Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

Tell us about your role at International Fashion Week (IFWD).I am the Founder and Managing Director of The Opulence Events LLC under which IFWD is a brand. I am the mastermind responsible for it from inception to date. I operate as the managing director and lead my team with its planning and production. I handle everything on my own; I am satisfied only when I involve myself in each and everything related to IFWD.

Being a woman at the helm of IFWD, what challenges have you witnessed?The major challenge I experienced was acceptance, given that it is a male-dominated industry, many people found it difficult to comprehend that a woman would be able to establish a stake in the fashion events industry. The criticisms and doubts I faced made me channel intense effort to prove that being a woman shouldn't be a limitation to successfully living out your dream.

The year 2021 is about "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world". What are your thoughts about it given the realistic scenario in the UAE?Covid-19 has proved that we have the ability to adapt and successfully work our way around any situation. A perfect scenario is IFWD Season 10 that was held for three days consecutively in November last year, almost immediately after the lockdown lifted. It was a huge success and, most notably, nobody contracted the disease, which shows that with proper planning and execution anything is achievable even during these times. Hence the pandemic is not a barrier to achieving anything for me but we need to keep the measures in place.

How do you think the UAE fares when it comes to equal opportunities for women at the business front? The UAE in general is a country whose government has been able to set up respectful policies with regards to women, which is commendable and quite beneficial, as women feel more secure and confident to operate in the UAE business environment. The UAE is globally known as a fantastic country for rapid business establishment and growth because of its ability to embrace cultural diversities with respect to businesses and people. Based on this, I think the UAE is doing pretty well with regards to opportunities for women at the business front.

How do you maintain a work-life balance as a businesswoman?I must confess, it's a handful balancing work and my personal life. I choose to concentrate on work during the weekdays and focus my attention on my family during the weekend, I am also blessed with a wonderful husband and children who are understanding and supportive of me, which is the most important thing and I thank God for that.

What would you say constitutes women empowerment?Empowerment I believe begins with every individual; it is highly important that every person strives towards being empowered in every aspect of life as this is essential for personal growth. Furthermore, there are quite a number of factors that facilitate empowerment especially for women, such as; knowledge and skill acquisition, determination, focus, passion, creativity and consistency. This is what I personally feel constitutes women empowerment.

See the original post here:

Owning the fashion arena - Khaleej Times

Dallas-based Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation uses COVID-19 data, machine learning, and geomapping to help public health officials and area residents find better health outcomes.

ENTERPRISE Care Community BuilderSteve Miff

As everyone yearns for a return to normal life with the pandemic in the rearview mirror, data science and clinical experts at the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) are helping inform North Texas leaders on the outlook and progress in assisting high needs communities.

When COVID-19 hit North Texas in March 2020, PCCI researchers were already hard at work on ways to improve health in the underserved areas of Dallas.

The team quickly built, tested, and deployed several patent-pending analytical models using machine learning and geomapping to visualize the progression of cases across the area. Challenging times often accelerate innovation and collaboration, said Steve Miff, President and CEO of PCCI.

With the help of their models, PCCI staffers worked with Dallas area governments, schools, and community-based organizations to get help to the most vulnerable.

PCCI President and CEO Steve Miff says his team used machine learning and geomapping to visualize the progression of COVID-19 and to develop a Vulnerability Index to better target resources.

In recent weeks, PCCI published a report saying their data shows the region should reach a critical tipping point for herd immunity sometime in June. By then, they expect 80 percent of adults to either be vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19.

We will get to herd immunity either through continued infection, which is a slow route that will continue to harm the community and economy, or vaccinations, said Miff. This underscores the importance of Dallas County residents registering for and receiving the COVID-19 vaccinations as quickly as possible and continuing to stay vigilant and safe from being infected.

The herd immunity projection is part of an encouraging picture emerging. Earlier this month, PCCI data scientists noted a 66 percent reduction in COVID-19 risk for Dallas County, with some of the citys most vulnerable areas showing significant drops in risk.

PCCI released its own mobile app in January to help people determine their potential exposure to the disease.

[Illustration: Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation]

PCCI was perfectly positioned to assist the region in dealing with the novel coronavirus. The nonprofit health data think tank, which formed in 2016, brings together data scientists, physicians, and public health officials to address pressing healthcare issues in the greater Dallas community.

Whole-person wellness is the best way to achieve good health outcomes in the middle of a pandemic, Miff said.

PCCI developed a Vulnerability Index that includes demographic information, medical comorbidities, social determinants of health, and mobility data. Organizations can use the model to help determine how resources could be deployed.

The team has learned so much about using data to improve healthcare that they published a book, Building Communities of Care, to help other communities manage and target assistance for underserved populations. People with unmet needs are more likely to have poor health outcomes, as COVID-19 has demonstrated.

Although weve been working harder than ever, our work feels more relevant and meaningful than ever before, Miff said.

Steve Miff was featured in Dallas Innovates Future 50 in Dallas-Fort Worth in the 2021 edition of our annual magazine. We talk with the CEO about innovation, the impact of COVID-19, and plans for the future. Heres a takeaway:

2020 has certainly challenged PCCI, just like it has challenged every business and individual across our community. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to provide Parkland Health & Hospital System (Parkland), Dallas County, and other local municipalities with advanced analytics for COVID-19 management.

In a matter of weeks, our team of data science and clinical experts built, tested, and deployed several novel analytical models using machine learning and advanced geomapping modalities. We created a personal COVID-19 Proximity Index, a community-level Vulnerability Index, and daily geomaps for visualizing COVID-19 case progression across the community.

As a result, several patent applications have been filed in connection with this work. In parallel, we successfully launched and published a new book with HIMSS Publishing, Building Connected Communities of Care, which is based on the pioneering experience of PCCI and Parkland in Dallas to developat scaleone of the first comprehensive foundations for partnership between a communitys clinical and social sectors using web-based information exchange.

Based on our lessons learned in Dallas, the book serves as a one-of-a-kind playbook for coordinating medical and community-based resources to change how, where, and when healthcare is delivered. We also built and deployed a novel trauma mortality AI model at Parkland and have been supporting the launch of new initiatives around pediatric asthma and STI/HIV prevention, based on Parklands Community Health Needs Assessment.

Again, the innovations we brought to the table this past year have naturally advanced our mission to help the underserved populations in North Texas. This has also been a source of enrichment for all of the PCCI staff members who put their hearts and souls into our work, especially the efforts this past year to help protect the people of Dallas County from COVID-19.

Challenging times often accelerate innovation and collaboration. This has certainly been the case with COVID-19. Weve strengthened and expanded our collaborations with Parkland and the North Texas community by building new foundational capabilities that will have an impact for years to come. Weve worked closer than ever with Parklands IT and population health leadership, Dallas County, the City of Dallas, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC), and many other health systems, schools, and community-based organizations.

The pandemic has also forced us to think about whole-person wellness and not just immediate health needs. Whole-person health and individual empowerment is the future of our industry. We developed some meaningful new capabilities that are now serving as the building blocks towards this journey. For example, we created a machine learning, individual Proximity Index for risk of exposure to COVID-19 and leveraged that to guide care towards virtual interactions and to reduce the transportation needs to attend a medical appointment.

We also developed a Vulnerability Index based on a multi-dimensional statistical model that incorporates demographic information, medical co-morbidities; social determinants of health (SDOH) or life factors, and personal mobility data. Not only is this model extensively utilized for COVID-19 (testing, culturally appropriate education/communication, and vaccine distribution strategies), but its already been adapted and extended to flu vaccination strategies and schools virtual learning capacity.

These new capabilities help us generate new pathways to advance whole-person health.

Evidence continues to mount that the health and well-being of a community is the sum of its healthcare services as well as its ability to address the SDOH that in many cases overshadow traditional medical care. This is especially true for vulnerable and underserved populations that often have multiple unmet social, economic, and physical needs. COVID-19 has magnified the challenges for these groups.

Through PCCIs work in the community, we are striving to better understand the social determinants of health (SDOH) that exists in an individuals environment, how these factors impact the individual and provide this information to both healthcare providers and community-based organizations so we can take a holistic, whole-person approach to health.

We follow this same approach as it relates to how we operate as an organization. PCCI, its staff and its leadership team, represents a diverse, multi-cultural group of highly-skilled individuals who work collaboratively to further our mission. We celebrate and leverage this diversity as a strength in our work.

While weve always focused on creating and sustaining a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, in 2020 we ramped up our efforts. For instance, we promoted a team member into a newly created role of Chief Diversity Office, expanded the work of our employee engagement committee to focus more heavily on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we introduced company-wide education sessions with industry experts.

In addition to living our values and fostering a culture based on the humble, hungry, smart concept from the Ideal Team Player, we remind each other that I am not different from you, I am different like you, which is a quote from Dr. Laraine Kaminsky introduced by one of our diversity experts.

We are also especially proud of our summer internship program focused on advancing women in data science. The program provides high school, college, and graduate students the opportunity for hands-on training on digital technology and data science projects benefitting the community. Despite COVID-19 challenges, we continued the program (virtually) last year.

The program is named in memory of one of our board members who passed away in late 2019 and who was a tireless champion for advancing women in technology and healthcare. With a lot of hard work, creativity, and flexibility, we successfully recruited, onboarded, and trained eight summer intern students, whose end-of-summer virtual presentations were attended by a large audience of local and national leaders

Several student projects directly contributed to COVID-19 work supporting the local community efforts.

