Friday, 10 July 2015

Copenhagen- The Liveable City

Undermined by its own success the city is far more than its beautiful architecture, envious location on the harbour and a city for cyclists.  



Copenhagen is the Capital of Denmark and its most populous city at 1,246,611 (2014), up from 541,989 in 2011. Famed for the use of cycles to get across the city, the 2014 bicycle account shows that 45% of all journeys to places of work or education in Copenhagen are made by bicycle.  Such is the cities commitment to the cyclists and the creation of a more walk-able city that during periods of snow the cycle paths are cleared first and it’s working with 70% of regular cyclists doing so all year round, come rain, shine, or snow! An impressive increase of 25% in two years. 


In recent history the city has adopted a vision for the city founded on the belief that it should

‘consider Urban Life, before Urban Space, and consider Urban Space before buildings.’



The municipality have a good understanding of what Copenhageners want in and from their city determined from the Urban Life account that they conduct. This survey determines what is important and allows the municipality to ensure that it is working for the people. The have also appointed a city architect, Tina Saaby, who oversees and co-ordinates the large scale development and implementation of the city vision. Tina works in an advisory capacity and is uniquely able to disagree with developers, colleagues and politicians alike where necessary in order to fulfil the vision for the city as determined by its people. They adopt a Placemaking approach within a flexible Master-plan and have a refreshing ability to realise their vision overcoming boundaries with creativity. Tina describes the installation of a trampoline along the path of the harbour front as an invitation to all to play and calling the installation ‘art’ enabled them to overcome health and safety restrictions that would have otherwise prevented it.



They also have huge regard for investing in the long term, placing teams in locations across the city that are identified as requiring changes, physically or regarding imbalances of the demographic make-up for up to 5 years ensuring that they can truly understand the needs and challenges of the community before they look to create the spaces for change.

Recent reports in the UK by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation demonstrate the sever implications and risks of increasing lonliness and isolation in the UK, particularly amongst older people. Copenhagen have recognised the value in creating spaces that invite people to spend time, enjoy the city, observe as well as engage. The city has purposefully implemented Public Spaces, carefully designed to allow people to sit, enjoy and engage regardless of age because they design for children and the elderly so as to meet the needs of all. On the Gehl study of Public Life a greater understanding of the population’s movement and use of space, in conjunction with comparable data sets means that spaces can be created that allow people to feel invited to use the space.

The city does have high regard and commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2025. An estimated 75% of the CO2 reductions will come from initiatives relative to the increase share of renewable energy in the city’s district heating.



Reflecting a little on the similarities between Freiburg and Copenhagen are three intrinsic characteristics; the creation of good quality spaces for people, ambitious environmental targets and finally strong, democratic municipalities who undertake their role as a facilitator as opposed to gate-keepers. 

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

This way to the future, or which way?

I have spent the last week in Rotterdam for the Informed Cities Forum run by ICLEI- at what you might feel is an all too common event aimed at bringing people together to discuss a common theme and interest. That interest being how we create liveable cities that not only reduce the harm we are causing to the environment but create spaces for it and us to thrive. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful approach, the participants and the speakers. It strikes me that the lessons in Rotterdam are not about renewable energies- of which there is great stuff happening elsewhere (Mark Snow, Engineering University of New South Wales/ Freiburg) but is in the lessons we can take in the planing, integrated transport, conservation and biodiversity of place instead.  I also happen to have fallen in love with yet again, another city, the pictures should tell you why.



This is the local award winning food market that has you salivating around the stands until you can't resist, and yes, that is a swing on a food stall. This is one example of the bold architecture across the city, and whilst I suspect not even the locals would argue it always leads to such spectacular results I admire this city of risk and reward without the expense of the people living within it. 



Rotterdam is a Vibrant city in transition, no coincidence given the focus of the forum and throughout the two days we were presented with cities who have undertaken transition management with the support of DRIFT (Dutch Research Institute for Transitions) and MUSIC (Mitigation in Urban Areas). But what does this mean? Well, there are 5 cities in transition; Aberdeen, Rotterdam, Montreiul, Ghent and Ludwisburg and they all signed up to co-create a new vision for the cities with it's inhabitants leading to innovative projects, collaborations and unsurprisingly similar challenges. 

