The West End evictions and this week’s municipal elections November 10, 2008
Posted by Raul in Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, politics, public policy issues, random thoughts, Vancouver, West End.Tags: West End evictions
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If you are a Vancouverite and able to vote (Canadian citizen, older than 18 yrs old), you probably DO know that Vancouver’s municipal election takes place on November 15th, 2008 (8am to 8pm). You can start doing advance voting at 5 locations in Vancouver (read more here).
There’s an issue that I find has not been discussed at length (or maybe it has but I haven’t read much about it in the past few weeks/months) – the issue of evictions in order to increase rent. While I do not live in the West End, I have MANY very close friends, both civilians and tech/social media/PR people who have their homes there.
It does worry me that evictions to renovate and then increase rents continue to happen. This issue is something that has been written about extensively (I’ve read lots of stories in many major newspapers) . The question I have is – does anybody know if the candidates for city mayor have expressed any formal position on the issue?
Why do I think this issue is relevant, when there are others (homelessness, transportation, etc.) that are also key? Well, simply because if the trend continues in the West End, the likelihood that these kinds of evictions will happen (I haven’t read many reports about occurrences of evictions to increase rent outside the West End) in other areas may increase. My main concern, of course, is my own neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant)!
What do you think of this issue?
Public policy lessons on homelessness for Vancouver’s next mayor November 2, 2008
Posted by Raul in academic life, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, Homeless Action Week, homelessness, public policy issues, random thoughts, social change, Vancouver.Tags: homelessness, public policy issues
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Credit: Vlastula on Flickr
Both of the candidates with actually the best shot at actually becoming the next Mayor of Vancouver (Gregor Robertson and Peter Ladner) have participated in debates on (and broadly proclaimed that they’ll work to end) homelessness in Vancouver (you can read a good recap by Tris here). Well, gentlemen, I seriously do hope that whoever wins, will seriously seek some sound advice on public policy, particularly on the issue of homelessness.
I am not an expert in homelessness policy by any means. I am, however, a specialist in environmental studies and public policy, and particularly I’ve researched issues that are clearly the domain of various levels of government. In particular, water governance in Mexico faces many challenges precisely because of this problem – overlapping jurisdictional responsibilities. Homelessness has the same basic structural problem. It should be a shared responsibility, but no actual level of government takes real responsibility and is truly accountable for dealing with homelessness.
In Mexico, wastewater governance and water supply provision, for example, is fully a responsibility of the municipality. That responsibility is enshrined in the Mexican Constitution (Article 115). Unfortunately, municipalities don’t really have a standing in the Canadian political system. Canadian federalism recognizes the Federation and the provinces (and Territories). However, municipalities/cities are not recognized (see Canada’s Cities report) and therefore, the intergovernmental relationships amongst municipalities, the provincial governments and the Federal have become really complicated [EDIT – Found even better sources on the debate on whether municipalities should be granted constitutional status in the site of the Library of the Parliament of Canada and in the Canadian Encylopedia].
This is unfortunate, and it’s a big problem if you think about it, because – who bears the brunt of homeless as a societal issue that needs to be addressed? The municipality. However, how can a municipality address an issue that requires cooperation between provinces, the Federation and the municipality if there is no actual recognized Constitutional status of the city in Canada? (see the sources I’ve included above on the state of the debate in regards to the constitutional status of the municipality/city)
According to Vision Vancouver’s blog, Gregor suggests to “build relationships with all levels of government” as one of the key actions they’ll undertake if elected.
According to Peter Ladner’s blog, Peter suggests that he will tackle homelessness “through a partnership of federal, provincial, regional, municipal governments and non-profit agencies”.
Well, dear candidates in the November 15th municipal election, you will need to not only build relationships and partnerships, but actually establish sound, solid intergovernmental agreements that lead to the implementation at a local (municipal) level of the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy. Although, that being said, I think we need a sound National Homelessness Action Strategy.
Homelessness is definitely a regional/municipal public policy issue, but municipalities can’t solve the problem by themselves, without the support of the Federal government. For all candidates, I suggest you coordinate your strategy with the Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (launched in December 2006).
