The impact of women-only networks across the world is a growing phenomenon. Women, having always been excluded from workplaces, social spaces, and business networks, have taken the initiative and started up on their own. The intrinsic gender prejudices in traditional networks have also nudged women towards building their own communities, be it for entrepreneurship and funding, moms, tech, or other facets of living.

There are few things as satisfying as being a part of a circle of women as small or large as it might be and knowing that you have an empowering, encouraging bunch who have your back.

These communities are instrumental in encouraging women to be their best selves and realising that we are stronger when we come together. We trust that women who are empowered have the power to bring about positive change in the world.

How women communities help raise their power:

In a world where women are disproportionately targeted by online bullying, they often end up reducing their online presence or alter it to avoid negative interactions.

The best guidance is more likely to come from someone who has experienced what you are going through. Most women admit they are emboldened by the knowledge that they are not alone in facing issues like workplace gender bias, domestic violence, reproductive health concerns etc, and that they are inspired to help other women in the community by sharing the knowledge they have gained through their experiences.

Women understand one anothers concerns, embarrassments,joys, and obstacles. Women communities foster empathy while also serving as a robust support system in more ways than one.

The importance of relationships should be valued in both personal and professional capacity.

As women are gradually, butcertainly trying to bridge the gapin the business industry, there are moreopportunitiesfor female entrepreneurs and professionals to climb the corporate ladder.

Today, women account for 40 percent of the global workforce and are at the helm of major establishments, yet there is no dearth of setbacks women face each day while pursuing their ambitions.

Online communities are committed to supporting women in global supply chains, and are set out to understand how to address the challenges holding back progress on womens economic empowerment.

From professional accomplishments and guidance, to mental health support and workplace obstacles women communities become spaces where women can share career advice and create opportunities for each other, together.

Women often end up getting trapped in unconscious patterns of behaviour, which are detrimental to their growth and success.

To put it across very simply, empowering women is about sharing your experiences with one another in hopes that your words and actions will inspire, and more importantly, uplift them. It is all about helping other women enhance and enrich themselves.

Media and culture lack authentic representations of women; from products we cannot use to stories we do not identify with.

From the classroom to the boardroom, women's opinions have been hushed, disregarded, interrupted, mocked, or mansplained. Women are schooled not only to ask permission, apologise, hedge and speak up, but also to self-doubt and self-censor. Women communities change this. They become stages whereupon women are handed the mic, and find the confidence to raise their voice and their power.

Contrary to popular sexist beliefs, women can be womens biggest supporters. Judgement and enmity come from centuries of being put in competition with one another.

But when women are put in the same team, they can push each other to be more successful just by encouraging and motivating them.

As women, we are multi-dimensional and we want to succeed in all aspects of our lives, including at home and in our careers. At work, we are often reticent to try things before we feel we are 100 percent ready or qualified.

If you are part of a women empowerment community, encourage your girls to get out of her comfort zone. Set expectations high because she is capable of achieving them. Create an environment for her to feel safe in her crucial decision making processes, and also hold her back up as she tries to rise from her falls and moves on.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

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The importance of women communities and how they help women become empowered - YourStory

There is a discernible silver lining in the otherwise ominously dark cloud of Covid-19: A whole new category of employment will emerge soon that will be both better for employees and employers.

I call it the interim economy.

The word "interim" literally translates from its Latin origins as "the time in between," and for businesses the next two years will be a time in which they either adapt or disappear.

First, let's lay our cards on the table: There's no guarantee that a vaccine will be created, ever; 40 years on, an AIDS vaccine has yet to be found. Likewise, the probability of the U.S. reaching so-called herd immunity in a country the expanse and size of ours seems unlikely.

With the sudden, massive shift to remote work to stop the spread of the pandemic over the past few months, companies have found that working from home actually works: A recent study concluded that up to 40% of all jobs can be performed at home, while before the pandemic, it's estimated that only 3% actually could be done remotely.

This trend was already afoot before the pandemic, but it was largely an opt-in lifestyle choice or confined mainly to the blue-collar service industry. When it came to white-collar and professional jobs, it was still the rare exception rather than the rule.

Now individuals and companies have found they no longer have to be held hostage by geography. Large but nimble tech companies, like Google, Twitter, Facebook and Square, have already announced that many of their employees will be allowed to work from home at least through the end of the year.

Some companies may even choose to continue remote work on a permanent basis: According to a March 30 survey conducted by Gartner Research of 317 CFOs and finance leaders, 74% say they will move at least 5% of their previously on-site workforce to permanently remote positions post-Covid-19. That synchronizes with a recent Gallup poll that found nearly 60% of employees would like to keep working remotely after access to businesses and schools have been restored.

This alignment between employee desire and employer needs is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the moribund employment landscape. The next step: transitioning these workers into independent contractors.

Of the 160 million people employed in the U.S. in February, 65% had a full-time job and 33% had a contract job with a predetermined end. The average length of stay for full-time employment was 3.5 years and decreasing. The average assignment length for the contract category was 2-plus years and increasing. The new economy already was in place, waiting in the wings.

The pandemic was just the tipping point.

Even after stay-at-home restrictions are eased, and even if somehow we dodge the second wave of the virus that is widely predicted to emerge this fall, there are so many people unemployed that a V or even a U bounce-back of the job market is nearly impossible.

According to Heidi Shierholz, the former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and current director of policy at theEconomic Policy Institute, if we succeed in restoring "a million jobs a month which would be absolutely unheard of it would still take almost two years to get back to where we were."

Faced with bleak balance sheets, businesses will be forced to cut labor costs. But how? Now that the pandemic has shown that many companies can function pretty much as usual with remote employment, businesses will strike a deal with their full-time employees: Allow them the lifestyle of working from home in return for becoming a contract worker. Given that up to 25% of labor costs are besides earned wages paid personal time off, health-care benefits, retirement plans and other additional costs the potential savings are enormous.

Given that up to 25% of labor costs are besides earned wages paid personal time off, health-care benefits, retirement plans and other additional costs the potential savings are enormous.

Another huge cost savings potential is not having to pay for workers who are tied to a particular locale. If an employee can live in Flagstaff, Arizona, or Kennebunkport, Maine, a company would no longer need to pay for San Francisco or New York costs of living. If a person is able to work as an interim employee and perform remotely from essentially anywhere, the salary requirement may differ by as much as 30%. That could have a tremendous macroeconomic impact on business.

How exactly will the Brave New World of Work look like for the formerly full-time, salaried employee?

Employees will thrive as independent contractors. Think, for example, entertainment and sports. In the not too distant past, virtually all film actors were salaried employees of the major Hollywood studios. That changed dramatically with a 1949 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended the vertically integrated studio system of producing, distributing and exhibiting movies. A decade later the biggest and brightest stars were independent contractors, represented by talent agents. Similarly, most professional athletes in the U.S. before the 1990s didn't have agents.

Sought-after employees across many industries will have agents representing their careers. Newer players will be able to ride on the established stars' coattails, a process that will set industry-standard contract work fees and perks.

Contract workers with similar backgrounds will form trade organizations. This may be in the form of professional unions, if you will, to represent themselves collectively, much as film and TV actors have with the Screen Actors Guild, and professional athletes have with various players' unions. (Facebook employees' very public disagreement with Mark Zuckerberg over President Donald Trump's questionable messaging may be a sign of bigger things to come in terms of employee self-empowerment.)

Home will become a mini metropolis for each worker. Virtually any service will be efficiently delivered to an individual's home, including health care. In fact, health care will help drive the new interim economy as big tech streamlines the delivery of state-of-the-art medicine through telehealth and big data innovations.

Professional branding will make resumes obsolete. The No. 1 activity that every worker in the interim economy should get comfortable with is professional branding and reputation building in their respective areas of expertise. The days of sending out resumes, answering job postings and hoping to tap into analog networks of exclusively "people you know" will no longer create the best opportunities for employment. Actively networking, proper positioning of work experience and personal web pages for careers will all be critical assets for career building.

Each age group of current full-time employees will have their own advantages and disadvantages in the interim economy.

Workers ages 50 plus, who will represent 35% of the labor market in 2022 (a combination of late baby boomers and early Gen Xers), will be targeted first for dis-employment because they tend to have the highest salaries. On the other hand, they have the most experience and institutional knowledge, which will become critically important in a world of on-demand workers.

Millennials will have to compete both with younger and older workers for income but will have the advantages of enough experience and a generational tech savviness to make themselves unique assets. Gen Zers will be handicapped by their lack of experience but will succeed by their willingness to occupy initially the lower end of the pay scale and through their sheer toughness born out of experiencing the Great Recession as children and now the pandemic as young adults.

We're about to embark on a new employment revolution. Both companies and individuals who embrace the new interim economy will thrive. As humans, we tend to process changes through our existing reality or self-imposed limitation. This is one of those times when we really need to look at things as they are, not as we see them.

Joe Mullings is a career expert with 30 years advising companies and individuals. He is the founder and CEO of The Mullings Group, a firm specializing in medtech talent acquisition. Recently, he was appointed the chief visionary officer of MRI, the 3rd-ranked executive recruitment firm, with 400 offices worldwide.

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Op-ed: More companies will offer remote work at price of staff position. Take the deal - CNBC

Female peacekeepers are great assets to the UN. A Rwandan police officer is greeted warmly by women and children while on patrol in Gao, Mali.Photo: UN Photo/Marco Dormino

The vision and promise of the United Nations is that food, healthcare, water and sanitation, education, decent work and social security are not commodities for sale to those who can afford them, but basic human rights to which we are all entitled. Those were the poignant words of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in a hard hitting speech on 18 July 2020 to mark Mandela Day.

For every staff of the United Nations family the Mandela speech by Mr. Guterres was powerful and inspirational. Speaking about the scourge of inequality, he said, while we are all floating on the same sea, its clear that some are in superyachts while others are clinging to the drifting debris.

For me, the United Nations (UN) is personal. Coming from a family rendered refugees due to the partition of India in 1947, as a child I benefited from its immunization programmes- I actually survived polio. The UNs work with the Government of India helped to eradicate smallpox and polio in my home country, where these diseases used to take a huge toll on lives and livelihoods.

Although forged in the crucible of wars and crippling ideological rivalries between East and West, the United Nations has since managed to convince the world of the need to compromise and to take each others views into account and to listen to others while facing humanitys enduring challenges. That this has been achieved in just 75 years is remarkable.

In the narrative of the period when humanity made great social, cultural, and economic advances, the UN takes centre stage. For more than two decades during my service in the UN system, I have been part of this story and am convinced that the UN still matters, perhaps now more than ever.

While the calamitous cost of two World Wars and subsequent ideological fault-lines convinced humankind of the need for a body like the UN, the challenges facing us today remain just as formidable. As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, it does not take much to upend not only individual lives, but entire societies and economies. There are numerous reasons for people to feel insecure in todays world.

Among these are strong indications of resurgent nationalism and warning signs of ethnic and religious isolationism that not only threaten states, communities and individuals. Combined with humanitarian and climate disasters, these challenges have been articulated and framed for action as the Sustainable Development Goals that the UN is spearheading everywhere in the world.

Just as diplomacy was the basis for the establishment of the UN, my experience in the frontlines of combat operations when I served in the Indian Army convinced me that there is a better way to solve conflicts. My early career in the UN was spent in countries almost defined by war and instability, such as Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Somalia. The images of men, women, and children driven from their homes by murder, rape, and the burning down of schools and homes is seared in my mind.

I am proud to have been part of the United Nations response to complex humanitarian challenges. In Indonesia, for example, an innovation by the UN called a school-in-a-box helped children return to their regular school routine as quickly as possible during the conflict in Aceh when schools were being burned down. We helped maintain immunization, reproductive health services, education as well as nutrition services, working in difficult and life-threatening situations in Darfur, Somalia, and Iraq. We demobilized child soldiers in the midst of a conflict in South Sudan.

With the Coronavirus pandemic raging, UN country teams all over the world are working tirelessly with their respective host governments to flatten the curve.

In various countries today, internecine conflicts, hunger, and disease continue to take a tragic toll, especially among the worlds children. The malignant neglect of our global environment threatens all of us. The UN retains unprecedented respect, acceptance, and mobilizing capacity to rally member states to act together to solve these problems.

The nature of todays challenges compels us towards integration and collaboration. Humankind must find new ways to work together more effectively in pursuit of our collective interests and to think anew about how our institutions of international cooperation can be strengthened.

The UN has enabled many member states to embark on transformational journeys; life expectancy is rising, jobs being created, and people lifted out of poverty. Yet in many others, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, progress is fragile and unequal. The UN constantly seeking new models that are inclusive and sustainable, and is opening up new opportunities to harness big data, technology and innovation to leapfrog development, through ground breaking partnerships with the private sector.

Many factors have sometimes stymied the United Nations work. These range from reliability of funding to the difficulties of achieving consensus between diverse member states on complex topics. Such factors have sometimes made us slow and limited our impact.

Antonio Guterres has said that worldwide consultation process around the 75th anniversary of the United Nations has made clear that people want a global governance system that delivers for them. Therefore the bold reforms underway, led by Mr Guterres, will make the organization more nimble, better equipped and prepared to deal with contemporary challenges.

UN country teams are adapting to new realities in their programmes, reflecting the shifts (such as peacekeeping to peace-building) through social and economic development support and humanitarian relief.

In Kenya, the countrys President, Uhuru Kenyatta is spearheading the charge to eradicate female genital mutilation supported by the United Nations. I have seen firsthand the reduction in maternal and infant mortality due to complications at childbirth, universal access to primary education and better a collective push to achieve universal health coverage.

I continue to see the promise of peace and prosperity for the most vulnerable marginalized that comes with the UNs work, such as the Kenya Uganda cross border initiative to promote peace and development in the Karamoja area, mired in rivalry over scant resources and experiencing the debilitating impact of climate change. Amina Mohammed the UN Deputy Secretary General said, Its exciting to see the new ways in which governments, communities and partners are coming together with UN teams to mobilize across borders especially when it comes to taking climate action.

COVID-19 has confirmed that the era of national problems is receding fast, by revealing national and global fragilities to an invisible virus. The pandemic is a stark reminder of the need for cooperation across borders, sectors and generations.

Today we can see that most challenges are global and interconnected, and can only be tackled through global action coordinated through global institutions.

At the signing of the United Nations Charter, in San Francisco in 1945, the President of the United States of America, Harry Truman said, If we fail to use it, we shall betray all those who have died so that we might meet here in freedom and safety to create it. If we seek to use it selfishly for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations we shall be equally guilty of that betrayal.

Those farsighted leaders who founded the United Nations 75 years ago gave us the momentum to propel humanity to greater security and prosperity. Today, the UN continues to be a sound investment, a real beacon of hope.

Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. He has served in various parts of the world with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UN Peacekeeping and the Red Cross Movement. A decorated Special Forces veteran, he is an alumnus of Princeton University. Follow him on twitter-@sidchat1

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Op-Ed: Women Empowerment During The Covid-19 Pandemic - Forbes Africa

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 22, 2020 / It's well known that branding is a major component of business success. The branding industry is full of talent and creatives, however, there are some coaches' whose skill sets are a cut above the rest. With world class talent everywhere, it can be overwhelming to know which coach is best aligned to you and your brand. Each with their own unique approach to their craft, here were present the 10 branding coaches leading the way in their industry:

1. Jacob Cass

@justcreative

Jacob Cass is a brand designer, strategist, educator and business coach for creatives. Jacob is the founder of JUST Creative, an award-winning branding and design firm, that is dedicated to helping brands grow.

