With International Women’s Day here, and so many amazing stories being told of women young and old, it gives us a wonderful opportunity to re-engage and align from a place of change.

There is a remarkable trend amongst global organizations who are focusing on a more positive gender balance for a better tomorrow. Women and men around the globe are now understanding how a dynamic shift in the way women lead, will not only help hold up our communities, but bring new energy to our planet.

It’s encouraging to see so many people support this movement, not necessarily from a feminist approach, but more from a place of oneness.

This is why the Passion Foundation (a.k.a me and all the amazing people supporting us) is so excited about the opportunity to partner with the Projecting Change Film Festival.

As a young female entrepreneur and fellow change maker, who has worked in human services for over a decade (12 years to be exact) I’ve had the honour of moving along side some really exciting individuals and organizations. At the end of this month I am continuing this trend by embarking on a journey! We’re setting out to ask young women from continents far and wide, about their roles in leadership, their dreams and their challenges. We are going ask about their views on what shifts they think need to happen, not just in their communities and countries but within themselves. Our goal is to document their answers and figure out how we might connect and assist each other as we move toward this brighter future of equality and balance.

Over the next two years, we will be going into communities in various parts of the world, to hear the trials and triumphs of young women and their views on how they will make an impact on the world around them. The Projecting Change Film Festival will assist us in getting this series out to our communities.

In addition, I am thrilled to be part of this year’s PCFF, facilitating discussions around the documentary Miss Representation.

To help make this all happen, we’ve launched the Global Sorority project on Kickstarter! We only have a week left to reach our set goal, and we need everyone’s support to reach it. So please act now! Visit our project page www.kickstarter.com/projects/1477497/global-sorority.

The more dialogue that happens, the more connections are made, the more we will all have a better world to live in.

See you at PCFF 2012!

Q: How are you projecting change?

I am working with an amazing volunteer team on the start-up of a new non-profit called Peace Geeks. We help strengthen the technological and professional capabilities of non-profit organizations working on peace, accountability and human rights initiatives by remotely connecting them to skilled volunteers. Our client organizations gain the benefit of skilled volunteers, while our volunteers (over 100 and counting) can stay at home and have the opportunity to make an impact globally. We also have a secondary objective of raising public awareness about the important work done by individuals and organizations working on these issues around the world. We don’t hear their stories often enough through traditional media channels and we want to help change that.

We want to work on projects that advance the strategic objectives of our client organizations so what that looks like will vary from one organization to another, but projects can include: developing organizational web sites to disseminate important information with relevant audiences; setting up data collection or crowd sourcing tools to assist with research, programming and policy advocacy efforts; implementing mobile phone applications to assist with early warning tools or to support awareness-raising campaigns; creating training programs for social media strategy, web site management, etc. We also work on the development of strategic management and planning skills, including team coaching, marketing strategy, human resources management, program strategy, etc. We will also explore developing new tools or integrating several existing tools if and when we see that it addresses a broad need.

Q: Do you feel film has power to create social change?

Yes, absolutely. In fact, this team initially came together after 14 individuals who didn’t really know each other met up watch the documentary film ‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ at the Amnesty International Film Festival this past November. This movie tells the amazing story of the Liberian women’s movement, which played a pivotal role in helping to end the 14-year civil war in that country. When the screening ended, the energy was palpable. Many of us wanted to do something to support the amazing work of organizations such as Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), featured in the film. I have since toured this film across the country for different audiences, and no matter where I show it, people are inspired by the courage and fiery determination of the Liberian women.

Q: Tell me about the inspiration behind your newly founded NGO…

Apart from the screening, the idea for Peace Geeks culminated from my experience in the private sector where I worked on IT projects for eight years, and later in the non-profit sector and with the UN where I worked on peace and security issues. I came to realize that many of the organizations working in this space lacked the basic tools, systems and skills they needed to be most effective with their limited resources. Sometimes cost is the most significant barrier to accessing these tools, but more often than not, it is lack of awareness about the options available or limited access to the skills needed to get them. Some non-profits also may have limited strategic management capabilities and in some cases we may have a role to play in supporting the development these skills.