Under the HPS, the federal government will offer the provinces and territories the opportunity to enter into bilateral partnerships, improve collaboration and develop linkages between the federal homelessness programs and provincial/territorial social services to help communities make strategic investments that will best serve their homeless populations.[HPS About Us]
I would also recommend investing in solid, evidence-based research on homelessness using a global, multi-country, multi-region comparative strategy. Surely, other countries have reduced homelessness. How did they do it? What did they do? What was needed?
I am sure someone must have done good research on the topic. I haven’t, but if I was a specialist in urban issues (specifically homelessness) rather than an environmental specialist, I probably would launch a research programme with applied outcomes (e.g. partner with the local communities to actually effect change).
I was able to find a good article on homelessness and health (co-authored by, amongst others, Dr. Jim Frankish, whose research I do respect a lot).
Homelessness and Health in Canada: Research Lessons and Priorities
C James Frankish; Stephen W Hwang; Darryl Quantz, Canadian Journal of Public Health; Mar/Apr 2005; 96.
Additional resources – Not a research paper, but Monte Paulsen’s post on The Tyee “Seven Solutions to Homelessness” is a great read.
One last word – whoever wins, please don’t just give us empty promises.
DO THINGS THAT WILL HAVE POSITIVE, LONG-LASTING POSITIVE EFFECTS!
Waste Reduction Week Canada – Oct 19-25th, 2008 October 21, 2008
Posted by Raul in environment, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, public policy issues, sustainability, Vancouver, Waste Reduction Week Canada.Tags: Waste Reduction Week Canada
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This week marks the Waste Reduction Week in Canada (from October 19th to the 25th). You may not recall last year’s civic strike (one of many policy and political mistakes) but in case you do, I am hoping this little visual reminder will help remind you of how awful the city looked.
Credit: Rebelcan
As I mentioned a while ago, we live in a rather affluent (and wasteful) society. We buy coffee to go, and then proceed to dump the paper cup in the trash can. We buy disposable diapers and then proceed to wrap them in double plastic bags, because “eeewww it’s poop”. We drive three blocks to buy groceries. And the list goes on.
Waste Reduction Week Canada helps remind us of the many ways in which we can reduce our ecological footprint by minimizing waste. If you need a refresher, I wrote a short post on solid waste management that will give you some useful reading material.
The website of Waste Reduction Week Canada offers some really neat factoids (some of which you may or may not know). As a scholar of environmental studies who happens to have worked for many years in solid/liquid/hazardous waste management, I actually do know that landfill sites account for about 38% of Canada’s total methane emissions (according to Environment Canada).
If you need some suggestions on how to reduce the amount of waste you generate, feel free to drop me a comment, send me an email or send me a tweet.
The importance of voting in American, Canadian and Vancouver elections October 2, 2008
Posted by Raul in Focus on Vancouver, politics, Politics 2.0, public policy issues, random thoughts.Tags: American politics, Canadian politics, elections, electoral studies, municipal politics, Vancouver politics
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One of the areas where my mother does research is in electoral studies (however, she studies elections in Mexico more than anything, although lately she’s been interested in Canadian elections). She was mentioning how important it was to galvanize people and make them want to go and vote.
It’s true that many, many people refuse to vote because they don’t think that their vote is going to count. I was reading some statistics on how many people have voted in recent Canadian elections and I recall a figure hovering around 64% or so (of the whole electorate).
The most recent election for President was the most contested in Mexican history and I can assure you that one of the reasons for that was precisely that a lot of the people who many people thought wouldn’t vote did indeed cast a ballot.
Even though I’m not American, I’m pretty darn sure I have American readers (and of course, Canadian) so I’d strongly encourage you to register to vote. Hat tips to Steve Jagger who tweeted this video (source: YouTube) where lots of US movie stars encourage viewers to vote.
