Interesting topic for this week's blog as this issue has come up in the course of my work for GOPAC. The upcoming global conference includes a series of workshops geared towards developing human capital in the on going fight to strengthen government institutions and fight corruption. It was a priority for provide equal representation and include a number of guest speakers and expert partners that are female.
Retrospectively speaking, the development of civilization has been marked by struggles. The struggle for equality has marked the aim of humanity and democracy. Whether it be the civil rights movements led by Malcom X or the violent revolution led by Che, as human beings we want everything to be equal.
Gender equality is one of the most important aspects of making our society fair. The role of gender not only reflects how intellectually advanced we are, but provides an equal playing field based on performance and combating bias.
It seems that Norway is really leading the way for gender equality legislations as it is severely advanced compared to the rest of the world. According to Nina, she said that in Norway a certain percent of executives in the most powerful businesses have to have female representation. Maternity leave can also be taken by the male partner and also a variety of other things that I forgot about our conversation a month earlier.
All in all, gender is something we must tackle to ensure equality.
Cheers ; )
Monday, July 21, 2008
Culture Shock
O geez............. culture shock. If I had to break down the expression into a specified strain of culture shock tailored to my situation in Ottawa it would have to be now. Toronto and Ottawa, how different are they? Looking past the obvious rivalries between the leafs and the senators, what lies at the heart of of each city is reflected in its people.
1 - Bilingualism
People in Ottawa speak French from time to time and it's a period where I get to pretend like I know the language. I feel pretty cool answering people in French when it comes to Sa Va BeeYen and simple stuff but it's the worst when they talk more and I have to break it to them that because French was the most "uncool" thing in grade school, I neglected out countries second language for most of my educational career. Pardon moi En Francais!
2 - Vibe
As mentioned. It's really quiet after the 9 - 5. Downtown seems like its transformed from a bustling city into a ghost town. Most restaurants that are SUPER busy become super empty and get this, some businesses only open until the afternoon and even gets the weekends off!! Tell a Toronto restaurant owner that story and he's be ready to pakc his bags. The quiet and silence does provide a great calm which can inspire people to be more active outdoors. Due to the support and guidance from my personal fitness coach (Nina Sanderson) I've been running along the Rideau Canal regularly despite wanting to die in the first 2 weeks. Due to my new found habit of running and doing some weights in between I've lost a total of no less than 20 lbs of fat. Take that freshman 15 and sophemore 20!!
3 - Parliament
Beautiful as the sun rises and the glistening waters compliment our parliament building during my morning walk to work. Weekly meetings at the West block in Mr.John Williams office gives an amazing view to the Supreme Court of Canada as I'm continually amazed by this workin city.
Well it's not much of a shock and more of a jolt of amazment.
Ottawa, o Ottawa how I will miss you..........................
1 - Bilingualism
People in Ottawa speak French from time to time and it's a period where I get to pretend like I know the language. I feel pretty cool answering people in French when it comes to Sa Va BeeYen and simple stuff but it's the worst when they talk more and I have to break it to them that because French was the most "uncool" thing in grade school, I neglected out countries second language for most of my educational career. Pardon moi En Francais!
2 - Vibe
As mentioned. It's really quiet after the 9 - 5. Downtown seems like its transformed from a bustling city into a ghost town. Most restaurants that are SUPER busy become super empty and get this, some businesses only open until the afternoon and even gets the weekends off!! Tell a Toronto restaurant owner that story and he's be ready to pakc his bags. The quiet and silence does provide a great calm which can inspire people to be more active outdoors. Due to the support and guidance from my personal fitness coach (Nina Sanderson) I've been running along the Rideau Canal regularly despite wanting to die in the first 2 weeks. Due to my new found habit of running and doing some weights in between I've lost a total of no less than 20 lbs of fat. Take that freshman 15 and sophemore 20!!