Jacob coaches creatives in both a 1:1 and/or group setting, is his "Inner Triangle Group Coaching Mastermind", where he has been able to help scores of clients achieve branding & business success.

Having recently been involved with the rebranding of San Francisco, Puerto Rico and also New York's Digital District, his other clients have included the likes of Disney, Nintendo, and Jerry Seinfeld, to name a few.

As one of the leading professionals in the design industry, Jacob's also had speaking engagements at TEDx, features in Forbes and Entrepreneur, and even awarded LinkedIn's "Best of" for the Branding category.

Design is a lifelong journey for Jacob which has empowered him to continuously hone his craft and is part of what has helped him to attract and educate countless fellow designers.

Jacob consistently delivers high quality content and value to his audience through his Instagram, Web site and Podcast, The JUST Branding Podcast'. Jacob has an astonishing reputation in the industry, where he has built his large and loyal following - even amassing an enormous 60 million views on his website.

If you're wanting to build a thriving creative business, Jacob Cass, has the breadth of experience to get you there.

2. Suzanne Chadwick

@suzchadwick

Suzanne Suz' Chadwick is a bold business, branding, and speaker coach based in Melbourne, Australia. With over 9 years in the branding industry and another 10 years in sales and leadership, Suz has worked with large multi-national businesses across the United Kingdom, the United States, and Asia Pacific to support them to create stand out brands in their market. Now working with female entrepreneurs globally, her mission is to support them to become bold and powerful voices in their industry and establish their brands in a unique way.. Since starting "The Connection Exchange" in 2014, Suz has partnered with over 700 clients globally through coaching, courses and events. Having worked with both corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, Suz has seen both sides of the business landscape when it comes to what is working in the market today. Through her signature online course, Brand Builder's Academy and the other coaching and consulting services she offers, Suz's clients have come together to create a powerful community of women in business over the past five years. . Having also authored Play Big, Brand Bold', hosting a highly ranked podcast Brand Builder's Lab', Suz has established herself as an industry leader in the branding space, and teaches practical strategies for building a profitable business with a mix of fun and creativity.

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3. Travis John Brady

@coachtravisbrady

With the wisdom of over 17 years' experience, including multiple degrees and certifications, Travis Brady applies his knowledge of human physiology and psychology to create transformations within businesses' brands, marketing and culture of their organisations. Travis is the founder of Next Gen Coaching, which is where his passion comes to life, fulfilling his purpose of helping businesses bring out their creative, innovative and influential genius through their brands. Travis is a highly sought-after coach and mentor and with Next Gen Coaching, he's been able to help leaders and executive's brand themselves to become more influential and impactful. "Next Gen coaching helps businesses evolve their brand and implement that brand into their online presence, marketing, services, and sales process" Travis explained. With a collective 50 years of experience between their team, Next Gen Coaching is helping their clients produce and finish immaculate videos, logos, graphics, websites and social media banners - everything they need to create a professional uniform look. Having made philanthropy a part of his mission, Travis and his wife have created "The Next Generation Foundation" where they provide financial aid to adolescents who cannot afford to play sports. Travis also hosts the "Next Gen Coaching Chronicles" & "Next Gen Sports Podcast", interviewing some of the top leaders in the business and coaching industries - where he continues to have a huge impact.

4. Giselle Mascarenhas

@thebrandingprofessor

Born and raised on the border of South Texas, , Giselle Mascarenhas-Villarreal makes her living as an entrepreneur and personal branding coach. After making her debut as a public relations specialist in 2009, she spent many years perfecting her process, building brands for high and low profile clients alike. Founding Indigo PR firm in 2013, Giselle was looking for a more accessible, affordable, and effective way to help people brand themselves. Over the next 5 years, the vast boom of social media as well as her passion for small business inspired her to modernize her idea of what personal branding could be. With the immense untapped potential that social media presented, BOLD Insta-tute was born. Created for the everyday business person, the focus of BOLD is to teach them how to adapt to social media. With a specialty in helping people have the courage to show themselves, Giselle teaches her students that you cannot "corporate" your way into people's hearts. Her numerous tips and tools explain that relatability and vulnerability are essential to building a fruitful and engaged social media community. Giselle continues to pursue her life's passion of helping others succeed by extracting their magic and purpose, actively redefining what it means to be a branding coach.

5. Diya Asrani

@diya_asrani

Starting out from scratch and fashioning her own unique approach to personal branding, Diya Asrani is a personal branding coach and the Founder & CEO of Design Your Presence. With an experimental and research centric approach towards her craft, she is passionate and creative, and has been able to help a number of brands, entrepreneurs and coaches to design their own personal brand presence. With a decade of experience in the industry, Diya has had a stellar last year where she's built her brand presence and elevated her reputation through confident storytelling, reputation building and thoughtful marketing - much like she helps her clients. "Design Your Presence is a program and brand for entrepreneurs, coaches, and trainers to build their personal brand presence by helping them convert their passion into a business creation while activating the necessary skills that position them as a trusted expert in their industry. I believe in simplicity in strategy. Keeping that in mind, I have designed a 6-step strategy that helps them dive deep into building a meaningful brand presence - right from building a growth mindset of a creator, to storytelling, to managing their online presence and finally practicing hygienic marketing that helps them build a good reputation overall" Diya explained. Offering a range of services, from 1:1 coaching, online courses and group coaching, she is also a regular for speaking engagements on the topic of personal branding for various companies. Diya's 6 step strategy is useful for anyone trying to create their personal brand as she is a true personal branding expert, having helped countless people unleash their capabilities, building their personal brand presence as trusted experts in the industry.

6. Marina Simone

@marinaannsimone

Starting from scratch with no real direction, it was a while before Marina Simone found her feet making a living on social media, through network marketing. In her second company she built an organization of 25,000 customers and distributors in less than two years, using online strategies with social media, which made her in the top 12 income earners in that company. Now, Marina is a branding coach, who's been helping her clients generate more sales and leads through branding themselves like a professional and helping their light shine brightest to the world. Marina is wife and mom to a beautiful 10-year-old little girl Anaiyah and 1-year old Madelyn, she is known for keeping it real with her audience - she doesn't feel like she is better than anyone else and embraces women, taking them on the journey with her. Marina is the Founder and CEO of Moms And Heels where her mission is to teach busy moms how to slay online sales, by identifying their personal brand, story and mission on social media. Her unique persona and branding style make Marina a true standout - and if she can do it, so can you.

7. Tanvi Jain

@tanvijainofficial

Tanvi Jain believes that investment in our own self pays the best interest so that you show the world how you see yourself and want the world to treat you. Her Doctorate degree in Luxury Brand Management combined with her experience as a Chartered Manager in Leadership, Life Coach and Image Consultant has allowed Tanvi to establish her own business as a Personal Branding Coach. Her core values are centered around sophistication, integrity, confidence, and empowerment, which she uses to cater bespoke services to anyone who wants to become the best version of themselves and establish an authority in their line of business. Her program covers three milestones to achieve results. The first one involves life coaching where she helps her clients believe in themselves, empower their strengths as individuals, and guide them in the right direction. The second is the one where she polishes their presence through image development and masterclasses based upon elegance and international etiquette protocol. The third milestone involves branding where she helps her members effectively shape their ideas and knowledge and tailor their business communications to their target audience. Tanvi believes that branding is all about framing how people perceive you as an individual or as a business. This way, She prepares you to step into the world of social climbing where you build a strong networking to send out the message you want, taste and appreciate the finer things in life and develop that Mystique Aura, that alluring individuality leaving a long-lasting impression. Personal Branding is the incredible power to lead ourselves in all aspects of our lives because you need to embrace your personal brand if you want to exercise control over it.

8. Daria Parkinson

@discoveringdaria

Daria Parkinson is a rapidly emerging coach in the branding community. In just two months, Daria was able to help over 200 entrepreneurs create a unique branding strategy. Utilizing color psychology in her branding ideas to help her clients stand out for countless businesses online, Daria understands that colors affect perceptions and behaviors of people, so she uses it to her advantage - creating compelling marketing materials that make brands stand out. Daria has also been able to create various content materials; e-books, webinars, 90-minute intensive calls, and even built mini-courses, to extend her reach and help more clients. Remembering her first month, Daria couldn't believe how her passion for branding gave her the opportunity to make more money than she ever did in a year! "I never thought that by simply doing what I love, I'd be able to empower people to find their individuality through branding" Daria Explained. Daria is an expert at what she does, and she's been able to help countless brands stand out and flourish.

9. Azalee Maslow

@azaleemaslow

Born and raised in Las Vegas, Azalee Maslow has over 10 years of experience in digital media and has completed her Master's degree in Journalism and Media Studies. Working as a branding coach, Azalee has embodied her experience as a digital marketing strategist in establishing The Babble Boutique, a digital media agency focused on helping female entrepreneurs. Through a 12-week 1:1 coaching program, she helps her clients create their personal brands using The B.A.B "Branded Abundant Babe" Method. Her background in journalism helps them improve the storytelling strategies they need to execute as they leave their digital footprints online. From Day 1, she empowers her clients to make all the decisions on their own while guiding them at every step of the way. Azalee knows what it feels like to not feel in control, so she commits herself to give her clients the complete control they need to be successful in their lives. Aside from coaching, Azalee is also a lifestyle blogger, writing about beauty, wellness, travel, philanthropy, and anything that helps people live their best lives. On her blog and podcast PrettyAF', she also talks about branding and interviews other female entrepreneurs. Azalee's generosity extends well beyond her abilities to coach, as she also donates 20% of proceeds from PrettyAF to selected animal charities.

10. Jen Conrad

@jen_conrad

A passionate serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, Jen Conrad is a branding coach and strategist, who empowers women with her wisdom and wander-lust soul. Jen's motivational spirit and heart for service, her authentic approach to her craft allows her to connect with her audience, encouraging them to take massive action for their brands and lives. Her company, The Conrad Company, is a lifestyle brand that exists to equip women with the tools to make a positive and lasting change in their lives, through building an online community, personal mindset development, and brand development. Jen uses a heart centred approach to help the everyday women to uncover her personal brand and monetize it. Jen speaks to the multi-passionate soul and shows them how to create a seamless brand that attracts people to their product or service. Offering both monthly bootcamps and 1:1 coaching, Jen's 7 years of experience in branding coupled with her education as a therapist, help her clients brand themselves and put their best foot forward in the marketplace. Jen's mission is to create an impact through her work and through the scores of clients she's been able to help, she's doing just that.

Make sure to follow each of these incredible coaches, as they continue to help their clients design world-class brands. Each of their Instagram's have been directly linked here. Finally, we would like to thank Boost Media Agency for taking the time to put this article together.

CONTACT:

Contact: Lewis SchenkCompany: Boost Media AgencyAddress: New York, New YorkPhone: 3106001787Email: operations@boostmediaofficial.pageWebsite: http://www.boostmediaofficial.page

SOURCE: Boost Media Agency

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/598463/The-Top-10-Branding-Coaches-to-Follow-in-2020

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The Top 10 Branding Coaches to Follow in 2020 - Yahoo Finance

With the $600 weekly federal unemployment supplement ending this week, thousands of unemployed Tennesseans are likely to be scrambling to make ends meet.

The $600 weeklysupplement, used by so many whose employment was impacted by the pandemic to tide them over, ends with the week ending July 25.

Many are predicting increased bankruptcies and strains on social service agenciesas people struggle to afford basics like rent, food, medical care and utilities.

"We know families will be hurt the most, with parentsout of work and school going remote (hampering low-income families from receiving free or reduced-cost lunches for their children)," said Samantha Williams, director of the Nashville Financial Empowerment Center, which provides free one-on-one financial counseling to any Davidson County resident.

"We hope people are finding out about usand seeing that we can help them negotiate this," she said. "I think a lot of people have been holding off asking for help while they have been getting the checks, but now we hope they will seek usout."

We asked Williams and her staff tooffer some tips to help people who face looming financial challenges.

COVID-19: New Tennessee unemployment claims top 20,000 for fifth straight week

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Call 2-1-1 for information on food, shelter and basic needs. The counselors can also help connect people with other local resourcessuch as SNAP food nutrition or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)if they have children. The center doesnot provide financial assistance but offers to help people negotiate the system to get help.

Work with a professional financial counselor.To make a virtual appointment with aNashville Financial Empowerment Center counselor,call 615-748-3620 or visit fec.nashville.gov. The service is free for Davidson County residents, and the wait time for an appointment is about a week.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The $600-per-week benefit has not been extended: Here's what to know

Prioritize expenses. Make a list of allthe things you spend money on. The counselors suggest that you break itinto three categories: essentials, debt payments and discretionary spending. Essentials include housing, utilities, transportation, medical needs, basic food/grocery, child care and cellphone.

Cut where you can.Eliminate as much discretionary spending as possibleand then start trying to trim the rest.

List your debts.The counselors suggest making a call list of everyone you owe money to, thencontact each company, explain your situation and ask what your options are.

Avoid overdraft charges. Cancel automatic debits to temporarily avoid overdraft.

Don't resort to credit cards orloans.The counselors say to "exhaust every possible option" before resorting to using credit cards, personal loans or cashing out retirement to pay for current expenses.

Track your progress.Look at income and expenses to determine realistic cash flow and figure out how much wiggle room you might have on groceries and other expenses.

Learn new skills while unemployed.TheAmerican Job Center and https://www.jobs4tn.gov/vosnet/Default.aspxare good resources for finding programs where you can learn new skills while unemployed.

The Financial Empowerment Center offersfree one-on-one financial advice services toany Davidson County resident, regardless of income.

The counseling sessions are done by phone or virtually. Most initial sessions last an hour or hour and a half. To make an appointment, call 615-748-3620 or go to fec.nashville.gov.

Since March 2013, the Financial Empowerment Center has helped more than 8,000 clientsand held more than 23,000 individual counseling sessions.

The program, which has counselors who speak Spanish as well as English, hashelped its clients reduce their debt by more than $15.3million. Counselors have backgrounds in various areas, including banking and social work.

The program started in Nashville in 2013, with initial funding from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, a Bloomberg Philanthropy. Now it is funded by the Mayor's Office and United Way.

Details: fec.nashville.gov andhttps://www.unitedwaynashville.org/programs/financial-empowerment-center

The extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits was passed as part of the federal CARES Act in March. It is notexpectedto be extended past theweek ending July 25.

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5s Talk of the Town.

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With $600 unemployment benefit ending, here's how to make your money last - Tennessean

Welcome to the real life of a woman in U.S. politics.

On Monday, Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) tore into freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on the steps of the Capitol, reportedly calling her a f---ing b---- as he walked away. On Tuesday, during a private meeting, conservative male lawmakers took turns unloading on Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for criticizing President Donald Trumps handling of the coronavirus and supporting Dr. Anthony Fauci.

