Daily Archives: March 27, 2022

Release Date: March 21,2022

Akron, Ohio,March 21, 2022 The City of Akron and the national nonprofitCities for Financial Empowerment Fund(CFE Fund)announced the launch of Small Business Boost, a new pilot to connect small business owners and entrepreneurs to one-on-one Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) financial counseling. Akron joins Lansing, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; Polk County, IA; and Rochester, NY in connecting local small business support services to the Financial Empowerment Center initiative, which offers professional one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service.

While starting a small business can be a promising pathway to financial stability, entrepreneurs often begin this pathwith existing financial challenges, which both exacerbates their inability to access capital to start or grow their small businesses and translates into inadequate savings to manage irregular cash flow. This new initiative called Small Business Boost, supported generously by Principal Foundation, will help local entrepreneurs and small business owners in Akron improve their personal finances, better positioning them to access capital and achieve their business goals.Entrepreneurs and small business owners interested in FEC financial counseling can access services by visitinghttps://www.uwsummit.org/FEC.

"The literal definition of 'entrepreneur' is one who 'assumes the risk'," said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. "I think it's one of our jobs in government to help our entrepreneurs mitigate that risk of opening up a business. Ultimately, our small businesses are the life blood of our economy. This new initiative will help us better support and empower these individuals as they seek to improve their finances and grow their businesses and I'm proud to partner with CFE Fund to launch this new program here in Akron."

Running a small business can be a critical driver of opportunity, helping entrepreneurs build financial stability and wealth for themselves, their families, and their communities but for too many people, their own finances are a barrier to making a strong start, saidJonathan Mintz, President and CEO of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund.Were thrilled to partner with Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Principal Foundation on Small Business Boost, which will help entrepreneurs manage their personal finances to they can better access capital and generate wealth, and to share lessons learned from this pilot so that local governments across the country can build strong and inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems.

"Principal Foundation is committed to advancing financial security. Small businesses, notwithstanding the tremendous losses they suffered due to the pandemic, are still the engines for local growth and the pathway to financial security for many Americans. Thus, we are thrilled to support the work of CFE Fund and its Financial Empowerment Center partners to remove barriers and expand opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch businesses that meet community needs, improve local economies, and strengthen local communities," said Jo Christine Miles, director, Principal Foundation and community relations.

The CFE Fund received a $1 million grant from Principal Foundation to pilot Small Business Boost, and worked with Akron and other Financial Empowerment Center partners to connect local entrepreneurship and small business support services with FEC financial counseling. Akron entrepreneurs and small business owners may access Small Business Boost directly through the Akron Financial Empowerment Center. Akrons Small Business Boost pilot has integration partners, which include the Western Reserve Community Fund, Bounce Innovation Hub, the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Akron Urban League, and the Microbusiness Center at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, who will refer their clients to the Akron FEC for assistance. The Akron Financial Empowerment Center has already helped 2,568 residents reduce debt by $3,392,692 and build savings by $2,008,693.

Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service; the CFE Funds nationalFEC Public platformlooks to grow this movement across the country, including through the newly expandedFEC Academyentry point. First piloted in New York City under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2008, the FECs have worked with over 133,000 clients, helping them reduce individual debt by over $192 million, and increasing their families savings by over $38 million. There are currently over 30 cities that have launched, or are working to launch, a local Financial Empowerment Center initiative. ACFE Fund evaluationshowed that this program works even for residents with very low incomes and other complex financial challenges.

At the Financial Empowerment Centers, professionally trained FEC counselors help consumers with low and moderate incomes manage their finances, pay down debt, increase savings, establish and build credit, and access safe and affordable mainstream banking products. At the core of the FEC model is the integration of counseling into other social services, including housing and foreclosure prevention, workforce development, prisoner reentry, benefits access, domestic violence services, and more Small Business Boost is an example of one such targeted integration. Through the Small Business Boost pilot, Akron FEC counselors will support business owners and entrepreneurs in addressing personal financial challenges that present barriers to success in building wealth through business ownership. In addition, Akron FEC counselors will receive significant training on the relationship between personal finance and business growth, how to navigate entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how to drive business outcomes through improving personal finances.

About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund)

The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting-edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. The CFE Fund is currently working in over 100 cities and counties representing 75 million people, and has disbursed over $59 million to city governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visitwww.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at@CFEFund.

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With Support From Principal Foundation And The Cities For Financial Empowerment Fund, Akron Announces New Small Business Boost Initiative - Downtown...

CHICAGO, Ill. -- On March 18, 2022, the three nationwide credit reporting agencies (NCRAs) Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Experian(LON: EXPN), and TransUnion(NYSE: TRU) announced significant changes to medical collection debt reporting to support consumers faced with unexpected medical bills. These joint measures will remove nearly 70% of medical collection debt tradelines from consumer credit reports, a step taken after months of industry research.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, two-thirds of medical debts are the result of a one-time or short-term medical expense arising from an acute medical need. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and a detailed review of the prevalence of medical collection debt on credit reports, the NCRAs are making changes to help people to focus on their personal wellbeing and recovery.

Effective July 1, 2022, paid medical collection debt will no longer be included on consumer credit reports. In addition, the time period before unpaid medical collection debt would appear on a consumers report will be increased from 6 months to one year, giving consumers more time to work with insurance and/or healthcare providers to address their debt before it is reported on their credit file. In the first half of 2023, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will also no longer include medical collection debt under at least $500 on credit reports.

The companies' CEOs provided a joint statement on the decision to change medical collection debt reporting:

Medical collections debt often arises from unforeseen medical circumstances. These changes are another step were taking together to help people across the United States focus on their financial and personal wellbeing, said Mark W. Begor, CEO Equifax; Brian Cassin, CEO Experian; and Chris Cartwright, CEO TransUnion. As an industry we remain committed to helping drive fair and affordable access to credit for all consumers.

For more information, please visit: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

About Equifax

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 13,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com.

About Experian

Experian is the world's leading global information services company. During life's big moments from buying a home or a car to sending a child to college to growing a business by connecting with new customers we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 20,000 people operating across 44 countries, and every day we're investing in new technologies, talented people, and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Learn more at http://www.experianplc.com or visit our global content hub at our global news blog for the latest news and insights from the Group.

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

Media Contacts:

FTI Consulting

CRAs@fticonsulting.com

Kate Walker

Equifax

mediainquiries@equifax.com

Scott Anderson

Experian

scott.n.anderson@experian.com

David Blumberg

TransUnion

david.blumberg@transunion.com

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Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Support US Consumers With Changes to Medical Collection Debt Reporting - insideARM.com

The partnership unlocks targeting across high-quality publisher inventory without the use of third-party cookies and device IDs.

RESTON, Va., March 22, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neustar Inc., a TransUnion company, today announced a partnership with Permutive to enable trusted connections between advertisers and publishers by bridging the gap between consumer identity data and a privacy-first web.

