Daily Archives: September 6, 2021

Article by: Professor Stephen Wyatt - Corporate Rebirth | Published: 5 September 2021

Professor Stephen Wyatt - Corporate Rebirth3 September 2021

In 2015 the World Economic Forum (WEF) seized on the phrase the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). 4IR is enabled by the adoption of new technologies (for example, Biotech, Nano, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, etc.). However, it also presents the opportunity to address societal inequalities, tackle issues of sustainability and create a more human-centered future. It is driving fundamental changes in the context and speed of business and what businesses need to do to thrive.

The war for talent is over nobody won! The race is on. WEF 2020 Future of Jobs Report estimates that in the 5 years to 2025, 85 million existing jobs will have been displaced whilst 97 million new roles will emerge that are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms. The mindset of the war for talent assumed that there was an existing, if limited talent pool that companies had to fight over. The speed and scale of workplace changes being driven by 4IR far exceeds potential supply from traditional executive training and higher education sources; reskilling and upskilling, within the flow of work, are required at scale. The war for talent has been supplanted by the race to develop 4IR talent.

Race to develop 4IR talentEmployers expect to offer reskilling or upskilling to just over 70% of their employees by 2025; it is seen as an imperative for survival as businesses transform in 4IR. Investments at this scale must deliver a clearly identifiable return; increasingly the metric for training & development effectiveness is behaviour change on-the-job, measurably increasing individual or team productivity. Two-thirds of employers expect to achieve a positive return on their development training investment within one year. Development training at this scale is being designed to minimise disruption, both for the employee and for the employer; increasingly just-in-time-learning (or learning in-the-flow-of-work) is being adopted. Whereby training support is available on-demand as the employee faces a situation that they have not encountered before; much as at home we might go to Youtube for guidance on fixing the dishwasher at the moment we notice water flooding onto the floor. Training delivery is being crafted in such a way that the employee resolves the workplace issue during the training, not after. Such training applies to technical skills as well as collaboration and managerial skills. 94% of business leaders report that they expect employees to pick up new skills in-the-flow-of-work.

1: Nothing Changes Unless Behaviour ChangesWinning the race to develop 4IR talent requires designing learning pathways that are highly effective in achieving the behaviour change outcomes desired for the specific personnel being trained. Solutions need to take a holistic view of how to achieve that outcome and then assemble the most appropriate combination of media, platforms, content and formats.

Achieving behaviour change in adults requires simultaneously working in four domains:

Personal motivation of the learner is crucial to attaining a return on investment in training. It usually is high when individuals seek out development opportunities, especially if they are willing to self-finance. However, is often under developed for employees in mandated corporate programmes.

The importance, rate and scale of reskilling required by 4IR compels many companies to rethink their approaches to and investments in talent development. Learner-centric approaches are required whereby individuals engage in the ways that are most impactful for them with a suite of formats and media options, at a rate that suits them. To achieve the performance impact desired it is essential to address the four domains of behaviour change (1) Motivation, (2) Knowledge Acquisition, (3) Application on-the-job, (4) Support and Empowerment. AI will increasingly help the individual learners to define the most suitable pathways for them through the content and how to build strength in the four domains. In 4IR talent development is a strategic activity for the corporation. As such, the Chief People Officer will be increasingly supported by AI to inform ongoing talent development investments and content design as well as increasingly drawing on external expertise for diverse frontier subject knowledge and the design and curation of learning pathways. The increasing adoption of just-in-time learning combined with more fluid resource deployment will further merge the functions of role (job or project) assignment and individual learning; creating a more integrated approach to talent development.

Stephen Wyatt is the author of Management & Leadership in the 4th Industrial Revolution (Kogan Page)

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How to win the race to develop 4th Industrial Revolution talent - The HR Director Magazine

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Oxfam in Iraq is currently implementing a Women and Girls Rebuilding Iraq project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC). The project contributes to the development of policy, decision-making mechanisms and peacebuilding processes at all levels to ensure that women and girls play a significant role in shaping the new rehabilitation and development agenda. It engages women and girls in two governorates, Kirkuk and Diyala, which have long suffered from protracted conflict and now face the reintegration of different war-affected groups. An added value of this initiative is the community awareness-raising component, which is aimed at ensuring the engagement of community members, especially men, in order to push boundaries and challenge the accepted social norms and cultural beliefs that constrain women and girls participation in policy-shaping, decision-making, and peacebuilding.

Between November 15, 2020 and January 25, 2021, a team of experts from Gender.consulting with support from Oxfam and its local partners Iraqi Al Amal Association (IAA) and Youth Activity Organization (YAO) conducted a study on the social norms surrounding masculinities, gender roles, and stereotypes in order to identify the common misconceptions held by men and boys about women and girls empowerment. In addition, an awareness-raising, context-specific edutainment toolkit by and for men and boys was developed.

This toolkit was piloted during an induction workshop for male role models that took place between January 19 21, 2021 in Sulaymaniyah with 24 participants (21 men and 3 women) from 10 communities in Kirkuk and Diyala. To inform the implementation of this workshop, a study using largely qualitative research methodology captured information from 117 community respondents and Oxfam project participants (59% men and 41% women) through focus group discussions (FGDs) and selected key informant interviews (KIIs). Complementary information was collected from Oxfam and implementing partner staff through an online survey.

