Possibility Radar/What is Useless Garbage? Revisited

In 1997, I was teaching Microsoft Word to students in the first generation of RIT's ACMT.  This was post-war Dubrovnik, there was a bit of random garbage on the streets and in unkept yards.  I gave the assignment for students to bring in some "useless garbage" and write a short story of what this item was before.  This was simply to have something worthy of typing up in our word processors.  But this was so much more and the little ideas with big impacts have me recalling this exercise over a decade later.

In Zagreb, nowadays and I suppose in many other parts of the world it is spring cleaning time.  Many residents are identifying items hidden in closets, basements, attics and garages that do not serve their original purpose and are going unfulfilled in their destinies.  Many of these items are finding there way into the trashbins or with the overflow, more accurately near them.  The scavengers of all types have their possiblity radar (coin I think I termed to describe what I intended on spreading when it was my time to speak at TEDxZagreb 2010).  I count myself as one of these hunters.  Currently I am on the look out for chairs. 

My friend Kim Woods has this infectious idea to "pimp" (in the MTV sense of the word) the chairs and give them a second life as functional art.  We hope to create some artistic creations with a few of our friends in the near future.  I ran across this fab site call Green Muze which has lots of brilliant ideas of revisiting found objects and giving them a new purpose.  One chair artistic created this breath taking octopus chair which makes you just appreciate the humble octopus and the humble chair that much more.

Feel free to post about new uses for the generally overlooked items in your trash;)

Offline Action

Its amazing that I have not posted in months.  Shocking really as I am online multiple times a day.  This is due mostly to the fact that February and March have seen some major events transpire for me in the offline world. 

Firstly, I implemented some projects for the non profit where I preside as president this year, the International Womens Club Zagreb.  While it is presumptious to conclude that we are ladies who lunch, we are a pretty diverse group that span countries of origin and generations.  In February we held an event with UNICEF towards their efforts for safer schools with Medvescak Hockey team and also held our cultural event, our Brazilian Carnival Ball which raised awareness and funds for Vise od Stolice (More than a chair).  Then just this week, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day filling the Sheraton Zagreb's grand ballroom with over 150 people of which 90% were women.  The event centered around the theme of valuing women who work and how Croatia can address the issue of harnessing more the female talent in its pool of available resources that are underutilized.  I then launched ZENA100 blog to document women who inspire me and I dedicate it to my daughter, Josie so she envisions the impact she can have on the future, her own, her community and the world at large.

Then there is also the trip I took to participate in my dream conference, Ashoka U. Exchange at Duke University.  After following Ashoka and its efforts to develop social entrepreneurship around the globe since 2005, I certainly felt very validated to be invited to present at the conference with many of my esteemed colleagues from around the world.  It was a meaningful conference in the people I connected with and the creativity workshop I was able to share with highly engaging participants. Many of whom I hope to keep tabs on.

Shout Out to the Modern Renaissance Men and Women

My daughter likes to make up songs.  My son, her younger brother, likes to copy her.  A riff on the popular..."Billionaire" got twisted by her beautiful mind into "I want to be a Genius".  It was both amusing and fascinating for me to witness her wrap her creativity around what she wanted to be when she grows up (she is 10 and managed to incorporate getting a nobel prize into her song).  It seemed to catch my imagination for the better part of today.

I often ask my friends and students and even randomn strangers..."What are you good at?"  This often leads to a discussion not about their professions or career path but rather a hobby they are passionate about.  We all have way more potential than our resume would convey.  This brings up the topic of the genius on more than one level, the polymath.  According to the dictionary, the term orginates from two greek words: poly (much or many) and manthanein (to learn).

Sometimes, those who pursue more than one area of interest are referred to as Renaissance men or women.  This refers to the period of time in European history where diverse interests were encouraged and people were driven to excel across varied fields.  If creativity seeks to contribute to society by aligning new combinations, then we must be able to manifest these new combinations of interests within ourselves over our lifetimes.

Here are a few examples, I share with you and my kids:

Frank Hyman - discusses his close to quarter of century dedication to the polymath path in a recent NYT article simply entitled: "I'm Making a Living From My Hobbies".  The preoccupation with pursuing his avocations has led to personal satisfaction through being a lifestyle entrepreneur.