The partnership brings together the Neustar Fabrick data connectivity platform within the Permutive Audience Platform for advertisers and publishers to collaborate securely without the use of third-party cookies or device IDs. The partnership safeguards advertiser and publisher first-party identity data to bring addressability, transparency and privacy to digital advertising.

"This partnership unlocks the connection between leading publishers and advertisers by delivering addressable advertising that scales while safeguarding publisher data and reinforcing their direct business," said Steve Francolla, Head of Partnerships at Permutive. "Permutives Audience Platform powers the leading Publisher Cohort Infrastructure on the open web. Extending Neustar Fabrick into cohorts allows publishers to meet advertisers' demand for their audiences in a secure environment. This partnership is the first integration of this kind at Permutive and paves the way for a more responsible web."

With this partnership, advertisers and publishers can work together to build and activate their desired audiences at scale via Publisher Cohorts across high-quality, premium publisher inventory. Publisher Cohorts are a privacy-preserving approach to activation that groups like-minded users based on similar characteristics and behaviors - without identifying individuals.

Advertiser audiences are activated as Publisher Cohorts through Permutives Audience Platform in real-time. This approach improves accuracy and meaningfully addresses consumer privacy. Advertisers will benefit from the wealth of publisher first-party data, real-time audience insights, and transacting on privacy-focused infrastructure. Publishers will benefit from building revenue from trusted, direct connections to advertisers while maintaining control of their data.

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"For the first time, publishers and advertisers can execute highly accurate audience targeting campaigns without the use of cookies or mobile ad IDs," said Steve Silvers, SVP of Product at Neustar, a TransUnion company. "Buyers and sellers can transact using valuable consumer insight without fear of data leakage, or loss of scale, and which meaningfully addresses privacy considerations given the changing landscape."

Sign up here to begin testing this solution today. The solutions offers high-quality addressable inventory that sits behind billions of impressions every month and outperforms campaigns built from third-party data - driving brand metrics such as uplift, intent, and consideration.

ABOUT TRANSUNION (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good. A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people. http://www.transunion.com

ABOUT NEUSTAR

Neustar, Inc., a TransUnion company, is a leader in identity resolution providing the data and technology that enable trusted connections between companies and people at the moments that matter most. Neustar offers industry-leading solutions in marketing, risk and communications that responsibly connect data on people, devices and locations, continuously corroborated through billions of transactions. Learn how your company can benefit from the power of trusted connections. https://www.home.neustar

About Neustar Fabrick

Neustar Fabrick is the data connectivity platform underlying Unified Identity and Unified Analytics, that provides marketers with the identity linkages, privacy-protections, and data connections they need to maintain and grow their marketing and analytics capabilities in a privacy centric, post-ID marketing environment. Learn more at https://www.home.neustar/fabrick

About Permutive

Permutive is built on the core principle of responsible marketing, which includes privacy, consent and transparency. Its Audience Platform empowers publishers and advertisers to responsibly activate audiences without any third-party access to personal data.

Permutive is listed in YCombinators Top 150 companies of all time and is trusted by the worlds largest publishers and advertisers, including News Corp, Hearst, BuzzFeed, Penske Media, Future plc, The Guardian, Vox Media, Insider, Hubert Burda Media and Cond Nast International.

Find out more at permutive.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220322005553/en/

Contacts

Neustar Marketing Solutions Media Erica McDonaldFinn Partners for Neustar646-202-9784Neustar@finnpartners.com

Permutive Media Bluestripe Group - Zoe Baptiezoe.baptie@bluestripegroup.co.uk +44(0)7796 406899

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Neustar and Permutive Partner to Provide Addressability, Scale and Privacy Through Publisher Cohort-Based Advertising - Yahoo Finance

We are living with a misconception that women are born to be homemakers, to manage the family, take care of their children. But, we ignore the other side of the women that they too have skills, knowledge and passion to work and grow ahead in life. This International Womens day 2022, we celebrated with the tagline Break the Bias and we are celebrating the ideas, concepts, believes, practices which encourage equal, equitable participation of women like men. But practically, things are not that easy to follow. Because, in all the parts of the world, the women are still neglected, ignored, underpaid, abused and what not. In this patriarchal society women needs are undermined as if they are not equal to their male counterparts. The empowerment and autonomy of women as well as the improvement of their economic, social, political status is highly important as it is essential for the achievement of the sustainable development. To break the bias its necessary to open avenues for women education, awareness, economic independence as women empowerment is possible through achieving the above goals.

In different parts of the world women are threatened and faced challenges on the grounds of health and their well-being as a result of being overburdened with work along with their lack of involvement, decision making power, influence and lack of power. In many cases, a woman in spite of doing a job is bound to execute all the household chores while a man being in job enjoys some freedom, space as there is no extra burden of work on him like on a woman. Many educated wives are forced to put an end to their careers, many are mentally and physically tortured for not giving birth to a male child, and many are physically abused. If nobody is there to stand for her, the time has come that she must come forward for herself. It has been observed that in most of the cases if a woman is earning then her husband and other family members give her importance while in majority of cases housewives are vulnerable to all types of abuses and exploitations. Many real stories of exploitations are buried under the social pressure when a woman has to live digesting all the ugly things that happens with her. Those who raise their voices, fight are sometimes opposed by many and supported by less.International womens day is gaining momentum, but despite a great deal of progress, women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence. Women are underrepresented in power and decision making roles, in education they dont receive full advantages, of health they dont get all the benefits, receive unequal pay for equal work. If we treat women like this, our country wont develop, our future generation will not get a suitable atmosphere to grow, our countrys economy will stumble and our social development will be obstructed. Before everything gets upside down we can foster gender equality through 5Es.

Education is must for girl child. The parents must save money not for the marriage of the daughters, but for the education and career growth of the daughters. It should be the first priority. If girls are educated, nothing can stop them to compete with men and education will open avenues for their careers. It will make them more aware and sensitized of their rights, they will be able to understand the legal benefits available for them, and education will help them to pursue bright careers ahead. If something wrong happens with them, they will gather courage to fight back, to take actions against crimes and to raise their voices against injustice. It will make them more powerful. Hence, girl child education must be promoted, encouraged and all the parents must understand its importance.

Economic independence is another weapon which can make women more empowered, and every girl must be oriented to follow her dream job or to follow some sort of income generating/entrepreneurial activities which can make her economically independent. If women are economically independent, they can be assets for self, for own family as well as can contribute towards nation building. It can enhance the quality of living among women, they wont have to depend upon their spouses and ask for money for their small needs which often creates dispute among husbands and wives which leads to domestic violence cases. Being economically independent a woman can lead a better and healthy life, can take better care of her children.

Enable women through knowledge, information, skill enhancement, leadership and capacity building to make them competent enough to follow their dreams, to take decisions for their betterment, growth and development. If the women are equipped with all the skills those are required for their growth, for being fearless, daring, to be independent then nothing can beat them.

