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Paid domestic work is not recognised in my country, neither socially nor economically. This absence of recognition is experienced by thousands of women who do this type of work, and the valorisation that we receive or lack thereof is reflected in the terms used to describe our work.

The terms that are usually used for people doing paid domestic work are often pejorative. For example, servidumbre (servitude), is a term that originated in feudalism and whose meaning doesnt correspond to the notion of workers as subjects of law. Another term commonly used is domstica (domestic), which evokes the treatment of animals that are tamed to live in peoples homes.

For these reasons, a few years ago, we began insisting on being called domestic workers, as this term reflects that we are indeed subjects of law. However, our recognition as workers should not only be reflected in our designation, but must also manifest in concrete ways on both social and economic levels. In other words, we would like our work to be seen in the same way as any other type of work.

I am one of over two million domestic workers in the country, which represents 10% of women currently employed in Mexico without employment benefits or social security. And today, through this text, I want to claim my rights and those of my compaeras.

Defending my rights as a domestic worker has been a process of building awareness, surmounting obstacles, and personal empowerment.

When I was a girl, I lived experiences that marked my life: poverty and the lack of opportunities, including the opportunity to study. But these were also the factors that allowed me to make important decisions for my life in the future.

At the age of ten, my father sent me to work for a family so that I could continue my studies. However, my heavy workload meant that I worked far more than I was able to study, and the opportunity of having an education became more distant each day.

At the age of 14, I left Oaxaca, my state of origin, to move to Mexico City, a city as big as it was diverse and rife with discrimination. Working in peoples homes was my only option, since I was a minor and had progressed very little in my studies, a constraint that remains common for many women in our country. In fact, female domestic workers have an average of two to three years less education than the rest of the employed population and begin working as domestic workers when they are minors in many cases.

While I abandoned my dreams, I committed myself to taking care of children, keeping houses clean and organised, having breakfast ready, and waiting for my patrones (employers) with a set table and fresh food. This is what all my days looked like for many years: I took care of lawyers, legislators, teachers, feminists, and public workers, and ironically, they did not take my rights seriously. Many of them were afraid that I would leave them. They told me I was like family, and yet would give me leftovers to eat or demanded that I wear a uniform. They would go on vacation, but left me behind to work, since that was when the house had to be cleaned or the piled up work had to be done.

They told me I was like family, and yet would give me leftovers to eat or demanded that I wear a uniform.

In this field of work, affective relationships often blur the lines between labour and voluntary acts of goodwill, but what we seek are working relationships based on mutual respect.

Psychologically, many domestic workers experience blackmail from employers who dont want them to leave. This is especially true when it comes to childcare, since we establish very close relationships with the children, which might in turn make us accept mistreatment from the parents.

Not only did I abandon my dreams and the security of my surroundings, I also experienced racial and class discrimination, as well as exploitation and low salaries because of my age.

But one day, as a teenager, I decided to free my dreams from inside the four walls of a house. Not because the job was indecent, but because I felt I needed to strive towards my goals, regardless of my young age. Many of my compaeras live in conditions of marginalisation and exploitation, with little value given to their labour and to their person.

I realised that domestic work, which remains undervalued and invisible to many, is valuable for workers, but also for employers. It was not the act of caring for an employer that reduced my dignity or violated my rights as a person and a worker, but rather the way most of us have been and continue to be treated. So I learned to claim those rights and seek out dignified work conditions.

I wanted to break barriers and convince other domestic workers, employers, and the government that dignified work and regulation is everyones responsibility and that we must be protected and supported by a just and fair legal framework. So I decided to become a human rights activist after having been discriminated against, mistreated, and exploited as a domestic worker for over 20 years.

Since the age of 29, I have been a part of the Conlactraho foundation, which serves as a trade union school. I served as general secretary there 18 years after its creation, taking up diverse roles in which I had the opportunity to participate in the creation of ILO Convention 189 on domestic workers. I also had the great opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from other continents in the creation of the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF). In 2000, I founded the Centro de Apoyo y Capacitacin para Empleadas del Hogar (CACEH), with the goal of creating an alternative space for implementing strategies for the recognition of domestic workers rights and to strengthen the collective organisation for social dialogue at a national level. Until December 2016, I was Latin America's regional coordinator for the IDWF.

This fight has not been an easy process but it has been very satisfying and challenging to bring domestic workers issues into the public agenda. This is because while the public sphere is destined for men, the private sphere is usually destined for women, and often comes with problems of discrimination, mistreatment, abuse, exploitation, and in some cases, child labour.

I had the great opportunity to represent domestic workers in the debates that took place in the ILO in Geneva, Switzerland for the creation of Convention 189, which was approved on 16 June 2011 and whose ratification in Mexico is currently but a governmental promise. While the government appears to be open to ratifying this convention, they do not seem willing to incorporate any of its stipulations into existing Mexican laws.

We aim to dignify the work of the 2.4 million domestic workers and we are convinced that we will be heard.

We now have a collective national organisation where workers can exercise their individual and collective rights, thanks to the creation of the first national domestic workers union in Mexicos history, which is a monumental advancement. These rights include autonomy, collective agreements, and the right to strike or protest if a worker experiences a rights violation, for example, by being fired without justification. This came as the result of more than 15 years of struggle from our sector, which has been socially invisible.

We aim to dignify the work of the 2.4 million domestic workers and we are convinced that we will be heard. This is why we promote the ratification of Convention 189, which will allow for millions of domestic workers to leave their informal conditions and have the ability to exercise their rights as workers, to be recognised and to access justice.

We dont want any of our domestic workers to experience injustices or for any employer to go through complicated procedures if they want to register their employees with social security, as there are currently no appropriate paths to do so.

Due to the lack of legislation in Mexico to protect domestic workers and as a way to support the ratification of Convention 189, we consistently execute a campaign called Ponte los guantes por los derechos de las trabajadoras del hogar!, which translates to Put your gloves on for the rights of domestic workers!

Our struggle reached an international level and the domestic workers of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are united today through the IDWF, with the mission to turn our rights into a reality.

During the entire process of creating the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Hogar (SINACTRAHO) which counted more than 100 members when it was established in 2015 community support has been fundamental. This includes other unions, feminist and human rights organisations as well as the employers collective Hogar Justo Hogar, an organisation that was formed recently to raise awareness about how improving the work and life conditions of domestic workers can also benefit employers and society as a whole.

Many of you are employers of domestic workers. After reading these lines, I urge you to call us domestic workers, as we are subjects of law. And I want to invite you to reflect about our labour, which was perhaps invisible to you up until now, because this is an issue that affects all of us.

Ponte los guantes por los derechos de las trabajadoras del hogar!

Put your gloves on for the rights of domestic workers!

A previous version of this piece was published in Spanish at La Silla Rota.

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The work is not undignified, but how you treat domestic workers is - Open Democracy

Published on 05.07.2017 15h38 by Journal du Cameroun

The mantra

One of the most turbulent distractions to mainstream global issues is perhaps, youth radicalization and extremism. The deleterious effects of climate change and natural disasters have increased unsustainable socioeconomic practices. Unfortunately, global and local actors seem to misunderstand the potential and actual motivations surrounding this emerging phenomenon. The mantra of hunger and unemployment is dominating local and international debates on the question. But there is apparently more to the question of radicalization and extremism, in relation to hunger and youths unemployment, than it reaches mainstream understanding.

There is global awe about a suddenly obvious proliferation of youth subscription into insurgent activities often propelled by extremist ideologies. That is a known fact. Vis--vis present demographic transitions, there is an ever rising trend of misguided population movements from rural peripheries into urban metropolis leading to alarmingly loud concentration of desperate youths in city centres especially in Africa. To that effect, it is ever more imperative to identify the vulnerabilities upon which youth radicalization and extremism lies. The complications get even worse when we try to answer the question why youths are increasingly being agents of destruction instead of being productive members of their communities.

Different narratives

These trends have provoked several narratives from different development angels. But whether these narratives exist in cluster or not, the question at stake is as we feel the impacts of Boko haram insurgents in North East Nigeria and Far North of Cameroon, Alshabaab insurgents in almost all of Somalia including Kenya and beyond, and the Tuareg insurgent groups in Mali who are just about to completely retreat into the deserts, are these narratives based on old thinking or do they offer new thinking, new forms of measurement and research into the root causes of why youths are increasingly being radicalized and mobilized into extreme groups.

Much has been argued about tackling the unemployment crises that is keeping many youth idle and leaving them vulnerable as destructive agents rather than constructive ones. Other arguments have emerged about the question of alleviating youth poverty as a critical step to mitigating exposure of youths to radicalization through extremist groups. These assumptions are good, but it remains to be seen if the discussion will in fact lead to more research and a greater focus on evidence-based approaches tackling the root causes of the issues.Development efforts have often been driven by assumptions and not evidence, said Keith Proctor, a senior policy researcher atMercy Corps. In a summit held a few years ago at the White House about countering violent extremism, the U.S. government signaled that it was going to look with greater sophistication at the root causes of violence.

The causes of violence

There is no doubt that the narrative often held that poverty and unemployment were the primary motivators of violent extremism, but the factors that lead youths to become radicalized are much more complex. While not the crucial factor, jobs remain important, in part because unemployment, or underemployment, is illustrative of a number of other challenges. What about when youths perceive that they are shut out of important decisions and opportunities?Too often than not, during critical stages in youths lives, social and political exclusion can lead them to a point of anguish or hopelessness.

