Colombia project update

Sandra Castaneda - with whom I worked closely together during all of 2013 in Colombia - attends our annual ACCC conference (note: ACCC = Association of Canadian Community Colleges is as of today renamed to "Colleges & Institutes Canada). Today all EFE (Education for Employment) programs that are administered by ACCC/CIC in Senegal, Mozambique, Tanzania, 12 Caribbean island states, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia were presented today during one of the work sessions at the conference.

When it was time to present the work we are doing with SENA in Colombia it was time for Sandra and one of  her Canadian colleagues to give an update. A few photos of what was presented:

By now three of the four sub-projects in Colombia are started by College of the Rockies (BC), the Saskatchewan Institute for Technology SIAST and College Montmorency (Quebec). It is great to see the progress being made since I left in December....

So nice to have some time together again, Sandra! Un abrazo!!

Sunshine in Ottawa

Greetings from Ottawa where I am for five days around the annual ACCC conference (Association of Canadian Community Colleges). Started today with a nice morning walk past Parliament Hill where the Canadian government has its headquarters. It is located on the hill side overlooking the Ottawa river.

Across the river is the Civilization Museum, one of my favorites in the world. To the right one of the old bridges across the river connection Ottawa in Ontario with Hull in Quebec. It is a beautiful area.

As a pre-conference session I  attended a presentation on distance education offered from Canada at partner institutions and organizations in India. Very interesting developments with today's technology. The coming three days will be the conference...

A very special visitor from South Africa

This week our dear colleague from South Africa, Ghana Matolengwe, was in Toronto. She works as a monitor for projects in sub-saharan Africa for the Canadian Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) and the six monitors the SLF uses in Africa had their annual meeting in Toronto with the SLF staff. The SLF Operational Director Leah Teklemariam was 10 years ago a CIDA funded intern in South Africa and worked with Ghana on one of our three projects with the Walter Sisulu University. We create all sort of wonderful connections that way....

After the SLF meetings I picked up Ghana and we met at the home of Katie Dunphy, who worked years ago as one of our NC international project managers. Katie also worked on projects in South Africa and nowadays works as CSR consultant at KPMG. In the meantime - while still working for NC - she met a nice Spanish fellow, married with him and they are now the proud parents of a two  year old. Ghana right away made friends with the little man....

During the evening a variety of former interns and others who had worked with Ghana during the 17 years we worked together, and now live & work in Toronto, stopped by....

After this get-together I drove Ghana to Fonthill in order to visit Niagara College briefly the next day. We started with breakfast and met up with Bea Clark who also worked with Ghana...

Then we visited the NOTL campus of Niagara College where 12 students followed a preparation program for international co-op work placements in South Africa, Ecuador and a few of the Caribbean island states. Ghana told them a bit about "living and working overseas"...

These NC students will all become a bit more "world ready" during the coming few months....

Finally we had a small get-together at the Welland campus with a number of current and former NC staff who had worked with Ghana in South Africa. Then it was time for Ghana to go homewards again

Thanks for visiting us again "Mama/Sis Ghana"! You are a beautiful human being and you have made a difference in the lives of some 150 Canadians during the past 17 years. May you go well!!

Planning ahead with the Brazilians

During their last week with us, the Brazilian teachers Chris and Victor (and Klessis just outside of the photo) met today with Sean Coote, Director International  at Niagara College. The focus was on how to best design the training programs for the next groups of Brazilian professors coming to Canada.

Sean and I have worked together since May 1995, and it has been an incredible ride.

Tomorrow evening I will be taking the Brazilians as guests to a Rotary fundraising dinner.

Next week Friday a "caipirinhas" & "bife" farewell dinner at the Nolle home.

Time flies.....

Our three Brazilian visiting professors have been with us already for almost three months; time flies. Two more weeks in Niagara and then a debriefing in Ottawa.

Day of Reflection

Niagara College celebrated today its 7th or 8th so-called "Day of Reflection". It is a day where all staff are invited to reflect on a theme considered important for the college community. In past years we had themes such as "diversity", "internationalization" and "key performance indicators". This year the theme was based on the college's "Organizational Climate Survey". An outside agency conducts a college wide staff survey about the satisfaction with work circumstances every 3 years. This year in February was the 4th "Climate Survey" and the results were - in broad terms - presented today. At the photo above the external surveyor who gave a very interesting presentation which started the day.

Afterwards we broke out in small groups discussing aspects of the survey, and because I actively participated in some of the groups, I forgot to make a few photos....

The last hour of the event we were invited to actively participate in a "drum session". Below is the facilitator explaining things and getting us all enthusiastic.

The college staff members getting into the drumming....
Including College President dan Patterson!

It was a great way to end the reflection session of today. A few hundred people on drums is just always spectacular....even  if the vast majority of us were just doing it for the very first time.

Afterwards back in the Welland Campus in our new international center I noticed the use of a drawing of the daugther of one of our colleagues in British Columbia. You can find the original drawing in one of my posts of early 2013 when Jeff send me the photo because he had talked at home about our "Be World Ready" campaign. I will have to send this to Jeff and his daugther.....

Brazilians visiting McMaster University

Today we visited McMaster University's School of Medicine to learn more about the PBL methodology (problem based learning); its three year graduate program of medicine is fully based on this methodology. An interesting morning for sure.

During lunch the opportunity to catch up with our son Mark who is sweating it for final exams....