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Passionate environmentalist, savvy marketeer and generally helpful person. Speaks geek. More...
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Category Archives: Blog
A conversation is a conversation, even online
Yes, this was a first, and it was an experiment. A few weeks ago, the GIZ Leadership Lab attracted nearly thirty participants from all corners of the world. We had invited them to a co-creation session for a leadership approach for global sustainability – and we had invited them to join us from the comfort of their offices: online.
With five breakout sessions and three co-presenters, my task was to facilitate and hold the space for the entire session. Not an easy task, but I think it worked sufficiently well. It turns out that facilitating online events isn’t that different to in-person events:
What’s in a name?
Since Saturday, one of the world’s oldest digital rights organizations is operating under a new name. FoeBuD e.V. is now DigitalCourage.
The need for a new name was obvious. The organisation was tired of being referred to as ‘data protection activists from Bielefeld’, of having to clarify spelling or pronunciation at every occasion, and generally of the dreaded question: “What does the name stand for?”
The correct answer had been a joke already 25 years ago: Verein zur Förderung des öffentlichen bewegten und unbewegten Datenverkehrs, a riff on the absurd neologisms of the Deutsche Post at the time. As the internet grew in importance (and Deutsche Post lost its grip on it), this joke grew old. (more…)
Transformation, Innovation and Diversity: Exploring a Leadership Approach to International Cooperation
“We’re here to create something new”, Brigitta opened the GIZ Innovation Lab on 2-3 November. The invitation had spoken of innovative solutions for global challenges, and of pioneers that lead the way forward. The space was beautifully decorated and encouraging, the participants from all corners of the world. “This is a journey, and we’re here to explore”, she continued. “There’s only one rule: There are no rules.”
The implicit agenda: inspire the next version of GIZ’s leadership development programme. It’s already a life-changing experience, participants reported. We heard stories of new skills and motivations, support networks and friends – and of organisational resistance and the urge to quit. Being a change agent is not for the faint-hearted. (more…)
9th Sustainability Communications Lunch
An informal round of communications professionals interested in sustainability and behaviour change. Join the mailing list.
Monday, 29 October, 12:30-14:00
First Solar, 41 Rue de la Science, 1040 Brussels
Theme: An Environment Journalist’s View
The invited speaker is ENDS Europe editor François Le Goff who will present an environment journalist’s view on sustainability communications. François is a journalist specialised in EU environmental policy and has been the editor of ENDS since 2010.
Sign up here to reserve your seat (and book your food).
An excellent chance to meet new people and old acquaintances from across the nonprofit, public and the private sector.
Posted in Blog, Lunch
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Learning from master facilitators
“Let me know how it goes; I’ve been too chicken to try myself so far”, one of my mentors remarked after giving me feedback on my application to be certified as a Professional Facilitator (CPF). I was chicken, too, as I travelled to Geneva for the assessment day. “Please assume that the certification event will run from 8 AM until as late as 7 PM”, read the invitation. Intimidating indeed.
During the candidate briefing in the morning, the IAF stressed that they wanted us to enjoy the day, learn from each other and network. “Yeah, right”, I thought. I had other priorities in that moment. This was an exam, in the end, wasn’t it? (more…)
When writing is hard
Ever been in this situation? The more important the thing is that you want to write, the harder it becomes. You start avoiding it, doing endless research, falling into the vortex of the internet. Instead of even opening the document, you’re suddenly busy with everything else. In the end you wonder where all that time went. If there’s a deadline, you might write something you’re not happy with. If there’s none, you might drop the project.
Believe me, I’ve been there. Writing is hard. It’s the process of condensing your thinking in a way that another person might understand it (and ideally, do something as a result). Writing makes good communication, and good communication makes leadership and change. Still, scatterbrains as we are, we resist. (more…)
Model: Three Steps for Target Audience Engagement
Last weekend at the Transition Network Conference, R. asked me: “Can you give me the low-down of good communications in a minute? Our group is not doing so well at communicating.” We then got separated, and I promised to send him the link to a blog post about my favourite communications model. As it turns out, that blog post wasn’t written yet, so here we go. (more…)
Events: Build a bridge between online and offline engagement
“Online Harvesting Practice” was the title of the first conversation I hosted at the Art of Hosting Learning Village in Statenberg Manor (Slovenia) a few weeks ago. I wanted to explore how we can use online tools to involve those in an event that couldn’t take part in person, and how we can collectively create the story of an event as it unfolds. (more…)
Geek Corner: Redirecting Websites
This post might be overly technical, but hey, there were no good explanation on the web, and I think I’ve understood the issue now.
The Problem: You’ve built your website somewhere else, now you want it to show under your own domain. (more…)
Question Time: I really don’t get Twitter – should I?
At yesterday’s online communications question time, we came to speak about Twitter. Here’s what I heard:
“Everybody tells me to use Twitter, but I can’t figure out how to make it useful.”
“I get so many Tweets and I feel really overwhelmed.”
“All I do is to broadcast whenever I’ve published a new article, but that doesn’t seem to have an impact.”