I hope that we can soon stop two commonalities I observe within the social sector, the first being the rhetoric that Local Authorities are not worth or worthy of our engagement and that they are unable to work cross departmentally. I am also guilty of this but I was reminded that people do not (I hope and suspect) go into a job wanting to make things worse. We have to rethink how we enable space for innovation, compromise, compassion and consideration for each other. It is never going to work if we are looking for answers- this suggests you know what you want to do and so there is no room for collaboration or co-creation. We need to be committed and start asking the right questions. Nils Goransson Grunditz spoke of an interdisciplinary group who are able to work and inform decision making across functions of the Municipality. Shane Waring from Dublin City Council of the BETA projects programme established to enable Intrapreneurs to exercise innovation time to work on projects outside of their role but for the benefit of the city. It's being done, it's just about learning from people where this stuff is happening and looking at how that might work in your locality. If you, and those around you implemented BETA what good ideas might come to you from your organisations/ colleagues/ partners and the people you work with? 

The second, is our silo approach to tackling some of our societal issues. It is not ok for someone to suffer poor health but because they recycle we are satisfied because we are interested in tackling environmental issues. The concept of common welfare should be across the board. The Municipality or Local Authorities may well have a responsibility of the guardianship of common welfare but we each have a duty to it, to Build Up small seeds of change and to Break Down structural barriers. 

That said, no good trip is without it's visits to meet some of the most challenging, inspired and inspiring social entrepreneurs and with a packed agenda it was a difficult choice but I went to visit SCRAP-xl a 'supermarket' for scrapped materials to look at circularity- a hot topic in Rotterdam. 


SCRAP-xl is based in the Zoho district, a regeneration area of the city in which the Station Hofplein, the location of the forum, was also located. The area is becoming a magnet for the creative and entrepreneurs of the city and is seeing a rejuvenation to its offices and the former viaduct. 
Following an introduction to the Scrap market Cesare Peeren an architectural engineer and co-founder of Superuse Studios introduced his work and this was truly impressive! It started as an architectural design firm in 1997 which became Superuse in 2012. Superuse are a pioneer in the field of sustainable design. They are internationally renowned for their design innovation, sourcing local and sustainable materials making use of wasted resources and energy. 





Friday, 16 January 2015

People and Places


I LOVE the energy of the people I work with, and those I have been connecting to over my time at UnLtd and in recent months (hence the tardiness in posting- although know-one seems to have noticed). I’d really like to share some of the amazing stories and people I have seen with you, starting off with my favourite city- Birmingham!

In case you don’t know it, Birmingham, recently dubbed by a FoxNews contributor Steve Emerson as a ‘Muslim City’ that ‘Non-Muslims just do not go’ is actually a multicultural city that embraces culture, heritage and difference with open arms and a warm heart. Of course, there are a few who would disagree but to give airtime to this would only deplete the unbounded energy you can get from this city and the vibrant people within it. No example personifies this more for me than the recent support of HUB Birmingham. A social entrepreneur @Immykaur and her amazing team ventured to start a co-working space with a HUGE difference. Creating opportunities for purposeful encounters, collaboration, networking and support for the people of Birmingham to make a difference. After receiving some support from @UnLtd they embarked on a @Kickstarter campaign and raised an amazing £65,095 from 586 backers. You can read more about it here and I for one, cannot wait to see the space open soon.

But wait, there’s more- here are just a few of the wonderful people I have met over the last few months.  

Jodi Ann Bickley- spreading happiness through letters. Jodi set up OneMillionLovelyLetters.com to help people through difficult times, one letter at a time. She responds with love, care and attention to anyone that needs a supportive word and a caring heart to respond. If only we all gave this much time to making a difference to others.

@Beatfreeks founder Anisa is another of Birmingham’s stars.  Beatfreeks is an award winning social enterprise started by Anisa, who has been making a difference to this city and young people within it since she was just 15. Beatfreeks deliver hard-hitting youth participation, working with young people to do what they love and Anisa is another driving force behind the groundswell of social action in the Midlands.

And a final nod has got to go to New Leaf Recovery CIC, started by Rosalind a year ago and going from strength to strength to support individuals in the city who have struggled with substance misuse. New Leaf are successfully supporting people through addiction to enable them to face the realities of life and rebuild what has been damaged. I met Rosalind a year ago for the first time and enjoyed hearing how much she and the enterprise have developed and her plans to expand across the city to help more people ready for change.

And it’s not just Birmingham. I am lucky enough to meet, read and support inspiring individuals making a difference in villages, towns and cities across the Midlands as I know many others are across the UK.

