KINESIOLOGY is a natural healing therapy that uses muscle testing to identify imbalances in the bodys structural, emotional and chemical energy and establish its healing priorities.

The most comprehensive of the modern natural therapies, an ICPKP kinesiology session is tailored to addressing your emotional/physical stress and energetic blockages, assisting you and your body to heal these through a range of manual and non-manual therapeutic techniques.

These stresses can include:

l chronic physical and emotional pain

l relationship and work stress

l food intolerances and digestive disorders

l learning difficulties

l mental illness and nervous disorders

l lack of motivation and inability to change old habits

l poor performance levels

Having trained under leading kinesiologist and master healer Edmund Faust in Australia, Lenore Smith works with a wide range of clients from babies, children, mothers and families to professional sports people, business professionals and retirees in her practices in Melbourne and Darwin.

She truly believes every person deserves the optimal physical and emotional balance and personal empowerment kinesiology can provide.

Joining the team at Back in Line, Lenore is delighted to bring the health and wellness benefits of kinesiology to the Henley community.

For more information and to book a session, call 07565 426066 or visit http://www.thebasic elementskinesiology.com.au

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Natural therapy tackles stress and energetic blockages - Henley Standard

17 Jul 2017, 11 a.m.

A local women's empowerment group come together to celebrate their 34th anniversary at the annual handover dinner.

LEADERSHIP: Current President of Port Pirie's Soroptimist International club Debbie Devlin. PHOTO: B'Elanna O'Dea.

The Port Pirie Soroptimist International group celebrated 34 years at their annual handover dinner at the RSL Clubrooms last month.

The groupis one of the largest womens service clubs in the world with more than75,000 members in 132 countries and territories. Port Pirie's group is one of sixcountry clubs in South Australia.

Onlocal, national and international levels, members strive to empower, educate and enablewomen and girls across the world.

At the handover dinner, the honor of Port Pirie SIgroup president was passed on from foundation member Jenny Hughes, to 17-year member Debbie Devlin.

All members have the opportunity to serve as interim president for a term or one or two years as the role provides valuable leadership skills.

During the dinner, club members Elaine Owen and Pam Ayliffe received awards and recognition for 25 years of service.

Kathryn Johnson, Port Pirie Regional Councils infrastructure director,received a Women's Achiever award for her services in building the community. She spoke about the importance of how infrastructure works as a base of unity from which a community can thrive.

Ms Devlin's personal goals for her term is tomaintain the Look Good, Feel Better program, in partnership with breast cancer nurses and professional beauticians. The schemehelps chemotherapy patients to look and feel their best.

The group also hopes, during the redevelopment of the park,to restore and move the Women'sMemorial so that it stands alongside the other similar memorials.

Through fundraising, the group also awards an annual Educational Leadership Bursaryto a female student who has shown merit and determination in her studies and school life.

This year local Soroptimist International plans to raise $600 so that it may be divided equally between the awardees from three high schools in the region,John Pirie Secondary School,Mid North Christian College and St Mark's College.

MsDevlinsays that she loves being a member of Soroptimist International because of the sense of friendship and fellowship it provides. She says she appreciates that she gets to lead adiverse group of interesting, capable and fun-to-be-around women.

All women who want to make a difference and seekreliable friends that care and support are welcome to join.

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Port Pirie's Soroptimist International group continues to empower, educate and enable women and girls - The Recorder

For women the world over, information and communication technologies (ICT) can be leveraged for personal security, better access to education and jobs, financial inclusion or to access basic healthcare information. But benefits such as these rely on women having meaningful access to ICT which can be facilitated or prevented by several factors, including affordability, relevant content, skills and security.

SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls and calls for enhanced use of enabling technology ICTs in particular to promote the empowerment of women.

To help turn commitment into action, the International Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with UN Women the global champion for gender equality to host a side-event during the HLPF. The event, entitled Accelerating Womens Economic Empowerment to Achieve the 2030 Agenda will showcase the global efforts stakeholders have embarked on to bring womens economic empowerment to the forefront of all the SDG targets.

Through innovation, investment and development of products and services, the private sector plays an important role in advancing gender equality and improving the lives of women. While women make up more than 50% of the worlds population, they also represent 70% of the worlds poor. According to research, women reinvest 80% of every dollar made back into her family, meaning that practical support for the economic empowerment of women is a crucial step towards eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity.

At the event, ICC will highlight private sector initiatives that are catalysing womens economic empowerment in developed and developing countires and present just how ICT can help advance the global goals.

Here are 3 reasons why ICT matters for gender equality:

The Internet is a great enabler, creating unprecedented opportunities for female entrepreneurs to enter global markets for the first time. ICT provides opportunities to boost small business growth by establishing an international, level-playing field that enables all businesses, regardless of size, location or sector, to compete on an equal footing in global markets. Programmes through partnerships can help realise the opportunities ICT can offer, by boosting skilling,equipping women with digital devices and providing training that helps women teach their respective communities how to make the most of these tools. Todays side event will highlight the importance of multistakeholder collaboration in these efforts and showcase business initiatives that are using ICT to support womens participation in the workforce and aid financial inclusion.

ICT can give women access to basic needs such as healthcare and education. The private sector plays a pivotal role in investing in community-oriented training, deploying infrastructure and delivering a wide range of ICT services to meet these needs. A recently published ICC policy paper on ICT, Policy and Sustainable Economic Development, to be shared at the event, underscores that for countries to enhance the use of enabling technology for the goal goals they must create an enabling environment for sustainable investment.

Women are currently less likely than men to use or own digital technologies, with gaps larger among youth and those over 45 years old. ICT improves efficiency, enhances coordination and improves the quality of information gathered and shared for development planning. For countries to leverage ICT to promote the empowerment of women, governments need to be well-informed about how the ICT ecosystem works in practice, the barriers to access and how challenges can be overcome. ICC aims to raise awareness of the impact that policies on infrastructure, applications, services and user-engagement have on the ICT ecosystem and believes greater understanding of these issues can equip policymakers with a framework to identify appropriate policy approaches.

The ICC/UN Women side-event will take place today Monday, 17 July at UN Headquarters in New York from 13:15 14:30 local time. Participants will include contributors to the UN Secretary General High-Level Panel for Womens Economic Empowerment and speakers from the Government of the United Kingdom, Government of Costa Rica, UN Women, the International Labour Organization, ICC Secretary General John Danilovich, andCarolyn Nguyen of Microsoft who is also Vice-Chair of the ICC Commission on the Digital Economy.

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3 reasons why ICT matters for gender equality - International Chamber of Commerce

Lisa A. Beach, USA TODAY Back to School magazine Published 8:18 a.m. ET July 15, 2017 | Updated 8:18 a.m. ET July 15, 2017

Girls work together to examine properties of soil as part of an activity at the Girls Inc. program in Lynn, Mass.(Photo: Provided by Girls Inc.)

When 9-year-old Jelani Jones discovered a passion for creating natural bath products, she decided to launch her own business Lani Boo Bath in October 2016. But when she needed help creating a more structured approach to grow her business, Jelani turned to SheEO, a Springfield, Va.-based mentoring and enrichment company that provides entrepreneurial training.

SheEO joins a growing number of girl empowerment organizations that share a common goal: to help young girls realize their dreams.

We work to empower the CEO in every girl to take steps towards business ownership and community leadership, explains DeShawn Robinson-Chew, the groups CEO and founder. Our hands-on, immersion program helps young ladies be a she while becoming an EO (executive officer). We foster both personal and professional development.

Founded in 2003, SheEO partners with schools, churches and youth centers to encourage budding entrepreneurs ages 8-16 through summer camps, classes, after-school clubs and individual coaching. With guidance from SheEO professionals, entrepreneurs-in-training plan and pitch business ideas, set goals, strategize and connect with like-minded peers.

While some girls need help on their path to entrepreneurship, others just need a helping hand.

When she was 11, Diamond Jones was living in extreme hardship in Chattanooga, Tenn. Her mom was ill, her dad was in jail and she was homeless. She turned to her local Girls Inc. organization for much-needed support and guidance as she overcame her struggles. Now 18, she recently graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA and is the first in her family to go to college; she will attend the University of Memphis in the fall.

Headquartered in New York, Girls Inc. taps into its network of more than 1,200 sites across the U.S. and Canada to serve 140,000 girls ages 6-18 each year. Its overarching purpose? To inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold by providing direct assistance and advocacy.

We are on the prevention side, says Judy Vredenburgh, Girls Inc. president and CEO. We create strong, long-lasting mentorship between girls and our professionals done in a sisterhood of support.

To accomplish this, Girls Inc. offers programs covering media literacy, healthy relationships, sports and initiatives like Operation SMART, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Another nonprofit, Girls Who Code, takes the STEM-focused approach even further. It strives to build the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the U.S. by providing free after-school clubs and summer immersion camps to girls wanting to learn computer programming.

