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SNOWblog.net: Formerly known as Snow in Jerusalem
Silence follows me during these hectic days.
Snow in Jerusalem is confirmed. The budget approved, and the Belgian Consulate as main sponsor.
Now we are busy setting up all the needed things: a website, a photoblog, photographic material etc..
Amazing.
After all the plans we made during endless evenings, it is finally reality.
Connecting Languages is an a-political Israeli organization while we have another organization in Gaza coöperating.
And I am the Technical Adviser in this project.
Trying to set up a meeting in Gaza now.
Which doesnt turn out to be easy at all.
A photoblog is being set up especially for this project.
Snow in Jerusalem is a project in which 3 classes are involved: a school in Gaza, a school in Kfar Kasem (Israeli Arab) and another school with Israeli jews.
Children that will write in English language about their daily life.
Pictures that accompany the thing will show this daily life. (And I will be giving workshops to teach them somehow something)
This is when people that dont understand what I am busy with, should understand.
The things I do seems to be miles apart from each other, but somehow in my head there is a very evident link that seems to be invisible for many.
All the web projects, all the photography, all the human interest come together here.
In this a project.
Snow in Jerusalem. It is possible. I saw it last year. Children playing in white snow.
This year it is a project you might hear of
Posted on December 1, 2003
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SNOWblog.net: in Kfar Kasem
While in Tel Aviv, a stupid maffiosi tries to kill another one, and for that reason shocks the world, I am visiting my first school I will be teaching the kids some basic photography: Kfar Kasem.
(Kfar Kasem is an Arab village, pretty known in Israel because of the killing of 41 Arabs in 1956)
The kids, 11-12 years old are pretty exited seeing us, English teachers and a photographer coming.
The teachers explain them the project and then do some games introducing basic English.
It is pretty noisy and hard to coordinate, but what is interesting is the evaluation in the end:
"Do you want us to come back?" "Yes"
"What do you want to do?" "Play games, tell stories, write them down, take pictures, and you have to bring the other kids involved in the project."
That last remark is very important to me.
It is maybe the only thing to hold on to, while on so many occasions people think this will be another unsuccesful, hopeless project.
But when I hear children saying this, for me it is a reason to go on, and even to say that we might reach the point where this project isn't hopeless, because in fact it brought some hope...
Posted on December 11, 2003
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SNOWblog.net: Site online
Yep, got there, finally things are getting out of the air into reality.
SNOWblog.net is a fact since today.
Soon more news will follow (since the site is not yet online. You'll have to wait some days more for that one.)
Designing logo and website of Languages Connections today and I am quite proud of what I did there...
Hope I can launch it tomorrow. (Waiting for activation of the webspace now.)
All remarks are welcome -not that I listen to them anyway-
Wallah, have been working lately. My grandmomma would answer: "And where is the money???"
Guess that one is for another lifetime...
Posted on December 17, 2003
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Snow in Jerusalem - the book
Snow in Jerusalem
by Authors: Deborah Da Costa , Cornelius Van Wright , Ying-Hwa Hu , Cornelius Van Wright
Released: October, 2001
ISBN: 0807575216
Hardcover
An uplifting, very highly recommended childrens story
Snow In Jerusalem is a thought-provoking childrens picturebook written by Deborah da Costa about two young boys who live in Jerusalems Old City - Avi in the Jewish Quarter and Hamudi in the Muslim Quarter. Though neither boy knows it, both of them are caring for the same, beautiful white stray cat. One day the boys follow the cat across the boundaries between the citys quarters, and something wonderful happens, as unexpected as a snowfall in Jerusalem. The muted, softly blurring yet endearingly memorable color illustrations by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu bring to life this gentle parable. Snow In Jerusalem is an uplifting, very highly recommended childrens story with a core message of hope and love.
We found out about this one yesterday.
Guess I was not the only one thinking this way...