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The twin outbursts sent shockwaves through Congress as both parties rushed to contain, or condemn, the behavior. Two POLITICO Congress reporters are here to tell us what they saw this week on the Hill:

The Republican Party still has a long way to go -- POLITICOs Melanie Zanona writes: The GOP has been desperately trying to shake its image as the party of old, white males a problem Republicans have long struggled with, even before President Trump was elected. And, to the GOPs credit, they have recruited a record-breaking number of Republican women to run for office this year.

But between the nasty confrontation with AOC and the Cheney pile-on, this was a bad week for that effort. If the GOP is targeting Cheney in particular, the highest-ranking female Republican and just one of 13 Republican women in the House, what does that signal about how they value the women in their party?

At a press conference, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) voiced support for Cheney and said Yoho made a mistake. But he also said Yoho should be forgiven because he apologized, and questioned whether Democrats should have used an hour of floor time to continue talking about the incident comments that came off as tone-deaf to many congressional Democrats.

When pressed on whether the GOP has a woman problem, McCarthy strongly pushed back, pointing to the partys progress in recruiting female candidates. But he also acknowledged they still have a ways to go when it comes to improving their standing with women. So do we have areas to improve? Yes. But are there improvements out there? I see it each and every day, he said.

Dems use the moment to unite -- POLITICOs Sarah Ferris was there to witness the scene on Thursday as more than a dozen Democrats, mostly women, came to the defense of Ocasio-Cortez in a series of floor speeches. She writes: The speeches were delivered to a mostly empty House chamber in a mostly deserted Capitol complex but the intended audience was far beyond the building.

For an hour on the floor, Democrats from senior progressive Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to moderate freshman Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) called out Yoho for what they considered a non-apology. (He regretted his abrupt manner but denied using the vulgar insult that AOC and a reporter heard.) Many recounted their own experiences being accosted by men in their workplaces, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who was belittled by a senior Republican on the House floor just three years ago.

Im stunned, and yet, at the same time, I think its a pattern. Its an old pattern, Jayapal said.

AOC herself gave a forceful speech, condemning Yoho especially for referencing his wife and daughters when he denied leveling an explicative at her. In using that language in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community, and I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable, she said. I want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and accost women. You can have daughters and accost women without remorse. You can be married and accost women. ... It happens every day in this country.

It was a powerful moment for the Democratic Caucus, which touts more women than ever in its ranks and for Ocasio-Cortez personally, who has been vilified by the GOP and is a lightning bolt even in her own party. But on Thursday, it was progressives and moderates of all ranks, from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to freshman lawmakers, who joined the show of force on the floor.

We are all keenly aware that everyone across the country is watching, Rep. Katherine Clark, one of the most senior Democratic women in Congress, said in an interview after her floor speech. If we don't speak up, then it becomes something that women and girls just accept in our lives.

-- Dems rebuke culture of sexism in defense of Ocasio-Cortez, by Caitlin Oprysko and Sarah Ferris POLITICO

Happy Friday and welcome back to Women Rule. Its great to be back with you guys. In Hollywood news, Hulu has acquired the rights to Curtis Sittenfelds alternate history Rodham, which imagines HIllary Clintons story had she never married Bill.

Thanks to Maya Parthasarathy for doing such a stellar job filling in the past two weeks. Send your feedback to [emailprotected]. Subscribe here.

PANDEMIC AFTEREFFECTS - Crashing down: How the child care crisis is magnifying racial disparities, by Eleanor Mueller: The collapse of the child care industry is hitting women of color the hardest, threatening to stoke racial and gender inequities and putting pressure on Congress to address the crisis in its new round of coronavirus aid.

Black and Latina women are suffering a double-barreled blow as coronavirus-induced shutdowns batter the industry, since they dominate the ranks of child care providers and have long struggled to gain access to the services for their own kids.

The sector, which saw 60 percent of its programs close at the height of the pandemic before rebounding slightly, is still down some 237,000 workers from last year a number thats likely to grow as states shut down again, economists say. Some projections show the industry could permanently lose half its programs. Two in 5 child care providers this month said they will shut for good without an infusion of federal funding. POLITICO

-- How the Child Care Crisis Will Distort the Economy for a Generation -- POLITICO Magazines Zack Stanton interviews economist Betsey Stevenson, a former member of President Barack Obamas Council of Economic Advisers. POLITICO Magazine

-- An eviction apocalypse is coming, experts warn. Black women will bear the brunt, via The Lily

A BETTER POST-COVID WORLD -- Check out the International Rescue Committees report on how to build back better to ensure that the post-Covid world gives women and girls more opportunities to succeed. Read the report

2020 WATCH -- Joe Biden says four African American women are under consideration as his running mate, by Sean Sullivan: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden suggested Monday that four African American women are under consideration to be his running mate, but he stopped short of pledging to pick one of them. Although Biden did not name any of the four, the comments amounted to some of his most specific public remarks yet about a search that he has said he is aiming to conclude by early August. His words also reflected the growing pressure he is under to demonstrate that he is seriously considering adding a black woman to the ticket. WaPo

-- Georgia Democrats pick state party chair to replace Lewis on ballot, by Ally Mutnick: Nikema Williams, a state senator and chair of Georgia state Democratic Party, will replace the late Rep. John Lewis on the ballot in November. Facing a Monday afternoon deadline to select a new nominee, the state party executive committee chose Williams from a pool of 131 applicants. Lewis, a beloved icon of the Civil Rights Movement, died Friday at age 80, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. POLITICO

COVID SPOTLIGHT -- Covid Vaccine Front-Runner Is Months Ahead of Her Competition, by Stephanie Baker: [Oxford Universitys Sarah] Gilbert has been all over the British press, but she appears to regard public attention as a distraction. For more than two decades she worked anonymously, developing vaccines while also, of necessity, churning out endless grant applications. Her research was rarely discussed outside scientific circles. Now shes leading one of the most high-profile and advanced vaccine candidates against Covid-19, with Phase III, or final-stage, trials under way involving thousands of people in Brazil, South Africa, the U.K., and, soon, the U.S. Money is no longer a struggle. Bloomberg

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION -- State Department Insiders Ask: What Is Susan Pompeo Really Up To? by Daniel Lippman and Nahal Toosi: Mike Pompeo has risen to a series of increasingly influential posts in Washington: first as President Donald Trumps director of the CIA and now as secretary of State. He is widely considered a future Republican presidential candidate. In each of his recent positions, his wife has been a constant presence at his side, wielding her unofficial authority in ways that have carried through from the CIAs Langley, Va., headquarters all the way to Foggy Bottomwith fastidious attention to detail, demanding standards and a head-turning level of engagement for the spouse of a powerful political figure.

But in recent months, Susan Pompeos involvement in State Department business has drawn public attention in ways that have been uncomfortable for the Pompeos. In May, at Mike Pompeos behest, Trump fired the departments inspector general, who had been probing whether the Pompeos have improperly used office staff to perform personal and political errands. Democratic lawmakers are now investigating the circumstances of the inspector generals firing.

From speaking to roughly two dozen people and examining emails and audio recordings, a portrait emerges of a couple experiencing a rude introduction to the major leagues. In a vast Cabinet department with extensive resources, tightly bound by protocol and with close oversight, Mike and Susan Pompeo have imported a model more familiar to smaller, less scrutinized congressional offices on Capitol Hill: a blurry line between the appointed secretary and unappointed spouse, and among official, political and personal agendas. POLITICO Magazine

OP-ED WATCH -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer both published op eds in the New York Times this week. Warren wrote about her to-do list to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which includes the statement we cannot begin to have a recovery without affordable child care. Whitmer urged Trump to issue a federal mandate requiring people to wear face masks on public transport, indoors, or outdoors when a distance of six feet cannot be maintained.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks on the House floor, Thursday, July 23. This issue is not about one incident, she said. It is cultural. It is a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting violence and violent language against women and an entire structure of power that supports that. | House Television via AP

CLASS NOTES -- The Class of RBG, by Dahlia Lithwick and Molly Olmstead: Theres a scene in a recent movie about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that stuck in my head after I saw it. Its in the biopic On the Basis of Sex, when the future justice and some of her Harvard Law classmates are gathered at Dean Erwin Griswolds house for dinner. The year is 1956, just six years after the law school started admitting women. In that scene, the dean asks each of the women in the class nine of them, including Ginsburg to stand up and explain why shes at Harvard, taking the place of a man. ...

In the movie, of course, the spotlight is on Justice Ginsburg, as she drily replies that she is at Harvard because she wants to learn more about her husbands work.

But when I watched that scene, I thought: What about those other women, giggling in the background at Ruth Bader Ginsburgs response? Those women, pioneers all, are now just extras in movie scenes about their famous classmate. But who are they? What drew them to join a class of 500-plus men to study the law, and what did they hope to do with their degrees? Slate

-- Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects on her female classmates: Its Amazing to Me How Distinctly I Remember Each of These Women, via Slate ...

AROUND THE WORLD -- For Women in Afghan Security Forces, a Daily Battle, by Mujib Mashal: Motivated, educated and fresh from finishing police academy in Turkey, Second Lt. Zala Zazai had stellar qualifications for the job she took in eastern Afghanistan in June. It all mattered little once she started. On social media, she was called a prostitute, and men wrote that her very presence on the force would corrupt Khost Province, where she was posted. Her colleagues at Police Headquarters where she was the only female officer on a staff of nearly 500 tried to intimidate her into wearing a conservative head scarf and traditional clothes instead of her uniform, and to hide in back corners of the office away from the public, she said. Shopkeepers arrived at the stations gates with no other business but to get a look at this novelty.

Even after more than a billion dollars spent on womens empowerment projects, the daily reality for women trying to break into public roles particularly with the government and the security forces remains bleak. Women are still almost completely absent in high-level meetings where decisions of war, peace and politics are made. Work for women at routine jobs is a daily barrage of harassment, insult and abuse.

Among the police forces, which have been the focus of diversification efforts for years, women still make up only 2.8 percent of employees and that is the highest level in 18 years. Most of those 3,800 women are in hidden roles with little contact with the public, officials acknowledged. Only five of the total of about 200 military and civilian leadership positions at the Interior Ministry are occupied by women. NYT

-- The Disappeared Of Pakistan Have New Champions: Young Women, via NPR ... The COVID-19 crisis disproportionately affects women heres how Latin America is addressing it, via World Economic Forum

IN THE COURTS -- Google Women Seek Class-Action Status for Gender-Pay Lawsuit, by Malathi Nayak: Four female former employees of Alphabet Inc.s Google are trying to persuade a state court to let them represent more than 10,000 peers in a gender-pay disparity suit against the company, setting the stage for the next big battle over class-action status. Google paid women approximately $16,794 less per year than the similarly-situated man, the women said in a filing on Tuesday, citing an analysis by David Neumark, an economist at the University of California, Irvine. Google paid women less base salary, smaller bonuses, and less stock than men in the same job code and location, they said.

The women claim the pay differences violate Californias Equal Pay Act. According to the lawsuit, Google also violated the states Unfair Competition Law with a policy from 2011 to 2017 of asking job candidates for prior salaries, perpetuating lower pay and seniority for women. They want a San Francisco Superior Court judge to let them sue on behalf of all women who have worked at Google in California since Sept. 14, 2013. Bloomberg

WOMEN AT WORK -- How to Stop the Tidal Wave of Multicultural Women Fleeing Corporate America, via the Working Mother Research Institute: They start their corporate careers like everyone else, eager to show their value and hungry to learn. They actually are more ambitious than other newbies, much more likely to aim for the top jobs. But they quickly and consistently see that stretch assignments and promotions arent coming their way, and there are no seats at the table for women who look like them. So they resign.

Multicultural women are currently 39 percent of the U.S. female population and are projected to be 66 percent by 2060. But heres the growing dilemma for employers. Too many multicultural women dont want to work in corporate America, our new research shows. Fifty percent of them are considering leaving their companies within the next two years, a 10 percent higher rate than white womenand its highest for Black women (52 percent). Read the report.

-- Anti-mask customers, happy hours and BLM protests: 30 days as a grocery store worker, via The Lily

#METOO LATEST -- Hearst Employees Say Magazine Boss Led Toxic Culture, by Katie Robertson and Ben Smith: [Inside] the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, the Hearst Magazines leader, Troy Young, has drawn complaints from people who said he had made lewd, sexist remarks at work. And in recent weeks, inspired by the civil rights movement, current and former employees at Cosmopolitan and another Hearst womens title, Marie Claire, have spoken out on social media and during staff meetings on what they describe as a toxic environment.

Mr. Young succeeded David Carey as Hearst Magazines president in 2018, winning the job over the high-profile former editor and magazine executive Joanna Coles. That promotion came after at least four employees had complained about what they described as Mr. Youngs bullying or harassing behavior to the human resources department or senior executives, according to four former Hearst employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation.

One incident involving Mr. Young occurred during a visit to the Cosmopolitan office when he was the digital head, according to two people who were present. Mr. Young picked up one of the sex toys that had been sent to the magazine and asked if he could keep it, the people said. Referring to the openings of two toys, he said he would definitely need the bigger one, the people said. NYT

-- Retired Col. Kathy Spletstoser wasnt able to stop Joint Chiefs vice chairman Gen. John Hyten from being confirmed. But shes not done with him, by Manuel Roig-Franzia: Spletstoser has accused Hyten of sexually assaulting her more than half a dozen times while she was under his command and then retaliating against her accusations that he has vigorously denied during a military investigation and in front of the Senate.

So now, she turns to a federal court in Los Angeles, where a victory in a sexual assault lawsuit she filed against Hyten, which reached a critical juncture Monday when a federal judge in Los Angeles heard arguments on Hytens attempt to dismiss the suit, would be the equivalent of a major legal earthquake that could possibly set precedent for other service members, permitting them to sue their commanders in federal court for damages. WaPo

WHEN MARKETING GOES WRONG -- Bacardi targeted women with its new reduced-alcohol vodkas. It went over as well as youd expect, by Emily Heil: It seems that everyone is pivoting these days. That includes spirits giant Bacardi Limited, which is apparently walking back the branding behind a new line of reduced-calorie and reduced-alcohol vodkas that was initially exclusively aimed at women. A Bacardi spokeswoman wrote in an email Tuesday that the Plume & Petal products, which were soundly dragged on social media last week, are not for women specifically.

A millennial-pink flag went up last week when Food & Wine restaurant editor Khushbu Shah posted an image of a message she had received from a PR representative hoping to interest her in writing about the new collection, by women, for todays modern woman, intended to be enjoyed with other women. ... The mockery came in as hot as a stone massage. Shah kicked it off, writing, ah yes just what I need in 2020! gendered drinks with half the alcohol.

This ad copy is from a Crystal Light ad from 1995, another critic wrote. Others wondered why women would want a lighter booze these stressful days. This is a pandemic, one wrote. How dare you. WaPo

IN SPORTS -- New Womens Soccer Team, Founded by Women, Will Press Equal Pay Cause, via NYT

PERSPECTIVE -- Breonna Taylor Cant Tell Her Story of Police Abuse, but Im Here to Tell Mine, via The New Yorker ... With the Women, Peace, and Security Act, Washington Could Be a Model for the World, via Foreign Policy

BOOK CLUB -- Why Is Womens Work Still Undervalued and Unacknowledged? by Heather Boushey: If there ever were a moment in the history of capitalism for the work of women to be fairly valued around the globe, that moment is now, as the coronavirus pandemic rages. In The Double X Economy: The Epic Potential of Womens Empowerment, Linda Scott tells powerful stories about how equal economic treatment for women would put a stop to some of the worlds costliest evils, while building prosperity for everyone.