Encourage women participation be it politics, decision making, policy formation for women, be it government programmes meant for their benefits, just let them participate through different channels, platforms and forums. Encourage maximum participation of women, let them speak; let them take decision for their own benefits. I must say, government should come forward with ideas, programmes that can lead to maximum women participation. They should be encouraged to join in various government and private jobs, positions that can give them new identity; their knowledge, skills can be utilized in various ways which can ensure some income for them, women who are new mothers or who have small kids must be given opportunities to work from home. Our government, CSR units, NGOs, private companies must come together to make our country a better place for women.

Emphasize the roles played by women, consider the hard work done by them, praise them, and appreciate them for the roles they play both at personal and professional spheres. Because, most of the time they are underrated, underestimated and often misunderstood. If we dont highlight, emphasize all the values they add to our family, society then we are blocking their paths. Its the responsibility of all the stakeholders those who are partners in the process of development to think about equal and equitable participation of women in all the spheres.

If the girls, the women of our country are educated, economically independent; knowledge and skill wise equipped, aware and sensitized then it will be easy to break all the barriers, bias and even easier it will be to imagine a better place for women by making them more powerful, by increasing leadership among them and by making them economically empowered.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

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The 5 Es to break the bias and promote women empowerment - Times of India

Not a year goes by without the European Union inadvertently rewriting its own General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), from the e-Privacy Regulation all the way to the Digital Markets Act. While the political agenda of the day may motivate those changes, bridging the gap between multiple disciplines is becoming increasingly important. Absent that, the EU risks letting its gold data protection standard turn rusty.

Four years ago, the GDPR came into force, and was the fruit of intense negotiations to achieve a careful balance between protecting individuals data and leaving breathing room for innovation. For businesses and public bodies handling personal data, three important principles sit at the heart of GDPR: transparency (say what you do), accountability (do what you say), and user empowerment (let users control their data).

Fast forward to the present day, new EU proposals and laws are set to fundamentally disrupt Europes data protection rulebook in all kinds of different ways. While those proposals and laws often explain that they are without prejudice to the GDPR, a closer look reveal laws which (i) selectively choose certain parts of GDPR and purposely omit others, (ii) miss important data protection safeguards, (iii) openly conflict with Europes data protection rules, and (iv) upset the careful balance the GDPR strikes between innovation and data protection.

A common theme across new proposals is the generalization of pop-up consent boxes in all kinds of scenarios. Following some of the latest language circulated in various proposals, users could be confronted with consent obligations to:

This is a non-exhaustive list. Suffice to say that the frustration that people are experiencing with cookie banners is nothing compared to the tsunami of consent boxes thats about to hit European shores. While some of those proposals are designed to disable large tech companies business models, requiring consent for every bit of innocuous and expected processing would equally disable effective data protection. Each and every one of us know that the proliferation of consent forms for every new website we visit is counterproductive. Not only does the proliferation of consent boxes degrade the user experience, it numbs people into clicking onto whatever is presented to them first, without any real sense of empowerment or meaningful transparency. Users that have empowered themselves with privacy enhancing browsers, technologies, or plugins would have to suffer this consent fatigue every time they visit a service.

Consent mechanisms are a useful tool for users in certain situations, when the service does not already offer privacy enhanced options, or when they could not reasonably expect the processing to take place. But as data protection authorities put it, [the EUs data protection framework] does not exclude the possibility, depending on the context, of other legal grounds perhaps being more appropriate from both the [companys] and from the [individuals] perspective. The GDPR indeed contains other grounds of processing, each with their own conditions, safeguards, and limitations, alongside a comprehensive set of contractual, organisational and technical obligations for companies to comply with, and different user control mechanisms for each ground of processing.

A narrow cut-and-paste of GDPR misses the broader picture and does in fact prejudices Europes data protection framework. To put it bluntly, if consent was the silver bullet to protect users from harmful data processing, the GDPR wouldnt be 99-Articles long.

Several recent proposals seek to facilitate public bodies access to various kinds of data, including personal data, to fight against illegal content online or ensure the safety of products sold online for instance.

In an ideal world, those proposals should meet a number of conditions set out in Article 23 GDPR, including the identification of the purpose of the disclosure, safeguards to prevent unlawful use or further disclosure, the identification of the risks for individuals and the categories of personal data processed, etc.

In reality, none of those proposals meet the GDPR conditions for lawful access to personal data held by companies.

Take for example the Data Act proposal which allows public bodies to request access to personal data for an undefined range of purposes in the absence of specific legislation in Article 15(c). While the proposal does attempt to provide some high level safeguards to prevent abuse and unlawful access, public bodies have full discretion to decide for which purpose and public interest they may obtain personal data. Further, the draft Data Act does not define the categories of personal data involved, nor does it spell out clear retention periods or measures that public bodies should take to safeguard the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

Yet, the Data Act scores better than the proposed General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) which does not seem to even consider the personal data and security implications when market surveillance authorities seek to access interfaces of online marketplaces, or require online marketplaces to facilitate data scraping from their platform under Article 20(5) and (6).

Under Article 31 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), vetted researchers and potentially vetted not-profit bodies would be able to get access to data necessary to conduct research on systemic risks. A similarly broad provision applies for the DSA enforcement agencies to monitor and assess compliance with [the DSA]. A handful of paragraphs do provide minimum requirements about who could qualify to receive data from platforms, but the exact conditions under which data may be shared with vetted researchers would have to be spelled out in a delegated act without adequate legislative scrutiny.

This is probably the most worrisome development where competition and industrial policy objectives openly clash with users data protection rights. Under the GDPR, users in Europe are entitled to request their data to be moved from one service to the next, regardless of the service provider. However, the Data Act prohibits users from moving their data to one of the companies designated as a gatekeeper under the DMA. Since the GDPR makes no such exception, companies sending and receiving personal data at the users request would have to decide whether to break the Data Act or the GDPR.

Other proposals such as the proposed EU Artificial Intelligence Act suggest reinventing the GDPR wheel, including how companies should assess AI technologies involving personal data processing that may create a high risk for users.

All these developments raise important challenges for companies to comply, and for users to enjoy meaningful protection of their personal data. No matter how well-intended the motivations behind all those proposals may be, the repeated attempts to rewrite GDPR is likely going to cast doubt on Europes ability to adopt laws that can withstand the test of time and, ultimately, its global normative influence.

While the European Data Protection Supervisor is leading efforts to bridge the gap across multiple disciplines to ensure effective enforcement in the digital world, similar efforts need to be pursued from the outset of each legislative proposal as Europes web of digital regulation continues to grow.

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New Proposals Weaken the EU Data Protection Gold Standard - Disruptive Competition Project

Lucy rocks her extra chromosome

World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) is an annual March 21 celebration and global awareness day officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. March 21 (21/3) was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down Syndrome.

