Last night, all the ambassadorial scholars in District 1080 (Dave, Eric, Dhriti, Marisa, Katie, and me) attended the district council meeting. We are all from the States except Marisa who just arrived from Mexico (which means she has been freezing since she arrived four days ago). The evening began with a dinner and it was requested that all of us scholars sit at different tables so we could meet and chat with new people. I had a wonderful dinner conversation about being a woman in the military and all the sports I'm participating in in Cambridge.
After the dinner, the evening's events began. It kicked off with a presentation on RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and encouraging clubs to get involved. I had heard of RYLA but never knew what it stood for or what its purpose was. I was surprised to learn RYLA is Rotary's leadership training program for young people. I wish I could have been involved in RYLA in high school. It looks like so much fun! District 1080's RYLA is held at Graffham Water Development Centre and it involves an intensive week of outdoor physical challenges among other things. RYLA emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth, and aims to
* Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth
* Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
* Encourage leadership of youth by youth
* Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities
After the RYLA presentation, all the scholars stood up and gave brief introductions of themselves. Then we listened to approval of the District budget and the decision over where to have the District conference (it was very contentious!). It took another hour or so, but before I knew it, the evening was over. Many of the members of clubs which I am scheduled to speak at came up to introduce themselves afterward since are only previous correspondence has been through email. They wanted to make sure everything was in order and I had rides to their clubs. Before we left, all of the scholars exchanged contact information with Marisa and wished her best of luck with her studies.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Cambridge Rotary Club
Today, I spoke at the Cambridge Rotary Club. The Cambridge Rotary Club is my sponsor club during my year in Cambridge. I had visited them once before for a breakfast meeting, but the lunch meeting had many more members in attendance so I was introduced to many new people. The lunch was delicious and my speech went very well. I had many compliments and was even encouraged by one of the member's to speak at Cambridge's Women in Science and Engineering Group. I was also put in touch with a contact at Jimmy's Night Shelter since I have been having trouble getting in touch with the volunteer coordinator there. Jimmy's Night Shelter's mission statement is: From 7pm to 9.30 am, we welcome anyone who would otherwise be forced to sleep rough either on the streets of Cambridge, or in a car park, or in a squat, or under a bridge. I have been hoping to volunteer there since last term but have now had the time to make it happen so hopefully I will hear back from them. I am looking forward to my next presentation at the District 1080 Council Meeting on January 28th.
Me presenting
Exchanging a banner for a Cambridge Rotary Club compact disc
Me presenting
Exchanging a banner for a Cambridge Rotary Club compact disc
Friday, 9 January 2009
Role Play
January 6, 7, and 9 2009
Classes start January 14th, but my program cam back a week early to participate in a role play exercise. We were divided into groups and each group represented a stakeholder in the Mersey Tidal Power Project. I was local government. For those who are interested, I have explained the three days in furthur detail below.
This was an exercise using role play. The purpose of this was to expose us to contrasting methods of reaching a decision on a topic that is contentious, and which needs to be resolved. The setting was the range of schemes for the generation of renewable energy on the Mersey Estuary. It was set in the present.
Each participant was given a role in one of the stakeholder groups being brought to the table. Once we were assigned a role, we must only behave in role when considering the project and when interacting with others involved.
January 6th: 9am to 6pm. Examination in Public, an event modeled on a Public Inquiry. An external, independent Inspector was appointed for the day.
January 7th: 9am to 6pm. Consensus building for the same issues. A professional facilitator was appointed for the day.
January 9th: 9am to 1pm. Feedback as the stakeholders (in role) and then feedback on the whole experience (out of role)
Briefing: 10, Downing Street (the official residence of the UK Prime Minister) has, as part of the new broom sweeping through Whitehall, decided to experiment with an intense process of inquiry and debate in order to reach a basis of agreement for the way forward for proposals which have until now proved to be intractable. Having spent the last ten years observing the former Prime Minister’s style where issues of difficulty have too often become mired in departmental infighting, political chicanery, and unsavory private sector practices, Gordon Brown is determined to spring a number of “key schemes” as a result of frank and mature negotiations between the interested parties. He is attracted by the prospect of being able to launch a number of sustainable flagship projects with widespread agreement. He has therefore set up a process, one day long, to be known as Examination in Public which will be conducted along Public Inquiry lines.