Since 2012, the organization has grown from serving 20 girls in New York to 40,000 in 50 states.

In both our summer immersion program and our clubs, girls work on a final project using technology to solve an issue that matters to them. That personal relevancy is crucial in sparking and sustaining girls interest in the field, says founder and CEO Reshma Saujani.

As todays girls battle gender-specific stereotypes and biases, they can lean on girl empowerment organizations along the way.

We need to start challenging our girls to step outside of their comfort zone, to push girls to be brave and reward them for trying, Saujani says.

USA TODAY Back To School 2017 magazine(Photo: Studio Gannett)

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Programs help put young girls on a path to success - USA TODAY

People naturally seek ways to improve their lives, relieve suffering and become happier, healthier and more vibrant. The traditional healthcare approach to wellness is to prescribe external treatment based on medical practice guidelines with less attention to a clients personal needs, strengths and challenges. Integrative health coaching helps people identify their innate wisdom for wellness based on personal mind, body and spirit needs. This partnership gives clients energy and desire to seek and find their own way through ongoing challenges of life.

Integrative health and wellness coaching is an emerging field with deep roots in psychology, professional coaching, and expertise in health promotion. Successful integrative health coaching motivates clients to decide what is most important to change and identify specific interventions to utilize their personal gifts and strengths to implement desired change. When a client creates behavior change while building self-efficacy, knowledge and resources, they become autonomous keepers of their health.

The integrative health coach inspires a person to see a new view of self, empowers self-fulfillment and hope, and enables a process of personal growth. Through a process of identifying a specific need, a measurable goal and prioritizing a realistic plan to reach the goal, the health coach supports transformative change toward wellness. Offering permission and power to gain autonomy creates resilience and empowerment. Through personal empowerment, people can transform their lives.

As a nurse practitioner and integrative health and wellness coach, I partner with people to increase self-efficacy and interpersonal skills that lead to fulfilling their goals for wellness and reduce the effects of illness.

I work with individuals who are looking to enhance their wellbeing, manage health challenges, illicit change and create a new vision for their life.

Dawn Ritter is an APRN CNP BC Family Nurse Practitioner and Integrative Health and Wellness Coach. She is the owner of Begin Again: Health & Wellbeing LLC. She can be reached at 507-676-7308

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HEALTH: Integrative Health Coaching may be an option for you - Southernminn.com

Know what's happening in and around Orlando for the weekend.

By Rita Barnes

Family enjoying Bok Tower Gardens.

Courtesy of: VisitCentralFlorida.org

Artwork and live music in the park betweenCasselberryCity Hall and Lake Concord, just off U.S. Highway 17-92. Food trucks and other vendors on site as well. Free. For more info:casselberry.org

A new take on an old favorite past-time, TRAP Karaokeis about personal empowerment, cultural participation, cherished moments, community and creating a safe space for human connection. For tickets and more info: Facebook Event

Cheer on the Thunder City Derby Sirens and Orlando Roller Derby as they compete for the win! This all age event is a fun way to expose the family to an action-packed female sport. Fun will occur at Rink DeLand, 1779 N Spring Ave. Food truck with beer and wine onsite! Children under the age of 12 are free with paid adult; tickets are $8 each at the door. For more info: DerbySirens.com

Be inspired by their new exhibit, Selections from the Permanent Collection, and color your heart out! There will be free coloring books provided for each child, coloring stations around campus and complimentary admission to the Maitland Art Center. Free for the entire family!For more info:artandhistory.org

Stop by the Tower & Garden gift shop and expand your summer cocktail recipes with Fiddler's Ridge Honey Wine. Sample a trio of signature concoctions and take home a complimentary recipe card. Pro Tip: Buy two large bottles and receive a free small bottle!Included with general admission, ,free to concert ticket holders or members. For more info: Bok Tower Gardens Facebook

In partnership with the Orlando Ballet, you can see the epic dance on screen.Oneof GeorgeBalanchine'srare narrative ballets, A Midsummer Night's Dream is entering the Paris Opera Ballet's repertoire. The sets and costumes for this production have been designed by another magician of the stage, ChristianLacroix.Matinee tickets, $9 each.For more info:Enzian.org

Pay tribute to one of the world's most known artists, Bette Midler. Jennica McClearyplays the headliner and has been doing so for almost a decade, so you really don't want to miss it! General admission is $20, VIP Tickets are $35 each and include reserved table seating and a glass of wine.For more info and tickets:TicketFly.com

This summer, the Bach Festival Choir will hold a "Summer Sing" event, bringing together over 100 singers! Everyone with a passion for singing is invited to join the choir for Mozart's Requiem. There is no audition necessary, and registration to participate is free.Join the fun at the Tiedtke Concert Hall at Rollins College. Free.For more info:BachFestivalFlorida.corg

For a full lineupof the happenings around town this month, check out ouronline calendar,pick up the magazine on newsstands,subscribe, or pick up yourdigital copytoday. Prefer to get your news in smaller bites? Sign upto receive our e-newsletter,CityScenedelivered straight to your inbox.

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Weekend Happenings July 14 to 16 - Orlando Magazine (blog)

On a warm Thursday evening, kids from the Mayfair neighborhood of San Jose's East Side congregate at the Mexican Heritage Plaza pond. They're here to receive certificates from art instructors Roberto Romo and his wife, Elba Raquel Martinez. The students' original artwork is displayed on tables while street sign prototypesmade from their artworkhang from a wire encircling the patio.

The kids are coming together out of local pride to make art and beautify the streets. Thanks to the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza and Somos Mayfair, a local community booster organization, the idea began when locals pounded the pavement to identify priorities in their neglected neighborhood. The need for public art, community beautification and the expression of identity became immediate concerns. All three of those key points are now coming to life through Voices of the Mayfair, a project in which the prototype signage might someday appear on the streets.

Featuring bright, colorful imagery with personal statements or sayings painted by the artists, the vertical signs function as tools of personal empowerment. Some feature sayings like "Girl Power" and "Yes we can," while others offer more introspective reflection or simple imagery with words like, "Evolution" or "Strive for Success." Collectively, the signs serve as vehicles to beautify the neighborhood and inspire local residents, as well as provide an element of surprise, satirizing the more negative language used in San Jose transportation signage.

"You always see those signs, 'no parking,' 'no dumping,' no this, no that," says Tamara Alvarado, director of the School of Arts and Culture. "Everything's a 'no.' So what we're doing, many of these signs have positive imagery, positive messages. Everything is asset-based, power-based, internal identification in a positive way."

Voices of the Mayfair is part of the larger Celebrate Mayfair Project, a yearlong series of events unfolding at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in order to connect Mayfair residents to each other through arts and cultural experiences. For example, each month, Cafecito, a regular pop-up gathering, takes place in the garden area of the plaza. Poets and musicians perform on the platform in the middle of the pond area. Coffee, pan dulce and chocolate are served. Tables devoted to community resources are scattered throughout the property.

The most recent Cafecito coincided with the opening reception for Voices of the Mayfair. Tea Lyfe from Vietnam Town brought horchata mixed with Vietnamese coffee, a drink you'd only see on the East Side, at least for now.

Taking the microphone, Romo and Martinez rallied the students, articulating the collective identity of the artists and how they can all come together and create a dialog through art and expressing themselves, and make the streets a better-looking environment. Much of the Mayfair neighborhood is covered in graffiti and doesn't necessarily foster a positive image. But if artists can join together, beautify the area and simultaneously tap into the pride in themselves and their neighborhood, then everyone wins.

Community liaison Rosa Angelica Castaeda says such a process is the most empowering aspect of the project. When people in Mayfair come together, learn about each other and share with each other, a normally disregarded San Jose neighborhood comes to life.

"It's a way to really come out and shine and show people who we are," Castaeda says. "We're not a negative space. We're full of life and potential."

The plan is to install the art-signs throughout the Mayfair neighborhood, on utility poles, walls, parking lots and in other public places one would normally see standard signage.

However, when it comes to getting final permission, the process might not be a quick so easy, as multiple layers of grim, foreboding bureaucracy exist at City Hall. That won't stop Alvarado, who says she brings years of experience in navigating the obstacles.

"City departments tend to start with a 'no,' so our role as an arts organization is to try and work the city to a 'yes,'" she says. "They'll have demands like anti-graffiti-proofing, weather-proofing, who's going to maintain them. But all that stuff can be dealt with. Our job as artists is to give an opportunity for our community to express themselvespositively."

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East Side Art Project Celebrates Spirit of Mayfair Neighborhood - Silicon Valley's Metro

Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. Photo credit: Penguin Press and Nina Subin / Penguin Press

Another attempt at health care reform, this time the GOPs effort to dismantle Obamacare, seems to be failing in Congress. Our guest this week, Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, the editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News and a Harvard-trained physician, says that maybe its time to look beyond Washington for a solution.

