The Origin: Tanmawy- I Blog for Trust

THE WAYSEER MANIFESTO

2011-03-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

Culture of Peace Campaign

2009-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Culture of Peace Campaign
Take Action ... Built Peace-Online Campaign

On 21st September 2009, the whole world will celebrate International Day of Peace also we will celebrate WupY 1st Anniversary and the contribution you will send we will send to all the young people and decision maker all over the world and let them hear our voices.

Young people are using the Internet more and more not only for entertainment, but also to voice their opinions about the issues that surround them. They are no longer mere consumers of the news. They make it. And by time Internet spreads to people from the urban to the rural communities and across different living standards. Such variety of users has enriched the list of topics that are opened by these users because each comes with their own background and package of problems/challenges.

For these young people, Culture of Peace is a hot topic from the time they are in school. The Internet provides the best space for young people to gather around and discuss this hot topic. What is the Culture of Peace? How can we do this? Are there other alternatives? And the questions can go on.

The idea is to organize a Campaign for young people in the world to express their opinions in writing (articles, Blogging and poetry from young people), art gallery for artistic expression and Podcast about Culture of Peace. The Campaign will benefit from the spread of using the Internet and the ease of communication it provides. The Campaign will be hosted on the pages of WupY and published among target youth by our partners.

The Campaign accepts contributions from young people (up to 35 years old) all over the world in all fields of blogging, articles, poetry, podcasting, and artistic expression that can be published on the campaign website http://www.wupy.org/peaceday.

Non-Politica: Stories for Peace and Conflict

2009-09-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am Ahmed and I blog for Trust

The Monk and the Samurai

There was once a samurai warrior who traveled to the distant home of an old monk. On arriving he burst through the door and bellowed, "Monk, tell me! What is the difference between heaven and hell?"
The monk sat still for a moment on the tatami-matted floor. Then he turned and looked up at the warrior. "You call yourself a samurai warrior," he smirked. "Why, look at you. You're nothing but a mere sliver of a man!"

"Whaaat!!" cried the samurai, as he reached for his sword.
"Oho!" said the monk. "I see you reach for your sword. I doubt you could cut off the head of a fly with that."

The samurai was so infuriated that he could not hold himself back. He pulled his sword from its sheath and lifted it above his head to strike off the head of the old monk. At this the monk looked up into his seething eyes and said, "That, my son, is the gate to hell." Realizing that the monk had risked his life to teach this lesson, the samurai slowly lowered his sword and put it back into the sheath. He bowed low to the monk in thanks for this teaching.

"My friend," said the monk, "That is the gate to heaven."

The Farmer and the Angel

There was once a very kind and joyful old farmer. He was ninety years old and, though his bones were a wee bit weary, his eyes still sparkled with love and laughter. He was the kind who seemed to know just what it took to make you smile, and when you needed to weep he'd sit by your side and hold you. He was the kind who noticed the dew sparkling on a spider's web and knew the taste of a juicy red strawberry. He was the kind who still at ninety worked hard every day on the land, and when you needed a helping hand his sleeves were rolled ready to go.
One day, because of his goodness, he was visited by an angel who granted him a wish. The angel said to the old man that anything he wanted would be his.

Now if you had one wish, what would it be?

"A million dollars!", "A castle by the sea!", "All the wishes I want!", "A Lamborghini!"

The farmer could have wished for any of these things, but instead he said to the angel, "I am happy with the bounty of food upon my plate and the love that surrounds me daily, but before I die I should like just once to see heaven and hell."

The angel told him to take hold of her cloak and in an instant they arrived at the gates of hell.

To the surprise of the good man, when he passed through the gates he found himself on the edge of a beautiful open green surrounded by tall graceful pine trees. As he walked toward the middle of the green he saw many people seated around a great long table that was heaped high with the most magnificent and delicious foods the man had ever seen. Yet as he drew near he saw that the people looked sickly and thin, as if they were wasting away from starvation. How could this be? Then he noticed that the people's arms were locked straight so that they could not bend them. It was impossible for these people to feed themselves. "Achh," the man sighed, "this is truly hell."

Hastily he returned to the angel and took hold of her cloak. In another instant they arrived at the gates of heaven.

