If the United Nations was fully funded, why would we need the Arc Initiative ?”

For this post I want to focus on us. Youth. The leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. How do we want our world and its citizens to look in the future ? Disconnected with large gaps between rich and poor ? Or connected through global citizens that support each others growth ? The second option is much more positive and is a future only available to us if we educate the right people. The people that can make this happen. The youth of today.

Programs such as the Arc Initiative are more available to youth and supportive of this future than the United Nations. The Arc focuses on bridging young entrepreneurs from developed nations and entrepreneurs in developing nations. As such, the program allows not only underprivileged nations to grow through their entrepreneurs, but our youth to develop in a way that supports the to fulfillment of a future with a positive and globally connected community. A community in which leaders and citizens can support each other through close relations, as well as business and entrepreneurship. Developed nations have the young entrepreneurs and leaders full of potential to help developing nations’ citizens become self-sufficient through development of their own small businesses.

This article on Singles’ Day from The New Yorker caught my eye because of its intriguing title “Singles’ Day: China’s Very Own Black Friday”. Singles’ Day was originally a day for singles to celebrate in China. Yet, it has since become business opportunity for, not only malls in China, but Chinese online shopping websites such as Alibaba.

These websites, including Alibaba, are wanting to appeal to North American markets where they can create more business for themselves. Yet, Singles’ Day, which falls on November 11th, is withing weeks of the already established American Black Friday. How can they expect to get enormous amounts of business from a population already so focused on and entrenched in Black Friday and Cyber Monday ? Not only this, but if Alibaba plans on targeting Canadian consumers on November 11th, they should be prepared for potential backlash from the Canadian community because of the significance of its Remembrance Day.

Singles’ Day has moved away from what it once was, a day for celebration, and is being exploited commercially by businesses such as Alibaba. If Alibaba plans on expanding this exploitation to Canada and the United States, I wish them the best of luck. I also remind Canadians not to fall for this money-spending trap on a day supposed to be reserved for honour, solemnity and remembrance.

I recently discovered a post on Mark Suster’s blog “Both Sides of the Table” in which he repeats the phrase “it’s better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission”. Suster supports this claim by telling an anecdote from his own life.

I completely agree with the entirety of this post. What Suster is describing by using this phrase is a leader. A person who knows what they want or what needs to be done and goes about doing it themselves without asking permission. In other words: a go-getter. These situations may not always end well. However, Suster believes it is better to act on instinct and ask for forgiveness after if all doesn’t go as planned. In the eyes of authority, a worker who “takes matters into their own hands” shows qualities of leadership, perseverance and preparedness to go above and beyond.

I have personal experience with this phrase. I am an air cadet and was told by one of my officers fairly recently to “just do it and say sorry after”. Trying to remember these words and act on my instincts has helped me display confidence as a leader and a senior cadet in my squadron. The result of this improvement ? A promotion that comes with more responsibilities and involvement with my cadets.

So… The message both Suster and I want to convey is to have confidence in your instincts and act on them. This will change you in the eyes of those around you and will have a positive impact on your confidence and abilities as a leader.

“It’s better to beg for FORGIVENESS than to ask for PERMISSION.”

What are your thoughts when you leave for school or work ? Do you moan and groan thinking “oh no, not another day” ? Or do you walk out the door in the morning with a smile on your face ?

After reading Kimberly Lin’s post on staying happy while working, I started to think about my own perspective on work life. Do I complain too much about school ? Am I enjoying learning as much as I possibly can ? I hear adults complain far too often about “having to work the next day” as though it were their duty, a means of survival to pass by their day and make money to support their home lives. Is this how people idealize their lives ? Imagine a work life where you look forward to going to work and enjoy talking to your boss and co-workers. Think carefully, does it seem very familiar ?

I agree with Kim’s ideas that we should be able to enjoy not only our social, but academic and work lives. Her resounding comment near the end, “making it [finals season] an enjoyable time for everyone around us” reminds us that our own moods and perspective affect our surroundings. If we, as a generation, choose to have a more positive outlook on life, one where we look forward to learning and working, imagine the ripple affect of positivity and open mindedness it would have not only now, but in businesses and world leaders of the future.

Technology has greatly improved global connection. Why, then, are parts of our society still having difficulty communicating and collaborating with each other ? How does lack of communication affect big business and small communities ?

This article describes the Tsilhqot’in declaring land for the New Prosperity mine, to be developed by Taseko Mines Ltd., a Tribal Park. Based on this piece of news, any person or business wanting to develop or use the land would have to get a permit from the First Nations in the area. A similar issue is the development of the Northern Gateway Pipeline and its affect on residents in British Columbia, most notably in the Bella Coola area. These two issues are clear examples of situations where all partners involved have not been included and properly informed in the development plans of big businesses.

In the case of the New Prosperity mine, it is clear there is a lack of communication and collaboration between the company and the local First Nations. Brian Battison, vice-president of corporate affairs for Taseko, said he “[doesn’t] really know what it [the tribal park] means” and doesn’t appear to know much at all about the First Nations’ declaration, despite being a major leader for the company. As well, British Columbia’s Communications officer, Leanne Ritchie, released a statement saying the province had “not received details of the tribal park”.