In order to do that, Rosenthal tells WhoWhatWhys Jeff Schechtman, patients and the public need to look at how we got here. Why do prices keep rising? Why does 20 to 30% of some household incomes go toward health care? And how come the modern US healthcare system was designed by the same people who made chicken packing plants more efficient?

Rosenthal explains how many of the values of business, which healthcare has become, are incompatible with the values of medicine. She shows how the four-legged stool that is doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and Big Pharma works, and why patients are not a part of the framework and why they must be. Rosenthal, the author of An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back (Penguin Press, April 2017), says that both personal empowerment and an appreciation of humanity is a far more practical way to address healthcare today.

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Related front page panorama photo credit: Adapted by WhoWhatWhy from man with stool (Fredrik Alpstedt / Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

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Turkey Edges toward Russia ; US + UK Kiss Up to Saudi Arabia Over Oil IPO and More Picks for 7/14

After Wal Mart Leaves ; How Syria Divides the Left and More Picks for 7/13

Women of Color Face Harassment in Science Careers ;The Real Number of Casualties in Iraq ..and More Picks for 7/12

The Clean Coal Myth ; Scary Spyware Put to Use and More Picks for 7/11

Is Clean Water a Birth Right? ; Another Watchdog Resigns and More Picks for 7/10

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Doctors No Longer Do No Harm - WhoWhatWhy / RealNewsProject (blog)

Following the successofher ballad Praying her first sincetrack since 2013 Kesha has released Woman, a free spirited anthem aimed at empowering her gender. Thevideo features Kesha clad in a country-inspired outfit as she boasts about making her own money and declares she is a motherfucking woman.

And now, as the release of her new LP entitled Rainbow approaches, Kesha has used her time to advocate female empowerment and speak about discovering inner strength in an essay for Rolling Stone.Her touching statement focuses on her newest track and how the song helped her proclaim her independence.

Musically, I really couldnt be more proud of this record, wrote Kesha. I think that this album sonically sounds more like the music I listen to than anything else Ive ever done in the past. With influences includingIggy Pop, Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, T Rex, James Brown, the Beatles, Sweet and Dolly Parton, the singers newest record will be her most diverseone yet.

With her latest song, Kesha hopes fans appreciate its imperfections, such asthe laugh track placed sporadically throughout the track.I wanted this song to capture that organic, raw, soulful sound and keep the imperfect moments in the recordings, she wrote.

The essay reveals that her inspiration for writing Woman came at an unusual time while she was sitting in traffic. The singer explained she felt urged to screamIm a motherfucking woman, creating the path for empowering song.

I have always been a feminist, but for much of my life I felt like a little girl trying to figure things out. In the past few years, I have felt like a woman more than ever. I just feel the strength and awesomeness and power of being female. We hold the key to humanity. We decide if we populate the Earth, and if so, with whom. We could just decide not to have any more kids and the human race would be over. That is power. I just really fucking love being a woman and I wanted an anthem for anyone else who wants to yell about being self-sufficient and strong. (Yes, men, this song can be for you too.)

Kesha also uses her essay to express her appreciation for her co-writers and explains how their help made creating her new music a joyful experience. I really have to thank [them]for helping me through the past few years and making writing songs a beautiful thing again, she wrote. Both of those men made my art/work safe and fun, and every session with the two of them was so healing.

Kesha ended her essay with a personal note to her fans, telling them there are a lot of emotions on my new albumRainbowbut the wild fun energy that first inspired me to perform has not, and will never, go away.

Her journey toward self discovery follows an ugly legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke over abuse and sexual assault allegations which forced her to stop recording after an injunction was denied. Keshas empowering anthem and personal essay seem to serve asa reclamation of her own independence and serve as a reminder of her confidence and inner strength, even after tragedy.

Watch the video for Keshas latest track, Woman, here. Rainbow is due out August 11.

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Read Kesha's touching, necessary essay about female empowerment An error occurred. - Salon

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan addressing a University of Guyana-organised Turkeyen-Tain Talks on Youth Crime and Violence

Guyana hopes to surpass Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica in the amount of monies it gives to youth empowerment and employment by scrapping a multi-billion dollar subsidy to the state-owned Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) and injecting more funds from oil revenues when production begins in 2020, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan says.

This why we are making sure that the bailouts now that we are having on sugar will have to come to a halt and understand that, he said to applause Wednesday night at a University of Guyana-organised public forum on Youth Crime and Violence.

We will not be bailing out sugar and we have a plan for that and so there will be some more money that can go into some other sectors and rest assured that we are going to up that 0.7 percent to more. I cannot tell you how much more No, no, no I am being realistic here. We have to be realistic. If the economy produces much more and the price of sugar gets up high, youll expect us challenging the other two other countries in the percentage rather than being half Jamaica and just one-third of Trinidad, he said.

Speaking in his personal capacity, Registrar of the University of Guyana, Dr. Nigel Gravesande highlighted that Guyanas budgetary allocation for direct youth empowerment is 0.7 percent compared to 1.5 percent in Trinidad and Tobago, and 2.3 percent in Jamaica. That is the statistical reality and the most recent UNECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) report that I have seen spoke to a direct correlation in youth violence and economic empowerment, he said at the forum.

Dr. Nigel Gravesande

Gravesande questioned the Public Security Minister about whether there were short-term, medium-term and immediate plans to structure the economy to focus on sustainable youth empowerment through increased monies in annual national budgets.

He reiterated governments position at a time when authorities are grappling to manage the fall-out from last Sundays fire that destroyed the Georgetown Prison on Camp Street. The opposition Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) has already criticised Ramjattan for using the state of the sugar industry as a scapegoat.

The Public Security Minister acknowledged that more money needs to spent on empowerment, education and employment opportunities for youths. With a number of Guyanas sugar exports not doing well, he said government has had to decide on its priority areas for spending scarce cash.If we have to take our monies and do what is priority by our Cabinet. It does not necessarily mean that importance is not attached to others, he said.

Ramjattan suggested that with more revenues going into the national treasury from oil, Guyana would be able to spend more on a number of areas. Until such time that we have a better day with an oil-stream revenue, well have to start making some serious decisions and we have started that already, he said.

The Public Security Minister said it is time to implement the numerous recommendations contained in several reports on crime and violence among youths in Guyana and the Caribbean. We in the Caribbean, we in Guyana do a lot of reports. Somehow, that has to stop. We have to start utilizing the recommendations in those reports to immediately walk the talk as it were because we sometimes dont do that and we do that to the detriment of all of us he said.

Painting a picture of the reality confronting authorities, he said youths are affected by unemployment, poverty, alcohol and drug consumption- youths smoking marijuana as early as 11 years old.

Concerns were also raised about virtual illiteracy to the extent that only one in every five youths detained can read and there are also declining performances at high school and university among males . We have a number of things in these reports from which we have to move on, he said.

Ramjattan said authorities also have to address poor parenting, reduce risk factors and ensure that sport facilities ate made readily available to youths.

The state of youths has been thrown in the spotlight following an attempted bank robbery allegedly involving two qualified professionals and a number of members of the Guyana Police Force.

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Guyana hopes to invest more cash in youth empowerment from scrapped sugar subsidy, oil revenues- Ramjattan - Demerara Waves

Part of the mess that Barack Obama left in the wake of his two presidential terms is the utter confusion that has descended upon black Americans who still feel stressed despite the media-promoted privilege of witnessing the first African-American president. That delusion deserves a lengthy, in-depth essay, but a movie column must provide a portion of it through this weeks contrasting releases: Hollywoods black feminist comedy Girls Trip and the independent art film Bronx Gothic.

Black female self-confidence is examined in Girls Trips story of four black girlfriends who attend an Essence Festival (staged by the magazine of that name) in New Orleans. Bestselling author Regina Hall, Internet entrepreneur Queen Latifah, nurse and single mother Jada Pinkett, and tough-talking office worker Tiffany Haddish mix business and partying (they trip) as they clear away the conflicts and changes that separated them in their transition from youth to maturity.

Bronx Gothic is more obviously political, translating the subject of black femininity into the now fashionable project known in academia as the black body, explored here in a performance-art piece by Okwui Okpokwasili.

These two films illustrate the crisis of black consciousness post-Obama. Girls Trip looks at the class aspirations of upwardly mobile blacks while Bronx Gothic replaces aspiration with grievance. Putting the two side by side gives us the Obama conundrum. Do Americans still believe in personal satisfaction as a reward for work and struggle, or have they given it up for progressive activism? In these movies, the issue comes down to cinematic pleasure and its discontents.

Girls Trip isnt original; it belongs to the Animal House genre that celebrates licentious liberties (a genre made popular by such films as The Hangover and Bridesmaids). Girls Trips black female quartet confirms the all-American commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Theres no happiness in Okpokwasilis worldview. The New York Times, The New Yorker, and other liberal fronts have celebrated her for showcasing black American life as miserable, a cause for complaint and protest the social activities that makeleft-wing politicians feel electable and journalists feel powerful. Bronx Gothic is part documentary and part psychodrama. Okpokwasili, a tall, thin dancer-singer, jerks herself in sweaty, hebephrenic outbursts. She physically proclaims her psychic pain before audiences to scare them, to wake them up.

