Picture this – You are in a foreign land, and feeling uneasy. You’re crowded around a table, with people that you barely know. The conversation feels awkward. The food is different. You’re confused. Not in control. You ask yourself, what’s next? Yesterday, I did a workshop, on cross-cultural conflict management, for my local Inter-cultural Association. For […]
Microhousing Victoria – Bridging the gap in affordable housing
March 9, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
As a neighbourhood (volunteer) representative, I participate in the Victoria Community Associations Network (VCAN). VCAN meetings are held bi-monthly, at Victoria City Hall. Last night’s VCAN meeting included a short presentation about Microhousing Victoria. They are a recently formed nonprofit society, intent on providing an “intermediate” affordable housing option. The presentation was given by Board Member (and architect) […]
A Care Grid Vision – Applying Principles of the Electricity Grid to Elder Care
February 24, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
What to do… What to do? When it comes to the elder care time bomb, we know the cost of caring for the elderly; the graph accelerates sharply as we approach the end. The chart below is for Canada. The scenario is common around a good chunk of the ‘Western’ world. These scenarios are unsustainable. […]
Superheros in Cross-Cultural Conflict Management
February 15, 2016 by · Leave a Comment
An icebreaker activity I often use in training workshops is ‘Superhero’. I learned this activity via Thiagi. Here’s how it goes… I divide participants into small subgroups of 3-4. I ask them to identify a superpower that would help them be more successful in the training topic. I give them a few minutes to share […]
Urban Public Benches Help Build Community Connection
December 4, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
It was a grey, stormy afternoon, yesterday. I took a work break (from my home office) to walk through my adjacent neighbourhood, Oak Bay, to the ocean, 15 minutes away. All along the way are public benches. Many. I took photos of some of them; attached. Although few were in use today (seasonal issue, mostly), […]
Family Caregivers: Where Would The Health Care System Be Without Them?
November 23, 2015 by · 1 Comment
When it comes to the health care system, its easy to fall through the cracks. Though often unintentional, the system seems to favour poor communication. To communicate is to make “common”; to be on the same page. Rarely, are all the people that contribute to your well being on the same page. A sad outcome from […]
Four Things We Can Do To Accelerate Justice Fairness
October 29, 2015 by · 2 Comments
Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), is helping address the crazy inequalities in the US justice system; much of which is along racial lines; e.g., mass incarceration of blacks, “1 in 3 black males born today can expect to end up in jail or prison”…. At a recent Google ‘Zeitgeist Minds’ […]
Use Brain Science to Create Extraordinary Workplaces for Older Workers
August 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
I remember an upbeat, if not simplistic, marketing message from yesteryear (and still out there), that life was sequential. First we work, then we enjoy the fruits of our labour; “Freedom at 55”. Today, our approach to work and aging is changing. Look at this graphic, via thought leader, Age Wave: Older workers are remaining […]
How Government System Designers Can Effectively Communicate With Poor People
August 11, 2015 by · 4 Comments
This article, Homeless people left out by high tech, in my local newspaper, last week, touched a nerve. The disconnect between Government online system designers and the end-users of those systems is often all too real. It needn’t be that way. Navigating complex online systems can be a challenge for many of us, never mind the homeless, […]