The winning entry of a PCCI virtual Halloween pumpkin decorating contest speaks to perspective. Creator Akshay Arora said you can look at the virus as engulfing the worldor were emerging from the pandemic together through innovation, science, and resiliency [Image: LinkedIn/SteveMiff]

The pandemic has significantly impacted our families, friends, and neighbors in unprecedented and unanticipated ways. As an organization, we constantly remind ourselves how thankful we are to have jobs and the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the local and national pandemic efforts. Playing a direct role in supporting healthcare frontline workers, leaders, and local municipalities through advanced analytics and data has been a motivating factor for our team. Although weve been working harder than ever, our work feels more relevant and meaningful than ever before. We also wanted to offer the flexibility that everyone needed to do their work and attend to their personal family needs. We went 100 percent virtual the second week of March. Within a few days, we were fully operational in a virtual-based work environment and transitioned all meetings, including team stand-ups and scrum meetings, to digital dashboards, etc. We also increased the frequency of our communications and added a weekly, virtual company-wide stand-up. To keep a semblance of normalcy, we continue to keep virtual team breakfasts, monthly game nights, and even the annual Halloween pumpkin carving contest (the winning entry had a very creative COVID-19 spin.Wecelebrate small and large wins as a team and try to laugh together when possible (and appropriate) and pause enough to recharge. It is important that we take moments as we go to reflect on our work and share what we are most proud of and grateful for.

Building Connected Communities of Care is on sale now at HIMSS Publishing and on Amazon. [Photo: via PCCI]

Our focus remains on pioneering new ways to health, not only to serve the needs of Parkland and our local community, but to pursue additional transformative initiatives that could have a broader impact beyond Dallas. For example, we are collaborating with Episcopal Health Foundation to contribute to projects across six core areas across Texas. With the launch of our book, Building Connected Communities of Care, we also created a strategic collaboration with Healthbox, the innovation arm of HIMSS, a mission-driven global advisor and thought leader (over 80,000 members) supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology to drive innovation in the social determinants of health (SDOH). In addition, our state-of-the-art digital data environment, [a trademarked platform called Isthmus], continues to expand in functionality and applications. Combined with our SDOH data hub, Isthmus will increasingly be leveraged to support advanced analytics and digital transformation across markets.

Quincy Preston contributed to this story. A version of this story was originally published in Dallas Innovates 2021: The Resilience Issue.

Our fourth annual magazine, Dallas Innovates 2021: The Resilience Issue, highlights Dallas-Fort Worth as a hub for innovation. The collective strength of the innovation ecosystem and intellectual capital in Dallas-Fort Worth is a force to be reckoned with.

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The collective strength of the innovation ecosystem and intellectual capital in Dallas-Fort Worth is a force to be reckoned with.

Browse our curated selection of opportunities for innovators.

Take a look back on the stories that grabbed our readers' attention amidst the COVID-19 outbreak last month. We've got learning in the living room, mask makers, how Vari is 'work spacing' the workspace, Jacobs' response to the pandemic, and more.

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Here's How the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation is Working to Help Dallas Move Beyond the Pandemic Dallas Innovates - dallasinnovates.com

You love the NHS, right? Well there was a time when the railways and utilities were owned by all of us and when social housing was not stigmatised and students didnt face a life of debt. The 1960s and 70s were no utopia, but maybe we have lost something incredibly valuable in our rush to put the individual over the collective.

How can you write an elegy to the past that informs a better future? This is the task author and broadcaster Stuart Maconie set himself when he wrote The Nanny State Made Me: In Search of A Better Britain, his paean to the post-war welfare state, the main thrust of which is to convince a new audience that we should be re-evaluating those decades. Community, statism, public ownership society call it what you will, Maconies thesis is that the past 40 years have been spent dismantling the states ability to manage society in the interests of the majority and portraying the years between 1945 and 1979 as the bad old days of strikes, inefficiency and decline. He says we have been sold a lie.

Maconie examines the positive aspects of this rich, complex era from accountable public ownership, stigma-free social housing, student grants and, perhaps more than anything, an acceptance that there were some aspects of life that should be kept away from the excesses of carpet-bagging capitalism. Theres plenty of nostalgia in this book: Maconie is typically romantic about the importance of libraries, working-class culture and life on the dole. But more than anything, The Nanny State Made Me (now out in paperback) is about reclaiming the sense of belonging to a shared society and the common purpose that could provide in the age of social media and the gig economy.

GQ How did you go about writing this without making it just a nostalgia trip?

SM I was aware of that and I tried to have to acknowledge it. I could see that I could be accused of sentimentalising the past and I was also very aware that I could seem the ultimate centrist dad. But good things are worth romanticising. I'm not saying the music of the past was any better or the food or the clothes or anything like that, but I am saying that the way we organised our water supply was better, as an example. For half a century we've been fed a false narrative that goes unchallenged that we had to dismantle all that because it wasn't working and we had to put our country in the hands of thrusting, virile entrepreneurs and private enterprise. And that's almost been an article of faith by successive governments since. Critics often say, You're romanticising the past but I think we are demonising the past and romanticising what we replaced it with. So we're seeing the 1970s as all football violence and British Leyland being on strike forever. But you can read it another way: that after the Second World War we reached a political settlement that did pretty well. We ushered in the new Elizabethan era of the Beatles and brilliant telly and brilliant comedy, a lot of which I think was to do with the supportive state system in schools, health and housing. And we're the only country in Europe to pretty much dismantle that and flog it off. And we've made ourselves kind of meaner, cheaper, sicker. I just wanted to say this narrative we've been fed since 1979 is not necessarily the truth.

I want to gently challenge this orthodoxy that the state is bad and business is always good. I am not anti-capitalist. I'm not anti private enterprise. But weve seen the downside of men in shiny suits running things during the pandemic.

We've made ourselves kind of meaner, cheaper, sicker. I just wanted to say this narrative we've been fed since 1979 is not necessarily the truth

It's a difficult environment in which to make your case because you're going up against those 1970s stock images of bins piled up in the street or the gravediggers on strike.

You get a lot of slightly smirking commentaries that go, Everybody knows the 70s were terrible? But were they? The case got a lot easier when, within two or three days of the book going on sale, the lockdown started. It closed the bookshops but was a great marketing strategy because when it comes to the crunch, who stepped up? Overnight, we found out that the business people were nowhere to be seen. They were leaving and begging for money and it was the binmen and nurses who became the heroes.

Just the ideas of state education or social housing are often portrayed as inherently negative now.

We're pretty much alone in Europe on this attitude. Look at Norway, which I know quite well. Its a centre-right country but the Norwegians I know think we are crazy getting into all this debt so you can buy houses that are assets for the future. So why don't you just rent nice houses? They've got a proper social housing sector. But cuts to social housing here have made it seem remedial, like comprehensive education. It's like that attitude of Only losers take the bus.

Apart from the NHS, every aspect of public ownership has been stigmatised. How do you turn that around in a world that is very different to 1979?

Well, we're going to have more and more of those little pinch points. Look what happened to Uber [who've been ordered to pay minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions]. As for the internet, that is way too important to be left a Mark Zuckerberg. People say you can't do anything about it, but you could have some form of state regulation of the internet though not for the same reasons the Chinese do. A kind of digital sovereignty if you like.

Cuts to social housing here have made it seem remedial, like comprehensive education. It's like that attitude of Only losers take the bus

Going back to Norway, you recount a story of a friend who was amazed how blas Brits were about tax evasion.

She said the idea of grown people around the dinner table in North London or wherever saying Ive got a marvellous accountant and he really reduced my tax bill was shocking. She said that would be like in Norway boasting youd done a runner from a restaurant. And she also said the idea of moving to a different postcode to get your children into a better school was insane to Norwegians. To them that would be like moving to get a different water supply. You should get a decent standard of education wherever you are.

What about the symbolic value of public ownership and a decent welfare system?

I think the idea of a shared endeavour is something we've lost and has become unfashionable. Even among the politics of the left in the past few years, we have seen a move to the idea that individual empowerment and individual emancipation is the most important thing in the world. That expressing yourself and being yourself is the greatest human goal. I'm sure it is great. But, to some extent, subsuming your own personal stuff is quite a good thing as well.

The NHS is the last remnant of that idea, isnt it?

I think it might be because when the welfare state was established, the NHS was its symbolic heart. And I think in many ways, that is in our deep national consciousness, all wrapped up with the victory over fascism, the end of the war and the new optimism. I think that is very much intertwined in our minds. Its such a part of our identity and it impinges upon us all. We don't all join the army and we may not all use libraries, but at some point, we will rub up against the National Health Service often at times when we are fearful and vulnerable.

Theres a lot of stuff about libraries in the book. Whats the potted version of why libraries are important in 2021?

A modern library isnt just a place where you take books out though that would still be a good thing. I'm celebrating the place where you can get advice, and where you can see a performance or be in a shared cultural space. Do we need places where you go and put six books under your chin? Maybe not. But do we need a place where you can go for information that you don't have to pay for? I think that's still really important. I'm extending the idea of the library to a shared space.

How do you assess your argument against the negative aspects of the post-war consensus, especially in culture for example, racism or sexism?

That's an interesting point. I am really not celebrating the entirety of that culture. We are talking about the mores of the past. I don't think the culture that made punk rock, for instance, was racist or sexist. But side by side with that were simple things we didn't used to question as we do now, like the use of our language. I think we now realise that the simple, everyday language people used needed to be challenged. I would hope my book is different to a right-wing writer who wouldnt argue that council housing or state education was better but that it was marvellous you could say anything you wanted about anyone. Im saying the economic and social fabric was better back then and Im sure right-wing writers would say the opposite. I dont mind at all that we are moving towards a culture that challenges entitlement.

What about the link between the politics you write about and the culture that was created in those times?