By costly evils, Scott, a professor emeritus at Oxford and the founder of the Global Business Coalition for Womens Economic Empowerment, has in mind the cycle of poverty evident in countries that fail to keep girls in school, since girls who complete high school are not only better able to compete in the work force but tend to have their first child later and have fewer children over all, thus slowing population growth. They also are more likely to keep their children in school longer, feed them better and provide them with adequate health care. (Moreover, girls who stay in school are less likely to be victims of human trafficking.) But the pandemic and subsequent recession are crises made worse by existing impediments to womens economic participation, obstacles that have resulted in a shadow or unacknowledged system of female labor what Scott calls the double X economy. NYT

-- The Literature of the Pandemic Is Already Here, via The Atlantic ... Sisters In Hate Profiles 3 Women Who Find Bonds In White Nationalist Movement, via NPR

VIDEO:

TRANSITIONS -- Rachel Scott was promoted to White House correspondent and D.C. correspondent at ABC News. The New York Times Co. named Meredith Kopit Levien as chief executive. Maj. Gen. Jody Daniels will be the first woman to take command of the Army Reserve.

WISDOM OF THE WEEK Christina Kanmaz, Manager, Communications and Public Affairs, Global Strategy Group: Never be afraid to change careers at any age nothing is more frightening than stagnating. You'll never know what talents you hold until you explore what you're capable of. I went from an elementary school teacher to a DC lobbyist and often felt embarrassed when people asked me, "What did you do before?" But I've found that most people find my career path fascinating. It may take a while to find your true calling, but never stop searching! Connect with Christina here.

Read more here:

Expletives and outbursts: The real life of a woman in U.S. politics - Politico

There are lessons to be learned regarding how history is reproduced in the present. First, there is the Trump administrations caging of children on the southern border. Second, there is Trumps threat to use dominating force and unleash the National Guard and police upon demonstrators peacefully resisting police violence against people of color. Third, as Jason Stanley points out, there is Trumps relentless language of violence designed both to embolden second amendment gun rights activists toward committing violence and to dehumanize certain populations while attempting to harness the emotion of nostalgia to the central themes of fascist ideology authoritarianism, hierarchy, purity and struggle.

Trumps authoritarian impulses and fascist politics took a dangerous turn when he authorized the use of unmarked, military-clad federal law enforcement shock troops to round up and detain protesters in Portland, Oregon. The troops offered no proof of identification, drove around in unmarked cars, pulled people off the streets with no probable cause, provided no sense of whose directives they were acting under, or who was to be held accountable for their actions. Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, called such actions an attack on our democracy. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tweeted in reference to Portland that, Trump and his storm troopers must be stopped.

We have seen this before under Hitler, Augusto Pinochet in Chile, and in other dictatorships. When such actions appeared in the past, dissidents, demonstrators and intellectuals disappeared, were beaten, tortured and interrogated in undisclosed sites, and in the worse scenarios, were murdered. What has happened in Portland suggests that the war on terror has shifted from abroad to the homeland. Outraged by such actions, Charles Pierce, writing in Esquire, suggests that this may be a trial run for an authoritarian state:

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A major American city is being softly Pinochet-ed in broad daylight. And, if we know one thing, if this president and his administration get away with this, it will only get worse this could be a dry run for the kind of general urban mobilization at which the president has been hinting since this summers protests began. Portland may be a dumbshow for dummies, but it also looks like a dress rehearsal. This is not an authoritarian impulse. This is authoritarian government straight, no chaser. And this administration has a powerful thirst for it. It will do anything if it thinks it can get away with it in order to benefit a president who wants to bring the Republic down on his head. Unmarked vehicles, disappearing people off the streets?

These events mimic, if not recall, an older period in history when Hitler, following the crisis produced by the Reichstag fire, seized upon the ensuing fear, terror and war fever to further consolidate his power. Trump pushing the United States to the edge of fascism in the midst of a pandemic by using the military to stifle domestic protests reinforces the seriousness of growing claims that the United States is moving closer to a full-blown authoritarian state.

A crisis has spread across the globe driven by a pandemic pestilence that exhibits a dystopian presence at odds with any just, prudent and equitable notion of the future. The U.S. is in a state of crisis. This, medical, racial, economic and educational crisis touches every aspect of public life. We are in a new historical period, one that has inherited a neoliberal legacy in which every aspect of society has been transformed and corrupted by the tools of financialization, deregulation and austerity. This is an era in which the scourge of neoliberalism merged with the ideologies of racial cleansing and a politics of disposability an age in which economic activity was divorced from social costs, all the while enabling policies of racial cleansing and white nationalism to become defining features of the public sphere and an established mode of governance.

We are also in a period in which the old social order is in the midst of a legitimation crisis and new political formations are trying to be reborn, to paraphrase the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. Out of this period of uncertainty, new forces for change have appeared evident in the presence of millions across the globe protesting racial injustice and state violence. The COVID plague has produced an age of uncertainty, fragmentation, despair and a dire foreboding about the future. Certainties have been replaced by shared fears. More troubling is the apprehension that the present crisis has an air of longevity about it, constituting a turning point in history. The stark choice of what the future might look like appears to hang between the forces of despotism and democracy. Yet, as real as this foreboding appears, history is open, and how it will unfold remains in the balance. The pandemic is a crisis that cannot be allowed to turn into a catastrophe in which all hope is lost. On the contrary, the pandemic that threatens democracys ability to breathe should also offer up the possibility to rethink politics and the habits of critical education, human agency, values and what life would be like in a democratic socialist society. Amid the corpses produced by neoliberal capitalism and COVID-19, there are also flashes of hope, a chance to move beyond a contemporary resurgence of authoritarianism. This suggests rejecting the normalizing ideologies of a poisonous cynicism and a demobilizing conformity endemic to neoliberal capitalism. It also points to the need to reclaim a vision of a radical politics that is more compassionate, equitable, just and inclusive.

Within a new wave of resistance and rebellion, anti-democratic principles that had been normalized are being questioned with an inspiring sense of collective urgency. This is especially true among people of color and others bearing the burden of economic and political colonialism. The horrors of inequality, compulsory austerity, defunding of public health systems, and the collapse of the economy in 2008 produced by four decades of neoliberalism are finally being acknowledged as the fundamental plague behind the current pandemic. This is a plague marked by egregious degrees of exploitation, unchecked militarism, and a racialized politics of disposability and terminal exclusion in which human beings are viewed as disposable, reinforced if not propelled by an ethos of white nationalism and white supremacy. This long residue of unbridled capitalism is inseparable from its deep-rooted institutionalized racism and a pestilence of disposability, updated into a form of neoliberal fascism.

Fascist principles now operate at so many levels of everyday society that it is difficult to recognize them, especially as they have the imprimatur of power at the highest levels of government. Fascist pedagogical ideas, practices and desires work through diverse social media platforms and mainstream and right-wing cultural apparatuses in multiple ways. This is the space of a pandemic pedagogy that is produced in the workstations and cultural apparatuses that function ideologically and politically to objectify people, promote spectacles of violence, endorse consumerism as the only viable way of life and legitimate a murderous nationalism.

A pandemic pedagogy has emerged in the midst of this plague that makes ignorance a fundamental principle of politics, and in doing so, tends to function so as to erase everything that matters. Pandemic pedagogy works subconsciously as an affective mode of self-sabotage. It legitimates the discourse of hate in everyday exchanges, degrades people of color, promotes thoughtlessness through the ubiquity of celebrity culture, and produces an endless array of authoritarian pedagogical practices that serve to exploit, dominate and depoliticize us. In the pandemic fog of social and historical amnesia, moral boundaries disappear, people become more accepting of extreme acts of cruelty, and willingly submit to propaganda machines that disdain notions of truth and view any viable critique of power as fake news, all the while disconnecting language and policies from their social costs.

This plague of neoliberal fascism is just one pestilence among many. This is a pestilence that engulfs U.S. society as memories of caged children disappear into a vaporized culture of immediacy, the killing of journalists is forgotten, and the lynching of Black bodies is buried beneath the discourse of a post-racial society. In addition, the terror of a fascist politics evaporates in the affective modalities of pleasure and fear, and a rampant culture of political theater and spectacles.

As the underside of fascist politics, pandemic pedagogy closes down the space of translation, and thrives on a machinery of inscriptions that erases the notion that human beings are not only moral and political agents, but also historical subjects capable of both understanding and changing the world. This depoliticizing practice is not only a political and ethical issue but also an educational issue that connects the power of critical understanding to the capacity for action, empowerment and transformation.

Pandemic pedagogy makes clear that the most important forms of domination are cultural, intellectual and pedagogical while embracing the tools of belief and persuasion as appropriate weapons in the struggle over meaning, knowledge, values and identities. This depoliticizing practice is not only a political and ethical issue but also an educational issue that undermines the power of critical understanding to produce the capacity for action, empowerment and transformation. Pandemic pedagogy functions as a propaganda machine to bury what Foucault once called the dramaturgy of the real.

On the other hand, critical pedagogy works to establish a symbolic relationship with the world. It highlights the workings of power and the possibility to use the symbolic and pedagogical dimensions of struggle as weapons in the struggle over power, knowledge, agency and social relations. This is a pedagogy in which the political becomes more pedagogical by taking on the challenge of using the power of persuasion to change the way people see things and resist those ideas and institutions that thrive on the energies of the political zombies. Critical pedagogy deepens the role of the political by including and emphasizing the importance of the struggle over cultural meanings and identities as well as over more narrow political terrains like the workplace, schools and the state. If pandemic pedagogy fuels multiple forms of domination that accelerate the deaths of the unwanted and make social death a self-generated practice, critical pedagogy is the political antidote to such practices.

As a counterpoint to existing pandemic pedagogies, the relationship among education, historical consciousness and political action points to new possibilities for change. And while historical consciousness can be both informative and emancipatory, it can lead to malicious interpretations of the present, as well as elements of history that are difficult to accept. The trajectory of history is not innocent and it needs to be interrogated in order to think through how we can build on it through a process of critique and possibility. At the level of critique, as Angela Davis has suggested, we need to figure out context within which people can understand the nature of U.S. history and the role that racism and capitalism and heteropatriarchy have played in forging that history.

On the more emancipatory and empowering side, critical pedagogy informed by the value of historical consciousness and moral witnessing can uncover dangerous memories and the narratives of those whose voices have been drowned out by those who have the power to write history to serve their narrow and reactionary interests. The greatest pandemic we face is the pandemic of ignorance and the willingness to surrender our power as individual and social agents to those who write the past and present in the scripts of domination. Pedagogy has never been more urgent as a political tool that can offer the resources to challenge the ideological, educational and militant practices deployed by emerging right-wing and fascist groups. Pedagogy is crucial for understanding how power shapes and is reinvented with respect to questions of culture, sexuality, history and political agency.

As a political project, pedagogy is the struggle over those public and private spaces in which peoples everyday lives are aligned with particular narratives, identities, cultural practices and political values. As such, pedagogy is the essential scaffolding of social interaction and the foundation of the public sphere. It is a crucial political practice because it takes seriously what it means to understand the relationship between how we learn and how we act as individual and social agents; that is, it is concerned not only with how individuals learn to think critically, but how they come to grips with a sense of individual and social responsibility. At issue here is the crucial political question of what it means to be responsible for ones actions as part of a broader attempt to be an engaged citizen who can expand and deepen the possibilities of democratic public life. Human agency is inseparable from the formative cultures and pedagogical practices that create the possibility of a mobilized citizenry and radical change.

As such, critical understanding is not just a state of mind but an empowering practice. It is the precondition for social change and pedagogy is crucial in shifting the way people view themselves, others and the larger world. Democracy requires a certain kind of subject who thinks in terms of broader solidarities and is willing to both translate private troubles into larger systemic considerations, to challenge the various threats being mobilized against the ideas of justice, equity and popular sovereignty.

In order to make education central to politics, critical pedagogy should provide the capacities, knowledge and skills that enable people to speak, write and act from a position of agency and empowerment. In addition, it should energize individuals to think differently so they can act differently. For instance, the current mass rebellions against racism, inequality and injustice have embraced the pedagogical task of attempting to recognize those modes of agency, identity and values that have been erased from the script of economic, political and personal rights and freedoms.

Agency is being rethought within a notion of freedom that expands human rights to the realm of economic rights. The notion of agency is severely limited and political and personal rights largely invalidated if one is engaged in a constant struggle to survive economically. In addition, individual freedom under neoliberal capitalism falls on the side of undermining the solidarities needed to live in a socially responsible and just society. As Frank Bruni observes, along the way, we went from celebrating individual liberty to fetishizing it, so that for too many Americans, all sense of civic obligation and communal good went out the window.

We are in the midst of a crisis in which it is crucial for individuals and social movements to learn anew how to take responsibility, to learn how to listen, and to act with vigilance. The pandemics of injustice that are ushering in massive degrees of poverty, exclusion, suffering and death must be resisted with a new understanding of politics and agency.

Moreover, the move from extending the capacities for individual agency must be expanded to a notion of social agency imbued with a sense of collective resistance. In the current historical moment, this points to the necessity to create an international social movement for the defense of public goods and the principles of a democratic socialist society.

The pandemic crisis is much more than a medical crisis. At its core it is both a political and ideological crisis. It is both a crisis of agency and politics. If the radical political horizons of a future society are to be brought into fruition, it is crucial to engage those everyday pedagogical spaces where identities are produced, modes of recognition come into play and critical points of view can be redeemed. The energies of fascism have become less intense, more fragile, and open to challenge as the limits of right-wing and updated fascist populist movements become more visible. As the virus spreads, the merchants of misery and hate have no language to explain or address the ubiquity of death spreading across the planet.

At the heart of the current pandemic crisis is the need for developing a new radical imagination and political language in which the crisis of citizenship is connected to the crisis of education, and the crisis of globalization is situated within the crisis of power.

The most important challenge that the pandemic has produced is not simply how to stop the spread of the virus. We must also ask: What kind of society do we want in the future, how do we want to live and who will be the agents to address these issues? Under what narrative for justice will various resistance movements both domestically and internationally come together to put a stop to the pandemic of poverty, inequality, racism and militarism? The relevance of this challenge hinges on reclaiming the relationship between education and democracy and taking seriously the recognition that the force of education operates in multiple social and public spaces, and those spaces should be places where individuals can realize themselves as informed and critically engaged citizens. The current pandemic follows a wave of right-wing movements and modes of governing that want to destroy any vestige of a democratic imaginary and to relegate the value of ethical and social responsibility and the question of justice to the wasteland of political thought.

The ugly terror of a fascist abyss lurks in the background of this pandemic, one that murders dreams, employs cynicism as commonsense, and prevents people from claiming any democratic sense of moral and political agency. What this dystopian pandemic can teach us is that democracy is fragile as a way of life and that if it is to survive, critical education and pedagogy must become central to producing citizens who are informed, politically aware and willing to produce a culture with the habits and sensibilities that keep a democracy alive.

