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10,000 Man’s in the Mirror

Today is the 1 year anniversary of this very GLOBALFJORD blog which is focused on Education, Environment + Health innovative best practices!  http://globalfjord.wordpress.com  We still have time to reach 10,000 views today so definitely feel free to share the blog TODAY especially those of you on the West Coast + Guam!  (o;

Have you heard of the FABULOUSLY AMAZING latest tear-jerker shockumentary movie “WAITING FOR SUPERMAN” that will make you want to take action and perhaps join one of the meetups across the country to do your part to MAKE THAT CHANGE.  You can read GLOBALFJORD’s take on this movie by the filmakers of “The Inconvenient Truth” that is moving all the movers and shakers in education, politics + the grassroots world!    

Michael Jackson “Man in the Mirror“:

If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change

…MAKE THAT CHANGE!  ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Blogging for Change #UNWeekDML

This week, I spent three information-filled days at the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, a place for bloggers to get an inside look into the events of the UN Summit through in-person interviews and discussions with UN officials and other experts on global issues.  For me, there were several highlights, including a discussion of the global strategy for women and children’s health with Dr. Abhay Bang, Director of SEARCH, a conversation with Raj Shah, USDA Administrator, on Obama’s plan for U.S. development, and a session addressing girls’ use of social media to promote worldwide movements.   Women and children were central in the week’s discussion, as educating women in order to achieve gender equality is vital in reaching the UNDP’s Millennium Development Goals. 

Among the speakers featured and the projects highlighted, I was particularly inspired by Zainab Salbi, an Iraqi woman whose father served as Saddam Hussein’s personal pilot.  After experiencing an abusive arranged marriage in the U.S., Zainab turned her life in a different direction and founded Women for Women International, which places female victims of war and conflict in a one-year program that provides participants rights awareness, leadership education and vocational and technical skills training.  In Iraq, several initiatives are underway to foster increased knowledge and earning potential of women, including a program for the creation of handcrafted candles to be sold in the global marketplace.  After many stimulating discussions highlighting influential projects such as this, the week closed with statements identifying social media as an inexpensive and effective way to promote social change.  So, keep on blogging, everyone!

Waiting for Superman: Education Never Sleeps!?

I spent my first ever back-to-back double feature movie night on Friday to catch the U.S. NYC premier of one movie and the worldwide rollout day of the other:  Two seemingly contradictory films - one a shockumentary on the state of the U.S. education system and the other a fictional portrayal which roughly depicted the 2008 financial crisis, even with the Madoff lipstick building as an initial backdrop in the movie…

“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” was simply OKAY.  In hindsight, I almost put it in my wait-to-see-it-on-demand-TV category. Leaving the theatre, I heard a perfect comment about the movie: “The trailer was vastly better than the movie.”  A few redeeming qualities of the movie:  some focus on love before business, investments in alternative energy (fusion) and putting money to use for social good – ahem, let’s say $100 mln from Switzerland?  And love love love Gordon Gekko’s motto in the movie, albeit likely an insincere sentiment:  “Our prime asset is not money but time.”  

In contrast, “Waiting for Superman” by Davis Guggenheim, the filmmaker who also created the megahit, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is absolutely incredible. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat in a way that I expected Wall Street II to but it did not, with intermittent tears, ending with the spell-binding theme song from John Legend’s new album Wake Up!  In their new album, Legend and The Roots primarily cover 1960s and 1970s soul music songs for the album with social themes of awareness, engagement, and consciousness.  

The room of “Waiting” moviegoers and in this case on the NYC city premier night, likely a list of Who’s Who in education, politics, socially-conscious citizens and parents. I felt like I was at a NYC Board of Education public meeting – do those exist?  The multiple previews of children’s movies made me realize that the movie target audience likely included plethoras of parents!  By pure chance, I sat in the seat right behind NY State Democratic Senator Eric Schneiderman who is currently running for NY State Attorney General who was just mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article yesterday for pushing his social agenda and promising Reverand Al Sharpton’s organization [the National Action Network] an “annex in Albany for the first time in the history of the state.”

Education has played an vital role in my life. Let me rephrase: An amazing education brought me to where I am now.  I am so grateful and lucky for it. But did I simply by luck get the right side of the coin? I attended a free academic public magnet school, the International Baccalaureate program in St. Petersburg, Florida which a similar program tuition in Belgium costs EUR 20,000 to 30,000 per year; attended a private university with 50% scholarship and thereafter graduate school at a 400 year old public university in Europe.