The study sought answers and insights for the following questions:

a. What are the prevalent masculinities and femininities in the Iraqi context, particularly in Diyala and Kirkuk, and what are the respective social norms associated with them?

b. How do the norms and stereotypes about masculinities and femininities affect the daily lives of women and girls in the private and public spheres, and in particular, how do they affect women and girls participation in decision making?

c. How do norms and stereotypes that reproduce harmful masculinities sustain gender inequalities and intersect with other social inequalities, such as age, religion, sect, and disability?

d. How can a shift from negative to positive masculinities materialize in Diyala and Kirkuk, and how do conceptions and practices of power need to be adapted?

e. How can male role models promote positive masculinities to advance gender equality?

The main findings were:

In Diyala and Kirkuk, the idea that men should make decisions and hold positions of authority and leadership has been normalized at both the household and community levels. This is a historical pattern that is visible through prevalent expressions of mens entitlement and male privilege. This hegemonic and context-specific pattern of domination is maintained through intertwined ideas of male superiority and female subordination that are translated through tribal, religious, and everyday attitudes, practices, and behaviors that present these gender arrangements as normal.

The most stigmatized and rejected masculine traits are those that run counter to custom and cultural norms. For example, allowing women to control men, treating your wife equally, or depending entirely on your wifes salary are considered unmanly practices. When men fail to comply with the established norms for authority, they are ridiculed, made fun of, and disrespected by other men and women. Consequently, men and women in households and larger kinship structures as well as at the community level actively participate in stigmatizing and rejecting men who do not comply with accepted gender norms. There are no notable differences between Diyala and Kirkuk governorates in this regard.

Constructions of idealized femininities center on the role of women as dedicated mothers and good wives. To be considered respectable, women are expected to demonstrate the values of loyalty and dedication. Women are subjected to reputational damage and become undesirable in society and their families when they fail to live up to gendered norms of femininity.

While both women and men face costs for transgressing established gender norms, the consequences are more severe for women. Women of all ages are disproportionately controlled and sanctioned, compared with their male peers.

Gender norms are linked to tradition and are considered a source of stability. Consequently, study participants describe them as set in stone or unchanging. However, decades of armed conflict compounded by multiple humanitarian crises, complex dynamics between displaced peoples, remainees, and returnees, exposure to programs by international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), and capacity building, awareness-raising, and community engagement sessions have generated a certain disposition for change, particularly among the younger generation.

Several different factors account for changing attitudes about gender roles and norms, including inter-generational shifts, changes related to modernization, urbanization, and technological advances, and external factors such as the occupation by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the role of INGOs, and the influence of new information and communication technologies, TV, the internet, and mass media.

To understand how gender norms and prevalent attitudes undermine the active engagement of women at the community level, a series of intertwined elements need to be addressed.

The rigid division of labor by gender, which places women and men into different roles and links women to domestic responsibilities, thus acting as one of the major constraints on womens empowerment in the public and private spheres.

The multiple ways in which men control womens lives, whether this is done by individual men asserting dominance or imposed by tribal or religious tradition.

Attitudes around womens contributions, including stereotypes and assumptions that belittle womens roles, trivialize their contributions, and undermine their voices, thereby undermining womens active engagement in community affairs.

Violence against women, including domestic and intra-partner violence, which, in addition to early marriage, are among the most significant constraints for women and girls in the private sphere.

Depression caused by the pressures of everyday life and societal expectations, which was commonly reported by study participants.

Gossip and peer pressure related to women being active outside the home, which effectively constrain womens activities in the public sphere.

Tribal and religious traditions that justify mens control over women and restrict womens involvement at the community level.

Attitudes about women and sex that result in a vicious circle wherein women within the household need to be protected, while preying on women outside the home is seen as permissible.

Therefore, overcoming the barriers to womens participation involves different strategies such as engaging tribal authorities, generating awareness among communities, and acknowledging womens contributions.

In order to advance mens engagement, Oxfam needs to plan and implement a scalable outreach program that involves building a nucleus of dedicated male role models while safeguarding women from any possible backlash.

Efforts toward change need to be holistic and multidimensional, addressing the internal level (personal beliefs and attitudes), the interpersonal level (the practices and behaviors of individuals within interpersonal relationships), the institutional level (institutional policies, practices, and cultures), and the ideological level (social norms and belief systems).

Due to the dynamic nature of social change, capacity building for male role models should be done using a flexible approach that views their personal and collective change as a journey. To stimulate personal transformation toward a more gender-equitable perspective, it is important that this journey:

fosters critical consciousness building, ongoing self-reflection and self-critique;

challenges privileges and the status quo;

encourages reflection upon injustice in connection with personal life experiences of power imbalances and inequality;

fosters activism within each role model; and

plants the seeds of hope, potential, and possibility while inspiring positive change.

A training-of-trainers method is recommended, as one part of an ambitious and holistic outreach approach advancing transformative change through changes in attitudes, practices, and behaviors at the different levels.

This holistic outreach approach needs to be strategically aligned and synchronized with other gender-transformative projects implemented by Oxfam in Iraq.