What were seeing is that its not just about jobs, its a broader marginalization, said Nicole Goldin, director of the Youth, Prosperity and Security Initiative at theCenter for Strategic and International Studies. As many misleading researches continue to Solutions must be genericlive on the old thinking, governments and stakeholders must be clear its not poverty alone that is leading youths into radicalization and extremism because while the vast majority of young Africans for the past half a century live in poverty and most of them are unemployed most of them are also very peaceful. In spite of the acknowledged exploitation of young people as canon fodders, the question of youths not finding identity, purpose and value in society is as important as any critical push factor. However, in all analysis than exist, it is hard to find any that is more important than the other.

Creating holistic approaches

African leaders from local and national levels are crisscrossing around the world looking for solutions to increasing violent conflicts resulting from increased involvement of young people into radicalized extreme groups. That is a sign of false hope. The push factors are self inflicted and solutions must be generic. Apart from push factors, pull factors such as personal rewards associated with membership of a radical group that offers economic gains than the governments does,that adds to ones fame and glory, and provides personal empowerment by owning a few dollars to buy a cell phone or appeal from religious ideology are critical inducements but relegated.

Often neglected are push factors such as corruption, weak governance to drive inclusive growth, lack of rule of law and social justice to address grievances, lack of social inclusion, grievances, a broader lack of opportunities that empower young people perceived marginalization. Disenfranchisement, government corruption, ethnic divisions and exposure to violence are all critical factors,said Proctor from Mercy Corps.

Any effective aversionofthis state of affairs in Africa particularly requires broad based understanding of the push and pull factors. Addressing the question of corruption as it affects the marginalized and disenfranchised groups in society is critical. Creating holistic approaches to identify critical incentives to radicalization and extremism, and developing comprehensive programs that include youths at all level particularly the question of making them to feel a sense of identity, purpose and value, and creating space where they become productive other than being destructive members of the community. This is the task that should keep our government officials waking up early in the morning and sleeping late into the night. It is the task we all should be behind.

Being a COP 23-Column of Era Environment by Tabi Joda

Tabi H. Joda is an entrepreneur, a youth activist from Cameroon and Nigeria. With a considerable working experience: he worked and still works with UN System, UN MDG, World Bank, NOWEI, MILDAS, FIFA etc. He has a Tertiary education in International Studies, Business Management and Information Technology, Development, Environmental Sustainability and Climate change. He is Multilingual and speaks English, French, Arabic, German, Hausa and Fulfulde. Since 2015, he has launched an initiative called plant a tree today to avert climate change.

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Addressing youth radicalization and extremism beyond hunger,unemploy't - Journalducameroun.com - English - (press release) (registration)

Mikhail Karikis Love Is the Institution of Revolution July 1October 15, 2017

Casino Luxembourg Forum dart contemporain 41 Rue Notre Dame L-2240 Luxembourg

http://www.casino-luxembourg.lu Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Mikhail Karikiss practice embraces moving image, sound, performance, and other media, and emerges from his long-standing investigation of the voice as a sculptural material and a political agent. His works explore the energies that create collectivist dynamics, and are intended to resonate with peoples economic, cultural, psychological, and moral circumstances. He often collaborates with communities to orchestrate performances to film, in order to highlight alternative modes of human existence.

Love Is the Institution of Revolution features two projects by Karikis: Children of Unquiet (201315) and Aint Got No Fear (201617). Both focus on the voices of post-millennials and their visions of their own future in the wake of rapid deindustrialization in the West, specifically in Europe, and legacies of crises (from environmental to financial) inherited from the current power-holding classes.

Children of Unquiet takes place in the Devils Valley in Tuscany, Italy. This is the very location where sustainable energy production was invented a century ago, and where the first geothermal power station in the world was built. Until recently, five thousand workers and their families lived there in a group of villages designed by the architect Giovanni Michelucci. Following the introduction of automated and remote operation technologies, unemployment increased and prospects for the young became limited, resulting in rapid depopulationeven the abandonment of entire villages.

The centerpiece of Children of Unquiet is Karikiss film of the same title, which he produced in collaboration with 45 children from the region. The film orchestrates their takeover of a deserted village. Youngsters five to 12 years old burst into the eerie, depopulated site and nearby scorching, vaporous wasteland and turn it into a playground. They read about love, work, and the productivity manifested by insects, and sing along with the Earths roaring geothermal sounds and the incessant hum of factory drones that form the soundscape of their childhood.

For Aint Got No Fear, Karikis worked with teenagers who live in Grain, a remote industrial corner of southeast England. In response to the isolation of their village, and the consequent lack of places and opportunities to express themselves, they organized raves in a local forest, which were raided by the police.

Using as their beat the persistent crushing noises from the demolition of a nearby power plant, boys of eleven to thirteen years sing a rap song they wrote about their lives, in which they recall memories of their youth and imagine their future in general and old age in particular. Reminiscent of a grime video, the film offers glimpses into teenage experiences on the edges of urbanity, following the youths to their secret underground hideaways in disused military tunnels and capturing their rackety reclaiming of the site where the raves used to take place.

Children of Unquiet and Aint Got No Fear reveal ways in which youths reimagine industrial locations with a sense of spatial justice defined by friendship, collective agency, love, personal empowerment, and the thrill of subverting authority. By turns playful and meditative, spectacular and intimate, operatic and realist, these works resonatewith new waysof thinking about the destiny of territories scarred by industrial obsolescence, and hint at foreseeable or potential futures conjured up in the imaginationboth poetic and activistof the generation most affected by current social shifts.

Mikhail Karikis (b. Greece, 1975) lives and works in London. He has had recent solo shows at Carroll/Fletcher, London (2015-16) and The Gallery, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK (2015). Recent group shows include the British Art Show 8, various venues, UK (201517); the 19thBiennale of Sydney (2014);and Manifesta 9, Genk, Belgium (2012).

Love Is the Institution of Revolution is curated by Miguel Amado and Kevin Muhlen. The exhibition was initiated by Casino Luxembourg Forum dart contemporain and is organized in collaboration with Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, UK.

A short film about Mikhail Karikiss practice can be viewed online at CasinoChannel.

Press contact: Nadine Clemens, nadine.clemens [at] casino-luxembourg.lu

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Casino Luxembourg Forum d'art contemporain - E-Flux

Women engaging in hair making during the programme

In fulfillment to her promise to spread the Women Empowerment programme across the 18 Local Government Areas of the State, wife of Ondo State Governor, Arabinrin Anyanwu-Akeredolu has flagged-off her Women Empowerment Programme in Ilaje LGA of the State.

It would be recalled that Mrs. Akeredolu had earlier in June empowered 100 women from Okitipupa LGA of the State in the first batch of the programme which was in collaboration with Make Mee Elegant firm and the beneficiaries are now in business.

The programme, which is geared towards alleviating poverty and generating employment has over a hundred women in participation in its second batch.

The trainees will be exposed to various skills acquisition programme and provided with a take-off grant in any area of their business choice after the week long training.

Addressing the participants at the event, Mrs Akeredolu said the programme was in line with the Five point agenda of the present administration in the state, particularly Job Creation through Agriculture, Entrepreneurship and Industrialization adding that the Akeredolu led administration was committed to delivering on their campaign promises.

Mrs Akeredolu, who spoke through her Personal Assistant, Mrs Lilian Ozioma Adesokan urged the participants to make good use of the opportunity to better their lots and contribute to the economy of the State.

Present at the event were the Chairman of Ilaje LGA, Aworetan Fayowole Ayanfe; Special Assistant to the First Lady on Gender Research and Planning, Mrs Temitope Abegunde Daniyan, among others.

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Akeredolu's wife flags of women empowerment programme - P.M. News

Sandra Suber has always been a lover of hats.

The bolder and brighter the hat, the better, as she sought out the latest styles and trends to wear to Sunday morning church services. But traveling twice a year to Greenville, S.C., Spartanburg, S.C. and Burlington to restock her hat supply gotto be too much, and thats when Suber decided to do something drastic: In 1995, she opened Ianodells, her very own hat shop out of her garage.

There was a need for it, a demand. And when I opened the shop that first day, it was phenomenal when the cars started coming in, you should have seen the smile on my face. The racks were just about empty, Suber recalls.

In the years since, Ianodells has flourished, selling Sunday morning finery and hats galore. Suber networks among African-American churches, sells her goods at conventions across the Southeast and runs charity fashion shows in the Asheville area. Yet she also remembers the challenges that come with starting a business.

Addressing a crowd of 260 at the Western Womens Business Conference onJune 22 at U.S. Cellular Center, Suber shared her story. Like many in the room, she never went to college, nor had she ever taken a business class. I want to speak today to anyone who has ever dreamed of going into business but has been too afraid to try, she said.

Now in its third year, the Western Womens Business Conference drew a capacity crowd of aspiring entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds for a day of workshops, presentations and networking. In collaboration with the Western Womens Business Center and the A-B Tech Small Business Center, business owners in fields ranging from event planning to photography, legal services to restaurants gathered to celebrateand strengthen their female-led companies.

