El Salvador and Colombia!

Hello dear friends,

The more we continue promoting our Toolkit on Ethics Education, around the world, the more work we get to train people on how to use it.

This time I go to El Salvador to an Interreligious Workshop on Ethics Education where we will introduce the Toolkit to people working with youth from different religious organizations in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. As part of the training we will have a three-day workshop with 50 youth from El Salvador to reflect and analyze the topic of violence in their society.

We expect that at the end of the workshop, these youth will be empowered to work together to transform their society, indifferently of their religious beliefs and differences. The workshop will include sessions on identity, embracing diversity, conflict transformation skills, non violent alternatives, understanding our common humanity, empathy and reconciliation.

After El Salvador I am going to Colombia for another workshop with people from different Christian denominations. The idea of the workshop is the same as in El Salvador. I will introduce the Toolkit to them and they will be trained on how to use it. As part of this training we will have practical activities with 60 children from 13 to 15 years old. We will discuss how the group of adults who will be trained can continue using the Toolkit in different places in Colombia and contribute to nurture ethical values in children to help transforming violent situations.

I am leaving tomorrow Sunday for Colombia first and on Monday I am going to San Salvador. I will be back in Bogota on the 6th of November and from the 13th to the 16th I will be in the workshop. I am flying back to Geneva on the 18th of November.

I don't think I will be able to blog during the coming three weeks but stay tuned because I will have a lot of pictures to share with you!

Peace and love,

Malu

Meeting with my sister in Italy!

Hello,
As I told you in my previous posts I met my sister Andrea and her husband in Rome. They came from Colombia and travelled for two weeks in Europe, so Paul and I decided to meet them in Rome for a long weekend.

It was my first time in Rome and actually in Italy. It was beautiful. All the history, the old buildings and the Italian language made this trip very special. The opportunity to see new parts of the world and meet my sister and her husband was a blessing.

We went to the most popular tourist places in Rome: The Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, the Vatican, the Basilica of St. Peter, the Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Stairs, Piazza Navona, Piazza del Popolo, Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II, Piazza del Campidoglio and walked a lot.

Rome was just amazing although I got the impression that this historical and beautiful city is not very well kept and its citizens are not really proud of all the heritage it embeds. For sure I would like to explore more of Rome and other places in Italy. One long weekend is not enough. Every place you go there takes you like two hours or more...trying to put historical pieces together in your mind is not so easy.

I enjoyed a lot with my sister. I enjoyed being closer to her, sharing moments together and just spending time doing new things! I guess when one grows up, moves to other country and separates from family, somehow looses close contact with the loved ones, however, the inner connection and love always remains there...in your heart and in your soul.

Thanks Pablo and Andrea for your time here and thanks Paul for making this trip very special!

Hugs,

Malu

Earth Dreams International

"We, Earth Dreams International (EDI), are a Training and Development solution provider inspired to deliver more than the Conventional Wisdom of typical Training & Development programmes. Our approach to Training and Development is humanitarian which enhances the latent talent of both individuals and teams. Our delivery process begins by identifying the Fundamental Learning Capabilities of both individuals and organizations and ends after the training impact being institutionalised. We offer a series of well- thought and fully personalized solutions ranging from training and development to organizational development, crafting, drafting and rafting HR strategies and matching the right talent with the right job."

Earth Dreams International is the company created by three of my Sri Lankan friends, Dommy, Shan and Chan. A few months ago they started to deliver their first training programs to organizations in Sri Lanka. I believe the combination of creativity, social responsibility, professionalism and human perspective place them among the best consultancy companies in Sri Lanka and soon in South Asia.

As part of the process of initiating their company, they created an Advisory Board, and they invited two more AIESEC alumni and me to become part of this selective group, which I am really proud of.

The role of the Advisory Board is to provide advice in each of their operational areas: Education Courses, Service Standards and Recommendations for clients, aiming to improve their services, give an international perspective, get constant feedback and enhance their professional performance.

It is really inspiring to find people with so much energy to start new businesses and to develop initiatives to improve society. It is awesome to find people that are not only looking for ways to make money but to create socially responsible businesses and it is even more amazing to be able to contribute, somehow, to make their dream happen.

Thanks guys for this invitation to become part of your Advisory Board. I hope I can contribute as much as I can to support EDI.

