"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Power Evocation: Courage
I hesitate to say it's my favorite Evoke power, but it's certainly an important one: courage.
Regardless of the skills you possess, it takes courage to put them into action, as action always entails risk, large or small.
- Want to collaborate? Great! All it takes is the courage to ask people to work with you -- whether you're pitching your own idea or joining an existing group.
- Want to create? It takes courage to share your creation with the world when you are unsure how it may be received.
- Want to be an entrepreneur? Risk is in the very definition of the word.
- Seeking local insight? It takes courage to investigate a community as an outsider.
- Want to share your knowledge? It takescourage to communicate in a public forum.
- Want to spark change? It takes courage to be a driving force.
- Want to live sustainably? It takes courage to make untested changes to your habits and routines.
- Got vision? It takes courage to bring it to life.
I call myself a "professionally active" student. When I see opportunities to speak, write, or serve that are aligned with my interests goals, I apply for them. Like I said: I'm a student (read: low on the totem pole). I don't always get the things that I apply for, and I certainly don't even always feel like I should. But I apply regardless, which means that I occasionally get to travel and give a talk to strangers on topics I care about. Opportunities are meaningless if you don't have the courage to grab them.
(This post is written in response to Amanda Jeffrey's Power Evocation challenge)
Views: 45
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Comment by Amanda Jeffrey on March 7, 2010 at 1:35am
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Congratulations on taking such an active part in talks and conferences you're connected to - so many others would be content to merely pay lip service and keep their heads down. I'm not even sure such things are laziness - more that they're scared of being rejected. I often found that the 'smarter' someone is, the more scared they are of being wrong! That's definitely something that should be unlearned!
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Comment by Rachel Donahue on March 7, 2010 at 1:50am
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The difficulty with being book-smart, at least from my experience in the US, is that you can go through primary and secondary school with essentially no failures. This makes facing rejection for things you actually have a stake in much, much harder than it might be if you'd really been challenged growing up.
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I'd agree that's the case, though my knowledge comes from growing up in Scotland, not the US.
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Comment by Jenn on March 8, 2010 at 2:01am
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I totally agree, Rachel. You make really insightful points. I'd be interested to hear more about what kinds of topics you present on if you're up for sharing! :)
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Thanks for the compliment and the question, Jenn! My last talk was on videogame preservation (I work with the Preserving Virtual Worlds project) and my next one is on how people (specifically archivists, as it's an archives conference)can use Twitter, LinkedIn, and Doodle to get the most out of a conference. I typically talk about videogames, digital preservation, and outreach, but have started looking at openings to talk about free culture, too.
Outreach, IMO, is the key to making any venture successful. Which is part of what makes Evoke so wonderful!
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That's really interesting, thanks for providing the links. Outreach is really important and I really appreciate how archiving seems to be such a tangible and useful skill. I think these skills could be really valuable in development work, particularly as it relates to coordination (and especially in emergency settings) for the obvious fact that if no one knows what anyone else is doing, it becomes really hard to work together and be effective.
I was recently working on the Thai-Burma border when a Burmese village was forcibly relocated into Thailand and it was a mess. No one knew who was responsible for what and it made an already frustrating and scary situation worse. Part of the problem, I think, is that people just didn't take the time to coordinate (partially understandable, but probably shortsighted). But additionally, people who are trained as program practitioners also just don't have the same skills I think you probably do in terms of organizing that information. I'd be interested to hear any insights you have!
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Jenn: I'm going to go ahead and send you a friend request, hope that's ok! I'd definitely like to continue this conversation, but I'm packing for a trip.
People often hear librarian or archivist and immediately think of shushing from desks and hunching in the stacks -- but the skills can be applied in so many ways. I'm glad you appreciate that! :)
But yes, organizing and accessing information can be tricky. o can getting people to buy into your way of doing so! I have a sad closet full of attempts to bring people into collaborative online workspaces like Sharepoint only to have it fail due to lack of user adoption. Still learning!
Archives (and other cultural heritage and information professions) are also important for preserving memory and providing transparency -- (s)he who controls the information controls the country.
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Of course, that's more than okay!
You make a really good point about buy-in. It's funny that people are resistant to doing things they know will be helpful to them. (I say this knowing full well that I'm guilty of it as well.)
Organizational memory is SO important for effectiveness and sustainability. There's nothing worse than feeling like you're reinventing the wheel.
I'd love to talk more about these things when you're back. Have fun on your trip!
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Comment by Iyamuremye Jean de Dieu on April 17, 2010 at 7:54pm
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You are very courageous. congratulation!
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