I see all of us women that are here to change the world. We choose to be unstoppable in doing this important work, saidCarolyn WallaceofLife Story Catcher in her opening remarks. A theme of self-empowerment ran throughout the conference from jotting down a personal quality attendees hopedto grow in the upcoming year to listing their biggest professional fears and regrets, breakout sessions in Spanish, to a Zumba dance break midway through the afternoon and the phrase Her story, her journey remained a focus.

Female entrepreneurs are growing more prevalent in the region, explained Jill Sparks, executive director of the A-B Tech Small Business Center. Fortypercent of all new businesses within the last year were started by women, she said, as women were getting fired up and thinking bigger.

The sea of wonderful, beautiful and exuberant faces sitting in the U.S. Cellular Center conference room revealed a diverse group of women and a sprinkling of men. Thats one of the programs greatest accomplishments, says Sharon Oxendine, executive director of the WWBC. Last year, 95 percent of participants were women, 17 percent were Latino, 9 percent were African-American and 5 percent were veterans, and organizers expect this years crowd to share similar demographics.

Angie Stegall, owner of Yukon and Bean travel blog and a keynote speaker at the conference, sees the emphasis on diversity as an important step to removing prejudices in the workplace. For all the networking events Ive gone to and classes that Ive taught, it has predominantly been middle-class or upper-middle-class white people, mainly men, she says. Its a really white audience, for the most part. And it doesnt need to be because there are plenty of minorities and disadvantaged folks that just need a little direction, some You can do it support, and they become the hardest hustlers that Ive ever met.

Suber agrees. As an African-American business owner, she sees that racial barriers are indeed out there. I could name the number of African-American-run businesses that I know of on my hands theres not near enough. And Ive seen some come and go. Ive seen so many that have tried and didnt succeed.

Interspersed throughout the conference were success stories of entrepreneurswho have used services provided through the WWBC and the A-B Tech Small Business Center.

Brandy Millsdreamed of openinga cupcake shop but didnt think she could ever make it a reality.

My whole life has been filled with people who see things in me that I dont see, she explained to the crowd. Often, I dont wake up with my confidence drawn on me. When we decided to start a business, the things in my head, like how you grew up or what you looked like said, Owning a business is not for you. The world is not for you. Dont do it.

But Mills didnt give up. After being turned down by several banks which she attributed to bankers hearing her African-American voice she stumbled upon the WWBC.

No matter how much I struggled with writing my business plan, no matter how much I wanted to give up because I was working full time and a mom full time, the people at the WWBC never gave up on me, Mills says. And last October, her cupcake dream came truewhen T.B.M. Smallcakes opened in Biltmore Park.

There was the story of Meredith Bennett, who recently opened a business that sells handcrafted products for pets and pet lovers called Devoted Human. Taylor Greg shared the story behind Chestnut Ridge, her soon-to-open wedding venue that she worked to launchwhile pregnant with twins. Gloria Llanser, owner of Sacred Souls Birthing Doula Services, talked about the challenges she faced learning English after moving to the United States from Colombia, and how she found her passion inthe doula community in Asheville.

And there was the story of Andrea Wright, who moved back to Asheville after splitting from her ex-husband. After becoming ill and retiring early from a career in business development, she decided to open My Sisters and I, anevent planning and catering company.

I had the opportunity to reflect on my childhood, and my family would always cook. The meeting place was in the kitchen, of course, and they would cook these wonderful meals macaroni and cheese, a four-layer chocolate cake, cathead biscuits with homemade applesauce, she recalled with a laugh. And after working with her sisters on events such as baby and wedding showers, people started to offer topay them for their work. The idea for the business was born.

They understand you, they listen to you, Wright says of the WWBC, which helped her with marketing, networking, creating contracts and even hired her as the centers event caterer. Whatever your wants and dreams are, they become the WWBCs wants and dreams, she says.

The need for female business owners to support oneanother was reiterated throughout the conference. In a male-dominated, often competitive world, several of the speakers shared advice for how to deal with gender-based barriers.

There is definitely still a gender ceiling out there where women have to present themselves a little bit differently, says Selina Delangre, CEO of the Celtic Sea Salt brand and Selina Naturally. Theres a saying that goes, If a woman is being assertive, then shes a bitch, but if a man is assertive, then hes just a really good businessman. Theres this huge illusion of how to be assertive in the work field but also to have the authority to bring that confidence through to your employees.

And dont play the comparison game. Its like eating acid, Delangre emphasized. When you go out there and compare your successes or your capabilities to others, it will eat you alive, and thats something I have struggled with throughout my business career.

In her speech, travel blogger Stegall entertained the crowd with stories of a 16-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. To manage her fear, she counted the length of time it took to run the rapids,which wasroughly 14 seconds. The more I did that, the more comfortable I got, and the more fun I was able to have. Be brave, even if its just 14 seconds at a time.

Forhat purveyorSuber, the best way to start is to find an encourager, get out there and follow your dreams. I know there are so many things that people think about in their minds that may prevent them from doing a business or scare them off, but I want to encourage them that if you have a mindset that you want to do it, you can do it.

Below, watch the performance Suber gave during her keynote speech. As a music minister at churches across the area, Suber explained to the crowd that she felt more comfortable singing about her experiences than giving a speech to the audience.

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Western Women's Business Conference celebrates diversity and empowerment - Mountain Xpress

09:43 Monday 03 July 2017

Putting customers in the driving seat will be increasing role of tech advances, writes Bill McDonald, MD for management consultancy Accenture in Scotland.

Just the way we watch the television shows how much empowerment of the individual has changed. And it speaks of the wider picture of how technology is no longer a take-it-or-leave-it template, but a bespoke service tailored to the individual.

Can you picture early television broadcasts? They were carefully scripted and delivered to present a highly curated programme, forcing us all to not only share the same worldview, but also to watch on the programme-makers terms.

READ MORE: Technology news

But the evolution of video has fundamentally changed both our view of the world and how we interact with it. In less than a century, weve moved to an online world with billions of viewpoints, coming from governments and businesses and more importantly from people, every one with a unique perspective. We now have a truly live culture where technologies like Periscope and Facebook Live mean anyone can broadcast what they want and tune in when they want on their terms.

It illustrates that the way we use technology today is to bend it to our own needs. Change may be endemic, but the key point is that we are now in control. Its no longer people who are adapting to technology rather, the technology is adapting to us.

In fact, every time an experience is personalised, or technology anticipates peoples needs and wants, we are being placed in the drivers seat to realise or satisfy those needs. In evolutionary terms, this is the technology age of human empowerment and it matters to business. With technology that truly responds to people, based on what they want, companies can evolve from being a supplier to become their customers partner.

London-based IntelligentX Brewing Company has developed an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system to continuously collect and incorporate customer feedback. It incorporates this into its thinking to brew new versions of the companys beers.

Our AI can have a conversation with all of our customers, and that gives us the feedback that allows our beer to evolve, says Rob McInerney, co-founder of IntelligentX. You can talk to the algorithm whenever or wherever youre drinking the beer.

His co-founder Hew Leith adds: Peoples tastes are changing faster than ever before And AI is the perfect way to respond.

This is how businesses will grow their role in peoples lives, and establish a place in the future of society: by being more than just a provider of products and services.

200 Voices: find out more about the people who have shaped Scotland

We could call it the hyper-personalisation of technology. And it can drive commercial success at the scale of entire industries, not just at the individual level. The digital leaders of the world are already making big calls in response.

Electronics giant Philips, for instance, is looking to transform healthcare to a connected, comprehensive experience thats both intertwined and accessible throughout peoples lives. Through apps and connected devices that integrate into peoples lives, it is possible for doctors and nurses to live alongside each patient, build a closer, more personal relationship, and provide comprehensive not just reactive care.

To patients, connected healthcare isnt an improvement because of the technology itself. The draw is the empowerment it gives individuals over their own health you only need to consider how wearable technologies are driving a tailored approach to personal fitness.

Meanwhile, companies like Philips are leading because their technology strategy focuses on the needs of the individual patient, on their terms.

As a business, therefore, becoming a true partner to people starts with technology. That said, the path ahead will have its challenges. These start with the matter of trust.

Barely one in two members of the public say they trust businesses to do whats right. Even fewer look on business leaders as credible sources of information. For people to value these new partnerships, companies must work to gain and keep trust.

One of the best ways to do this is by putting the power in the hands of customers, and that can be achieved by designing technology that works for them. That means an end to technology tools with power that is only unleashed when customers adapt to or learn to use them.

The good news is that technologys great new strength is in its growing humanity. Tools that interact with people, learn from those exchanges, and adapt for future interactions make the experience of using them all the more human.

To put these new adaptive technologies to use, businesses must adopt peoples goals as their own. Technology is an agent of change and now it can empower people in an interactive, collaborative way on each individuals own terms.

And when companies truly enable people to reach their goals, so will the companies themselves, contributing to the growth of society and the economy.

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Bill McDonald: Technology is now about empowering humans - The Scotsman

During his high school years, Paul Gillingham participated in many outdoor programs and camps through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, including a raft guide course they offered. That course inspired Gillinghams love and respect for rivers and was a driving force behind his decision to develop the outdoor education program Rivers for All.

