COMMON GROUND CONSULTING LLC

iWant . . . The Dream Fulfilled

Well, I managed to get my iPhone at 6:05pm.

I have to say, it is unbelievable. In fact, I've spent the last four hours playing with this thing. It is so simple and so elegant.

It has met all of my expectations.

And yes, I did get my picture in the paper for being first in line and waiting for five hours. They even interviewed me for the news at 6 and 11pm on WANE TV, channel 15. What can I say . . .

One of my new friends from the line, Han Nguyen, sent me a link to even more pictures from our crazy time in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Thanks Han!

http://flickr.com/photos/hanaban/tags/iphone/

iWant

If you know me at all, you know that I have a passion for Apple computers.

I've actually never worked on anything other than a Mac, except for a few months on a newspaper internship in Bryan, Ohio. We had Apple computers in high school (I was in that first generation to use computers in high school). The first computer I bought for college at Miami of Ohio was a Mac SE. After college, it was an endless string of Mac laptops, powerbooks, ibooks, and now my precious MacBook Pro . . . only one week old.

At the moment, I'm passing hour number three in line at a strip mall in Ft. Wayne, Indiana waiting for one of the new Apple iPhones.

It seems like a perfectly reasonable activity to me.

I'm not proud of it, but I once waited in line for Wang Chung tickets. This iPhone seems like such a better reason to wait in line!

I could be wrong, but I think we're going to be a part of history. :-)

I'm also proud of the fact that I am in first in line! (Even though it is the result of an AT&T line-rule technicality.)

This iPhone for me has become somewhat of an addiction. I've always been an early adopter when it come s to new technology, especially from Apple. But this has been different. It just seems so amazing, so revolutionary. Its been powerful enough to turn the communications industry upside-down.

Are these the phones?

I like witnessing and being a part of that kind of change. It gives me hope that its still possible to to affect real change when and where it matters. You know, stopping war, electing candidates with integrity, fighting AIDS and poverty and global warming . . .

Well, for a few hours today (OK, five hours), I'm taking a break to wait for a cool new toy. I'll read a good book, listen to some music, make some new friends. My folks dropped me off and brought by lunch, so at least they don't think I'm completely crazy. Honestly, I'm having a great time!

Mentor Michigan

For the past couple of days, I've been in Detroit working with a fantastic group of colleagues from a variety of organizations providing mentoring services to young people. Mentor Michigan convened the conference which focused on sustainability.

I had the opportunity to keynote the meeting and offered two workshops on board development and individual donor-based fundraising. The keynote, “Changing the Game: Sustainability Demands Passion,” focuses on my favorite strategies for building long-term commitments to the mission-critical work of our social profit organizations.

The entire experience was wonderful and the evaluations suggested that the experience was both timely and very well-received:

“Hi Craig, I wanted to send you an email to thank you so much for being a trainer at the Sustainability Training last week. You were absolutely wonderful. And as you will see in the attached Evaluations, our participants felt the same way. Thanks Again.”

Kathie Vasilion, MI Community Service Coalition)

Ahhhh Belgium

If you love food like do, you have to love Belgium!

I'm talking mussels, Belgian fries, waffles, beer, chocolate! I mean come on!!

I came home with about four kilos of chocolate from five different shops. I ate a steamy hot waffle on the street. I had fries the first night. You read about my mussels and with those I had shrimp croquettes, an amazing Raspberry Lambic, and a couple of Belgian white beers.

My last meal in Bruges was also amazing, but alas, my camera died. I had a delicious salad with medallions of goose liver, a mixed grill cooked in the fireplace next to my table—beef, lamb, chicken—and a potato baked in the coals. For dessert, I had an incredible cheese plate and a 30 year glass of port. Perfect!

Make It Your Own

Do you want to make a difference in your community?

The Case Foundation is looking for inspired individuals and passionate teams who are connecting people to discuss what matters, find smart solutions, and take action. And they're awarding grants up to $35,000 to help make it happen! Click Here to learn more.

The Case Foundation has been a client of Common Ground and they are a fantastic organization. You can read about our work with them on the main Common Ground Website.

