Nov 24: The first of the television shows that we recently filmed in Manhattan was broadcast. I co-produced and hosted these segments on environmental justice in New York.
Activities
Oct 24: In New York for Climate Week. Here I‘m at the MNN studios, wrapping up two TV segments with reps from the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance who shared insights into systemic challenges.
Oct 24: At the United Nations in New York for the Summit of the Future, aimed at challenges ranging from conflict to climate. Wonderful meeting Costa Rican Ambassador Maritza Chan, disarmament icon.
Sep 24: At the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia. I supported Doaa Al Zamel and Nour Barakeh in this “Living library” session on the topic of flight and migration.
Sep 24: Contributed to the Bled Strategic Forum’s official newspaper covering diverse topics for audience of political and business leaders, thinkers, and academics.
Aug 24: On a pro bono basis, supported the creation of an eLearning course for the African Survivor Leadership Academy: ‘Understanding Human Trafficking in Africa’.
Aug 24: Thrilled to have been invited to speak at TEDx Innsbruck in October. The topic will be ‘Balancing Polarity: Building Bridges in a Polarised World.’
Jul 24: In Rome for the Climate Reality Project
Leadership event. Inspired by former US VP
Al Gore’s impassioned presentation; also got
an update on topics ranging from clean energy
to greenwashing.
Jun 24: Supporting the NGO Rare in a major strategic instructional design project. I appreciate Rare’s focus on behavioral science in tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity, securing food systems, and driving capital toward better environmental outcomes.
Mar 24: Enjoyed the intensive EU Fundamental Rights Forum. Captured synergies with impact makers from across the globe; many follow-up meetings planned.
Feb 24: Delighted to support, on a pro bono basis, a mental health capacity-building project for East Africa. Emphasis is on developing holistic, scalable, social-healing interventions.
Feb 24: The eLearning course I helped develop for the OSCE is now on edX – and in two languages. The topic is energy efficiency and markets, with a focus on Central Asia.
Nov 23: Was honored to speak about trauma at the 2023 Mental Health Forum in Los Angeles. Held by FundaMental Change and Mission Community Hospital, the Forum explored mental health and public policy (credit: FundaMental Change).
Nov 23: ODIHR’s new eLearning course “Promoting the Participation of Persons with Disabilities: An Interactive Tool for Parliaments and Political Parties” was launched at the Irish Parliament! Happy to have supported this DEI project (credit: ODIHR).
Oct 23: Participated in the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Focus was on rule of law, non-discrimination, freedom, and humanitarian issues (credit: OSCE/Piotr Dziubak).
Aug 23: Impact from my ‘Bridging Climate Divides’ launch at the UN Vienna is still coming in… Multiple media stories on various elements, like this one on the trafficking angle. Looking forward to expanding this inclusive climate action approach.
Jul 23: Our World Youth Skills Day event at the United Nations in Vienna was a major success! Packed room of stakeholders – topics ranging from criminal justice and rule of law to curriculum design for effective outreach. A lot of follow-up projects in the works…
Jul 23: Also launched Bridging Climate Divides at the UN. So inspiring to see policymakers, young activists, business leaders and civil society members collaborating to create shared and impactful climate solutions.
Jun 23: Finalizing the upcoming UN launch of my new project: Bridging Climate Divides. Bottom-up solutions and collaborative development for climate impact.
May 23: This interview segment I filmed with
Malaika Oringo in New York during the UNGA
is now broadcasting. We discuss trafficking,
climate change, and GBV. Many thanks to the
Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN).
Apr 23: Presented the virtual-learning modules I created for OSCE/ODIHR on the margins of the 23rd Conference of the Alliance against Trafficking in Persons. The program will be on EdX. Click here for the pptx and here for a note from ODIHR Director Matteo Mecacci.
Feb 23: Progress on the Footprint to Climate initiative in Uganda. This month, an entire village participated in a tree-planting campaign to mitigateclimate change. What an honor to cooperate with Footprint to Freedom on this impactful project.
Feb 23: We released the 2022 Impact Report for SDG2030.me, IFOUND, and MESPERO: Impact for Resilience. Amazed that we have been able to get so much accomplished so quickly. Humbled and grateful.
Jan 23: Supported the launch of a new book dealing with GBV and trafficking (I Kick and I Fly). Created the book’s site (incl. eLearning) and provided strategy on a pro bono basis.