3 - Parliament
Beautiful as the sun rises and the glistening waters compliment our parliament building during my morning walk to work. Weekly meetings at the West block in Mr.John Williams office gives an amazing view to the Supreme Court of Canada as I'm continually amazed by this workin city.
Well it's not much of a shock and more of a jolt of amazment.
Ottawa, o Ottawa how I will miss you..........................
Monday, June 16, 2008
Blog # 3 This little world of ours
Greetings fellow YIIPers!
All apologies for being a bit late with this 3rd entry but I've been really at work and running back and forth from Ottawa to Toronto for the past few days. This 3rd topic interests me because I have been more aware than I ever have of things we can do as individuals to change the ecological architecture of our little world. I'll start by giving a background on what types of activities I've been already doing prior to be enlightened by Nina "Never Say Never" Sandersen. Well I live in Woodbridge Ontario and our garbage/recycling system is efficient and satisfactory. We have our blue bin, garbage and the recently introduced compost bin which gives the smell of dead rats in the summer heat but none the less is useful. I'm a political science and criminology major and throughout my experience with the program I've never been really focused on the issues of environmental politics or anything close. I do think that it's an important issue but never took the time to truly understand the problems and proposed solutions. That is until I met the inspirational tree-hugging, status quo fighting, organic supporting and environmental activist. Nina "the GREENE machine" Sandersen. We've had a few friendly debates on the issue where I played devils advocate in attempts to argue over the importance of the environment in our world today. I agreed with "the GREENE machine" the whole time but threw a few capitalist ideologies and economics to mix it up a bit. All in all it was an entertaining debate filled with laughter and sometimes, anger. But what stuck out was "the GREENE machine's" quotation from some tree hugging guy she can't remember. She said "Our world is not given to use by our ancestors, but lent to us by our children". That line alone, plain and simple just shut me up and the devil's advocate game was over. I was owned. If I was ever asked why the environment mattered I was use the same line. In order to care about the environment and the ecological architecture of our world, we must first defeat the seeds of selfishness capitalism planted in our ideological structure of importance. The mainstream media, popular culture, leaders of our society and even our public education system never took the time to even hint at the importance of the environment. We live in a society where we are constantly encouraged to consume, indulge and think about ourselves. I would suggest conducting a survey at our local high schools to provide validity of my claim. A sample question would be as simple as giving them a choice to spend the day with pop star Justin Timberlake (nothing against him I like his music, especially that song where he's like singing real high about a senorita in an ethnically incorrect music video) or top environmentalist/scientist Rachel Carson whose 1962 book "Silent Spring" was credited to have started environmental protection. I'm sure most students would choose Justin and would be confused as to who other person is. Collectively, our society has a responsibility for this neglect we have created in regards to the environment. Asks grade 5 children what they would like to aspire to be when they grow up. Most would answer: a doctor, a lawyer, an actor, an athlete and the answer I would dread most to hear from my future unborn children, a pop star. Seldom would children say "I would like to be an environmentalist". In the open market economy profits rank first and no matter how many Schulich students try to convince me that they are educated in "business ethics", if you're in business the reason you exist is because of profit. If the business becomes unprofitable, you will cease to exist. Ethics, morals and environmental responsibility will always be behind profit. That is the world we live in. That is the institutional architecture of capitalism. So shall we shake our fist in the air and breathe a sigh of hopelessness in spite of a reality we cannot change? "The GREENE machine" doesn't think so and after being enlightened I agree with her. As an individual we can have the power to change our realities. At GOPAC we stress the importance of "political will" to our 700 members around the world to encourage the strengthening of governmental institutions in the fight against corruption. I would like stress the importance of the "individual will" to battle one of the most prominent problems in our world today. Recycle, reduce, reuse and go organic with your products and groceries. It's only a minor change in routine. Talk to friends and family about doing the same to ensure your ideas and values are heard. Attend a rally or protest against environmentally unfriendly legislations. There is alot you can do to make the world a better place not only for yourself but the people around you and the people who will come after you once we're all gone. We must battle the seeds of selfishness through a realization individual responsibility. I am a part of the problem, I will strive to be a part of the solution. I want to see changes, I will be the change I wish to see.