Originally posted here:

Social Norms Structuring Masculinities, Gender Roles, and Stereotypes: Iraqi men and boys' common misconceptions about women and girls' participation...

High Performance Mentor, Kripa Khatri is helping Entrepreneurs and Senior Executives to succeed through clarity and confidence to get consistent results in their business and life

Have you ever been stuck? Overwhelmed? Not knowing what your next move should be with the hamster going on overdrive? You ask yourself if youre doing it right but there seems to be no one to guide you, you feel lost and lonely. Well, not anymore! Pooling together her expertise of over 20 years in business, working for Billion Dollar Companies in senior executive roles, qualifications in Accounting and Financial Management, Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis, Kripa Khatri is a High-Performance Business and Life Mentor and is well known for helping her clients get results through strategy and mindset mastery.

Kripa Khatri is a former senior executive who has over 20 years of experience working for Billion Dollar companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and Top Fortune 500 Companies in leadership roles. More recently, appointed as the Chair for the Victoria Chapter with the Institute of Internal Auditors in Australia. Kripa is passionate about womens empowerment and leadership and sees it as her role to lead first. She wears many hats from being on Board Committees to being a CEO and running her Coaching and Mentoring business.

It is Kripas personal experience that sets her apart from the stock. Kripa said she has had coaches and mentors all her life, but it all started in 2006 when she found herself homeless with $0 in the bank after a failed arranged marriage with no family or friends in Melbourne. The only thing she had back then was a job, it was this very experience that led her to coaching and mentoring. The trauma, guilt, and shame overlayed with financial stress was something she had to navigate firsthand in a foreign country. Kripa said that, while it wasnt easy, it was the best thing that happened to her. According to Kripa, she is her first and best client as she has implemented the strategies in her own life and business which has made her so relatable to clients from all over the world.

Kripa refers to herself as a High-Performance Business and Life Mentor and works primarily with Executives and Entrepreneurs. In her opinion, business is a subset of life. Her observation working with clients has been that what was happening at work or in business often had an impact on the quality of their lives. She said this was particularly common for Senior Executives, Entrepreneurs, and Business Owners where often resolving problems in one area resulted in improvements in other areas of their lives. Having worked in senior executive roles in corporate herself, Kripa said she is well aware of the impact one can have on the other.

With a proven track record of over 20 years in business as a qualified Accounting and Financial Management professional coupled with her qualifications in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Hypnosis, Kripas mission is to empower 5M women to be seen + heard through authentic self-expression and she does that through her world-class coaching, mentoring and training programs.

Highly motivated and skilled, regardless of the problem she can provide a customized solution to help her clients achieve their desired outcomes. She said her primary focus is to get results for her clients, whether it is to do with their life or business.

Media ContactCompany Name: Kripa Khatri Pty LimitedContact Person: Kripa KhatriEmail: Send EmailCity: MelbourneCountry: AustraliaWebsite: https://www.facebook.com/kripa.khatri

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Kripa Khatri, Mentoring Entrepreneurs and Senior Executives Around the World To Achieve Their Goals - Digital Journal

The Mexican actress, Carmen Please, famous for her character Rutila Casillas in The Lord of the heavensHas revealed few known details of his private life. In a recent interview with Gente, the interpreter talks about what it means to her to be a mother, the machismo in the environment where she works, the intervention she had for a mastectomy and about her new challenge in front of the cameras as a television host.

The television star began his professional career in MTV teen fiction, Girls of Evil (2010-2013). Here he shared roles with Isabel Burr and Carlos Torres. In addition to his foray into the successful Telemundo series, he has also worked in other Mexican productions such as El Chema O Forbidden passion.

Aub, who is the daughter of the famous journalist Max Aub, will have to carry out a new challenge, because on September 28 she will debut in With Carmen, program that will be broadcast under the signal of E! Entertainment. In this space, topics such as female empowerment and testimonies about how her life has changed in the sense of overcoming various stereotypes will be discussed.

Despite what many may believe, Carmen Aub does not close the doors to becoming a mother. Although of course, for this you must first meet the right person and for now he only takes care of his puppy.

Yes I want to be a mother. For now I am the mother of my puppy (laughs) But if your time comes and the right person comes, I would love to. I believe that the processes are very personal for people who decide to be mothers. Those who decide not to be, those who want to adopt, those who think about freezing their eggs everything is valid as long as it is their own decision , stated the artist.

I personally dont want to freeze my eggs because If I am a mother, I would not like to be a very big one. There is nothing wrong with it, I have friends who were mothers at 40 and are happy. If I become a mother it has to be in the near future, no, not so close either. But the truth is that I like this roll that women have the control to decide about our body and what we want , he added to People.

Carmen Aub prefers not to give a profile of a man with whom she would like to share her life. She goes more to be clear about what things she does not intend to negotiate in a relationship and, of course, without imposing things on her, because she always tries to love someone unconditionally.

I describe myself as a good girlfriend, thoughtful, one of those who like to be there for people. If you ask me what is needed, the truth is that before, you know, I said love me and have a good sense of humor and now I think that more than making the list of what you are looking for, you have to know what you are not going to to endure. We always know that there are things that we will not like and that we will have to work on. I think it is more important to be attentive to what I am not going to bear and what is never going to be negotiated. To keep an eye on the red flags and not waste your time , expressed the actress of The Lord of the Skies.