I want to again make the point that I'm not anti-capitalist or anti private enterprise, but I don't think you could have had The Beatles without council housing and state education. And I think the same applies to a lot of writers, playwrights and musicians. But I do think that, in both the production of an educated citizenry to appreciate it, and an educated citizenry to make it, it was really, really crucial. And this is one of my arguments against the culture we're experiencing now. I've got nothing against the actors or musicians who've been drawn from privately-educated worlds of what you might call the upper-middle classes. I know a lot of these people and they're nice people. The issue is that if you only have those people exclusively, you get one view of the world and it will be quite often, by definition, an accepting view of the world rather than a critical or dissenting view of the world. It will include one particular kind of art and art that always just makes you feel comfortable.

What about the role of benefits and grants?

Its about removing the kind of fear from people's lives. Of course, a lot of great art was made by working-class people in hardship. But if you exist in the precariat, as its called, if you're completely at the whim of the gig economy, you wont have the time or inclination to write or make music. What we had in those days was a culture that said you will be to a certain extent protected and provided for. You also need to see people who look and sound like you.

Before we rolled back the state completely, there was more of a feeling that we were not that different from each other. But I think as we've got rid of council housing and libraries, and as all kinds of things are fragmented, then I think our differences have made us feel very different

How does the notion of class inform your book?

Before we rolled back the state completely, there was more of a feeling that we were not that different from each other. But I think as we've got rid of council housing and libraries, and as all kinds of things are fragmented, then I think our differences especially economically have made us feel very different. And that applies to the right and the left. Our loyalties have become both less tribal to class and more tribal in the sense of very small micro tribes, which can be just a handful of people like you who agree with you.

You point out polling that suggests there is a broad, probably under-reported, support for public ownership. How does that butt against a media that doesn't really want to follow that agenda?

The way our country is owned and run now is so opaque. I don't think people realise this. I think that's absolutely true. Imagine if you went up to someone in the street and said, Who do you think should run the prisons? Do you think it should be the government or a company that makes bin bags? I genuinely don't think a lot people know who runs what. The irony is that our electricity supply is in state hands. It's just the French state. We have this weird and arcane system where we've flogged off everything, but most people dont realise that Seven and Trent Water arent the water board. You see with Matt Hancock giving his mates a test and trace contract, and people are beginning to go, hang on? Well, hello, this is how we've run the country for the past 40 years.

Would you concede that there must have been some appetite to get away from the world you are writing about in 1979?

I'm not ahistorical, I'm not saying the 1970s were a golden age. I am saying economically, socially, they're really not as bad as you thought. I don't think it was such a bad time to be a young working-class person, or indeed a middle-aged person. But I do take that point. And I am not saying that there was the golden age that we got rid of. We had an ideological revolution as ideological as the 1979 Iranian Revolution. It was absolutely driven by fundamentalist ideologues. With no great public appetite for it. I'm sure the average man and woman in the street would have said I wish people weren't on strike as much, but I'm not sure if you'd said to them, Do you want the trains to be privatised? there was any great public appetite for that. It wasn't all done for the good of the country. It was done, in many cases, for the good of a particular class and a small section of the country.

You always end up sounding like you're pining for the days when everyone had to watch the Morecambe & Wise Show or whatever. But I do mean we have lost a sense of some shared life experiences, and the celebration of shared life experience.

In lockdown weve learned how much we really missed other people. Sartre said Hell is other people, but I think we see heaven can be other people, too. Lots of the great things we do, we do together

How might that message be communicated and nurtured among Millennials and Gen-Z?

To an extent they're already grasping it. The pandemic has shown we cannot just depend on the very thin network of commerce to get us through. There is a generation that's grown up simply not knowing that once upon a time we had secure council housing. But how do we inform people? I don't know, maybe you write books about it?

Is there is a conflict between the idea of the sanctity of individual identity and the idea of collective action and subsuming yourself into something greater?

We saw on Clapham Common that people getting out with other people is a good way of showing your anger and protesting. Its much more effective than signing a petition. So I think it's interesting. I think that kind of collective communality may be making a comeback.

In lockdown weve learned how much we really missed other people. Sartre said Hell is other people, but I think we see heaven can be other people, too. Lots of the great things we do, from collective action, or suffragettes, to being in a football crowd, lots of the best things we do, we do together. When we emerge from this, we will value the simple stuff like being able to give someone a hug or shake their hand. We might think how important that is to us and all that it implies, in its wider political resonances.

The Nanny State Made Me: In Search Of A Better Britain, Penguin, 9.99

Labour needs policies now: 2021 should be the year of ideas

The origins of The Specials Ghost Town (and why it eerily resonates today)

Domestic abuse after lockdown: controlled, confined and cut off

See the rest here:

Stuart Maconie: The pandemic showed Britain the value of shared experience. The collective is making a comeback' - British GQ

A few months ago, a government ministry representative came to Maagalim for a routine audit. Standing in the doorway, he asked to view the organizations books.

The associations staff immediately complied with his request. But before he looked over the Excel files, he was asked to meet the people behind the data the madrichim (counselors) and the students. He was present at the meeting between the counselors and their charges, and when it ended, he closed the laptop and asked the students, What is the secret? How does the change take place?

One of them replied, Its simple. The counselor relates to whats important to me. I believe in him, and I want to be like him.

This is perhaps the essence of Maagalims success: a team of dedicated counselors and students who recognize that the staff members have their best interests at heart and heed their advice.

Maagalim takes children from outside the mainstream of society and turns them into leaders, says Assaf Weiss, founder and CEO. In the end, it leads to a change in civil society. Instead of these kids being in the back, they become locomotives and drive the train themselves.

Weiss founded Maagalim in 1998. Most of its activities take place for 11th and 12th-grade teenagers in Israels social periphery who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Maagalim helps to guide them to success, acquire tools and deal with lifes challenges. The organizations goals are integrating them into pre-military preparatory courses, significant enlistment in the IDF, developing a profession and higher education.

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I do not use the term youth at risk, Weiss says. In my opinion, everyone is at risk. A child in Herzliya is also at risk, just as a child in Sderot. It is a concept that labels negativity. I prefer to define it as an unsuccessful environment. We work in broad social and geographical peripheries with teenagers who have not experienced success in their lives. Do you know how a child feels to constantly hear the term at risk? I say to a child like this: You have not had any positive experiences, and I will help you change this.

Weiss lives and breathes the organization, and it is hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm and passion. The idea for Maagalim began when he met with youth from Hatzor and Tiberias.

I attended a mechina (pre-military preparatory school), and there I began to discover myself. I started working in Hatzor and Tiberias and met teenagers who did not intend to enlist in the army. My friends and I thought about how we could change that. We developed a pilot program and sent counselors to 12th-grade classes. Soon, we were flooded with requests from school principals. They were happy that there was someone alive and young here who could speak their language.

THE ORGANIZATIONS activities take place as part of the curriculum. Students are given tools for the decision-making process: What will they grow up to be? What do they want to achieve? The idea is to contribute to the shaping and formation of the personality leading to greater social involvement and enlistment in the IDF. Today, the organization operates three main programs from Kiryat Shmona to Yeruham. The programs foundations are mentors in schools, a preparatory program for girls, and accompanying graduates after completing their IDF service.

The first step is preparation for military service, said Weiss. Will army service be easy, or can they make a significant contribution? This is a phenomenon that exists everywhere in Israeli society. Students complete 12th grade and want to perform their military service close to home. Part of the process is to fulfill your potential to learn what is best for you and not give up yourself. We conduct regular activities in the schools, have personal conversations, challenging, value-based activities, all accompanied by the school staff. The girls preparatory program is accompanied by girls who have chosen national service far from home, and in the alumni program, we assist our graduates who have completed their IDF service in choosing professions, academia, and dealing with other challenges.

The operative principle of Maagalim is to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. In this way, the children adopt a different framework one in which they realize that the apparent disadvantage is often their most powerful tool.

We develop individual pride. Pride in ones self not in the flag, or a country or a neighborhood, Weiss continues. A lot of kids dont have it when they get here. Because they have a minimal background in math, or because their parents work in sanitation and are not taken seriously, or because of the city in which they grew up. If the child continues in this way, he will ruin his future. We say, Take your reality and make it your biggest advantage. For example, use a trait like boldness and self-assurance in a positive way. These kids decide for themselves and are independent. I tell them, Because you are this way, you are unstoppable. Thats our goal.

Maagalim operates in 90 schools, and runs 330 different groups for about 6,700 students. Before corona, there were 8,200 students. One of the challenges in this year of social distancing was enabling continued participation, even when there is no obligation to attend a Zoom.

Our mentors develop personal empowerment through face-to-face, personal connection. When corona arrived, we wondered how we would connect with them. We switched to a virtual connection, and their mentors accompanied them on Zoom. The educational staff had to reinvent itself on WhatsApp groups, with activities, live and online broadcasts, and even with Good morning messages essential during this period of social disconnection. We used new platforms to reach their hearts. It is much more difficult to reach a child remotely. Without a staff that knew how to bridge the distance, we would not have survived this year. In my eyes, they are the heroes of the year.

How difficult was it to recruit donors during a worldwide economic crisis?

It was very hard at first. Most of our donors are from abroad, and when the skies closed, it was difficult. But, we trained ourselves very quickly. We contacted them and were interested in their well-being. Today the relationship has even strengthened and is closer than it was before. In the first three months of 2020, we almost suffered an economic collapse, but the year ended like 2019. The fear is actually of the future consequences of the crisis, but there are many good people and organizations who believe in us, and I believe things will be okay. The successes speak for themselves, and everyone understands the importance of what we do.