Reacting to the news that the PM is staging this one day event on 6th January, the Sustainable Development Commission has decided to explore a more conciliatory and consensus building approach and has arranged for a day long event on 7th January.
The parties most closely involved in, or affected by, the proposals for renewable energy for the Mersey Estuary, who will be involved in both days, have decided to have a debrief in public session on 9th January when they can report to the Press how they found each style of day and what the most appropriate outcome should be as a result of the two days.
Objective:
The overriding purpose of both days was to reach a position which all parties could support, for the purposes of making an agreed statement for public consumption. At the conclusion of 6th January, the Inspector made a statement to the parties present that included his decision as to the desirability of the various schemes proposed, his preference (as a representative of Government) for none, any one, or more of the schemes, timescales for implementation, significance of any power generated to the national and regional energy mix, the value of any regeneration induced in Liverpool and the Wirral, and the significance and acceptability of any adverse impacts on the environment.
If possible the statement should include commentary on issues of controversy so that these can be defused before the outside world can use them to unsettle the agreed position. Naturally the array of government policy will be used as fully as possible to underpin the position reached.
On the second day, 7th January, the Sustainable Development Commission have organised for an independent facilitator to design and run some stakeholder engagement about the options for renewable energy schemes on the Mersey Estuary, as a counterpoint to the previous day’s Public Inquiry style of an Examination in Public.
Stakeholders:
The Promoters, Peel Environmental
The company, Peel, has been working closely with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWRDA), and is a major landholder in the region, owning and operating the Trafford Centre, many of the docks that face onto the Estuary, Liverpool Airport, The Manchester Ship Canal, and a large area of salt marsh on the south side of the Estuary.
Local Government
The members of the City Council and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council are caught in a difficult bind. There is plenty of policy pressure for renewable energy schemes that would support a large scale scheme, but an equally fierce defence of the Ramsar sites in the Estuary and beyond, as well as heavily designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and so on. The value of a large scale scheme to regeneration on Merseyside is likely to be modest as there would be relatively few permanent jobs associated with a working scheme. In any event there is a large number of people in the region who are long term unemployed and whole estates where there are families who have never known what it is to be in employment.
Central Government
There are several central government departments involved. The Government Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) take responsibility for energy generation AND climate change mitigation, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, take responsibility for environment and its protection, Department of Transport (DfT), for any road or rail links that would result from a barrage or tidal fence scheme, and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for regeneration and housing. Every Department has difficulty accommodating benefits that accrue to other departments in their decision making.
Local and National NGOs
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the local wildlife organisations do not see the natural resources of the Mersey in quite the same way. RSPB are strategic and accepting of the wider issues of policy to do with renewable energy in a way that was not common even only a few years ago. The local wildlife trusts are composed of local naturalist enthusiasts who are deeply committed to the protection unchanged of the Mersey Estuary system, particularly as the waters have been so dramatically improved over the last twenty years resulting in salmon in the river.
Kinder
There is also an NGO, called KINDER, committed to the future of the planet and the survival of future generations (of people) whose agenda is all to protect the unborn children of tomorrow. New, radical, difficult to reason with.
Local Residents
There is a vocal and articulate group emerging formed of residents of the many rather picturesque and wealthy villages on the Wirral and Liverpool.
They are concerned about property values, creeping urbanisation, crime, traffic levels, and noise from roads traffic and aircraft. In general they would like to see little change in their world. Each representative has a different personal agenda.
Classes start January 14th, but my program cam back a week early to participate in a role play exercise. We were divided into groups and each group represented a stakeholder in the Mersey Tidal Power Project. I was local government. For those who are interested, I have explained the three days in furthur detail below.
This was an exercise using role play. The purpose of this was to expose us to contrasting methods of reaching a decision on a topic that is contentious, and which needs to be resolved. The setting was the range of schemes for the generation of renewable energy on the Mersey Estuary. It was set in the present.
Each participant was given a role in one of the stakeholder groups being brought to the table. Once we were assigned a role, we must only behave in role when considering the project and when interacting with others involved.
January 6th: 9am to 6pm. Examination in Public, an event modeled on a Public Inquiry. An external, independent Inspector was appointed for the day.
January 7th: 9am to 6pm. Consensus building for the same issues. A professional facilitator was appointed for the day.