As a boy growing up in Siskiyou County, Paul Gillingham was surrounded by rivers. During his high school years, Gillingham participated in many outdoor programs and camps through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, including a raft guide course they offered. That course inspired Gillinghams love and respect for rivers and was a driving force behind his decision to develop the outdoor education program Rivers for All.

The mission of Rivers for All is to increase river access among local, under-served populations through low-cost, river-focused adventures that deepen connection to local watersheds and build leadership in our communities.

Having participated in cub scouts and boy scouts in his childhood for a combined ten years, Gillingham recalled that the skills he learned and fun he had with troop made him want to pursue more outdoor adventures. He also credits his father, Charlie Gillingham who volunteered countless hours to help with many boy scout troop activities with instilling a desire in him to help others.

After obtaining his raft guide certification through the Siskiyou Family YMCA, Gillingham worked at YMCA summer camps, taking campers on rafting adventures on Siskiyou rivers. Friends of his also worked as raft guides at the camps. After looking back on those times years later, Gillingham reflected, "Lots of youth groups came through the summer camp. Even though it was for them, we felt like we were the campers, and we learned a lot from them. We were super lucky."

Gillingham graduated from Yreka High School in 2008 and moved to Arcata, California, where he worked as a raft guide while obtaining his bachelors degree in environmental science from Humboldt State University. He was also co-director of a program through HSU called LEAP: Leadership Education Adventure Program. After earning his degree, Gillingham moved to White Salmon, Washington, and continued to work as a raft guide while honing other outdoor skills.

Though residents in Siskiyou County are accustomed to rivers - the Klamath, Salmon and Scott, just to name a few within the countys borders after Gillingham moved out of his hometown of Yreka, he witnessed firsthand that many youth lack easy access to rivers.He knew from countless hours spent enjoying rivers and all they have to offer, that those youth were missing out on the many lessons rivers can teach us.

Gillingham explained, Ive learned so much from rafting and being a guide: Humility, good judgment, decision making, personal empowerment, confidence ... the list goes on. The rush of navigating whitewater rapids helped Gillingham build upon other concepts that translate directly to the real world as well. I had to get comfortable with being scared, he said, and being OK with taking a risk and being OK with not taking a risk, too.

Out of his years of experience both learning and teaching in the outdoors, Gillingham said, "I wanted to create [Rivers for All] for other kids, as a way to give back."

With the help of his friend Heather and assistance from the nonprofit CultureSeed which helps passionate people raise money for projects and programs through seed funding Rivers for All was launched.

Rivers for All is currently working to raise $4,000 toward its goal for the 2017 summer season: To provide 60 local youth with a free rafting program on the White Salmon or Klickitat River in the Columbia River Gorge.

Three thousand dollars will go toward 60 youth rafting this 2017 summer, which equates to $65 per youth. As RFA acquires more gear and resources, the cost per youth will go down. The remaining $1,000 will go toward the printing cost of Rivers For All T-shirts which will be sold at rafting companies and RFA events which will generate more funds to help RFA expand its outreach.

Gillingham said he counts himself lucky to have grown up with so many opportunities for easy and free river access and that the more youth get to experience the joy and beauty of rivers firsthand, the better communities will come to understand the important role rivers play in our lives.

Rivers for Alls fundraising site notes, Local residents often dont have the same opportunities to connect with the rivers in their backyards yet they are the ones most connected to the health of our rivers. Youth that would benefit most from an "outdoor classroom often cant afford participating in recreation. We need your help to change that!

To donate to Rivers for All, visit generosity.com/education-fundraising/rivers-for-all-outdoor-education-program. More information can be found by visiting facebook.com/riversforall.

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Siskiyou native develops 'Rivers for All' program - Taft Midway Driller

In the Oscar-nominated 2015 musical biopic Straight Outta Compton, the fortunes of gangsta rap group N.W.A. briefly intersected with Tupac Shakur.

It was a tantalising glimpse at one of the defining artists of a generation, who took hip hop by the scruff of its bling-laden neck in the 1980s and 1990s.

Director Benny Boom throws the microphone solely to Shakur in All Eyez On Me and fashions two decades of political activism, gang warfare and strife into an overlong and dull montage of a life cut tragically short in a drive-by shooting on the brightly lit Las Vegas strip.

Three screenwriters choose a clunky framing device to bring the central figure into woozy focus.

A nameless interviewer (Hill Harper) visits Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr) in Clinton Correctional Facility in 1995, where he is serving time after being convicted of first-degree sexual abuse.

I have it on good authority that the FBI has a 4,000-page file on you, smirks the interviewer.

Only 4,000 pages?! cockily replies the rapper.

That cocksure swagger fails to translate to Booms pedestrian picture, which never clearly conveys why US authorities might be gathering so much information on Shakur, and how a boy from humble origins in East Harlem impacted greatly on popular culture.

The framing device fractures chronology for anyone, like me, who isnt au fait with Shakurs musical canon.

In a series of flashbacks, Shakur recalls his formative years in New York City, watching police victimise his mother Afeni (Danai Gurira), who is a defiant and active member of the Black Panther Party.

When he later ends up behind bars, she instructs him to remain strong.

Your bodys in prison, not your mind, she growls.

He forms a close friendship with Jada Pinkett (Kat Graham) and joins the group Digital Underground before striking out on his own.

Scenes from music videos are faithfully recreated.

Ultimately, Shakur joins Death Row Records and forges a pact with the labels devil, Suge Knight (Dominic L Santana), who answers complaints from his artists with violence.

Gradually, Shakurs friendship with fellow performer Biggie Smalls (Jamal Woolard) deteriorates, lighting the fuse on the infamous east and west coast rap war.

All Eyez On Me is littered with lyrical one-liners Dont let something you do for 50 seconds get you 50 years but a clear sense of what made Shakur tick is absent.

Rather than lionising the singer turned actor, Booms picture portrays him as deeply disagreeable: arrogant, selfish and tragically myopic in his pursuit of fame.

His seminal songs including Brendas Got A Baby and Keep Ya Head Up profess personal empowerment and courage in the face of adversity.

Alas, Booms disappointing sermon delivers a lesson about the corruptive power of celebrity that we have heard many times before, and from more charismatic preachers.

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Review: All Eyez On Me (15) - Aberdeen Evening Express

Empowerment. Weve all heard the term, used it and aspired to it, but may not fully understand what it represents for us personally. In a nutshell, it means building our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual strength and it all starts with self belief. This is the month to claim greater personal strength and develop further confidence in yourself and what you can accomplish!

Claiming your own means being aware of your feelings, needs, wishes and desires. Its knowing that you have unique and specific gifts, talents and insights to show and share and then standing, with confidence, in your own power to express them. It is realising that within you is a magical force, enabling you to make any dream come true. This is your time claim it as your own and achieve what you envision as yours.

July is the month to empower-up and claim your own to believe in yourself and move forward in manifesting your individual abilities, self expression and creativity! The Astrological energies for this month encourage us to embrace a stronger, more determined and confident part of ourselves putting into place building blocks for greater rewards! What can YOU look forward to in the weeks ahead? Heres your need-to-know Motivational Astrology forecast for July:

The month begins with Venus going into Gemini on the 5th. This emphasises heart-felt expression! As the planet ruling creativity, affection and enjoyment moves into the sign of communication, we are urged to express our thoughts and feelings with greater flair and wit! For the next three weeks well be focused on sharing similar feelings regarding values, artistry and attraction while connecting with new love interests and stimulating friendships!

On the 6th of July, Mercury goes into Leo, highlighting creative self expression. We are better able to share our thoughts, views of life, philosophies and individual knowledge with others! This begins a new cycle of utilising our creative knowledge, dramatic ideas and enthusiastic insights to advance our lives and celebrate our connections with others. Its a great time to get social, go with your gut and dare to be recognised for the sparkling spirit that YOU are!

Julys Full Moon occurs in Capricorn on 9 July. The focus at this time is on supportive structures. Build stronger foundations now by cutting out the cumulative clutter, time robbers and the money wasters. This starts an ideal Lunar cycle for sorting your stuff, getting back on track with budgets and details while empowering yourself with greater organisation and taking charge of your life.

Mars, the planet of action and energy, moves into Leo, the sign representing confidence and self love on the 21st. Were now given the opportunity to express our personal wants and needs in a more forthright fashion! Our self orientation is the focus now, helping us to show more outgoing expression, greater vitality and dramatic self assurance! For the weeks ahead were encouraged to step out of our safety nets in order to advance our dreams, embark on new creative endeavours and implement empowering projects.

By the 23rd, the Sun goes into Leo, heralding a new phase of greater self confidence, creativity, enjoyment and expression! This is a time to shine in who you are and what you do while adding some drama and excitement in how you do it! As you allow you to be YOU, greater courage and confidence will be rewarded. Respecting your talents, applauding your accomplishments and emphasizing your gifts now, brings you the appreciation, validation and recognition that you seek! Allow your inner Lion to roar in celebration of the marvelous individual that you are!

Also on the 23rd, Julys New Moon in Leo helps us to ignite our inner flame! A fortunate new cycle unfolds, helping us to feel emotionally stronger and more determined in creating the future we want! Leo inspires creativity, confidence and courage that emerge from the heart of ones Self. This is an ideal time to set intentions that re-energize your inner creative muse and that grow your personal power. Start implementing small actions today that signal to your beautiful self that you are committed to your goals.