How can we, the citizens of B.C., expect positive development throughout the province if key players such as Taseko and the provincial government lack basic communication and collaboration skills ? It is should be expected that Taseko would first approach the First Nations and residents of the Chilcotin with their plans for development and collaborate to create a plan together that does not affect the residents negatively. Instead, Taseko is forced to postpone any immediate plans they had for New Prosperity mine and work with the people of the Chilcotin and the provincial government on resolving this issue. This is something that could have been avoided if Taseko partnered with the residents, key stakeholders in the project, before it became a concern.

This post by Twinkle Dhawan on letting yourself be in uncomfortable situations with others and with your learning is very thought provoking for me. Her commentary, based on a post from an external blog, talks about the increasing importance of not memorization, but critical thinking when it comes to synthesizing ideas. This is intriguing mainly because of how it affects me, as well as all students in Comm 101.

Terms such as “flipping the classroom” and the “Harkness approach” are fairly new concepts in teaching that are focused on discussion based learning to enhance critical thinking. These teaching, or rather learning, styles involve putting yourself in uncomfortable situations and forcing yourself to expose your ideas and are highlighted throughout Twinkle’s post. I fully agree with Twinkle’s thoughts in support of these methods because of how they have enhanced my own learning. Rather than getting one method of thought taught to a class by one teacher, discussion based learning allows students to learn from each other.

We hear a huge amount of talk about “changing the world” from events like We Day. Yet, how can we expect youth to “change the world” when they are not taught to think critically and engage with others ? Discussion based learning needs to be a focus in the academic setting because of how it enforces critical thinking and enhances students abilities to communicate and collaborate. Not only this, but it brings together people from various backgrounds with different experiences and expects an open minded atmosphere from all for the method to work. If discussion based learning is made a focus in education, the leaders of tomorrow will be able to better communicate and collaborate with people from around the world, all in very different situations.

How does our society’s growing paranoia affect trust ? What role do war, conflict and negativity have on this issue ?

In this recent article, approximately 270 business are described as having”Isis” in their company name. As a result, many are suffering negative criticism from the global community because of the link to the Iraqi terrorist group, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq). For of these companies, many of them small businesses, the negative publicity has affected their reputation so strongly that many are considering changing their company’s name. The article’s writer brings up an interesting point, however, expressing that changing a previously established company’s brand or name is a “costly and complex move”.

Though there is no direct connection between these business and the Iraqi terrorist group, our paranoid society can’t seem to help informally boycotting these businesses. When Adolf Hitler used the Swastika as the symbol for his Nazi party, all cultural symbolism previously behind the Swastika was erased from people’s minds. I know that if I see a Swastika today, I immediately think of Hitler, the Holocaust and World War II, not of its cultural origin. The name “Isis” is also, coincidentally, the name of an Egyptian goddess and yet is now generally associated with the Iraqi terrorist group.

When we see powerful words or symbols, such as the Swastika or the name “Isis”, we immediately connote them with negativity and assume the worst, whether or not they are connected with the groups that that use them as fronts. “Assuming the worst” seems to be a trend in our society, a trend that goes along with suspicion and lack of trust. Being prepared for plans to derail is okay. It’s a part of being flexible with ones intentions. However, at what point does being prepared for the worst turn into paranoia and prevent us from fulfilling our potential, both as individuals and as a society ?

There’s no doubt that technology has changed our society… How is technology affecting our awareness as a society ? Our awareness of our surroundings and others ?

You know that long list of complicated sentences no one bothers to read before clicking “accept” ? The Terms and Conditions… Of an agreement that is. We generally come across this long list when connecting to free WiFi. A recent article depicts an experiment taken place by F-Secure, a Helsinki-based company. The company squeezed various terms into the Terms and Conditions agreement at various free WiFi providers in London. Six locals, through ignorantly accepting the agreement, ended up “voluntarily” signing away their rights to their pets or their first-born child.

Of course the company won’t hold the WiFi users to actions and take their kids… However, imagine how shocked the users must have felt when they found out how ignorant they had been ! Technology has made a lot of positive change to our society, especially with regards to rapid communication. However, the people’s constant obsession with their cellphones and other technological devices has rendered them ignorant. I remember very distinctly one incident that occurred whilst my parents and I were out for dinner. While waiting for our meals, we were relaxing, visiting and enjoying each other’s company. Meanwhile, some members of the family at the table next to us had there backs turned to each other. I, nine at the time, remember thinking how ridiculous the scene looked. One was talking on the phone, another was playing their GameBoy, another texting and the last staring off into space, seemingly unaffected by their family’s lack of interest in each other.

There are many examples linking ignorance in our society to technology, the experiment conducted in London being a clear one. As a society, we have been and need to continue reflecting on how this affects us as humans, our values and how we interact with and treat each other.