Gay-bashing on Davie Street? What’s wrong with this city? September 29, 2008
Posted by Raul in Focus on Vancouver, public policy issues.Tags: activism, citizen engagement, gay bashing, municipal politics
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I hate any kind of bullying or bashing, but a gay bashing is one of those hate crimes I simply can’t stomach. It’s amazing how much safety is taken for granted anywhere, and how religion, sexual orientation or race can create such amazing divides. We are all human beings, whether we like it or not. I hadn’t heard mention of this until my good friend JT mentioned that tae-kwon-do training may come handy when it comes to having to deal with this type of attacks.
I was reading some of the CTV online coverage and given that these stories indicate that frequently bashing victims fail to report these crimes, I would like to commend the victim (Jordan Smith) for coming forward. And encourage those who have been victims to raise their voice.
It’s somewhat frustrating that so much progress against homophobia has been achieved, yet public safety seems to be compromised in what is supposed to be the safest area for queer people (Vancouver’s West End). This should definitely be an issue that should be covered in the upcoming municipal election – how is public safety going to be enhanced? Tougher laws against bashers? I don’t really know.
This unfortunate and sad event really reminds me of how much sometimes we actually do need superheroes (the first thing that sprung to mind when I read about this was the movie “Super-Amigos”, a Mexican Canadian production that aired during the 2007 Vancouver Queer Film Festival). And those who come forward when being victims of crime (any crime, really) are also heroes. Kudos to you Jordan, and to everyone else who has reported these horrible incidents.
Homelessness Action Week 2008 – October 12th to 19th, 2008 September 8, 2008
Posted by Raul in blogosphere, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, Homeless Action Week, homelessness, public policy issues, random thoughts, social change, social networking, Vancouver.Tags: homelessness, poverty, social media for social change, Vancouver, vanpoverty
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Photo Credit: Matthew Good on Flickr
Last week, I mentioned that I was worried about the lack of interest in local/Canadian politics and the excessive focus on the US election on Canadian and Vancouverite blogs and on Twitter. Well, with the news of an upcoming Federal election (October 14th, 2008), I am very, VERY happy to see the interest of our bloggers, readers and Twitterers renewed on Canadian issues 🙂
During the same week, I tried to remind my readers that in order for us to really participate, and put the public back into public policy, we need to focus on local issues while maintaining a global perspective. One of those hyperlocal issues that I think we need to focus on is the lack of homes and shelter for homeless people. On a side note, I am not too sure that homelessness will be taken up as a Federal election issue, but who knows.
Even though homelessness is mostly considered a regional, municipal/provincial public policy issue, there is an actual Federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy (launched in December 2006). From their About Us page:
Under the HPS, the federal government will offer the provinces and territories the opportunity to enter into bilateral partnerships, improve collaboration and develop linkages between the federal homelessness programs and provincial/territorial social services to help communities make strategic investments that will best serve their homeless populations.[HPS About Us]
Homeless Action Week will take place EXACTLY during the 2008 Federal election week, which is kind of timely, if you ask me. Why? Well, because everything is interconnected. With the 2010 Olympics and the discussions around the gentrification of the Downtown East Side, there will be a need to re-examine the Federal strategy on homelessness. And I have the feeling that Homeless Action Week may be the catalyzer for this re-examination.
Is lack of homes (and affordable housing) an issue? Well, let’s examine the data provided by the Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness.
A 24-hour snapshot count conducted on March 11 th, 2008 indicates that 2,592 individuals were found to be homeless in the Metro Vancouver region. This number is an increase of 427 individuals over the 2005 count data, or an increase of 19% over the number of homeless individuals found in 2005, and a jump of 131% since 2002.[HAW Research Page]
So, the question again is … how can you help? In addition to all of those great suggestions provided on the RSCH page for Homeless Action Week, you can also
– Blog about it.
– Tweet about it.
– Talk about it with your friends, family, etc.
– Write about it (in print).
– Discuss it on national media.