This art-world pretense of activism seems designed specifically for those white culture mavens who dont want to live or compete with black folks yet expiate their racism through pity and condescending applause. At least the women in Girls Trip provide ribaldry emphasizing the search for immediate physical pleasure as their own personal due and as a relief from the tension of sustaining their livelihoods. (I plan on getting white-girl wasted, one says, simultaneously contemplating bacchanal and sizing up others sense of freedom.)

Bronx Gothic director Andrew Rossi, who previously made Page One: Inside the New York Times, follows Okpokwasili on tour and shows art-house audiences relishing her self-flagellating routine: the blacks in shock, the whites in tears. Rossi and Okpokwasili reduce black cultural affectation to a mode that whites can easily comprehend by denying the sustenance of humor and catharsis that is the entire raison dtre of Girls Trip.

(If there is any fairness in the newly politicized Motion Picture Academy, Tiffany Haddishs friendly, obstreperous Dina will be an Oscar front-runner.)

When Okpokwasilis parents, Nigerian immigrants, appear late in the film, they watch a video of their daughters act. The mothers response is priceless: You know dancing is different. Theres [usually] some pleasure there. Girls Trip is all about pleasure, but Bronx Gothic, as its title suggests, is about the opposite. It follows the usual pattern of Hollywoods imprisoning blacks within the limits of white liberal imagination. The same complex of fascination, guilt, and self-aggrandizement explains Obamas triumph, just as it accounts for the current disappointment and shock that his triumph didnt last and has left other blacks badly off and, in some cases, speciously politicized.

Okpokwasili refuses pleasure and release in dance. Instead, she builds her own prison based on the template of white racism in order to win approval from the mainstream media, the art world, and who knows? the National Endowment for the Humanities. (She seems eternally on a war path, says choreographer Ralph Lemon.) One of this performance-art documentarys low points occurs when Rossi intercuts news video predictable, button-pushing montages of the Walter Scott and Eric Garner deaths. Rossis liberalism his whitesplaining intrudes on his stars storytelling. A good expressive performance piece like Edith Clevers in Hans-Jrgen Syberbergs six-hour monologue Die Nacht (1985) might have made a more powerful art statement.

Even after Obama, mainstream media still cannot countenance black American experience any way except through sociological catastrophe. Thats why Girls Trip is more enjoyable than it ought to be; scenes of zip-line urination and sexual pantomimes with fruit are a relief after Okpokwasilis grim negativity.

Most of Bronx Gothics sadness comes from Okpokwasilis own class-based stereotyping. She shows off academic cant about the black body (eccentrically preferring to say brown body) when referring to historic victimization. Her rant peaks when she dissects the vernacular phrase Ill slap the black off of you! Okpokwasili defines this expression through academic jargon: de-couple you from your genetic code. But the best popular culture is more provocative: In Dave Meyerss jokey 2002 Missy Elliott music video Work It, a Founding Father gets his pretense slapped off and winds up in black face, updating the good-natured race parody of Broadways Finians Rainbow(1947).

Contrast Okpokwasilis smugness to the dance scene in Girls Trip when the quartet competes with a group of hussies. Director Malcolm D. Lee misframes the choreography, but the song we hear is overwhelming its Missy Elliotts 1999 Shes a Bitch, in which the pejorative turns into a defiant boast. (See Hype Williamss Shes a Bitch music video to get the full pop-art magnificence.) That pre-Obama song doesnt resort to blame, accusation, or protest. Missy Elliott owns her pride and daring and fun.

Before Obama, Missy Elliott and her directors knew how to visualize black imaginative freedom. Now were left with post-Obama anxiety that makes Bronx Gothic alienating, nihilistic, and self-loathing while the women of Girls Trip use music and humor to access freedom.

*****

False Confessions, Luc Bondys modern interpretation of Marivauxs 1737 farce, offers two kinds of cultural heritage: Isabelle Huppert portrays Countess Araminte in Bondys deconstructed theatrical artifice, and Ella Fitzgerald, in her rendition of Cole Porters 1934 All through the Night, closes it with private whimsy. These performances are dedicated to a womans romantic imagination and demonstrate the psychological power to be found in classical traditions. Girls Trip derives from a lively culture while Bronx Gothic is in desperate search for cultural expression thats been lost amid academic and political confusion. Bondys gimmicky film isnt as beautifully tricky as Clare Peploes Marivaux adaptation, The Triumph of Love (2001), but through Huppert and Fitzgeralds artistry, he personalizes Western tradition sweetly.

READ MORE: Baby Driver: Hollywodo Goes Asbergers Okja: Sentimentality and Sanctimony Alien: Covenant: Hacker in Action

Armond White is the author of New Position: The Prince Chronicles.

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Girls Trip and Bronx Gothic: Two Visions of Post-Obama Black Empowerment - National Review

WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy, MD (R-Louis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and U.S. Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to create electronic advance directives, legal documents that allow patients to clearly articulate their preferences for their medical care should they suffer from a debilitating illness or condition.

The Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act would offer a small, one-time financial incentive to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to provide clear legal guidance to their medical providers and family members should they become incapable of speaking for themselves.

This legislation would incentivize Medicare beneficiaries themselves to create and register a certified and secure advance directive online. In addition, the bill would provide beneficiaries with access to a Web site with model advance directives representing a range of options.

According to a 2006 study by the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of Americans have thought about their health care preferences should they be faced with a life-threatening illness or injury, but only one-third have completed an advance directive.

Under the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act, Medicare beneficiaries would be able to voluntarily create and register an electronic advance directive with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at any time.

Advance directives would be created through, and maintained by, outside organizations certified by CMS, and could be modified or terminated at any time by the beneficiary.

An advance directive would include any written statement that outlines the kind of treatment and care a beneficiary wants or does not want under certain conditions, and can include identification of a health care proxy. Beneficiaries would also receive a small, one-time incentive for registering an electronic advance directive.

To address concerns about confidentiality, the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act requires both CMS and outside groups maintaining advance directives to hold the highest standards for privacy and security protection as well as system functionality.

CMS would only keep track of the certified organization through which a beneficiary has created an advance directive and would not keep a database of these documents. The bill does not interfere with any state laws governing advance directives.

Read a one-page summary of the legislation here.

Every person has a right to determine their own end-of-life care, said Rep. Thompson. This bill will help put Medicare patients in charge their own end-of-life care decisions by providing them with the tools they need to direct their own care. I worked on this issue in the California State Senate, and I am proud to continue this effort to empower patients.

I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with my colleagues to empower patients to make their own health decisions on their own terms, said Sen. Coons. This bill will encourage more Americans to think about what kind of medical care they wish to receive should they not be able speak for themselves, which will reduce confusion and heartache and allow patients to spend their final days as they see fit. The breadth of supporting organizations just reinforces the overwhelming need to encourage people to have these difficult, but critically important conversations.

"This legislation gives patients greater power and incentive to consult with her or his Doctor to decide end of life issues, said Dr. Cassidy.

Empowering patients to control their own health care decisions is an important personal priority of mine. As a doctor, Ive learned that the best patient relationships are partnerships with doctors providing information, so patients can make the best informed decisions, said Sen. Barrasso. This bill will help more Medicare patients communicate their personal decisions to both their families and health care providers. This will ensure that more patients get the care at the end of their life that they want.

Life-threatening illnesses and injuries are devastating for both patients and their loved ones, Sen. Bennet said. Advance care planning would provide seniors the support they need to manage their end-of-life care when they are most vulnerable. By encouraging seniors to make proactive plans, family members will face less confusion and more Americans will have ownership over their health care decisions.

Allowing patients to communicate their wishes with caregivers empowers them to take charge of their health care in the event they are unable to speak for themselves. By encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to plan ahead, their personal wishes are honored and made a priority, said Rep. Black. I am very proud to sponsor a bipartisan piece of legislation that keeps patients rights at the forefront of treatment based on their own values, not the priorities of the government or their doctors. As a nurse, I have too often seen families go through tremendously painful situations while making decisions for their loved one, and it is my hope that this bill offers some peace of mind in difficult circumstances.

This is an important piece of legislation that allows the very personal wishes of an individual to be respected when it comes to their care, said Rep. Collins. This bill will help ease the burden on loved ones and would provide clear guidance to healthcare providers when an individual has lost the ability to make and clearly communicate their desires.

Advance directives empower seniors to specify their health care preferences well in advance of a debilitating or terminal illness, said Rep. Welch. Having this important discussion with families and doctors in advance will give them peace of mind knowing that their wishes will be met should they not be able to make their own treatment decisions.

