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Emily Cummins | |
Emily Cummins learnt in her grandfathers' shed. He had also sorts of stuff for her to explore and, by the age of 18, she had invented the solar fridge!
Without her grandfather, and without the "stuff " in his shed, all Emily's learning of Latin, Greek and times-tables wouldn't have produced the solar fridge!
All this talk of money and resources overlooks the people. Where are the people who need, and the people who have the knowledge and wisdom to give? I imagine there was not a huge outlay in cost and production materials. She's been traveling around Africa with the solar fridge, which will give access to food, but have nothing like the carbon footprint of your standard Western house.
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theElders.org | |
Mary Robinson is a member of the elders.org, set up and funded by Gabriel and Branson; "retired" statesmen and women who use all their accumulated wisdom, experience and expertise as statesmen and women.
http://theelders.org/
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Summer! | |
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Check Out the Archive |
You can click through to the Archive to read other interview extracts, as well as old newsletters. |
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Welcome to the world of wisdom of wonderful women
This month, a short newssheet for easily reading on phone, no long or complicated ideas!!  |
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BBC World Service: the forum
We live in extraordinary times. The Forum Big Five, an exciting new series from the BBC's World Service, with former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
The Forum - The Big Five: Inequality (24th July 2012): Professor Sir John Sulston, Tahmima Anam and Professor Lawrence Goldman
You can catch it on Sunday, strongly recommended. Presumably it will be available on iPlayer. Who knows, it may be a podcast. You may recognize one of the questioners.
In the chair, Mary Robinson; previous President of Ireland, lawyer and law-changer, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights since 1997, and much, much more. A woman who has made a huge difference. You would have expected the place to be packed out with people queuing round the block, but the local media don't take much notice when she's in town.
Mary Robinson's current role is Chair of Equality on climate change.
She speaks of the big 5:Inter-generation, Gender, Class, Race and Religion
A speakers she had:
Tahmima Anam
 The young Bangladeshi author, Tahmima Anam, had a heavy duty. She was there to represent gender, ethnicity, and third world perspective. Fortunately she was more than up to the task; holding her own, and bringing the ideas back to real people. She is currently writing a novel based on factual tradition that, in a family of all girls, one of them would be brought up as a boy until she reached puberty. So she tasted the freedom and power of being a boy.
Professor Lawrence Goldman
A Nobel winning scientist. I don't need to specify that he's a man because they nearly always are!
Professor Sir John Sulston
An Oxford academic and historian; who will be memorable for his statement that he doesn't believe there are any hungry children in Britain. So what about all those schools providing breakfast club, mostly out of their own time and money, because children learn better, behave better, than on an empty stomach?
They all spoke at length about resources being finite and expensive, and how to contrast the teeming millions who aspire to the standard of living of the West or America.
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Melinda Gates and Conference
Last week Melinda Gates was in town, David Cameron actual spoke but, even so, little was in the media. As I expect, little reporting on Mary Robinson. Living on a tiny European island it is difficult to take a more global, wider view, especially when there are other distractions.
The Gates Foundation has put up money to provide contraception in Africa, so that every woman who wants it can have access to contraception and not be constantly pregnant. She goes against her own Catholic church in this, but bravely decided this was important. One of Mary Robinson's Big 5.
Mary Robinson did an amazing job in keeping the speakers to the point, and also to involve the audience.
But the debate seems always to be about finite resources and expenditure. These are important, but the affluences of the West ever acquisitive for its own sake. The queuing round the block for the latest app, not for its wonderful powers, but because it was effectively marketed and people are buying status (see Genevieve Bell in last month's sheet).
A different take on inter-generational: not so much what heritage we leave for our children and grandchildren, but a mixing of the generation, the elders and the younger. Mary mentioned a conference in Rio, where the Elders met the Youngers, and how much each learnt from the other.
Fundamentally, as ever, it comes down to education.
Instead of isolating and excluding older people, make it possible for them to live and work with younger people.
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Experiment
There was also an experiment where a building was given to shared usage by very little people and very old people. Instead of writing off and isolating, the older and wise like the baronesses in their 80's contributed to the political debate, including Diane Athill, 93.
The old people lived on the ground floor and the infants on the floor above. I wish I could find the detail, because it was shut down by the Safety Elf. This is the kind of experiment which uses our people resources, at little cost and minimal pollution.
But where would the likes of MacDonalds or Coca Cola find profit out of that?
Welcome to the world of the wisdom of wonderful women. Why exclude them? Why not take up the quota of 50% to represent the population at large?
The greater the diversity, the richer the resources, and these resources don't need to be mined out of the earth, or made into an art. Just intelligent discussion, debate and dialogue, with very low carbon footprint.
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Finally
Go well in the world. We all have extra ordinary gifts at our disposal, try to use your inter-generational. You can create your reality. You can create a better world, and you can make a difference. It's not just about finance.
Wishing a better summer on this Hemisphere and, on the other side of the world, hope for a lovely spring and great summer.
Comments gratefully received, and do pass on this newssheet to someone who might be interested.
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Christina
Woman on a Mission
Diversity and Leadership Consultant
Inspirational Speaker
MRI, FRSA
Alumnus Women of the Year ©2012 Christina@wwom.org
Motivational Speaker
NLP Master Practitioner
Counsellor and Coach
Graduate of Woman of the Year Lunch
Photographs provided with thanks to Wikipedia |
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