Posted on December 18, 2003
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SNOWblog.net: Radio interview
Today I went to the radio studios of VRT (Flemish Radio and Television), to do an interview for 'Buitenlandse Zaken' (Foreign Affairs)
I talked about several things, on my 'adventure' in Israel/Palestine, such as our project Snowblog.net
'If there is hope?' I don't know. But I truly believed you have to keep hope, or create it. Snowblog wants to be a project like that.
You want to hear the whole story? Listen Saturday between 10 and 11 AM, or surf to their site: Radio 1 and click on 'Listen' [Only in Dutch, and only from Saturday on.]
Posted on December 23, 2003
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SNOWblog.net: Classes
The last two days I have been busy teaching little Arabs and Israeli how to take pictures.
All for the SNOWblog project.
And it was GREAT!
An update follows soon...
Posted on January 24, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: promised update
Here it is, the promised update.
My two classes went extremely smooth -regarding the time of preparation and the fact that it has been 3 years since I have been teaching. Though being a leader in scouts turns out to be an advantage I guess.-
Rather than teaching them photography as it happended to me, I wanted to do things differently.
The fact that they are children of 12 means that a different approach can be used, they are still eager in opening their eyes to new things.
Since the class subject is FOOD, I had to do something with food.
The idea of food in general makes us think of very obvious things, like bananas, meat, etc.
So upon my question of bringing pictures of food, I got those very obvious images. Exactly what I wanted.
Because in order to build up a new image we should go to the bottom.
From that point we can start up the idea that food can be so much more than only food. Food can be a culture, the people around you in the table, food can be exotic, an other culture, it can be a holiday with delicious special things.
For sure they got that idea, after me showing pictures of my last holiday, christmas. They wanted to know my family, and which ugly food is lying on the plate. Or which delicious drinks we're having.
After that I tried to teach them something on framing, by showing how important a viewer is on a camera. Because every camera is nothing more than an empty box with a lense. We put a film inside, and the light burns onto the pelicule, making us a negative. But what is more important is WHAT we choose to be on that negative.
So we made a frame with our fingers, looking at he world through our little viewer. Making choices in what to pictures, or better what not to picture.
All these little kids looking at each other in a different way. Normal, or lying on the floor, or standing on a chair and looking down, from close and from far, looking at what interests them.
So they went out of the class, some of them still looking to the world.
Hopefully in a different way.
Posted on January 27, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: Nothing is new
Nothing is new in this world, so also my photoproject in Israel has been done before elsewhere.
So I decided to do some real research on it.
No better place than the web -this is why I love it, you name it, you google it, and most of the time, you find it...-
So here is a series of interesting links I want to share. -And I want to remember for myself...-
-Wendy Ewalds Photocourse for children
-Dan Eldon Learning Centre
-Kodaks Digital Photography for schools
Posted on January 29, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: me teaching...
Posted on February 9, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: first pictures of the kids
The first results of SNOWblog arrived.
We seem to have some good eyes in our group.
I can tell you: I am a happy person...
[all images©SNOWblog.net]
Posted on February 12, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: Polaroid test
The last two days I have been busy with the project. Teaching in Kfar Kasem and in Genai? Tikva.
Well, it is still amazing.
Kids can make a world of difference with their enthousiasm, and of course, you as the teacher hace to try to make it interesting enough.
The truly remarkable part was, that it seems that especially the 'problem' kids are very interested.
So it can be kind of interesting to be aware of such things.
Although they still need to learn the language of images, some of them for sure have some talent to see the things different.
Maybe we can be a difference for some of them, by making awake something that was lingering there. The interest for the creative mind...
If we can achieve this, it would be great.
Posted on February 13, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: first pictures of the kids
[©SNOWblog.net]
These are the first pictures of the kids in Genai Tikva.
We worked with a polaroidcamera and they had to make a selfportrait.
(A next assignment for the kids in Kfar Kasem)
Posted on February 15, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: some pics
Today another SNOWblog day.
Some pics...
©SNOW in Rafah
©SNOW in Ganai Tikva
Posted on March 11, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: the site is ON
Yesyes, thanks to Maarten and John.. The blogs are on.