There are many, all too familiar issues facing communities in the UK; poverty in all its forms (food, fuel, finance) homelessness, criminality and too many short term ‘solutions’ to long term issues. We need to widen our lenses, be more ambitious, avoid the easy options and say enough. It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the task ahead but whatever you want to change, the time to do it is today, because tomorrow never comes.  

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

EPIC September- Part Two; Freiburg



Matrix Housing Partnership is a Midlands based development and regeneration partnership which aims to achieve efficiencies in procurement, management and service delivery.
 
Accord, Ashram, Caldmore, Rooftop, Trent and Dove and Trident Housing Associations, each bring their own experiences and expertise to this partnership, providing a proven track record in areas such as rural and urban renaissance, community cohesion and diversity.

The visit comprised of representatives of the housing associations executive teams, boards and local town planners and counsellors.

The aim of the visit was to look at;

1.       The Care and Support environment in Germany and their approach to care provision

2.       To discover sustainable and green development within the region.

3.       To explore relevant models and approaches that could be adopted and adapted within the  UK

For those who have read the SEFORIS state of social entrepreneurship reports, the lessons from this paper certainly translated for me in the activity in the area and in discussion about the state of social entrepreneurship in Germany.

Key Lessons

·         Significant capital investment and subsidy has created huge change and impact in a short period of time (c40yrs)

·         District wide approach to housing solutions, incorporating clear needs assessment for target market

·         Engagement in co-design, and ownership is key

·         Town Plan to sustainable development- above and beyond country targets including significant developments of Passivhaus

·         Innovative, area wide approach to social care to reduce burden on paid-for services

·         Wind Turbines and Biomass Heating offer both great Social and Financial return on investment.

·         Social enterprises are active in the area but do not self-identify as social entrepreneurs/ social enterprise and are ‘generally’ unfamiliar with terms


Day 1- An Introduction into sustainable development in Freiburg and why this area in particular

Freiburg is the greenest city in Europe catalysed by a resistance that started in 1975 to the building of power plants in the area. The largest planned density of power plants for the area was planned and local communities successfully thwarted plans with only a handful being built. This, along with a change in the political climate from 58 years of conservative to a shift to a coalition of the green party and social democratic party created an opportunity to create a sustainable development plan for the area. In 1986 an Energy Supply concept was created for Freiburg to create a reduction in energy usage, cogeneration (displacing nuclear usage by burning which is more efficient) and renewable energy.  The nearest power plant is due to be closed in 2016, which is a great achievement for the area, one at high risk of earthquake, with the plant only 1m above water level.

The sustainable development plan laid out the goal for Freiburg: To become a district of short distances.

Car ownership is being replaced by the bike, in Germany car ownership per 100 residents is at 55 vehicles in 100 whereas in Freiburg it is 35/100.

This consists of the development of the Passivhaus, energy efficient buildings that reduce carbon footprint through careful construction and design for ultra-efficient energy use and heat retention. 
A walking tour of the town reveals careful reconstruction of the town following devastation during World War II.  At the heart of this reconstruction is a pedestrian zone which has enabled the attractive and vibrant centre to Flourish. New developments include the ambitious extension of the pedestrian zone and the extension of the tramline in order to create a car free but accessible centre. 





Day 2- Caritas

An introduction to the social care system in Germany from a representative of Caritas, a non-statutory welfare association provided insight into the structure of care, and how it is paid for!

Social Care in Germany is made up of 5 Pillars.

·         Statutory Care Insurance- 15% of gross income to finance, 50% of this contribution comes from the employer

·          Statutory Accident Insurance- Fixed rate per month

·         Statutory Old Age pension scheme- 18.9% on income, 50% employer/ employee- (Women also have to pay a nominal amount if they are on benefits to contribute to this.)

·         Statutory Unemployment Insurance-  3% of monthly income

·         Introduced in 1994 is an Statutory ‘Old Age’ insurance 2.5% without children, 2.3% with children

The Social care system is based on voluntary and statutory ‘professional services’ which provide two services; in home care services, and services in a care home.

The costs for providing the care are about the same whether someone remains in their own home, or enters a care home but due to the upheaval, spaces and wellbeing, it is preferred to maintain as much independence as possible. The cost of care per month is around €3-4k is employing a German worker or €1,600-€2,000 for a Polish worker. Economic migration of Polish workers is very common. Polish workers have to be registered with a German provider but usually work for a short period of around 3 months at any one time which although cheap, provides inconsistency in care.  In Freiburg there are 31 in home care providers, both private and independent and whilst there is some regulation the operating environment is vastly different to the UK. There is much less focus on safeguarding and regulation than is imposed in the UK which allows for more and easier to implement innovation within the sector.  