Another important piece of the puzzle was that I could see that many people with professional backgrounds wanted to contribute their skills and time to support such organizations, but just didn’t know where to get started. We help make these connections and harness this potential. We recognize that while the core work on these issues happens on the ground in the countries where our clients operate, we can nevertheless play an important support role in building their technological and management capabilities so they can be most effective with their resources and make the greatest impact in their communities.

Interested in finding out more about Peace Geeks? Checkout the website at www.peacegeeks.org .

Want to get involved? Send an email to volunteer@peacegeeks.org or register as a volunteer at www.peacegeeks.org/pg/volunteer_registration.php

- Rebecca @rebeccaapeel

Cynthia caught the travel bug when she was just two years old driving across England, Scotland, and France with her mom. When she began her solo adventures as an adult, she ended up in Mexico for five years and began working with GAP Adventures as a tour leader. She eventually moved back to Vancouver where she graduated from UBC with a degree in Latin American Studies and continued her love affair with the incredible travel organization, GAP Adventures as the Store Manager of the GAP Adventures Vancouver Concept Store. Check out my interview with her below!

1) What is GAP Adventures?

GAP is a Canadian company that specializes in small group adventure travel; the maximum group size is usually 15 people. There are a number of service levels to choose from so that travelers can decide if they want a bit more comfort or just the basics. We travel on local transportation, stay in locally owned and operated hotels; there is a tour leader along to take care of all of the logistics, arrange optional activities and basically take all the stress out of travel. We have over 1,000 trips to offer: safaris in Africa, hiking in Peru (our most popular destination), and volunteer trips like helping to save pandas in China, to name just a few. If you really want to get off the beaten path, we have a ship that sails to Antarctica and the Arctic.

2) How is GAP Adventures Projecting Change?

GAP is “projecting change” by encouraging people to explore the world in a responsible way, taking people to unusual destinations where they can learn more about the world and themselves through travel. We also have Planeterra, our non-profit organization, that helps to support community projects in countries that we visit around the world. Volunteering as a part of travel gives people the opportunity to see destinations in a completely different way and be more immersed in the local culture.

3) What sets you apart from your competition?

I think that our main core value says it all: “We love changing people’s lives.” This applies to our travelers, people we work with in the countries that we visit, and the people who work for GAP Adventures. There is a really strong company culture – everyone who works here has the title of CEO. It really is a large community of people who love to travel and are committed to making the world a better place on a daily basis.

A glimpse of our offices around the world:

4) What is “sustainable tourism” and what impact is it having on our world?

It’s about “taking only pictures, leaving only footprints.” Sustainable tourism means supporting local businesses, community projects and initiatives, and having a minimum impact on the places that we visit by keeping the groups small. To quote Bruce, “El Capo” and the founder of GAP Adventures: by “running our business in a way that respects people and the planet.” It is an action that is contagious.

5) Where is your favourite place to travel?

It’s really hard to say since all of my trips have been so different. Latin America is my first love, Mexico, and the Galapagos are definitely at the top of the list. Seeing the pyramids while riding a camel in Egypt, snorkeling in the Red Sea, and petting a lion in Zambia are up there, too!

From Australia and Thailand to Nepal and the Galapagos islands Cynthia has seen it all. When she’s not planning your vacations and adventures she can be found at the beach with her beloved basset hound or cheering on her favourite hockey team – go Canucks go!!!

- Lindsay (Jive Communications)

We innovate because operating as we have is no longer an option. More so than ever, we innovate because the problems we face today require immediate action and change – not just to create and evolve as a species – but for our survival at large. Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordon Hogg is an innovator.

Gordon’s extensive work in creating social change spans from little league coach, to Parliamentary Secretary for Non-profit Partnerships, to his current PhD research focused on how public policy can positively impact the subjective sense of well being. When I sat down to discuss social innovation with Gordon Hogg I was inspired. When I reflected on what he said post-interview I was beyond inspired. I was excited for Vancouver and our future as a leading city of innovation.

Gordon is the only MLA in Canada to have been designated a Parliamentary Secretary for Social Innovation and in February of this year he interviewed and selected a 16-member advisory council of leading innovators in this field. Vancouver is on the verge of major cultural shift even being referenced as “Canada’s Silicon Valley” by Tim Draimin executive director of Social Innovation Generation (SiG) in Toronto.