As staunch advocates for the patients we serve and our profession, we support legislation that empowers patients to plan in advance for the unforeseen and unimaginable. This bill would encourage Medicare beneficiaries to create advance directives to ensure individuals have provided clear guidance to their medical providers and family members about their health care decisions. This is why ANA applauds the reintroduction of the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act, said ANA President Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.

The bill is supported by the National Right to Life Committee, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, National Partnership for Hospice Innovation, American Nurses Association, Third Way, Healthwise, MyDirectives, Center for Practical Bioethics, Get Real Health, Coordinated Care Health Network, Cerner and Altarium, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Zen Hospice.

The full text of the bill is available here.

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Lake County News | California - Bipartisan members of Congress ... - Lake County News

Why tax exemption on personal hygiene products for women is crucial The Hindu I have argued in Parliament on many an occasion to deliberate on issues of women's empowerment using data on the dismal percentage of women in the workforce, the high percentage of school dropouts among girls, and the rise in gender crimes. and more »

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Why tax exemption on personal hygiene products for women is crucial - The Hindu

Most street opiates (including heroin) are now laced or replaced with fentanyl the drug that killed the singer Prince and its analogues. Photograph: Joe Amon/Denver Post via Getty Images

The number one killer of Americans under the age of 50 isnt cancer, or suicide, or road traffic accidents. Its drug overdoses. They have quadrupled since 1999. More than 52,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year. Even in the UK, where illegal drug use is on the decline, overdose deaths are peaking, having grown by 10% from 2015 to 2016 alone. The war on drugs continues but its a war were losing.

Most drug-related deaths result from the use of opioids, the molecules that are marketed as painkillers by pharmaceutical companies and heroin by drug lords. Opioids, whatever their source, bond with receptors all over our bodies. Opioid receptors evolved to protect us from panic, anxiety and pain a considerate move by the oft-callous forces of evolution. But the gentle impact of natural opioids, produced by our own bodies, resembles a summer breeze compared to the hurricane of physiological disruption caused by drugs designed to mimic their function.

Most street opiates (including heroin) are now laced or replaced with fentanyl the drug that killed the singer Prince and its analogues, far more powerful than heroin and so cheap that drug-dealing profits are skyrocketing at about the same rate as overdose deaths. The UKs National Crime Agency said that traces of fentanyl have been found in 46 people who died this year. Users dont know what theyre getting and they take too much. Fentanyl is recognised as a primary driver of the overdose epidemic.

Societys response has been understandably desperate but generally wrongheaded. We start by blaming addicts. Then we blame the pharmaceutical companies for developing and marketing painkillers. We blame doctors, for overprescribing opiates, which pressures them to underprescribe, which drives patients to street drugs cheaper, home delivery via the internet, and zero quality control. We say were going to reignite the war on drugs, recognised by experts as a colossal failure from the 1930s onward. We also continue to view addiction as a chronic brain disease, so the benefits of education, social support, psychological intervention, and personal empowerment receive far too little attention. Yes, addiction involves brain change, but ongoing medicalisation does little to combat it.

There has been some progress: There are pockets of activity here and there where prescribed opiates like methadone and Suboxone are made more easily available to addicts. Thats a good thing, because increasingly desperate addicts are often driven to the street, where theyre most likely die. The availability of naloxone, which works as an antidote, is slowly wending its way through the drug policy jungle, providing a simple resource to deal with an overdose on the spot. But in most segments of most communities in the US and elsewhere, it is still too difficult to obtain.

There are smarter answers at hand but also smarter questions to be asked. The overdose epidemic compels us to face one of the darkest corners of modern human experience head on, to stop wasting time blaming the players and start looking directly at the source of the problem. What does it feel like to be a youngish human growing up in the early 21st century? Why are we so stressed out that our internal supply of opioids isnt enough?

The opioid system evolved to allow us to function, not panic or shut down, when we are under threat or in pain. Support from other humans also helps us cope with stress, but that support is underpinned by opioids too. Our attachment to others, whether in friendship, family or romance, requires opioid metabolism so that we can feel the love. Opioids grant us a sense of warmth and safety when we connect with each other.

You get opioids from your own brain stem when you get a hug. Mothers milk is rich with opioids, which says a lot about the chemical foundation of mother-child attachment. When rats get an extra dose of opioids, they increase their play with each other, even tickle each other. And when rodents are allowed to socialise freely (rather than remain in isolated steel cages) they voluntarily avoid the opiate-laden bottle hanging from the bars of their cage. Theyve already got enough.

In short, mammals need opioids to feel safe and to trust each other. So what does it say about our lifestyle if our natural supply isnt sufficient and so we risk our lives to get more? It says we are stressed, isolated and untrusting. Thats a problem we need to resolve.

Many have proposed targeted education, community support and interpersonal bonding through group activities. Johann Haris powerful book, Chasing the Scream, reviews how such initiatives have worked in diverse societies. An intriguing example is the compassionate, blame-free dialogue that has evolved among high-school students in Portugal, highlighting the dangers of hard drugs and urging the most vulnerable to abstain not because theyre going to get in trouble, but because addiction is miserable and dangerous. This dialogue has paralleled the decriminalisation of drug use.

Portugal had an astoundingly high heroin addiction rate 16 years ago. It now boasts the second lowest overdose rate on the continent. Social inclusion actually works against addiction while punishment only fuels it.

But the peculiar appeal of opioids tells us more about ourselves as a society, as a culture, than the tumultuous ups and downs of addiction statistics. Todays young people come of age and carve out their adult lives in an environment of astronomical uncertainty. Corporations that used to pride themselves on fairness to their employees now strive only for profit. The upper echelons of management are as risk-infected as the lowest clerks. Massive layoffs rationalised by the eddies of globalisation make long-term contracts prehistoric relics. I ask the guys who come to the house to deliver packages how they like their jobs. They cant say. They get up to three six-month contracts in a row and then get laid off so the company wont have to pay them benefits.

People pour out of universities with all manner of degrees, yet with skills that are rapidly becoming irrelevant. But people without degrees are even worse off. They find themselves virtually unemployable, because there are so many others in the same pool, and employers will hire whoever comes cheapest. The absurdly low minimum wage figures in the US clearly exacerbate the situation. As hope for steady employment fizzles, so does the opportunity to connect with family, friends and society more broadly, and there is way too much time to kill. Opioids can help reduce the despair.

The opportunity to settle into a viable niche in ones family and ones society is being blown away by the winds of unregulated capitalism in a globalised world. As for the intimacy and trust we humans have always sought in each other, in friends, colleagues, and lovers, the bonds are shaky these days. Even if we have the opportunity to connect were still too stressed and depressed to get to know each other well, to develop trust, to give and receive compassion. Urban life requires juggling high-stress relationships past the point of mental and emotional exhaustion.

The early 21st century offers less structure and stability through religion or extended family than we humans have experienced in millennia. And maybe thats just the way it is. But we dont have to throw away the basic currency of security and interconnectedness entirely. We can build social structures governments, corporations, community organisations, and systems of education and care that encourage stability, hope, and trust in our day-to-day lives. Like the school kids in Portugal, we can offer compassion and inclusion as an alternative over heroin. If we fail to do that, we may as well hook ourselves up to an opioid pump. Just to endure.

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Why are so many people dying from opiate overdoses? It's our broken society - The Guardian

Economic empowerment is a complex whole embedded in political, social, legal and in fact moral empowerment of women

The writer is a global development adviser. She can be reached on twitter @Fiza_Farhan and on Facebook @Fiza Farhan Official

Women economic empowerment is a trending topic that evokes broad interest. It is of paramount importance considering that at least seven of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) revolve around it which shows that gender equality is necessary for both inclusive and sustainable world economic growth. The gravity of the issue is further emphasised by the findings of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report of 2015. The study states that lack of gender parity has drastic consequences, as the global economy will bear a loss of an additional $12 trillion by 2025 if the current trends of gender inequality persist.

Of course, these economic implications have a trickle-down effect to all the countries, including Pakistan. The report further mentions that closing gender gaps completely in the labour-force participation, ie, the full potential scenario will result in an increment of 26% in the global annual GDP by 2025. Though a large number of studies have been conducted on gender parity, this particular study is quite noteworthy, because it stresses that woman empowerment does not lie on just the nexus between a humanitarian cause and a social or political cause. It is far more intricate than that as it also affects the future economic progress of the world. On the financial front, the companies which have fewer women on the board of directors and in the senior management positions, experience 23% less returns and IRR as compared to the companies which have a higher proportion of female employees. This clearly puts a crucial point on the table that women economic empowerment is going to be the next economic reality of the world.

To comprehend the concept of women economic empowerment, there is a need to first identify a few misconceptions that have developed since the idea has reached the mainstream development sector. First, women economic empowerment is not something that needs to be solved by faster economic growth. This point is supported by the UN secretary generals report which offers compelling evidence about how gender equality fuels economic progress. Additionally, if one identifies problems in the rural context, one will begin to understand that economic empowerment of women is an inevitable part of every development solution that we foresee.