Here too the good man found himself on the edge of a beautiful open green surrounded by tall majestic pine trees. He walked toward the middle of the green and saw many people seated around a great long table that was heaped high with the most wonderful and delicious foods. As he drew near the man saw that the people's arms were locked straight so they could not be bent. Yet these people were smiling and laughing. Their eyes danced with a merry delight and their stomachs seemed joyfully content. How was this possible? The good man looked closer and he saw: the people of heaven were feeding each other! "Ah yes," smiled the good man with a knowing nod of his head, "this, this is truly heaven."

The Cycle

King Solomon was noted, not only for his great wisdom and his skill as a judge, but also for his ability to understand the languages of the birds and the beasts of the fields. Thus, he would sometimes listen to the complaints of animals against each other and against humanity.

Once, a grief-stricken lioness came before Solomon with a bitter complaint. "Say what is in your heart," said Solomon, "I will hear you out."

And the lioness spoke. "Why must there be war? Why must we attack one another? Can there be no peace in the world? Is it right that the hunter comes to my den and robs me of my babies and then, before my own eyes, strips off their skin? Does he have no pity for the mother? No pity for the babies? That hunter must be punished, Your Honor, and be shown no mercy, for he is guilty of killing my babies."

And the lioness began to cry with great anguish.
When King Solomon heard this, he said, "Listen to my story and tell me who is to blame?" And Solomon told this story.

One day, the mongoose and the weasel were talking, and the weasel was complaining, "That snake has eaten up so many of my babies. He comes and attacks them when I run out for a few moments to get them some food." And the weasel moaned with grief.

"Well then," suggested the mongoose, "why not devise a scheme to get the snake out of his cave and then attack him? Let's see. The snake loves fish, so we'll put a trail of fish leading away from his cave right to where we can kill him."

"Good," replied the weasel. "That will be a just dessert for him, and a good dinner for you, my friend."

So the mongoose and the weasel caught some fish and dropped them in a row on the path to the snake's cave. When the snake smelled the fish, he left his cave and ate each of the fish. As he slithered past the scorpion, the scorpion sharpened its stinger to attack the snake and accidentally struck the hen nearby.

The hen ran to the rooster and alerted him that the scorpion was ready to make war. The rooster called out "cock-a-doodle-doo," which sounded the alarm and the wolf ran out of his dean.

As he ran by the weasel's home, the wolf saw that the weasel's babies had been left unguarded, so he ate them.

When the weasel returned home after having helped the mongoose kill the snake, she found her babies gone, and she knew that they had been killed.

Weasel ran to the Judge and cried, "The wolf has killed my children. Punish him, punish him!" The the Judge asked her just one question: "What did you bring for food for your children, Mother weasel?"

And when the weasel answered, "Birds, Your Honor," the Judge said, "You, yourself, are to blame for your children's death—and no one else."

Then Solomon looked at the lioness and waited. The lioness lowered her eyes and head in shame. And the lioness understood. Yes, the lioness understood.

The Talmud says: "What you do not want to have happen to you, do not do to another."

The Intercultural City planning for diversity advantage

2009-06-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Are mixed societies more creative than homogeneous ones?
Is there a diversity advantage for cities?
If so what are the practical ways of helping communities to realise their advantage through living and working together rather than apart?

Throughout the world, migration is rendering communities more diverse and complex than ever before. This poses one of the great challenges of our age and how we respond as individuals and societies will have far-reaching implications. Is diversity a threat to be resisted, a potential problem to be resolved or an opportunity to be realised? This website tends towards the latter and calls for a change in mindset particularly in the way our urban communities are planned and managed.

In the corporate world, the ’business case’ for diversity has now largely been made, with companies realising not only that they need to recruit from the widest possible talent pool in order to stay competitive, but that their innovative edge is actually sharpened by the creative tension of bringing diverse cultures, skills and mindsets together.

So much for companies but what about cities? Few have yet thought about whether this logic reads across into the complex arena of the metropolis. Until now. The Intercultural City project is a serious investigation into this fascinating phenomenon. Comedia is leading an ongoing programme of research and policy development with the aim of providing advice and practical tools for cities seeking to benefit from the diversity dividends.

The conclusions so far are that we need to look afresh through an intercultural lens at the way our towns and cities are run, because a greater emphasis on interaction, bridging and the exchange of ideas can release a diversity dividend of social and economic benefits for our communities. The catalyst can often be remarkable individuals or groupings who transgress cultural and social boundaries, but local authorities often know little or nothing about these intercultural innovators. Cities can get a grips with this new way of working by the introduction of a toolkit of quantitative, qualitative and documentary methods: the indicators of interculturalism and openness.

