JOIN! Apply Now to Be OpenIDEO's Next Challenge Community Champion

A message from the OpenIDEO team:

The OpenIDEO Team are busy cooking up a new challenge which we're hoping to launch during the next month. We're keen to continue our experiment to empower collaborators from our community in helping shape our challenges. So we've got one spot for a switched-on community member, in a voluntary role to work together with us to deepen the OpenIDEO community experience.

Are you an enthusiastic community-connector and action-agent?

Do you have eagle eyes for what drives engagement and impact?

Have you got what it takes to see and share patterns emerging from OpenIDEO collaborations?

Check out what's involved and how to apply. Applications are due Monday 3 June, 2013 and the position will kick-off the week of June 10, 2013.

Cheers,

The OpenIDEO Team

JOIN! Summer Business Camp for Starter Social Entrepreneurs

There's an exciting new opportunity for people looking to enter the social entrepreneurship world.  From April 22 to 28, 2013, the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Enchanted Farm  in Bulacan is hosting a Summer Business Camp that gives people a chance to explore different industries and discuss case studies of social enterprises ranging from small and medium to large-scale.

Industries covered include:

• Health and Wellness
• Social Tourism
• Food and Beverage
• Personal Care & Cosmetics
• Apparel and Toys
• Architecture & Interior Design

Participants will also get a chance to undergo mentorship from both Filipino and European social entrepreneurs.

For more information, email gkenchantedfarm@gmail.com or call +63 917 5802427.

JOB OPENING! Ashoka is setting up shop in the Philippines

Image courtesy of Ashoka Philippines website.

Ashoka is setting up shop in the Philippines
and they're looking to build their team! 

They've currently got two openings waiting to be filled by two dynamic people with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to change the world for the better.

1. Ashoka Philippines Country Director

• Developing strategies and networks to select and support leading social entrepreneurs and linking them to Ashoka’s global network of Fellows
• Launching relevant Ashoka programs offering young people, citizens, and institutions opportunities to become changemakers and solve social problems
• Building bridges between businesses and citizen sector organizations allowing more efficient flow of ideas and resources between the sectors
• Increasing awareness of Ashoka, social entrepreneurship and changemaking through events, media outreach, and engagement of people from all sectors of society in the Everyone a Changemaker movement
• Raising the necessary resources to support Ashoka’s work in the Philippines.

2. Ashoka Philippines Program Associate

• Support the Country Director in the launch of relevant Ashoka programs; engaging partners from both the business and citizen sectors
• Coordinate the search and selection program for Ashoka Fellows; conducting thorough research and due diligence on Fellow candidates 
• Manage the Ashoka program's finance and administrative processes
• Assist in the marketing and communication of Ashoka's vision and efforts in the Philippines

For more information about the positions, eligibility and how to apply, visit their job posting page.
To learn more about the organization, visit their website at http://philippines.ashoka.org/

And if you still want to learn more, a more intimate look at their work can be found in  the book "How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas." Read my review of the book here.

NYU Social Innovation Symposium 2013: Rethinking Impact

Image courtesy of event's website.

Something worth checking out from NYU Stern, Wagner and Law:
3rd Annual NYU Social Innovation Symposium.

Join us for the NYU Social Innovation Symposium 2013: Rethinking Impact -- a collaboration between the Social Enterprise Association at Stern, Bridge at Wagner, and LSEA at the Law School. This year’s fantastic keynote speakers are Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org, and Jacquelline Fuller, Director of Google Giving. The event will also include a networking lunch with panelists, alumni, faculty, and professionals; interactive workshops with mini-case studies; a new speaker series entitled "10 Minutes to Change the World" featuring bold ideas on how different industries are rethinking impact; and an evening cocktail reception.

WHEN: Friday, February 22, 2013, 8:30AM-6:30PM
WHERE: NYU Stern School of Business, 44 West 4th Street, Paulson Auditorium
TICKETS: $30 Early / $40 Student / $60 Professional BUY YOURS NOW >(Includes breakfast, interactive workshop panels, networking lunch, and cocktail reception)

To see theschedule and full list of speakers, click here.

Happy Birthday, PechaKucha!

A big shoutout to one of my favorite events of all time.. PechaKucha!

February 20th 2013 marks their 10th anniversary and 100th PechaKucha Night in Tokyo where it all began.

Photo from PechaKucha.

