Level Ground Trading: Linking sustainability to long-term relationships

You go to the store.  You look for the fairly traded coffee.  You make the purchase.  What now?  Who benefits from your purchase?  Sure, you’re a satisfied consumer.  And, it’s more than just the coffee tasting good. You’ve just, through your purchase, contributed to a making the world a better, fairer place.  Really?  Have you […]

Wordcamp Victoria 2009: 25 Reasons it was an outstanding event

Last Saturday, I was a participant in WordCamp Victoria 2009, held at the Victoria campus of University Canada West.  WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress, the popular open-source blogging software.  WordCamps are informal, community-organized events, organized around the world.  Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to […]

Practising inclusion makes for successful collaborative initiatives in BC's capital region

Practicing inclusion is at the heart of the nationally-recognized Quality of Life Challenge, a collaborative initiative led by the Community Council in Victoria, British Columbia. The Quality of Life Challenge seeks to create a sustainable quality of life for everyone in BC’s Capital Region. What follows comes out of a recent conversation I had over […]

Historical UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Can implementation be far behind?

On September 13, 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  This universal human rights instrument is a symbol of hope for the world’s 370 million indigenous people.  It took 20 years of international negotiations to create this human rights instrument.  Yet, the fun has only begun!  […]

Connect with the world: Another way to make your neighbourhood a better place

International collaboration works.  I saw it in the Philippines, where I spent the better part of the last two months working for a Canadian not-for-profit (CESO). I blogged about it (e.g.,  27 ways Filipinos create successful, collaborative e-Governance projects). I went half way around the world to collaborate with others.  Now, I want to bring […]