Youth dedicated to interests of children [LOVE], [SERVICE], [COMPASSION], [IDEALISM]

A remarkable story of the impact that a youth can have on the well-being of his community -

2009 Children's Peace Prize: 16-Year-Old's Radio Show Brings Hope to Refugee Children Baruani Ndume, Age 16 Baruani Ndume, 16, is the 2009 winner of the International Children's Peace Prize, presented to a child who works to further the interests of children around the world.

Baruani received the prize for his work with children in a Tanzanian refugee camp where he lives after fleeing violence in his native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now 16, Baruani has lived in the refugee camp for over nine years and dedicates his time to promoting the interests of children in the camps. His radio show, called Children for Children, airs on Radio Kwizera in Tanzania, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Baruani uses the show to discuss the problems and challenges refugee children face in the camp. It is also a way for refugee children to make their voices heard. This interview was translated from Swahili.

Read the full article here.

Airplane technology, cabin air quality make quantum leap [CREATIVITY], [DETERMINATION], [EXCELLENCE]

An event worth celebrating!

"The progress of the world, the development of nations...and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances of God."

 

- Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets 130

Boeing's 787 jetliner makes first test flight

The much delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet takes off on its first flight in Everett, Washington. (Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)

 

Julie Johnsson

December 15, 2009

The Los Angeles Times

SEATTLE -- The crowd of workers and dignitaries lining Paine Field today held their breath as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner roared down the runway, lifted its nose into the air and then flew north with two chase planes trailing along the horizon and then into a bank of clouds.

For the first time, a passenger jetliner with a body and wings made of super-hardened plastics took wing, a milestone that promises to usher in a new era in aviation. ...

 

The airplane's maiden voyage, like all first flights, was the moment of truth for Boeing's executives and engineers who conceived the aircraft and then guided it through the... production problems that delayed it by more than two years. ...

"It is a milestone..." said John Strickland, a London-based air transport consultant.

 

The large use of composites employed by... Boeing Co. in the 787 and by Airbus in the A350-XWB, due to hit the market four years from now, could provide the largest leap in the experience of flying since jets replaced propeller-driven aircraft on long flights during the 1960s and 1970s.

The new planes are designed to be roomier, with oversized windows. Replacing metal with stronger and more flexible composites will enable the oxygen piped through the planes to be a richer mix, more humid and closer to the air at sea level. ...

Source is here.

Rules of honest journalism: Jim Lehrer [INTEGRITY], [TRUTHFULNESS], [HONOR], [JUSTICE]

Jim Lehrer's Rules of Journalism

Posted: 05 Dec 2009

The NewsHour's "retired" logo

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS Television – one of the most respected daily news programs in television history – will have a high tech facelift this coming Monday. Everything I've seen that they are doing is spectacular. The updates will make the best even better, in my opinion.

Not only will NewsHour continue its legacy and reputation for superb coverage of major stories, everything on the air will be mirrored and expanded online in ways the other TV news programs never dreamed of.

In announcing the changes, the program's host, Jim Lehrer, took a moment to underscore his rules of journalist that act as a beacon for excellence at his program. I'm very proud to share his remarks here:

I practice journalism in accordance with the following guidelines:

• Do nothing I cannot defend.
• Do not distort, lie, slant or hype.
• Do not falsify facts or make up quotes.
• Cover, write and present every story with the care I would want if the story were about me.
• Assume there is at least one other side or version to every story.
• Assume the viewer is as smart and caring and good a person as I am.
• Assume the same about all people on whom I report.
• Assume everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
• Assume personal lives are a private matter until a legitimate turn in the story mandates otherwise.


Jim Lehrer

• Carefully separate opinion and analysis from straight news stories and clearly label it as such.
• Do not use anonymous sources or blind quotes except on rare and monumental occasions. No one should ever be allowed to attack another anonymously.
• Do not broadcast profanity or the end result of violence unless it is an integral and necessary part of the story and/or crucial to its understanding.
• Acknowledge that objectivity may be impossible but fairness never is.
• Journalists who are reckless with facts and reputations should be disciplined by their employers.
• My viewers have a right to know what principles guide my work and the process I use in their practice.
• I am not in the entertainment business.

~ Jim Lehrer

Source: David Henderson - consultant, author, journalist

"The 100% commitment experiment" in marriage [LOYALTY], [TRUST], [TRUTHFULNESS]

The Secret to a successful marriage is...

If you're married, your primary relationship in life is with your spouse. And of course, the strength of that relationship will go a long way to determine your happiness in life.

Vic Conant, the president of Nightingale Conant, has been a good friend for over twenty years. Not long ago he wrote an article called, The Keys to Successful Living that focused on things we can do to improve our marriages. It was terrific!

Vic acknowledged that a few years ago, he had some problems with his marriage to the point where he was considering other alternatives. But he wanted it to work and decided to try what he called "the 100% commitment experiment," (not 99%, but 100%). He said in doing so, something magical happened. He began to look for the positives and began to enjoy his wife more each day. She naturally responded by being much nicer to him. He said it began an amazing transformation; and today, after 36 years of marriage, they've never been happier.