Check it out. www.snowblog.net
Posted on March 19, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: television calls
If I wanted to be on television?
Well... although it is really flattering, I don't know. Rather not, thank you very much. (in fact really not, so I better stop thinking about it...)
But then again the little marketeer in me wakes up. 'Yes of course you want, you want this project to be a blast... You want to succeed in whatever you do.'
So yes, I will go.
And I will advertise like I never did before. SNOWblog. There we go...
Channel 10 here I come.
Posted on March 25, 2004
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SNOWblog: Haaretz published
Yesterday we got the message: Haaretz published our SNOWblog project.
Good news.
But then we saw the article. No mentioning of our site name...
How can it be? How stupid can one be to publish an internetproject without mentioning the url?
The rest of the article seems to be nice, and I have to say, I should be flattered.
Everything is inside, with a critical eye but yet nicely explaining what it is about.
Highlighting the most important things, and I have to admit, highlighting me -I guess it is 'exotic' to tell the story of a foreigner ending up in Israel, nobody understands it here...-, that I am a student at Bezalel, explaining about Photoblog.be, and the origin of the idea of SNOWblog.
Let's hope that now it can grow more, and try to make the next journalist mention the url...
For Hebrew readers: read the article
Posted on April 10, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: exciting news
a. ? you like to play on the computer ? like me ? (i am looking for a computers gamer, like me, because my friends hate it : / )
i'm a computers gamer
i like to play on airplanes simulations ...
you like it too ?
i hope... :)
o.
This is a quote of the first little snowbloggers writing to eachother.
It works. They are starting to communicate with eachother in the way I expected them to do.
Like all experiences with Photoblog predicted, the children do indeed the same.
Moreover they are learning to excercise their English on top of it.
Today I really had an amazing teaching day, with ups and downs.
But definitely worth it.
Posted on May 2, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: B-day
Yesterday it was B-day for SNOWblog. Big day because the first two classes were going to meet eachother for the first time.
They have been having contact through the web since quite some weeks, and know some basic stuff about eachother, now the real thing was there.
At 9.45 the bus arrived and the school of Kfar Kasem got off. The other school welcomed them, a little bit nervous.
We had planned activities and a meal where they could taste each others food. After that they would go home.
In the end the kids of Kfar kasem didnt want to go home and neither those of Genai. So they ended up playing basket and football with eachother. The teachers and directors watched and saw it worked.
I could tell you a lot of things about this day. I will keep it short.
This girl came to her teacher and said He Merav, today I made a new friend.
The only thing I could do that day was smile and smile non-stop.
We looked and we saw that what we had done was good.
I want to thank everybody that worked so hard to make this happen.
Gal, Yakir, Elana, Nasrim and Merav, and the kids that were so excited about it.
And the others that volunteered to help that day.
The directors of the schools, The BTC and the consulate.
And some I forgot.
Wow, it really happened.
Posted on May 23, 2004
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SNOWblog.net: featured on y-net
Read the article here (only in Hebrew)
Posted on May 26, 2004
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SNOWblog: featured by Roodpetje.nl
Met sneeuw heeft het weinig te maken, dat hebben ze niet zo veel in Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden. Snow staat hier voor Self Narratives On the Web. Kinderen uit die gebieden vertellen op Snowblog hun verhaal, in woord en beeld...
Read here
Thanks, Bas.
Posted on June 6, 2004
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Blogs in Education
“Blogs…have quickly caught on in the education field, giving scholars an opportunity to share their ideas in a dedicated, spam-free stream of information.”
[through Lockergnome's RSS Resource]
Why am I not surprised? SnowBlog wasn't the first and won't be the last...
Posted on August 9, 2004
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Kids
Since 1945 we have seen 150 conflicts erupt throughout the five continents, resulting in 20 million deaths and 60 million casualties.In the First World War, civilians accounted for 5% of the victims.