Yours Environmentally,
Harrison Luong
All apologies for being a bit late with this 3rd entry but I've been really at work and running back and forth from Ottawa to Toronto for the past few days. This 3rd topic interests me because I have been more aware than I ever have of things we can do as individuals to change the ecological architecture of our little world. I'll start by giving a background on what types of activities I've been already doing prior to be enlightened by Nina "Never Say Never" Sandersen. Well I live in Woodbridge Ontario and our garbage/recycling system is efficient and satisfactory. We have our blue bin, garbage and the recently introduced compost bin which gives the smell of dead rats in the summer heat but none the less is useful. I'm a political science and criminology major and throughout my experience with the program I've never been really focused on the issues of environmental politics or anything close. I do think that it's an important issue but never took the time to truly understand the problems and proposed solutions. That is until I met the inspirational tree-hugging, status quo fighting, organic supporting and environmental activist. Nina "the GREENE machine" Sandersen. We've had a few friendly debates on the issue where I played devils advocate in attempts to argue over the importance of the environment in our world today. I agreed with "the GREENE machine" the whole time but threw a few capitalist ideologies and economics to mix it up a bit. All in all it was an entertaining debate filled with laughter and sometimes, anger. But what stuck out was "the GREENE machine's" quotation from some tree hugging guy she can't remember. She said "Our world is not given to use by our ancestors, but lent to us by our children". That line alone, plain and simple just shut me up and the devil's advocate game was over. I was owned. If I was ever asked why the environment mattered I was use the same line. In order to care about the environment and the ecological architecture of our world, we must first defeat the seeds of selfishness capitalism planted in our ideological structure of importance. The mainstream media, popular culture, leaders of our society and even our public education system never took the time to even hint at the importance of the environment. We live in a society where we are constantly encouraged to consume, indulge and think about ourselves. I would suggest conducting a survey at our local high schools to provide validity of my claim. A sample question would be as simple as giving them a choice to spend the day with pop star Justin Timberlake (nothing against him I like his music, especially that song where he's like singing real high about a senorita in an ethnically incorrect music video) or top environmentalist/scientist Rachel Carson whose 1962 book "Silent Spring" was credited to have started environmental protection. I'm sure most students would choose Justin and would be confused as to who other person is. Collectively, our society has a responsibility for this neglect we have created in regards to the environment. Asks grade 5 children what they would like to aspire to be when they grow up. Most would answer: a doctor, a lawyer, an actor, an athlete and the answer I would dread most to hear from my future unborn children, a pop star. Seldom would children say "I would like to be an environmentalist". In the open market economy profits rank first and no matter how many Schulich students try to convince me that they are educated in "business ethics", if you're in business the reason you exist is because of profit. If the business becomes unprofitable, you will cease to exist. Ethics, morals and environmental responsibility will always be behind profit. That is the world we live in. That is the institutional architecture of capitalism. So shall we shake our fist in the air and breathe a sigh of hopelessness in spite of a reality we cannot change? "The GREENE machine" doesn't think so and after being enlightened I agree with her. As an individual we can have the power to change our realities. At GOPAC we stress the importance of "political will" to our 700 members around the world to encourage the strengthening of governmental institutions in the fight against corruption. I would like stress the importance of the "individual will" to battle one of the most prominent problems in our world today. Recycle, reduce, reuse and go organic with your products and groceries. It's only a minor change in routine. Talk to friends and family about doing the same to ensure your ideas and values are heard. Attend a rally or protest against environmentally unfriendly legislations. There is alot you can do to make the world a better place not only for yourself but the people around you and the people who will come after you once we're all gone. We must battle the seeds of selfishness through a realization individual responsibility. I am a part of the problem, I will strive to be a part of the solution. I want to see changes, I will be the change I wish to see.