Dec 22: Honored to hold a variety of trainings for the Austrian Parliamentary Administration. Here I am with Rania Ali, whom I invited to be a guest speaker on youth empowerment in one of the courses.
Dec 22: We held another Humanitarian Community Life psychological first aid virtual training for NGOs in Yemen. Many thanks to Layla Barakeh for her leadership of this initiative.
Dec 22: As a follow-up to COP27, Nour Barakeh completed this analysis of North-South relationsre. MENA in global environmental governance. It has been an honor to mentor this project.
Nov 22: Launched the SDG 13 HUB to build community and showcase innovative, grassroots climate change action projects. Intergenerational, cross-cultural, inclusive and multidisciplinary.
Nov 22: The SDG 13 HUB includes a Learning Zone. Having made most of these digital interactions, I am now training young people to create this multimedia for their own projects.
Nov 22: At COP27, we launched Footprint to
Climate, a survivor-led, female-led, youth-
focused project aiming at preventing human
trafficking while mitigating climate change.
Nov 22: Malaika and I met with the Head of Principal Sustainability at Hugo Boss. We discussed the importance of emphasizing human rights when analyzing the fashion industry’s supply chain.
Oct 22: Proud to say that our Humanitarian Community Life project for building psychological first aid training in Yemen was featured in the media (Arabic language). Kudos to Layla Barakeh for her excellent work in this youth-led initiative.
Oct 22: Consolidated many of my recent human-trafficking awareness activities into this interactive showcase. Spotlight on youth and people with lived experience. Next steps: add more virtual-learning modules and a Teachers’ Manual.
Sep 22: At the request of young activists I met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NYC, I created this activism primer which uses L&D principles to develop sustainable strategies for driving social change.
Sep 22: Honored to mentor Humanitarian Community Life’s psychological first aid remote training in Yemen and to join its first session. Layla Barakeh has done a great job of establishing this initiative.
Aug 22: Using L&D principles, I am leading a team creating multimedia offerings to capture and scale lessons learned from our human-trafficking awareness event in London. Examples include video segments, virtual learning and a policy brief.
Aug 22: Have been working hard on Phase 2 of a MESPERO project: Humanitarian Community Life (HCL). With Layla Barakeh as lead, we are developing an intensive remote training program (in Arabic) for psychological first aid.
Jul 22: Delighted to participate in the UN’s High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. I accompanied a team of young global leaders through a design thinking workshop I had created for ‘Building strong and global partnerships.’
Jul 22: I initiated and coordinated two days of London-based activities marking the World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2022. They began with this Intergenerational Consultation aimed at impactful synergies.
Jun 22: Honored to hold a virtual workshop for graduate students at the Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques (INED) in Paris. We covered my SHE OR HE burnout model and how that applies to academic settings.
Jun 22: Visited London to see the venue (Goodenough College) and to do groundwork for our exhibition and event on human trafficking and modern slavery coming up next month. Tagline: Lived experience leads.
May 22: Very happy to say that SDG2030.me has been chosen to contribute to a major UN annual meeting on the SDGs: The High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Apr 22: The SDG 5 Hub Changemaker Challenge continued with individual workshops on ‘How to Build Back Better.’ Many thanks to Aigerim Seitenova, Ana Laura Velázquez Moreno and Afnan Khalid for sharing their wisdom.
Apr 22: Visited Amsterdam to meet with anti-human trafficking leader Malaika Oringo, CEO of the survivor-led Footprint to Freedom. Inspiring woman! We are setting up a multimedia project to be released in 2023.
Apr 22: More Changemaker Challenge workshops, this time with Fauziah Wanjiru and Nyadoi Philister of Footprint to Freedom. Greatly appreciated their lived-experience input on applying the SDGs to human trafficking.
Mar 22: And the SDG 5 Hub is live! In celebration of International Women’s Day 2022, we invited 22 global activists for a design-thinking Changemaker Challenge focused on exploring synergies and creating innovations to build back better for SDG 5.
Mar 22: We also curated an SDG 5 Hub Projects page and had thousands of visitors to its digital open house promoting activism on International Women’s Day. Pictured are two of the featured Projects: FRIDA and Akina Mama Wa Afrika.
Mar 22: Consulting a capacity-building project focused on human trafficking prevention and mitigation for refugees from Ukraine – emphasis is on women and children. Aim is to consolidate resources and provide necessities.
Feb 22: Joined Aigerim Seitenova in conducting field research for a major multimedia project being developed on the nuclear-climate nexus. SDGs always in focus.