Lastly, on the 26th of July, Mercury goes into the sign of Virgo. This assists us in having a keener eye for seeing more of the fine points and intricacies of our lives! Its an ideal time to organise, clean up and plan out our personal goals and improve ways of self expression. As the communication planet moves into the practical and methodical vibe of Virgo, we commence a new cycle of productivity with keener clarity of whats important in our world.

Jubilant July to all those at Starts at 60!

By GiGi Astro Sosnoski: Keep Looking Up! Ltd. / Positive Skies Ltd.

This article was written by GiGi Sosnoski

GiGi Sosnoski is a New York City Astrologer, Motivational Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, Planetary Intuitive, Workshop facilitator, International Radio and TV contributor and Motivational Astrology writer. As a Life Enthusiast, her passion is sharing upliftment and inspiration with others through the Stars! GiGi currently resides in Auckland, New Zealand but travels all over the world for her work.

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July's astrological forecast: Claiming your own - Starts at 60

Mastercard and Western Union have partnered to develop a digital platform for refugees to access funds within their settlements.

The model, the two said in a statement, will allow refugees do digital transactions amongst themselves, their host countries and donors, creating more transparency and long-term empowerment.

The new digital infrastructure model will focus on solutions that might include the delivery of mobile money, digital vouchers, prepaid cards, and track other goods and services, head of customer relationship management at Western Union Maureen Sigliano said. The goal is to drive personal empowerment, stimulate growth and promote social cohesion among the worlds refugee populations, while driving better governance and transparency.

KaKuma Refugee camp in northern Kenya, which currently hosts more than 162,000 refugees, has one bank branch and five bank agents, according to a report by the two firms titled Smart Communities: Using Digital Technology to create Sustainable Refugee Economies.

Mastercard and Western Union have developed a blueprint that would combine digital access to remittances, banking, education, healthcare and other basic needs in a way that can be tracked.

Our plans to reinvent the existing model can help the worlds refugee populations achieve self-sufficiency faster, while also contributing to the economic growth of their host communities, executive vice president of public-private partnerships at Mastercard Tara Nathan said.

The blueprint will help in laying the groundwork for a set of multipurpose transactional tools that refugees and residents can access, which are optimized to work in low infrastructure areas.

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Global payments giants in cash transfer deal for refugees - The Star, Kenya

Sunday, 25 June 2017, 7:25 pm Press Release: Kia Koe

New Political Party Offers Empowerment June 23 2017 Kia Koe Party Press Release Tags: Politics, voting and policies.

Newly launched political party Kia Koe offers empowerment through online submissions.

Best possible parliamentary democracy Empowering people by inclusion in policy development Role of law and justice is constantly reconsidered and reapproved Question and re-approve the various roles of Government re services and expenditure. Limit the role of government to only those functions necessary

As a newly fledged political platform, Kia Koe makes itself available to everyone including minors over the age of 12 while those under 16 are limited in what they can vote for. Nz.kiakoe.org provides a better approach for politics using four of six categories Information (Facts), Financial Info, Environment, Education, Health and Spiritual. Kia Koe is highly transparent, especially in all aspects of accounting. It has easy to use tools to enable the members in their choices. Kia Koes concept originator Chris Kernot says when people sign up for Kia Koe (which means 'You choose.') they can comment using the four categories for a more rounded outcome. This way it enables an effective parallel thinking process that helps commenting and most importantly policy decision making and ranking be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved, Kernot offers. Before you comment you must read all prior comments. I see that as essential in order to add a new view. By reading, embracing, including and refining views, policies take shape in Kia Koe. By ranking how important a policy is to you, it rises in the list. Kia Koe members can then rate their personal reaction to the policy from do not support to strongly support. By including a view called The Other Side of the Coin, members can consider both negative and positive views producing more balanced options or scenarios. This is creating opportunities for policy development at grass roots level across all sectors of society. It ensures current generations are responsible for the ownership of their own political direction. We are setting up platforms for our future custodians, our children, concludes Kernot. nz.kiakoe.org

Scoop Media

Its true that New Zealand scores well on many international rankings of openness... Those findings are all important, and welcome. But we cannot ignore the fact that there are still serious problems.

For a start, those international surveys, while often complimentary, have also pinpointed major weaknesses: political donations are badly regulated, for instance, and appointments to government boards frequently go to those with strong political connections. More>>

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New Political Party Offers Empowerment - Scoop.co.nz (press release)

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Text by Gauri Shinde

We are afraid to show our weaknesses, in order to appear perfect. But, once you stop being scared of revealing yourself truly, you make real connections. It becomes kind of empowering. When you share things fearlessly there is this sense of feeling powerful internally. And that to me is real power.

These are some early influences, which, I think, perhaps subconsciously inspired me.

My mom, making various spices and packing masala packets in a small office at the back of our house a venture that started small and then went on to become an export business. Working hard, earning her money, and all the while taking care of our home and family. And very importantly, always being free with her expressions whether she felt weak, vulnerable or happy.

My childhood domestic help, working tirelessly in many homes, all day, everyday, but with a smile on her face. Earning just enough to educate her children, even though she received none herself. She would cry as easily as she could laugh and, that for me, as I can now see it, was the beauty of it all.

The fun and fearless Maria (Julie Andrews) from The Sound of Music Living life on her own terms in a conservative and difficult world. Outwardly strong and yet so vulnerable from the inside which is what made her so real and so relatable. Even the hard-hearted Captain couldnt help but love and respect her at the same time.

These early memories of real women, no, powerful women, unafraid to show their vulnerability gave me my first understanding of what it means to be empowered. When I saw my mother, aunts and grandmoms, all women with guts and gumption, working, earning and looking after their families, it showed me that the power of freedom doesnt suddenly appear one day. Nor does it happen by chance, but it is through example, experience and continual practice that it quietly and strongly grows.

In tangible terms, my sense of power came to me when I started working and earning a salary. Financial independence is a big deal, a very big deal especially for women. We are not taught, clearly, that this is a key ingredient to living freely and with dignity. If I did not earn my living at an early age or did not have savings, I would not feel the confidence I did, while negotiating my personal life and career in a male-dominated world. And the acceptance by me of my vulnerabilities and treating them as my strengths empowered me to write the stories I do, in my filmsor else they wouldnt ring so true.

It is important and should have always been important to portray women on screen in a light that doesnt defile them nor put them on a pedestal either, thus constantly stereotyping them either as lesser objects or goddesses. Instead, why cant a woman be treated as a companion, as a partner, as an equal? More importantly, as a human being with the good, the bad and the ugly, like any other guy!

But no, from the very beginning, little girls are taught to feel weaker or lesser than boys, both overtly and subtly, and are indoctrinated into being accommodating, not just in India, but the world over. In turn men and society at large begin to expect this docility from women and, sadly, this behavioural conditioning continues into adulthood, for both sexes. So, when a male director is demanding or loud hes called eccentric or passionate but an assertive woman without even being loud, in the same or any authoritative role, is more often than not called difficult or even crazy!

To change this skewed power balance and to give women their natural due, the change in perception has to start at birth to our very reaction to the birth of a girl. We have to change the fairy tales and the gender-specific toys and the traditions that chip away at the inherent power of the girl child. Most fairy tales end with her being rescued by a prince; we need to change the story! Why cant the girl rescue the boy sometimes? Why cant our happily-ever-after be about an equal world for both sexes?

Power to me means the freedom to make choices. It equips me to make better decisions, for myself and those around me, gives me the ability to take control of my life. And, most importantly, it puts me in the assuring position of being able to say No to the things I dont need or want. To be who I am, with my accomplishments and my flaws, my vulnerabilites, my fears and my fearlessness. that, to me, is true empowerment.

Continued here:

Acclaimed Filmmaker Gauri Shinde Reveals The Real Meaning Of Empowerment - VERVE

West Hawaii Today

Palamanui-sponsored event offers direction, empowerment to local women West Hawaii Today And, after all, the primary goal of the day was to provide nuanced advice to guide each individual woman toward the next step in her personal evolution, whatever that step may be. I liked the entrepreneurship class, Brunette said. I've thought about ...

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Palamanui-sponsored event offers direction, empowerment to local women - West Hawaii Today

It was New Year's Day 2012, and Allison Fleece was feeling unmoored. On a whim, she e-mailed a group of her most intrepid friends. "This time next year," she wrote, "I want to be standing on the roof of Africa." The following winter, she was on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, exhausted and giddy, with nine women beside her. She turned to Danielle Thornton, a climbing buddy who would soon become her best friend. "This is what all travel should be like," she said.

The next year, Fleece and Thornton headed back to Kilimanjaro this time leading a group of 29 women from 11 countries on the first trip of WHOA Travel, their fledgling adventure-tour company for women. In their previous lives, Fleece, now 31, had been an education advisor and Thornton, 34, a creative director at an ad agency. But a few months after their Kilimanjaro expedition, they'd quit their jobs, Googled how to form an LLC, and launched a travel business. WHOA stands for Women High on Adventure or Women Hooked on Awesomeness, depending on whom you ask.

