Category Archives: Make a Difference

Projects that are making a difference, improving lives, and building communities.

Convergence of the Extremes: Journaling about our Mortality – by Martin Kimeldorf

Today the word Mortality is being examined in bold letters regarding for our species and in smaller plain print by individuals in this convergent moment. Scientists and religious fundamentalist have been busy writing an obituary for our species in upper case letters. As the Baby Boomers globally turn into Elder Boomers, they again challenge conventional routines and rituals. Likewise younger people put on the zombie costumes of the walking dead and extend the discussion of mortality across space and generations.

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Dealing with Death and Grief in a Diverse World – by Terry Howard

A week into 2016 and it  was David Bowie. Then it was Natalie Cole. And it seems that every year a number of news sources will publish a list consisting of “those we lost last year.” Now like so many others, I got an uneasy reminder of the reality of death in 2015 with the loss of my brother and, before that, vicariously through related stories of others.

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A Grass Roots Response to Education Inequity – by Deborah Levine

Carvent ‘Leon’ Webb II is the Founder/CEO of The Open Book Foundation based in Charlotte, North Carolina. He created the nonprofit organization in 2013 to bridge the gap between Title I schools and literacy competency. The African American men involved with the nonprofit could no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the education system in these low-income communities deteriorate. According to Webb, “We realized the best way to counteract the decline was through the promotion of literacy.”

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Diversity, Dialogue, and Mindsight – by Greg Nees

Have you ever entered a conversation with the best of intentions, only to end up in an argument? I suspect we have all had this experience and I’d like to suggest that one reason this happens so often is because of mind distance. When we try to communicate with people whose experiences and world views are very different from our own, we often run into invisible walls. It’s like trying to describe colors to a friend who has been blind from birth. No matter how much we try to explain what the world looks, sounds, and feels like to us, if the other person’s experiences have been significantly different, they will have trouble listening and understanding. In my work as an interculturalist, I encounter such mind distance on a regular basis.

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TRANSPARENCY in The PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT – by Olumide Idowu

The Paris Climate Agreement sets crucial goals: to limit global temperature increase, and specific goals in three areas – mitigation, adaptation and finance. The long-term goal for mitigation is 2 °C strengthening to 1.5 °C which guides the Agreement. There is a global goal adaptation which includes increasing adaptive capacity and resilience; and a finance goal to increase post 2020 from $100 billion per year. Finance flows will have to balance adaptation and mitigation.

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Year End Poem Revisited — by Sanjay Prasad

The solemn year ends, songs and rejoicings amidst anxiety
The summit ended with no concrete solution
The emissions continue so does the carbon level rise
The nature held in ransom with all the deeds of man
The coronation of a new leader ushered with lots of hope
Anxious to end terrorism, global warming and bring peace
would end up as faux pas with the human lives at stake.
With closed eyes I say my Last Prayers that could be heard,

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French Introspection & Action: Aftermath Of The Paris Attacks – by Andrew Scharf

All of a sudden, the French find themselves front and center on the world stage: continued slow economic growth, the surge of refugees across Europe and now, dealing with the aftermath of November 13. Since the carnage that hit Paris, President Hollande has been on hyper-drive: air strikes in Syria, intensified security, and persistent lobbying among key world leaders for a coordinated war against ISIS.

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Creating Cultural Tolerance, One Meal at a Time – by Elisabeth Falcone

My daughter came home from Middle School where they were studying the Holocaust and asked me “Mommy, was grandpa a Nazi?” How do you answer such a question? Easy! I said “No”, because all of my life I had heard my parents rail against the Hitler regime. They sent my father to the Russian front and my mother to the basement for shelter from the Allied bombers attacking Berlin. But thirty years later, a fifth-grader in my French class, who was also learning about the Holocaust, asked me, “Why are the German people so awful?” Now the answer was not so easy, because the student unwittingly used a stereotype painting all present-day German people as Nazi criminals. Without going into the history of WWII, I briefly explained that not all Germans are awful, just like not all Americans are awful. Still, seeing an opportunity for a lesson, I taught the French words for “war and peace” (la guerre et la paix) and went on with class.

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Global Leadership: Southern Women Lean In – by Deborah Levine

Chattanooga’s Women GroundBreakers is a Think Tank of diverse faith, community, youth, and business leaders. The women meet monthly to discuss trends and strategies for making a difference. As part of the international Lean In movement, their Think Tank discussions are published locally and globally. Be inspired by their Words of Wisdom on Global Leadership. First, check out their strategies for building a global mindset.

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