A significant contribution towards care is expected from the individual which is the cause of a lot of debate and political tensions as pensioners are struggling to cover the costs of care themselves. This is creating challenges for statutory and voluntary providers but also innovation and opportunities such as:

Enrolling on a voluntary year of social service (which in part replaced male conscription which ended in 2011) available to students leaving school supported by the federal government. This includes free or low cost accommodation, the placement is paid and the individuals also receive low level qualifications. Young people provide low levels of support to older people to enable them to maintain independence for longer. The scheme encourages new people into the sector and provides opportunities for school leavers to gain valuable experience as well as supporting the sector.

There is also a partnership with the student union where students who are struggling to find accommodation can live with an older person in need of support, not care, to carry out duties in and for the home in exchange for accommodation. The rule of thumb is that for each 1sqm they expect 1-2 hours of voluntary time, around 20-30 hours per month. Typically a student will help clean the house, do food shopping, support the resident to go into town for example.  

The relationship is brokered by Caritas and the Student Union but the contract is managed by the student and older person who must be compos-mentis in order to participate. Care duties are not covered under this scheme.

Rieselfeld- Freiburg’s biggest new district

Started in 1994 by a professor of social studies in Freiburg, Rieselfeld was developed to;

·         Address the huge housing issues within a growing and appealing town where at the point of starting there were 6,000 people on Freiburg’s emergency housing list. The district created 12,000 new homes

·         Create a district of density and diversity, built on land previously used to treat waste water

·         Contrary to the deficit approach to social services the plan was to do preventative social work building this into the support and infrastructure for the district.

·         Link to the town- the development of the tram link was completed in 1997

·         Of the Rieselfeld area 320ha (hectares), 70 ha used as new residential area with the rest being ring-fenced as a nature reserve. 

·         The local church (pictured) houses both Protestant and Catholics within the same building which local faith groups agreed upon and co-designed with the architects and offers a striking building that when necessary can be split for dual use.

 
 
The area was intended to meet the needs of families, which critically due to the density of the housing was co-designed, owned and produced by the residents themselves. Essentially, given the majority of the accommodation comprises of flats, a significant area is preserved as nature reserve to enable access to green space.

KIOSK (Contact, Information, Organisation, Self Help, Culture), who literally operated initially as a KIOSK was established to begin the process of convening future residents of the district to take ownership of the design of the area and their homes. They initially sold goods such as newspapers/ bread etc… and stopped as facilities began to open in line with the development of the area.

Visually, the area boasts a diverse range of buildings designed by architects commissioned by groups of residents which offer a unique and attractive district which is entirely un-uniform.

Home to the biggest school in the region, perhaps Germany serving the 33% under 18 years population, compared to 18% in Freiburg. 

Riselfeld; Planning and the challenges



Urban Quality

-          Intention to accommodate 10,000-11,000 people

-          High density with 3-5 storey buildings

-          District without barriers

-          City of short distances

Mixed use shop/ houses

-          An attractive residential area

-          Creation of 1,000 jobs

-          Mixed use shop/ houses for trade and services along the Rieselfeld alley

-          Central shopping opportunities

-          Commercial and mixed use area

-          Specific building complex at the entrance of the district for commercial use

Balance of structures and housing forms

-          Combination of privately financed and subsidised housing construction

-          Various housing forms

-          Ground- plans suitable for families, women and children

-          Public participation

-          Model projects ( e.g. Stadt and Frau’ private building communities , reasonably priced construction)

-          Local district social worker services

Various construction forms

-          Small building lots and variety of designs

-          Diversity of target groups and building types

-          Partly living without barriers

A Well-developed private and public infrastructure

-          Primary school with gymnasium

-          Secondary school

-          Sports hall

-          Independent Waldorf school

-          Tram

-          Local meeting centre with mediothek (media centre) for children and young adults and youth work

-          Facilities for children

-          Churches

-          Shopping facilities

-          Private services

-          Station for fire brigade equipment

High quality leisure time

-          Public green spaces

-          Private courtyards for common use

-          Nearby recreational areas

-          Sport and leisure areas

-          An ‘experience nature’ path

-          Leisure area ‘Wald3eck’