It's one of the latest additions to the growing list of women-only adventure companies outfitters that cater to a generation of female travelers who prefer surf weekends and mountain-climbing expeditions to the spa weekends of old. The idea goes back to the late 1970s, when women who'd come of age in the era of second-wave feminism began starting scrappy adventure programs, outdoorsy relatives of the feminist music festivals and conferences that were then sprouting up around the country. By the late 90s, upscale operators had joined the fray, courting luxury travelers often widowed or divorced retirees who had the time and money to travel but didn't want to be the loner in a group of couples. More recently, with a certain demographic of women rebranding feminism as less a political calling than a lifestyle choice one focused on personal empowerment and self-care female-centric travel companies are retooling and expanding once again.

"We were around back when women-only travel was kind of a joke," says Jennifer Haddow, who seven years ago took over Wild Women Expeditions, a Canada-based company founded in 1991. "People didn't really see why it was valuable." Now veteran outfitters like Haddow are diversifying their offerings to take advantage of a growing market. Wild Women has added horseback riding in Mongolia and cycling, trekking, and rafting in Thailand to its original roster of kayaking and canoeing trips in Ontario and British Columbia. Adventure Women, a 35-year-old Massachusetts company that changed hands last year, has begun catering to younger clients with its "adventurettes" bespoke getaways, like long weekends of riding, river floating, fine dining, and massages in Montana, for women who don't want a traditional bachelorette party in addition to its bucket-list journeys to places like Ireland and Nepal.

Some lifestyle companies outside the travel industry see all-female trips as a way to extend their brands. REI's recently expanded Outessa program brings women to different U.S. mountains for long weekends of yoga, hiking, and bonding. The sporting-goods giant has also ramped up its backpacking- and camping-centric REI Women's Adventures, which offer rugged outdoor experiences in locations ranging from Africa to America's national parks. For the crystals-and-Coachella crowd, the bohemian apparel brand Free People operates FP Escapes. Its wellness-focused itineraries, including superfood cooking classes in the Andes and yoga workshops in Yelapa, Mexico, come with cleanses, meditation rituals, new-moon ceremonies, and Instagram-ready accommodations like tepees and tree houses.

For some upstart outfitters, personal growth is as central to the mission as having fun. Damesly, founded last year, emphasizes professional networking and skill building, combining volcano hikes in Iceland and surfing lessons in Hawaii with workshops on topics like video editing. Fit & Fly Girl's health-focused retreats come with daily workout classes and nutritious meals. Explorer Chick has several offerings for beginners to develop wilderness survival skills and learn backpacking basics.

But for all the attention these programs devote to women's individual well-being, many also emphasize social responsibility and making lasting connections in the places they visit. "You can't just show up to sell women stuff. You have to be participating in the communities and engaged in their issues," says Wild Women's Haddow. "Clients respond to authenticity." For her company, that means striving to partner exclusively with women even in places like Nepal, where female guides are hard to find and supporting social-justice groups. On its Morocco trips, Adventure Women brings guests to a women's textile cooperative outside Fez to speak with the artisans about their lives and work. Before its Kilimanjaro treks, WHOA puts guests up at a nonprofit hotel that funds a primary school for area children; travelers' fees also help sponsor two local women to join the group on every climb. The company operates a similar program for its Machu Picchu treks.

Despite the wide range of experiences offered by these companies, all tend to attract travelers who, whatever their age or background, have reached a turning point in their lives. If you can handle whitewater rafting down a Peruvian river or summiting a 10,000-foot peak, a cross-country move or a divorce doesnt seem quite so insurmountable. Physical challenges expunge emotional pain, and many women find it more comfortable to tackle them in the company of their peers, even if theyre strangers.

Kelly Luck, 42, booked her Kilimanjaro trip with WHOA after a grueling battle with breast and thyroid cancer. On a cold, clear night this past March the 8th, International Women's Day Luck summited the mountain with 30 other women. "I don't think I could've done this with my husband," she says. "Being there with this powerful collective of women was the only way for me to go. It makes you so strong."

The kind of sisterhood Luck and Fleece both found on Kilimanjaro is one that more and more women seem to want. "We as a gender are done compartmentalizing ourselves," Fleece says. "We like to go out for a nice dinner in heels, but we can also put on hiking boots and camp on a mountain for seven days. And women are realizing that there are others out there who want the same thing."

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Why Women Are Booking More Adventure Travel Than Ever - Travel+Leisure

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. More than 80 home service business owners, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors, from across the U.S., Australia and New Zealand attended the CEO Warrior Circle Mastermind event Unleash the Beast June 13-16. This was the first event to take place at the new CEO Warrior 10,000-sq.ft. training facility.

CEO Warrioris a business consulting, training, and mentoring firm, providing tested and proven methods to defeat the roadblocks that prevent small to mid-sized businesses from achieving their ultimate success. The new training facility houses three separate training quarters, so different events can occur simultaneously. In addition to the Warrior Fast Track Academy and CEO Warrior Circle training events for business owners, there are new one- and two-day course offerings in leadership, sales, marketing, service management and customer service for staff members of all levels.

CEO Warrior Circle event draws business owners from the plumbing, HVAC and electrical industries.

This is going to take our warrior movement to the next level, said Mike Agugliaro, founder of CEO Warrior. We can now offer 10,000 square feet of the greatest business training on the planet. I saw a need for more training that would make a real difference and help business owners become warriors at home and at work.

According to Shayna Shadowen, owner and office manager of Service Detectives, Energy, Illinois, workshops are meant to help you better yourself personally. Shadowen has attended seven CEO Warrior events, starting in May 2016.

Shayna Shadowen and Judy Giannone.

Mike really helps you to face your fears and personal roadblocks head on, explained Shadowen. Every exercise is about learning and growing and bettering yourself. It doesn't matter if you have a service company, a dog training company, or a consignment company, it all boils down to becoming a better you. Then you take back your growth to your business and apply the practices in your everyday life. Your company can't fail.

What Mike has created in this CEO Warrior event is powerful beyond measure and this is built for serious CEOs interested in moving the needle of their service businesses, said O.P. Almaraz, CEO of Allied Restoration Services Inc., Los Angeles. After being a part of CEO Warrior for four months, my company had a record breaking $1,000,000 month. Mikes mentorship has propelled me to grow from $4 million to a projected $6.5 million in my first year. There is nothing more powerful than a changed mind.

Breakthrough limiting beliefs

Contractors stood holding a cup filled with water for as long as 25 minutes. This is tougher than what you realize.

The Warrior Circle event, Unleash the Beast, featured a combination of training sessions on leadership skills, proven business strategies and personal empowerment exercises. The CEO Warrior training system has a unique approach, inspired by Agugliaros straightforward style and martial arts training, to help business owners create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and a warrior spirit to take their own businesses to the next level. Business owners participated in personal empowerment activities such as fire walking, fight training and board breaking exercises.

This is a roll-up your sleeves, get dirty and get information type of event, said Agugliaro. Everybody has a bigger purpose in life, but at the end of the day, most people are not doing the things they need to do to fulfill their bigger purpose. When the attendees leave, they can take strategic steps to change their businesses, their relationships and their lives.

Agugliaro lead individuals through a meditation practice at the beginning of the event, so each person could dig deep and uncover within themselves unconscious barriers that are affecting their lives and businesses.

After the meditation practice and before diving into the first days empowerment activities, Agugliaro asked business owners to focus on a few critical ideas presented during the event and to focus on only those few not the many of ideas and to be candid during the event and play full out. Agugliaro also instituted that each team use a talking stick to improve communication.

Often times, people try to communicate a message when there is distraction happening, said Agugliaro. This can create confusion, which can be a shared issue. Once confusion is shared this can lead to delusion, and now the confused employees are stuck. Often people in this position end up frustrated and may even get angry this is a bad place to be.

A talking stick is a foundation for improved communication. The talking stick first creates boundaries only the person with the talking stick can talk, explained Agugliaro. Without boundaries you end up with something like Animal House.

Tuesdays empowerment activities consisted of the Weakest Link and breaking boards. The Weakest Link challenged business owners strength and balance. Business owners stood holding a cup of water with foam numb chucks for as long as possible. During the board breaking, everyone wrote down on their boards what is holding them back in business and life (hopefully they were able to uncover these barriers during the meditation earlier in the day). Agugliaro then lit the boards on fire each person taking their turn to break through their board with their bare hand, thus breaking through their limiting beliefs.

Candace Roulo breaks through a board on fire with assistance from Mike Agugliaro.

Motivation was key during these empowerment activities. At one point a business owner told their teammate, I have your back I am not going to let you fall.

After the activities Agugliaro asked, What would it be like if you said that [I have your back] at your business? How would that change the overall culture?

At the end of the day, teams shared their thoughts on what they learned the first day of the Warrior Circle event. Some of those thoughts include:

The second day of the CEO Warrior Circle Mastermind event, teams had more activities to complete, which included a fire walk at night.

Walking on fire is an amazing parallel to life, said Almaraz. Every human being was born with an immense amount of potential, yet somewhere in our adolescence we shirk ourselves to fit in. We condition our minds to think that we're not good enough or not worthy, so we stop trying new things. The inward self-reflection, before the firewalk, writing down our own limiting beliefs, and acknowledging our past does not determine our future this part of the fire walking practice is the ultimate game changer. And walking over hot coals, something that seemed impossible, is now my reality. And if I could do that, I can certainly breakthrough my past limiting beliefs!