And, two additional things you can do…
One, you could donate your time, clothing items or food to local food banks. Rebecca has for very long been a champion of Metro Vancouver’s food banks, most recently raising over $10,000 dollars for the United Gospel Mission (along with Duane and with the generous help of Matt Good, Matt’s fans and many other participants). Lack of food would most definitely be an issue that homeless people face.
Two, you can participate in the events for the 2008 Homeless Action Week. Last year, I highlighted some of the 2007 HAW events and had a chance to participate in a few. As I mentioned in that previous post, sustainability, social change and social responsibility start at home, and Vancouver is my home, so that’s where I am trying to effect change.
On that note, I would like to invite you to follow @vanpoverty on Twitter, as this is a project where I am partnering with the brilliant Joe Solomon (@engagejoe on Twitter) to use our combined blogging/social media powers to bring issues of poverty and homelessness in Vancouver to the forefront.
Banning bottled water in Vancouver and the Metro Vancouver pledge September 5, 2008
Posted by Raul in academic life, environment, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought.Tags: Metro Vancouver, public policy, regional issues, water, water policy
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A large portion of my research agenda focuses on water, despite the fact that sometimes some relevant water issues go unnoticed (did you know that 2008 is the Year of Sanitation?). The good thing about studying water is that questions pop always on my mind and there’s always something new to look at.
Being an academic and a blogger, I look at issues through research-trained eyes, and the whole discussion on banning bottled water in Vancouver is one of those debates that attract me. I am hoping to do some research about it in the short term future.
Photo credit: Ianiv and Arieanna
I am particularly drawn to water issues as I’ve done research both in the environmental engineering field (building wastewater treatment plants) and in the environmental studies field (studying water governance and policy). I am trained to examine problems from the social sciences AND natural sciences/engineering lenses.
A few weeks back, Duane kindly invited me to guest post on his blog. We were doing Blogathon and my post examined very briefly the debate on water privatization, but I didn’t delve in depth.
The whole banning bottled water debate in Vancouver touches on two issues. One of them, the commodification and privatization of water. The other one is the potential health-associated risk of consuming water from the tap. Both of these issues would give me enough material to start a new blog. However, I’m going to just focus on one small sub-issue: bottling water for sale and redistribution (and the health effects associated).
We often (but not always) consume bottled water because we feel safer. Sometimes we consume bottled water simply because we don’t have access to tap water at the moment. There are different rationales. However, one associated (implicit) benefit is that we don’t need to worry about our safety and health if we consume bottled water. Is our tap water really all that bad?
When I worked as an environmental engineer, I would get stomach illnesses whenever I would be exposed to wastewater streams. But I have never gotten sick from consuming water from the tap (neither in Mexico nor in Canada). I know, the whole “revenge of Montezuma” joke is based on a perception that potable water in Mexico is really polluted and thus every foreign visitor will get stomach cramps or get ill when visiting if they consume water from the tap. But it has never happened to me (not even now that I’m visiting).
Metro Vancouver is undertaking a project to have people pledge to consume only tap water and reduce the number of plastic water bottles thrown into landfills. I have to say that I wholeheartedly support this initiative. From their website:
Why Metro Vancouver has a Tap Water Pledge
* Metro is committed to reducing bottled water use by 20% by 2010 to reduce the environmental impact of bottled water
* Millions of single-use plastic water bottles (one litre or smaller) ended up in our region’s landfills in 2007
* We want to provide a tangible way residents to support a sustainable practice – using refillable water containers instead of single-use plastic water bottles
[Metro Vancouver: Take the Tap Water Pledge]
The Tap Water Pledge page has information on health risks associated with water, fast facts, etc. that are aimed to help the public understand the rationale behind the project. Interestingly enough, I didn’t find data on the worldwide consumption of bottled water in comparison to Canada and/or Vancouver. I think this would be a broader perspective. From the IBWA statistics page, their 2007 stats report, I found out that Mexico is the second largest consumer of bottled water in the world, with 54.1 gallons per capita (but is this figure per year, per month? If one drinks one litre of water a day, how many gallons is that a year? I hate websites with poor statistics!)