That figure has now risen to 80 per cent or even 90 per cent, half of these being children. Children are the first victims of war. They suffer doubly: those who do not lose their lives are deprived of basic needs such as a home, a school, and even their parents. Adult survivors are often without work, youths become dropouts and they need special programmes. In adition more than 20 million refugees and 30 million displaced persons are today living in the most precarious of circumstances, and at least 60% of their number are children.
out of Unesco Report.
I guess this is one of the main reasons why we started SnowBlog.net
I am leaving in 10 days to do a month of volunteering in teaching kids photography and web, in order to try to teach them that people are alike.
Israeli, Israeli Arab and Palestinian kids will reach for a friend on the other side of the border.
Posted on September 9, 2004
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Paris Conference
For the SnowBlog.net project, I need to go to Paris, to present it to some people.
Long time readers of this blog surely know what it is about, but for newbies: SnowBlog stands for ‘Self Narratives On the Web. In words and pictures'
Several classes of children in Israel and the Palestinian Territories tell their narratives in words and images on their blogs.
Snowblog is an educational project aimed at forging paths for dialogue among youth belonging to communities in conflict.
Blogging combined with education is not new, but needs a major break through. And at this moment we are working on it.
Our project is being followed by several professors in Tel Aviv University, and starts to get some recognition in the educational field.
(Then again, that is just not enough. Money is the real matter, and that is still a tough question.)
Major results are being achieved, and right at this moment, a class in Gaza is busy with taking pics and posting them on the web.
Later on, these pics will be seen in a school in Tel Aviv, and 2 communities will start to exchange thoughts.
The results? I can tell you: amazing ones.
Last year, we gathers 2 linked classes, and it was a stunning moment.
I am working on SnowBlog for more than a year now, and the hard work might get some results if we keep on going.
Is this project naive? Maybe. It should be.
Today, some naivity is required.
Then again, I believe there is no other way.
Posted on January 17, 2005
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Conference in Paris
Former First lady of Portugal speaking.
(Click on the image. You need quicktime to see this short fragment)
Yesterday I went to Paris, for a conference on Peace Education for Children.
It is quite an interesting topic, but as in many cases, the danger to end up in very empty but beautiful ideas is always present.
The only answer I have on all those theories and superb illusionary projects is in fact our own SnowBlog project.
I don't claim of having invented the newest of the newest, nor that the project runs smoothly. But we are actually doing something.
What does it help to make another resolution which no country will ever follow? What does it help to philosophize about 'no violence' when there are people sitting in that same public that aren't able to open up the debate without falling into the cliches?
I don't always believe in these group sessions. I rather believe in 'doing'.
Maybe sometimes too much.
In the meanwhile I did learn that things have to have a profound structure -and actually I think it is the first necessity, otherwise you better don't start- and that long term thinking should be in the plans from the first moment.
So thinking is a necessity.
But solving the world in a room isn't my idea of change.
Yet, these sessions are rather interesting to get in touch with the right persons, because, networking on the web might be a faster way, reality shows that networking needs person-to-person contact.
Like that geekdinner of last night. Sorry I missed it, I was sitting in a Thalys direction home.
Posted on January 20, 2005
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AD!DICT'S #23th Issue on
AD!DICT'S #23th ISSUE on 'FOOD' IS SERVED.
Ad!dict Creative Lab brings out 50 projects on 'Food' on 3 different platforms:
Ad!dict's #23th magazine, 'the Food issue' comes out in a high qualitative magazine version of around 200 pages. But you can now enjoy a light menu or should we say an Ad!dict 'Hors d'oeuvre': an appetizer by way of a magazine not bigger then 6 by 6 cm. (take away for only 1 euro)
Or you fancy a more exclusive menu? Then go for the Ad!dict Dinner Set. Serve your meals now on the original 8 Ad!dict plates...
Hungry?
SnowBlog.net was featured in this issue.
Posted on February 1, 2005
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Going to Tel Aviv soon
In March SnowBlog has a conference in Tel Aviv.