Ambiguity also arises when women economic participation is mistaken for womens economic empowerment. The Guardian also mentions in its analysis that having a job of high-quality standard is essential to both men and women; above 90% of the population agreed across 17 African and Middle Eastern countries. If we observe the Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation, it is an eye-opener because both the motivators (such as recognition, responsibility, growth) and the hygiene factors are missing from the work environment in many countries. For women, this results in dissatisfaction and lack of positive satisfaction simultaneously. Hence, in order to empower women in the workplace, favourable work environment must exist through tailored interventions.

One significant aspect of bringing about change is by making women agents of change. They have to become the real role models, contrary to the medias depiction of real women, for other women to take charge of their own situation. While effort is required from all institutions, the real solution to the fight is at the individual level. When one listens to the anecdotes of even the worlds most powerful women, one realises that the reality of economic empowerment is facing everyday challenges of being an individual woman.

Economic empowerment is a complex whole embedded in political, social, legal and in fact moral empowerment of women. And the question I want to ask today is: whats your role in enabling the 50-50 nexus of women economic empowerment on a personal and professional level?

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2017.

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Economic empowerment a desire or a need? - The Express Tribune

Key'Anna Graham has her future mapped out from culinary study at an internationally renowned institute to an eventual move to France.

"I love creating new stuff with food, mainly because I like to see a person's face when they try it, see their expression," the Pine Tree eighth-grader said, "and really my plan is to start off and work my way up."

Her instructors say their goal is to help empower Key'Anna for her future.

"We're talking about getting our students to be college ready, and we have so many different ways," PACE Principal Shalonda Adams said while eating a parfait created by Key'Anna, "but my goal is to help empower them now, so that they're learning now, they're growing stronger now and they're living their best life now as a young person."

The teenager is among dozens of young people who this month are spending three days a week at Pine Tree PACE Pirate Alternative to Continuing Education Academy for a summer program focused on personal interests, social causes, volunteerism, the arts, game design and more.

Pine Tree ISD and the city's Partners in Prevention-Hope for Youth Committee teamed for a one-day program of similar activities this past summer. Adams said organizers decided this year to expand the program to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the month of July.

It's one of many more opportunities to entertain and educate young people during periods such as summertime when schools are closed.

From adding the Teen Jam Dance Party to the city's Fireworks and Freedom Celebration on July 4 to a teens-only event July 28 at the Longview Public Library, Mayor Andy Mack said he's seeing a more concerted effort in the city to engage young people.

"The young people deserve that, No. 1," Mack said, "but No. 2, it gives them something to do and it keeps them from doing things that they shouldn't be doing not that everyone is going to get in trouble, but kids tend to do things and they wander off."

Keeping youngsters from finding trouble was a primary goal among Hope for Youth members, who came together in 2015 to find ways to curb escalating violence and gang activity in Longview. As members heard repeatedly from young people about the lack of local activities, they sought to fill the summer and spring break dates on the calendar. Activities have ranged from this past year's Check into PACE summer fun day to crafting traditional and nonconventional skills.

"Of course, it offers our kids a different option," said Miranda Chism, a Hope for Youth member whose fourth-grade son Taryn Hill and 18-year-old niece Kia Samuels attended the PACE summer empowerment program Wednesday.

"Most of the time, our kids are sitting at home. They don't really have much to do but play video games, watch TV and really not getting out there and exploring different things for their minds. This is about exposure," said Chism, who also is a teacher in Longview ISD. "That's even why I brought (Kia) out. We need to kind of get exposed to different things, so when they come out here, they can reconnect with different kids, meet new people, communicate and do different activities."

Kia graduated earlier this year from Daingerfield High School but said she enjoyed the empowerment program.

"Having something positive to do can knock your focus off of doing something that will get you in trouble," Kia said. "I think that's a good thing."

Taryn said having the summer empowerment program to attend was "a nice change."

"It was pretty fun, and I loved the food, as you can see, and I enjoyed playing basketball," he said.

For Key'Anna, it wasn't necessarily fun and games. Wednesday was her opportunity to learn and test her skills under the Pine Tree High School culinary arts instructor. Key'Anna is a year away from high school, but the instruction and encouragement she received this past week will pay off, she said.

Her goal is to attend four years of college two at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin, then the final two years at the college's Paris, France, campus before she starts her own French bistro, she said.

"It gives me hope," Key'Anna said, "because the way she spoke about my preparation and how I did most stuff that other high school students don't do, it gives me hope that one day, whenever I do get up there, I can be at the top of my class and I can make more stuff and better stuff."

She chose to make fruit-yogurt-and-granola parfaits Wednesday.

"It feels like you're the teacher and you're helping them learn something that they didn't know, and it gives you that really good feeling like the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling," Key'Anna said.

More here:

More Longview programs seek to engage youths during summer - Longview News-Journal

You are here: Home News Youth disillusioned as empowerment fund is looted

A BIRDS eye view over Harare reveals a blanket of minute stalls stacked with second-hand clothes for resale.

BY MICHELLE CHIFAMBA

Desperate, unemployed youths have created informal jobs in the streets as life gradually becomes unbearable for the working population.

The 2012 Population Census recorded that youths aged between 15 and 34 years constitute 84% of the unemployed population.

According to Zimstats, due to high formal unemployment, many of them were now deriving a living from the informal sector.

The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment in 2006 unveiled the Youth Empowerment Fund established as part of the Old Mutual, Stanbic, Industrial Development Bank of Zimbabwe and CBZ Banks contribution to the countrys indigenisation and empowerment programme.

The facility was meant to support youth empowerment and development as a revolving loan facility for income generating projects, according to Old Mutual chief executive officer, Jonas Mushosho.

He noted that the youth fund was flexible and youth friendly in that there was no form of collateral required to access the funds.

CABS head of fund, Brian Mpofu, is on record stating that the fund was aimed at curtailing financial crisis and high rate of unemployment that had crippled the Zimbabwean youth.

Yet almost a decade later, there are a few success stories recorded as the youth fund failed to effectively empower the youth, with an estimated $40 million having disappeared as a result of loosely-knit policies, lack of accountability and corruption.

Corruption is a global problem that affects most developing countries. A United Nations (UN) 2016 study on corruption noted that at least $148 billion is lost to corruption every year in Africa alone.

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Youth Development Indigenisation Economic Empowerment in May this year conducted a fact-finding mission on the youth fund. The mission also confirmed the abuse of $40 million under the empowerment facility. According to the Committee, at least 95% of the projects visited were either non-existent or had collapsed because they had never been genuine.

Analysts maintain that the funds were too flexible, having no complex terms and conditions attached to the loans. The loans had a non-monitoring and evaluation process making it vulnerable to corruption and misappropriation.

Analysts maintain that the fund, like the land reform programme, was used to win the young peoples support for Zanu PF.

Leakages were created in the vetting process being done by partisan departments. Youth proposals at district level were vetted by youth officers who were former youth militia. At provincial level those who would have made it were vetted by personal assistants who are party of the state machinery, by the time the bank is given the final list a lot of corrupt activities would have preceded the final choice and the bank has no say, independent political analyst Sydney Chisi noted.

The fund is not an empowering tool but a perpetual dependency model where the funds given to the youth are so small all they can do is to spend it. Youth are given a maximum of $5 000 which cannot run any effective project. But some politically linked youth were being given more than $20 000 which was never paid back.

Zimbabwe National Students Association (Zinasu) national spokesperson, Zivai Mhetu, said misappropriation, abuse of funds and loosely knit policies could all be attributed to corruption.

As a result of the abuse of funds by both the beneficiaries and the government officials the empowerment program failed to transform the lives of many youth in Zimbabwe, he said in a statement.

He said through the youth empowerment fund, the government deliberately failed to transform the lives of young people in the country as many youth did not understand business and financial management hence their businesses collapsed in infancy.

The government should be held accountable through the minister of youth. The way in which the funds were disbursed had no clear protocol or procedure which was supposed to be followed in order to avoid the abuse of funds. In this abuse I would blame the minister of youth for his negligence, he said.

Chisi noted that looting of the youth fund was part of Zimbabwes corrupt governance culture and from the look of things will continue for as long as the funding is associated with elections.

The refusal by the former ministers of youth Saviour Kasukuwere and Francis Nhema to arrest all the fund defaulters clearly shows that this fund is partisan and creates a culture of patronage making the system ungovernable.

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Youth disillusioned as empowerment fund is looted - NewsDay

As the retirement wave continues among Baby Boomers, the commercial real estate sector is grappling with its graying workforce.

According to the Institute of Real Estate Management, the average age of a property manager is 52, and many real estate professionals are in their 40s and 50s. Facing that reality, folks responsible for attracting and retaining workers in commercial real estate recognize that theyve got to woo Millennials in order to keep their businesses running. After all, Millennials now make up the largest generational share of the American workforce.

