This week’s blog is by guest writer, Cindy Filipenko. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about human vulnerability. We live in a time where human connection is becoming less and less. The reasons are myriad, from lack of time to a culture that prizes the individual above the collective. What I know is that, without connection, we can’t foster an environment where vulnerability is possible. […]
It’s Canada Day as I write this. And I am a proud Canadian. I’m proud of how Canadians love their communities, proud of how we take care of each other, proud of how we care for one another in a crisis. The flooding in Alberta over the past couple of weeks has been a fine example of this. […]
News over the past couple of weeks has served to make “public trust” more of an oxymoron than ever. I wonder how our governments expect to maintain the notion of public trust when almost daily there are reports of secret surveillance, monitoring of private communications and misuse of public funds? And yes, I’m talking about governments that celebrate and trumpet their successful democracies and commitment to freedom, freethinking and free opinion — countries like the U.S. and Canada. […]
Teamwork is an essential value, in both our social and work lives. Many of us played team sports as kids. Most of us have had to describe how and why we consider ourselves to be “team players.” And teamwork and team-building exercises are staples of most workplaces. So why do we often end up feeling like we’re on a team of one? Too often the team environment is inauthentic — only lip service or corporate talk. […]
This week’s blog is by recovering journalist and guest blogger, Cindy Filipenko. She still makes a living from writing the truth. You can visit her at www.cindyfilipenko.com. Journalism used to be about getting to the truth. Today it’s become a game of getting it first instead of getting it right. […]
In early April, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) BC Chapter invited me to be part of an event entitled, "What I Know Now That I Wish I Knew Then". They invited 10 senior communicators to impart five minutes [...]
Like millions of others, I watched in fascination as Commander Chris Hadfield and his crew on the International Space Station returned to earth this week after five months in space. Living and working aboard the Space Station for five months is an impressive and taxing feat, but I’ve been even more impressed by Chris Hadfield’s command of public engagement. […]
Within seven days of reading this, British Columbians will head to the polls to elect our next provincial government. Election day is Tuesday, May 14. So, never mind the standard question, “Who are you going to vote for?” How about [...]
So I went to a hockey game and a public meeting broke out. Sorry — I had to. Following up on last week’s blog, I attended a public meeting in Pemberton last Thursday to learn more about the potential community-owned independent “run of river” power project on Pemberton Creek. While this “CPP” as it is more commonly known, had been a very quiet concept for several years, it recently grew into a contentious issue. This was triggered by the Village of Pemberton’s call for Requests for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), inviting independent power plant operators to submit a proposal outlining their interest in this particular project. […]
The Boston Marathon bombing is a shocking tragedy, devastating an event that celebrates the perseverance of human beings. And it saddens us all. The senseless loss of life and injury to so many is difficult for most of us to comprehend. And beyond the expected reactions of anger and fear, what’s worse is the growing sense of resignation — accepting that these kinds of incidents are now status quo. But there are many reasons to find hope in this tragedy, and as the crisis dominated activity on social media, many of them I gleaned from Twitter. […]