Useful Info'

2009-06-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Intercultural Dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

By Stefanos Vallianatos

Almost six months before the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Process, a new initiative of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership was coming to life in Alexandria: the Euro-Mediterranean Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures was officially inaugurated at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on April 14, 2005.

In contrast to the other institutions already at work, such as EuroMeSCo, the Euro-Med Non-Governmental Platform, the Euro-Med Youth Platform, or the Euro-Med Heritage program, this was initiated as an institutional tool of the Partnership, an independent body, specifically designed to address the whole framework of the third pillar of the Barcelona Process, i.e. the social, cultural and human dimension of the partnership. Hence, it is a ‘rapprochement between peoples, through a social, cultural and human partnership, which aims at encouraging understanding between cultures and exchanges between civil societies’. In that respect, the Foundation functions:

through its own Board of Governors, where all the member states are represented and which is assisted by an Advisory Committee,
enjoying its own budget (based on a three-year period of funding), where 50% comes from the member states’ contributions and the rest from the European Commission, which is
managed by the Executive Director – and his Secretary (the headquarters), which is based in Alexandria – hence making it the only Euro-Med institution sitting at the other side of the Mediterranean, and which is working (and is expected to appoint a President soon),
as a Network of Networks, that is through the National Networks that are set up in all the member states an vital tool to carry on the Foundation’s program and promote its aims by mobilising NGO’s and other civil society representatives (and their membership in the National networks).

Rational and Strategy

The decision to establish such an institution reflects, to a large extent, the scepticism about the degree of success (so far) of the Barcelona Process, and the realisation that in order for the other two tracks, especially political/security, to bear fruit, it would be essential to base the whole process on a more solid foundation, that is the social aspect – hence the understanding that culture and intercultural dialogue are essentially political. Ironically, the birth of the Anna Lindh Foundation preceded three (major or minor) crises which underline the importance of intercultural understanding and tolerance: the cartoon crisis in Denmark, the social disturbances in the French suburbs, and the Pope’s ill-fated quotation about the nature of Islam. They also illustrated that such dialogue cannot be restricted between state entities, but has to be between societies at large, and within each society, especially in view of the growing multi-cultural nature of the primarily Western European ones.

This is reflected in the Foundation’s approach and understanding of the notion of ‘culture’ that incorporates a wide range of themes which include almost all kind of intelligent, non-profit making, human expressions, and the function of the dialogue as a mechanism enhancing social coherence and integration of the different social groups. Hence, even though the National Networks are the avenue of NGO’s for ALF membership, this does not imply a dialogue between ‘National’ Cultures but in general of any cultural expression regardless of origin – although it does recognise the existence and operation of a dominant culture within that has to be taken into consideration. Yet, in contrast to the dominant post-war approach to intercultural dialogue, which stressed the similarities, ALF intends to highlight the diversity and the differences, in order to achieve tolerance and acceptance of the ‘other’. In order to achieve that, it encourages partnerships, co-organization of activities and projects between as many partners as possible (with geographic dispersion as a priority), and cross-thematic programs.

The tools and the challenges

This is an initiative to be carried out by civil society rather than the states, where youth and immigrant communities are the prime target groups – as well as the educational process. Yet, state institutions are not excluded from any ALF initiatives; in fact, the Foundation looks for synergies and strategic partnerships, especially with the media, cultural operators, local authorities and other institutions. Hence, it supports projects and programs of other institutions that have such intercultural elements, like UNESCO’s educational programs. Its major funding tool is its annual Call for Proposals, open only to its own member organizations (that is more than 1,500), whereas it also runs directly a number of projects, like the Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award, but also – realising the need to have an impact – an Annual Report on the result of intercultural dialogue.
The challenge is to make a difference and to indulge as many as possible. Yet, dialogue is only a tool, a modus operandi for managing diversity and for progress toward a common future in a shared area. The dialogue’s raison d’être is to ensure that social interaction and cooperation prevail, and it is manifested in ALF’s political message:

fighting racism, xenophobia, and all forms of discrimination,
challenging extremism from all sources and origins,
rediscovering common roots and heritage, and develop the idea that we all share a common destiny, and
promoting freedom of speech and the right to criticize, without underestimating the basic principles of respect of the other’s beliefs and human rights.

As a Bridge we should follow...

WHAT IS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT?