NHS worker and East Kent Mencap director and chairperson Amy Rutland, 32, from Westbrook, has written about her younger sister Lucy who has Downs Syndrome, the importance of inclusivity and the amazing person her sibling is.

Lucy, 29, who lives with parents Sheila and Jez a few doors down from Amy, is involved in numerous groups and activities and in 2020 became the first girl guide in Kent to receive an I stand out award from the Girl Guiding County Commissioner.

Amy writes:

Today is World Down Syndrome Day. The 21 March is chosen to be the international date because it represents the extra chromosome found in the DNA of people who have Down Syndrome (an extra, third version of chromosome 21 to be precise).

This year, the theme for the day is all about inclusion and what it means to me, you and everyone else https://lnkd.in/eHN_adYh.

For me, inclusion means not treating my sister any different in to someone else, especially in social situations. She comes to the pub with me and my friends and up the shops. Growing up as a teenager, if I was heading to the park shed be with us, joining in the jokes and games.

Being so inclusive and treating her as ordinary as possible, she is now a very funny young lady who can give banter and take it, and will happily take the mick out of you in a fun and loving way it can be a real shock to people sometimes that she has a wicked sense of humour.

As with most things, raising awareness and having a personal connection to something is the first step to changing a stigma and making something less different and more ordinary. Thats I will never stop shouting about my amazing sister and everything she does and can do. Embracing inclusion is at the heart of making a difference.

There is a Bill about to reach second reading in the House of Lords very soon, one step closer to getting royal assent and becoming law; which will be putting inclusion and awareness of Down Syndrome at the heart of what it aims to achieve better opportunities for people with Down Syndrome, better inclusion and empowerment for people with Down Syndrome at a younger age and better outcomes from our systems for people with Down Syndrome. You can read about the Bill here https://lnkd.in/ehdd9AdD.

Embracing a person who has Down Syndrome as a person and not a condition is key to this. Every single one of us, disability or not, can do different things and just because someone might have Down Syndrome, doesnt mean they cant achieve what they want to, be who they want to be or crack a hilarious joke and sit you in your place, like Lucy often does.

Lucy is hilarious, caring, kind hearted, passionate about what she loves, sarcastic as hell and rocks her extra chromosome.

Now, Ive said what inclusion means to me what does it mean to you?

Read more:

Amy Rutland: World Down Syndrome Day inclusion, empowerment and my amazing sister Lucy - The Isle of Thanet News

Social media has become a weapon of war for Ukrainians, and through it, President Volodymyr Zelensky has emerged as a global star. His virtual appeals for international support, such as his recent message to Congress, and videos that show him and top Ukrainian officials bravely standing their ground in Kyiv are helping him win the fight for public opinion. Ordinary Ukrainians have followed his example, answering his administrations call for an IT army by creating viral posts on Twitter and TikTok. They are effectively combatting a Russian disinformation strategy that has, in the recent past, wreaked havoc on democracies including the United States.

This wartime communications effort may use novel digital tools, but the strategy has roots in World War II, when the United States used multiple forms of communicationnotably newer ones such as radio and motion picturesto inspire, inform, and instruct soldiers and civilians alike. Newsreels, patriotic shorts, silver-screen features, and a flood of nontheatrical films kept millions of Americans connected to the warand one another.

Read: The grim stagecraft of Zelenskys selfie videos

The effort worked because it functioned differently from the black propaganda campaign waged by Nazi Germany, one intended to spread lies and obscure the source of the false information. But we are still grappling with the consequences of that successful American media campaign today: It tethered democracy to both advertising and entertainment and gave political leaders new tools with which to manipulate their message. Zelenskys innovations will no doubt have similar repercussions.

Prior to World War II, the political establishmentoverwhelmingly dominated by Protestant white menlooked suspiciously on mass media and particularly Hollywood, an industry run by Jewish immigrants and initially popular with lower- and working-class audiences. Even as movies gained a large audience that politicians wanted to tap into, many worried that celebrity culture would undermine the democratic process by encouraging emotional reactions rather than rational thinking.

Developments abroad seemed to confirm such fears. Both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler worked to control communications and limit freedom of speechindeed, their political power depended on creating an alternative reality through mass media based in a cult of personality and a distortion of facts. When Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to sell his New Deal agenda to the American people with radio and film, journalists warned against using the black magic of mass suggestions that fascist leaders deployed.

In response, Roosevelt emphasized the authenticity of his mass-mediated message. He highlighted how new technology allowed him to connect directly and honestly to the American people. Of course, it also helped him control a particular narrative of his programs and bypass his critics in the press. But the Roosevelt administration kept the focus on empowerment: More people could be in conversation with their president. This was, the administration insisted, democracy in action.

As the war intensified in Europe, Roosevelt began using New Deal messaging strategies to sell an interventionist position to the reluctant American public. He found eager partners in Hollywoods intellectual and creative left.

Such actions were controversial. Gerald Nye, the isolationist Republican senator from North Dakota, held congressional hearings on what he called movies designed to rouse us to a state of war hysteria that had insidiously manipulated audiences to support intervention. But, passionate about anti-fascism, many studio executives and celebrities persisted in their efforts and worked to change propaganda from a negative to a positive term.

For example, the actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. traveled throughout the United States not only to generate sympathy and support for Great Britains defense efforts, but also to deflate the nations fear of propaganda. Declaring that the cry Propaganda rings out in the same strident voice as Witchcraft did in Salem in the seventeenth century, Fairbanks told his audiences to distinguish between informative propagandathe education of the public about the warand the subversive propaganda used by fascists to foment unrest and subvert our system.

After traveling to South America as a cultural ambassador for the Roosevelt administration, Fairbanks pushed the president to develop a more coordinated propaganda effort to counter German messaging in the region that depicted the United States as greedy and untrustworthy. Once the U.S. formally entered the war, the administration did just that through the creation of the Office of War Information on June 13, 1942. Headed by a popular radio commentator, Elmer Davis, the agency forged voluntary partnerships with media companies and emphasized the importance of education and information in its communication efforts.

But the OWI wanted to make sure that media messages also advanced Roosevelts ideology. Accordingly, it distributed an advisory manual to Hollywood studios that directed film productions to help make Americans live and breathe Roosevelts four freedoms. Each individual must know how these Four Freedoms affect his individual life, his everyday affairs, stated the manual. The realization must be driven home that we cannot enjoy the Four Freedoms exclusively. They must be established on a world-wide basisyes, even in Germany, Italy, and Japanor they will always be in jeopardy in America.

Following these guidelines, entertainment productions offered positive views of American life while also encouraging sympathy for international allies, including Russia. Patriotic shorts sold specific messages about proper wartime behavior. And films not intended for theatrical distribution, such as Frank Capras Why We Fight series, taught both soldiers and civilians about the meaning of military engagements abroad.