Now, from a social media perspective, I have to say that while I think the page is a good resource, I would probably take a much more “public understanding of science” approach to it. I have to say that it would be fun to undertake this type of project, and it would merge Web 2.0 with sustainability research…. Hmm… good idea!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: For some statistics on bottled water consumption, the International Bottled Water Association has some data. But I couldn’t find anything on Canada. Frustrating.
Adaptation and vulnerability to floods and climatic events in Mexico September 1, 2008
Posted by Raul in academic life, climate change, environment, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, public policy issues, sustainability, Vancouver, vulnerability and adaptation, wastewater, water, water policy.Tags: climatic change, environment, floods, risk, vulnerability, water
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This post is worthy of much more in-depth content, but I just wanted to show that the municipality where my parents live is really unprepared for extreme rain. The photos and video shown below show the local river almost entirely flooded (and rather polluted, as you can see).
As you can see, cars are at serious risk of being taken by the river. The local authorities are rather unprepared for these extreme rain events. But the funny thing is, I wonder how prepared are the Metro Vancouver municipalities. I will be doing some research on this topic upon my return to Vancouver.
Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty August 15, 2008
Posted by Raul in Blog Action Day, blogosphere, charities, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, public policy issues, Vancouver, Web 2.0.Tags: activism, Blog Action Day, poverty, social change
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Poverty is one of the societal illnesses that occupies my mind on a regular basis. Not because I live a rather frugal life and I’m on a budget. I’m actually talking about REAL poverty.
Photo credit: DTES.people on Flickr.
While I realize that there are many measurements and definitions of poverty, I was kind of shocked to find out that the World Bank doesn’t have specific pages to analyze poverty in North America. Is the belief that poverty does not exist in North America (USA and Canada, as Mexico is included in their Latin America dataset) so prevalent that US and Canada don’t warrant their own country pages?
Anyone who knows me even a little bit and who has taken the time to read the more serious, less fluffy posts in my blog will know that I’m a big fan and promoter of social activism, particularly in issues of homelessness, poverty alleviation, sustainability and HIV prevention/treatment. This time, I’d like to draw your attention to Blog Action Day 2008’s theme – Poverty.
What is Blog Action Day?
Global issues like poverty are extremely complex. There is no simple, clear answer. By asking thousands of different people to give their viewpoints and opinions, Blog Action Day creates an extraordinary lens through which to view these issues. Each blogger brings their own perspective and ideas. Each blogger posts relating to their own blog topic. And each blogger engages their audience differently.[Blog Action Day site, About Page]
Last year, I participated in Blog Action Day 2007, as the topic was sustainability. This year, I am even more motivated to participate given that my readership has increased, I am much more socially connected (through Twitter and many other Web 2.0 methods) and therefore, my blog may be able to make more of a difference.
So, how can you get involved? You can check the Frequently Asked Questions section of their site. In my case, I will be doing 1/4 of a Blogathon (e.g. only 12 posts) but all of them will be focused on issues of poverty. You are more than welcome to guest post if you feel like it, or link to any of my posts should you want to, but more than anything, do something. Get involved.
I don’t think I should try to coerce people into promoting Blog Action Day or doing something about it, but I am passionate about poverty alleviation, so if you could spread the word, that would be super awesome. Even better… if you can engage in doing something to alleviate poverty, that would be even more awesome.
Thank you.
The Environmental Movement Needs You – Homer Simpson Has Already Joined – Guest post by Lotus Effect July 26, 2008
Posted by Raul in academic life, Blogathon 2008, climate change, environment, environmental NGOs, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, friends, Green Drinks, guest post, public policy issues.Tags: Blogathon Vancouver 2008
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This post was contributed by L.E. who blogs at The Lotus Effect.
I love the way Raul phrases his environmental passions: “Being a student of the Environment”. I’ve found myself amongst the dozens of people I know that have put their previous career paths aside and pursued environmentally-related position in hopes of making a difference (and I’ve abandoned any inclination to feel the least bit hesitant to say that making a difference bit 🙂 regardless of how trite it may be perceived by some).