2009-06-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

One can define ‘youth development’ as:

"...the ongoing growth process in which all youth are engaged in attempting to (1) meet their basic personal and social needs to be safe, feel cared for, be valued, be useful, and be spiritually grounded, and (2) to build skills and competencies that allow them to function and contribute in their daily lives."
(Pittman, 1993, p. 8)

This definition accurately describes youth development as a process that all young people go through on the way to adulthood. As the definition implies, it is a process or journey that automatically involves all of the people around a youth—family and community. A young person will not be able to build essential skills and competencies and be able to feel safe, cared for, valued, useful, and spiritually grounded unless their family and community provide them with the supports and opportunities they need along the way. Thus, youth development is also a process in which family and community must actively participate. As Hugh Price, president of the National Urban League, put it so succinctly in 1998, youth development is "what parents do for their children......on a good day."

Youth development, then, is a combination of all of the people, places, supports, opportunities and services that most of us inherently understand that young people need to be happy, healthy and successful. Youth development currently exists in a variety of different places, forms and under all sorts of different names.

People, programs and institutions involved in youth development are working toward positive results in the lives of youth. Some have clearly defined these desired positive results—or outcomes—in an attempt to more effectively work toward them. There are many efforts to define the outcomes of youth development, and while language may differ from place to place most express the results that most people want for their own children. These outcomes include but move above and beyond the academic skills and competencies which are the focus of most schools. The Center has identified those outcomes as the following:

Aspects of Identity	Areas of Ability
A Sense of Safety and Structure High Self-Worth and Self Esteem Feeling of Mastery and Future Belonging and Membership Perception of Responsibility and Autonomy A Sense of Self-Awareness and Spirituality	Physical Health Mental Health Intellectual Health Employability Civic and Social Involvement

There are a number of well-known factors in youths’ lives which contribute to reaching these positive developmental outcomes. The Search Institute has identified 40 assets, internal and external, which form a foundation for healthy development of young people. The 40-asset framework covers eight categories (support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity) and provides communities a tool to measure these assets in their youths’ lives.

People, programs and institutions who work with youth are engaged in youth development if there is strong evidence of the following practices:

Supports: Motivational, emotional and strategic supports to succeed in life. The supports can take many different forms, but they must be affirming, respectful, and ongoing. The supports are most powerful when they are offered by a variety of people, such as parents and close relatives, community social networks, teachers, youth workers, employers, health providers, and peers who are involved in the lives of young people.

Opportunities: Chances for young people to learn how to act in the world around them, to explore, express, earn, belong, and influence. Opportunities give young people the chance to test ideas and behaviors and to experiment with different roles. It is important to stress that young people, just like adults, learn best through active participation and that learning occurs in all types of settings and situations.

Quality services: Services in such areas as education, health, employment, and juvenile justice which exhibit: (1) relevant instruction and information, (2) challenging opportunities to express oneself, to contribute, to take on new roles, and be part of a group, and (3) supportive adults and peers who provide respect, high standards and expectations, guidance and affirmation to young people.

Youth development is not a highly sophisticated and complicated prescription for "fixing those troubled kids." Youth development is about people, programs, institutions and systems who provide all youth—"troubled" or not—with the supports and opportunities they need to empower themselves. For a nation with such a rich diversity of youth, this requires youth development in all shapes and sizes:

An adult who volunteers time to mentor or tutor a young person;

A school that partners with community-based organizations to keep its doors open until 10 pm and provide all youth a safe, supervised place to be with homework support, activities, physical and mental health services;

A leadership development program that offers rival gang members neutral territory where they can relate to one another as individuals and build skills;

A city government that engages youth in the policy making process through youth councils and youth positions in government departments;

A religious institution that provides youth access to computers and the necessary training; and

A local business which employs youth in meaningful and relevant work.

These in addition to the important national youth serving organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts are a sampling of the myriad types of youth development supports and opportunities which all too few youth are able to take advantage of. The challenge is to make such supports and opportunities the rule rather than the exception for all youth.

CUIMUN Review

2009-06-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

I was very impressed with the 1st Cambridge university International Model of United Nations.
The entire experience was like eating at a good eastern fusion restaurant. CUIMUN seemed to borrow the best parts of Western conferences and infuse it with an intriguing Eastern flavor, ultimately creating a unique MUN experience that was both professional and personable.