Environmentally orientated

-          Low energy building (65kWh/m2a)

-          District heating connection

-          Priority for the tram

-          Speed limit 30 km/h over the whole district

-          Concept for rainwater use with drainage in the district and in western Rieselfeld

-          Western Rieselfeld as a nature reserve


 

The city of Freiburg has set up a special management group for the ‘Rieselfeld’ project in cooperation with the ‘Kommunalentwicklung LEG GmbH’ (German version of social enterprise – SEFORIS State of Social Entrepreneurship report), Stuttgart

Quality and local life

Committed district management with comprehensive services for investors and a variety of participatory processes, already provides a highly attractive local life with a high level of resident satisfaction. Successful interaction between the active local civic association, the local KIOSK- organisation and the parish authorities are a prerequisite for this.

2003 development of the Glashous, (Glasshouse) a community building, prompted interest from a number of charities and community organisations who wanted ownership of the building. Instead the local community took ownership and there are over 100 keys looked after by residents of the local area. Very visible and active community engagement can be seen and participation and ownership of space- including a café which is run partly by volunteers is integral to the area thriving.



 

Citizen financed renewable energy

This community of 4,300 inhabitants produces 200% of their electricity needs from renewable energies. Five wind turbines produce electricity for more than 3,000 households, amongst them, the highest wind turbine of the black forest with an overall height of 179m. The turbines are financed by several hundred private individuals, mainly from the region. The cost of the turbine is around €3-4m and despite producing leaflets to promote the investment opportunity, the founder has never had the leaflets printed due to oversubscription of investors.

The area also boasts 80ha farm with a biogas plant that produces over one million kilowatt hours of electricity annually and delivers heat for 14 apartments and the local elementary school. The buildings have three roofs producing solar electricity at a peak rate of 50 kilowatts.

Day 3

The Model District Vauban

 

Vauban is a ‘Green City’ with a Green hotel, several Passivhaus’ and a rich history in its development. One of my favourite sights in the area was that of a traveller site in which the residents insisted on allowing for in the area. This was due to the fact that they occupied a space wanted by developers for a new office building where the community opposed the building stating that there was no use for such a development in the area. After a long political battle they won and in its place now stand’s the Green Hotel. The residents opened a new site to allow the occupiers of the original camp to remain in the community and they chose to do so.
Similar to Riselfeld, the area has fantastic links into Freiburg with a Tram system that as much as possible runs over grass which cuts out a significant amount of noise pollution. In fact, this was one of the most distinctive features of Vauban as it was fantastically quiet.



In fact, the residents were so insistent that they did not want cars in the area that they overcame planning law to realise their vision. Planning law regulates that new buildings must allow one car parking space per apartment however in an area where 16 for every 100 residents own a vehicle what’s the point? In the photograph of the ‘car park’ you will see an area of land allocated as a future development site for parking should this be required which allowed residents to avoid building two car parks in the area. This land is protected for this use but in the meantime is used as an allotment with the below structure and in fact the residents would be very opposed to development of this land should the need arise.  


An Intergenerational housing project

This building was built according to the 40 kWh/m2 standard of primary energy consumption and with ecological building materials. The project interestingly combines co-ownership, council housing, a special area for people with Alzheimer disease and tertiary premises, integrating housing for older people with an area for disabled younger persons and offers apartments for general needs too.

 
New Social Housing Cooperative

Founded in 1997 two young housing co-operatives offer space for 200 inhabitants of all generations living in mostly barrier- free buildings. Aspects of ecological construction were of equal importance to the promotion of social interaction.




 

 The first Co-op was started by 5 parents with children who had learning disabilities. They were concerned about the lack of support and prospects for their children and wanted to establish something that would enable them to become independent.

The co-op was started to create a building which included a mix of individuals with and without disabilities and including intergenerational living. The building was financed on two pillars. Individuals who invest and do not live in the accommodation invest €40,000 with 3% interest and €30,000 for those that do.  Individuals who live in the accommodation are able to contribute a minimum of €5,000 personally and get the additional €25,000 in solidarity through friends and family members. In addition, a government scheme allows people to purchase shares in the co-operatives which they pay back over time. They do not rebalance the shares if the property value increases.

To set rents they do not follow the market, they cover only their costs. This makes the accommodation very attractive to older individuals who struggle with care costs.