If you want to know more about Earth Dreams International, click here.

This is Dommy and me in Sri Lanka last year

This is Shan, unfortunately I don't have a picture of Chan

All the best in you endeavour, dear friends!

Big hugs,

Malu

Monika in Geneva!

Hello,

This is just a short message to say THANKS to Monika for coming to Geneva to visit us. For those who don't know Moni, she is from Poland, now living in London. We lived together when I was in Poland, a long time ago. We became very good friends and although we didn't meet for seven years, we still keep our friendship. We met in London a few months ago but didn't have much time to share. After some time trying to meet again we finally managed to do it here in Geneva!

It was great fun to have Moni here. We talked a lot, went to some nice places in Switzerland and spent good quality time nurturing friendship!

I guess after having some hectic weeks in the office, being stressed by day to day life and tired of not being able to have my friends close, this was a very good time to relax, to do different things and to reconnect with an old friend.

Moni, thanks for visiting us. Please come again...and don't forget to bring a good pair of hiking shoes!

Enjoy some nice pictures of Moni's visit!

Hugs,

Malu

My Mum and my mother in law!!

Hello,
It is taking me a lot of time to update my blog. I haven't found much free time to write and when there is time I prefer to be apart from the computer. However, I promise I will update you during this week of everything that has happened during the last month: My mother in law's visit, Monika's visit, Earth Dream International, new apartment, meeting with my sister in Italy, next trips and some random thoughts! Be patient and stay tuned!

As I told you in previous messages, my mother's visit was very special. Since Paul was in Canada for a Conference during the last days of her visit, we decided to have more time together. We saw Geneva, went to the United Nations, to the Red Cross Museum, to the Reformation Museum, to lake Geneva, walked around the old city and talked about many things.

Paul's mother came to visit us two days before my mother left, so they had some time together. Paul's mother was here for one week and we showed her some beautiful parts of Switzerland. We went with her to Les Gruyères, a beautiful town in Switzerland, well known for the famous Gruyère cheese.

After spending most of the day there we went to Fribourg and Yverdone, walked around and enjoyed the nice atmosphere. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to spend with her since I was working most of the time.

Nevertheless, we did enjoy nice evenings. Paul's mother cooked wonderful Swedish dishes for us. She made Salmon Steak, which was delicious! She also made nice cakes and pampered us a lot!

Paul and I enjoyed a lot having his mum here and we hope she will come more often to visit us! Next time, I promise I will have more time for her and to learn some Swedish specialties.

The good news is that we will go to Sweden for Christmas and will spend two and a half weeks there!

Thanks Ulla-Britt for your visit and for taking care of us all the time, even in the distance.

Kram and puss,

Malu

Let's Stand with the Burmese Protesters!

Please read the following message from www.avaaz.org

Dear friends,

Burma's generals have brought their brutal iron hand down on peaceful monks and protesters -- but in response, a massive global outcry is gathering pace. The roar of global public opinion is being heard in hundreds of protests outside Chinese and Burmese embassies, people round the world wearing the monks' color red, and on the internet-- where our petition has exploded to over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours.

People power can win this. Burma's powerful sponsor China can halt the crackdown, if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government and other key countries, Avaaz is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign on Wednesday, including full page ads in the Financial Times and other newspapers, that will deliver our message and the number of signers.

We need 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China's attention. If every one of us forwards this email to just 20 friends, we'll reach our target in the next 72 hours. Please sign the petition at the link below -if you haven't already- and forward this email to everyone you care about: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php

The pressure is working - already, there are signs of splits in the Burmese Army, as some soldiers refuse to attack their own people. The brutal top General, Than Shwe, has reportedly moved his family out of the country – he must fear his rule may crumble.

The Burmese people are showing incredible courage in the face of horror. We're broadcasting updates on our effort over the radio into Burma itself – telling the people that growing numbers of us stand with them. Let's do everything we can to help them – we have hours, not days, to do it.

Please sign the petition and forward this email to at least 20 friends right now. Scroll down our petition page for details of times and events to join in the massive wave of demonstrations happening around the world at Burmese and Chinese embassies.

With hope and determination, Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena and the whole Avaaz Team

Click here to sign the petition

Big hugs,
Malu