AskMen.com has their top ten list of modern day, Renaissance men which reads off with such luminaries as
F. Story Musgrave (1.), Murray Gell-Mann (2.), Douglas Hofstadter (3.), Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller (4), Viggo Mortensen (5),  Brian May (6), Eric Lander (7),  Stephen Wolfram (8), James Ephraim Lovelock (9), Noam Chomsky (10.)

It would be nice to be able to have a similar top ten list on Renaissance women but as yet I have not unearthed one. 

There was however. Dr. Perri Klass: mother, doctor, authoress and many blogs, interviews, and even a movement trying to define and align with the meaning of Renaissance as applied to the modern woman.  It will take a bit longer to help my daughter find her inspiration but I will continue to help her find her inner Genius.

Community for Entrepreneurial Women

My dear friend and entrepreneur, Lea, just sent me to this wonderful site http://en.shapewhatstocome.com/ which is a collection of female entrepreneurs and mentors.  At first glance, it is inspiring to have the sort of "girls club" that encourages, inspires, and trains women to be at their best.  In categories of art&media, fashion, music and my personal favorite, social change, this site helps bring out all the positives in expressing our female energy toward full productivity.  Digging a little deeper, I realize it seems to be part of a corporate social responsibility initiative or the very least some very clever crm by Levi's.  Explore for yourself and let me know what value you find in stories and exchanges that catch your eye.

Moderator at Epica Awards

On January 21st, I will be moderating for the Creative Advertising Conference which will be held at the Museum of Contemporary Arts.  This is a great venue and the line up of speakers and presentations will be truly inspiring.  The event features a conference by day and the Epica Awards for Masterpieces of European Advertising.  This is the first time the event will be held in Zagreb.  Volunteer opportunities are available to students and tickets are still available for professionals.  It will be a great networking event for creatives of all types.  There are also surprise fun elements planned so I hope some of my former students and friends in town will join me.  Until then, Happy New Year!

Student Leaders in Community Development

This has been a stellar year for student's in my course truly setting their ideas in motion. In today's edition of Lider Magazine, the story of one such group of young entrepreneurial thinkers appeared which linked both social and financial missions under the title of entrepreneurship. The movement toward sustainable enterprises from all sectors: public, private and non-profit is beginning to build momentum. The story of more than just a chair, Više od Stolice, is being retold via word of mouth and now also being picked in the media. I know that small relatable projects like these which conquer wider social problems, like the lack of access to proper educational environment for children with extra needs, can be solved with incremental but profound steps like those being taken by Martina, Diana, Marko and Mislav-Jure. These students represent the next wave of leaders in our communities and from ZSEM who can and will choose to build sustainable practices into their management strategies. They know how to more effectively catalyze resources and rise to look at existing problems with fresh eyes of opportunity. I also thank many of their peers who support their initiative and join them in the challenge to tackle the relevant issues of today's Croatia with their business acumen, social network and persistence. Cheers to the next generation!

When a Chair is more than just a chair

I have recently sat through 45 pitch presentations from my current group of students at ZSEM. Its been incredibly rewarding as a higher percentage than ever are realistic and with a vision to next generation ideas concering double and triple bottom line. I feel like I am living my dream which feels great. One of the remarkable projects, high on top my list of all time greats is destined to be "when a chair is more than just a chair". The process of getting to this idea was exciting and frustrating and now joyous. The students involved in the project have actually launched their blog and have over 700 visitors in just 24 hours, I believe that qualifies as "an idea worth spreading".

Here is the idea in a nutshell, kids with cerebal palsy do not have affordable chairs suited to their educational needs. My students Diana Mušić, Martina Kristić, Marko Prka and Mislav-Jure Sulić combined their interests, backgrounds and criteria for their social enterprise project resulting in the development of a turnkey plan for a local non profit to raise awareness and funds one chair at a time. The specially designed chairs usually cost around 1,000 Euros and within 2 weeks the students not only identified the need but sourced the solution. They reinvisioned the chair, mocked up a design, found a willing and capable manufacturer and set up a system for the non-profit to transparently collect the funds and dedicate the money for a needed learning aid, the chair. Visitors to their blog will be regularly updated on how much was raised and who will receive a chair and when. With over 9,000 children in Croatia being affected by this motor condition, my students are enabling lives. I thank them and all the other students striving to make change for themselves and others. To learn more about their project visit Više od stolice.