To celebrate, they're having an extra special PechaKucha Night in Tokyo at SuperDeluxe.

http://www.pechakucha.org/cities/tokyo

And going live on UStream for those who are too far away to join them on location.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/pechakucha-night-tokyo

After 10 years, 4,400 events around the wold featuring 44,000 presenters in over 600 cities, they're now set to bring us another awesome next 10 years. They're starting with the launch of their new and improved website:

http://www.pechakucha.org

I look forward to more wonderful nights of creative and interesting randomness to come.

COMPETITION ALERT! Global Partnership for Social Accountability – First Call for Proposals

A grant opportunity from the World Bank:

Global Partnership for Social Accountability – First Call for Proposals

Deadline: March 14, 2013 (11:59:59 EDT)

The Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) is pleased to announce its first call for proposals. The call for proposals is open to civil society organizations (CSOs) and CSO networks based and operating in one of the 12 countries that have opted-in to the GPSA. The GPSA will fund:

• Social accountability initiatives and programs;
• CSO's institutional strengthening that will result in stronger institutional capacity to implement social accountability activities;
• Mentoring and capacity-building of less experienced CSOs, including on-granting.

For more information, visit the competition page here.

Social Good Summit 2012 Highlights

The Social Good Summit Goal - Daring to spark a global conversation.

Never mind that they already planned a jam-packed 3-day summit full of some of the most high profile speakers you could gather into one conference room. This conference room was just the conversation starter. The real audience was the rest of the connected world.

On the website of the Social Good Summit, you see a call to join the global conversation surrounding the hashtag #SGSGlobal. The goal was to create "one of the biggest, most global and most powerful conversations the world has ever seen."

So how did it go?

Well, just check out the report from UN Foundation:

This year’s Social Good Summit sparked a record-setting global conversation on using social media and technology for good. The Summit united people participating online and in-person in nearly 300 cities, including New York, Beijing, and Nairobi, around one goal: unlocking the potential of social media and technology to make the world a better place. The gathering took place as world leaders gathered to kick-off the UN General Assembly, opening the dialogue about world issues and challenges to a global constituency. According to RecordSetter, on Monday, September 24th, 2012, the Social Good Summit set the record for the largest global conversation on one topic to take place in a single day.

Highlights of the Summit’s reach:

• Nearly 300 cities across the world gathered for meet ups (ranging in size from small groups to gatherings of hundreds) to discuss and share ways that new technology and social media can tackle problems in individual communities.   
• The Twitter hashtag #SGSGlobal trended locally, nationally, and globally during the course of the summit and has been used over 60,000 times to date.
• The livestream of the summit was translated in real-time in seven languages including all six official UN languages, making the proceedings available to people around the world, free of charge via the internet. 
• The Social Good Summit content has been viewed in more than 150 countries sparking conversations in more than 50 different languages.  

You can read the full UN Foundation press release here. But there are lots of pretty good summaries and resources available online. I recommend checking out:

• Global Conversations summarized on tumblr:
  http://theglobalconversation.tumblr.com/
• Meetups:
  http://www.meetup.com/Mashable/
• Livestreamed videos:
  http://new.livestream.com/Mashable/SGS
• Photos on Flickr:
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/unfoundation/sets/72157631628427258/
• Agenda, list of speakers and all other details:
  http://mashable.com/sgs/

That's a lot of online talk going on. Is that it?

Definitely not. And I like the way the Social Good Summit team summarized it in an email they sent out:

So what does this all mean?  It means its more than just online traffic, its real life impact.  We came together from every part of the world around a single theme - the power of social media and technology to change the way we solve our toughest development challenges – and we made people listen.

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, summed this up perfectly when she kicked of the New York event of the Summit, “We are living at a moment when anyone can be a diplomat.  All you have to do is hit send.”  Thanks to your efforts, we can wake up today knowing this is true, that your voice can be heard and that you have a role to play.

Personal conference highs

So that's what everyone else is saying. As for my personal conference highlights? Well, those three days were so full, I'm sure I cannot remember all of the brilliant things that came up. But for the ones that I do recall, let me talk about them in three main sets:

Food for thought:
Some new ideas and insights that I enjoyed thinking about
(or not so new ideas, but I liked their articulation of it)

Unleashing the Power of Open Innovation in Government

Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer of the United States (@todd_park)

One of my favorite speakers was Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer of the United States Government. As an ideas and data person myself, I appreciated how Todd clearly saw his role as the builder of bridges between data and data interpreters, data apply-ers, and eventually the consumer/end user. This is one tech guy who is not stuck in his end of the process where it's just about the tech itself.