If the pandemic can teach us that democracy is only as strong as the people who inhabit it and who are willing to struggle to keep justice, equity and the principles of a socialist democracy alive, the ominous clouds of fascism will not prevail in the United States. Democracy needs to breathe again, inspired by the struggle to dismantle the death machine at the heart of empire. Resistance is no longer optional, given that both humanity and the life of the planet are at stake.

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The Ugly Terror of a Fascist Abyss Lurks in the Background of This Pandemic - Truthout

Through the Disha Project a collaboration between UNDP and IKEA Foundation, we have empowered one million women and created a cadre of mentors to strengthen women-led entrepreneurship.

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This article has been published in partnership with UNDP India

Recent media stories talk of how Japan is falling short of its pledge for women to hold 30 per cent of the nations leadership positions by this year. When this pledge was announced in 2011 with a fancy slogan to build a society where women shine, the said rate was 10.6%. Today it has increased only up to 15%. As a Japanese woman, this news has disappointed me but has not really surprised me. How can we have strong women representation in Government, private sector, and political positions, when we are still expecting girls and women to take up the traditional roles as caregivers?

Having lived and worked across several countries Nepal, Maldives, Tajikistan, Yugoslavia, and now India one thing remains common in these historically, geographically and culturally diverse countries: gender inequality. Through my work and own personal experiences, I have seen over and over that womens empowerment cannot happen overnight. Womens empowerment must be part of the government policies, workplace practices, social norms, education and parenting. It is a slow and long process.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further magnified the gender gaps. Increased burden of childcare, caring for elderly and domestic work are falling on women as the key caregiver. It is estimated that following the lockdown in April, four out of every ten women who were working last year, lost their jobs during the lockdown. Womens participation in the Indian workforce is one of the lowest in the world with participation declining from 35 per cent in 2005 to 25.5 per cent today and the lockdown has pushed down the numbers even further.

For UNDP, empowering women and increasing their participation have always been a top priority. All our work on economic empowerment has a strong piece on confidence building, negotiation skills, leadership skills. Building confidence and negotiation skills go a long way in addressing gender discrimination and gender-based violence, which are often significant barriers to womens participation in labour force and other decision-making processes.

Through the Disha Project a collaboration between UNDP and IKEA Foundation, we have empowered one million women and created a cadre of mentors to strengthen women-led entrepreneurship. The psycho-social support provided as part of this project, includes not only the skills to start their own enterprise but also empowers them to negotiate and fight gender stereotypes at home and in the community.

We have been in touch with the women entrepreneurs we work with and have seen how economic impacts of COVID-19 are felt most egregiously by women and girls, especially those who are already economically disadvantaged or economically dependent on others. Thus, it is even more important now to strengthen the scope for local jobs and livelihood opportunities for women so that they can tide over any possible economic crisis.

While we are re-envisioning womens livelihoods, we must realize that livelihoods cannot be seen in isolation. While we work closely with rural women across India, we witness the various challenges that stand between them and their economic independence safety issues, lack of confidence to step out of homes, their overwhelming burdens as caregivers, mobility issues and social norms.

I strongly believe that it is possible to transform this reality. But women cannot do that alone.

We need more leaders, more corporations, and most importantly the men to step up and create opportunities to ensure that every girl, every woman gets an equal chance to realize and grow to their fullest potential. We need to work together to ensure that women are part of all decision-making processes that affect them or matter to them in parliament, in panchayats, in schools, in community groups, in media and at home.

Womens empowerment cannot happen overnight. It is a slow and long process it starts with the family and the community, giving equal opportunities and confidence to girls to stand up for what is rightfully theirs.

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About the author: Shoko Noda is the Resident Representative, UNDP India

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How One Project has Empowered a Million Women With Skills to Start Their Enterprises - The Better India

Between the ages of 3-6, Mercy watched her mother nurture less privileged children and supported their parents in their community. These experiences and exposure spurred her to pick up from where her mother stopped to empower less privileged children. To her, its all about showing them love, care, and empowering them to achieve their goals.

In this interview with Maria Diamond, she spoke on the plight of abandoned and less privileged children in Nigeria, and the long-term implications of not empowering them.

You worked in the aviation industry for 20 years, could you share your experience in the sector?My experience in the aviation industry before I resigned in 2019 was quite informative and educational, though with all kinds of challenges that revolved around character building, crisis resolutions, peace building and reconciliation. I started as a millage agent with Lufthansa German airline in 1999; I was absorbed into companies as a permanent staff to supervise the baggage service department for 7-years. Thats one of the most challenging sections of the industry, as you have to deal with a lot of sensitive issues. Then, I was moved to supervise the passenger service department.

Later on, I got promoted to Operations Department where I was fully responsible for ensuring the aircraft was properly loaded according to safety regulations. I concluded my service with the airline in March 2019, when I took up a one-year contract project management in Aviation Security Internal Quality Control (AVSEC IQC) as Project and Quality Assurance Manager at Pathfinders International Limited, a leading aviation security companies in Nigeria. My job was to ensure the company adhered to Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations, client standard procedures, as well as ensuring we were up to date as regards permits and certifications of over 700-staff across Africa. The project actually elapsed on March 31, 2020.

At what point did you begin to pay attention to less privileged children?As a little girl back in the village where I was born, I witnessed how my loved ones struggled to survive. I saw how my mother would go out of her way, despite our own poor financial situation, to help those in need. Growing up, helping the less privileged was a culture that was modelled for me by my mother and elder sister, who were constantly fighting the cause of the needy and helpless in the community; I believe my passion stems from my family.

At age six, my elder sister took me from my mum to Lagos and I saw again the struggles all around me. We lived in a city of social stratification, such that displayed the extremely rich class, the average, the poor and very poor. Sometimes, my heart cried out for the needy, especially kids and I tried to help them in my own little ways, which included going to school with an extra launch that I could share. Also, having to stand up for a smart child, who comes to school in torn uniforms with no shoes because the parents are too poor to afford a new one. So, it has been my life to care for the less privileged.

You set up Frau Suss Children Empowerment Foundation (FSCEF), which categories of children do you cater for? What exactly are the modalities?We work with children living in orphanage homes, children living with low income or no income parents, and children living in rural areas. The idea is to build a solid foundation of integrity, selfless service, and patriotism in them. Its common for this category of children to feel lost, whilst labeling themselves as not good enough, with a perception that they have nothing to offer the world. All these are negative self-talk and presumed life perspectives they pick up due to their situation and experience as they interact with the society at large.

This mindset of worthless labels, due to lack, immensely affects the kind of citizens they grow up to become; it hinders them from fully attaining their potential. So, at FSCEF, we are bridging the gap by creating opportunities and platforms that help the less privileged children deal with these issues before they are even aware of them. For those, who are already influenced by this negative mind feeds, FSCEF redirects their mindset through our various programmes, which include monthly feeding programme, excursion, free children seminars, a day with Fraususs, scholarship, educational support and others.

Having been on this for some time now, do you think the government has invested enough in empowerment programmes, especially for the less privileged?Considering where we are as a nation, I strongly advise that the government channel resources into empowerment programmes for citizens, especially children and youths. A country can only thrive if the young people are constantly and properly empowered. The future of this country depends on the magnitude of investment put into the young citizens through empowerment programmes. Once you empower the citizens, its natural for the nation to automatically advance economically. However, this is beyond the government alone; well to do Nigerians should also put their resources towards the course of helping the less privileged in the society.

As a foundation, what are the focal areas of operation? FSCEF focuses on the upkeep, education, and exposure of less privileged children. We are located in Lagos where we work more with children in orphanage homes and family support centers. FSCEF also has a family relief center in Mafoluku, Lagos; we are also in Akwa-Ibom State where we run our rural child empowerment programmes. The project involves working with the existing primary schools to activate social activities in the schools, improve on the schools facilities, plan and execute programmes that will give the children exposure and great opportunities to take their shot at life.

One of such programmes is the Madam Celina Football Championship for primary schools in Oruk-Anam Local Council of Akwa Ibom State; the idea is to introduce the rural children to the international world. It was inaugurated in 2017 and was to be played this year, but for the disruption of the world system by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced us to halt for now.

You recently gave palliatives to children in Mafoluku community in Lagos, what motivated you to do that? Why Mafoloku?As a child, I had lived in Mafoluku; we were not rich, we were just an average family. So, I understand the struggle of families living in this community. When I eventually got the means to better the community, I couldnt help but hear the silent cry for help in various situations. This was why in 2017, we started the family support center in Mafoluku called FSCEF Mafoluku Family Relief Center.

However, the street-to-street palliative was initiated when the Coronavirus pandemic set-in and we started receiving calls for relief. It was overwhelming for me, especially when one of the mothers in the community got my number and called. In tears, she told me how she could not feed after childbirth; feeding became a more threatening life situation than the COVID-19 itself. At that point, the fear for my safety and that of my family, which had kept me within the four walls of my home during the lockdown, was not strong enough to keep me away from the cry for help from these women. I started sending out pleads to friends and everyone I know to support the FSCEF COVID-19 door-to-door and street-to-street food drop-off programme. And so far, we have carried out four editions of the food drop-off in the same community and the 5th is coming soon.

Whats your take on the rising cases of child rape in Nigeria and how can it be addressed?This is a very sad issue for me personally; I have not been able to comprehend it and I probably never would. However, as a foundation, we approach issues with a solution-oriented mindset. This is why we saw the need to create awareness and educate both the parents and children on early detection and prevention of potential rape situations.

We would have organised seminars to thoroughly address the issue, but with the social gathering lockdown directive towards curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, we could only do a door-to-door sensitisation of parents, caregivers and the children too on the issue of rape; we did that in communities we visited recently. We have realised that more often than not, relatives and close friends or neighbours are the enemies perpetrating the act of rape. I believe they are perverts, mentally sick and inhumane. So, the government should send offenders to life imprisonment; thats where they belong, not with the society.

However, to put an end to this rape storm that our country is now faced with, all hands must be on deck and all eyes must be on the watch out for every under age child around. This issue is beyond the government. The idea is to make it impossible for these demons in human clothing to never violate another child again. So, everyone should now voluntarily save our country from these inhumane perpetrators by paying absolute attention to not just your children, but also every child around you.

Having reached out to a number of orphanage homes in Nigeria, what is the common and major challenge in these homes?During my visit to orphanage homes, I have observed the changes in children in times of plenty and in times of lack. And so, food is a major challenge because a hungry child can never concentrate on anything else. But theres always the issue of financial constraints that makes it impossible for the homes to provide for the orphans and feed them well.

The homes are constantly trying to manage the funds to sort numerous overhead costs of running the home, which includes unforeseen expenses popping up here and there. Hence, the minimal budget on food expenses, which of course has a direct effect on the children in the homes. You can easily see this in the appearance of the children. They look healthy and happy when there is enough, and when theres nothing, you see them appear sad and malnourished. Children cant pretend about these things; if you pay attention during your visits, you can always tell.

How many communities has FSCEF reached out to so far?Weve been able to reach out to four orphanage homes and four family relief centers located in various communities in Lagos, while our rural child mission is in Oruk-Anam LGA of Akwa-Ibom State. However, the vision is not in quantity but in the quality of service we are rendering; the impact it makes in the life of these children.

Some of these activities you mentioned involve money, how do you fund the FSCEF? In the beginning, it was my personal funds, and then friends started contributing from the first edition of A Day with Frau Suess. A few companies and organisations have supported over the years, but as we expand our scope, we are constantly in need of sponsors.What are the major challenges of the foundation in carrying out these interventions?The major challenge of the foundation is funding; having to raise funds for projects has proven to be quite difficult. Sponsors are not easy to come by. We have a few sponsors actively helping out though, but not sufficient for all our projects, which is why we solicit fund from government, individuals and private organisations

Are there milestones you feel you would have attained in your career if you were a man? Not really, I have never experienced the issue of inequality when it comes to my professional life. I have always believed that if you render services that are in demand professionally, you will always be highly sought after irrespective of your gender. I have always had support from men and women, as well as organisations led by them.

COVID-19 has disrupted out lives and the economy is also affected, whats the way forward?Lets face it, long before this COVID-19 era, Nigerias economy has been staggering. But the massive recession we found ourselves in due to the COVID-19 should be a wake up call for not just the government, but also every the citizens. As a nation, we have to wake up and look more into being self-sufficient. This COVID-19 pandemic has come to announce to us that we cannot continue depending on help from international organisations; we have to wake up, look inwards and actualise our visions.

With your recent encounter with people in the community, do you think they really understand the gravity of this pandemic? From our first visit, we saw a whole lot of ignorance, which prompted us to educate the people on the severity of the pandemic, as well as distributed PPEs alongside the food drop off project. Since then, they have turned a new leaf. We have executed four editions of this project in the community and have witnessed a dramatic improvement in the adherence to NCDC precautionary directives and guidelines on tackling the pandemic such as the use of nose masks, maintaining physical distancing and proper method of washing the hands. However, I believe theres still a need for constant sensitisation of communities.

Tell us about a significant incident in your field of work that would always stay with you?I was drawn to tears during one of my visits to motherless babies home when a child that was found hanging on a tree, in a nylon bag, with the umbilical cord still intact, was brought to the home. The intention of the mother or whoever disposed of the child was to throw him into the nearby river, but God saved his life. This experience broke me, but built my resolve to muster my resources to help the less privileged.

Where do you see FSCEF 10-year from now?Ten years is quite a short time from now, but I see FSCEF expanding her scope to cover the whole of Lagos and Akwa Ibom State with her major projects, including setting up family support centers.

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Empower citizens and the nation will automatically advance economically - Guardian Nigeria

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As a model for the likes of Victorias Secret, Miu Miu and Hugo Boss since 2013, Martha Hunt is used to being the face of a brand. But when she created her line, Ingal, Hunt found herself involved in every aspect behind-the-scenes, too.

Ive enjoyed learning this side of the business, but there was a learning curve in setting up operations, the model told us about the fashion meets philanthropy line shes been quietly developing for the past several years.

There were so many new variables from producing products and coordinating design, building the site and social media, graphic design, customer service, and the overall streamlining of selling and shipping products domestically and internationally, Hunt explained of what it took to successfully launch Ingals first piece in July - a limited-edition, unisex sweatshirt designed with artist Lindsay Adams, with proceeds that benefit scoliosis research.

Martha Hunt in 2019 (Getty Images)

One aspect that came easily to Hunt was determining the brands name, Ingal, which means uneven or unequal in French. The vision behind it to empower those with scoliosis while raising awareness about the condition and funds for research was even more obvious to the North Carolina native.

Scoliosis has been a driving force throughout most of my life and career as a model, the 31-year-old said of the condition, which causes the spine to curve. I was diagnosed in my early teens around the same time I started modeling, and I didnt know if modeling would remain a realistic possibility for me.

Hunt walks the runway during the 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show (Getty Images)

After a spinal fusion surgery in her late teens helped to correct Hunts scoliosis (and allowed her to grow another inch taller), she moved to NYC to pursue her modeling career. Though Hunt stated she was not an overnight sensation, her portfolio has included print and commercial campaigns, magazine covers, runway shows, and perhaps most recognizably, being named a Victorias Secret Angel in 2015.