This week, a Maagalim conference was held under the banner Education in a Changing Reality. Among the attendees were President Reuven Rivlin, noted educator Miriam Peretz, Rabbi Shai Piron, MKs Ayelet Shaked, Yifat Shasha-Biton, Naftali Bennett and Gideon Saar, as well as businessmen such as Rami Levy, Ofer Yanai, and others. The conference examined educational and social issues alongside corona realities, and was broadcast live on social media.

The conference was attended by businesspeople, people working in the field, and colleagues. We discussed three main topics: soft drugs and their impact on teenagers, the bagruyot (matriculation certificate) and its importance, and whether socio-economic background can predict success in life.

These are major topics for professors in academia, but for teens, this is their daily routine. We wanted to create a dialogue between them and the conference participant.

For three months, Maagalim collected questions and answers from 3,500 students who answered a survey on Zoom and WhatsApp. The goal was to learn about their difficulties, about coping during this period, and their opinions regarding the conference topics.

Regarding bagruyot, we asked them whether the system should be changed, and if so, how it should be done. Will matriculation lead to greater success in their lives? They said that this was the first time they had been asked for their opinion on the subject. It gave them the feeling that their opinions were important. Another issue we looked at was cannabis and soft drugs. We asked if they have been exposed to them and if they felt cannabis should be legalized. We brought in experts in the field to discuss their answers. The third and perhaps most significant question was whether socioeconomic background can predict success in life. Fully 50% of them answered unequivocally, Yes. This is a stomach-turning number. We analyzed this number and explained how a child in Hatzor and Sderot perceives himself and his future. He was born there, and this is the consciousness with which he was raised. In the end, this will be his reality because it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the survey, we asked the child what he thinks of himself, and it is essential that decision-makers hear them.

Which panel particularly moved you?

There was a fascinating interview with Rami Levy. He said that in fourth grade, he was held back a year because he had to work and help his family, and he told what it did to him the shame and the feeling that the system marks you as unequal. He said he had to start over. No one considered social and business skills that might lead to greater success than grades. After eighth grade, he said farewell to the educational system.

At the conference, he said, Imagine what would have happened if the educational system had succeeded with me, and I hadnt dropped out of school. I wouldnt be Rami Levy today. He is not suggesting that students drop out of school, but is telling the educational system, Even if your students only receive a grade of 50, they can still become Rami Levi.

Another statement that greatly strengthened me was when Ofer Yanai, founder and CEO of Nofar Energy, who grew up in Yavne under challenging conditions, was asked about the source of his success. He replied that he felt obligated to prove to his parents that he could succeed despite their origins. It was fascinating to hear about the source of his motivation. At the end of the conference, I thought about the clich of turning lemons into lemonade. How can I take these childrens backgrounds, that is not Herzliya and Raanana, and show them that they can succeed? How do I make them proud of their origins and realize that this so-called disadvantage is what gives them relative advantages? That is the goal of Maagalim.

Perhaps the greatest success of all is when those trainees who were nurtured in Maagalim grew up and became mentors for the next generation?

Most of our mentors are alumni, Weiss concludes. These are students who have gone through a process, become mentors in the organization, and come back to teach and mentor. Its a stunning circle that speaks to the concept. You return to where you came from and set a personal example. It is moving to see how our graduates lovingly return to the neighborhood and want to give back. It is a closing of the circle that conveys our vision.

This article was written in cooperation with Maagalim.

Translated by Alan Rosenbaum.

More:

Maagalim helping fulfill the potential of tomorrow - The Jerusalem Post

You could say it began with a smoothie. In the summer of 2018, Jordan Younger, otherwise known as @thebalancedblonde (228,000 followers on Instagram), posted a big anti-inflammatory cinnamon spirulina smoothie bowl on her popular account. Pea-soup green and sprinkled with cinnamon, it beckoned to Caroline*, a 29-year-old PR representative based in Los Angeles, from her Popular page like a beacon of good health. Maybe this was the answer to the mysterious stomach ailments that had plagued her for years. Her profile was like, I tried eating this way, and it cured my lifelong stomach problems!, recalled Caroline. @thebalancedblondes perspective on traditional medicinethat it often overlooked root causes in favor of quick fixes and overmedicationresonated.

But after a while Caroline started to notice that, in between dreamy shots of Youngers Brentwood kitchen and photogenic, plant-based recipes, she began promoting alternative healing methods, like water fasting. Caroline found them a bit too out-there. When the pandemic hit, Younger made her stance on vaccines plain: In an October 2020 podcast she proclaimed that she would not personally be getting a Covid-19 vaccine. I have some really strong opinions about [vaccines]perhaps I will bring on my holistic doctor to talk about that soon and our thoughts on diseases that are caused by vaccines in this country, she said. [Its] very, very corrupt. For Caroline, this went too far. She began to question all the advice the influencer had given over the years. While Im into functional, Eastern medicine, I think its dangerous to ignore science, she said.

Still, Caroline wasnt exactly surprised. Youngers views are typical of the kind of privileged, whitewashed, holistic health ideology that so often tips into science denialism, anti-vaccine activism, and, in some cases, the promotion of outright conspiracy theories.

There was a time when the language of vaccine hesitancywhich shares certain buzzwords with the language of wellness, wrapped in pleas not to judge, framed as self-empowerment, and bathed in the light and love of New Age spiritualitywas easy enough to dismiss. After all, the average adult, unless they had small children, probably didnt think too much about vaccines. But today, vaccines, and the question of whether or not the population will get them, is one of global urgency. In order for the Covid-19 pandemic to wane, scientists initially estimated that between 60 percent and 70 percent of people will need to develop resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity; more recently, Dr. Anthony Fauci put that number even higher at up to 85 percent. And while those whove had or will get the virus count toward those numbers, theyll also contribute to the spreadand the death tollmaking widespread vaccination by far the safest and most effective way to finally put the pandemic behind us. A November 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that only 60 percent of Americans said they would definitely or probably get a vaccine if given the chance, and while that number is a significant increase from what polls found in September, suggesting a positive trend, it is still woefully short of the target.

Anti-vaxx activists have been vocal; they see this as an opportunity to spread their message.Rene DiResta

Initial skepticism of the vaccine was understandable, even for those who wouldnt have blinked at getting vaccinated in the past: The timeline to introduce the first FDA-authorized vaccine was faster than any that had come before it, and it was heavily politicized, sowing doubt. Within Black and brown communities, decades of abuse and systemic racism have led to an erosion of trust in the medical establishment. But as peer-reviewed studies showing the safety and efficacy of various Covid vaccines continue to pile up, a lingering strain of vaccine resistanceranging from hesitancy to all-out conspiracy theorymay signal something more insidious.

Anti-vaxx activists have been vocal; they see this as an opportunity to spread their message, said Rene DiResta, research manager at Stanford Universitys Internet Observatory, where she investigates the rise of malign narratives across social networks. They sincerely believe that the Covid-19 vaccine is going to be a disaster and that it will convince a lot of people to come to their side.

It may be working. According to a July 2020 report from the U.K.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), the most-followed social media accounts held by anti-vaxxers increased their following by at least 7.8 million people since 2019. Last fall, in searching for vaccine on Amazon, Bloomberg reporters found that two anti-vaxx books had climbed into the top-five results. This past January, the CCDH reported that five prominent anti-vaccine groups had received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. While still president-elect, Trump met with notable anti-vaccination activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose organization Childrens Health Defense has perhaps the most powerful anti-vaccination campaign in the country, reportedly to explore the possibility of a commission on vaccine safety and integrity. In February of this year, Kennedy was banned from Instagram for promoting misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, including the debunked theory that Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates was profiting off them. Anti-vaccination rhetoric has even been used as a geopolitical weapon against the United States: A 2018 study out of George Washington University found that Russian bots were instrumental in fueling the online debate around vaccines between 2014 and 2017, uncovering thousands of Twitter accounts that had been used to spread misinformation and anti-vaccine messaging in the U.S. In doing so, the Russians may or may not have contributed to the dangerous measles outbreaks that started in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, but they certainly eroded public consensus on vaccines. In late April, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that nearly half of all Twitter accounts tweeting misinformation about the coronavirus were likely bots deployed, they hypothesized but could not substantiate, by China or Russia. By December, Josep Borrell, the European Unions top diplomat, was pointing fingers, accusing the Russian media of spreading baseless claims to discredit Western-developed vaccines.

On January 6, 2021, as rioters were storming the Capitol, Dr. Christiane Northrup (@drchristianenorthrup; 753,700 followers across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) was starting a six-day water fast at her well-appointed Airbnb. Northrup is a board-certified OB/GYN and something of a den mother to the New Age and anti-vaxx communities. That day, Northrup, whose shoulder-length white-blonde bob and blue eyes and rosy cheeks lent her something of a Martha Stewart vibe, had uploaded a video pledging to consume nothing but alkaline water, with maybe a pinch of Himalayan sea salt, as part of a reset.

In the following days, Northrup proselyted that Covid-19 vaccines would disrupt mankinds enlightenment, lowering our vibrations. The dissonant blend of holistic health advice and conspiracy theory has become a hallmark of Northrups video sermons, delivered in a soothing ASMR voice and sometimes accompanied by her playing the harp. Although she has long been an outspoken critic of vaccinations, during the pandemic Northrup began to reference QAnon tenets like the Great Awakening, a reckoning of religious proportions that will see lightness overcome darkness on earth, and espousing conspiracy theory that the pandemic had been planned by the government with the help of Bill Gates and George Soros. By October she was outright advocating for Q: I want you, personally, to look up Q, she said in an October 12 video. Just go ahead and look it up. You decide.