Besides seeming well-organized and orderly, what struck me about the conference was its emphasis on formality and presentation. Walking into the classroom building where the conference took place, the first thing to jump out at you was a 50-foot floor-to-ceiling banner with the conference's name in English. Opening ceremonies featured a number of speakers from the university and the local diplomatic community residing in England, whom the Secretariat made sure to thank with gifts. The conference program was replete with a welcome letter from Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. In committee, the rapporteur displayed on a projector screen detailed minutes that provided a history of speakers and motions raised. And in the middle of the first session, every committee went outside to have a professionally-taken photo.

Fortunately, this formality did not make the conference too corporate. What impressed me more about CUIMUN than its presentation was its focus on networking. Every morning committee session featured a tea break, where delegates could chat and snack. Every evening featured an event intended not just for delegates to dance and party, but to meet and interact with one another. Instead of an evening committee session on Thursday, as is normal for many 4-day conferences in the United kingdom, the Secretariat held a nice semi-formal cocktail party. On the last night of the conference, the Secretariat organized a talent show showcasing the different countries and cultures in attendance. One delegate performed an ancient Chinese sword dance; a couple of delegates recited traditional Thai poetry; the women of the Bangladeshi delegation performed a high-energy cultural dance.

I was impressed with the conference overall, but there is still room for improvement. The quality of debate, in particular, was okay. In my committee, the Security Council, I felt that debate stalled over the more complicated aspects of our topic, Israel's embargo on the Gaza Strip. I also found it difficult to convey the nuances of my ideas. This is not a problem because of how the conference was organized, but because the conference is young. This was the first conference for many delegates, who were still trying to get a feel for MUN..

I still had an excellent time in committee and I really enjoyed meeting fellow delegates. I am confident that the quality of debate, and the conference as a whole, will improve.

One poignant example took place during my last committee session, when my committee went around the room and every delegate took turns speaking on what they had enjoyed most about the weekend. For some, it was practicing their English; for others, it was debating interesting topics; but for all, it was meeting everyone there. Everyone felt like they had made a major personal investment in the conference, and after appreciating everyone's company, they were genuinely sad to be leaving. There was a certain intensity to that session that I had never felt before. And there was a certain gravity to the moment, personally and even politically. As our Director put it, "this conference would never have happened 10 years ago." I've seen delegates cry over a heated debate or after being screwed out of an award, but in my entire MUN career, I had never before seen anyone cry in committee because the conference itself held so much meaning. That session made me proud to be an MUNer.

This was my first international conference and my last one ever. I'm happy to have ended my MUN career on such a high note. Thank you, CUIMUN.

Becoming a volunteer

2009-06-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

Becoming a volunteer can be personally rewarding and help you to 'give something back' to your community. Volunteers can choose from thousands of different opportunities; from helping out at your local city farm to becoming a seminar leader at a business education charity.

What you can gain from volunteering

As a volunteer you will be giving your time to help charities and community groups improve lives, but volunteering can provide you with many benefits including:

the chance to have fun doing something you've never tried before
increased confidence
a sense of satisfaction and achievement
the opportunity to make new friends and contacts with diverse backgrounds and experiences
increased job and career prospects and new skills - over 70 per cent of employers would hire a candidate with volunteering experience over someone who has never volunteered.

Ways to volunteer

There are many ways to volunteer depending on how much time you can spare. Full-time, part-time, evening and night volunteering are offered by various organisations.

Examples of just some of the ways you can volunteer are:

caring for animals and wildlife
setting up a volunteer scheme at your workplace
spending time mentoring and befriending a young person or refugee
working outdoors to improve the environment
working on local community projects.

How to find volunteering opportunities

First of all, decide how much time you have to give and in what area you would like to volunteer your skill. Some charities are flexible about when you work for them, while others will want you to commit to a regular day.

The next step is to find an organisation and volunteering opportunity that suits you.

Before you start

Once you have found an organisation it is useful to go and meet them for an informal chat and find out more about what you would like to do. This is a chance for you to ask questions about the volunteer opportunity, see the place you would be working and meet some of the people you might be working with.

Some of the points you might want to ask about are:

what the position involves
whether you will receive any expenses to help pay for your travel and food costs
what training is offered to help you do the job
if there are any qualifications you can gain while volunteering
whether you will have a supervisor or mentor you can talk if you have questions or concerns.