The co-op is run by a director who reports to the assembly of members which stands at 200 people and offers challenges as well as high interaction and involvement as there is no distinction between resident and non-resident investors. This small co-op has high identification with the decision making and running of the organisation. Co-op members are a part of working groups which take care of the garden, community organising and visitor flats. Visitor flats are common to avoid over accommodating and provide a place for friends and family to stay over without the need for extra bedrooms.

The building comprises 1 community apartment is the 5 original families with 24 hour support. There are an additional 6 people with learning disabilities who have lesser needs with their own flat with shared communal facilities. There is a communal room for all residents to share and 12 individuals with physical disabilities and require care, this is unique as younger disabled people are usually placed in older care service provision. 78 people in 45 apartments who have no additional support needs. The building cost €8million to complete which demonstrates the high capital costs required for this type of project but the building is entirely access friendly which contributed to some of the higher building costs.

Germany is in its infancy with personal budgets but is adopting a similar system to that in the UK in which individuals ‘employ’ their carer. In the building they employ someone to support the residents with managing their personal budgets.

Genova Co-op

Has a similar investment structure to the previous co-op and they are particularly pleased that they are able to reduce rents to a significantly lower rate than market rent and so the 1st generation who invested in the building are also benefitting from reduced rental costs.

Typically they receive one third high engagement, one third sporadic and one third limited engagement from residents.

I must thank the Matrix Housing Partnership and Trident Social Investment Group for the opportunity to visit Freiburg, and Katie Kershaw for allowing me to use some of her images, you can see more of her wonderful photos here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/128498773@N06/ 

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Epic September


This last month has been one of journey, adventure and exploration and it doesn’t stop there. With the final Clore residential, Action Learning and a trip to Germany for good measure there has been much to do, see and learn this month.

Initially preoccupied with the fact it was the final formal opportunity to meet all of my amazing fellows at the same time we quickly settled into a series of sessions, speeches and reflection that got me back on track. The week looked at resilience and the art of conversation which has proved particularly poignant learning for me this month.  If like me, you are concerned about whether you have the in-built resilience for the tasks ahead then fear not. What I am discovering is that we all do- you just have to dig around to find it and there are a few things you can do until you do. It might be helpful to think of it as I do which was inspired by a fellows talk about being sorry. He pointed out the differences between saying sorry, being sorry, and doing sorry, and I think this could be the key to a few of our ‘issues’ in reconciling our emotions, actions and thoughts. You have to do all three, you need to believe, feel and act to be authentic and that’s the key to leadership. If you aren’t being authentic a vital key is missing, you know it and you can bet those around you do too.

Building resilience was broken down for us; one thing I have never worried about is the first- clarity of purpose, values and beliefs. These will drive you through challenges and help draw you from chaos to clarity in the darkest of hours.

Focus on what you can control; I have discussed this at length recently with a few @unltd award winners. It can be frustrating and damaging expending energy and time on things you can’t control. The only way you can make a difference is to focus on the things you can change. That doesn’t mean your goal isn’t to tackle the world’s problems but it does mean you need to take small steps… and get started.

The final lessons on resilience are to draw on previous success and know you have it in you, and if you’re been too hard on yourself ‘Act as if’… will get you there until you really feel it. We had a few debates on whether this meant you were being unauthentic but motivation is the key for me. There have been many times when I didn’t feel confident and just doing it anyway allows you to prove to yourself what you secretly knew was there the whole time.

The last thing I wanted to share with you was about Authority- acting with it, and without it! Working in a professional firm model @unltd we are encouraged to act without authority, I mean, we are all adults right?! Of course, this is easier said than done. Rabbi Shoshana from the Pears Foundation gave us a rousing talk about her career and authority. I will never forget the sentiment of her speech and thank her for this. I felt a paradigm with my own thoughts and feelings about leadership and accepting that sometimes in life we need to feel we are given ‘the authority’ and at other times we don’t, or we won’t get it even if we do want it. It can be a difficult place leading with or without authority, and guess what will get you through? If you have been listening you should know.

Since the residential I visited Freiburg in Germany on a study visit, the highlights of which I will share soon but I wanted to sign this off saying thanks again to @cloresocial for accepting me as a fellow and connecting me with 17 other fellows who are each very different but amazing and inspiring individuals. Thanks to Daniela, we got to share with each other at the end of the last residential our thoughts about what we had seen in each other and was touched by the sentiments shared with me.