Feb 22: Created an innovative, L&D, virtual-learning path dedicated to the Global Compact, which is based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles.
Feb 22: Setting up an SDG 5 Hub to launch next month. The Hub will engage with impactful individuals and initiatives while showcasing related projects.
Jan 22: At the EXPO in Dubai for the Sustainable Development Goals week. Loved the Women’s Pavilion – but measurable results in empowering changemakers is key.
Jan 22: Very productive meetings at the EXPO United Nations Hub – exploring possible synergies for a variety of upcoming projects. Also participated in the SDG Media Hub.
Jan 22: Held a training on burnout prevention and mitigation with Global Citizen Mentorship Program members focused on implementing SDG 3 Micro-Projects internationally.
Dec 21: Wrapping up a busy year of public speaking, event moderating, multimedia creating, and workshop leading on a global basis. Grateful to make a positive and large-scale impact in these pandemic times.
Dec 21: I developed a new project (Micromedia Modular Database) which will provide a digital library of evidence-based material that can be shared via mobile channels and scaled through SMS/USSD distribution.
Dec 21: In May 2018, I spoke at No Home for Hate re. social media’s effects on the perception of females in society and strategies for dealing with related attacks in digital spaces. Delighted to meet with the still-engaged youth leaders.
Nov 21: Very much enjoyed participating in Green Zone activities at COP26. Connected with Indigenous Peoples, grass roots community members, youth activists, business people and many more focused on making positive environmental impact.
Nov 21: Loved joining the Ubuntu National School Meeting and IPAV in Lisbon – over 1,000 participants with an energized, rock-concert vibe. Wonderful catching up with Doaa Al Zamel, who provided an inspirational speech on resilience.
Nov 21: Discussed synergies between aims of MESPERO and SDG2030.me with members of Ubuntu and IPAV: i.e. empowering youth as agents of change, promoting peace and justice education, and contributing to developing more inclusive and resilient societies.
Nov 21: Our Nuclear Climate Change side event held during the COP26 Climate Summit had this focus: ‘Using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a roadmap, we mark an important milestone in promoting intergenerational, apolitical, and constructive dialogue aimed at contextualizing climate change while mitigating the existential threat of nuclear warfare and its resulting environmental impact.’
Nov 21: The Youth Council for our COP26 side event represented six nations, multiple disciplines and various universities. These talented individuals supported with organizing the event, conducting the related media, and planning subsequent activities. In a Central European University article, Youth Council Head Madalina Bot said that the event brought ‘novel angles to reflect and act upon.’
Nov 21: I initiated and moderated this COP26 side event panel in Scotland: ‘Existential Threats and Interconnected Solutions’. Lydia Omuko-Jung discussed climate change litigation, Sahil Shah provided the link to nuclear-weapon agreements, Aigerim Seitenova outlined nuclear-weapon testing at Semipalatinsk, and Hyab Yohannes discussed contemporary refugee issues. The panel then explored synergies for positive global change.
Nov 21: Ran a design thinking challenge for delegates to the Austrian Parliament’s Western Balkans program in cooperation with the European Fund for the Balkans. The aim was to support the European Commission with the Green New Deal.
Nov 21: Very proud of Kendall Alaimo and Malaika Oringo for addressing the UN General Assembly on the appraisal of the UN Global Plan of Action to combat trafficking. Both travelled to NYC and spoke about the necessity for survivor-led solutions.
Nov 21: Supported the Austrian Parliament’s Democracy Workshop Forum again this year. The event built capacity for various EU countries re. expanding concepts behind democracy, parliamentary life, media competence and the European Union.
Oct 21: Consulting educational institutions on the mental health challenges they are experiencing in returning students and educators. This global issue must be dealt with systemically -> DMHC.
Oct 21: As Director of Development for the International Forum for Understanding, I am co-organizing a Side Event for COP26: Nuclear Climate Change.
Oct 21: As a unique digital event for COP26, I am also releasing original or curated multimedia activities on climate change or showcasing a related youth-led initiative every day for 26 days.
Sep 21: Delighted to join a panel and hold a workshop in Moscow at the 4th Forum of Social Innovations of the Regions. My area of focus: workplace resilience in light of the pandemic.
Sep 21: My interactive ‘Burnout Management’ L&D workshop in Moscow was a major success. Hundreds of participants had come from all over Russia to optimize their workforce processes.
Sep 21: Participating in Moscow’s 4th Forum of Social Innovations was part of SDG2030’s September initiative focused on SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.
