“There is a YouTube video clip being forwarded that is worth seeing and definitely worth passing around. Its content is an old footage from the “Earth Summit Conference” organized by the United Nations back in 1992, and the scene is taken from a plenary session under the theme, “Development and the Environment”.

The speaker is Severn Suzuki, a 13-year-old Canadian girl, and her audience is world leaders.

Two aspects of the footage got my attention: The speaker, and her message. At the age of 9, Severn started her own Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), made up of a small group of children committed to teaching other kids about the ongoing environmental crisis. In 1992, Severn and her group raised enough money to attend the Premier Earth Summit in Brazil to warn decision makers of the catastrophic results of their actions - or inactions as we see today - on future generations

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The Month of Photography Asia and the Cathay, in association with Elle’s 5th anniversary invite you to walk the red carpet on the 13th of June - If you’re in Singapore, don’t miss it!

For more details, please click on the attached thumbnail! Congratulations Shirlene!

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The article in the Indian print newspaper, “The Mail Today” (attached as a jpeg for reference reading also) had this to say:

AFTER dilly-dallying for over three months, the Union ministry of urban development has finally constituted anew panel for the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) with the citys renowned urban designer, K.T.Ravindran, as its chairman. The panel also includes conservation architect Ratish Nanda, Delhi University history professor Nayanjot Lahiri and landscape architect Mohammed Shaheer. The new panel has been constituted for a period of three years beginning from the time of assumption of charge. (more…)

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As global communities fast-forward themselves to become self-reliant through the systematic incorporation (licensing) of civil society associations, our local efforts are repeatedly blocked by obsolete bureaucracy and excessive restrictions that thwart any attempt to establish “civil society” initiatives as legitimate “non”governmental organizations.

The negative impact of blocking the creation of independent civil society associations is something that cannot be ignored. For one, bureaucracy kills the passion and determination of good-willed citizens and thus aborts good “citizenship” actions; and second, it encourages the growth of a negative, passive “laissez faire” local culture; and third, it creates a fertile breeding ground for unsystematic activities to operate - albeit informally under the radar.

Click here to go to the Arab News website and read the rest of the article!

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Last week Arab News printed in the “Letters to the Editor” column a letter by Ms. Lin Hansen Petro from Portland, Oregon, commenting on my article, “Peace & Stability: Pre-requisites for Reform” (March 7). Ms. Petro wrote that while writing her article, “Fatin Bundagji conveniently forgot, as Arab writers usually do, that the US was attacked by Arab terrorists which led to retaliatory action in the Middle East and out of America. All those glorious outreach programs she was describing that America used to do would still be in effect and there would be no war waging at the moment if the radical Arabs kept their opinions and hatred of American policies in the academic or political arena… Please click here to read the rest of the article.

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“Hope you have the same magic mystery tour that the mad bunch of 2007 ef fellows had. Make sure you do something completely different, make time for dancing and  unusual conversations, get up and walk around New York in the early morning, do NOT drink 7 café latté’s a day and most importantly, never make assumptions because you will get one hell of  a surprise! And, though when they tell you that the ef experience will change your life, you don’t believe them – but it does! I wish I could do it all again!” -

Believe her! She DID ALL of these things! And in case you’re wondering, this was the “Sunday” she was referring to, as she most WICKEDLY got me to ice skate for the first time in my life! And all that, after we had an interesting, unplanned tour of New York’s underground!

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Here’s a photograph of all of us, in the lobby of our hotel, the DoubleTree, towards the end of the first week:

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