The Historic Centre of Bruges: A World Heritage Site

According to Wikipedia . . .

“A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State Parties (countries) which are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a fixed term.

The programme aims to catalogue, name, and conserve sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of mankind. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. Since then, over 180 State Parties have ratified the convention.”

Even on a rainy Sunday afternoon, the city's brilliance shines.

Mussels in Brussels

Alright, so I wasn't really in Brussels, but Bruges is only an hour away by train!

Look at this FANTASTIC dish! It was the biggest bucket of juicy, delicious mussels I've ever had!

I was at dinner with my friends from EATG at a restaurant called Marieke van Brugges and the food, the service, everything was outstanding.

Training the Trainers

Founded in 1991 as a co-operative structure of people from different nationalities, the European AIDS Treatment Group is a growing group of treatment activists from 31 European countries. To secure its impartiality, the EATG receives funding from a variety of private and public funders. One of their guiding principles is to reflect the diversity of people living with HIV and their advocates.

My main purpose on this trip is to conduct a Training for Trainers with a select group of the leadership of the EATG. This talented group is responsible for conducting workshops related to HIV and AIDS treatment for organizations and individuals throughout Europe.

The training is based upon the curriculum I developed when I taught graduate students in the International Training and Education Program (ITEP) within the sociology department of American University.

The training was intended to prepare the EATG's cadre of community trainers for the many challenges of both designing and facilitating high-quality, interactive, non-formal educational experiences. The participants have a great deal of HIV/AIDS education experience; and this leadership opportunity is a chance for them to further develop their skills as trainers while building a supportive network for each other.

I've designed the training on two levels. First I've created a variety of training experiences in which the students will participate. On the first day, these activities are heavy on low-risk introductions and understanding the basics of good training design process (read more on my model for design here: Craig's Strategic Design System). On the second level, I ask the students to take off their participant hats, deconstructing each activity as a trainer might do.

It usually takes a while for trainees to get used to this approach, but the transparency it affords regarding the design and facilitation processes is invaluable. It allows us to demystify every aspect of the overall training, answering their questions and creating many opportunities for powerful discussions.

As we will discuss, many of the activities that first day are also intended as diagnostic tools for me (as the trainer). With any training, once you actually have the participants in the room, it is best to check and double-check your assumptions, adjusting your plan to meet their articulated needs. Indeed, I made a number of changes to the agenda based on what I learned from them in person on the first day and throughout the weekend.

A Quick Note About Language: The training this weekend will occur in English. All of the participants were told this and though it makes me uncomfortable on many levels, there was really no other cost-effective way to do it. Having said that, conducting training for non-native speakers in English requires a very special approach. I am extremely conscious of the privilege that comes with speaking English and its important to really go out of the way to understand each participant when they are talking. I feel it is my responsibility to understand them, not theirs to understand me. Read this post for more on language privilege: Molim Vas, Engleski. You may also want to check out this one: Working with Interpreters.

Bruges, Belgium

I arrived today in the city of Bruges (Brugges in Dutch) in Belgium to conduct a three day training of trainers for members of the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG). I'll tell you more about them and this work in upcoming posts.

Today, I wanted to take a moment to encourage everyone to add this beautiful city to their list of cities to visit. It is absolutely breathtaking. I was not prepared for just how gorgeous this city would be.

With most of its medieval architecture intact, Bruges city center has not changed much since the Middle Ages. The city is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.

The Joy of Traveling

Now don't get me wrong . . . I LOVE traveling.

Exploring new countries and new cultures. The food, of course. All of the amazing things to learn about the world and about me. Its wonderful.

HOWEVER.

My day began when I awoke at 4am local time ( 10pm the night before in the States) to get ready to leave for the airport for my flight home from Skopje.

I had the first flight out at 6am to Zurich.

From Zurich, I had a flight to Munich.

From Munich, I was off to Philadelphia. This is the long one, though honestly, these days my body's adjusting pretty well.

After clearing customs, I was finally on the last flight of the day to National Airport.

22 hours later, I am finally home. This was a long day!