As Vic discovered, there is a remarkable difference between a commitment of 99% and 100%. At 100%, you are seeing your problems all the way through to their solutions. At 99% we can still find a way to take the path of least resistance...and usually do.

And guess what? "The 100% commitment experiment" not only works for marriage...it also works for life.

This is one of 50 ideas to motivate yourself in my book Charging the Human Battery. So many times, it's not what you say, but how you say it that turns the switch from "off" to "on." And that's what happened to me when I first read Vic Conant's story about the remarkable difference between a commitment of 99% versus 100%. The light bulb went on!

Passing of University founder, prominent philanthropist, Dr. Eloy Anello [SERVICE], [LOVE]

A truly dedicated servant to humanity, founder of Bolivias premiere University, Nur, has passed - bless his memory!

"No one who crossed his path could fail to be touched by his unbounded energy, by his sincere love of humanity, which he brought to every enterprise he undertook in service to the Faith." - The Universal House of Justice (full message below)

A favorite prayer of his:

If it be Thy pleasure, make me to grow as a tender herb in the meadows of Thy grace, that the gentle winds of Thy will may stir me up and bend me into conformity with Thy pleasure, in such wise that my movement and my stillne...ss may be wholly directed by Thee. - Baha'u'llah http://is.gd/45IDx

Flowers at the World Centre.

Listen to an edifying talk on Social and Economic Development (for download, in middle of the list) here: http://sed.skyrunner.net/list.php.
Two papers written by him on Moral Leadership:
http://is.gd/45His, http://is.gd/45HjB.
A report on a project he helped initiate: http://is.gd/45HNv
Facebook group in honor of his memory:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/in-memory-of-Eloy-Anello/145648438862

A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, Eloy Anello, of Bolivia, spoke on the topic "The Life of Dr. Muhajir" at the "Growth and Victories" conference in Ecuador.

Message from the Universal House of Justice (of October 6 or 7) on the occasion of the passing of Dr. Eloy Anello:

"With heavy hearts we received the news of the passing of Eloy Anello, indefatigable and valiant servant of Baha'u'llah. Nearly forty years ago, as the Nine Year Plan was drawing to a close, we urged the friends everywhere to emulate the Baha'i youth, "whose recent surge forward into the van of proclamation and teaching" was "one of the most encouraging and significant trends in the Faith" and who stormed "the gates of heaven for support in their enterprises by long-sustained, precedent and continuing prayer." Among those who had stepped into the vanguard was dear Eloy, who, as a young man, left the United States and settled in Bolivia in the early 1970s, making it his home and dedicating himself to the upliftment of its people. No one who crossed his path could fail to be touched by his unbounded energy, by his sincere love of humanity, which he brought to every enterprise he undertook in service to the Faith. Especially noteworthy were the valuable contributions he made to the progress of the Cause as a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas for two decades. How many young people were awakened to the crying needs of humanity as a result of his efforts in this capacity. How many were galvanized to arise and serve the Cause. So dedicated was he to nurturing young minds that he co-founded Universidad Nur in Santa Cruz--an institution striving to apply Baha'i principles to higher education and to programs for the advancement of the indigenous populations.

"May his life of consecration to the Cause serve as an inspiration to those laboring to meet the requirements of the current stage of the Divine Plan. To his family and many friends, we extend our loving condolences. Our most fervent prayers at the Sacred Threshold join yours for the progress of his noble soul throughout the realms of God. We call on all National Spiritual Assemblies in the Americas to hold memorial gatherings in his honor.

- The Universal House of Justice

Photos copyright Bahá'í International Community
http://media.bahai.org/subjects/5794/details
http://media.bahai.org/subjects/locations/holy_places_hai/shrine_bab_gard/6941/details

Doesn't the world need virtues above all? [INTEGRITY], [JUSTICE], [HONESTY], [COMMITMENT]

Françoise Le Goff: Risking Job by Returning Donor's Money

Thanking donors for a generous response to floods in Namibia

A teaser from an interview with Françoise Le Goff in next week's edition of Inspire magazine.

***

What started off as a volunteer activity with the Red Cross in 1977 in her home town of Brittany, France, ended up as a globe-trotting career. Françoise Le Goff's journey has taken her through Chad, Paris, Geneva, and for the past 10 years, back again to Africa (Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa), working in a number of senior roles. In January 2008 Françoise was appointed head of the southern Africa Zone, making her one of the IFRC's (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) seven most senior representatives in the world.

Returning donor money:

On one mission, Françoise arrived in a country and walked immediately into a situation rampant with allegations of corruption against the National Red Cross Society leadership. At her first meeting with the National Society's board, she warned in diplomatic terms of the risks that the organization faced if it chose to do nothing about these allegations.

Warning given, and nothing changed. The process repeated itself at another board meeting: warning, platitudes and promises, and then no action. "I have had experiences where by applying my own principles I risked my career or my standing," says Françoise, recalling the episode. "But I believe that part of living and working in line with values, means taking risks."