So I’m confronted with it everyday – people wanting to do something, and we constantly hear.. “Just start anywhere.. it doesn’t’ matter where – the first step will introduce you to a plethora of options, and before you know it, you’ll come across something you’re really exited about.” Well, what if you don’t know where to take that first step? This is where this post comes in, I hope to offer some options of first steps that might lead you to your green passions. So here they go.
1) GREEN DRINKS The perfect combination – environmental geekery and sophisticated discussions with all kinds of people working in, or interested in the environment. I’ve only attended the Vancouver version twice, but it’s been a lot of fun – there is always a mix of veterans and solo flyers that show up without knowing a soul (but that is of course changed after the first beer). 🙂
2a) STORY OF STUFF This is a great little description of how the world currently works, some of the problems our actions are causing, and how to get involved in changing these patterns. The point with this one is.. simply reach out and learn more about how the world works, and how we can minimize our impact on the environment
2b) CRADLE TO CRADLE Similar to Option 2), this is a monumental piece of work that redefines the way we approach how we go about building stuff and creating the everyday objects we use. This novel concepts presented in cannot be called short of anything but a paradigm shift in the positive direction of what it means to be human. It’s simple, and beautiful…
If you’re interested in learning more without diving into the book, I’d recommend having a look at the TED talk featuring one of the authors (TED has numerous amazing talks on many other subjects including psychology, art, music, and technology. The one other talk that seems to be somewhat related would a brain scientist experiencing life a stroke in her left hemisphere, leaving her exposed to the raw experience of living life through her right – creative, loving, unified hemisphere – the experience’s lesson – if we use both of our brain real estate (Left AND right hemisphere), then we are much more in tune with others, and the environment around us – have a look).
2c) INCONVENIENT TRUTH If you haven’t seen it yet.. The only thing i gotta say about this one – i think any movie that helps someone win the Nobel Peace Prize might – just might be worth watching.
3) TAKE A HIKE I’m not kidding. Go get outside. Listen to the silence of the air and the stillness of your thoughts. There are many accessible parks in the Metro Vancouver area. Some of my favorites include Lighthouse Park (which is easily accessible by public transit, but surprisingly beautiful and secluded), the Grouse Grind if you’re adventurous, Shannon Falls or Bridal Veil Falls (if you prefer a light walk in the woods), or the Chief if you’re fit and would like a bit of a challenge.
4) LEARN ABOUT WATER Why on earth am i writing about water? An excellent recent film “Flow: For the Love of Water” about water illustrates this resource’s incredible importance. For one second care to entertain the thought of considering how essential water is to our survival, health (as in, the lack of clean water leading to health and survival problems). Climate change is melting glaciers and snowpacks around the world meaning that rivers worldwide are or will be facing water shortages. In 1999, 26 percent of Canadian municipalities reported problems with water availability, including seemingly wet locals such as Vancouver and Victoria (Environment Canada 2001; Boyd 2003). To illustrate the importance of this issue a bit further: 440 of 669 major cities in China face moderate to severe water shortages, and data collected from NASA and the World Health Organization suggest that 4 billion people will face water shortages by 2050 (Lagod 2007).
5) FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE SIDE Learning more about the state of the world can be difficult at times, but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned about environmental issues is the absolute necessity to stay positive, and not let things get to you personally – I’ve just started a blog about this and highlighting the importance of something known as the Lotus Effect (the real definition). Using all the energy generated by anger of learning about humanity breaking environmental laws and transforming it into something positive – action on improving things or leading by example. And last, and most importantly, keeping a sense of humour about it all, and not taking things, and ourselves too seriously.
A great example would be a well-known (and very witty) standup comedian talking about energy and world politics in Robert Newman’s History of Oil (I love it). Another PERFECT example of this would be the words of wisdom by a writer on the Simpsons – Welcoming Homer, the Tree Hugger! I’d like to end on that note, if you don’t visit any other links, visit the last two – I’m particularly fond of always looking at the bright side of things. With Love, L.E.