Aug 21: Supporting a global entity to develop a burnout prevention and mitigation strategy for its employees. Workplace culture is directly connected to burnout occurrence and staff retention.
Aug 21: At European Forum Alpbach, I moderated this panel: ‘The Great European Transformation – A Digital and Sustainable Economy.’ Focus was on successfully mitigating the pandemic’s economic and social impact.
Aug 21: Panelists included Austrian Federal Minister Margarete Schramböck, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess, EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness, and electromobility CEO Martin Klässner. Vibrant discussion!
Jul 21: Marking the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, I initiated and coordinated a unique event and exhibition live-streamed globally; the aim was to highlight those with lived experience.
Jul 21: Sponsored by the International Forum for Understanding (for which I am the Director of Development), the broadcast also featured contributions from ODIHR, ISTAC, UNODC, and the Anti-Slavery Collective and various universities.
Jul 21: The related exhibition showcased the artistic autobiographical analysis of traumatic experiences of childhood trafficking of Laurent Ziegler along with digital contributions from Kendall Alaimo and Apne Aap.
Jul 21: Keynoted at #WGC, a high-level, online HR conference with 500 senior decision-makers in attendance. The topic: “Emotional wellbeing, mental health and resilience in the workplace.”
Jul 21: This is a cool graphic #WGC made about my speech – which applied a major transition management model to dealing with the implications of the pandemic on HR globally.
Jul 21: Developed a concept for creating scalable psycho-education and self-help digital tools to build immediate capacity for individuals and systems while iterating a scalable business model.
June 21: Given the success of last month’s eLearning initiative, SDG2030.me now focuses on creating interactive learning material for SDG 14: Life below Water. With that aim, we have cooperated with classrooms globally to create digital games for different age groups.
June 2021: Supported the UN Vienna’s workshops for dealing with racism, hatred and misinformation online. Strategies for handling those areas and related reporting mechanisms were covered in this virtual initiative for educators
June 21: Doing a lot of virtual conference speaking this month about pandemic-related HR issues and concrete actions corporations can take right now to mitigate the expected challenges in Q3 and Q4 2021. Keeping the ‘human touch’ in the midst of digital transformation is key.
May 21: MESPERO is happy to add Humanitarian Community Life to its project roster. The focus is on building capacity for mental health and psychosocial support volunteers in Syria and Yemen.
May 21: A lot of progress re. my SHE OR HE Burnout Model. My article ‘A new model for dealing with pandemic-related burnout’ was featured by United for Global Mental Health, and SHE OR HE became a MESPERO project.
May 21: This month, SDG2030.me created a 28-minute television and social media segment dedicated to ‘SDG 15: Life on Land’. We also featured original virtual learning modules and a project challenge for SDG 15.
Apr 21: Having taught internationally for decades, I’m very concerned about the mental health tinderbox awaiting schools globally next year. I’m often asked to join panels to discuss these topics, but eager to do much more on a systemic level.
Apr 21: For SDG2030.me’s April initiative, I developed six health-related projects, ranging from equine-assisted therapy to an MHPSS initiative for Syria. Half of the projects have already received support, and we are pursuing contacts for the others.
Apr 21: I also set up a virtual art gallery called ‘SDG 3 as Art’ featuring photographers, painters and sculptors globally. As in-person galleries remain closed, it was inspiring to create this digital alternative showcasing health-related pieces.
Mar 21: As SDG 2030’s first initiative, we created a 75-minute interactive, online event for International Women’s Day 2021. Social Hackathon, Dynamic Storytelling, Special Guests… and so much more for SDG 5.
Mar 21: Delighted to moderate an online workshop for the Austrian Parliament aimed at scaling its Democracy Workshop program to other countries. (photo: © Parlamentsdirektion / Thomas Topf)
Feb 21: Had the honor of interviewing Dr. Nora Sveass, dr. psychol. who is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Oslo and Chair of Health and Human Rights Info.
Feb 21: Founded SDG 2030 which will hold monthly interactive campaigns for SDG implementation.
Jan 21: Wonderful to speak at the Momentum 2021 event connected to Medium. I presented on strategies for handling burnout and introduced my new ‘SHE OR HE’ model for recovery and balance.
Jan 21: Enjoyed being a full-hour guest on the award-winning Shrink Rap Radio. We discussed everything from the pandemic’s collective trauma to global HR’s paradigm shift towards augmented analytics.