Once I felt established enough, I started speaking about my scoliosis experience because I felt a responsibility to younger people dealing with the condition, and often privately, said Hunt. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I did not know other people affected by scoliosis, and public figures were not speaking about it, she continued, adding, I felt isolated in my feelings. Scoliosis and its complexities are very misunderstood so Im committed to spreading awareness for it.

Hunt walks the runway for Balmain in 2017 (Getty Images)

Ahead, Hunt shares how the idea for Ingal began, the details on her first collaboration with Adams and what she has planned for the future.

Hunt models her Ingal sweatshirt (Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

Three years ago I partnered with Leah Stoltz, the founder of Curvy Girls for an awareness campaign for scoliosis, said Hunt. The model helped to produce a photoshoot that featured 15 young girls and women with scoliosis showing off their scoliosis braces and spinal fusion surgery scars. It also meant that Hunt, who was a part of the shoot, would display her own scar.

Initially, I was nervous, but it ended up being an uplifting experience to share with a strong community that I related to so effortlessly, she said.

To complement the campaign, Hunt and her friend, Cannon Brendan, designed a necklace, with proceeds benefiting Curvy Girls work as a peer-led support group for young girls with scoliosis. Hunt searched for a symbolic word to engrave on the pendant necklace, stumbling upon the French word for uneven, Ingal, in the process.

(Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

The adjective uneven is familiar to anyone with scoliosis because the uneven spine also causes symptoms like uneven hips, shoulders and so on, she explained. One year after the photoshoot, we launched the Leah bracelet to continue supporting Leahs organization, Hunt added.

Through designing and promoting jewelry for Curvy Girls, I saw the positive response from young people seeing scoliosis represented. I love that the jewelry pieces, like the new sweatshirt, are tangible items to give to anyone dealing with scoliosis treatment options like bracing or spinal fusion surgery - or just someone plainly going through a difficult time, Hunt explained of why she sought to expand upon the initiative.

(Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

I wanted to continue amplifying the message to make others feel seen so the ethos of the brand naturally evolved for a couple of years, said Hunt, who went about registering the trademark. Developing plans for the first launch to donate all profits from its sales to scoliosis research, something she has been heavily involved with since 2016, was a must for the model.

There are many disparities in scoliosis treatment costs, and they are especially disparaging on a worldwide scale. Additionally, there is not much visibility on how severe scoliosis cases are in low-resource areas across the world, Hunt shared, noting that the condition, which predominantly affects women, can lead to paralysis or even death in severe cases when left untreated.

This is a cause that is very personal to me because Ive been helping search for sustainable solutions through research for the past couple of years in my free time, she said.

(Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

In April 2016, Hunt made a trip to Capitol Hill to advocate for increased NIH funding for orthopedic research in the hopes of finding methods for earlier intervention for scoliosis patients and non-operative treatments. There, Hunt met orthopedic surgeon (and scientist!), Dr. Sariah Khormaee MD, PhD, and the two struck up a friendship.

In June of 2019, Dr. Khormaee and I asked social media followers to work with us on a research project, starting to define inequalities in global spine care that directly affect young women with scoliosis. All of the young women in our pilot project were deeply affected by scoliosis, but most of them did not have formal research training, Hunt said.

The goal of this project is not only to understand more about scoliosis but to teach young women - who are traditionally under-represented in spine research - how to apply research methodology to problems that matter to them.

With that in mind, Hunt turned her attention to her first Ingal collaboration to help raise funds for her and Dr. Khormaees scoliosis research. I was searching for artists to support through recommendations from friends when I came across Lindsays work and it immediately resonated with me, said Hunt, who commissioned Adams to design the custom artwork for the sweatshirt, entitled Uniquely Uneven: Beauty In Differences.

(Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

Lindsay is a fine artist and illustrator, and often showcases womens backs looking strong yet delicate at the same time. When I asked Lindsay to collaborate, I discovered that she is an outspoken advocate for cerebral palsy, she noted. Children who suffer from cerebral palsy have a much higher chance of developing scoliosis, Hunt added of the instant synergy behind the collaboration.

She finds beauty in what makes her different, which is exactly what I wanted to portray. I asked for her to express her own interpretation of resilience, which she conveyed through the textures and layers of the print. I felt emotional reading and listening to her stories about living and working with cerebral palsy. In light of the countless odds stacked against her, she is as equally talented as she is resilient, said Hunt.

In addition to 100% of the sweatshirts profits benefiting scoliosis research, Hunt has also noted that every customer will be kept up-to-date as to what their contribution has helped to fund.

Ive learned how dedicating time can be more valuable than donating money, and I hope to use my influence to lead by that example, she said of the work shes put into Ingal.

(Courtesy of Martha Hunt)

With Hunts first launch announced as a limited-edition piece and the brands overarching message to be one of empowerment, it seems like more collaborations spotlighting other charitable organizations could be on the way.

I certainly see the potential in Ingals message to transcend scoliosis, Hunt said about the possibility of championing other causes in the future. Although Ingal technically means uneven or unequal, I see it ambiguously - it can mean anything to anyone. Now more than ever, many of us feel uneven mentally and physically, she noted.

There are many initiatives worthy of support that do not get the attention they deserve. Im open to collaborating for different causes with authentic artists creating from the heart. I have some ideas to further support equality and mental health platforms, Hunt said. But shes not giving away any details just yet. Until then, youll have to follow along and stay tuned."

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Martha Hunt: 'Scoliosis is the driving force of my modeling career' - Evening Standard

Houses along Crown Land in Marabella. Residents say new houses are currently being built in their community under the current Government.

POLITICAL party performance and the potential of the candidate are the key elements that the constituents of San Fernando West may use for scrutinizing their representative for the next five years.

San Fernando West is considered one of seven marginal constituencies in the general election contest on August 10, as the country's two major parties seek to snatch it as their own.

The incumbent is the People's National Movement's Faris Al-Rawi, whose name is synonymous with political 'royalty' in San Fernando and who won the seat in 2015 by over 3,000 votes.

His grandfather was Lionel Seukeran, who served in Parliament as a member of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) which was a former opposing party of the PNM and predecessor to the United National Congress. Al-Rawi's mother, Diane Seukeran, was a former Member of Parliament for San Fernando West.

And then there is Sean Sobers, an attorney-at-law who came from humble beginnings in San Fernando, but was self-driven, and answered the call to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago when he was appointed a temporary Opposition Senator in 2019. At the last local government elections, Sobers was one of the partys coordinators that claimed three seats for the UNC in the San Fernando City Corporation.

Allister Alexander, prepares a roti for a customer at his apartment building in Embacadere, San Fernando. Looking on is his wife Anna-Lisa Ali.

Three other candidates have thrown their hats into the election race to capture the hearts of the 24,000-strong electorate.

They are Progressives political leader Nikoli Edwards, Progressive Empowerment Party's Bennison Jagessar and microbiologist, j'ouvert bandleader and representative of the National Party Valkmiki Ramsingh.

Two former San Fernando West Members of Parliament and several members of the electorate who spoke to the Express said its mainly a two-way fight between the PNM incumbent Al-Rawi and political newcomer Sobers.

Attorney GeneralFarisAl-Rawi, second from right, is greeted by Political Leader of the Progressive Party, Nikoli Edwards, during awalkaboutin Vistabella while campaigning for the general elections. Looking on at right is Minister of Local GovernmentKazim Hosein. General elections will be held on August 10.

The constituency was a PNM stronghold for 30 years, from its first Member of Parliament Winston Mahabir, who took up position in 1956, then for successive MPs in Saied Mohammed and Errol Mahabir.

Errol Mahabir controlled the seat for 20 years, until in 1986 when Dr Anslem St George wrested it away for the National Alliance for Reconstruction as it swept the general elections from the PNM that year.

Since then, the seat has swung back and forth between the PNM, to the UNC, back to the PNM, to the Congress of the People and then back to the PNM.

Fisherman Dhanraj Ramkissoon, at his fishing stall at the San Fernando Wharf. San Fernando Waterfront Project will be constructed where Ramkissoon lives.

Ralph Maraj who regained the seat for the PNM from NAR's St George and was MP from December 16, 1991 to November 6, 1995, said the next MP for San Fernando West is someone who would have universal appeal to garner votes, and appeal beyond ethnic origin.

"It has been the trend in San Fernando West that the person plays a significant role. The person must have some measure of universal appeal beyond his/ her party. I think the UNC has chosen a very strong candidate in Sean Sobers, who has awider appeal to the electorate", said Maraj.

Maraj said the other candidates in Edwards, Ramsingh and Jagessar do not have much of a chance beyond a handful of votes from personal supporters.

"They may garner some personal votes, but I don't think they will make much of the voter patterns in San Fernando West. It's gonna be a straight fight between the UNC and the PNM", said Maraj.

Sean Sobers, right, the UNC candidate for the constituency for San Fernando West speaks to cricketer Lendell Simmons, during a football match in San Fernando.

"It's going to be an interesting contest. Sean Sobers is a professional, very mild mannered and appealing. Faris Al Rawi is a strong candidate still. The incumbent has his track record and image which does not work in his favour. The party performance does play a factor and I don't think the economy has done well at all. I think the momentum is with Sean Sobers."

Maraj said that a significant number of the electorate will consider issues such as the closure of Petrotrin, crime, economy, general social decay, and institutional reform, and the PNM's performance of these will work against them in the San Fernando West constituency.

The Embacadere Community Crente in San Fernando.

Another former San Fernando West MP Sadiq Baksh, opined that when he won the seat under the UNC's Basdeo Panday led government in December 2000, that the electorate voted for the party's performance.

Baksh, for five years previous to becoming MP, had served as a senator and Minister of Works, and under his tenure there were significant projects within the San Fernando West constituency, such as the Cross Crossing Interchange, and development of a housing area in Union Hall.

"The party that I had represented had come out of five years of solid performance, and that performance propelled me and the candidates of the party. Bas (Basdeo Panday) led a government where his ministers accounted for their ministries. So if he hit a pothole in the road at 11 o'clock in the night he would call me to ask me about that. He expected my phone to be turned on, and asked firstly, why there was a pothole and secondly, if it can be fixed within 24 hours so that when he passed back it would not be there", Baksh said.

Work continues at Crown Land, Marabella, where houses are being built.

"There was unprecedented development in south Trinidad and by that administration at the time. Before then, it used to take years to build one bridge. But in the first five years of me as Minister of Works between 1995 to 2000, 65 bridges were completed. By the time the UNC came into office in the second term, we were building ten bridges in one year. "

Baksh said the electorate in San Fernando West did not vote on race, since he garnered over 3,000 votes from Afro-Trinidadians and mixedraces, to edge out the PNM's candidate Dr Anthony Elias by a margin of about 1,000 votes.

"Without the afro-trinidadian and mixed race support, I couldn't cut it. When I came into the constituency, there were just over 6,000 people of East Indian descent residing there. I got almost 10,000 votes. The middle class migrated from the inner city like Gransaul Street, Sutton, Rushworth, etc out into the suburban areas like Gulf View, Coconut Drive, La Romaine and Palmiste. And not all of these areas fell within San Fernando West."

A resident of Marabella, sits with her family at her home in Crown Land, Marabella. Where news houses are being constructed under the current Government.

"I don't really see race in this contest for this party. I came after some of the best performing ministers in any government. I came after Errol Mahabir, who was a fantastic member of Parliament, and in my opinion he was one of the most outstanding representatives and ministers of government. After him was another great San Fernandian, Barry (Barendra) Sinanan. There was also Ralph Maraj and Dr Anslem St George. They all lived, loved and worked in San Fernando. They really participated in the social fabric of what has now developed in the constituency and laid the foundation for a bright future. "

Baksh said the key factors to the San Fernando West constituency were availability, approach-ability, and consistency in performance.

"San Fernando West people want to know how you will respond to them. They want undivided attention every day, every time because that is what they have grown accustomed to from since Errol Mahabir. But you have to have an orchestra that is making music. You need an orchestra with a good conductor and musicians. And what San Fernandians want to see is an orchestra at work."

The Express asked people in the San Fernando west constituency about what they looked for in a candidate. These were some of the responses.

Peter Harris does some landscaping at his Gulf View Drive home in Gulf View, La Romaine.

"Corruption is so prevalent that you dont believe they will do anything genuinely. I want to see a rep (representative) who is in touch with the people of their constituency, very mindful of the problems and coming out with sensible decisions and proposals in Parliament. So in the end you vote for a party not the rep cause you hardly know them. This year it seems, you have to choose the best from a bad lot. We need change but who is going to do it? No, I would not vote for any candidate outside of UNC or PNM. They pop out of nowhere so I can not vouch for them. They need to have a presence. Even COP is mostly silent".

"In a candidate, I look for good performance, credibility, job creation, a crime plan, equality, ways to encourage young people to go straight starting from preschool, ways to stop people from this victim mentality that is, teach people to fish instead of giving them a fish everyday. I want to see all races treated with same dignity and fairness.

The campaign office of the Attorney General and PNM candidate for San Fernando West Faris AL-Rawi at Crown Land, Marabella.

"I vote for whoever has good performance. This time I haven't decided as yet who I am voting for. I am only thinking of two parties. The others don't have a snow ball in hell. I don't have any faith in them. So its either UNC or PNM. I haven't met any candidate as yet. It is not a matter of race at all. I am voting for the right person. My options are open. "

Read more:

Who can win the West? - Performance over potential - Trinidad & Tobago Express Newspapers

Years ago, an intuitive energy worker told me something I'll never forget:

"Every day, you must say: Accept, accept, accept. You need to learn acceptance."

To which I say, "Easier said than done."

Throughout my life, acceptance has never been my strong suit. If the weather is bad, I lament. When things are out of my control, I feel anxious. When people behave differently than I would like, I get upset.

I've allowed my emotions to take over so much that my friends have compared me to the "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen and we know how well everything turned out for her.

So, at the beginning of the year, when the studio where I practice yoga asked me to display an intention for 2020 on a Polaroid photo, it was a no-brainer. I smiled for the picture and spelled it out: A-C-C-E-P-T-A-N-C-E.

As the slow, inexorable crawl of COVID-19 began its chokehold on the nation in late winter, the fear of this pandemic began to get the best of me. So when I saw this infographic on Twitter ...

... I used it as inspiration to practice acceptance and to abate my coronavirus panic at the same time.

When I was terrified to travel on an airplane after the first US death from coronavirus? Yup.

When the local grocery store had empty shelves, nervous customers, and end-of-days vibes? Yup.

When we ran out of toilet paper and were forced to order a bidet attachment on Amazon? Yup and highly recommended!

First, I discovered that my local library was closed. Books are my refuge, so when I saw the bright, blinking sign LIBRARY CLOSED INDEFINITELY before I could stock up on books for quarantine, I broke into a cold sweat. (And immediately took my temperature.)

Next, multiple cases of COVID-19 were reported in my city, schools were closed, and everywhere, people and small businesses were starting to crumble under the weight of the virus. The cold sweat turned into a heavy weight in my chest, which I thought was another sure sign of the virus. I took deep breaths to test my lungs and grabbed my thermometer once more.

Griggs. Courtesy of Jersey Griggs

It was dealing with my boomer parents, however, that put me over the edge. I was horrified to discover that they were still leaving the house taking trips into the city, going to the theater, shopping at Costco, and babysitting my young nieces.