So naturally, this is my educational backdrop for my highest of desires to see Waiting for Superman and more importantly somehow be involved in “sharing the wealth” of opportunity afforded by affordable, accessible education for all.

Last week the Oprah Show had filmmaker Davis Guggenheim and Bill Gates as guests. Oprah delivered the word that she was winding down her Oprah’s Angel Network which has raised $80 million plus for charity. The final $6 million was given away to the leaders of amazing Charter Schools from across the U.S.

Not having any idea of even the basic concept of the Charter School, this created my impetus to immediately go to Fandango.com to pre-buy my Waiting for Superman movie ticket! When Oprah says, especially in her ever more poignant final season shows we listen and know our world can/should change for the better!

My key takeaways from “Waiting for Superman”: (close your eyes if you haven’t seen the movie!)

+ The U.S. public education system is outdated, such as with “tracking” in schools which separated advanced students from other tracks including remedial.  This model fit the former un-globalized world whereby students in different tracks went on to work in the workforce which had many minimum wage jobs and manufacturing jobs. The top advanced students would go on to become CEOs + key scientists + doctors + partners in law firms. The next 20% were in professional jobs. So not everyone needed a college education to survive! Nowadays, to complete globally, everyone should consider a college education even to compete for jobs in other countries!

+ Once upon a time, the U.S. public school system was a model of success.  There were even many TV shows depicting schools. In the 1970s+80s, magnet schools (science, art and academic ones) were a key model primed for societal success, initially created as one way to remedy racial segregration in public schools.  Charter schools became more popular in the 1990s and are “primary or secondary schools that receive public money (and like other schools, may also receive private donations) but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results.”  The charter school model is not available for every parent who wants their child to go, so attendance is largely based on a lottery program which by the flick of a lotto ball, a child’s life’s future trajectory is immediately rendered. “Waiting for Superman,” Bill Gates, Geoffrey Canada Founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone and Oprah Winfrey all seem to believe that we need to tweak the Charter School Model and replicate its success to ascertain and reclaim America’s future.

 + Key innovative school success stories we need to all know about:  SEED School of Washington D.C. which is the first free urban prep/boarding school, KIPP Schools (99 of them so far in the U.S.) and Summit Preparatory Charter High School (which does not allow tracking and allows each child in the school the same education and is in the top 1% of US schools).

+ Teachers Unions/Federation which work differently on federal and state levels, one which is in bed with one key American political party and the other with the other key party, are often protecting the adults and not the children. The tenure process keeps more than its share of mediocre teachers in jobs with lifetime security. Meanwhile you have so many amazing talent in the U.S. who cannot find jobs even as teachers!

+ Michelle Rhee who is gangbuster no-nonsense fabulous Chancellor of Washington, D.C. school system which is ironically the worst performing public school system in the country had just 3 years of teaching experience (Teach for America) before taking over the job and even fired her own child’s Principal for bad performance. Prior to her there were 7 Chancellors over a 7 year period of time. And now she has the support of Bill Gates and Oprah. Why is Chancellor Rhee not scared to make a difference? She does not plan to become Chancellor again in the future, so is not afraid to step on school system politics and bureacratic toes during her term. Hmmm – Michelle Rhee for future Secretary of Education!?

Key faces we need to keep in mind when we donate our time and former Wall Street money:

Anthony, Daisy, Emily, Francisco and Bianca who are the real stars of “Waiting for Superman” and whose innocent but expressive faces/personalities will be in your mind for a long time to come if you see the this moving movie!

None of our children should have less than great teachers! No more sleeping teachers (literally!) who cannot lose their jobs , like the one videotaped and shown in Waiting for Superman.  Education Never Sleeps!  “Betalt arbete går långsamt.” – Swedish Proverb (Prepaid work is slow.)

*** This one’s for the children!  This GLOBALFJORD blogpost is dedicated to the children of the world. May each one have the educational opportunity to pursue any of their dreams!

Can Scientists in China now make a discovery without a puff?

In May of this year, China’s official news bureau, Xinhua, announced that smoking would be banned in the Ministry of Health and in hospitals. Not only that, according to the Global Times and AFP, state media said that China insisted it will honor a pledge to ban smoking in public places by 2011 in accordance with an international treaty. The health ministry said it intended to implement a plan to prohibit smoking from next year in all indoor public places and offices, as well as on trains and buses. China had previously ratified the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in October 2005 and promised to ban all tobacco advertising by January 2011.  