Quick histories of World War II frequently overlook these nontheatrical films, but, like social media today, they helped turn new areas of civic lifeschools, community centers, and parksinto places where citizens could consume messages about the war. The OWI had an entire division dedicated to nontheatrical films that combined documentary footageshot with 16-mm cameras and interviews with ordinary citizens, soldiers, and government officials.

An amateur technology, 16-mm film was cheaper and easier to use than 35-mm film, the Hollywood standard. During the final two years of the war, the Treasury Department urged exhibitors of 16-mm films to bring the wartime messageincluding the pitch to buy bondsinto every nook and corner of the land. The OWI also distributed manuals about how to integrate 16-mm films into civic events. In the process, civilians across the country learned how to operate cameras and develop publicity for events with premieres, advertising, and other Hollywood promotional strategies.

When the war came to an end, President Harry Truman celebrated Hollywoods outstanding wartime record and praised motion pictures for becoming one of the more effective and forceful media for spreading knowledge and truth. With this newly recognized power came controversy, once again. Over the next decade, intense debates about the messages of Hollywood films and the political activities of those crafting silver-screen productions resulted in the infamous HUAC hearings.

But Hollywoodas an industry and as a style of communicationhardly retreated from politics. For those willing to support the Cold War, opportunities abounded and new avenues for political participation opened up. George Murphy, Frank Sinatra, and Ronald Reagan performed for the armed forces and extolled anticommunism at Rotary and Kiwanis Club meetings. Murphy went on to climb the ranks of the Republican Party, and he eventually won a California Senate seat. Sinatra became a prominent campaigner and fundraiser for John F. Kennedy. Reagans successful gubernatorial run alerted seasoned politicians to the importance of emotion, personality, and performance. We may think this is demagoguery, but it is very effective, Richard Nixon observed in 1968.

The same could be said of Zelenskys tactics. Like Reagan and, later, Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president rose to fame through the entertainment industry, winning the Ukrainian version of Dancing With the Stars and even starring in a television series, Servant of the People, that had a story line about a teacher who wins a presidential election after a video goes viral. Also like Trump, a master of Twitter and Facebook, Zelensky has a gift for direct, unfiltered communication. He became an instant celebrity with his selfie-video response to the Russian invasion on the streets of Kyiv, pledging to fight to defend his country. In his trademark green T-shirt, he has made emotional appeals to European and American leaders via videoconference, pleading for recognition and resources. With his encouragement, Ukrainians are thoroughly documenting their wartime experience, seeding social media with images of sympathetic Ukrainian victims. Ukraine is winning the battle not just for information, but for attention.

Franklin Foer: Volodymyr Zelenskys dream life

Of course, Zelenskys aims are different from Trumps. Trump obsessed over his personal ratings and used his gift for mass communication to advance conspiracy theories and undermine democratic institutions. Zelensky is using his performative skills to defend democracy from the Russian military and disinformation campaigns. But if the content of propaganda does matter, as it did during World War II, it looks more and more like entertainmentand thats part of its effectiveness.

See original here:

Ukraine's Infowar Strategies Have Roots in World War II - The Atlantic

Outside calculus class, Kohn-Murphy is the founder and executive director of Gen-Z for Change, a coalition of about 500 progressive social media influencers spanning all of the internets most-trafficked social media platforms. The coalitions primary digital stomping ground is TikTok, where Gen-Z for Changes influencer network collectively boasts upward of 500 million followers a figure that far exceeds the average monthly viewerships of Fox News, CNN and MSNBC combined, which tops out at about 5 million viewers.

Gen-Z for Change has already mobilized its followers to carry out a handful of unorthodox online actions including crashing an anti-abortion whistleblower line in Texas with raunchy memes. But Kohn-Murphy has higher ambitions: As more politicians in Washington begin using TikTok to reach young voters, his organization is building closer ties with Democrats in Washington in the hopes of not only commenting on policy, but actually influencing it. Yet in making inroads into the political mainstream, do Gen Zs digital warriors risk sacrificing the transgressiveness that makes them a distinctive voice of their generation?

We want to be able to advocate and to push for the policies that Gen Z believes in, Kohn-Murphy says. Not to be revolutionary, but theres a lot wrong with the world, and if we can use our platform to make positive change and leave the world better than we found it, then well have done our job.

Gen-Z for Changes influencers hail from various subregions of the TikTok universe including fashion TikTok, cooking TikTok, comedy TikTok, self-help TikTok and, of course, dancing TikTok but they all share an interest in using their platforms to support progressive causes. The organization itself, staffed by Kohn-Murphy and 20 volunteer organizers, serves as the nerve center of this effort, coordinating between influencers, distributing video scripts and talking points, and providing research and editorial support for the coalitions campaigns.

The scope of Gen-Z for Changes coalition has won Kohn-Murphy and his organization the most valuable and elusive commodity in Washington: the ear of the White House. In early March, the Biden administration enlisted Gen-Z for Change to help organize a briefing between senior administration officials and prominent social media influencers about the war in Ukraine. The briefing, first reported by the Washington Posts Taylor Lorenz, became something of a viral sensation, inspiring a Saturday Night Live sketch in which President Biden (James Austin Johnson) and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (Kate McKinnon) solicited advice on the war in Ukraine from a cadre of ditzy TikTok stars.

Kohn-Murphy who, in typical influencer style, captured his real-time reaction to the sketch in a TikTok on his personal account was flattered by the parody. Its really cool to do something [so] quote-unquote notable that [it] got parodied, says Kohn-Murphy, who will attend Harvard University next fall. But for the most part, Kohn-Murphy says, the sketch confirmed his suspicion that even as the White House and members of Congress ramp up their outreach efforts to progressive content creators, the country still hasnt grasped TikToks power as a political tool.

Using social media to advocate and pressure the U.S. government like, thats not dancing, Kohn-Murphy says. This is not a dancing app.

It remains to be seen, however, exactly what sort of tool TikTok will become in the hands of this generation of young progressive activists. In some respects, Kohn-Murphy and his merry band of influencers have turned TikTok into a highly unorthodox and cheekily transgressive vehicle of digital protest. In September of 2021, for instance, Olivia Julianna, a Texas-based TikToker and Gen-Z for Changes political strategy coordinator, posted a video encouraging her followers to send fake tips to an anti-abortion whistleblower line that allowed Texans to report suspected violations of the states new six-week abortion ban. The ensuing deluge of tips which included a significant volume of pornographic memes depicting the Disney-Pixar character Shrek forced the line to shut down.

Im not really sure how that came up, Julianna says of the X-rated memes. But you know what? If it saves a woman in Texas from having to pay a fine, then Im all for it.

This sort of crowd-sourced digital protest has become a favorite weapon among Gen-Z for Changes online army. In January, the organization launched a similar campaign to spam an email tip line, set up by Virginias Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, that enabled Virginians to report teachers who were discussing topics that they considered to be instances of critical race theory. And in February, the group flooded Starbucks with 88,000 fake job applications after the company fired several employees who were involved in a unionization effort.