I had my biggest breakthrough when we did the fire walk, said Kelley McKay, president of McKays Heating & Cooling. I had to be fearless to walk across the 1,200 degree coals, and when I entered that state of mind I realized that's the state of mind I should be entering when it comes to growing my business.

Dean Jackson talks marketing at the CEO Warrior Circle.

Create an experience for the customer

During the CEO Warrior Circle event, Agugliaro had a guest speaker, Marketing Guru Dean Jackson, visit to talk business and marketing strategies.

Jackson said business owners need to stop thinking of their business as one thing, but as three separate divisions: the Before Unit, During Unit and After Unit.

During the Before Unit we are looking to get into the customers home for the first time here and get them into home management, explained Jackson. While in the Before Unit you need to think with the end in mind. What is it that you want to do? What kinds of clients would you love to have? Here you identify your dream clients and target audience and figure out the range of budget for the Before Unit. How much would you pay to get these clients? Its important to narrow your focus here (segment and avatar) and select one target at a time.

Then there is the During Unit, when contractors deal with jobs all day long and create the experience for the customer, then they go to the next job. Jackson advised that contractors should look at all the customer calls that come in on a daily basis to find out how many are emergency calls and how many are proactive calls (when a contractor goes to a job to prevent emergencies from happening).

The During Unit is the core experience you have with the customer, said Jackson. Establish that when they have a need they will call you. While you are in their house you need to establish additional opportunities.

According to Jacksons and Agugliaros book Breakthrough DNA The Service Code; 8 Profit Activators You Can Trigger in Your Business Right Now, this is delivering a dream come true experience designed from the clients/customers perspective and providing an after sale service (even after you have already been paid).

Also while in the During Unit you need to establish that you are the customers plumber/HVAC tech for life. You need to say to your customer, While I am here lets do an HVAC audit. At this time contractors can point out potential issues that are coming down the road, which can be dealt with in a proactive away before there is an emergency.

You need to have the mindset that you will take the customer under your wing and give them opportunities to prevent problems, said Jackson. If you have a lot of repeat business this means that you are the customers person to call back. You created some sort of impression for this to happen. The greatest asset is being an incumbent in someones home.

And last, but not least, there is the After Unit, which focuses on nurturing lifetime relationships.

The After Unit is a thriving part of your business, explained Jackson. These customers already like and trust you.

According to Jackson this is where you nurture customers and referrals.

You always have to generate referrals, explained Jackson. How and why do referrals happen? The reality is people refer companies or other people they know because it makes them feel good. We are wired to share things and steer away from bad things.

My biggest take away from this event came from Dean Jackson, said McKay. He gave us a new way to think about our business. He explained a before unit, during unit and after unit. Viewing each individual step and creating a timeline of each step has opened my eyes to new ways of delivering the ultimate customer experience.

Brian Kurtz was also a guest speaker at the event. Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for over 35 years. During his career, he was responsible for the mailing of close to 2 billion pieces of direct mail and the distribution of millions of impressions and promotions on a wide variety of offline and online media.

To download and read Breakthrough DNA The Service Code; 8 Profit Activators You Can Trigger in Your Business Right Now visit: http://breakthroughdna.com/.

CEO Warrior

CEO Warrior teaches business owners how to achieve wealth, freedom and market domination by using the tools and skills Mike Agugliaro, founder of CEO Warrior, used to build his home service business into a $32 million-plus business in 10 years. The Warrior system uses a unique approach to training, inspired by Mikes straightforward style and martial arts training to create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and warrior spirit to take business owners to the next level. CEO Warrior targets the specific areas each business needs to address, eliminate, enhance or add in order to reach their business goals and attain what every business owner want in the end: financial independence. For more information about CEO Warrior, visit CEOWARRIOR.com.

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Contractors Unleash their Beasts at CEO Warrior event held in new training facility - Contractor Mag

Cafe Nine celebrated the start of summer with an evening of rebirths, as Virginian cellist and composer Wes Swing returned for his second performance this year flush with new music, a novel appreciation for synthesizers, and an album fizzing with a message of revival.

Swing is a splatter-painter in the music industry, concocting musical palettes that mix classical with pop, indie with folk, as part of an emerging trend in the field of strings. His stylings infuse classical instruments with the splendors of modernity.

Its kind of like indie-classical meets dream pop, Swing said of his music, though cautioning, weve struggled a lot with genre.

At Cafe Nine Wednesday night, Swing showcased hits off his new album, And The Heart, released earlier this month on June 2. It brimmed with lyrical and melodic confidence. He offered a form of musiccello indie folk popthat you wont find many other places.

He began the concert bathed in shadows and dim red and green spotlights, resting his cello companion across his body as he plucked a tune of tranquility and called out soothing lyrics from the first single off his new album, Mirrors. Eyes closed, rocking gently from side-to-side, Swing transformed the space around him as he invited the audience to enter a musical dreamscape.

Tinges of sadness and hope, optimism and resilience, spanned the evenings set list, as Swing presented songs like And the Heart, The Next Life, and Missing Winter off his freshly released album. Accompanied by a bass and a violin, he paired the new set with a favorite from his first album, Instrumental 1 and a clever cover of Bjorks Unravel.

The new album comes six long years after the release of his first album, Through a Fogged Glass, in 2011, and tells a fierce tale of personal empowerment and loss of identity.

The formation of Swings second album occurred after the artist struggled with a hiatus from music. Combating a wrist injury that conflicted with his cello playing and a weighty spell of depression, Wes Swing at one time found himself disengaged with his musical calling.

I had a lot of difficulty before I wrote the music, Swing said. I was living in San Francisco, quit music basically, and was dealing with depression I just wasnt productive at all. It was when I started to feel better, that the music came out.

Swing crafted And the Heart in 2014 and 2015. He conjured up Mirrors while flying on a plane, a peculiar setting that inspired Swing with the emotions it brought out in him.

I was feeling like myself, he revealed. I was feeling confident and happy, and it had been a long time since I had those feelings so deeply.

As his friendliness with music reformed, another partnership opened up in Swings life. Swing teamed up with old friend and guitar champion Paul Curreri, who led production for And the Heart. Curreri had suffered a recent wrist and throat injury that halted his performing career, forcing him to consider production instead.

It was kind of an interesting thing, Swing recalls. He and I had the same wrist and throat injury at the same time. He cant play anymore. This album for both us was coming back to music. In a way, redefining who we are as musicians.

Swing is gearing up to release a music video for Mirrors with a dance he choreographed himself, and continues to compose songs hes hoping to record early next year.

I feel more comfortable in my own skin, he said, and I know what I want more in recording and life.

Link:

Cellist On The Rise - New Haven Independent

Summer can be fun play time and also a time of great development and growth for children and teens. Children grow naturally in the summer, but as parents, we want our children to grow in the most positive ways. With a little orchestration, your child can move from feeling and acting passive and dependent to being active and feeling empowered.

Here are eight strategies to help you steer your child into a place of self-reliance, inner strength and empowerment this summer.

1. Assess your child. Is your child overbearing in his inflated self-image? Or is your child more laid-back to the point that others walk on him? Or maybe he is passive-aggressive. None of these approaches to life are healthy. Reflect on what your child needs to change in order to be more balanced and able to express his needs and wants without hurting other peoples feelings. Help him to behave in a way that reflects a feeling of empowerment.

2. Role model empowerment. Allow your child to see and hear you tell it like it is in a nice, positive and healthy way. If you can demonstrate how to communicate with empowerment, your children will benefit tremendously.

3. Dont do things for them that they can do for themselves. Ask your children to do the things that they can do for themselves. Highlight their specific strengths when they do act independently to build their confidence and self-esteem. I really liked the way you asked that cashier for the correct change, or Thats a pretty impressive lunch you made, hitting all the food groups, for example.

4. Teach problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills are the foundation for empowerment, because if you believe you can solve any problem then you have nothing holding you back. Kids can learn problem-solving if theyre taught to think in these terms:

What decision and actions do I need to make?

Evaluate options using pros and cons for each choice.

Make a decision.

Evaluate my choice by asking, Did my choice work and, if so, how?

5. Understand others. Teach your child that speaking up once or twice is all that is required to communicate his needs. If others are non-responsive, your child must accept that and move on to a place where he can get a response. Empowerment means cutting losses instead of hanging on in a negative situation.

6. Practice in real time. Practice empowerment with your children. If they were given the wrong meal at a restaurant or their hamburger wasnt cooked right, teach them to politely ask for it to be corrected.

7. Dont accept I dont know. I dont know seems to be the go-to phrase for many children and teens today. I cant think of a more disempowering response to a personal question or a question asked in the context of what someone thinks about a matter related to their own well-being. Its a cop-out phrase that dismisses the importance of ones own thoughts and feelings. Take the time to force the issue and get a response that matters.

8. Teach self-acceptance. When someone truly accepts themselves, that translates into empowered actions. True self-acceptance means there is little to fear, and the absence of fear is empowerment.

nnn

Dr. Kate Roberts is a licensed child and school psychologist and family therapist on the North Shore. Ask a question or make a comment at kate@drkateroberts.com.