Yours Environmentally,
Harrison Luong
Monday, June 2, 2008
Blog # 2: 1st Impressions
Well hello everyone. I have been very busy lately at work and also running back and forth from Toronto to Ottawa etc... The city of Ottawa is an amazing place and quite different from Toronto. The most noticeable difference is in the evenings and weekends. It is extremely busy in the heart of Downtown Ottawa during the 9 - 5 time frame and anything beyond that is down time. Meaning I can actually go to the mall and enjoy a nice and decent time without the fear of being suffocated by people. Think of it as an opposite to the Toronto vibe. The buildings are very beautiful and filled with history. The walk to work in the morning is a real pleasure as I cross the Rideau Canal with Parliament Hill as the backdrop. The University of Ottawa campus is really phenomenal and has made me fall in love with it. Everything is within arms length from where I live: groceries, entertainment, work and anything else you can think of. My appreciation of the city seems to be the highlight of my summer adventure but the greatest part of my trip so far is the nature of my placement at GOPAC. Located within the parliamentary centre, this global NGO has given me valuable experience and exposed me to a professional and interesting work environment. The nature of my work is really the highlight of this trip. I have had the privilege of sitting in on meetings with MP John Williams and the rest of he GOPAC team to strategize on the execution of the upcoming global conference in November. I also get to communicate with parliamentarians around the globe to strengthen regional chapters of the initiative. I was also sent to a roundtable discussion representing GOPAC on the release of Transparency International's Promoting Revenue Transparency Report where an extensive study was done on the level of transparency oil and gas companies around the world provide to the public. The staff at the parliamentary centre are friendly and kind. I have encountered an amazing coincidence in that my neighbour beside my work station knows 3 York University professors I had classes with. What a small world! Please feel free to view my pictures on facebook if you want to see some Ottawa pictures! I will be uploading more soon! Ottawa has left an impression on my like no other! I hope that everyone in the program is having a great experience and I look forward to reading all your stories!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
My culture
First off I have to apologize for the late entry as my adventures in Ottawa have been keeping me busy. I think that this blog will be an amazing diary of all our adventures in the summer. Culture according to my definition consists of norms and actions that are created and accepted by a certain group of people. Cultures does not necessarily have to do with ethnic background or the geographical location of birth. So for me to define my own culture, I'll have to look at what I have created and accepted growing up in Canada. I am ethnically Chinese but my parents were both born in Vietnam. The situation is quite simple, World War 2 happened and my grandparents on both sides went to Vietnam to seek refuge. So both my parents are culturally very influenced by Vietnam, but they are ethnically Chinese. My story is similar as my parents escaped Vietnam because of the war in the 1970's and ended up in Canada. Here is where I was born. Ethnically I am Chinese, influenced by Vietnam and born in Canada. What is my culture? Well let's start with the languages. I speak fluent Cantonese, Mandarin and English so I am able to relate to both Asian and North American cultures. I tend to enjoy the family oriented ideology of Asia and the Liberal sense of self in North America. Not to generalize but from what I've witnessed I try to take the best elements of both cultures and combine it to create my own. I do not forget traditions, but I also invent new ones. I do not like to box in myself and say that I'm part of this culture and that culture. Let's try and think of culture and use food as an analogy. East Asian food and western food have always been great on their own. I love to eat fried noodles and rice, yet I can't resist a tender steak. Both meals are great but they have their flaws. Too much fried noodles becomes generic and bland and too much steak will lead to an unbalanced diet. So now the top chefs of the world have come up with fusion cuisine and this type of cooking style is taking the world by storm. Using that analogy to explain my culture shouldn't be too radical as the thought of combining the best qualities of each culture and creating something new and great is what I enjoy. What is my culture? My culture is me ; )
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