Yet recruiting Millennials to work in the commercial real estate sectoror any other sector, for that mattergoes well beyond serving free lunch, providing unlimited vacation or lavishing other cool perks on them.

Fortune magazine recently released its ranking of the 100 best workplaces for Millennials, and several employers in the commercial real estate sphere appear on the list. NREI reached out to executives at three of the winning companiesConcord Hospitality Enterprises, Transwestern and Walker & Dunlopto find out why their workplaces are Millennial magnets and what lessons you can learn from these employers.

Transwestern

Fortune ranking: 38

Larry Heard, CEO of Houston-based commercial real estate services company Transwestern, believes that shining a light on Transwesterns mission is critical to recruiting and retaining Millennials.

We go to great lengths to make sure that any new employeewhich would include the Millennial workershas a very clear understanding of our mission and our vision as a firm, so they can personally buy into that, he says. Thats an important aspect of the decision-making tree that the Millennials go through when theyre discerning the best company to work for.

Once theyre working for Transwestern, Millennials are encouraged to get involved in young professionals groups at the companys major offices. That and other efforts are designed to cultivate personal empowerment, innovation and teamwork.

In trying to entice Millennial workers, Transwestern also hosts holiday parties, year-round social events, wellness activities, one-on-one mentoring and training and skill development courses.

Every Millennial is unique, however, so workers in this age group cant be lumped together and treated exactly the same. One may appreciate social activities in the workplace, while another may gravitate toward personal development opportunities.

Its hard to paint all of the Millennials with a single brush stroke, so I would not fall into some of the misnomers that are out there that may exist about a Millennial worker, Heard says.

Recruiting tactics that were prevalent, say, 20 years ago wont necessarily work with Millennials, he notes.

When trying to hire Millennials, I do believe that the things you stand for as a firm do need to be fully appreciated and [need to] check a lot of the boxes that they have when theyre going through the process of determining where they want to work, Heard says.

Concord Hospitality Enterprises

Fortune ranking: 81

Raleigh, N.C.-based Concord, a hotel developer, owner and operator, treats each employeenot just Millennialslike a customer, says Debra Punke, senior vice president of human capital.

The experience from hire to retire is essential to Millennials, and if you are thoughtful about each interaction, they will join your team and stick around, Punke says.

Millennials want to stick around at Concord because theyre energized by the companys purpose-driven nature, she says. These workers are drawn to employers that have crafted a well-articulated mission that resonates inside and outside the workplace, according to Punke.

Millennials want to be affiliated with an employer who cares about giving back to the communities where they live and work, she says. They want to be part of a company who has a greater purpose and impact.

From what Punke has observed, some employers in commercial real estate are failing to attract Millennial workers because they are all about the business.

Its high-pressure and only the results matter. They are not purpose-driven, she adds.

Punke says Concord fosters a work environment that appeals to Millennials in four key areas:

CharityConcord enables employees to engage in fundraisers, volunteer projects and other charitable endeavors. Over the past decade, employees have raised $750,000, served more than 2 million meals, refurbished a dozen homes and donated 17,000 volunteer hours, Punke says.

FunConcord employees recognize and support each other in a variety of ways, according to Punke. She says Concord wants its workers to have fun in all that they do.

SustainabilityAmong other things, Concord builds green hotels, repurposes soap and shampoo into bars of soap for vulnerable kids around the world and diverts tons of waste from landfills.

WellnessOn-site fitness centers and virtual competitions are among the tools that Concord uses to promote mental, physical and emotional wellness in the workforce.

We believe if you take care of them, they will take care of the customers and the profit will flow, Punke notes.

Walker & Dunlop

Fortune ranking: 83

Millennials who join Walker & Dunlop, a Bethesda, Md.-based provider of commercial real estate financing, find a number of opportunities to flourish professionally.

For instance, Walker & Dunlop sponsors a high potential program for employees who have been with the company for a few years and have established a track record of success, according to PaulaPryor, senior vice president of human resources.

In that program, a manager identifies someone whos got the potential to rise through the ranks over the next five years and nominates that person to participate, Pryor says. Every year, executives pick 10 high potential employees for the program. Over the course of a year, each participant learns how to polish presentation, leadership and teambuilding skills; shadows a member of the management team; and collaborates on a corporate initiative.

Additionally, Pryor says, the company strives to help Millennials carve out a career path, which includes consideration for in-house promotions.

She notes that more than 40 percent of Walker & Dunlops workforce consists of Millennials.

Not only do we place a strong emphasis on learning, opportunities for growth and recognition, but we also insist on having funwho doesnt love that? she notes.

See the rest here:

Why Are These CRE Companies Magnets for Millennials? - National Real Estate Investor

Last week, Hardin United Methodist Church held its Vacation Bible School. The school convened from 5:30 through 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday nights.

According to Pastor Gideon Watson, the theme of this year's VBS was "Hero Central: Discover your strength in God. The message is that Jesus Christ is the greatest hero, and that every person can be a hero by developing a personal relationship with Jesus."

The entire campus was transformed into a superhero zone. Capes shields and arm cuffs were made for each student or anyone who wished to wear them each day. The concept did get through to the children. The place was swarming with heroes of all sizes and shapes and colors. If questioned,even the smallest would pipe out with, "I'm a superhero!"

Daily schedule included class rotation for courses such as Bible lessons, science,crafts, story time and short skits in which characters acted out real life conflicts which could be resolved by applying biblical principles such as the Beatitudes.One of the actorsbore a striking resemblance to a familiar figure.

Included in the day was an assembly led by Assistant Pastor Klint Bush dressed in fire fighter gear. Under his tutelage,the kids were energetic and enthusiastic. His sidekick, the dancing,singing, guitar playing puppet, was a show all her own.

Another one-woman show was found in the person of Marcie Alford. She served as narrator, actress, Clark Kent in that fabulous way that only she can achieve. She was marvelous and undaunted.

Director Kim Bush,and her family members,Linda Brandl,and her team begin working on VBS many months ahead of time. Says Bush,"The success of our VBSis directly related to the hard work of everybody working. I'm grateful."

The church runs a bus that goes into the Knight's Forest neighborhood and other areas of the community. Assistant Pastor Klint Bush attributes the highattendance at the VBS to the bus. "We decided," he added,"to make VBS our outreach program. It has been successful. We do all we can at the church on the hill." The bus also runs every Sunday morning. Laura Yarbrough is the most efficient bus driver and she also served as a team leader for VBS. The bus offers hope for those without transportation. The youth were taken to camp last week; provided by the church.

This Christian Superdelegation dined sumptuously each night.

Monday night,the adults ate gumbo and the children had chicken nuggets. Everyone had hot dogs Tuesday. It was spaghetti all around on Wednesday night. Thursday, the final evening of VBS, Bro. Cecil Godwin fried up some down home mouth watering catfish, fries, and hush puppiesfor the grown ups and the children had fish sticks. The parade of desserts was endless each day. Robin Allen served as hostess for adults. Carrie Yarbrough and a team provided for the kids. All were dressed in superhero gear.

As a special treat, for the family and friends night on Friday,the church hosted TEAM IMPACT. Keenan Smith of Crosby Church and Franklin Harris performed incredible physical feats while testifying to the power of their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The superheroes clapped and cheered the two big guys on as they ripped a phone book into shreds, broke a baseball bat across their own back, rolled an iron skillet into the size of a burrito and more.

Members of the Hardin Volunteer Fire Department visited the VBS Tuesday. Wednesday,Liberty County Sheriff Deputy Brett Audilett and the drug dog Chance came for a presentation.

Every child was given a Bible. They were encouraged to open them in good times and bad times, and read them in order to know how to live.

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Empowerment on Hardin hill - Liberty Vindicator

Pramod Varma, the chief architect and technology adviser for ID project Aadhaar, is also an adviser to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the company that has built the technology to enable the rollout of the new tax. A quintessential technocrat, Varma wears several hats: he is CTO, EkStep, a not-for-profit creating a tech-enabled platform to improve literacy; adviser to the National Payments Corporation of India; and architect, IndiaStack, a set of APIs aimed at leveraging Aadhaar, Indias ambitious citizen ID project, to solve the countrys real world problems. Varma is also on the boards of several technology startups.

FactorDaily caught up with Varma to understand the technology behind the GST regime, the power of data, and Indias data privacy law. Edited excerpts:

Q: We are going from a data poor country to a data-rich country. On the personal side it is Aadhaar and on the business side it is GST Networks which is enabling data richness. What are the ramifications GST specifically has for the future of data and its use in India?

A: One of the unfortunate things that happened in the United States or the developed western society is the concentration of data with one or two companies or the government. No one else benefits out of that. I am hoping the data laws that India is creating is not just about data protection, but also about data empowerment. Law should ensure it empowers individuals or SMEs and ensure right to access ones data. If it is only about protection, we will end up with black boxes of data sources! It is useless. Instead, individuals and SMEs should be able to build their digital assets through accessing their data resulting from digital participation.