The actress notes that her character from Rutila Casillas in The Lord of the Skies It opened many doors for her and was the one that allowed her to become known internationally. It also helped her grow as an actress and as a person, since she was surrounded by great actors, from whom she learned a lot.

It also helped the public to see me grow, something that was very important to me. Because when you start playing chavitas characters, as I did in Bad Girls, on MTV, you say, How do you go about showing yourself as a woman and being taken seriously? She gave me the opportunity to be the sweet or cute girl that she was but also had her character. I was also able to show that I am rude and that I also have all this other side. Rutila gave me many things and for me closing that cycle after seven years was enormous and it cost me a lot of work. But I am very excited about what is coming now , highlights the Mexican in People.

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Carmen Aub: what does the Lord of the Skies actress think about becoming a mother MAG. - Market Research Telecast

Philippa Moig.

AdNews, in partnership with the MFA (Media Federation of Australia), presents a series of articles from members of the MFA'sDiversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council.The body promotes the MFAs ambition to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive industry:

Philippa Moig, Business Director, OMD Australia

I loved witnessing Kim Hamilton being promoted to MD while she was still on parental leave! These are bold, supportive actions that say we support you, and we arent afraid to lead the charge in creating equal opportunity.

What motivates you to advocate in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion?

I am a firm believer that unless you can see it, you cant be it, and history has taught us this lesson well. There are still far too many people in Australia who cant see themselves reflected back in society.

What drew me to the MFA Advisory Council was the emphasis on representation and inclusion, and the positive impact this can have on our colleagues, friends, networks and broader communities. Imagine the power of everyone in our industry feeling a deep enough sense of belonging to bring their authentic and amazing whole selves to work every day!

Together, we can be the #1 changemaking industry that creates a more inclusive Australia, and one that better reflects all of our people. I feel passionately about our industry paving the way for a stronger future for everyone, regardless of where they work.

We can create this together through great policies and initiatives, but also through our daily decision-making. Who are the faces and people that front our marketing campaigns? Will my recruitment strategy attract diverse talent? Is our pitch casting representative? Are we telling the right stories?

One of the MFAs aims is for the DE&I Advisory Council to highlight simple actions individuals and companies can take to encourage and promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Can you share a positive example of an interaction with colleagues or clients during which you felt seen and included?

What types of actions help and support people?

We all feel seen when the people we work with take a genuine interest in who we are as people, understand what drives us, and what we are most passionate about.

When we take the time to connect with someone, especially as leaders, we are significantly better placed to create the right opportunities to help that person thrive and grow personally and professionally.

On a personal level, Ive never experienced such a sense of belonging, empowerment, and support to be my best and whole self, as I do at OMD. Ive been extended personal and professional support, leadership opportunities, and financial backing for personal coaching. OMD has been an instrumental shift for me. I no longer feel torn when a personal crisis arises. Its completely acceptable that my family comes first. This is something equally valued and emulated by all OMDers.

Im excited to work in a business radiating strong female leadership. Locally, we have two amazing MDs who happen to be women, powerhouse leaders, and mums. I loved witnessing Kim Hamilton being promoted to MD while she was still on parental leave! These are bold, supportive actions that say we support you, and we arent afraid to lead the charge in creating equal opportunity.

Marrying a Wiradjuri man has given me the opportunity to better understand Australias complex, beautiful and largely untold history. I am continuously in awe of our First Peoples resilience and their enduring deep connection to country and culture. Living in, and on a country that has a 60,000-year-old story provides our industry a plethora of opportunities to learn from Indigenous Australians socially, culturally and environmentally.

Through OMD connecting with me as a person, I have been able to play an active role in the areas I am most passionate about. It has opened up doors for me to work with the OMG RAP committee, to engage Indigenous changemakers and help raise the level of awareness and education around the significance of Indigenous Australia.

Investing in our people on a personal level builds a sense of belonging and inclusion. This is particularly important when it comes to DE&I. The fact of the matter is we arent always going to get it right, all of the time. However, if our people feel safe to contribute to the conversation and are encouraged to participate, the foundations are set for us to always be learning, improving and driving momentum and action in this space.

How would greater diversity and inclusion impact our industry?

Greater inclusion within the media and marketing space will drive deeper diversity of thought, increase creativity,and enrich our perspectives on what we are solving for and how we best go about that.

In our industry, we are all storytellers of sorts, and that is a powerful and privileged position to hold. We have the capability to better reflect all parts of Australian society, at scale. Diversity is shown in the stories we choose to surface, who produces those stories, who is cast in the stories, and the platforms the stories live on. (Youll often find my family watching NITV or SBS. I absolutely love the content, characters, and sense of community this network has been able to build.)

Bringing diversity and inclusion to the forefront of our conversations, workplaces and decision-making will break down lingering barriers, and help us build stronger workplaces that better represent people of all ages, genders, physical ability, cultural backgrounds, First Nations peoples, and the LGBTQI+ community.