Essential Elements of My Leadership

2009-06-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

The essential elements of my leadership style are based on core beliefs that come from Scripture. I want all facets of my leadership to reflect the following five principles:

+ I believe that we bear the image of God. Even though we are fatally flawed, the image of God is found in each of us. This means as a leader I should treat each person as an image bearer.

+ I believe in who claims Lord. In terms of my leadership, this means that I need others, I am connected to others, I am gifted, and I am not the ultimate head. While I have strong gifts of leadership, encouragement, vision setting, and administration, I need others to complement me.

+ I believe that we are to be truth seekers, truth speakers, and truth doers. This is the way prophets lived. As their follower, that should be the way I live. This means I need to be a principled decision maker. It is not always easy to identify the principle that is primary in a given situation, but that should be my goal as a leader.

+ I believe that there is a rhythm to work and rest. I believe in hard work and in using one's gifts to God's glory. I believe that God gives us abilities and passions that guide us in the effective use of our gifts over the course of a lifetime. I also believe that God created us with a need for rest in order to reflect and recharge. When we ignore that need for rest, we violate the creation order that God intended. Part of my role as a leader is to model both the hard work and the needed rest.

+ I believe that we should view our work as a true calling. This sense of calling makes my leadership purposeful, celebrative, and joyful. I want my leadership style to reflect these qualities, and I want to have the campus culture do so as well. It is my job as a leader to help people sense that God is at work in us and that what we are doing is to be done to His glory.

Ten Ways to Improve Your Interpersonal Skills

2009-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Don’t discount the importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace. How you are perceived by your manager and coworkers plays a large role in things as minor as your day-to-day happiness at the office and as major as the future of your career.

No matter how hard you work or how manybrilliant ideas you may have, if you can’t connect with the people who work around you, your professional life will suffer. The good news is that there are several concrete things that you can do to improve your social skills and become closer to your colleagues. All of these tools will ultimately help you succeed in today’s working world.

Try these 10 helpful tips for improving your interpersonal skills:

Smile. Few people want to be around someone who is always down in the dumps. Do your best to be friendly and upbeat with your coworkers. Maintain a positive, cheerful attitude about work and about life. Smile often. The positive energy you radiate will draw others to you.
Be appreciative. Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. Be generous with praise and kind words of encouragement. Say thank you when someone helps you. Make colleagues feel welcome when they call or stop by your office. If you let others know that they are appreciated, they’ll want to give you their best.
Pay attention to others. Observe what’s going on in other people’s lives. Acknowledge their happy milestones, and express concern and sympathy for difficult situations such as an illness or death. Make eye contact and address people by their first names. Ask others for their opinions.
Practice active listening. To actively listen is to demonstrate that you intend to hear and understand another’s point of view. It means restating, in your own words, what the other person has said. In this way, you know that you understood their meaning and they know that your responses are more than lip service. Your coworkers will appreciate knowing that you really do listen to what they have to say.
Bring people together. Create an environment that encourages others to work together. Treat everyone equally, and don't play favorites. Avoid talking about others behind their backs. Follow up on other people's suggestions or requests. When you make a statement or announcement, check to see that you have been understood. If folks see you as someone solid and fair, they will grow to trust you.
Resolve conflicts. Take a step beyond simply bringing people together, and become someone who resolves conflicts when they arise. Learn how to be an effective mediator. If coworkers bicker over personal or professional disagreements, arrange to sit down with both parties and help sort out their differences. By taking on such a leadership role, you will garner respect and admiration from those around you.
Communicate clearly. Pay close attention to both what you say and how you say it. A clear and effective communicator avoids misunderstandings with coworkers, collegues, and associates. Verbal eloquence projects an image of intelligence and maturity, no matter what your age. If you tend to blurt out anything that comes to mind, people won’t put much weight on your words or opinions.
Humor them. Don’t be afraid to be funny or clever. Most people are drawn to a person that can make them laugh. Use your sense of humor as an effective tool to lower barriers and gain people’s affection.
See it from their side. Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. This can be accomplished through staying in touch with your own emotions; those who are cut off from their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others.
Don't complain. There is nothing worse than a chronic complainer or whiner. If you simply have to vent about something, save it for your diary. If you must verbalize your grievances, vent to your personal friends and family, and keep it short. Spare those around you, or else you’ll get a bad reputation.