The Thinking:
As the Chief Technology Officer, he saw his work as being the "incubator inside the US government not birthing companies but rather projects and initiatives to apply the power of data and technology to help advance the president's priorities."

That also means he saw the government's role differently. Rather than this big top-down type of government, what he saw was the potential for government to be a platform for open innovation. The formula: tax payers' money is already used to gather lots of data so it's just a matter of making that data available to people who know how to understand that data and, to use his own words, "jiu-jitsu it, and turn it into awesomeness." Awesomeness here means a wide range of apps and programs that have real and revolutionary applications in people's lives.

The Projects:
Open Data Initiatives

safety.data.gov

energy.data.gov

Jan Karski’s Legacy: Preventing Genocide in the Digital Age

Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Former Prime Minister of Poland (@Jan_Karski); Rabbi David Kalb, 92nd Street Y (@rabbidavidkalb); Eva Wierzynska, Leader, Jan Karski Legacy Program and Wanda Urbanska, Director, U.S. Jan Karski U.S. Centennial Campaign

The Thinking:
What if social media were around at the time of the holocaust? What if citizen journalists spoke up about the atrocities happening that the media in free countries refused to talk about? What if the world had twitter and social media in 1939, would the holocaust have happened?

Interesting points to think about.

Digital Disaster Relief

Wendy Harman, Director of Social Strategy, American Red Cross (@wharman); David Kobia, Director of Technology Development, Ushahidi (@dkobia/) and Samantha Murphy, Mashable (@MurphySamanthaJ)

What they do:

The American Red Cross is mentioned 4,000 times a day on social media on a normal day; the number spikes up during times of crises. They're already aggregating data to report trends / topline concerns, and building volunteer taskforces.

Ushahidi aggregated stories of violence reported on various social media platforms and aggregated it on a visual map.  In doing so, they closed the loop between the people reporting information and the people who respond to disaster and crisis. In other words, they made information actionable.

The challenges of making social web data actionable:

At the beginning, it's a trickle of information. Later on, it becomes a flood of information. Things like rumors reverberate throughout the system. How do you put verification tools in place to make sure these are true, and how do you find that one important information in this flood of data?

Live it:
Apps and programs that can change the way we live or work

How Google Earth is Changing the World

Rebecca Moore, Engineering Manager, Google Earth Outreach (@rebeccatmoore)

"What happens when you put in the hands of the world for free the most accurate, comprehensive, detailed, realistic replica of the planet that has ever existed?"Rebecca Moore of Google Earth Outreach gives demos on how different advocacy projects and groups can use Google Maps and Google Earth to make more powerful arguments for their causes: from wildlife habitat changes to landmines to calculating the value of nature in certain localities and mapping the effects of mining activities in a region. 

Drones, Digitals and #OWS

Tim Pool, Independent Journalist (@timcast) and Zoe Fox, Mashable (@zoebfox)

Digital Tracking for Human Trafficking

Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. State Department (@JTIP_State); Alison Friedman, Senior Coordinator for Public Engagement, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. State Deptartment and Justin Dillon, Executive Directory, Slavery Footprint (@slave_footprint)

Fan girl moments

Of course one of the benefits of going to these conferences is the fact that you get to see some of your heroes in person. Here are some of mine:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus is my microfinance rockstar. He pretty much talked about the same thing you can find in his books but it was a treat to meet him in person and snap a photo with him.

Social Entrepreneurism

Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Winner (https://twitter.com/Yunus_Centre) and Stacy Green, Mashable (@stacygreen)

Jane Goodall has done amazing work as a primatologist but the first time I met her was an event in Beijing back in 2007 where she talked about the Roots & Shoots program in China. I loved the concept and eventually volunteered for them while I was living in Beijing. I already thought it was great to hear her speak again after so long, but as an added treat, they involved her in a little musical number! So the video below isn't of her talk. Just check it out to see the surprise ;p

Musical Performance with Dame Jane Goodall
DBE, primatologist, anthropologist, activist and U.N. Messenger for Peace (https:// twitter.com/JaneGoodallInst)

Two steps forward for public service in the Philippines?

This week, I got two pieces of good news in my inbox which made me happy to see steps in the right direction for better public service in the Philippines. (It also made me wonder if we're at the beginning of a wave of public service improvements and innovation. However, two is not enough to make us say that a wave if forthcoming. But it is enough to make optimists like me hope.)

Contact Center ng Bayan

The first piece of good news I got was about the Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB). CCB is "conceived to be the Philippine Government’s main helpdesk where citizens, civil society organizations and other entities can voice their complaints and concerns with government agencies and gain access to information."

This site is powered by Teleserv and was developed in partnership with the Civil Service Commission, National Computer Center, Bureau of Internal Revenue, PhilHealth, and the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines. 

The email they sent out included an at-a-glance run down of a citizen's rights as protected by RA 9485: The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007. Very helpful in making you know what you have the right to complain about to the CCB.

What gets me excited about this development is the fact that I've too often heard the criticism that the Philippines has a lot of good laws in place but no government willpower to implement them. So the presence of such a website, in my opinion, is an act of the government that says to the public "I'm listening to you and I am ready to be held accountable."

A quick read of the "10 Things You Should Know about the Anti-Red Tape Act" article on their website informs you that RA 9485 requires each government offices to draw up a "citizen's charter" that identifies the correct services, procedures, fees, and etc. that you should expect. The site then has a tab for each partner government agency. Browsing through the tabs, the only Citizen's Charter that's easy to find is the BIR Citizen's Charter.  Also, it's not very easy to find the right part of the site to go to if you do have a complaint to report.

So while the presence of the site itself puts me in high hopes today, whether or not it actually works and if they are able to respond to the complaints sent their way remains to be proven. I would love to hear the stories of those of you back home if you ever do try it out.

To learn more about this, check out the following links: 

 

CCB website
Find the on Facebook
Find them on Twitter
RA 9485: Ten Things You Should Know about the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA)

Meralco MOVE

The second piece of good news I got in my inbox was the announcement of Meralco's new smartphone and tablet app, MeralcO Virtual Engine (MOVE). It's now available for download at the Apple AppStore, Google Play, and Blackberry App World.

It supposedly packs 6 useful services into one app, as the email outlines:

Apps that offer location help
   a. Meralco Office Directory: You can find the nearest Meralco office in your area
   b. Bayad Center: Find out where you can conveniently pay your Meralco bill

Apps for consumption control
   a. Meralco Appliance Calculator: Easily compute the amount of electricity an appliance                         consumes
   b. Bright Ideas: Learn better ways to use and save on electricity

Apps that help in planning ahead
   a. Power Maintenance Schedule: Stay up to date on the power maintenance schedule in
                your area
   b. E-Meralco bill: View your latest bill even when you’re on the go

I have been following Meralco on Twitter for a few years now and am quite happy with the fact that they knew how to use this social media tool to give up-to-the-minute news about which areas will have power outages, changes in power rotation schedules whenever Manila's hit with big storms. It would be interesting to see how they would fare in the app world as well.

I like the fact that they have two services in the app that deals with consumption control. The Meralco Appliance Calculator is nothing new. This helpful tool has been around for a while, displayed at a computer terminal in Meralco payment centers, and hiding somewhere in their website. I'm not so sure how many people are aware of it, and how many actually use it. I think that placing this in people's mobile devices is a great way to get more people to start using it and hopefully integrating it into their lifestyles. (Using this tool helps you see the difference it makes when you switch to energy efficient appliances!)

The Bright Ideas tool is a great complement to the appliance calculator. Once you gain a better picture of your consumption (and identify the culprits), you then become more open to suggestions about how to lessen consumption and consequently, your electric bill.

Again, if any of you end up downloading it, let me know how it works for you!

To learn more about this, check out the following links:  

 

MeralcO Virtual Engine page
MOVE in the App Store
MOVE in Google Play
MOVE in Blackberry App World

The Switch - Peace Cereal

 

Earlier I blogged about my new experiment called "The Switch" which is an effort to switch, one item at a time, to more sustainable and environment-friendly products. Ever since I moved from Manila to NYC, my access to socially and environmentally conscious brands has multiplied. But so has my skepticism. How can so many brands be really this conscious and? Well, it's going to be fun finding out as I continue with my The Switch series of blogposts.

 

 The Packaging Claims

One of the things that caught my attention was Peace Cereal. Other than the unique flavor combinations (Goji Berry, Raspberry Ginger, Walnut Spice), what catches your interest is a pledge at the bottom that says "A contribution will be made to non-profit causes for every Peace Cereal product sold."

What's more, the side panel of the box features "The Peace Pledge" which says the company is committed to ensuring that their products:

• Use only the finest all natural ingredients without compromise
• All ingredients are grown and made without GMOs
• Continually minimize our environmental impact through eco-friendly operations and packaging
• Support our communities through ongoing giving
• deliver nutritious food that tastes great

And they go on to substantiate those claims on the back panel with details of their partner organizations and recycling information. They feature four of their partners: Rolling Dog Farm, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, National Park Foundation and The Breast Cancer Deadline 2020, plus a link to more information about the causes that are supported with each purchase of a Peace Cereal product. They also declare that the packaging is made of 100% recycled paper, 60% of which is post-consumer waste. Printing is also done with environmentally-friendly vegetable-based inks. Lastly, external endorsements are a plus for me because that means they're not the only ones talking about how great they are. Peace Cereal has two stamps of approval on its box: the Non-GMO Project and the Whole Grains Council's "whole grain stamp".

"The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers, and providing verified non-GMO choices." More about them at: http://www.nongmoproject.org/about/

The Whole Grain stamp was created by the Whole Grains Council to help consumers identify what truly qualifies as a whole grain product. While this stamp is only found in products sold in stores, the Whole Grains Council also has lists of restaurants, food service outlets that offer whole grain options. Learn more about them at http://wholegrainscouncil.org/find-whole-grain.

Product Test Run

No doubt about it, I love the cereal. I'm already at my third box and I loved all of them - Raspberry and Ginger, Goji Berry, and Vanilla Almond. It's healthy in the sense that it uses a blend of whole grains (oats, barley, spelt, amaranth, quinoa), rice flour, brown rice.. but I can't help but notice that the second ingredient in the list is milled cane sugar, of which I assume means that it has a substantial amount.

The Verdict

Definitely a win. It's the kind of product I probably would buy because of the quality, even if it weren't carrying a conscience message. All the things about giving back, recycling, and being non-GMO was just a plus.

Stalk Them

Facebook.com/peacecereal Twitter.com/peacecereal

Social Good Summit 2012 (New York City)

Mashable is one of social media authorities that I've relied on to keep me updated on not only the latest trends but also how non-profits can make use of them. So imagine how excited I was to find out that on UN Week, Mashable is co-hosting the Social Good Summit here in New York City.

What's the summit about?

The Social Good Summit is a three-day conference where big ideas meet new media to create innovative solutions. Held during UN Week from September 22-24, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. The most innovative technologists, influential minds and passionate activists will come together with one shared goal: to unlock the potential of new media and technology to make the world a better place, and then to translate that potential into action.

What if you're not in New York?

Join the summit in other cities

Good news for my friends back home in Asia! They're taking the summit to Beijing on September 24th! They'll be in Kenya, too, on the same day.

Join a meetup

Several meetups have been planned in multiple cities around the globe. Check out their site for the full list. Not to be left out, Manila has one on September 22nd at the Asian Institute of Management. You will need to register in advance to attend, get more information here, and be sure to follow @TweetupMNL to stay updated.

Join us online

They'll be livestreaming the summit online, and anyone talking about the conference will be using the hashtag #SGSglobal. (I'll most probably be live tweeting so be sure to follow @emilydy).

Can't wait for the weekend!

HELP OUT! KaEskwela needs 100 schoolbags by July 2

.

Snapshot from the KaEskwela website.

Who they are

Here's what you can gather after a quick read-through of KaEskwela's FAQs on their website:

KaEskwela is a non-stock, non-profit organization formed in April 2007, made up of volunteers who are dedicated to helping public schoolchildren attain quality education, which will eventually help them lead better lives.

KaE talks with school officials and finds out what their needs are. So far, KaEskwela has donated books, school supplies, bags and footwear, electric fans, and computers to public schools. They have also conducted workshops on literacy for teachers, art and writing for students.

When the need arises, they also hold relief operations. They've also funded feeding programs and conducted a medical-dental mission.

What makes KaEskwela different from other education groups?

All their activities are school-based. They want to help students and their parents view going to school as a positive experience, rather than a burden.

They want to empower schools. They conduct dialogues to find out not just what KaE can give, but how they can all work together. They try to make improvements not just in things owned, but also in the skills and mindset they possess.

Find out more about them on Facebook, Twitter, Multiply, and their website.

What they need

KaEskwela: Sampaloc Elementary School in Tanay, Rizal often has empty chairs. Teachers report that a lot of their students don't regularly attend classes because their parents can barely afford to feed them, and certainly have no money for school supplies. 70% of the parents are unemployed, and a similar future may be waiting for these children if they can't get an education.

On the first or second week of July, KaEskwela will bring a generous donation--100 sets of school supplies-- to the children of Sampaloc. It would be great if the kids can put these precious supplies in their very own schoolbags.

Snapshot from the KaEskwela website.

How you can help

Help gather 100 schoolbags by July 2. They accept secondhand bags, as long as they are clean and in good condition. Email kaeskwelavolunteers@yahoo.com for details on when and where you can drop them off.


**Special thanks to Mabel David-Pilar for all the info.

Intergovernmental Negotiations and Decision Making at the United Nations: A Guide

Download a copy
here.

“I am… even more impressed by the strong participation of non-governmental activists – within national delegations, at a wide range of parallel events, in the roundtables, and as observers in the plenary sessions. You can feel their presence… everywhere, and they really have transformed the atmosphere of the building, as they d at all the best United Nations events. I am more than ever convinced that such partnerships are essential to our success in the new century.”

-Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, 2001, 

at the close of the UN General Assembly’s Special Session 

on HIV/AIDS in 2001

According to the book "Intergovernmental Negotiations and Decision Making at the United Nations", the 1945 UN Charter itself calls for the cooperation with Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in their work. In the 90’s, NGO involvement increased considerably during large-scale conferences on development issues: sustainable development, population, and women, among other subjects.  This exposure to the process of actual intergovernmental decision-making paved the way for NGOs to see the UN “as an arena for policy dialogue and advocacy.”

And indeed NGO participation has been growing since then. So much so that a guide for NGOs was published in 2003 by the UN-NGLS.

The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS), as an interagency program, is “mandated to support the organizations of the UN in developing their relations with NGOs and wider civil society,” and “the constructive engagement of NGOs and CSOs in the work and governance of the UN system.” They authored this book for the purpose of providing “basic, practical information to individuals and organizations that are interested in understanding the nature and dynamics of intergovernmental decision making at the United Nations.” And I believe this 106+ page book managed to do so. It’s a quick read that’s packed with good theoretical explanations balanced with some practical advice, and topped off with resourced for further information and study. 

Let’s walk through the three basic parts of the book.

Part 1: Intergovernmental Negotiations and Decision Making at the United Nations: How it Works.

This section walks you through the structure of the UN, pointing out who makes what decisions and who gets to vote. Then it goes into how decisions are made, explaining the differences between the types of documents – resolutions, declarations, programmes of action and conventions & treaties. It also explains how members can get their points of view on the record – explanatory notes, reservations after adoption or interpretative statements.

Once they are done with the theoretical explanation of the structures and definitions, then they get down and dirty – a run through of the “blocs of power”, their “tactics and trade offs”, and how to track negotiations by tracking the documents and understanding the document symbols.

Part 2: A Guide to NGO Participation

The second part of the book was written by Gretchen Sidhu, a journalist and NGO activist who has covered the UN and an array of intergovernmental negotiations since 1994. She covers practical things needed by any NGO – accreditation, getting consultative status, preparing for meetings, where to find information, how to partner with the UN all the way to follow-up and implementation.

Part 3: Annexes

About a quarter of the book is composed of the annex – the first part a comprehensive listing of different UN departments, and the latter a list of institutional resources and even a map of the UN system.

All in all, a great read to prep you if you find yourself on your way to a UN conference! It’ll help you understand the bigger context, your place in that big picture as well as some basics on how to move within that system – all under 110-pages. Download the latest edition here.

United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service

www.un-ngls.org/

The organic way to luscious lips

Earlier I blogged about my new experiment called "The Switch" which is an effort to switch, one item at a time, to more sustainable and environment-friendly products. I intend for it to cover a range of products and brands - from household cleaning to corporate needs to personal care. 