At the same time, Gen-Z for Changes collaboration with the White House is raising questions among both its critics and its supporters about the coalitions true objectives. To the organizations skeptics, its ties with the White House are proof that it has become an out-and-out propaganda organ for the Biden administration. To some of its would-be allies on the left, the organizations liaisons with the White House are evidence that the coalition is more interested in cozying up to Washingtons power centers than in pushing for transformational political change. One way or another, Gen-Z for Change and its coalition of progressive influencers will eventually have to ask: Can they more effectively achieve their goals as the White Houses ally or as its antagonist?

For now, Gen-Z for Change is keeping its options open for the most part.

Whether its shaping policy, whether its educating our collective platform [and] followers, whether its taking down tip lines, whether its supporting unions just any progressive change, by any means, is our goal, says Elise Joshi, Gen-Z for Changes operations director and an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley.

By any means? Kohn-Murphy asks, catching Joshis slip. By most means. By means within reason.

Gen-Z for Change has its origins in the 2020 election, when Kohn-Murphy, then just a solo TikToker with a modest following, began posting clever and irreverent content about the election under his personal TikTok handle, @aidanpleasestoptalking. As election day loomed, Kohn-Murphy posted about a phone-banking session that he had organized with a handful of friends, hoping to encourage his followers to sign up. The effort quickly caught fire, as scores of influencers emerged from the digital woodwork to lend their platforms to the effort to defeat then-President Donald Trump. Realizing that the initiative had outgrown the scope of a single phone bank, Kohn-Murphy began organizing the influencers under the moniker TikTok for Biden. By election day, over 400 influencers had joined up.

As the coalitions number grew, its videos caught the eye of the Biden campaigns digital director Rob Flaherty, now the White Houses director of digital strategy. Flaherty contacted Kohn-Murphy ahead of the election to discuss TikTok for Bidens work, and according to Kohn-Murphy, the organization maintained an informal line of communication with Flaherty through the transition period. Following Bidens inauguration in January 2021, the coalition changed its name to Gen-Z for Change to recognize its broader policy goals.

The collaboration has continued since Biden took office. In July 2021, for instance, Gen-Z for Change co-hosted a YouTube town hall discussion about the Covid-19 vaccine with Anthony Fauci, the White Houses chief medical adviser. In November, the organization helped facilitate a briefing between influencers and White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield about the administrations Build Back Better plan.

These initiatives have raised suspicions that the organization and its coalition of influencers are, in effect, unpaid propagandists for the Biden White House, using their platforms to uncritically parrot the administrations messaging. Following the White Houses briefing with influencers on the war in Ukraine, for instance, Fox Business accused the White House of drafting TikTok influencers to blame Putin for rising gas prices. Other skeptics were quick to draw parallels between Bidens outreach to social media influencers and Russian President Vladimir Putins campaign to pay Russian TikTok influencers to spread pro-Kremlin narratives online.

Kohn-Murphy doesnt put much stock in these accusations, and he is adamant that Gen-Z for Changes work is advocacy, not messaging. He points to the fact that Gen-Z for Changes members do extensive independent research to verify the information they receive from the White House before amplifying it online, and he notes that Gen-Z for Change is not paid or compensated for any of the content it creates.

Its not like were huge Joe Biden superfans, Kohn-Murphy says. Like, we were pushing for Joe Biden because we wanted to use our platforms to make progressive change, and at the time, it was the most effective way to do so.

Indeed, the coalitions influencers are not shy about broadcasting their disagreements with the administration when they arise. In a recent video on her personal TikTok account, Victoria Hammett, a Los Angeles-based influencer and Gen-Z for Changes deputy executive director, criticized the Biden administration for failing to support Medicare For All one of the several policy areas where Hammett says she has publicly broken with the White House.

I feel like the Biden administration and many Democrats have kind of forgotten about the people that supported them and are not as concerned with what their supporters want [as they are] with bipartisanship, says Hammett, whose personal TikTok has over 750,000 followers. Personally, as a creator, one of my frustrations is seeing Biden [be] unwilling to do things that his supporters want him to do, like canceling student loan debt, for example.

For his part, Kohn-Murphy compared the briefings that the White House hosts for social media influencers to the daily press briefings that the administration provides for journalists and reporters.

If people think that a briefing is propaganda, then theyre not going to like what Jen Psaki does almost every day for basically every news organization in the country, Kohn-Murphy says. This has nothing to do with messagingThis has to do with creators; many of them were already using their platforms to spread information and to combat misinformation.

This comparison, it must be said, is not a very good one. Despite their likely sincere commitment to ensuring the accuracy of the information that they disseminate, Gen-Z for Changes influencers are not journalists in any recognizable sense just as they are also not straightforwardly activists or policy advocates or even, as their right-wing detractors have claimed, Soviet-style propagandists.

In reality, it is difficult to fit the work of these progressive influencers into any pre-existing category of political communication. Policy advocacy? Well, sort of. Journalism? Not really but if you squint, maybe. Activism? Yes but also no. Perhaps the most accurate thing that can be said about these influencers is that they exist in the gray area between activism, citizen journalism and old-fashioned political messaging, serving as harbingers of a paradigm shift in political communications that has yet to be fully realized or understood.

In this respect, Gen-Zs progressive TikTok army resembles no group more than the burgeoning collective of academics, journalists and policy researchers that has coalesced under the purposefully vague umbrella of disinformation researchers. As the journalist Joe Bernstein argued in a recent story for Harpers, this multidisciplinary group of researchers, which has styled itself as a sort of non-partisan EPA for content, also defies straightforward categorization. Although these researchers have made it their mission to expose the spread of various sorts of toxicity on social-media platforms, the downstream effects of this spread, and the platforms clumsy, dishonest and half-hearted attempts to halt it, their real ideological function, as Bernstein points out, is a bit more complicated than that.

In its quest to cleanse the media ecosystem of contaminated information, Big Disinfo serves two distinct ideological functions within the Democratic ecosystem. On the one hand, Big Disinfos war on disinformation feeds into center-left accounts of Trumps ascendancy that explain Trumpism primarily as the result of conservative media manipulation and right-wing conspiracy theorizing rather than as the product of genuine populist anger about the failure of Americas ruling elite. In this respect, Big Disinfo helps absolve the Democratic Partys ruling elite of its responsibility for creating the political, economic and technological conditions that allowed Trump to flourish in the first place, shifting blame onto the social media companies and media organizations that allow false information to circulate.

On the other hand, Big Disinfo plays an essentially revanchist role in the public debate over truth-telling. By arguing that the power to distinguish reality from falsehood ultimately rests with Americas objective truth-tellers, disinformation researchers bolster the authority of the institutions whose role as gatekeepers of the information ecosystem have been most dramatically undercut by new technologies: the mainstream media, institutions of higher learning, deep-pocketed think-tanks and the government itself. As Bernstein writes, That the most prestigious liberal institutions of the pre-digital age are the most invested in fighting disinformation reveals a lot about what they stand to lose, or hope to regain.