And so, having realized that nothing would change without action on her part, she took the decision to return a large sum of money (over USD 2 million) to the donor as she no longer felt that she could vouch that it would be spent and used appropriately.

"When you take risks, you create a process that inevitably takes on a life of its own. But if the risk is taken on principle – be it the principles of an organization or a combination of an organization's and you own – then you come from a position of strength. Regardless of the outcome of the process, your position will remain strong."

In this case, the process validated her decision. At the National Society's General Assembly, the President of the National Society was hounded from the floor – and eventually out of office – with angry allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Françoise's action had given momentum to the growing sense of frustration within the organization. The timing was right.

EBBF: What did you think was going to happen when you gave back the money? What was at stake in your mind?

Françoise: I was indeed not sure of what would happen. I was new in the country and I did not know or realize the level of frustration amongst the local Red Cross membership. However, I did know the donor and I understood the reputation risks for the organization, both of which were key elements in the decision.

But the key issue in my mind was the fact that beneficiaries and vulnerable people were being deprived of support. I was also very aware that my own reputation – my own integrity – was possibly at stake. If I didn't denounce what was happening, I saw that some would see that I was endorsing it. This gave me the courage to speak out. And in the end, this action triggered a change process that was very positive, and very, very successful in the long run.

I based my actions on a few principles such as honesty, professional integrity, and justice – to be the voice for the voiceless.

Source: http://ebbf.org/blog/?p=994

Idea incubation comes in seemingly unproductive times [CREATIVITY], [DETACHMENT], [PATIENCE], [CONFIDENCE]

Break Through by Taking Breaks

Posted: 17 Sep 2009

From Matthew E. May, In Pursuit of Elegance:

Ever wonder why our best ideas come when we're in the shower, driving, daydreaming, or sleeping? Most people know the story of Archimedes' shouting "Eureka!" upon suddenly discovering volume displacement while taking a bath and of Einstein's theory of special relativity coming to him in a daydream. But there are many others:

• Friedrich von Stradonitz's discovered the round shape of the benzene ring after dreaming about a snake biting its tail.

• Philo Farnsworth was plowing a field gazing at the even rows when the idea for projecting moving images line by line came to him, leading him to invent the first electronic television.

• Richard Feynman was watching someone throw a plate in the air in Cornell University's cafeteria when the wobbling plate with its red school medallion spinning sparked the Nobel Prize-winning idea for quantum electrodynamics.

• Kary Mullis, another Nobel winner, was driving along a California highway when the chemistry behind the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) came to him, stopping him in the middle of the road.

• Car designer Irwin Liu sketched the innovative new lines of what became the shape of the first Toyota Prius after helping his child with an elementary school science project involving the manipulation of hard-boiled eggs.

• Author J. K. Rowling was traveling on a train between Manchester and London, thinking about the plot of an adult novel, when the character of child wizard Harry Potter flashed in her mind.

• Shell Oil engineer Jaap Van Ballegooijen's idea for a snake oil drill came as he watched his son turn his bendy straw upside down to better sip around the sides and bottom of his malt glass.

When you look deeper into these ingeniously elegant solutions and brilliant flashes of insight you can see that they came at strange times and in random locations. They didn't occur while actually working on the problem but after an intense, prolonged struggle with it followed by a break. A change of scene and time away seems to have played a part.

Most "creatives"—artists, musicians, writers, etc.—instinctively know that idea incubation involves seemingly unproductive times, but that those downtimes and timeouts are important ingredients of immensely productive and creative periods. But until fairly recently the how, when, and why of being kissed by the muse was something of a myth and mystery, explained only by serendipity.

But now there's some hard science that shows it's not just coincidence.

Neuroscientists examining how the human brain solves problems can confirm that experiencing a creative insight—that sudden aha!—hinges on the ability to synthesize connections between seemingly disparate things. And a key factor in achieving that is time away from the problem. New studies show that creative revelations tend to come when the mind is engaged in an activity unrelated to the issue at hand; pressure is not conducive to recombining knowledge in new and different ways, the defining mark of creativity.

Neuroendocrinologist Ullrich Wagner has demonstrated that the ultimate break—sleep—actually promotes the likelihood of eureka! moments. He gave volunteers a Mensa-style logic problem to solve, one containing a hidden rule enabling the solution. The subjects were allowed to work on it for a while, then told to take a break. Some took naps, some didn't. Upon returning to the experiment to continue working on the problem, those who had taken a nap found the hidden rule quicker and much more often than those who hadn't.

Wagner believes that information is consolidated by a process taking place in the hippocampus during sleep, enabling the brain to clear itself and, in effect, reboot, all the while forming new connections and associations. It is this process that is the foundation for creativity. The result is new insight and the aha! feeling of the eureka! moment.

While no one yet knows the exact process, there's an important implication for all of us: putting pressure on ourselves to try and make our brains work harder, more intensely, or more quickly, may only slow down our ability to arrive at new insights. In other words, if you're looking to engineer a breakthrough, it may only come through a break. Your brain needs the calm before its storm.

Matthew E. May is the author of In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing, and blogs here. You can follow him on Twitter here.

 

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