Geoff and I have been completely slack with our updates since I got back. We had planned to do a "united again" piece, but that will have to wait.
I've been looking for work opportunities but have been finding the search a bit futile. Not that work is hard to find, I've just been trying to mix and match my experience in Sri Lanka, with my work in the language industry. I've been really pushing myself to focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and to meet with possible interested parties.
As it turned out, the annual conference for Languages Canada was taking place at the beginning of March in Ottawa. A friend of mine who lives in Turkey had plans to go, Geoff was pushing me to do something outside of the box, and even Jim (with whom I worked at the language school) was part of it. In the end I got the word out, Jim and I are collaborating on a framework, and I'm in the midst of writing an article and a funding proposal. It was all meant to be.
The idea is quite simple. We often think about CSR as a big company concept...Starbucks should do ethical purchasing of coffee, Nike shouldn't enlist child labour, oil companies need to lead in environmental practice, and so on.
Small and medium businesses can join in by developing equity programs within their respective organizations, stakeholders can be made aware of and help promote environmental practices, and employees can help develop community outreach programs for the neighbourhoods in which they work. Volunteerism, education, conserving energy and resources, active support at all levels, and the formula for a "socially responsible" and sustainable organization is underway.
The idea is still in the planning stage, but things are building up. After the conference I spent a couple of days more in a very snowy Ottawa with friends and then visited my friend Emmanuelle in an equally snowy Montreal...A good wind down before I "responsibly" take over the world. Terry
The Rideau Canal and Parliament Buildings
The snowy suburbs of Ottawa
An old section of Montreal
Emmanuelle after shopping for breakfast (bread, cheese, and good coffee...mmm)