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PARENT RAP: 8 ways to teach your child empowerment - The Salem News

The event featured a combination of training sessions on leadership skills, proven business strategies and personal empowerment exercises. The CEO Warrior training system has a unique approach, inspired by Mike's straightforward style and martial arts training, to help business owners create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and a warrior spirit to take their own businesses to the next level. Business owners participated in personal empowerment activities such as fire walking, fight training, and board breaking exercises.

"The goal with these personal empowerment activities is to shift mindsets, to help business owners realize how limiting their beliefs are," Agugliaro said. "This discovery surprises most people when they learn that they are unconsciously placing limitations on themselves."

Guest speakers at last week's event were marketing experts Brian Kurtz and Dean Jackson. Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for over 35 years. During his career, he was responsible for the mailing of close to 2 billion pieces of direct mail and the distribution of millions of impressions and promotions on a wide variety of offline and online media. Jackson fell in love with marketing as a young boy when he first realized that selling on commission was way easier than renting himself out by the hour for a regular job. Both Kurtz and Jackson shared some of their most innovative marketing strategies that helped multi-million dollar companies become successful.

The next major CEO Warrior event for business owners is the Warrior Fast Track Academy, September 19-22. Registration is limited to 30 attendees, so interested business owners are encouraged to book their spots soon.

CEO Warrior works with business owners across the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, creating a global movement in the home services industry. The company helps tradesmen grow their businesses and have the lifestyle they want from the business they have.

To find out more about CEO Warrior, visit https://CEOWARRIOR.com.

About CEO WarriorCEO Warrior is a business consulting, training, and mentoring firm, providing tested and proven methods to defeat the roadblocks that prevent small to mid-sized businesses from achieving their ultimate success. CEO Warrior teaches business owners how to achieve wealth, freedom and market domination by using the tools and skills Mike Agugliaro, founder of CEO Warrior, used to build his home service business into a $32 million-plus business in 10 years. The Warrior system uses a unique approach to training, inspired by Mike's straightforward style and martial arts training to create mental focus, strategic thinking, resiliency, respect and warrior spirit to take business owners to the next level. CEO Warrior targets the specific areas each business needs to address, eliminate, enhance or add in order to reach their business goals and attain what every business owner want in the end: financial independence. For more information about CEO Warrior, visit CEOWARRIOR.com.

Media Contact: Heather Ripley Ripley PR 865-977-1973 hripley@ripleypr.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/business-owners-gathered-for-ceo-warrior-circle-event-in-new-training-facility-300478075.html

SOURCE CEO Warrior

Top 20 HVAC Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business

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Business Owners Gathered for CEO Warrior Circle Event in new Training Facility - PR Newswire (press release)

Loosely based on the real-life TV show Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, which aired from 1986 to 1990, Liz Flahive and Carly Menschs fictionalized Netflix series GLOW exhumes the dusty spandex, mile-high hairdos, and Bon Jovi anthems for campy and contemplative fun.

Set in mid-1980s Los Angeles, GLOW tells the story of 12 struggling actors who are chosen to star in an all-female wrestling show. But first, they must learn how to wrestle! Marc Maron plays the series cynical writer/director Sam Sylvia, who reluctantly participates in the project between snorts of coke. His leading Gorgeous Ladies are the volcanic protagonist Debbie, aka Liberty Bell (Betty Gilpin), and Ruth, aka Zoya the Destroyer (Alison Brie), who once wronged Debbie outside of the ring and is now trying to accept her position as the leagues heel.

Though GLOW often centers on this rivalry, its driven by the other wrestlers internal conflicts. In one key scene the shows young producer, Bash (Chris Lowell)whos got the oily charm of Rob Lowes character in Waynes Worldinsists that wrestling is about type. Youre a sexy party girl, youre an Arab, gesticulating at Arthie, aka the Terrorist (Sunita Mani). She immediately corrects him: You mean stereotype.

These Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling are mostly actors who reached for the moon and landed in space junk. They wanted Hollywood, but got a ramshackle warehouse in the San Fernando Valley. They wanted real parts, but got roles thatre completely reductive. When they complain, Sylvia encourages the women to wrestle with these stereotypes for personal empowerment. But its not like they have a choicethey have to surrender something for success. And theyre all too familiar with this double standard: Its almost always a man telling you your ass is too fat at the same time hes trying to grope it, Ruth says in the second episode.

Be patient with GLOWthe series takes a few episodes to warm up. Once it does, youll find a refreshing mix of wit, drama, and body slams, all dressed up in the gaudy glamor of the 1980s.

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GLOW Chop-Drops Stereotypes - Film/TV - The Stranger - TheStranger.com

By Dr. Bill Lipsky

Whether they believed he was a creative spirit, a colorful nonconformist, or a kooky eccentric, everyone thought Chester Alan Arthur III, known to everyone as Gavin, was memorable, a true only in San Francisco personality. The grandson and namesake of the twenty-first president of the United States, he was well known as both a sexologist and an astrologer. Openly bisexual, he published The Circle of Sex in 1962, where he explained that sexuality was a circle with twelve orientations, each corresponding to a sign of the zodiac.

Arthur was a lifelong activist, deeply involved with both the Beat Generation and the early gay rights movement. He also became an influential leader of the Haight-Ashbury counterculture, where he was part of the discussions to bring together different groups of the Bay Areas counter-culture simply to experience being with each other. Using astrology, Arthur set the date for the first Human Be-In for January 14, 1967, in Golden Gate Park.

Some 30,000 celebrants attended. Many identified as hippies. They heard Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Learywho famously told them to turn on, tune in, drop outLenore Kandel, Gary Snyder, and others speak about some of the basic tenets of the counterculture: personal empowerment, communal living, higher consciousness (achievable with the help of psychedelic drugs), and radical political awareness. Others simply enjoyed the days good vibrations and groovy sounds.

The event made the Citys hippie scene world famous and led first to the Easter Vacation Onslaught and then to the transformative Summer of Love. Young middle-class Americans from all over the country tripped to San Francisco, with or without a flower in their hair, leaving the comfort of their parents homes or the conforming drabness of their dormitories for a Neverland where there would be free love, free pot, free food and a free place to sleep.

Once in San Francisco, they traded in their button-down shirts and their sorority sweaters for tie-dyed shirts and fringed jackets. Khaki pants gave way to frayed bell bottoms, and granny dresses replaced pleated skirts. In their rebellion against conformity, everyone wore beads. At its center, Haight-Ashbury quickly became both a mecca and a tourist attraction.

Among the head shops and psychedelic clothing stores of a neighborhood that embraced self-discovery, personal freedom, an if it feels good, do it attitude, sexual liberation, and free love, the newly arrived found an established, vibrant LGBT community. It flourished even before the Summer of Love, at least back into the 1950s, and had created a lively main street for itself.

During the decade of the Summer of Love, Margaret Forster and Charlotte Coleman opened The Golden Cask at 1725 Haight in 1962, a bar and restaurant popular with both gay men and lesbians. My Place #4 opened at 1784 Haight in 1963. The next year, Rikki Streicher opened Mauds around the corner at 937 Cole, at the former site of The Study, also a bar. Early customers included singer Janis Joplin and activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.

At the time Mauds opened, California law forbade women from being bartenders in clubs they did not own, so the honor of pouring drinks in the early years went to men from nearby gay establishments. Because many lesbians lived in the Haight, Mauds became a popular, then a legendary watering hole for a generation of women, a place where they could meet, find each other, discover community, gossip, hug. When it closed in 1989, it was the longest surviving lesbian bar in the country.

1965 was a banner year for the Haights expanding LGBT community. The Golden Elephant opened at 530 Haight, while The Nite Lite opened a block away at 668 Haight. Blighs Bounty, which became the neighborhood bar most popular with black men, opened nearby at 782 Haight. Less than a block from Mauds, there was Bradleys Corner at 900 Cole; popular with both men and women, it featured spaghetti dinner for 69 cents on Tuesdays.

There was more to come. In 1966, The Lucky Club opened at 1801 Haight, and in 1967, the year of the Summer of Love, Nick ODemus established Taste of Leather 545 Ashbury, the first gay-owned leather business in the Bay Area. Dozens of other bars, clubs, restaurants, and shops tied to the burgeoning counterculture movement went into business during the next 10 years.

1967 brought both setbacks and good news for the LGBT community. On March 7, CBS broadcast The Homosexuals. The first such television documentary seen by a national audience, it was described as the single most destructive hour of antigay propaganda in our nations history. The Episcopal Diocese of California that year, however, urged the state to abolish the laws regulating private sexual behavior.

By the end of the Summer of Love, an estimated 100,000 people journeyed to San Francisco, hoping to join, or at least behold, the Citys counterculture. On October 6, the Diggers, a neighborhood group of activists and performers, held a funeral service for Hippie, devoted son of Mass Media, to indicate that the tremendous cultural experiment, which was the Haight-Ashbury, had ended. It had, they felt, been co-opted, sanitized and commercialized out of existence.

The LGBT community, however, survived the invasion. Gavin Arthur, who died in 1972, surely would have been gladdened by how LGBT culture and community endured in the Haight for another decade and now prosper throughout todays San Francisco.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of Gay and Lesbian San Francisco (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

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Gavin Arthur and the Summer of Love - San Francisco Bay Times