The conference is on interpersonal cross-group dialogue using internet.
Many software groups contacted us to cooperate and build the perfect platform.
Education and internet/software are getting closer to each other. New possibilities are revealed.
I am flying in 2 weeks to go and prepare part of the conference.
Posted on February 5, 2005
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Food is served
Click to see the invitation.
SnowBlog is featured.
Posted on February 24, 2005
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Web Radiointerview in Israel
The Palestinian organization Biladi - The Jerusalem Times and the Israeli organization The Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace, Givat Haviva, which are partners in the youth magazine Crossing Borders and maintain a long-standing, good and egalitarian working relationship, propose to create a joint radio station broadcasting in Hebrew, Arabic and English, which aimed at a wide audience amongst both people and provides messages of peace, cooperation, mutual understanding, coexistence and hope. It resulted in All For Peace Internet Radio.
The idea of a joint Israeli-Palestinian radio station is unique and innovative, and one through which we can bring the vast accumulated experience of both the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva and the Palestinian organization Biladi - The Jerusalem Times to bear through the electronic media and reach a new audience, previously not exposed to the message of peace, and bring to them our message.
They actually interviewed me on SnowBlog, and the broadcast is scheduled Sunday March 13, at 3pm and at 7pm Middle East time (thus meaning 2pm and 6pm in Brussels).
On their site or on 107.2FM, in Israel that is.
Posted on March 3, 2005
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Now on AllForPeace Radio
The interview on SnowBlog is being broadcasted in moments...
Want to listen? Surf to AllForPeace and click on life broadcast
(at PM and 6PM)
Posted on March 13, 2005
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Wifi in Tel Aviv
Seems my friends are working really hard over there.
Wifi rules! And Methuka rocks.
Posted on July 18, 2005
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Spielberg goes peace communication
"Somewhere inside all this intransigence there has to be a prayer for peace," Spielberg told Time, "because the biggest enemy is not the Palestinians or the Israelis. The biggest enemy in the region is intransigence."
The director also discussed another film project he is initiating in February, in which he is buying 250 video cameras and players and giving them to Israeli and Palestinian children so that they can make movies about their own lives.
"Not dramas," Spielberg said, "just little documentaries about who they are and what they believe in, who their parents are, where they go to school, what they had to eat, what movies they watch, what CDs they listen to."
Spielberg said the children will then exchange the videos with one another.
"That's the kind of thing that can be effective, I think, in simply making people understand that there aren't as many differences that divide Israelis and Palestinians. Not as human beings anyway," he said.
This seems a lot like SnowBlog, but then by Spielberg :)
But then again, projects like these exist anywhere and just work.
In fact it is just videoblogging ;)
Article here
Posted on December 7, 2005
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Rock Our World
If you thought SnowBlog is dead, it is not.. We started another year and tomoday we are participating in 'Rock Our World'.
7 countries plus a researcher from North Pole will be telling stories about Christmas and Hannuka. Online and live. Today.
Rock Our World (www.rockourworld.org) brings together classroom teams--from the U.S. to New Zealand--to compose songs collaboratively using Apple's GarageBand software. Each class lays down a track (like guitars, drumbeats, or strings) before passing along the file to the next, until the original track has made it all the way around the globe. Throughout the process, the kids gather online to exchange stories, photographs, and films about their lives. "In one 30-second piece of music," says McGuire, "we could hear the flavor, culture, and drama of every single country."
Rock our World takes places the third time this year.
More info on their site.
Posted on December 14, 2005
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SnowBlog: Letter of support
Today we received a letter of support from the MIT (yep that is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for the SnowBlog project.
MIT LINC, the Learning International Networks Consortium, an MIT - managed international initiative has launched the"Greater Middle East e-Learning initiative", a multi-nation shared e-learning system managed by MIT, to elevate the educational levels of high school science teachers and eventually high school students in the Muslim countries of theGreater Middle East, including the Palestinian Authorities and Israel. Our main goal is to build a strong community of learners across national and cultural boundaries, leading hopefully to growing shared desire for knowledge, peace andprosperity in the region. There is no substitute for person to person interchange in order to increase understanding and mutual respect.