There is a tangible benefit to our industry in deepening the sense of belonging and inclusion. Diversifying the talent in our industry will surface new perspectives, enhance creativity, foster innovation, and ultimately create a better understanding of our customers and help us connect in more meaningful ways.

Continued here:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - Be the changemakers creating a more inclusive Australia - AdNews

Sep 06, 2021 1:09 PMET

Legal Newswire POWERED BY LAW.COM

Evelyn Crane-Oliver, senior vice president and general counsel for global talent solutions firm Robert Half, has been recognized byCorporate Counselas part of its2021 Women, Influence and Power in Law Awards. Crane-Oliver was named to the list of winners in the "Innovative Leadership" category for in-house counsel.

The awards honor general counsel, in-house leaders and law firm partners who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law. The winners were chosen in part for their personal dedication to the promotion of diversity in the legal industry.

"Innovation and leadership are at the core of our company culture,"said M.Keith Waddell, president and CEO ofRobert Half. "This award is not only a testament to Evelyn as a company leader, but also as a champion for women in the field of law and her commitment to building an inclusive workforce."

Women Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) is the original global forum facilitating women-to-women exchange on leadership and legal issues.

AboutRobert HalfRobert Halfis the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions firm that connects opportunities at great companies with highly skilled job seekers.Robert Halfoffers contract and permanent placement solutions, and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm. Visitroberthalf.com.

URL : http://www.roberthalf.com

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Robert Half General Counsel Evelyn Crane-Oliver Honored As Recipient Of Women, Influence And Power In Law Awards 2021 - Law.com

Several years ago, I invited Gopalkrishna Gandhi to address 500 principals from across the country at the National Progressive Schools Annual Conference. He started by saying, You are a teacher and are obliged by your own sense of self-esteem and not of others. You have to keep your smiles within an ambit of permissibility, your laughter in a decimal count, your tears in a milligram drop of admissibility, for you must not seem too common, too regular, too weak.

This is not easy! A father may frown or berate, a mother might shield or forgive, but you are meant to be different, for you are a teacher. How do you scold without causing hurt, how do you instruct without seeming to be preaching, assist without seeming to patronise? How can you join in a celebration without feeling loss of form, lament without appearing to compromise your stoicism? And yet, you try to do so, for you are a teacher, he said.

This made me think that the life of a teacher is a challenge complex and unbelievably demanding. We are supposed to be enlightened and look dispassionately at our own personal vision and mastery before the shared vision process begins. How do we translate ethical dilemmas in a world where awareness is incomplete?

The greatest teachers, whether the Buddha, Christ, Rama-Krishna, Aurobindo, Yogananda or Nanak, never taught in classrooms. They had no blackboards, maps or charts. They used no subject outlines, kept no records, gave no grades. Their students were often poor and their methods were the same for all who came to hear and learn. They opened eyes, ears and hearts with faith, truth and love. They won no honours for their wisdom or expertise, and yet, these quiet teachers changed the lives of millions because they were inclusive and their minds were laboratories of compassion, empathy and reflective thinking. They were stoic and equanimous.

As teachers, we are meant to inculcate a love for community but not become sectarian; a love of reason but not become parochial; a love of country but not become jingoistic.

Teachers often feel they are not in power and yet in a position of great responsibility. The world is changing so rapidly and the context that our schools confront is so dynamic that we, as educators, must embrace change and make adjustments or potentially lose the franchise for preparing the next generation.

Today more than ever, we need to challenge prevailing standardised education policies and practices in favour of more individualised holistic approaches that prepare children to live productively in a rapidly changing world. We need to implement processes which foster student autonomy and leadership, encourage inventive learners with skills, understand and channelise the creative spirit, maximise liberty to make meaningful decisions and develop global partnerships.

With globalisation, a dilution of boundaries has taken place, creating both interdependence and insecurity. In fenceless societies, all of us, strong and weak, majority and minority, rich and poor, feel equally threatened by the other.

In order to avoid distances between communities and people, we as teachers need to emphasise partnerships and alliances that will help move from self-centred existence to coexistence, from confrontation to interaction and from alienation to collaboration. To achieve meaningful education, we must enable our children to live together in mutual empowerment.

We have to give greater attention to the happiness and health of our children. If we do not empower our youth with strength from within, they will find other ways of expressing their concerns.

We take decisions every day, which may have tremendous moral implications for the students in our care. Teaching, after all, is not just a set of technical skills for imparting knowledge to students. It involves caring for children and being responsible for their development in a complex society.

We must make time to look inward to become aware of the realities that we take for granted, the ways we create knowledge and make meaning in our lives, and the aspirations and expectations that govern what we choose from life. We must also look outward, explore new ideas and different ways of thinking and interacting, connect to multiple processes and relationships outside ourselves, and clarify our shared vision with our students.

A shared vision is a very powerful idea that connects a collective learning consciousness. The time for us as teachers is now. Now is the time to make real the promise of good education. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunities to all our children, weak or strong, rich or poor, disabled or abled. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of inertia and shake off the work-from-home culture by building a foundation for our children through robust offline teaching, learning practices and values.