Although China has a good track record for rolling out centrally formulated laws, any smoking-cessation task is massive.  As the Asia Times reports, Chinese society is overly “smoke-friendly”:

“People in China are encouraged to smoke by their social customs. In China, offering cigarettes to friends, guests or visitors is still regarded as a courtesy. Moreover, many former or current leaders are heavy smokers. Also, almost all heroes in Chinese movies or TV dramas are smokers. So much so that in the movies or TV dramas, a police detective cannot solve a case without smoking, a scientist cannot make a discovery without a puff, or officials cannot make the right decision without burning packages. Growing up in such an environment, one can hardly resist the temptation to smoke. “

School Food Matters! Ultimately an Issue of Security

I attended the Forum on School Food Matters: Hunger, Obesity and Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.  It was presented by the Center for New York City Affairs at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy.

The star of the morning was the Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services in the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Kevin Concannon.  He kicked-off the discussion with a briefing of his desire for a robust reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, for which President Obama has allotted $1 billion per year, for the next ten years. The Undersecretary feels confident that this reauthorization funding will be approved and knows that much can be done with this money, even though most feel $1 billion is a drop in the bucket of the funding actually needed to make an impact on the problems of hunger and obesity among America’s youth.

He sees these concerns as moral issues for our country and notes that 49% of all children in the U.S. benefit from national feeding programs such as W.I.C. and the Supplemental Nutrition Access Program from which Food Stamps / EBT cards are issued. The number one risk factor for childhood obesity is poverty, which creates a paradox between hunger and obesity.

Although the departmental priorities he mentions for the reauthorization are things like improving access and quality of food to reduce hunger, education and support around nutrition, connecting local farmers with schools in an effort to improve local economies, the actual measures by which this is to be done are not yet entirely fleshed-out. 

One clear consensus is the imperative need for streamlining of the application process to gain access to these already existing programs. It is “an 18th century” type process, which significantly reduces participation and encourages attrition. In addition, bonus incentive systems are to be put in place on the state and local levels where there is more proximity to the need of school and home nutrition.

The panelists joining the undersecretary consisted of administrators of school food programs both in NYC and Philadelphia along with family policy and nutrition program champions. A point that was brought up in the discussion, which caught the attention of the entire audience, was the statistic of young adults aged 18-24, who are ineligible to join the armed forces which is currently a staggering 75%, obesity being one of the top three reasons. Now that improper nutrition has impaired the military’s ability to recruit the required numbers to sustain national security, it becomes a different conversation.

Panelist Jan Poppenieck, author of Free for All: Fixing School Meals in America, suggested that if the military could give just 2% of its budget to improving school nutrition…..well, obesity and hunger in this country might be a thing of the past.    

 [By Globalfjord's Veronica Winsch of www.holisticlivingnow.com]

Family Doctors in The Netherlands Turn Female!

Female family doctors are becoming more common and taking over the market in The Netherlands. Currently of all general practitioners (GP’s) in the Netherlands 38% is female, however within five years this will have increased to more than half. It will also mean that more and more family doctors will be working part-time.

There has been a clear correlation between woman and part-time workers, and now the medical industry is seeing significant changes as well. Where family doctors historically mainly have been men, clear differences in “growth” between men and women are now noticeable. 

In the past ten years the number of GP’s in the Netherlands increased by 16%. The number of female GP’s in this period almost doubled, while the number of men decreased by 6%. Because of the GP’s in training are 71% female, the number of female GP’s in the coming years will increase much more than the number of male GP’s. Thus in 2015 more than half of GPs will be women.

This development will include a further increase of the number of part-time GP’s. In 2009, 86% of all female GP’s were working part-time compared to 41% of male GP’s. 

Of the recently graduated GP’s who are still looking for a practice, 92% of women aspire a part-time job compared to 48% of men.

The increase in the number of female and part-time GP’s, is one of the reasons that in recent years the training capacity of general practitioners has expanded.

Part-time workers have over the years increased job opportunities on a whole, and are one of the reasons why The Netherlands is one of the countries with the lowest unemployment rates in the world.

It’s UP2YOO! ECO Award Nominee at Batibouw 2010

It’s that time of year again!  The annual Batibouw in Belgium will take place at the Brussels Expo starting next week from Thursday February 25, 2010 to Sunday March 7, 2010 (10AM-9 PM daily).  This year’s key Batibouw theme: Sustainable construction from an ecological, economical and social viewpoint. “Palais 10” at Expo will be the renewable energy exhibition area.