Vancouver Young Professionals and Real Estate Tech Meetup recap July 7, 2008
Posted by Raul in blogosphere, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, Vancouver Young Professionals Meetup.3 comments
Demonstrating that everyone can (and should) access technology, the Vancouver Real Estate Tech Meetup (combined this time with the Vancouver Young Professionals Meetup) gave me a really good overview of how real estate professionals are harnessing the power of Web 2.0. It was also very nice and refreshing to see young Vancouver professionals who attended the meetup as well.
Steve Jagger invited both Rebecca (who is liveblogging) and myself to attend this event. While I had decided that I wasn’t going to attend that many events, I figured this would be one that would be fitting, and besides, I was very productive (in regards to my own work) today, so I don’t mind at all attending. I am actually quite glad that Steve invited me because I had a chance to attend Scott Humphrey’s seminar (Scott is a Peak Performance Strategist w/ Tony Robbins), network, socialize AND learn more about myself.
Steve Jagger and Scott Humphrey.
Some of the participants in the meeting
Some insights I gained from Scott’s talk.
Success without fulfillment is a failure. I completely agree with Scott. We should look at our lives and, if we’re not getting the results, we should ask WHY (instead of mulling over and trying to feel “pumped” about change, but not actually engaging in it).
The interactive workshop is targeted towards helping the participants learn more about themselves and how they can achieve peak performance through some strategic thinking.
Three types of fears:
– Fear of success
– Fear of failure
– Fear of unknown
Your beliefs and patterns are what determines your performance (and your future). I completely agree with Scott on this statement. What is holding you back?
R (Results)
What type of belief (B) do we need to achieve R (result)?
When people make excuses about why they don’t get the results they want – maybe they had the wrong beliefs.
What is really impossible in your life? Nothing, really. You need to get out and take action.
1) You have to change your focus.
2) Motion creates emotion.
Leaders DO take action!
Here is the facts – you need to get good results, to get outstanding results, you need outstanding results.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The meetup went really well, atendees were very friendly, Scott is a great speaker and the concepts he was putting forward apply to anyone who wants to grow. Some of his insights were very relevant to what I want to do moving forth. Scott was very motivating and his energy was outstanding.
The only very minor little glitch I saw in the Meetup was that the music volume in neighbouring floors/rooms was a tad too loud. I really enjoyed Scott’s talk and it would have been even stronger without the other room’s music. But the seminar itself (interactive workshop) was outstanding. Way to go, Steve! Good job in the organization of this meetup, and great decision bringing Scott to talk. And of course, thanks for inviting me to come, in the first place.
Steve commented that this could be a potential location for Third Tuesday and I agree, it would TOTALLY fit, the only problem I see is that we would probably have to ask the speaker to speak out, but that’s quite alright. They have WiFi here at Ceili’s. I’ll recommend it to Tanya, and I know Steve said he’d put a good word in for us. This seems like a good possibility.
Unappreciated beauty in North Vancouver June 16, 2008
Posted by Raul in environment, Focus on Vancouver, North Shore, random thoughts, urbanization, Vancouver, water.add a comment
It’s a fact: human beings take things for granted. Canadians and Vancouverites are not exempted from this. Why on Earth would people choose to voluntarily pollute their environment is beyond me. Do you want to guess what I found on this gorgeous park, right besides Lonsdale Quay (after having hung out with Arieanna for a bit at Waves on 1st. St. and Lonsdale)?
Yeah… I found THIS…
And THIS…
Does this upset me? YES. IT DOES. The mere reason why I traveled all the way from Mount Pleasant to the North Shore was to enjoy the scenic beauty (which I did), to have a chance to hang out with friends (which I did). However, I was not prepared to be taken aback by the lack of environmental awareness of what is touted as “the most environmentally-friendly city in Canada”. Well… somebody needs to remind its citizens about better environmental behavior.
/end rant.
And here is a gorgeous view that may give you a hint on why I travel to North Van for comfort.