As I stand in the hallways of learning, I ask myself: Do I always adhere to ideals? Do I not need someone to see my own realities? Do I walk, talk, comfort, teach like one who is a fully evolved human being, the perfect specimen who has absolutely no cares? I have to continue to ask these questions, and reflect on these conundrums. In spite of it all, I have to continue to envision, engender and enact a new culture of learning that addresses, supports and develops the core existential aspects of a human life: The sense of being, becoming and belonging and the sacrosanct celebration of life, because I am a teacher.

This column first appeared in the print edition on September 6, 2021 under the title Teaching a new world. The writer is chairperson and executive director, Education, Innovations and Training, DLF Foundation schools and scholarships programmes

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The world is changing rapidly and teachers must meet its challenges - The Indian Express

The Menil Collection will bring the work of one of modern arts most consistently provocative figures to Houston when it debuts Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s on Sept. 10.

Highlighting her shooting paintings artworks upon which she trained a .22 caliber firearm and enormous Nana sculptures, the exhibition positions Saint Phalle as a key figure in mid-century Modernism through the display of artworks from both the Menils permanent collection as well as dozens lent from Europe and never previously on view in the United States.

The Menils presentation challenges viewers to dig beneath the surface of Saint Phalles work.

Niki de Saint Phalle's Pirodactyl over New York, 1962.

For instance, it would be easy to assume her groundbreaking shooting paintings were produced as a personal response to the childhood sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Saint Phalles artwork was many things, but it was never easy.

When Saint Phalle aimed a rifle at white plaster surfaces concealing embedded bags of pigment or cans of paint which exploded spectacularly upon the impact of the bullets she wasnt merely taking aim at her father, she was taking aim at patriarchal societies. Societies defined by violence. A centuries-long history of Western art purposefully excluding the contributions of women.

Saint Phalle wanted to make a painting bleed not only for herself, but for women everywhere.

It would also be easy to assume the self-taught artist born to an aristocratic family in France and raised in New York City, a woman who modeled for Vogue magazine in addition to producing her continuously rebellious artwork, was an outsider, a fringe character operating in isolation from contemporary art world trends and conversations.

Niki de Saint Phalle'sGrand Tir Sance de la Galerie J, 1961. Comprised of paint, plaster, wire mesh, string and plastic on chipboard.

That assumption would be wrong as well.

Saint Phalle worked closely with modern art titans Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Her work was every bit as meaningful and engaged with that period as theirs.

So how come shes a relative unknown outside scholarly art circles and their household names?

Thats one of the reasons why she was shooting at those paintings.

Saint Phalle (1930-2002) represents an essential missing piece to the puzzle of modern art. The universal themes of her work ingrained cultures of violence, the tyranny of patriarchy, female empowerment produced more than 60 years ago, address todays culture and gender wars with an insight so prescient as to prove almost spooky.

Its the reason were doing this show and its the reason we felt like its so urgent, and so exciting, to be able to present this work to the public now, exhibition co-curator and Menil Collection Senior Curator Michelle White said of the show.

Madame, or Green Nana with Black Bag, by Niki de Saint Phalle.

The presentation is the first to explore this early, transformative, incredibly radical, proto-feminist in Whites words 10-year period in Saint Phalles career. It was during this period she embarked on two significant series: the shooting paintings and the powerful "Nanas," lively sculptures of the female form.

The shooting series came first.

How can paintings produced from the vagaries of chance inherent from being shot by a gun be considered art?

Saint Phalle always knew where she was shooting in order to lodge that bullet in that bag of pigment that would explode perfectly, White said. She very much knew what she was doing, and as a result, while much of the process is due to chance, it is an incredibly choreographed set of actions that would transpire to create the work and you can certainly see that when you are standing in front of many of the examples we have on view.

Roughly 20 shooting paintings are on display in the show, including one shot at by Johns.

Niki de Saint Phalle's Bathing Beauty, 1967.

Saint Phalle produced her shooting paintings for just a couple of years, her Nanas French slang for girls she would stay with most of the rest of her career.

When she first made these women who were curvaceous and joyous and athletic and strong and bold, she talked about creating a matriarchal society, she talked about creating a scale where these women would look down at the male viewer, dominate the space, White explains.

John and Dominique de Menil were early champions of Saint Phalle, acquiring a small group of works from her first show in New York. They are among the few owners of Saint Phalles art among American collectors.

Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s will remain on view at the Menil, where admission is always free, through Jan. 10, 2022.

Visit link:

'Make a Painting Bleed' with Niki de Saint Phalle at the Menil Collection - Chron

If anything comes out of this, I want it to be a lesson to everybody that family violence happens to everybody no matter how nice your house is, no matter how intelligent you are, it happens to anyone and everyone.

These simple words and the grief-stricken image of Rosie Batty speaking to media outside her home the morning after her 11-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father at cricket training are etched into the memories of many Australians. While some realised at the time that these words and the woman who spoke them were remarkable, few could have foreseen that they would signal the beginning of an extraordinary period of social and political transformation across Australia.

Domestic and family violence (DFV) is widespread and results in significant personal, government, and business costs. In Australia, intimate partner violence is the highest health risk factor (greater than smoking, alcohol, and obesity) for women in their reproductive years (18-44 years).