January 9th: 9am to 1pm. Feedback as the stakeholders (in role) and then feedback on the whole experience (out of role)
Briefing: 10, Downing Street (the official residence of the UK Prime Minister) has, as part of the new broom sweeping through Whitehall, decided to experiment with an intense process of inquiry and debate in order to reach a basis of agreement for the way forward for proposals which have until now proved to be intractable. Having spent the last ten years observing the former Prime Minister’s style where issues of difficulty have too often become mired in departmental infighting, political chicanery, and unsavory private sector practices, Gordon Brown is determined to spring a number of “key schemes” as a result of frank and mature negotiations between the interested parties. He is attracted by the prospect of being able to launch a number of sustainable flagship projects with widespread agreement. He has therefore set up a process, one day long, to be known as Examination in Public which will be conducted along Public Inquiry lines.
Reacting to the news that the PM is staging this one day event on 6th January, the Sustainable Development Commission has decided to explore a more conciliatory and consensus building approach and has arranged for a day long event on 7th January.
The parties most closely involved in, or affected by, the proposals for renewable energy for the Mersey Estuary, who will be involved in both days, have decided to have a debrief in public session on 9th January when they can report to the Press how they found each style of day and what the most appropriate outcome should be as a result of the two days.
Objective:
The overriding purpose of both days was to reach a position which all parties could support, for the purposes of making an agreed statement for public consumption. At the conclusion of 6th January, the Inspector made a statement to the parties present that included his decision as to the desirability of the various schemes proposed, his preference (as a representative of Government) for none, any one, or more of the schemes, timescales for implementation, significance of any power generated to the national and regional energy mix, the value of any regeneration induced in Liverpool and the Wirral, and the significance and acceptability of any adverse impacts on the environment.
If possible the statement should include commentary on issues of controversy so that these can be defused before the outside world can use them to unsettle the agreed position. Naturally the array of government policy will be used as fully as possible to underpin the position reached.
On the second day, 7th January, the Sustainable Development Commission have organised for an independent facilitator to design and run some stakeholder engagement about the options for renewable energy schemes on the Mersey Estuary, as a counterpoint to the previous day’s Public Inquiry style of an Examination in Public.
Stakeholders:
The Promoters, Peel Environmental
The company, Peel, has been working closely with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWRDA), and is a major landholder in the region, owning and operating the Trafford Centre, many of the docks that face onto the Estuary, Liverpool Airport, The Manchester Ship Canal, and a large area of salt marsh on the south side of the Estuary.
Local Government
The members of the City Council and Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council are caught in a difficult bind. There is plenty of policy pressure for renewable energy schemes that would support a large scale scheme, but an equally fierce defence of the Ramsar sites in the Estuary and beyond, as well as heavily designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and so on. The value of a large scale scheme to regeneration on Merseyside is likely to be modest as there would be relatively few permanent jobs associated with a working scheme. In any event there is a large number of people in the region who are long term unemployed and whole estates where there are families who have never known what it is to be in employment.
Central Government
There are several central government departments involved. The Government Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) take responsibility for energy generation AND climate change mitigation, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, take responsibility for environment and its protection, Department of Transport (DfT), for any road or rail links that would result from a barrage or tidal fence scheme, and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for regeneration and housing. Every Department has difficulty accommodating benefits that accrue to other departments in their decision making.
Local and National NGOs
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the local wildlife organisations do not see the natural resources of the Mersey in quite the same way. RSPB are strategic and accepting of the wider issues of policy to do with renewable energy in a way that was not common even only a few years ago. The local wildlife trusts are composed of local naturalist enthusiasts who are deeply committed to the protection unchanged of the Mersey Estuary system, particularly as the waters have been so dramatically improved over the last twenty years resulting in salmon in the river.
Kinder
There is also an NGO, called KINDER, committed to the future of the planet and the survival of future generations (of people) whose agenda is all to protect the unborn children of tomorrow. New, radical, difficult to reason with.
Local Residents
There is a vocal and articulate group emerging formed of residents of the many rather picturesque and wealthy villages on the Wirral and Liverpool.
They are concerned about property values, creeping urbanisation, crime, traffic levels, and noise from roads traffic and aircraft. In general they would like to see little change in their world. Each representative has a different personal agenda.
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