Car-Free Festival: Reporting back on Main Street June 16, 2008
Posted by Raul in Car Free Day, Car Free Festival, Focus on Vancouver, local events, Main Street, Mount Pleasant.Tags: Car Free Day Main Street
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The Car-Free Festival: Main Street Edition was very much a lot of fun. My friend Karen Parker was volunteering for the West End one, but I wasn’t really much in the mood to swing by (and I had to finish inserting a few references in EndNote). [Sorry Karen!]
For me, eating cotton candy is one of those things that transports me back to a wonderful childhood. I hadn’t had a chance to eat cotton candy since I was 20, so this tasted like a little piece of heaven! I was also very touched by the fact that young kids were helping out and making the cotton candy.
I wanted cotton candy… so they were kind and gave me one!
Main Street was closed between 12th Avenue and 16th Avenue (thank you and kudos to the Vancouver Police Department, the City of Vancouver Fire Department and all other local support, because it was VERY well protected. I felt really safe walking there, thanks to road closures and having an ambulance standing by!). Another really cool element was an exhibition of many different modes of transportation with bikes.
You need balance to do this!
I had an opportunity to speak with a number of people in different booths, which was REALLY cool. Some of them had already read my blog! YAY! Furthermore, there were a lot of exhibits that showcased the amazing stuff we have on Main Street, including the Happy Bats Cinema (who offered veggie dogs, popcorn and soda by donation!). I mean, how cool is that?
The music was fantastic, and I made a point of listening to musicians on all three stages. This photo is from the main stage (on 13th Avenue)
I plan to write more detailed posts with focus on each one of the booths/businesses that were showcased, but in the mean time, I know you want to check my Flickr account for more photos, so go there right now 🙂
SIDE NOTES – Some other local bloggers also have done reviews/links/photos of Car-Free Festival. Do you mind dropping a comment and I’ll update this post as I get the links? 🙂 Thanks!
National Hunger Awareness Day 2008 June 6, 2008
Posted by Raul in blogosphere, Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, random thoughts.Tags: food banks, homelessness, hunger awareness, Vancouver
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I am very proud of Rebecca’s extraordinary efforts to raise awareness on the need to support local (e.g. Metro Vancouver) food banks. It is always a challenge to pick one single cause or charity to blog about, and I am right now struggling about the decision on which charity to support for Blogathon 2008 (yes, I think we are doing it, as Rebecca is taking it upon herself to organize – I will be happy to provide co-organization support, plus I’ll blogathon as well).
At any rate, with all the comings and goings around this city, I am not sure how I managed to overlook National Hunger Awareness Day.
The mission of National Hunger Awareness Day is to tell the story of the food banks and the people who use them. The goal of the Hunger Awareness Day movement is to raise awareness about the solvable problem of hunger in Canada.[NHAD website]
I am VERY lucky in the fact that, despite how tight my budget has been in recent months, I have always managed to eat well and have never failed to put food on the table. As JT very appropriately says, I may live in a modest residence and be cautious with my money but I don’t live a really frugal life. I’m eternally grateful for that, and I try to live my life to the fullest for that same reason.
Please consider donating to local food banks, your efforts will make a difference in people’s lives.
Homelessness in Vancouver and sustainability: Researching the issue May 30, 2008
Posted by Raul in Focus on Vancouver, food for thought, homelessness, public policy issues.2 comments
As it turns out, I have been thinking for a while about ways in which I can write more Vancouver-centric stuff. I want to write a well-researched, cogent article on the fact that we need to look at homelessness and sustainability through a more cogent, holistic perspective, not all the “wishy-washy”, “yeah we do care about homeless people, see… we’re buying new buildings”, yadda yadda yadda. However, as an academic and with my research training I feel that I can’t just write whatever comes out of my brain. I need data, I need numbers, I need background reading and I need people to talk to who are knowledgeable in the area of homelessness (I have training in urban sustainability, so I can take care of that side of the equation). All leads much appreciated. Please leave a comment on my blog. Thanks! I’ll save your contact details and get back to you once I’ve done enough research to write a very cogent, solid post. Thanks.
Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment 