Jun-Ping's Cello (and Piano) Concert June 22 and 29, 2012

Hello Good People!

TIiA member Jun-Ping (the Alexander Technique teacher and cellist) is performing in Hsinchu and Taipei the next 2 weekends! Her concert is called Dialogue between Cello & Piano. She'll be playing works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Beautiful, no doubt! And FREE!

Fri June 22, 7:30pm in Hsinchu at the 國際會議室 (新竹市東大路二段17號)
Fri June 29, 7:30pm in Taipei at the 台灣大學藝文中心--公館捷運2號出口, 近基隆路校門口)
For more info, call 0916-891-028.
Let's support Jun-Ping! :)

16 June 2012 Session Minutes: Design for Change (1)

Session Minutes by Christine

Date: Sat 16 June 2012

Place: Design for Change office, Taipei

Attendees: Lynn, Rosie, Caroline, Christine (Caroline had to leave after the Icebreaker, unfortunately)

Host: Kate, Director of Design for Change (DFC) Taiwan (who also had to leave early)

Icebreaker: Rosie

Tell us 1 thing about yourself and also why you're here today.

Session Topic:  DFC (Design for Change): Let's Do It!

Guest Speakers: Liang, Jasper, staff of Taiwan DFC

@ Video by International DFC Team

Introduction to DFC

- 25 million children in 37 countries

- 3 years or so in Taiwan

- Aim: Knowledge to Actions

DFC Founder= Principal of Riverside School, Ms. Kiran Bir Sethi, in India: DFC's motto: Get children saying, "I can" instead of "Can I?"

@ 4 Steps FeelàImagineàDoàShare

1.     Feel: anything bothers you

2.     Imagine: various ways to make it better

3.     Do: choose the best solutions

4.     Share: your story to spread the impact a bit wider

@ 2 stories from Taipei

1) Jack’s story (Jack is a blind kid, people were invited and agreed to have Jack touch their face, so that he could know what his friends look like--a kind of knowing you.)

2) Daddy’s homework (Busy fathers spending time with their kids--the kids made up a schedule for their fathers to do things with them)

Step 1 -- Feel

            Observe  1) What bothers you? – What problem do you want to solve?

                            2) Who is involved with the problem?

                            3) Ask “why”? – even when you think you know the answer.

Step 2 -- Imagine/Brainstorm Ideas to solve the problem

1)     Look around & ask around

2)     Encourage wild ideas

3)     Go for volume

4)     Have one conversation at a time

Step 3 -- Do

1)     Careful planning – get ready to implement  your idea!

2)     The more, the merrier – get as many people involved as possible.

Step 4 -- Sharing time

__________________________________________________ 

We all wrote down a problem we personally have:

Lynn’s problem – TIiA group’s members unstable attendance, Lynn’s target 12 people.

Rosie’s problem – Manager’s leadership style

Christine’s problem – Time management, reading time for piling-up materials, newspapers, magazines

We decided to focus on Lynn's TIiA problem! 

- Feel (Problem): TIiA group’s members unstable attendance, not enough members in the session, not sustainable,

- Why? 1) No sense of commitment, too busy for work, exhausted, more rest and entertainment in weekend

             2) Not enough involvement by members doing tasks 

             3) Lynn does too much

             4) Topics not interesting enough?

- Possible Solutions: 1) Recruit different age groups, eg retired people.

                 2) Link TIiA to another established group, e.g. BC (British Council) Alumni Group

                 3) Assign responsibility to members for certain tasks.

                 4) Get members to somehow commit to coming to sessions.

                 5) More fun, deep thinking.

After all of the above was on the whiteboard, it was time to finish. We decided to continue this session on Sat 30 June! Luckily, Jasper and Liang are free to facilitate us again...we'll be meeting at the DFC office again.

26 May 2012 Session Minutes: Yvonne's Trip to Iran

TAIWAN ISSUES in ACTION Session Minutes for 26 May 2012

Venue: Christine Hsu's house

Time: 13:30-16:00

Present: Christine, Yvonne, Rosie, Robin, Annie, Phoebe, Lynn

Icebreaker by Christine:

How did you celebrate Mother's Day?

We all celebrated in different ways. Christine mentioned a recent news article that had surveyed Taiwanese mothers and what they most appreciated receiving on Mother's Day. The answer? Money! Rosie did give her mother money this year, because she'd seen this news on TV, and noticed her mother's face brighten up when she heard that news.

Session Topic: Yvonne's Trip to Iran

Yvonne showed us many of her wonderful photos from her recent 12-day trip to Iran with one friend. They travelled independently. We asked lots of questions, and were left with these impressions:

I think we all have misunderstanding about Iran. It was really interesting to hear the true condition there. Thanks for sharing this experience! ~Annie

It's always fun to learn from other people's experiences and I think it's interesting to know what Iran is about. But maybe it's because I have been to Egypt so I don't feel so impressed by the things in Iran. The only thing I was really surprised about was the traveling expenses (500 USD for 2 weeks? that's insane!) I think Yvonne and her friend (2 women) were pretty brave to travel in a country like Iran's level of living. For me I try to balance the expenses and uncertainties when I travel to less-developed countries with Emma (my girlfriend), and I probably wouldn't save so much money or travel to towns that not so many tourists go to since it might be really dangerous. These are just my thoughts.

~Robin

Out of stereotype – gunfire and terrorists everywhere, violent Muslims, dirty and poor environment-- It’s not at all! Female tourists/foreigners can visit there freely in safety. Persian culture and architecture very well preserved. People look very friendly. Surprising!! Impressive!!
~Christine



Yvonne really is inspiring the way she went out of her comfort zone to travel in Iran. So interesting that so many of us have the completely wrong idea about the country. Who would imagine that local people there would be so friendly to tourists? It really shows that we have to be careful about images we get of people and places from the media. Thank you, Yvonne!
~Lynn

Updated(w/RSVP) Sat 16 June Session Announcement

Date:  Sat  16 June  2012

Time: 1:30-4pm

Place:  Taiwan Design for Change office:

6F-2, NO.2, Lane 253, Fuxing South Rd, Sec 1. 

復興南路一段253巷2號六樓之2

 

http://goo.gl/maps/ryxB

About a 5-min walk from Daan MRT station. Walk north along Fuxing S. Rd towards Renai Rd. Lane 253 is on the right side of the road.

Topic: Design for Change: Let's Do It!

This session is a very special chance to experience a way to create positive change in your life. Not 1, not 2, but 3, people from the Taiwan branch of  Design for Change will lead us in the series of steps that this international program uses with schoolchildren around the globe. If you came to the TIiA session on April 14th, you'll remember Kate, the Coordinator of Design for Change in Taiwan. (Who could forget lively Kate?!) This time, she's bringing 2 other Design for Change people, Jasper and Liang to help facilitate.  

DESIGN FOR CHANGE is the largest global movement designed to give young people an opportunity to express their own ideas for a better world and put them into action. Using the simple 4 step framework, children across the world are saying ‘I CAN’ instead of ‘Can I’

Optional Preparation:

Go to the Design for Change website to find out about its interesting results, both in Taiwan and other countries: http://www.dfcworld.com/ 

For planning purposes, please register for this session by 12 noon on Fri 15 June. To register, send me (Lynn) an email: lynn_conant@hotmail.com

Thanks! It would be great to see you!

Cheers 

Lynn