When Sarah* first encountered Northrup around six years ago, she was a new mom and had recently separated from her babys father. I had no idea what kind of mother I was going to be, she said. She assumed she would do all the regular things, like getting her son circumcised, vaccinated, and having him sleep in the crib shed set up in the nursery. But once she gave birth, everything changed. She was immediately bowled over by the intense love and protectiveness she felt for her son. Suddenly the idea of jabbing him with a needle to protect him from diseases she hadnt heard of in a long time seemed wrong. I thought, Ive got this perfect child, and Im going to do what to him?

Looking for advice, Sarah started reading books recommended by other moms in her affluent white circle of friends, who ascribed to the same attachment-style parenting she was now interested in. One such book was Northrups Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom. The book, first published in 1994 and now in its fifth edition, presents sound medical advice (like eating well and getting enough rest) alongside woo-woo musings from astrologers and psychics, including a how-to guide to Shamanic Imprint Removal, to heal emotional wounds. It also includes a section titled Vaccines: Helpful or Harmful, in which Northrup encourages the reader to decide for yourself, while at the same time dismissing certain vaccine ingredients as potentially toxic, and drawing a link between childhood vaccinations and the rise in cases of autism and ADHD (a theory that has been consistently refuted). Sarah said she liked that Northrup was balanced, and just presented the facts, and wasnt trying to jam a message down my throat, like with doctors who act like youre crazy if you even ask one question about vaccines. She also liked that Northrup validated her gut instinct to delay vaccination.

Thats like asking me to light my child on fire to save yours. Jen Stoeckert

Fast-forward a few years, and Sarahs son is healthy and mostly vaccinated, and a pandemic is upon us. Sarah is still tuning in to Northrups channels. The Great Awakening, which shes noticed in posts from Northrup and other wellness influencers, strikes a chord. I think intuition is powerful, and some of usnot because we are better but because weve worked on itare able to perceive things beyond whats there on face value, she said. There is a major divide we can see everywhere, and I think there will be an uprising, an upheaval. When I asked Sarah what she thinks of QAnon, she told me, Ive heard about it, of course, but I dont actually know what it is. Should I be following it?

The troubling genius of both QAnon and anti-vaccination campaigns is how innocuous they can, at first, appear. The Great Awakening and the hashtag #savethechildren, two highly effective viral QAnon campaigns, do not scream far-right extremism. Do your own research, the rallying cry of conspiracy theorists everywhere, is a misleading logical fallacy. Facts and data do not have meaning in isolation. They need to be analyzed by someone with enough knowledge and context to communicate their significance. Doctors and scientists do not toil alone in secrecy; rather, there is a strict peer-review process in which research is challenged, evaluated, and interpreted.

There are a number of predictive factors that are linked to whether someone may believe in a conspiracy theory, but one of the strongest indicators is whether they already believe in another one. For New Agers who had already bought into the anti-vaccination movements core tenetsthat the government is lying to us, endangering usthe door was open to extremism and conspiracy.

The meeting point of QAnon and the wellness communityits vaccinesits where everything converges, said Derek Beres, who, along with Julian Walker and Matthew Remski, created Conspirituality, a popular podcast that explores the growing overlap between New Age spirituality and right-wing conspiracy thinking. Before the pandemic, vaccines were not a central topic of interest to QAnoners. But as the virus spread, lockdowns followed, and people were spending more time than ever refreshing their social media feeds, theories began to proliferate that Gates had planned the pandemic for the sole purpose of creating a vaccine mandate that would make every injected human trackable by a GPS microchip. To Walker, the refocus was not a coincidence. I really think that, somewhere in the network of people who were propagating this QAnon stuff, there was an attempt to figure out how to really reach people in [the wellness] community, and they realized vaccines were the way to go.

Northrup declined to be interviewed for this story. A spokesperson wrote to suggest that it would be better to obtain a quote from the real expert, Carrie Madej, D.O., because [Dr. Northrup] learned pretty much everything about this Covid vaccine from her. Madej is a widely discredited osteopath whose outlandish claims about the vaccines supposed ability to rewire our DNA has drawn the ire of the medical establishment. Nevertheless, Northrup continues to post baseless theories about the vaccines on her social media channels.

One thing we know is that when people are trying to evaluate new information, they go to the people they already trust to see what they have to say about it, DiResta said. While the average person wouldnt ask their local barista to look at the funny mole on their back or go to their mailman for dieting tips, to their legions of followers, influencers like Northrup and Younger dont seem like strangers. Theyve been with them through heartbreak and pain; theyve watched them fall in love, grieve partners, and raise their children. Leveraging that trust, these influencers enjoy outsider status even though some have followings that match those of the mainstream media personalities they often rail against.

One of the most pernicious fallacies promoted by anti-vaxx rhetoric is that good health is an individual responsibility and achievement, when it is more often the result of privilege. Northrup and other wellness influencers preach that health obstacles can be overcome with an all-organic diet, exercise, sufficient vitamin D levels and, most importantly, a positive mindset. Walker, who cohosts the Conspirituality podcast, described the phenomenon as this idea of, if I can have this blissful ignorance about how other people suffer realities of oppression and poverty, and that can somehow be unconsciously baked into my spiritual sense of self-reliance and not needing anybody or anything, then everybody else could also be this way, if they were also this spiritually advanced.

Jen Stoeckert (@minimalbeauty; 9,963 followers on Instagram) is a Miami Beach holistic facialist who occasionally promotes vaccine conspiracy theories in between gua sha tutorials and skin-care tips. If you decide not to take the vaccine, youre taking responsibility for your own health, she said. Id personally rather take responsibility for my own health versus, like, the government. She continued: I believe in freedom of choice. As long as youre not harming anyone or the planet, you should be able to have that freedom; you shouldnt be ostracized because your belief system is different. When I pointed out that refusing to vaccinate could very well lead to the preventable death of someone you unintentionally infected, as was the case in the 2015 West Coast measles outbreak, Stoeckert told me, Thats like asking me to light my child on fire to save yours, a common refrain among anti-vaxxers.

The most frustrating thing...has been to explain to people why they should care about other people.Laurel Bristow

If you listen long enough, the natural immunity that the overwhelmingly white anti-vaxxers and wellness influencers preach about starts to sound a lot like social Darwinism, the dangerous belief at the core of eugenics and, in turn, Nazism, that the human species can be improved by breeding out less desirable traits. It also ignores the fact that a daily meditation practice, all-organic diet, eight hours of sleep at night, and sufficient vitamin D levels is a fantasy well out of reach for large swaths of the population. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Americans have suffered far worse than white ones during the pandemic. It is also these populations that, due to systemic racism and poverty, are more likely to live in food desertsplaces where the availability of affordable, nutritious food is close to zeroand have less access to child-care and health-care options. Arguing in favor of natural remedies that only the privileged can afford in place of a widely available vaccine is to exhibit a toxic strain of the same dangerous white supremacy that has spurred on the QAnon movement.

Though the pandemic has unleashed a torrent of misinformation, it also presents a new opportunity for the medical establishment to rout out anti-vaccination efforts. The word vaccine is appearing in mainstream headlines like never before, along with lengthy explanations of how and why they work. The impact of Covid-19 on our daily lives is undeniable, and could offer the biggest incentive yet for someone to get vaccinated.

DiResta, the researcher at Stanford, believes that social media plays a crucial role in determining which information will ultimately float to the top. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube need to be held accountable for the conspiracy theories allowed to flourish there; greater restrictions, closer monitoring, and further transparency will be vital, and users who spread misinformation should be demonetized or deplatformed. But she also believes that, in order to combat the vast amount of misinformation spewed by anti-vaxxers, the medical establishment will need to adapt to the new digital landscapeand fast. In other words, the sedate press conferences that organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have relied on for decades are just not going to cut it anymore. Places where people are searching for information where theres a lot of user-generated content, theres going to be a narrative battleground, DiResta said. You dont fight compelling stories with a dry table of facts, unfortunately. You have to recognize that a lot of people are responding to these stories because theyre emotional. DiResta recommends coordinated efforts to work with community leaders and other influencers who can share personal stories about being vaccinated, as well as the victims of Covid-19.

Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, represents a new model of communication for the medical establishment. At the start of the pandemic in mid-March of last year, Bristow began posting videos to her then-private Instagram account (@kinggutterbaby; 354,000 followers), explaining to her then 600-person following what the scientific community understood about the virus after she received questions from family and friends. When they asked if they could share these videos with other people who had similar queries, Bristow decided to make her account public. I thought Id make it public for, like, 24 hours, she said. But when she saw how misinformed and confused people were getting over conspiracy theories proliferating online about both the virus and the vaccine, she decided to leave her profile open. By the end of the year, Bristow had built a following of more than 300,000 for her relatable and easy-to-understand videos that explain complicated scientific processes (like how a vaccine works) and debunk conspiracy theories. I still have all my personal pictures up, from like birthday parties and stuff, she said. I thought about deleting them when I started to get all these followers, but then I thought, No, its important that people see I am a normal person.

Bristow usually films her videos right at her kitchen table, against the backdrop of her colorful floral wallpaper and magnet-covered fridge. I think there needs to be a real effort within the scientific community at transparency, and communicating better and connecting better with the general population, she said. If people could see that we scientists are just normal people, who are trying to do the right thing and working hard, instead of these white-coat figures in an ivory tower, theyd feel more trust toward us. Not that its been easy, so far, to step into that role. Bristow has been the frequent target of anti-vaxx trolls, and regularly receives abuse in her inbox. When I asked her what has been the most persistent myth shes had to debunk, she paused for a moment. I think, she began carefully, the most frustrating thing, and the most common thing, has been to explain to people why they should care about other people.

*Name has been changed

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The Virus, the Vaccine, and the Dark Side of Wellness Harper's Bazaar - HarpersBAZAAR.com

Derrick Masangu

Allow me to utter a word or two in your newspaper on one of the traditions that is slowly fading and eroding away, which is the celebration of Independence Day.

Nowadays Independence Day in Namibia is celebrated just like any other ordinary day of the calendar, and even Valentines Day enjoys more momentum and hype than it.

To drift you a bit back, on the 21st of March, 1990, I was barely two years old and I really cant recall anything that transpired during that day and year. Most of the things I know about it have just been narrated to me by my dear mother.

Nevertheless, as I grew up and then started with my schooling I was introduced to the general history of this country (Namibia).

We were taught about how a few brave men and women sacrificed their personal and familys lives by deciding to join the armed struggle to liberate our nation, which they eventually did.

I also vividly remember the euphoria that existed in the 90s when I was in elementary school. I must say Independence Day was a day filled with pride and jubilation. From the dress code, dance to artistic expressions, indeed it was a countrywide thing then. Is it that I was just literally a kid in a candy store then, or have things really changed?

I dont know whether I am just oblivious, but I barely see that today, especially with the youth, consideling the fact that they are the majority! Now one asks the question: What could be the reason(s) to justify this philosophical status quo?

To understand this, we need to go back to the simple definition of the term democracy, as it is the foundation of independence. Democracy is the rule of the people, by the people. Nevertheless, this simple definition carries in itself a more deeper meaning that speaks power to humanity. It engulfs a number of principles, such as justice, freedom and equality. Meaning the absence of any of these principles triggers a sense of exclusion! Our current president has often said: Inclusion breeds harmony, while exclusion breeds conflict.

Namibia is now 31 years old as a sovereign state, with a democratic constitution that speaks volumes to political, social and economic freedom. Namibia has one of the best constitutions in the world, but one may ask a question: Is everyone really enjoying these freedoms and liberties, or is it only ahandful?

From the politicians perspective, definitely they will say yes in order to cover and safeguard their reputations, and maintain the status quo. They will say this by blaming and accusing the youth of being lazy and not being able to create avenues for self-employment and empowerment.

On the other hand the youth s perspective, which I really concur with, is that the government is not doing enough to help them uplift themselves. Yes, we have heard of government initiatives that are aimed at helping the youth with funding and start-up capital for them to venture into projects and SMEs, but I am also under no illusion that these funds often do not reach the intended and needy youth, as they literally end up in the pockets of the same politicians who preach self-empowerment. Can I talk about government tenders? Unfortunately I dont have enough ink to scribble the obvious.

That being said, for me the words Independence Day in the current Namibiancontext mean a day when our ancestors turn in their graves, because of the corruption which has rooted itself in the very nation that they put their lives on the line for. It has cenented itself and rotted out the core of moral cohesion in our society. It is a cancer that keeps on spreading.

There is an African proverb that says, A hungry man, is an angry man so is the case with our Namibian youth today. They have lost hope in our government, thats why they have resorted to all kinds of anarchy, rascalism and hooliganism. Its a pity to say this, but its the sad truth.

A person can endure a warm stove for a while, but the one sitting on a hot one has no patience!

The only way that government will win back the trust and loyalty of the downtrodden and the locked out, is to exercise honesty and transparency.

Let the government not just tell the youth what they need to hear, but do what the youth want to see being done. Sadly, the time to listen to sugar-coated liberation struggle stories is over, and we want to hear visionary stories now.

I suggest that on this day of 21 March, all of us should sit down to reminisce, introspect and have our checks and balances in order as a nation.

We should also have a thorough and deep introspection of our system as coined by our current president in 2020. This will help us in pinpointing where we have gone wrong, and what changes should we make. With the focus mainly highlighting the hopes and aspirations of our youth, as they are the ones who will eventually inherit this country.

In addition, despite all these adversities and frustrations faced by us as the youth, and the nation as a whole, let us try to emerge from these hardships through embracing our presidents declaration of 2021 as the year of resilience. Resilient people will always keep going, even if the going gets tough! If our forefathers conquered the political struggle, then so can we in the economic and current pandemic struggle. The blueprint is already there, as drafted by government, but it needs everyone on board for implementation.

Finally, let me urge my fellow youth to support the sovereign government in making this Independence Day a success. This is the time when we should all put our differences aside, join hands, show solidarity, and march in the spirit of One Namibia, One Nation.

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Independence Day in the Namibian context - Truth, for its own sake. - New Era

The University of Denver is committed to living our values of diversity and inclusion. We recognize that our community and institutional success is dependent on how well we engage and embrace the rich diversity of our faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. With that shared value in mind, throughout this academic year, we plan to publish a series of articles to celebrate cultural and ethnic heritage months. In partnership with Human Resources & Inclusive Community and the Staff of Color Association (SOCA), we will feature a staff or faculty member in recognition of each heritage month, along with an event to honor one another and learn about our unique differences.

When Edwina Simms took the job as the University of Denvers director of regional engagement for the southeast region, she refused to be pigeonholed. Not only did her Alexandria, Virginia-based position allow her to build relationships with alumni, it gave her the opportunity to work with students, families, faculty, staff and community partners.

When a global pandemic threatened to isolate her from the community she loved, Simms, once again, refused to be limited.

Its been so incumbent on myself and my regional colleagues to continue to build upon that sense of enhancing community and continuing to connect in different ways, she says. It has really, if anything, allowed for some of our creative juices to flow to find more meaningful ways to connect.

The result was C.U.E. (connect, uplift, empower) the Mic, a series of virtual events open to the entire DU community and focused on inspiring women. Five events drew more than 500 registrants on Zoom last fall and welcomed a panel of DU faculty and thought leaders for interactive discussions and dialogues. From a discussion of the role of the female voice in the 2020 election to a webinar on how to manage your career, Simms aimed to celebrate women in the DU community through education, advocacy, inclusion and mutual support.

It shouldnt just be a Womens History Month opportunity, Simms says. We should be celebrating the actions and achievements of women and uplifting and empowering them in different ways throughout the year. C.U.E. the Mic allows us to bring people into the fold that maybe we had not before, offer mentorship space for our students, offer the opportunity to highlight the level of excellence that exudes within our alumni community as well as our parents, and ultimately bring a better sense of community.

In celebration of Womens History Month, Simms joined the DU Newsroom to share her story.

One of your online bios starts with this sentence: As a woman who believes in serving causes far greater than herself ... What does that mean, and where does it come from?

Its a personal mantra of mine. I have always believed in working for causes greater than myself because we are all here for a purpose and its not self-serving. Its an opportunity for us to serve others. I believe that I am a public servant. In my faith, I believe that I am being used by God to do the work that hes called me to do. I feel its a part of all of our callings to fit into that space to really help push toward supporting equality, equitability or support for all.

How do that mantra and outlook intersect with the work you do for DU?

I see how theres a need for a diversity of thought and a diversity of opinion. Im happy that I can offer or share my personal thoughts, by no means talking on behalf of an entire group of individuals, but I see how my drive to work with causes far greater than myself allows for me to advocate and push for a true diversity of thought and an additional perspective into certain work were looking to accomplish as a university. In observing and seeing the work that has been done so diligently by members of the DU community and also recognizing some gaps, I saw that there was definitely an opportunity that existed with regards to highlighting, recognizing and drawing a greater sense of belonging for women in our community.

Tell us more about C.U.E. the Mic.

When you think about cueing the mic, youre teeing it up; youre preparing for someone to come to the mic and hopefully say something thats powerful, impactful in some way, shape or form. The acronym connect, uplift, empower thats motivating people to say something more meaningful and more powerful.

It was very much a passion project, but also an entrepreneurial opportunity to just home in on things that are so important to me. If theres an absence of your perspective or absence of your identity in the work youre being called to do, I think its incumbent upon you to step up to that plate and advocate for change and advocate for that additional thought or perspective to be present.

In the summertime, with the November general election quickly approaching, [I thought,] why not identify a platform to celebrate women in a unique way that we can also hopefully highlight the [100th anniversary of the] womens suffrage movement? It was going to be just an event to talk about voter empowerment and the womens voice. A colleague of mine said, Edwina, you should make this an actual series, not just a one-time transactional opportunity of thought and discussion and dialogue.

Its not by any means the Edwina show, but rather the University of Denver and our commitment to the public good and ensuring that all communities are celebrated in different ways. We can leverage this thematic series as an opportunity to celebrate and connect and uplift and empower women.

What has it been like seeing your idea come to life?

Its exciting. You have this thought, and you want to see it come to fruition. Then you start to see the gears move and the momentum happen and people actually acknowledge it and want to be a part of it. All of that warms my heart. It also lets me know that the work my colleagues and I put forth is not in vain.

[C.U.E. the Mic] is for everyone. Were celebrating the cultural and social achievements as well as work thats being done to push the needle forward on diversity, equity and inclusion.

I was very intentional with the words for C.U.E. the Mic as far as understanding the importance of allyship and the importance of inclusivity, because there are a lot of ways to be a woman. It is not monolithic by any means. It encompasses so many intersections. For some, womanhood is strength. For others, it could be tenderness. But there shouldnt be a definition of womanhood by relationships, jobs, body parts or anything else. It should be defined by you.

What is your definition?

Particularly as a Black woman, there are so many obstacles and challenges that you face. So the strength that lies within women, the sheer essence of continuing to push through and persevere and be resilient despite all obstacles, that is womanhood to me. I see it, I breathe it, I stand upon strong shoulders of women who have done it far greater than me. And I pray that I can be half the woman that my mother and my grandmother were. I know I have a little woman-to-be whos looking up to me in the same way that I looked up to my mom and my grandmother. Theres a sense of responsibility that comes with motherhood that youre not just doing it for yourself. Youre doing it for all women.

When we recognize Womens History Month and International Womens Day, what are you thinking about? Who are you thinking about?

Im thinking about all the women who came before me and what the future holds for my generation and generations to come. I am celebrating so much of the strength that exists within women I have looked up to, but I have to say, if I had to give you examples, the first and foremost, without a doubt, would be my mother. I think immediately of her and all she was able to accomplish.

My mother was a mother of three. She was a first-generation college student, and she also ended up pursuing paths that even she didnt know she was going to pursue. She was the first woman and African American to become a member of the Florida House of Representatives for District 118. That district, in the southern part of the state, didnt have women or people of color to represent that area. It wasnt until she took that step and had the people rally behind her that she was able to break that glass ceiling.

Looking at and thinking of women like [former U.S. Congresswoman] Shirley Chisholm and seeing what she did, paving the way for who we have now in our vice presidency. You cant help but be proud of those things, acknowledge and see the strength and perseverance and resilience that existed in them. Now it feels like the torch is being passed to all of us to continue to do something to impact the world on a positive level to the best of our ability. However you see yourself fitting in that puzzle, its incumbent upon you to do your work to, hopefully, positively impact society in some way.

In partnership with Human Resources & Inclusive Community, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The Cultural Center, Community + Values, and the Staff of Color Association, we will feature a staff or faculty member in recognition of each heritage month, along with an event to honor one another and learn about our unique differences. If you are aware of any events that are happening on campus or have an idea for Heritage Month events,we'd love to hear about themand promote them campus-wide.

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Celebrating Women's History Month With Edwina Simms - University of Denver Newsroom

By Lilian Ndilwa

Dar es Salaam. Phylisiah Mcheni, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at IRIS Advisory Services Africa - a Human Resource and Change Advisory Services organization talks to The Citizen Rising Woman about her experience in the recruitment world.

At the age of 16, I started working for an advertising agency as a sales representative on commission basis. At the same time I was attending a course in secretarial. On completion of the one-year course, I worked as a Personal Assistant for several organizations and from this role, I progressed to administrative assistant for a Marine & Fishing Group of companies whilst at the same time attending a course on advanced certificate in business administration and Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management, says Ms Mcheni.

Immediately upon her completion, Ms Mcheni joined Wartsila East Africa Plant as Human Resource Lead, thereafter she continued with her part-time studies pursuing a Masters degree in Business Administration in Human Resource Management.

Prior to starting IRIS Executive Development Centre, she had worked with Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC) as Training Manager, Zantel as the Human Resource Systems Development Manager and Barclays Bank as the Head of Talent, Learning and Development.

My journey has really been one of resilience, challenges and great opportunities for growth, says Ms Mcheni.

She says when a person is young, it is normal to dream big, sometimes the dreams can become unattainable depending on ones background.

I had goals and as long as you possess goals, you will not be lost completely. I got detracted from them from time to time but, I would again re-focus, details Ms Mcheni.

She further says; I would not overlook my former bosses who recognized my potential and held my hand and allowed me to learn, presented me with resources and opportunities for growth.

Ms Mcheni explains that the most vulnerable moment of her life was when she lost her husband five years ago.

My entrepreneurial journey has been difficult and toilsome at times but one of the merits that I have acquired from my past experiences is resilience and strength. Nonetheless, each time I fell, I was obliged to obtain strength in order to rise. Thus each time I rose, I was a little stronger and more optimistic than before, she shares.

Ms Mcheni says she is naturally an extremely introverted person and in terms of her leadership style, she focuses more on execution and results rather than inconsequential issues like clocking in and out.

I expect that when I share my vision, then our focus should be on the deliverables, she notes.

Ms Mcheni appraised mentorship as she categorizes it as one of the growth processes in a persons life.

As we move along our life journey, we all need to have mentors, people that would challenge our status quo and way of thinking, when I was working at TCC, I was mentored by Tatiana Dearden and Patrick Foya, who I worked with, she says.

Ms Mcheni has been a mentor with several non-profit organizations like Manjano Foundation in Tanzania and also with Unreasonable East Africa and SHONA in Uganda to assist young start-ups in setting up their human resource infrastructure.

I have also been involved in unstructured mentor relationships with several young women who are in the HR profession, and mostly I would want mentees with a willingness to take feedback, she explains. She says that leadership is enhanced by skills development because in the current transformative working world, we need to focus on building skills.

I would also encourage leaders to make use of Assessment Centres, as the process will help build their emotional intelligence and self-awareness, says Ms Mcheni.

As she addressed lack of diversity in top leadership, Ms Mcheni says women need to continue building self confidence and ensure that they effectively participate in all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.

We should not wait to be given, we need to take our space as equal partners. We must learn to use our voices where there are injustices and unfairness be it at home, workplace or in the community. Women change the world for the better the question is, are we doing it?, she notes. Ms Mcheni details that part of women empowerment methods is the establishment of women recognition initiatives that spotlights women generally whilst balancing gender. She says these kinds of initiatives can be sustained by encourage culture learning and personal and societal growth.

The society needs to do away with the culture of organizing events that dont add long term value to women, she noted, adding; The women empowerment initiatives should not only focus on providing fishing rods but also on the how to use the fishing rods effectively and opening up opportunities to women at all levels.

My proudest achievement since the establishment of IRIS, is that we pioneered the annual HR summit a gathering of human resource professionals in Tanzania for the past 10 years.

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Journey of resilience, challenges, and growth - The Citizen

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 8

International Womens Day celebrations were held in various educational institutes across the city. While some organised exhibitions, some held webinars, games, slogan-writing competitions in honour of women.

Law Dept, GNDU regional campus

A webinar on International Womens Day was organised under the guidance of Dr Rupam Jagota, HoD and associate professor, Department of Laws, GNDU regional campus, Jalandhar, on Changing counters of womens rights. CJM-cum-secretary, DLSA, delivered the keynote address. He highlighted the practical aspects of issues relating to women ensuring legal justice as well as the use of mediation and conciliation in justice delivery system. He depicted two stories relating to women with special reference to custody rights of children and protection of women from sexual harassment at their work places.

DAV University

DAV Universitys Women Empowerment Cell organised inter-department event for girl students and women staff to commemorate International Womens Day. The event was organised in association with the department of sports and physical education. The celebrations revolved around the theme Fit Women Fit India. Rajwinder Kaur, a noted judo player who represented India in national and international judo events, was the chief guest. Dr Jasbir Rishi, VC (officiating), said Womens Day celebrates the struggle, strength and efforts in maintaining the balance on personal and professional fronts. Participating students fought for supremacy in various sport events including mini-football, tug of war, kho-kho, 100m race, 4x100m relay race and special tug of war. Women working in teaching and non-teaching departments also participated in different events.

Apeejay technical campus

Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering Technical Campus celebrated International Womens Day with great fervour. A special lecture on Ensuring Conducive Work Ambience to Enhance Psychological Well-Being of Women was delivered by Dr Rajesh Bagga, director, Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering. He elaborated on the theme of this years International Womens Day #ChooseToChallenge and said challenge fosters change. Dr Bagga said to forge a gender equal world, both men and women should challenge and speak against gender bias and male hegemony. He highlighted the fact that the increase in employment opportunities for women, calls for taking measures to make work place ambience and culture conducive to their wellbeing.

Shiv Jyoti Public School

Shiv Jyoti Public School arranged special live telecast on Womens Day during Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishanks, interaction with girl students, women VCs of universities and women principals of colleges. Principal Neeru Nayyar apprised the students of Classes I to XII about the importance of this day. Students and teachers participated with full enthusiasm.

Innocent Hearts Group

To celebrate International Womens Day, motivational webinars were organised by Innocent Hearts School, Innocent Hearts Group of Institutions and Innocent Hearts College of Education. The theme was Journey of a Girl. The resource person was Amandeep Kaur, director, DVM Educational Group. She talked about different government policies to make women strong. A webinar for teachers aligned with the theme of Women Empowerment Mission and Vision was also held. They discussed the mission and vision of women and emphasised them to be focused.

Sanskriti KMV School

Sanskriti KMV School marked the International Womens Day with high spirits. The day called in for an energy-packed event involving teachers to participate in Fit India Movement programme, giving ground for sports events dedicated to National Mission swayed by women power as launched by the PM. Principal Rachna Monga, students, teachers and parents planted saplings. Womans sacrifice, effort and contribution holds a place of high dignity, be it in our family or in society, she said, adding that the generations must be nourished with values of respect towards feminism.

St Soldier Law College

St Soldier Law College celebrated the day by organising a webinar on the theme Discriminations against women and the law. Four women experts shared their views on different aspects of the seminar. Prof (Dr) SC Sharma, college director, introduced the theme and welcomed the experts. Asst Prof Ravinderjit Kaur was the moderator. Key speaker Prof (Dr) Aman Amrit Cheema of Punjab University presented the paper on Womens Property Rights - From Inequality to Inequality highlighting the legal efforts like making daughter a coparcener in 2005, gift laws, constitutional provisions and policy initiatives regarding affirmative discrimination in favour of women to ground-level realities. Dr Rupam Jagota, HoD law, GNDU campus, Ladewali, presented a paper on Removing discrimination against women: The constitutional remedies underscoring the provisions in fundamental rights, directive principles, transgender rights and women reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions. Dr Pankajdeep Kaur shared her views on sharply increasing crime against women resulting from patriarchal mindset. Advocate and social activist Gagandeep Kaur underscored large scale discrimination and exploitation of women workers employed in MGNREGS.

Lyallpur Khalsa College technical campus

Authorities at Lyallpur Khalsa College technical campus took an initiative to provide a platform for female students to discuss and interact with renowned women doctors about their health and wellness. Dr Divya Kalra, dietician and ayurveda expert and Dr Shikha Chawla, MBBS (radiation oncology) HOD, radiation oncology, Patel Hospital were the resource persons. They motivated students and inspired them to remain healthy as female health was imperative for family and society. Nine women principals from different schools were also honoured for their contribution to education in the leadership role. Sukhbir Singh Chatha, director AA, KCL Group, congratulated everyone on International Womens Day. Dr RS Deol, deputy director AA KCL Group, appreciated the synergy and enthusiasm as well as the efforts of the organising committee for organising the event and said a woman has a major role in shaping society.

GNDU Media Dept

An interactive programme was organised by the department of journalism and mass communication, GNDU, Ladhewali, to mark International Womens Day. The department invited its women alumni, who have excelled in various media houses over the years. Nine former students, from different media fields like the print media, radio, web TV, TV news channels etc. came to grace the occasion. They interacted with students, shared their experience and motivated students to choose their fields wisely in future. They exhorted students to have self-confidence and self-respect to deal with situations in a male-dominated environment. They asked students to focus on their work rather than on male-female power game. Many of them recounted the struggles they faced at home and at work to reach their present status. HoD Dr Namarta Joshi asked women to raise their voice against any injustice done to them or to others. Dr Charan Kamal Walia, Sukriti and Rama Shankar were also present.

Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya

International Womens Day was organised at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in collaboration with the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation under the aegis of innovation cell and women empowerment cell. MC Comissioner Karnesh Sharma, Joint Commissioner Gurvinder K Randhawa, Dean, academics Dr Kanwaldeep Kaur, RJ Deepak, RJ Luveena, RJ Dheer were also present. Dr Anjana Bhatia conducted the stage. Principal Prof Dr Ajay Sareen said women were better managers and they should be financially independent. She should be given equal rights at every level as she possesses qualities of multi-tasking, creating lives, handling pressure and is a great caretaker.

Ivy World School

IVY World School, under the ageis of the Vasal Education Society, organised Womens Day as Masti ki Paathshala. The celebration began with a song dedicated to women presented by schools performing arts team. The educators apprised and appreciated all mothers virtually by appreciating their contribution towards their families and overall support for children virtual classes. All mothers were dressed up as children with school uniform and two plaits with ribbons. The aim was to make all women feel important and loved as they are all-rounder in day-today life. The mothers were welcomed with fun games, tongue twisters, old songs, guess the movie and many more fun-filled activities to make them feel special. Principal S Chauhan highlighted the multitasking abilities of a woman. CEO Raghav Vasal extended his greetings to all mothers and educators and also spoke on women empowerment.

Army Public School, Beas

The NSS wing of Army Public School Beas celebrated the day by organising slogan-writing, poem composition and sketch-making contests on women empowerment.

MGN College of Education

The women welfare committee of MGN College of Education celebrated Womens Day by organising a webinar on the theme Women Health. Kamal Kishore Aggarwal, president, Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan, was the resource person. Aggarwal emphasised the need for taking care of womens health, hygiene and diet. He suggested that health science along with Ayurveda emphasised the important role of balanced diet to ensure health, especially for women, whose body undergoes many changes. He said most of the women generally neglect their own dietary needs but it need to be ensured to have healthy diet to improve mood, boost energy and maintain healthy weight. He suggested certain dietary tips regarding intake of water, quality of food intake, amount of salt and sugar in our food and avoiding junk food to maintain good health.

Lovely Professional University

The faculty and staff members of Lovely Professional University participated in Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh-led International Womens Day celebrations through state-level video-conferencing from Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh. Observing Covid-19 restrictions, the celebration was held at the spacious Shanti Devi Mittal Auditorium of the university.

Police Lines

International Womens Day was celebrated at Police Lines, where women police personnel and women dependents of policemen of Jalandhar participated in the event. It included talks by Dr Gurpreet Kaur, senior gynaecologist, and Dr Ranjana, dietician, both from Shingara Singh Hospital, and Dr Anamika Lal from PAP Hospital making women aware of problems and safeguards relating to breast cancer, menopause and lifestyle and diet-related issues. The senior doctors interacted and removed the doubts and phobias of the participants and encouraged them to take good care of themselves, exercise regularly, eat healthy diet and go for regular medical check-ups. Some women recited poems related to women issues and mentioned the general problems being faced by working women, who have to tackle both home and work pressures. The doctors suggested that yoga and meditation can help them strike the right balance. Subsequently, a medical checkup camp was organised for the general health examination of the ladies. The events were held with the active help of Punjab Police Mahila Mittar and Saanjh staff.

Pushpa Gujral Science City

Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, celebrated International Womens Day virtually. Around 200 students and 100 rural women of Self Help Groups (SHGs) from different districts of Punjab participated in the programme. Dr Neelima Jerath, director general, Science City, said a large number of women in India have successfully broken the glass ceiling and were in leadership positions in industry, government and as entrepreneurs and social media had played an important role in making their voices heard, especially in micro businesses. She said in 2018, Niti Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform, a portal to provide knowledge and support to women entrepreneurs. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry has also launched a network for women entrepreneurs, Udyam Sakhi, in 2018 to aid, counsel, assist and protect womens interests through a single portal. Rajat Arora, policy programmes manager, Facebook, India and South Asia, during his special talk on Social Media For Livelihood Development said digital transformation was especially critical for the uplift of women, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, facing job losses and taking up increased household and childcare responsibilities.

Jasmin adjudged Miss DAV, Anjali runner-up

Hoshiarpur: The Kalpana Chawla Women Development Club of DAV College of Education (B Ed College), Hoshiarpur, celebrated International Womens Day. Secretary of college managing committee DL Anand (Retd Principal) was the guest of honour and Dr Jasveera Anoop Manhas was the chief guest. Anjali was adjudged the second runner-up, Aasha first runner-up, while the overall title of Miss DAV was won by Jasmin.

Rupinder Kaur, Suman Sood and Tushti Sharma judged the talent of students during stage performances. Students participated in different activities such as ramp walk, dances, poems and speeches highlighting the significance of women in society. They presented a play titled Women-A Never Ending Story directed by Dr Harpreet Singh. Priya bagged the title of Miss Beautiful Hair, Divya Miss Beautiful Dress, Simran Miss Glamorous Look, Priya Miss Ramp Walk, Nitika Miss Beautiful Eyes, Priyanka Sharma Miss Fashion Icon, Aasha Miss Glowing Skin and Latika Spectacular Eyes. Dr Archna Sharma and Dr Chetna Sharma were honoured for the recent completion of their doctorate. Roma Ralhan was also honoured by the college for receiving an honour from the Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner to start the NGO Care and Share for serving humanity and Rupakshi for getting third prize in poster-making competition at the district-level. OC

Excerpt from:

Of women and their empowerment - The Tribune India

Fitness Industry in todays date approxes to over $100 Billion net worth. And why is that? Technology, as we know, has played a major role in this extravagant leap resulting in a 3-4% hike each year! Isnt that something? With newer advancements taking place, every fitness enthusiast is on the lookout for something unique and transforming. Abiding by that, Jean Fallacara, a Canadian French born entrepreneur and an exceptional athlete/fitness enthusiast introduced Neuroscience Calisthenics.

This transformational concept is the Worlds first human optimization program in the fitness industry that offers workout plans based on neuroscience. Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that seeks to understand how the various components of the body interact and function together. Calisthenics is a form of fitness that involves various movements performed to varying rhythms and intensity with almost no equipment. Fallacara with his holistic approach combined neuroscience and calisthenics utilizing theories from neuroscience, biohacking, to induce neuroplasticity and get in flow state to help athletes achieve better and faster results. This fitness training is meant to build the body to a great form and not only that but also facilitate Self Empowerment and Self-control. As it is backed by tremendous scientific research and application, Neuroscience Calisthenics has proved to offer significant results, which can also be seen in the founder himself.

Reading about such a concept that underlines the role of the mind in the transformation of the body can be overwhelming, but this breakthrough conceptual training is designed to unveil the huge unused potential of your mind to unlock your full body potential. Imagine waking up as your best self How do you feel? How do you look? Who are you next to? What is the purpose that guides your everyday life? This is what Life Programming is all about. Guiding you through the journey of becoming your Best Self. And this is what Fallacara aimed at when he discovered Neuroscience Calisthenics. Guiding people through the journey of transformation and revolution.

Fallacara with this concept helps people understand how neurobiological effects will make them stronger, faster, and more explosive. With this unique concept, he is set out to help people set scores and beat their personal best, encouraging them with that extra push to take a leap of faith and see for themselves how technology, when merged with routine, can do wonders. Not only that, Neuroscience Calisthenics is expected to have 100% effective results.

As with every other aspect of the world, technology and science are destined to transform sports, offering athletes newer ways to replenish their mental and physical attributes needed to up their performance. At the forefront of this, Fallacaras vision and scientific insight are definitely on the path of discovering new opportunities and bringing a revolution in the fitness industry.

Published March 8th, 2021

Originally posted here:

Scientific Backed Techniques Neuroscience Calisthenics Gets you Smarter by Working Out With Jean Fallacara - Influencive