A similar set of risks befalls Gen-Z for Changes decision to join the information wars on the side of the White House. Despite well-founded concerns about TikToks role in spreading false and misleading information, the platform still harbors a potentially transformative political possibility: to create a radically decentralized, highly personalized and thoroughly democratic information ecosystem that wrests power away from traditional gatekeepers. At least on its surface, Gen-Z for Changes activity seems to be in the service of this promise. After all, the organization has successfully built a media network that reaches billions of viewers every month all for the price of cell phone service.

Yet by casually deferring to the White House as a reliable source of information on an issue as politically fraught as the war in Ukraine, the group risks reinforcing the very same information hierarchies that gave rise to the misinformation crisis in the first place. Coming from a generation whose political outlook centers on skepticism of powerful institutions and opposition to hierarchy in all its forms, it is also a decidedly un-Gen Z thing to do.

All of this invites the question: To what degree do the political objectives of the TikTok left resemble those of prior generations of Democratic Party activists, and to what degree are they meaningfully distinct?

In some respects, Gen-Z for Change, which is incorporated as a 501(c)4, shares the goals of any progressive advocacy group: to influence federal policy by pushing the Democratic Party to adopt a more progressive platform. Indeed, the Issues page of the organizations website reads like a comprehensive wish list of progressive priorities: climate justice, disability rights, gender equality, reproductive rights, gun safety, racial justice and so forth.

The organizations objectives are also more fundamental than that. In addition to contending with a national Democratic Party thats dominated by white-haired Baby Boomers and aging members of Gen X, Gen-Z for Change also has to combat its own generations political lethargy and congenital political fatalism two characteristics that, in both kind and degree, distinguish Gen Zs political outlook from those of their predecessors.

To its credit, Gen-Z for Change has correctly diagnosed the source of Gen Zs political malaise. Faced with the convergence of multiple generation-defining crises and the apparent failure of Americas political institutions to respond adequately to these crises a significant number of Gen Zers have given up on organized politics altogether. Against this backdrop, Gen-Z for Changes primary objective is to convince young people that Americas political system isnt entirely unresponsive to their demands.

The approach they have taken to this challenge is subtly brilliant: Take Gen Zs fixation with social media both a symptom and a cause of their generations political paralysis and turn it into the vehicle of its political empowerment.

What we realized with these tip lines and with the Starbucks project is that people really want to feel like they have some sort of agency in the world, because oftentimes when we see that theres nothing going on with our national government, [and] theres very little progress on the issues that Gen Z cares about, we feel like we have no control over anything, Joshi says. And when we present these incredibly important actions like taking down oppressive tip lines people are easily engaged because they want to feel like they can be involved in something.

Its a matter of, like, what can you do strictly from mobilizing young people from their homes, Kohn-Murphy says. There is a lot more to be done [but] right now, our platforms are on social media. The most effective way that we can make change are things that do materially benefit people, even if theyre not, like, fixing the entire problem.

Along the way, Gen Zs progressive TikTokers have discovered something about the platform that the brightest political minds in Washington have yet to fully grasp: that TikTok is a forum for political action, not just a tool for reaching would-be voters. Communications staffers on Capitol Hill look at TikTok and see another channel for spreading messaging to potential voters; meanwhile, the new generation of online organizers look at TikTok and see an entire universe of forms of direct action. After all, why lobby lawmakers to take down an anti-critical race theory snitch line when a handful of Zoomers with their iPhones can break it instead?

In this respect, the potential impact of Gen Zs ongoing experiment in TikTok politics stretches far beyond the White House. What is brewing among young progressives on TikTok is a massive online experiment in participatory democracy, a potential transformation in the way that young progressives engage with and, when necessary, circumvent Americas political institutions. As is true of all digital paradigm shifts, the possibilities of the movement can sound hopelessly abstract but in reality, they are very concrete. Julianna, the organizer behind the anti-abortion tip line protest, points to her own life story as evidence of TikToks potentially egalitarian effects.

I grew up [in a] working-class, single-parent household in a very small town. Ive struggled with health issues and other stuff my whole life. And I didnt think that I would be able to do a lot of impactful things in life, Julianna says. Now Im in a place where Im in meetings with the White House and talking to the Senate Majority Leader [Chuck Schumer].

At a moment when populist and anti-elite sentiments are flourishing on both sides of the political spectrum, it is no surprise that the countrys political leaders are beginning to explore new ways to harness TikToks political power to their own ends. Yet for the young activists who nurtured political TikTok into existence, this opportunity also presents a challenge: to maximize TikToks power as a tool for progressive change without sacrificing its transformative and transgressive potential.

The uncertain future of Gen Zs TikTok revolution received a passing mention at the end of Saturday Night Lives parody, when cast member Bowen Yang sauntered into the Oval Office dressed like the popular Japanese content creator Kazuhisa Uekusa known for performing nifty tricks with a toilet plunger affixed to his bare chest. As magisterial music played in the background and with the camera slowly zooming in on the plunger stuck over his nipple Yang waxed poetic about the transformative power of TikTok, urging viewers to never underestimate the power of new technology and how it reaches young people in ways you can never understand.

The joke at the very end is, Dont underestimate the power of TikTok and making change, and right at the end, We get more views than the [nightly] news, Joshi says. Theyre saying that as a joke, but its actually true.

See original here:

Inside the Progressive Movement's TikTok Army - POLITICO - POLITICO

Most of Holly Harpers life seemed pretty traditional. She married at 24, had a baby girl and lived what she called the perfect picket-fence life. But even then, she never considered her approach to life to be conventional.

My personal life story is one of experimentation, travel, dabbling in everything, connecting people and dreaming, Harper shared. For as long as I can remember, Ive brainstormed ways to get my beloved community [and] chosen family to physically be in the same space whether living in the same town or vacationing together or retiring to the same cul de sac or assisted care community when we are Golden Girls.'

As a military spouse, she lived in seven states and Europe. During that time, she cultivated an eclectic group of friends and leaned into her unconventional side.

After 17 years together, Harper and her husband separated and sold their house. After living in an apartment for a year that never felt like home, she decided it was time to look for a place of her own.

Holly Harper

Harper had owned several homes throughout her marriage and was well aware of the expenses and demands of owning a home. Although she had contacted a realtor and started the search for her own home, she knew it would be a challenge to find one that worked with her budget as a self-employed single mom, especially in the Washington, D.C., area where she lived.

Then, in April 2020, she caught up with her friend Herrin Hopper during the lockdown. During their conversation, the women realized they were both newly single and shopping for homes.

In D.C., its common to have a duplex or condo, so we thought: What if we bought neighboring units? Harper explained.