The Belgian Dream consists of earning enough to own a free-standing house with a garden, not bought from a previous owner, but preferably built exactly according to personal wishes.  A Dutch proverb says that Belgians are “born with a brick in their stomach.” So, the Belgian economy is partly fueled by the Belgian “cocooning” phenomenon of people who love spending time in and on their homes, often building their personal home oasis from scratch, working with residential architects recommended by local family and friends. So naturally, Batibouw is annually a highly anticipated and trafficked event in Belgium for professionals and consumers related to construction, building, renovation and home decoration. Batibwouw awards presented will be the: Innovation Award, Design Award, Communication Award and ECO Award 2010.

This year the company Up2Yoo has been selected as one of the three nominees for the ECO Award at Batibouw 2010! The exciting results will be announced on March 3, 2010.

Up2Yoo was founded in 2009 by Belgian entrepreneur Frédéric Béguin. As the current CEO of Up2Yoo, he intends to make a huge splash as a promoter of new energy use and energy cost savings across Belgium. Up2Yoo is the first store chain of service-centers that propose expert advice; the sale of services, techniques and materials for residential and commercial buildings. The consultations include for insulation, photovoltaics, solar thermal, boilers with condensation, heat pumps, boilers with biomass, highly efficient glazing, energy certificates, etc. You can meet an Up2Yoo Energy Coach at exhibit stand 10.031 at Palais 10 during all days of Batibouw 2010!

Good luck in the ECO Awards 2010, Up2Yoo! Yes, it is up 2 us!

Another Day in the Barrio

As I strolled down Queens Boulevard near my newly acquired apartment in Sunnyside, I marveled at the plethora of lunch options available.  From the Korean bibimbap, to the Colombian arepas de chocolo, to the arroz con leche on the side of the street, my neighborhood is a stunning example of a melding of cultural food practices that have resisted just that: melding.  While diverse groups’ dietary habits definitely affect each other, it is interesting to consider the situations in which eating patterns may change to a greater or lesser degree.

Upon conducting a PubMed search, I encountered a study on a related topic: composition of neighborhoods across the U.S. and relation to foods consumed among Mexican Americans.  In this project, researchers examined data from a large sample across the U.S. linked to the 1990 Census.  In order to ascertain dietary intake and consumption of specific nutrients, the authors used the data revealing levels of vitamins and minerals in the blood, as well as questionnaire data asking participants about their consumption of certain foods.  The results uncovered some interesting information; for instance, increased percentage of Mexican-Americans in the neighborhood was associated with greater consumption of corn products, hot red chili peppers, and legumes such as beans.  Thus, Mexican immigrants living in areas with high concentrations of other immigrants were more likely to retain their traditional dietary habits.  The authors went on to pinpoint the health benefits of these foods and to suggest that residence in an ethnic enclave may provide protective effects in terms of beneficial dietary patterns.

While the others factors that may be affecting the health of immigrants in ethnically homogeneous areas require further exploration, I for one appreciate both the melding and lack thereof of foods and cultures in New York City.  Hooray for moussaka, dal, and jamón serrano!

More Reasons to Celebrate Chocolate on Valentine’s Day!

Pierre Marcolini chocolates!

Given the impending arrival of the notorious day of love, pink teddy bears, and brightly colored sugary snacks, I thought it appropriate to address an important component of this celebration: chocolate. Of late, chocolate has been the subject of research studies around the globe, including an examination of cocoa polyphenols and vascular health in Germany , a study on antioxidant properties of flavonoids in dark chocolate in Italy , and a trial of use of chocolate-flavored spread to prevent nutritional deficiencies in homeless men in France .

Although further research is warranted on this topic to fully elucidate the effects of compounds found in cocoa, it is worth noting that not all chocolate is creating equal. Upon further investigation of the FDA’s regulations regarding the labeling of these products, I discovered that “any non-standardized food product that contains cocoa as the chocolate flavoring ingredient may bear the term “chocolate” .

Neuhaus chocolates!

Since the heart-healthy antioxidants are found in cocoa solids, it is important to carefully check the label for the percentage of cocoa contained in the product! A recent study examined various commercial products in the U.S. containing chocolate and cocoa and revealed a strong association between flavanol content and percentage of nonfat cocoa solids. Of the products under study, cocoa powder contained the highest amount of these compounds, and chocolate syrup the lowest.

As the evidence supporting the healthy benefits of consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa builds, keep your eyes and ears open for the latest results! There is no better justification for a sweet treat than a well-designed research study hot off the press—let’s just hope they keep cranking them out before Valentine’s day.