Law should ensure it empowers individuals or SMEs and ensure right to access ones data. If it is only about protection, we will end up with black boxes of data sources

Aggregate data is hugely valuable in this age of big data and machine learning. The use of that data will remain locked within the entity keeping the data. Even if they protect it from theft etc, they will still use the data and insights derived from it. Thats what companies like Facebook and Google are doing. Billions of dollars are at stake there for them.

I sometimes fear that we have so much of public discourse on data protection that we will have a protection law and not an empowerment law. If any entity holds any data against yours or my identity, it must be clearly said that it is co-owned. That means, by ones right to access their own data, these entities should give machine readable data back to users which people can use it to get access to various services. So, the footprints that you leave behind will become useful to you.

Also read: Turning the debate on Indias data protection laws

The discourse should not be against digitisation, because we cant go back to the dark ages, you know. Then you shouldnt have internet, you shouldnt have mobile phones. Point is, can India leapfrog in data regime with both protection and empowerment given equal weightage? That is a powerful way of empowering people to participate in digital system, behave well, and earn digital assets!

I sometimes fear that we have so much of public discourse on data protection that we will have a protection law and not an empowerment law

If SMEs and companies cannot take advantage of their own GST data, machine readable and digitally signed for higher trust, for getting better lending rates or invoice discounting and manage their cash flow, we would have created just a tax filing system which is necessary but not sufficient.

GST will be a very powerful system and enable positive incentives if the overarching data empowerment factor comes in. Otherwise GST may become a one-sided tax payment system. I am hopeful India will get it right.

Q: Havent countries like China made use of that system? Because Alibaba the commerce data was available. Credit systems were developed.

A: Not for the people in terms of using their data outside Alibaba ecosystem. Where is Alibaba or Amazon giving back the data? Even most of our banks do not give us digitally signed machine readable data, instead they give PDF or unsigned Excel sheet that no other entity trusts. By the way, some have started doing it which is great. EU is getting their PSD2 (revised payment service directive) implementation soon which will force banks to provide data. So, companies like Alibaba or Amazon or Facebook or Google are surely using the data to provide further services within their closed system and keep the users locked in.

Q: As an adviser to the GSTN, what are some of the technology issues that you had to address?

A:The concept of the tax system as an Open API-based platform is the biggest thing that we were able to bring to this system. From the tax department perspective, a portal is sufficient. Go to the portal and file taxes, no? Upload your excel or pdf and youre done. The tax system is a just a vertical closed solution, right? And we were saying no. The platform you are building has to be open for further innovation and empowerment of taxpayers. While aportal is needed, it needs to be built on its own APIs.

Now, the GSTN has a tax payer authentication API, as a derivative of the tax filing system! You can do a KYC on a company with nothing to do with tax! Lets say you want to give a loan to a company, or you want to sign up as a petrol bunk merchant or something. Today, how do you do KYC? Its enormously costly, pretty much paper based and low trust. How do you know the people representing the company is indeed authenticated? Today, everyone takes all the paperwork and redoes all these checks, which is avoidable repeated cost. With the GSTN API, you can do this because you already have a GSTN ID and people who are signatories of the company have their IDs are attached so you can actually authenticate a company.

The GSTN system is expected to handle 3-4 billion invoices every month each having 100 to 200 line items. Unlike Aadhaar, GST is going to be a big bang rollout and not a gradual one

The second big influence we could bring in is build vs buy. Generally in any large system like this there is this question. Should we just buy a system and customise? Here at the GSTN, we said we will build because anyway you wont get what you want (if you buy). And you have some heavily customised product that you have no control over because you dont have the source code or the intellectual property. How can you build a national, critical infrastructure where control of the IP and source code is not with you? So we said, it has to be built and it has to be built using open source.

The third one was about using open source to build. So it was also very much debated. When we put out the RFP saying open source be used, there were enough complaints! Thankfully we had a good strong committee. In addition, MeitY policy already articulates this clearly.

Q: How are APIs going to help?

A: Its a fundamental belief. People like us who build digital infrastructure believe that a solution in a box is never possible in a large diverse country like ours. We cannot have one guy saying that I know the solution, heres my app, and it solves all the worlds healthcare problems or education problems. We must always take an infrastructure building view especially when building public goods. Open APIs are fundamental for creating well encapsulated building blocks that others can use to further build specific solutions.

The GSTN has done the right thing in building APIs first and then building portal which works off the same APIs. Ecosystem partners who are building products for SMEs etc can also get access to these APIs and allow end users to use their app

In the case of GST, how can we expect one portal will serve the needs of very large companies as well as small SMEs? That too with different language skills, different technology needs, etc. The GSTN has done the right thing in building APIs first and then building portal which works off the same APIs. Ecosystem partners who are building products for SMEs etc can also get access to these APIs and allow end users to use their app. For example, if one small SME is using MS Word to create invoices, it should be as easy for them to upload those invoices right from MS Office to the GSTN. Tax filing should be integral part of doing business and not as a painful, costly extra process.

It is also based on the belief that you can never build an app that fits all. For a small SME sitting in a small town in Tamil Nadu may need a much simpler app on her mobile in Tamil. How can you say the same portal should also work for a large company having millions of invoices? It is unfair to expect government to build many apps. While there is a common portal to get started, we must let entrepreneurs build specific solutions to meet the needs of people.

Q: If you look at India right now, theres this whole digital revolution thats happening. How do see this playing out and data tying into this?

A: Again, I just want to say keep it simple. Its not confusing. Do we have a choice not to digitise? In my opinion, whether we like it or not, internet and mobile phones and digital platforms are here to stay. When this happens, there is an explosion at which digital footprints are created, every interaction is creating a digital footprint. Unfortunately if we do not design the systems and laws correctly, this data will stay very concentrated with few entities. That should never happen. I think India has the golden opportunity to fix that upfront.

Q: The technology sophistication of Aadhaar and GST is enterprise class. What are the main features?

A: Within the Aadhaar system, 600 million plus authentications are done every month now. A billion plus people are already in the database. The GSTN system is expected to handle three-four billion invoices every month each having 100 to 200 line items. Unlike Aadhaar, GST is going to be a big bang rollout and not a gradual one.

For such scale and national critical systems, reliability of the system is very important. Its about having a failure resilience within all components of the system. Most important, its about the re-factorability of the system. That means, knowing that you will not get everything right in the beginning, how do you constantly re-factor so that years later you still have an evolving system. You dont want an ageing system. You want a system that can easily adapt and evolve.

Most important, its about the re-factorability of the system. That means, knowing that you will not get everything right in the beginning, how do you constantly re-factor so that years later you still have an evolving system

When you say enterprise class, for me, its about reliability, well designed security, resilience to failure knowing failure happens, and most importantly re-factorability. Then there are the obvious must have features such as scalability, traceability etc.

Q: In your opinion, what are the constituents of digital india? Not the government program called Digital India, but what are the constituents of India as a digital nation? What are the blocks?

A: I think, there are primarily three parts to it. One is the physical infrastructure, the connectivity. All that falls into that bucket. National fibre network, telcos expanding 4G network, TRAIs initiative on public WiFi, etc. are all part of that.

The second one is a software stack that will allow a billion people and millions of companies to digitally interact seamlessly with low cost and high trust. So the real question about India Stack was not about anything else. It was about creating shared infrastructure on which inclusive services can easily be built in a cost effective fashion. These days, with India Stack, a bank or MFI can now effectively offer their services to much wider use base without high cost. Otherwise, everybody has to build their own vertical stack, right? Does anyone write a web server anymore? I wrote a web server in 1995. Its stupid to write a web server these days. Why? Because of commoditisation of infrastructure layers.

Also read: To pay or not to pay GST, mull bloggers, app developers. Theres no escaping it, say experts

What is commoditisation really? Creating shared infrastructure. So that you and I dont have to write a database or web server anymore. We have to do it at scale. So,the digital software stack is a shared infrastructure that allows very easy assemblage or solutioning. People who build solutions can assemble something much faster and cheaper today than 10 years ago.

The third part of Digital India is digital literacy. Thats huge and necessary for a country like India. Its about literacy, awareness, behaviour, thinking whats right and whats wrong. Physical society evolved over centuries. But, we dont have centuries unfortunately, with the digital world. Its happening in a decade. I am afraid there is no simple answer but to constantly evolve!

Disclosure: FactorDaily is owned by SourceCode Media, which counts Accel Partners, Blume Ventures and Vijay Shekhar Sharma among its investors. Accel Partners is an early investor in Flipkart. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder of Paytm. None of FactorDailys investors have any influence on its reporting about Indias technology and startup ecosystem.

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India's top tech architect talks about the tech behind GST, data empowerment - FactorDaily