They agreed to find a multifamily property with (at least) two units of similar size in a kid-friendly neighborhood close to public transportation. Another must was that neither family would sleep in a basement.

Holly Harper

They found a four-unit building and closed on it in late June 2020. Soon after moving in, they sought renters for the remaining units. Single mom of two Leandra Nichola replied and came in on a rent-to-own plan.

In December 2020, Jen Jacobs rented the top-floor studio unit. The single, childless friend of Hopper and Harper was looking for a change from the loneliness she experienced at the height of the pandemic.

The women named the home Siren House as a symbol of female empowerment.

Harper says that her co-housing partners are also unconventional.

We are free spirits, free thinkers, and open to building relationships with one another and others in general with transparency and compassion, she shared. Things are always going faster than we can keep up with, but it is much more like sisterhood than a Real World D.C. situation.

Holly Harper

Self-awareness, self-care and building firm boundaries are top priorities for the women.

We support one another in a number of ways, from one-on-one conversations, meetings, festive occasions and catching each other when we stumble, Harper said.

As with any family or community, issues arise. The group is mindful of handling practicalities, such as home repairs, as a team. They tackle emotional matters that come up head-on, making it a point to meet and talk things out.

The best part about it is we cant run away and hide from our own demons, our own triggers, our own bad behavior, said Harper. We hold each other with trust and empathy, but also hold each other accountable to being mature and healthy humans.

Holly Harper

And it doesnt stop with their cozy living quarters. They also help one another achieve their pursuits and goals. Together, the women opened the Takoma Park, Md. cafe Main Street Pearl in March 2021. Nichola, whose longstanding dream has been to open an eatery, manages the cafe.

The women said they all live as an extended family that genuinely cares for one another. The kids live like cousins, reaping the rewards of being surrounded and influenced by multiple unique, devoted adults.

Harper hopes that Siren House will encourage others to consider unconventional living arrangements no matter what the housing market looks like, citing the continuing decline of the traditional family, longer lifespans and environmental concerns as catalysts for change. In addition, she believes that smart co-housing communities can enable smaller living, less commuting and the advantages of creating your own family support network.

For all of us, the greatest benefit is having your biggest cheerleaders pushing you forward through imposter syndrome, hesitations, self-confidence dips, aging, dating, mom-shame, child-rearing, career growth to truly live a joyous life, Harper shared. We know its possible and we want to help one another so when we need help, we have someone to help us in turn.

Continue reading here:

These Single Moms Bought A Group House Together And Created A Community - Simplemost

Anirban Nandi, director (emerging business and strategy, India leadership team), Mars.

Note to readers:Fit to leadis a series of interviews with business leaders on their approach to fitness, leadership and navigating the new normal.

Growing up in Arunachal Pradesh and Shillong, Anirban Nandi,director (emerging business and strategy, India leadership team), Mars, recalls he wasnt an athlete but did play some sports. It wasnt until he was working in Dubai when the scale was inching towards three figures that he realized he had to do something. I was obese, had an unhealthy lifestyle and didnt like what I had become, he says. So, about 10 years ago he started running on the treadmill. The results came quickly, he moved from the treadmill to the road and within a few months ran a 10km race too.

Fitness has become such an integral part of his life now that during the first lockdown, he climbed up and down the 15 storeys of his building. Amid timelines and multiple initiatives, running is the one time when I can be with myself and my thoughts without any disturbances or distractions. I have had some Eureka moments during such long runs, Nandi says. Nandi who leads a company that sells chocolates believes in moderation when it comes to his products as well and is firmly of the opinion that you are definitely not going to be in a good state of mind when ill; so everyone must work on their health and wellness.

Edited excerpts:

How do you achieve your health and fitness goals?

I am intentional about fitness. I run twice a week averaging 25 km to 35 km per week, strength training four times and yoga once a week. Occasionally, I cycle. On average, I spend 90 to 120 minutes a day, six days a week on fitness activity.

Favourite fitness activity

Long distance running. It allows me ample time to reflect on multiple aspects of my professional and personal life. I find that highly therapeutic.

Your toughest?

As much as I want to swim, I have not been able to learn swimming.

Your new normal

There was no point worrying about how the normal has changed. You find out ways and means to navigate through these complex times find innovative ways and means to progress and connect at work. I calendarized business and offline connects to ensure we spend quality time on both, similar to what we would do in office. So technically, the new normal is more similar than different.

Has your fitness routine, in any way, helped you navigate the uncertainties of the current times?

I dont have empirical evidence to support it but I worry less and have developed a more solution-driven mindset. I use marathon metaphors like one mile at a time when managing or navigating complex and ambiguous challenges. The discipline that I have been able to maintain has given me more confidence in my abilities and made my resilience stronger.

The one change you would encourage your teammates to make to deal with the challenges of current times

I propagate health and wellness, probably overdo it because I believe you can only do better if you are fit and healthy.

Leadership lessons in your fitness journey

Too often we spend a lot of energy on competition and external factors. In fitness, you can be overwhelmed with what everyone is doing I realized the importance of focusing on myself and the process defined every achievement or miss, professionally and personally with very little interference of luck.

Preparing for my first marathon required me to train in a disciplined and planned manner. Same applies to leadership: make a plan, focus on the next step and review it not to find faults but to unlock bottlenecks and progress.

Passion is overrated, resilience is underrated. You are bound to hit roadblocks like injuries while training. The passion and motivation could end abruptly. It is your resilience which can bring you back. This is so similar to work, we all wish every project, every task goes smoothly, but it never does.

What impact does your image of a fit leader have on your team?

You will need to ask the team that I like to believe I am inspiring them to pick up healthy habits. These habits also allow me to keep pace with all the younger members of my team and the organization, and I dont mind teasing and challenging them to beat me on the fitness front.

Has being fit helped you become a better leader?

I think and feel better, I am more energetic and resilient This allows me to lead by example and practice what I preach.

Your leadership style

An authentic leader, a thinker who derives energy and insights from people, details, and experiences. My leadership style is based on the fundamental principle of trust, empowerment, and the ultimate belief that you are only as good as your team. I look forward every time to be very intentional in the teams overall development, in both personal and professional capacity.

On achieving work-life balance

Once you are a slave to your habits, you work around your tasks to ensure you get the right balance. I also try to be intentional on the place I stay at so that it saves time commuting to and from office. So, planning your hours to the tee is probably what you might say is the secret sauce towards maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Goals for the year

I have a dream to run the 72 km Khardungla Ultraan unpredictable race that you run in extreme cold at a height of 18,000 feet. Similar challenges excite me at work, where we are scripting a disruptive growth story, unleashing initiatives for exponential growth in e-commerce and unlocking some innovative profitable business models for the unit.

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Fit to Lead | Anirban Nandi: "Passion is overrated, resilience is underrated" - Moneycontrol