Valuable Action:: Jeraan

2009-06-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

Jeraan ‘’Neighbours’’

Jeraan is the kind of research in the customs and traditions of Egyptian culture and heritage, which reinforces the concept of "neighbours" and focusing the light on this concept of value to strengthen and improve the practices related to the concepts of human coexistence, deploy and support a culture of tolerance and confirmation of its role in the process of communication and as a tool to bridge the gap between individuals, provided that deal with the contents of These customs and traditions are in line with the monetary values of humanity and acceptance of others, equality between the sexes.

We have chosen three different regions (Alexandria - Siwa Oasis - Minya) in terms of cultural heritage and cultural geography and try to discover the role of this variation and its impact on the concept of neighbours in the local cultures.
But when we ask Why (Alexandria - Siwa Oasis – El-Menya)?

--->Here you go:

Alexandria

"A model of the coastal city” Represents the Culture of the sea.
One of the Mediterranean cities which gave it a special space of freedom and hosting many of the civilizations and cultures, becoming truly a melting pot of races and cultures to meet in the city and made it cosmopolitan.

Siwa Oasis
"A model of the desert town" Represents the culture of the desert
Siwa Oasis lays approximately 300 km. On the Mediterranean coast to the south-west of Marsa Matrouh.
Alsiuyon speak Tamazight variations and is one of the Tamazight language, as well as the proportion of the population of black African descent (from West Africa, the south of Sahara) Altakror who are culturally influenced in the oasis since time immemorial, By virtue of the ethnic composition and cultural history has been linked to Siwa via close links with the communities that formed in the whole culture of sub-Saharan African and other oases formed with the base stations in convoys across the desert flights between Morocco and the maximum is a lunar holiday nights, or "Peace Day" it would prevail tolerance, differences and they considered it as a national holiday for them.

El-Minya
"A model for an agricultural country," representing the culture of the river
The bride of upper Egypt and it extends along the River Nile, a distance of 135 km. Minya province is an eternal record of all ages that have elapsed since the historic of Egypt, "Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Coptic and Islamic".

Better World

2009-06-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

"Those who don`t want war need a vision for peace."

join them on www.tamera.org

''Scouts of the World also creating a better image''
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ADWAR Experiment:

2009-06-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

I have started my experiment in adwar initiative by chance, i was someone who hates the ideological thinking and the development concepts i thought that it’s useless and there is no need to care about the community and developing youth, that resulted of less of tools and lake of information that enabling me to achieve the development, once one of my friends invited me to an opening summer activity party which was in Goethe institute and i have already attended it, and he gave me some assignments to do like organising the roof and dealing with organisers to settle everything, party started , work started, skills started, euphoria started, everyone was happy, i was watching what they are delivering in that event, I have really admit that they have tools that i was seeking for, they already have skills and many thoughts to develop our community, lots of sparkling ideas and plans which are real, i got a head shock and chattering myself ‘’ Oh it’s real’’, started to make some friendships with them asking how u can plan, think and execute all this ideas, they answered ‘’It’s ADWAR’’, me: ADWAR..umm. What is it and how you achieved it??

They: We’re an Egyptian volunteering youth group. Every one of us used to work with different Non-governmental Organizations. We were brought together when Prof. Dr. Stefan Winkler, Director of Cultural Projects in Goethe Institute, invited us to participate in “The concept of progress in different cultures 2005” project and which has been applied in more than one country by more than one way.

We gathered plenty of times to discuss the concept of progress and different related issues such as identity, human rights, and the crisis of the Arab mind, scientific research, religion, politics, sports, economics, and the hindrance of development, awareness, and media. The diversity of opinions led to a vivid discussion which induced a variety of the proposed ideas. Then, we published a magazine that embraced our vision for progress as discussed in our meetings. However, we did not want that to be the end of our project, so after we had come to a common vision, we wanted the issue to be of more potency. Hence, the idea of Adwar was initiated, may such a simple dream play a role in changing reality.

And Adwar means that every one of us should have an effective role in his society; everyone has an inner mysterious world of his own that is full of achievements that have not been accomplished yet, full of dreams which, if found its way to light, would have made life a better place. That is why our motto is “Awareness – Participation – Creativity”. We hope that we can sweep the dust from our wasted energy via spreading awareness and activating the culture of positiveness and participation, thus generating the chances for creativity and innovation.

Me: WoW, asking them i want to be involved, and from this starting point i started working as a volunteer in ADWAR in the project committee and worked by all my powers while accomplishing projects and events till i achieved the presidency of the committee as i am now, considering adwar now as way for my life and others life