"Stop! You're in your 70s you need to stay home," I pleaded with them over FaceTime, on the verge of tears.

Worrying about the health of my family, who live halfway across the country, sent me into a state of alarm. When I hung up the phone, I was consumed by anxiety, anger, and an utter feeling of helplessness. It felt impossible to practice acceptance at a time like this.

Instead, I hopped onto social media to try to distract myself, but it only made matters worse. When I saw my friend post this video, with Italians pleading for the world to take COVID-19 seriously, my panic hit an all-time high.

I was stuck in my house, inundated by bad news, and could do nothing to control the spiraling state of the world. In short, I freaked.

I ran outside and began ranting and pacing around my yard like a mad woman. When I looked up to the sky in despair, the clouds above gave me a moment of pause.

Two weeks prior, I had spoken with Shamash Alidina, the best-selling author of "Mindfulness for Dummies" and an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy coach. When I spoke with Alidina, it was a beautiful morning in early March. In retrospect, COVID-19 still felt somewhat like a distant threat, and as we chatted over Zoom, neither of us mentioned the virus.

Instead, our talk focused solely on the practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a third-wave therapy intended to help people achieve psychological flexibility through the use of mindful-based exercises and cognitive techniques.

Since research has shown that ACT can help with anxiety and depression, in addition to a range of ailments including eating disorders and insomnia, I was wondering if it could help me with my 2020 intention of acceptance.

At the time, Alidina assured me that ACT could help me on my quest. In fact, he told me ACT could be helpful to practically everyone whether they suffer from anxiety, depression, or are simply looking for a way to cope with the stress of daily life.

This is because ACT's goal is to achieve psychological flexibility, which he said was "the ability to be true to your values and to take action in line with your values, despite the difficult emotions, thoughts, urges, or sensations that may come up."

He said the early days of ACT relied heavily on research, which led to the development of the six flexibility skills of the therapeutic model:

These skills serve as a road map to achieving ACT's ultimate goal, which is to "live a rich and meaningful life," according to Alidina.

Then he gave me numerous exercises, each correlating with a different flexibility skill, to help me on my path to acceptance.

Two weeks later, I stood in my yard, trying to cope with my COVID-19 panic. Then, I saw a floating cloud and was reminded of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

During our chat, Alidina had suggested that I work on finding my transcendental self by meditating on the sky. Remembering this reflective exercise, I sat on my back stoop, closed my eyes, and began to picture my mind as the sky; whenever I encountered a negative thought, I attached it to a floating cloud. The idea behind this particular exercise was to help me realize that my thoughts (the clouds) are ever-changing and unattached, but my true self (the sky) will never alter.

Olympic National Park in Washington state. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Using this ACT exercise, I put all of my worries the spreading pandemic, the health of my elderly parents, the plummeting stock market, the uncertainty of the future, the dying planet, our ineffective president into different clouds and watched as they floated away. Over time, my breath began to even out and my chest loosened, ever so slightly. After 10 minutes, I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and realized I felt marginally better.

Since this exercise had a positive effect, I decided to turn to another of one Alidina's suggestions: envisioning my 80th birthday party. Who would be there? What would they say about me? What kind of qualities would they use to describe me? These qualities would then become my values, and would serve as a compass to point me in the right direction throughout my life.

After completing the exercise, I settled on the personal values of love, learning, empowerment, creativity, adventure, and connection. Stuck in my house, feeling vulnerable and scared, I turned to these values.

Looking at the six words I had written on a sticky note, the two values of "love" and "connection" jumped out. In accordance with these values, I began reaching out to family and friends to check in, offer my support, and to send my love during this difficult time. I organized virtual happy hours over Zoom, sent my friends Marco Polo videos and Snapchats, and did whatever I could to find connection during isolation. By employing my values, I not only felt less alone, but I actually began to have some fun in quarantine. Establishing and committing to values was helping me push through the doom and gloom of pandemic.

As suggested by Alidina, whenever I encountered a negative thought or feeling, I separated myself from the thought by saying "I notice I'm having the thought" before the actual thought itself.

For example, instead of thinking "I'm scared for my family," I would say, "I notice I'm having the thought that I'm scared for my family." Using this technique, my negative thoughts, feelings, and even physical pains, began to have less power over me. It's important to note that my negative thoughts didn't stop, but my reaction to my thoughts changed, which ultimately gave them less power.

Which is one of the most important tenets of ACT unwanted thoughts and feelings will never go away for good. "ACT doesn't focus on symptom reduction," Alidina had explained to me, back in early March. "(It focuses) on what your values are, what actions you're going to take to make your life meaningful, and the skills to be able to accept however strong or weak that feeling is."

It turns out, these skills have been crucial to surviving the emotional whiplash that is 2020. Since my conversation with Alidina five months ago, a lot has changed in the world; despite the upheaval, I've adjusted to the new normal. From standing in the line outside the grocery store, to wearing a mask wherever I go, to my standard Friday night Zoom with friends, I've accepted what it means to live with the threat of coronavirus.

Still, I find myself struggling with the uncertainty of it all. The end of the year is a long way off, and when I think ahead to what the world will look like then, my heartbeat quickens. It's easy to get lost in the "what-ifs," the "whens," and the "whys." What if someone I love gets it? When will I hug my nieces again? Why did this happen in the first place?

In these instances, the only way to avoid panic is to separate myself from my thoughts, which I do by practicing the ACT skills. I've yet to achieve total acceptance and I'm wise enough to know that might never happen but being a work-in-progress has gotten me pretty far. After all, it's gotten me halfway through 2020, and that's an accomplishment in and of itself.

Read more:

How I used acceptance and commitment therapy to cope with pandemic - Business Insider

Loving Healing Press (LHP) publishes work that promotes self-healing, liberation and empowerment. By writing empowering and helpful books, many of its authors make a difference in the lives of readers.

Diana Raab (MFA, PhD) is a prominent LHP author who has inspired and motivated thousands and thousands of readers and writers via her writings, poetry and workshops. She is an award-winning writer and practical educator who helps her audience by teaching memoir writing and writing as therapy. She teaches two courses on DailyOM, Write. Heal. Transform: A Magical Memoir Writing Course and Therapeutic Writing, which are the sites top two writing courses. In recent months, Raabs online course in memoir writing has been ranked #1 of all DailyOM courses.

More than 12,000 people have enrolled in Raabs online courses. Write Heal Transform. As the course title implies, it serves as a hands-on guide to healing and transformation through writing ones own memoir. The eight-week course consists of eight lessons (one lesson per week) that teach the basics of memoir writing and the ways in which this type of writing cultivates self-awareness and using ones voice to speak ones truth. In short, Diana Raabs course helps wounded healers become storytellers. Her new course, Therapeutic Writing, is an empowering ten-day course guiding and supporting participants in using writing as a therapeutic tool to individual self-exploration.

A unique feature of DailyOM courses is that the price is not fixed, and those interested in taking them can pay what they can afford, starting from as low as $15 up to $50; the same material is available to those taking the course - regardless of what payment option they choose. The course page reads:

We simply trust that people are honest and will support the author of the course with whatever they can afford. And if you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund your money.

When asked about the most important takeaways from her courses, Raab said, There are a few salient points that I emphasize in all my workshops, whether its memoir writing or writing for healing, and whether its an in-person or an online course. First, writing is a process. Second, its important to enjoy the process or journey without focusing on the destination (possible publication), because this can detract from the creative aspect. Third, its important to write without fear. Writing our personal stories can be scary and daunting. Its important to drop the fear and just write. As my first writing mentor told me, Let it rip.

Readers can learn more about Diana Raab and her work via http://www.dianaraab.com.

Media ContactCompany Name: Diana Raab, PhDContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailCity: Santa BarbaraState: CaliforniaCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://dianaraab.com/

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Diana Raab Healing Thousands via Memoir Writing and Therapeutic Writing on DailyOM - Press Release - Digital Journal

Caregiver Empowerment and WellnessVirtualConferences

Region 9Area Agency on Aging is presenting atwo-partCaregiver Empowerment and WellnessVirtualConferencevia ZoomonFriday,July 31, 2020 from 10:00 am to12:00 pmand Friday, August 14, 2020from1:00pm to2:30pm.With thestatus of the pandemic,Region 9s priority is to continue to provide support to local family caregiversthat are unable to leave the home due to the Coronavirusby providing virtual options.All caregivers are welcome to attend this free, informative, and interactive virtual conference.

This years keynote speaker will be renowned dementia care trainer andauthor of Personal Positioning for the Caregiver,JillGafnerLivingston, BSBM, CDP, CADDCT. Jill will be presenting on two important topics: Caregiver Survival and Understanding Dementia. Other topics includeCaregiver Wellness,Adaptive Equipment,and Community Resources. There will be greatdoorprizesgiven out at the end of each virtual conference.

Formore information or to register pleasecontactmainvilleb@nemcsa.org,989.358.4616,or go towww.nemcsa.org/services/senior-services/caregiver.html.This event is hosted byRegion 9 Area Agency on Aging withgold level sponsorship byMoms Meals Nourish Care.

Region 9 Area Agency on Agingis adivision of division of Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency (NEMCSA), a Community Action Agency improving the quality of life for people facing crisis while strengthening families, communities, seniors and children since 1968. To find out more information regarding NEMCSAs programs and services, please visit http://www.nemcsa.org

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UpNorthVoice.com and Up North Voice are Northern Michigans source for community news.

We cover seven counties that include the following communities: Waters, Hale, Roscommon, St. Helen, Houghton Lake, Prudenville, Grayling, Frederic, Gaylord, Johannesburg, Lewiston, Atlanta, Comins, Fairview, Mio, Rose City, West Branch, Lupton, Skidway Lake, Sand Lake area, Glennie, Oscoda, East Tawas, Tawas City, and National City.

We are also a full-service commercial design and printing house. Our specialty is custom commercial printing, as well as the creation of clothing, cups and other marketing products.

To submit information for publication, or for questions regarding promotion of your business, please email mconstance@UpNorthVoice.com, or call 989-275-1170.

#Waters #Hale #Roscommon #St. Helen #Houghton Lake #Prudenville #Grayling #Frederic #Gaylord #Johannesburg #Lewiston #Atlanta #Comins #Fairview #Mio #Rose City #West Branch #Lupton #Skidway Lake #SandLakearea #Glennie #Oscoda #EastTawas #TawasCity #National City. @upnorthvoice1

Up North Voice is a division of AuSable Media Group, LLC, based at 709 Lake Street in Roscommon.

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A Two-part Caregiver Empowerment and Wellness - upnorthvoice.com

With the $600 weekly federal unemployment supplement ending this week, thousands of unemployed Tennesseans are likely to be scrambling to make ends meet.

The $600 weeklysupplement, used by so many whose employment was impacted by the pandemic to tide them over, ends with the week ending July 25.

Many are predicting increased bankruptcies and strains on social service agenciesas people struggle to afford basics like rent, food, medical care and utilities.

"We know families will be hurt the most, with parentsout of work and school going remote (hampering low-income families from receiving free or reduced-cost lunches for their children)," said Samantha Williams, director of the Nashville Financial Empowerment Center, which provides free one-on-one financial counseling to any Davidson County resident.

"We hope people are finding out about usand seeing that we can help them negotiate this," she said. "I think a lot of people have been holding off asking for help while they have been getting the checks, but now we hope they will seek usout."

We asked Williams and her staff tooffer some tips to help people who face looming financial challenges.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Call 2-1-1 for information on food, shelter and basic needs. The counselors can also help connect people with other local resourcessuch as SNAP food nutrition or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)if they have children. The center doesnot provide financial assistance but offers to help people negotiate the system to get help.

Work with a professional financial counselor.To make a virtual appointment with aNashville Financial Empowerment Center counselor,call 615-748-3620 or visit fec.nashville.gov. The service is free for Davidson County residents, and the wait time for an appointment is about a week.

More: The $600-per-week unemployment benefit has not been extended: Here's what to know

Prioritize expenses. Make a list of allthe things you spend money on. The counselors suggest that you break itinto three categories: essentials, debt payments and discretionary spending. Essentials include housing, utilities, transportation, medical needs, basic food/grocery, child care and cellphone.

Cut where you can.Eliminate as much discretionary spending as possibleand then start trying to trim the rest.

List your debts.The counselors suggest making a call list of everyone you owe money to, thencontact each company, explain your situation and ask what your options are.

Avoid overdraft charges. Cancel automatic debits to temporarily avoid overdraft.

Don't resort to credit cards orloans.The counselors say to "exhaust every possible option" before resorting to using credit cards, personal loans or cashing out retirement to pay for current expenses.

Track your progress.Look at income and expenses to determine realistic cash flow and figure out how much wiggle room you might have on groceries and other expenses.

Learn new skills while unemployed.TheAmerican Job Center and https://www.jobs4tn.gov/vosnet/Default.aspxare good resources for finding programs where you can learn new skills while unemployed.

The Financial Empowerment Center offersfree one-on-one financial advice services toany Davidson County resident, regardless of income.

The counseling sessions are done by phone or virtually. Most initial sessions last an hour or hour and a half. To make an appointment, call 615-748-3620 or go to fec.nashville.gov.

Since March 2013, the Financial Empowerment Center has helped more than 8,000 clientsand held more than 23,000 individual counseling sessions.

The program, which has counselors who speak Spanish as well as English, hashelped its clients reduce their debt by more than $15.3million. Counselors have backgrounds in various areas, including banking and social work.

The program started in Nashville in 2013, with initial funding from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, a Bloomberg Philanthropy. Now it is funded by the Mayor's Office and United Way.

Details: fec.nashville.gov andhttps://www.unitedwaynashville.org/programs/financial-empowerment-center

The extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits was passed as part of the federal CARES Act in March. It is notexpectedto be extended past theweek ending July 25.

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5s Talk of the Town.

Read or Share this story: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2020/07/23/600-unemployment-benefit-what-do-when-stops/5488661002/

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$600 unemployment benefit: What to do when it stops - Tennessean

Years ago, when problems arose in my business, I realized my emotions tended to drive the decisions. When emotions are high, logic is low leading to irrational decisions. I was told it was wise to take feelings out of the decision-making process. People wanted me to focus only on the bottom line The numbers are all that matter, they said.

Numbers dont lie, we all know that. But it felt wrong in my gut to be so cold and impersonal when considering my brand. Your intuitive voice doesnt lie either. I founded my first business at my kitchen table to produce a product I needed. To me, it was personal. Analyzing the numbers is important, but dont get so caught up in them that you lose sight of your customers and your employees. If you dont care, why should they?

Entrepreneurs need to create a symbiotic relationship between the numbers and their intuition. Its a powerful heart and mind combination to help guide your business decisions. The a final, crucial piece to this equation is kindness.

Strong, amazing female business leaders often tell me they have lost the sense of who they are. They no longer treat others with the kindness and respect they want and expect themselves. We have to be true to our authentic selves. Ignoring our feelings and our intuition when making decisions is absolutely incorrect. Our kindness as a great parent, friend, and partner has a place in our business life as well. You know what is right, what you are capable of, and how you need kindness in both your personal and business lives. Do this, and everyone benefits.