Your educational initiative, connecting Palestinian and Israeli High School students, emphasizing environment andscientific literacy as the major common theme, is definitely a complementary "bottom up" educational effort to the MIT LINC "Greater Middle East initiative", a needed preparatory stage in conflict areas.
Well, if the MIT sees the possibilities, I guess some others will see it too!
Congrats Gal, Yakir and others for the efforts.
Posted on December 27, 2005
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SnowBlog: teach from a distance
Some of you might have read already something on SnowBlog, but since many of you seem to be new readers lately:
SnowBlog is a project I started with some enthusiast people over in Israel. It was supported by the Belgian Consulate.
SnowBlog is trying to create bridges through the web.
After one year, the project didn't stop, at this moment we are still busy.
Though the site might seem inactive, in fact behind the scenes and on an intranet, kids are communicating with each-other.
Recently we received a letter from MIT that they want to cooperate with us in a common project.
On this pic, an Israeli teacher is giving classes to kids in Gaza via internet and the snowblog-platform.
Lees meer "SnowBlog: teach from a distance" »
Posted on January 20, 2006
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Rock our world
Back in 2003 I initiated Snowblog in Israel, together with some amazing people over there. The project was funded by the Belgian consulate in Jerusalem.
Now 3 years later, the project is still alive (without me though. Living in Belgium these days.)
I was in contact with many other projects throughout the world, but there was one that got my attention: Rock our world. which was introduced to me by Lucas VandePeer, another macaddict.
Through this project, we hope to teach the students around the world the importance of communication and collaboration. In a world that is so turned up-side down, it is our children who are teaching us the importance of friendship.
I introduced one project to the other and now the kids of Snowblog are anticipating for 'Rock our world 4'
Kids around the world are opening their lunch boxes and sharing what they typically eat for their school lunch! This round includes students from: Australia, New Zealand (South Island), New Zealand (North Island), Peru, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, China, Israel, and the USA (California, Colorado, North Carolina and Pennsylvania).
The project is going live soon: all these kids will share their lunch boxes live online through internetcamera's to each other and talk about it.
A simple initiative but I am sure it is very effective in learning to appreciate other cultures.
To the Snowblogteam: congrats!
(Oh, on the site it says the video's are posted to Oprah. Gal is this true? Are the kids gonna be on Oprah?? :) )
Technorati Tags: cooperation, rockourworld, snowblog
Posted on June 3, 2006
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Finland...
So suddenly unexpected you get this in the mailbox:
You are invited to come over to Asikkala, FInland, from August 20 until 24, to give a lecture at an international seminar.
The seminar will take near the beautiful lake area about 125 km north from Helsinki.
The program will include sightseeing and excursions to get acquainted with the rich ecocultural heritage in the authentic surroundings.
Hmmm... Asikkala they said?
Technorati Tags: finland, asikkala
Posted on July 5, 2006
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Shel Israel knew about Snowblog...
©Peter Forret
Some weeks ago I was invited by Kris from Microsoft to be part of the bloggers meeting with Shel Israel.
Shel is like, well... a blogging guru ;)
Now, I have to admit I didn't hear the last part so well (about Shell) but I heard 'dinner', and Microsoft tends to invite people and treat them like real Belgian Bourgondic people: with good food. So I already said yes, without knowing about Shel.
So at noon we arrived at Belga Queen in Brussels -yep, that's that fancy restaurant with the fancy toilets...-
And I met truly interesting people (Jean Filip De Tender for example... Or finally Veerle irl)
And then I had an amazing conversation with Shel.
We talked about Snowblog, and then he said ' I heard about this project'.
Now there are projects alike, so I doubted this a little bit, but said it could be. And we continued talking.
And then again he asked 'In which media was this announced'. Well not so so much, some chinese magazines, some Israeli newspapers, some Belgian ones..
