟的视频，沉重的话题，令人震撼的画面与数字令我不得不反思“Where are we”和“How did we get here”, 令我不得不思考那些我以前觉得不关我事的问题。很高兴有这次机会给了我思考环境的问题。

——冯叶 文化产业管理 大二

今天看了不少Video, 对其中一个讯息有很深的印象，“我们以为科技可以带我们做更多，处理问题，怎料在过程中也给人类带来不少的麻烦。”会把这个当作提醒，今天享受的时候也要记得自己为地球也要负上责任。

——Lam Lok Yan 社会工作与社会行政管理 大二

In today’s class, I’ve seen many ruthless truths from the 3 steps of topics. I got shocked every time I see the videos. To me, and also to human beings, environmental protections should be an obligation.

——冯羽 会计 大二

Through this workshop, I knew more about danger of the environment and the earth. We not only need to know the impact, but also need to do more and make a contribution to the earth.

——陈欣 会计大二

For the environmental sustainability on this planet, I realize I can protect the trees, avoid using one-used products and encourage more people to protect our earth.

——陈欣 会计大二

For the environmental sustainability on this planet, I realize I can change the life style of mine and try to do more good things for our earth.

——Peng Cheng会计大二

For the environmental sustainability on this planet, I realize I can cherish the resources surrounding myself, meanwhile, I need to encourage other people beside myself to do something for our planet

——马可 会计大二

Africa Beckons – Can You Help?

August will see the Awakening the Dreamer message in Africa, and there will be facilitator trainings in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, the first in each of these countries and the first on the continent. This posting is a request for help, but first let me tell you about the people who have laid the foundations for this;

• Awal, a young guy in Ghana, horrified by the deforestation he sees first hand, contacts us in San Francisco and receives the Presenters Kit so that he can take the Symposium into the very communities where they are chopping the trees.  He has since presented the Symposium to other communities and his fellow students; this visit will allow me to train up some of these folk so that a community of facilitators rises up around Awal.

• Tracy-Kim, a proud South African, resident in Hong Kong and trained there as a facilitator, delivered 7 symposiums in different cities in her homeland during her recent holiday, exciting over 60 people to now want training.  We will be delighted to oblige.

• the other key has been the people in the ATD community world-wide who have brought their connections and contacts in to support the expansion of this message.  That’s how we have a large and enthusiastic group awaiting our arrival in Nigeria, consisting of people already in action through NGOs addressing poverty issues, climate change, children’s rights and more; this ensures we will already be landing amongst friends

As a result of this I will be heading for Africa in just a couple of weeks (schedule below), joined for the South African trainings by my friend and colleague Ruel Walker; it promises to be quite a trip.

So here’s 2 ways you can help today.

1. Please let your friends, contacts and extended communities in Africa know about the events below.  Please invite them all to consider attending one of these events or to contact me to meet during this time.  Another highly valuable resource as you invite people is the Symposium trailer here
2. The other help we need is money.  We are normally able to cover the local costs of events like these with income from symposium attendees and training participants.  But this model simply won’t work in Nigeria and Ghana, where our local contacts impress upon us that any kind of charge, however modest, will exclude lots of people and my budget is overspent just getting the air-tickets to Lagos and Accra.  I’ve been blown away by the generosity already exhibited by friends from Hong Kong, the US, Japan and elsewhere with who’s help we have been able to gather some funds to support the trip to Awal’s home in Tamale, and even to take him a laptop. There is still a need for more funds in each country, which means an opportunity to be one of the people making these trips possible, to help spread awakening in the world.  Please let me know if you would like to help, by emailing me here., any amount will make a difference, perhaps allowing just one more person to hear this message of hope and possibility and to themselves become ambassadors of a new dream for Africa and the world.  All funds will be administered through The Pachamama Alliance, as US-based not-for-profit.

The Itinerary

22 August                 Symposium                           Abuja, Nigeria

23 August                 Facilitator training              Abuja

24 – 26 August         Available for meetings       Abuja and Lagos

27 August                 Symposium                           Cape Town, South Africa

28 – 30 August        Facilitator training              Cape Town

31 August                  Symposium                          Plettenberg Bay

1 – 2 September       Facilitator training              Plettenberg Bay

4 – 6 September      Facilitator training              Johannesburg

9 September            Symposium                           Tamale, Ghana

10 September          Facilitator training              Tamale

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Results

As some of my recent posts show, I’ve just spent a remarkable month in South East Asia, conceived and organised for the largest part by Jo Fok.  Here’s my conversation with her and hubby Paul as I’m about to head for home.

Jo, I acknowledge you for the fantastic results you’ve achieved; thank you for being you.

MY Awakening (with Facebook)

Am writing this post rather breathless after a whirlwind 3-day trip to Malaysia and an astounding couple of events in Kuala Lumpur.

June ‘09 is dedicated to supporting the growth of the Awakening community in South East Asia, and this has occasioned a tour of the region. One of the stops was KL where the World’s Greenest Man lives.  Matthias Gelber, who won this acolade in a worldwide search, is also an entrepreneur, the founder of Eco Warriors Malaysia and a trained facilitator for the Awakening the Dreamer symposium.

So you’ll guess that Matthias is a make-it-happen kind of guy, and he was delighted to create both a symposium and then a one-day training in Malaysia this past weekend, and what events they proved to be.  On Friday evening 180 people gathered in the Grand Millennium Hotel (Matthias had exchanged his time as an eco-trainer for use of this venue!!!!).  What followed was the most spirited symposium I have ever been involved in; the crowd was with us, and vocally so, from the outset as Matthias, Jo Fok (remember Jo as the force of nature organising the whole June trip) and I lead the event.  At least three wonderful possibilities emerged; the first was a grouping of the many people there working in the field of education, the second a collection of committed and active young people and thirdly the a group who wanted to attend the Facilitator Training the next day.  The crowd was eventually dispersed (by the cleaners I think) over an hour after the event had formally concluded and it was clear that this first event had been a huge hit.  The people who attended were almost all already active in some way, but as is so often the case, were galvanized into new levels of activity and collaboration by the ATD message.  And, demonstrating a real opportunity for other groups around the world, the crowd had been assembled almost entirely on Facebook (no trees were harmed in the promotion of this event).

And then . . . . . the next day 47 of these people came together to train and form MY Awakening, the first group of facilitators in Malaysia (which is MY for short).  Ranging in age from 13 (is Liam the youngest facilitator in the world?) to much older, speaking Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Cantonese, Danish, German, Spanish, Japanese and English (I probably missed a couple too) this group really represents the diversity of Malaysia and the natural joy and exuberance of its people.  24 hours later there is already a Facebook site, a nominated Youth Officer (Liam’s older brother Stephane) and a series of meetings in the diary.

I left the post-training celebrations in time to get 4 hours sleep and catch the first flight back to HK where we’ve just run another symposium . . . . . but that’s another story, for another post.

What I’m inspired to understand and pass on for other facilitator communities around the world is how tools like Facebook can be used so effectively, and what is it that Matthias is doing that has such a large and willing group ready to mobilise in support of symposiums, tree-plantings or other events. But for now, bravo Matthias and welcome to MY Awakening.