Yet, until Lukes tragic death in 2014, the subsequent outpouring of community grief, and the commencement of Rosies advocacy, DFV was an issue that was rarely publicly discussed. It was a private issue, kept behind closed doors. Something then Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ken Lay, described as Australias filthy little secret.

As Figure 1 indicates, an increase in website searches for the term domestic violence peaked in 2015 when Rosie was named Australian of the Year and began a period of extensive and relentless advocacy. DFV became an issue of public, media, and political concern. And it became an issue that people demanded could and should be addressed and prevented.

Research undertaken as part of my PhD at Monash University, and published in Violence Against Women, examines the role Rosie played in helping bring about this period of remarkable change and considers other socio-political factors that provided the conditions for change.

Together with my Monash University co-authors, Professor Jacqui True, Associate Professor Asher Flynn, and Abby Wild, I sought to understand what it was about Rosie and what it was about that moment in history that made this transformation possible. Ultimately, we wanted to know how we might maintain this sort of momentum and bring about real, lasting improvements in policies and services to support victim-survivors of DFV.

Our research consisted of an in-depth interview with Rosie and interviews with eight policy actors. Interview data were supplemented by analyses of media and government reports and other documents. We found that Rosie possesses personal characteristics and capabilities, which in many ways made her the ideal victim and policy entrepreneur/change agent. Her ability to understand others and to put herself in their shoes was particularly notable, as was her driving ambition to ensure that no one else would go through the same sort of tragedy she had.

One of the most important themes to emerge from the interviews was the importance of Rosies outsider status and the fact she was not from the DFV sector or government. We found that in responding to wicked policy problems like DFV, it is increasingly common for individual actors who are very often outside government to be the ones bringing about reform. Rosies outsider status, together with the power and urgency of her lived experience, enabled her to overcome institutional divisions and ideological differences to build networks encompassing the expertise and institutional know-how required to achieve substantial change.

We also found that Rosies advocacy began at a time when a window of opportunity had opened up in Victoria, following the election of the Andrews Labor Government, which had made an election commitment to hold a Royal Commission into family violence. Several interviews also provided a clear sense that the Andrews Government saw DFV as the issue that would offer the opportunity to break down silos and undertake the business of government differently. Rosie provided the community support and momentum for this change.

The foundations established by decades of work done by the feminist movement and organisations, such as the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), also emerged as an illuminating theme in our research. For example, VicHealths Preventing violence before it occurs framework was identified as key in explaining the gendered drivers of violence against women and identifying actions to address those determinants. This groundwork provided a framework for understanding DFV. It meant that within pockets of the State Government and the DFV and public health sectors, there was a workforce ready to make the most of the opportunities Rosie and the new government presented.

However, our study also found risks and limitations associated with engaging victim-survivors in reform efforts. In looking at the history of the victims rights movement, we discovered that victim-survivors have invariably been used to promote political agendas in a way that rarely helps them. Our research confirmed that gendered power imbalances, stereotypes, and social norms, particularly regarding ideal victims, mean many victim-survivors can feel pressure to be compliant and avoid upsetting powerful interests. We also found the assumption, made by some policy actors, that Rosies experience would open the door for other, more diverse victim-survivors was wrong.

Despite the prioritisation of victim-survivors voices, there are still many less ideal, more representative voices that are not being heard. Initiatives engaging victim-survivors in the development of public policy must address these power imbalances. Ensuring the empowerment and autonomy of victim-survivors is critical.

The public component of the Commonwealth Governments National Summit on Womens Safety is commencing today, and is described as the cornerstone of consultation activities to inform the development of the successor plan to the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. Sadly, none of the sessions currently on the program focus on victim-survivor advocates. An Australia-wide collective of domestic, family and sexual violence abuse and violence victim-survivors and survivor advocates has written to relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers, including Senator the Hon Anne Ruston Minister for Womens Safety (Cth), to voice their dismay with this oversight.

It is critical that the next National Plan is informed and driven by the lived experiences of victim-survivors, and by those who have been failed by the very systems which were meant to support them, such as the Family Court.

Engagement with victim-survivors must also be ongoing. It should be built into each initiative under the National Plan. Governments must also be careful to prioritise voices that are often marginalised, and to ensure the autonomy and independence of those voices.

Writer Ursula K. le Guin said, When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains. Rosie spoke her truth that morning in February 2014, and she has continued to speak her truth throughout her advocacy. Speaking truth to power shines a light on system failures and can bring about positive change. We just need those in power to be brave enough to listen.

Continued here:

The Batty effect: the criticality of victim-survivors in informing DFV policy - Women's Agenda

About two years ago, I made a promise to myself that for reasons of self-preservation, I would no longer put my feelings online. During the pits of the self-reflection that 2020 brought, I altered that promise. As a writer who inserts my life into my work, I earned the title of disability-rights activist, but the lines between life and work became blurred. After many months of work with a good therapist, I realised that I had to establish a boundary and stop writing about myself. To explain why, I need to break that rule.

Uploading a photo to Instagram in late July, I pondered a caption. The photo was of 10 prosthetic legs that have served me for the last 17 years. Its monumental because my 10th leg marks the age that I will be an amputee for as many years as I wasnt. Seventeen years with a right foot, 17 without.