But he was convinced he knew about it.
And then suddenly he said 'Yeah sure, they talked about it and you on MIT, since you are busy with trying to integrate it on MIT, and there was this person saying to me, you have to check her blog.'
Now OK, tell me, how many chances this is happening?
I mean, you get to meet this person from the other side of the world, you are busy with blogging, but there are millions busy with blogging, and then suddenly he says 'Yeah I know this'
Frankly speaking, I am still a bit shaken about that.
SnowBlog is still evolving, and though we have the good ideas, and the efforts, of course it is non profit and we are lacking funds.
It will be integrated in more schools, but the main problem is always 'who is gonna pay for it' and then it turns out the schools have no money. Which is a pity, because true integration lies in education.
So growing is rather difficult.
Now I really want to thank Microsoft for this 'close encounter from the good kind'
And Shel, right now I am sending that promised email so we can continue the conversation. :)
Technorati Tags: elga queen, microsoft, shel israel, snowblog
Posted on October 21, 2006
in Projects - SnowBlog.net
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Snowblog
For those interested in SnowBlog, you can mail about this subject.
The platform is not open to explore since it is for scholars only and the conversations are locked for other visitors.
Technorati Tags: snowblog
Posted on October 21, 2006
in Linking context, Projects - SnowBlog.net
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Shel Israel... the sequence
Imagine you being invited to a nice dinner in a good restaurant with some interesting people.
You thik 'Good food' let's go and see, interesting people is a very nice surplus.
Imagine ending up in a really interesting conversation.
And then imagine weeks later seeing this text:
5 Stories Destined for the book
I've had a chance to mull over the trip without the advantage of the notes on my wayward computer. So I'm skipping a few names and links for now. But these are stories and points that will be featured in Global Conversations.
* A young, talented Belgian photographer studied for a time in Israel. When she was there, she got a group of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers to start blogging to each other about there everyday lives. They wrote about their clothing, about preparing for holidays, about school. Over time they learned that they were more alike than they had believed. It seems to me that this is among the most powerful stories that I yet have heard. It is a shining example of how social media can transcend even the harshest of borders. If these kids grow up understanding the similarities they share, they will be much less likely to wish war and terror on each other.
Ok, I grew 2 inches.
But most of all, I hope this story might open up some extra doors.
LanguageConnections is doing really a nice job in talking to MIT and trying to get the program into a bigger story. The main problem is still 'lacking funds' and next to that the fact that software keeps on evolving and SnowBlog should be able to keep up with these evolutions coz the kids do so.
In a short time, I'll be sitting with Kris to talk about that.
Tx Kris, for sending the link. Didn't have time yet to check all my feedreader due to the hectic past week.
Technorati Tags: wow me featured in a book...
Posted on November 9, 2006
in Linking context, Projects - SnowBlog.net
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//SnowBlog in Ghana
Technorati Tags: ngo, photography, project, snowblog
Posted on November 25, 2006
in Projects - SnowBlog.net
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Linking.
I am sick :( (cough cough) and I have a headache. Snif...
So I think I need a blog absence due to circumstances ;)
Anyhooo, I am not leaving without linking to Shel's story.
Yep I am flattered indeed. :)
While, as Shel's says, the story is a story on me, I gladly point the spots to a series of other people: SnowBlog is a hard working team in Israel, West Bank and Gaza.
The project would never have taken off without them.
(Applause.)
Technorati Tags: shel israel, snowblog
Posted on November 27, 2006
in Linking context, Projects - SnowBlog.net
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Shel Israel: Global Neighbourhoods
Shel is releasing more and more on the new book...
Here is the TOC, and apparently Scoble is writing the foreward of this one.
Posted on January 2, 2007
in Friends around, Linking context, Projects - SnowBlog.net
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Do schools kill creativity?
Technorati Tags: creativity, schools, youtube
Posted on March 3, 2007
in Linking context, Projects - SnowBlog.net
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