I asked Gordon a few questions about why Vancouver is a leading city for social innovation, what social innovation really means, how his PhD research will impact Vancouver, as well as where he views the future of social innovation within the nonprofit sector? I hope you enjoyed his answers as much as I did.

Social innovation, in its most simple form, as described by Gordon Hogg, is “using the power of the market place to address social needs.” Through the creation of new government policy which remove the current impediments holding nonprofits in unsustainable funding models we can allow great innovations within the field.

Proud to be an innovator and a Vancouverite – I hope you are too!

Rebecca @rebeccaapeel

Within moments of speaking to Mike I was in awe of his charming mannerism, exuberant personality and his impressive knowledge of Canada’s efforts towards foreign aid. Uncharacteristically, I jumped at the opportunity to pass out of the spotlight, quickly blurting out, “Mike! I would love you to interview the electoral candidates, are you up for it?”

He was! As Mike dug into his first interview with MLA & Liberal Party Of Canada candidate Dr. Hedy Fry I knew I’d made the right choice. He carried on to eloquently dive into sustainability issues with Adriane Carr of the Green Party of Canada who referenced Canada as “moving backwards in terms of racking up fossil fuels instead of forwards progressively and changing to a renewable energy economy.”

By the time Mike got to Karen Shillington of the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) he was ready to really dig into tough questions about Karen’s campaign and where it would lead Canada. Pay close attention to the 9 minute 45 second mark for a humorous redirect as I try to get Mike and Karen to look at the camera!

Dr. Hedy Fry, Adriane Carr And Karen Shillington at the EWB Fix Aid All Candidates Debate

After Mike finished conducting his round of interviews we swapped places and I asked him some questions of my own…

Q: Mike tell be a little bit more about Engineers Without Borders and your work with the organization?

I’ve been involved in Engineers Without Borders (EWB) since my third year of undergrad. Engineers Without Borders works in Canada and overseas to improve the lives of those living in developing African countries. Overseas, our focus is on working with local organizations and communities to develop creative and sustainable solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. In Canada much of our work centers on education, fundraising and engaging the public in issues affecting the worlds impoverished.

My first project with EWB was working on our school outreach program where we visit elementary and high schools to discuss food and water issues in developing countries with the students. Next I travelled overseas to Zambia for 4 months to work on projects related to improving farmer’s incomes. More recently I have been involved in our advocacy work, meeting with local MPs and building public engagement around our activities.

Q: What do you think is the number one barrier impeding Canada’s efforts towards foreign aid & how does Engineers Without Borders work to combat this barrier?

When I was volunteering overseas in Zambia, one problem I observed firsthand was the amount of time and effort that field staff spend writing reports to please the numerous donors that they have. The Foreign Assistance Reform Network (FARN) headed by EWB is an effort to increase the effectiveness of the $4.5 billion Canada already spends on foreign aid. The Foreign Assistance Reform Network employs a series of concrete actions that political parties and individuals can get behind. One of these actions is the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), which is a standardized set of reporting guidelines intended to streamline the amount of work field staff have to do. For more information on the IATI and FARN, please check out http://www.aidtransparency.net/ and http://www.farn.ca/.

Q: What did you think about the experience of being a guest interview for Projecting Change Film Festival?

Having been quite involved in EWB’s advocacy strategy over the last 12 months, I relished the opportunity to be a guest interviewer for the Projecting Change Film Festival. I loved diving into issues related to sustainability and development with the three candidates because there were so many questions that I was wondering about and felt that many other Canadians were also interested in. Any opportunity to let politicians know that the sustainability and development are issues Canadians are passionate about is best not passed up.

Big big thanks to Mike for conducting the interviews as well as Engineers Without Borders and The British Columbia Council for International Cooperation for hosting such a needed and inspiring debate. On a personal (and extremely enthusiastic) note, I’ve recently joined Engineers Without Borders and will be heading off to Africa for an 18 month placement as an Africa Programs Staff!

-Rebecca @rebeccaapeel