Incorporating kindness into your brand messaging and business dealings is key. People want to believe that a brand is authentic and true. Consider the choices you are making during the COVID pandemic. Many people are opting to support local small businesses where they know the entrepreneurs, like their brand values, or know what theyve done to benefit the community. These are the ties that bind customers to your brand in todays challenging and ever-changing world.

Empower your staff, value them, communicate with them often, and offer incentives and recognition for ideas that are outside the box. This will improve employee satisfaction, retention and productivity.

Consumers love positive experiences, so give them one. Drive loyalty by giving dependable, personalized, top-notch customer service, with exceptional products that maintain a high-level of standards. Listen to your consumers concerns and regardless of their demeanor, respond with kindness.

In 2015, I started #ThinkKindness to help foster kindness as a principal foundation for a successful business, relationship or fulfillment of individual potential. To kick-start it, I invited 150 women to a ThinkKindness event. Making this a women-only gathering was deliberate because, unfortunately, women are often the hardest on other women. We need to respect, support and be kind to other women.

After the sale of my first company, I wondered what would be my next act in life. Then the calls started coming in from early to mid-stage entrepreneurs and CEOs reaching out for mentorship and guidance. Female entrepreneurs and CEOs, in particular, lack a strong community to help them work through the challenges that arise building and running a brand. Therefore in early 2019, I founded Pink Talented Angels By Lizanne Falsetto. Its a safety net of female founders supporting one another, in both the good times and the bad, through my Holistic Success Method, which intertwines business opportunities and personal goals for a better whole life.

By being kind and helping out others just for the sake of it, youre not only marketing your business in a positive way, but youll find a sense of empowerment in helping others that is incredibly rewarding.

My first business started and succeeded on the trifecta of paying attention to my intuition, the numbers, and kindness. Intuition pushed me to start the business, and was also my best advisor. The numbers provided a better understanding of my product line, manufacturing costs, market space, consumers and end goal. Kindness opened doors and put my product on the shelves of Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Walmart. Kindness helped me build my startup into a successful lifestyle brand. The answers you need for your business has to come from the relationship between all three.

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Kindness Is a Strong Foundation for Success - Grit Daily

Joanne Olivo fell in love with dancing when she took her first class at 4 years old. By the time she got to middle school, however, it was musical theater that began to capture her attention.

But I always found myself a bit more interested in learning the choreography, the now 25-year-old Corona resident said.

Olivo continued in musical theater through her time at La Sierra High School and into enrolling at Riverside City College. While taking the required acting and music classes, she was also required to take dance technique. Olivo remembers being involved in a Performance Riverside production and RCCs dance concert at the same time. She then realized what captivated her more.

Dance gave me the freedom to express anything and everything while creating my own script and even interpreting movement as I wanted to, rather than being given guidelines in which I had to perform, she said.

After that first Riverside City College dance concert, Olivo began to take more dance technique classes and soon became part of the dance program.

The artistic freedom that I am given as a dancer is rewarding and learning from so many choreographers, teachers and dancers is a constant reminder of why I chose dance as a career path, she said.

Olivo has trained in ballet, jazz, modern and musical theater for six years. Those technique classes taught by Riverside City College dance faculty have been instrumental in her development as a dancer, she said. She went on to perform with Intersect Dance Theater Company, led by the late Sofia Carreras, whose choreographic process and style she counts as a tremendous influence.

I have recently started training at Infuse Dance Studio and am part of their company, Animus, which consists of all incredibly strong and diverse women directed by April MacLean, Olivo said.

One of Olivos favorite performances was a piece titled Pick-a-little-New-talk-a-little choreographed by Robyn ODell for the 2019 American College Dance Association.

This piece was selected for the gala that was held at the end of the conference and holds a very special place in my heart because of the subject matter being connected to the #metoo movement, she said. Robyn integrated the casts personal experiences as women, while also highlighting our strengths.

Olivo described another piece called Pataphysique, which was choreographed by Megan Fowler-Hurst that was performed in the Riverside City College faculty concert in 2016.

The dynamics of the piece and the theatrics involved in the movement is what made me finally see myself as a dancer, she said. I saw the connection between acting and dance and how they go hand in hand.

Olivo graduated with associates degrees in musical theater, social and behavioral studies, and fine and performing arts. She has since been accepted to Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, as well as the UC Riverside. She is continuing to look into other dance programs while training in Riverside.

Im trying to decide on the dance program that feels right for me and the type of artist I am, she said.

Her future plans include getting her masters degree and teaching dance. She believes in the power of dance to integrate real experiences and emotions, as well as its ability to serve as a form of therapy.

This art form also gives many different artists a voice and provides ways to raise awareness about specific topics such as womens empowerment, LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, she said.

Olivio went on to discuss how an audience member might be struggling with something that isnt largely represented, but when they see a specific phrase of movement it could express exactly what theyve been feeling without saying a word.

Thats why I feel representation of diversity is extremely important to show in the dance community so that it speaks to all kinds of people who come from all walks of life, she said.

Patrick Brien is executive director of theRiverside Arts Council.

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Dance lets this Corona resident express anything and everything - Press-Enterprise

A GROUP of nursing students from the University of Chester has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award for its work in representing the student voice.

The Student Empowerment Group has been named as a finalist in this years RCNi Nurse Awards in the category of Nursing Student of the Year.

The purpose of the group was to ensure that the Nursing and Midwifery Councils (2018) theme of student empowerment in nurse education was integrated into the new curriculum.

The university performed particularly strongly in listening to its student body in this years National Student Survey (NSS).

The group was set up in August 2018 by students Daniel Branch, Rose James, Hannah Dixon, Thomas Slater and Charina Guanzon with senior lecturer Peg Murphy.

They meet monthly and attend programme planning meetings with lecturers and staff in the universitys Faculty of Health and Social Care with the aim of giving students a real voice in developing their programmes of study.

As the workload increased, the group worked with the lecturer to develop a business plan to create student empowerment consultants who would be paid for their work.

Daniel and Rose are now the co-chairs of the group and with new members in place they have worked on a new curriculum; given presentations about their work; developed guidance for students going on their placements and are working on compiling a collection of reflections on student experiences on placement to help others feel more comfortable and share learning.

Daniel chairs the meetings and up to 30 staff and students attend. He has also co-designed and delivered a poster about the groups work and presented it at the HEE (Higher Education England) Learner Wellbeing Conference 2020: Championing Mental Wellbeing in the NHS.

Rose was part of the programme planning team panel and has represented the student voice at all of the meetings and discussed these opinions with staff and students at all levels. She has been recognised for her work going above and beyond within the University and was awarded the Tom Mason prize for working.

Thomas and Hannah are now newly qualified nurses.

Daniel said: "We are very proud that being part of the student empowerment group has enabled us to help our fellow students to become the best nurses they can be, both now and in the future, and are pleased to have been able to improve our personal skills particularly in relation to communication and advocacy.

"We feel that the more empowered nurses feel the better the care they are able to provide and have been able to see the personal benefits of this during our practice placements."

Professor Angela Simpson, executive dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care, said: I am immensely proud of the hard work and dedication of the Student Empowerment Group. To be shortlisted for such an award is testament to their commitment to giving students at the University a real voice.

The awards celebrate innovation, skill and dedication in nursing and showcase excellence in the profession. The winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony later this year.

Read more:

University of Chester nursing students shortlisted for national award - The Chester Standard

Rumors of haunted houses or neighbors with the power to cast spells are a fixture of suburban-set TV shows and movies. A rundown building or an older adult who lives alone will spawn terrifying legends that get passed on from one kid to the next. Did you know a witch lives on this block?

The Addams Family, Bewitched, and even the recent Chilling Adventures of Sabrina play with theconvention of regular families with spooky abilities, and the Neibolt House in It takes this notion to the creepy abandoned extreme. A tragedy involving a dead or missing child often provides a far less supernatural reason for the dilapidation orreclusivebehavior of a much-talked-about figure. However, the trauma of reality is less entertaining than supernaturally tinged hearsay.It is also easy to believe something sinister is going on behind closed doorsbecause the fairy tales we are told as children often featurea creepy old crone with an ulterior motive. Rather than leaning into the stereotypes,the witch-next-door trope is getting an empowering twist inthe new Netflix adaptation of Ann M. Martins iconic tween book series,The Baby-Sitters Club.

**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers ahead for The Baby-Sitters Club.**

A witch lives next door to us. Her name is Morbidda Destiny. She put a spell on Boo-Boo, our cat, Karen Brewer (Sophia Reid-Gantzert) tells her new babysitter Mary Anne Spier (Malia Baker) in the openingepisode. It is the first gig for the new club hired by Kristy Thomas soon-to-be stepfather andthis statement sounds like nothing more than the wild imagination of a 7-year-old girl. Not to mention, Karens morbid curiosity extends beyondrumors of the neighborhood witch.

She is well-versed in all the classicurban legend tropes, telling Kristy (SophieGrace) the phantomcalls she is receiving on Halloween are probably being madefrom inside the house. An unnerving comment to make at the best of times, but this conversation occurs mid-wake for her atheist doll Krakatoa. (You lived. Now youre dead.)

It should come as no surprise that youngminds turn to the macabre, considering that the first witches we encounterin storiesare often derived from a Brothers Grimm-style depiction. They are women living in the center of a forest, waiting for unsuspecting children so theycan feast on their flesh. Alternatively, a sorceressmight trick a couple into givingaway a child, or their motives are driven by the desire for eternal youth. Regardless of intent, the spinster should be feared.

Folk stories, whether told over a campfire in 17th-century New England or a Disney movie from the last 75 years, portraywitchy women as the villain. Cautionary tales meantto protect children also have a way of vilifying a particular kind of person. Karen thinks it is pretty cool that a witch lives next door until she sees this womanofficiating the wedding between her dad and Elizabeth Thomas-Brewer (Alicia Silverstone). The ear-piercing scream of terror reveals just how much she fearsthe proximityof the woman she calls Morbidda Destiny.

Shifting from a terrifying threat to a positive influence, the evolution of the witch figure in society mirrors how pop culture presents the spell-casting women to us. First, they will devour your soul as a small child before becoming a symbol of empowerment as we grow older.

After Karens extreme reaction, Esme (Karin Konoval) aka Morbidda Destiny matter-of-factly explains, This little girl thinks Im a witch. So in front of this room full of witnesses, I would like to say that shes right. Plot twist! Or rather, it would be if we hadnt already seen Esme hosting a spiritual gathering in an earlier episode. However, before this official introduction, our first interaction is when she yells at Kristy for standing in her hedge whilespying on Mary Anne's babysitting gig. Appearing somewhat terrifying (although Kristy was trespassing), at the time Karen nonchalantly explainsthis is her Wiccan-next-door.

First impressions don't always sync up with reality, but in the case of Esme, Karen was right about her spiritual calling, even if she isn't the kind of witch Karen envisioned. In Episode 4, Mary Anneattends what she believes is some kind of all-female cookout with her new friend Dawn Schafer (Xochitl Gomez). When she realizes the host and Dawn's aunt is none other than Morbidda Destiny, MaryAnne is unnerved by this unfamiliar situation.

Dawns mom jokes that Esme wishes her witch name was this cool moniker before confirming she is, in fact, a witch. Trying not to freak her pal out too much, Dawn adds this version of the word ismore likea spiritual healer and thisis their goddess welcome ceremony.Unlike anything Mary Anne has ever attended, the whole publicly-baring-your-soulelementsends her spinning. In "Mary Anne Saves the Day," the naturally shy tween has found herself questioning her sensitivity to conflict, and while she doesnt take part in the new moon sharemony, this meeting isan empowering moment that leaves its mark.

At this transitional period in the burgeoning teenagers' lives, having a role modellike Dawn's aunt Esme and her momis vital in broadening their outlook on the power of femininity. Dawn's bond with her mother and aunt isabsent in Mary Anne's upbringing since her mother died when she was 18 months old. Her father is understandably protective over his only daughter. An injection ofconfidence via the woman who isnt a scary witch-next-door but a regular witch-next-door is an important first step.

In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and teen classic Now & Then, a tragedy involving a missing or dead child has led to theexile of an adultfrom the community. Neighborhood kids give out names like Crazy Pete and the "Freak House" without consideration regarding the real backstory. We still don't know much about Esme's personal history, but the lack of spinster references or dead kid mentions feels somewhat transformative, as does the notion she is apracticing witch but without extraordinary abilities like the Spellmans or Samantha Stephens. While the fantasy of changing an outfit with the flick of a finger is enticing, joining hands with our moon sisters and having a tarot card reading are accessible to all.

After confirming her witchy status to the wedding congregation, she gives a mini-TED Talkabout how the word "witch" has historically been weaponized against people (mostly women) "who refuse to conform to society's expectations of who they should be." Observing there are a lot of witches in attendance (met with a rapturousreaction from the back), she ends this brief aside by intoning, "When children tell you something, believe 'em." Instead ofbelittling Karen'svisceral reaction, she advocates for her and avoids the stereotype that characters like Esmehate kids.

Sprinklingsome much-needed wisdomand a valuable lesson in wielding words, she isn'tstealing the matrimonial ceremonyspotlightwhile performing her officiator duties. Rather, it is an empowering interjection that speaks to the tweens, teens, and adults who hold witch-figures close to their hearts. There is no greater magic giftthan this.

Read more here:

How The Baby-Sitters Club subverts and empowers the witch-next-door trope - SYFY WIRE

PUBLISHED: 17:00 23 July 2020

Andrew Brookes

The council has launched its Towards a Better Newham Covid-19 Recovery Strategy. Picture: Steve Poston

Archant

Livelihood, wellbeing and happiness will be the prime measures of economic success as part of an ambitious Covid-19 recovery strategy unveiled by the Newham Council.

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Towards a Better Newham sets out how the council will respond to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The strategy represents a fundamental shift, placing peoples health and wellbeing and race equality central to the councils aspirations of inclusive growth, quality jobs and fairness.

Newham was inspired by New Zealand, the first country in the world to replace gross domestic product as a key indicator of its economic success and instead focus on the wellbeing and happiness of its population as a principle measure of progress.

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said: We will be the first borough in London to adopt more appropriate measures of economic success.

We are going to be prioritising the personal wellbeing, health and happiness of our residents, instead of the traditional measures of growth, prosperity and land value that has framed measures of economic productivity and success in this country, but which mask some of the enduring features of poverty and inequality Newham has.

Covid-19 has laid bare the endemic inequality that exists in our borough and wider society, and it has exposed the increased vulnerability of the most socially and economically deprived.

The strategy will ensure everyone under 25 will be able to access various positive activities to support their long-term prosperity.

A new youth empowerment fund will help overcome barriers to economic participation.

The boroughs six town centres and 13 high streets will be the focus of investment and revival, so that they become centres of community and civic activity as well as commerce and business.

Inspired by Paris, the strategy will transform these into 15-minute neighbourhoods to meet the councils air quality and climate change commitments.

These ensure people can access all social, civic and economic essentials within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.

Ms Fiaz added: The monumental impact that Covid-19 has wrought on our lives and ways of living requires a radical rethink and bold interventions to accelerate change in Newham for the better.

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How New Zealand inspired Newham's Covid-19 recovery strategy - Newham Recorder