I considered a spiel that detailed a great sadness that was overcome in my journey to acceptance. Instead, I wrote: 10 legs that cover 17 years. They live in a bag at the back of my wardrobe. Had I gone any heavier, I would have given in to the social-media nuance of rehashing trauma as a commodity.

Online culture is flooded with trauma thats posted under the guise of protest and shared with our direct communities. Social media has turned activism into an accessible thing, which is particularly beneficial for disabled people, and it means that marginalised voices can be amplified without ever needing a byline in a national newspaper, which is a remarkable thing.

We can learn about whats going on in Palestine or about Black Lives Matter marches happening in America from our living rooms, and we can then spread thatinformation so that more people can protest, raise awareness or donate money. The hierarchy of power is removed but it can also throw people into the deep end if their online audience grows or, more worryingly, they become dependent on external validation.

I wrote about myself constantly because I want people to understand the needs of wheelchair users and amputees. I want access and equal rights for disabled people to become a priority for others. But after years of attempting that, I discovered that I had to speak in superlatives. I had to share the surgical and societal scars if I wanted anyone to take notice, and I had to scream to be heard.

I see this trait in other writers and anyone with an Instagram account, especially people who are of colour, disabled, working class, LGBTQ+, or plus size. God help your vocal nodules if you tick the box for all of the above.

I have discussed my personal life in 10-minute segments on almost every radio chat show in Ireland and I have featured on panels that want to cover every inch of diversity in a 30-minute slot. I placed myself at the frontlines of my Twitter and Instagram accounts, ready for war at all times. I wrote and spoke as if I had the answers but, looking back, I know that I was trying to find a way to like myself, using other peoples ignorance as fuel when I was near running on empty.

Id be lying if I said I didnt become addicted to the attention I got when a piece became successful or a tweet went viral, but they were merely a distraction from the bigger issues at work.

As a disabled woman with a modified body, I have always looked to the body-positive movement a movement that was initially amplified by fat Black women and later gentrified by white beauty standards for inspiration, but its one that I abused. Looking back on old articles I wrote for womens online magazines, an industry where commodified trauma runs rife, I preceded any message of self-love by outlining the hatred that I believe society held for me. I used grotesque language to describe my body while casually using the terminology of trauma to bolster my point.

I know now that I was living in a fog of confusion, because how can I love my body freely if I have to constantly remind myself of the hatred real or imaginary that other people have for it?

While capitalism is usually at the root of many self-love proclamations, it transforms our self-worth into artillery when its something that should exist regardless of how others feel about us. Grand statements of love are fine for eye-catching Instagram captions, but you still have to like the person you are when youre eating breakfast, washing your hair or sitting in traffic. To dolly-up RuPauls Drag Race catchphrase: If you dont like yourself, how in the hell you gonna love yourself?

I became dependent on my pain for income. If your life becomes tangible content, your sadness and anger morph into part of your identity, giving you little room to grow or move on. It might feel cathartic to write a 600-word piece on everything from body hang-ups to love troubles or grief, but we can only process whats going on with the guidance of a trained professional. But ongoing therapy isnt always affordable for a freelance writer or activist, so the act of writing it out is the only outlet we have.

There should be more of a duty of care from media owners to contributors providing personal content especially with the risk of trolling but time and resources are not a luxury that many people working in media have. The final full stop on a written piece does not mean peace of mind has been achieved.

Ireland has seen the trend of sharing trauma within the annex of activism escalate in recent years. Over a year after the murder of George Floyd and the whole world marched to say that Black Lives Matter, a huge number of Black Irish activists continue to share their experiences of racism, at the risk of receiving more, so that its foundations could be deconstructed.

Personal stories were a huge factor in winning the Yes vote for 2015s Marriage Equality referendum and 2018s overdue referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. So many campaigners turned the limelight on their own lives so that voters could put faces to the statistics and enter the polling stations with greater empathy. While the wins are celebrated accordingly, the losses are personal, and a deep exhaustion permeates as activists move through the world with clenched jaws and hunched-up shoulders.

We can learn so much from the experiences of others and it is vital that people learn how to express themselves. However, when we share trauma without a learning curve, a trigger warning may be issued to the reader; but what about the writer? Theres an adrenaline thrill that comes when you spill your guts online to strangers, but the reality is that the author is possibly alone with no one there to mind them. Thats the other side of online activism: for all of the fight that goes with it, the aftercare can be forgotten.

When you use your body as a weapon in print, protest or on Instagram, mental and physical fatigue is bound to take hold. When every day feels like a battle, you can forget to simply exist. To live without considering the hatred of others is a breathtaking and extremely privileged form of liberty, but the way in which we talk about our bodies matters. Even if the end goal is equality or empowerment, its important to draw a line between whats yours and whats yours to give away. In the age of documenting everything, thats an incredibly difficult thing to do.

When I uploaded the photo of my 10 legs, I chose a caption without any armour because Ive fought those battles long and hard enough. Instead, I presented a snapshot of everyday acceptance because there was no need for me to give anything else away.

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'I became dependent on my pain for income' Writer and activist Louise Bruton on escaping the trauma trap - Independent.ie