Because I've been on medication which has the side-effect of really drying out my lips, I've been using a lot of lip balm lately. And of course when you have high consumption of any product, you want the safest one possible. So I decided to ditch the commercial brands and look for organic alternatives. This post reviews two of my new lippie loves!

Photo courtesy of
Human Nature online shop.

Time and again I've always featured Human Nature products on the Switch series. It can't be helped. It gets enough word of mouth to keep it top of mind, it's widely distributed, and the price points are very good. So I tried out all three variants of their lip balm: Tutti Frutti, Peppermint and Choco Fudge.

Ingredients

Ricinus communis (Castor) seed oil, Beeswax, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter, Caprylic/Capric Trigylceride, Helianthus annus (Sunflower) seed oil, Calendula officinalis (Calendula) extract, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) extract, Tocopherol (+/-): Mentha piperita (Peppermint) essential oil, Menthyl lactate, Organic flavor oil, Theobroma cacao (Cocoa), Zinc oxide (CI 77947), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Iron Oxide (CI 77491)

The verdict? 

Very good moisturizing properties without leaving a waxy feel over your lips even if you apply it several times throughout the day. The moisturizing effect lasts long and doesn't leave your lips extra dry once the moisturizing effect wears off. All three flavors were great and - I am guessing because of their natural / organic ingredients - were not overwhelming. My favorite would have to be the Choco Fudge flavor - it smells like Milk Tea!! :)

Where to get it

Human Nature lip balms are available on the Human Nature online shop or via your closest Human Nature distributor for P69.75. Unfortunately, the lip balm is not as widely distributed as its other products which you can easily find in, for example, Rustan's Fresh grocery shelves. But I've shopped using their online store several times and I've never had trouble, delivery is fast and accurate.

More about the company

Human Nature's philosophy is summarized in three main phrases: Pro-Philippines, Pro-Poor and Pro-Environment. All products are 100% manufactured in the Philippines, helping set up organic farms with Gawad Kalinga (GK) villages, and they are conscious about choosing locally sourced ingredients, or utilizing recycled materials for packaging and marketing needs.

To many consumers, the Human Nature brand stands for quality yet affordable organic personal care products. To a person like me who has observed the whole Philippine do-gooder world over the years, Human Nature is a sign of hope that the 'industry' has finally reached an important point in its evolution. That point is when we move away from begging or guilt-tripping people into buy ethical products ("It's not very pretty or of very good quality, but please buy us, it's for a good cause!"), and move towards selling good quality products that can compete in the market. And then we can say "By the way, these products are ethically made, they support a good cause, and they're proudly Filipino." How awesome is that?

While it seems to be a very environment-friendly organic products brand, Ilog Maria is one you will hear more from beauty enthusiasts than from advocacy / NGO circles. Which to me means that its products have been tried and tested by many beauty pros. So I was happy for a chance to grab a pot of their lip balm as soon as my last stick of Human Nature balm ran out.

Photo courtesy of Ilog Maria online shop.

On the cover

On the cover of the pot it only says "Honey, Beeswax & Propolis Lip Balm" but if you check out their website, you will find that it's actually also has a medley of fruit oils and a kick of mint.

The verdict

I like it! It moisturizes without the waxy feel of other petroleum-based lip balms and leaves a minty tingle on your lips. It has a subtle sweet scent that you cannot place. You know that it's fruity, but cannot pin down a specific flavor. And as their website says, it's a 'medley of fruit oils'. Well, whatever mysterious blend of fruit oils it is, it leaves a good hint of yummy. The moisturizing effect does not last as long as the Human Nature ones, but it is still a good balm.

Where to get it

A jar of Ilog Maria lip balm is available for P71.50 on their website, or P130.00 at the ECHOStore.

More about the company


Ilog Maria is mostly known for their organic products and a company ethic that is mindful of the proper care of the bees that supply their pollen and honey. What I was very happy to learn on their site was that they are also employing alternative energy sources and try to live as naturally as possible. That gives them extra brownie points in my book!


On the homepage of their site, you see a photo of solar panels attached to the roof of their building.

But that's not the end of it, they actually do a lot more! I was so impressed (and a little bit curious about how it's been going for them. But let's leave that for another post.) Go to the Alternative Fuels & Energy section of their page and they talk about their efforts in detail, explaining why they made these switches.

And all this without ever using it to sell their products. Their products sell because they're good, not because they're riding on some green marketing trend. They use alternative energy because they believe in sustainability.


Love it!