A woman who earned her big check

Back in the 1980’s during Mexico’s high inflationary years I had lots of experience writing big checks.  It took careful planning to squeeze the written-out amount in the tiny space provided on a check.  Occasionally, I’d write two checks because it was the only way to get the words “millions” and “hundreds of thousands” to fit.  

But there’s another type of big check I’ve never had any experience with.  The big-in-size check.  What do you do with a meter-long (three feet) check printed on foam board?  You see them when people win the lottery or game shows.  Until recently I’d never personally known anyone experienced with this type of check.

Last year at Puebla’s City of Idea Conference, 30 “Gifted Citizens” competed for US$100,000. They were invited based on programs they’d developed designed to improve the lives of at least 10,000 people within six years. It’s a stellar group.

I met Shanyn Ronis, a sparkling young 27 year-old idealist from Virginia, U.S.A. wearing a “gifted citizen” nametag at the coffee bar during an intermission.  She told me a bit about her program.  I was impressed.

The last day of the conference all 30 “gifted citizens” were invited on stage to be presented to the 5,000 City of Ideas attendees.  The curator of the event, Andres Roemer, announced the 10 finalists and Shanyn was one of them.  To my delight two were chosen to share the grand prize.  Shanyn was presented with a $50,000 “big-check”!

Last week Carol Hopkins and I interviewed Shanyn and learned that the actual “big check” is proudly affixed to the wall in her office.  Laughingly she told me she didn’t know anything about cashing a “big check.” The money was conventionally wired into the account of the NGO she heads and is already helping implement programs she designed.

“In 2013 I founded E-Gap (Educational Global Access Program).  Our mission is to develop programs and materials that sustainably enhance the impact of teachers serving vulnerable populations in conflict zones and other at-risk areas.  Teachers and existing NGO’s are key to our vision of forging a global cadre of highly qualified and dedicated teachers who can enable their students to achieve full potential.”

Most of E-Gap’s work right now is in Africa. Shanyn, who is bi-lingual in Spanish, is working hard to bring programs to Mexico.  She’s already implemented a program in Ecuador and is searching for a Mexican NGO partner for a similar program in this country.  She did college fieldwork in Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico – with archeological work as well as social anthropology research in Oaxaca.    

Beginning as an undergraduate, Shanyn wrestled with working in social-inequality cultures, learning to implement “upside down” programs. “Most of the work we do is upside down.  I take what is, even accept social inequality, because if we wait for that to change nothing will ever happen.

“The people who actually carry out our programs are from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ecuador – and other countries in which we work.  They’re the folk who provide the missing pieces.  With their input we tweak our programs to work in their country – not the other way around. 

“Most educational funding in Latin America is for basic education – elementary reading and writing. But what’s next? There’s a lost age-group, 16-25, falling through the cracks.  They’ve completed mandatory primary education but don’t have job-related skills or computer competency.”  Shanyn has listened and heard them say, “In order to succeed we need more than education.  We need connections and experience.  Otherwise we’ll never get our foot in the door.”

And so, Shanyn’s Gifted Citziens’ award is being used to finance the training of 3,000 teachers in areas of extreme poverty and conflict zones by 2017.  “It is by far our biggest program. The video-based curriculum, designed for independent learners, combines with a written text and assessment. It can be used in rural areas – even those without access to internet and includes entrepreneurial training.

Shanyn told us how she came to be invited to The City of Ideas as a “Gifted Citizen.”  “Last year I was a guest lecturer at a conference in D.C. for young entrepreneurs.  There were several Mexican participants. One, an organizer for the City of Ideas, suggested I apply.

“The City of Ideas was an extraordinary opportunity to meet people with similar goals and visions.  We can supply support to one another as needed.  My gratitude for the opportunity to network with such an amazing group, not to mention the prize itself, is boundless.”

I still don’t know how to cash a “big check.”  But then, I don’t have one.  The internet says “big checks” are legal tender but I guess I’ll have to win one, or earn one, to find out if this is true.



   





 

Moving forward on the drug debate

This was an exciting week for me. In anticipation of the City of Ideas Festival (La Ciudad de Ideas) in Puebla I spoke with Andrés Roemer, the festival’s co-curator. I was particularly interested in a scheduled debate titled, “What’s the Point of Prohibition?” — referring to the legalization of currently illegal drugs.

I asked, “What are we going to do if the Supreme Court gets ahead of us?”

Andrés replied, “This debate is about much more than marijuana.”

Was Roemer talking about the spectrum of drugs that was possibly to be legalized or was he talking about how, as a society, we reach consensus about social policy? I looked forward to finding out.

Within two hours a New York Times headline popped up on my screen saying Mexico’s Supreme Court had struck down laws limiting a particular group’s right to grow and use marijuana recreationally. An interesting thing about this decision is it is limited to the four people who brought the suit.

As Roemer predicted, Saturday’s debate proved especially timely, touching on both harmful legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco and illegal drugs. He moderated a two-hour formal debate with four proponents on each side of the issue.

Three former heads of state argued for the legalization of drugs. They were Ruth Dreifuss of Switzerland, César Gaviria of Colombia, and Mexico’s own Vicente Fox. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican entrepreneur and co-curator of the festival, joined them.

Colombia and Mexico both have been seriously impacted for decades by the War on Drugs initiated by the Unites States. Both countries have suffered an increase in violence and drug cartel activity and an increasing lack of respect by the citizenry for their government’s anti-drug policy.

Two of the defenders of prohibition of illegal drugs were from the United States: Kevin Sabet a founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and Mark Kleiman, CEO of Back of the Envelope Calculations Analysis Corporation. They were joined by Mexican Viridiana Rios, a fellow at the Wilson Center for International Scholars, and by Antonio Mazzitelli, an Italian who is the liaison with Mexico from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

Before the debate, Roemer asked the 5,000 people in the audience to raise their hand if they defended prohibition. A good number raised their hand. He then asked for a show of hands of those opposed to prohibition. They were both numerous and boisterous. By my calculation the mostly, Mexican audience was 2:1 in favor of doing away with prohibition.

During the debate the only reference to the recent Supreme Court decision came from ex-President Fox who said that with five more similar court decisions, legalization of marijuana will become law. The Senate and Chamber of Deputies need to work quickly to write law. “I hope they are up to the challenge,” he added.

Using Fox’s introductory comments, Roemer asked the ex-president how he could compare the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to the forbidden drugs and allow their use while regulating them.

Fox pointed to the role of parents. “Through example and information. Parents must be careful o give their children information necessary for their health. Forbidden fruit was attractive to Adam and Eve but it could have been described as infested with worms, bad for their stomachs. When things are explained and reasons are offered we all understand. This is particularly effective if the parents themselves are not examples of using.”

To Ricardo Salinas Pliego (TV Azteca’s CEO), Roemer relayed a question from the audience. “TV Azteca’s often repeated slogan is ‘Say no to drugs.’ Isn’t that in conflict with your suggestion that addicts be provided with free drugs?”

“Much like we give out free medicine to sick people” was Salinas’ reply.

Roemer’s sharpest question — and the one which drew the most cheers from the audience — was addressed to ex-President of Colombia Gaviria. “No one is more vehement in defending that which you defend. Why didn’t you do it when you were President?”

“I had no option. Drug cartels were so strong they threatened the state itself.”

Addressing Mark Kleiman, who was Roemer’s professor in the University of California’s School of Public Policy, Roemer said, “Everything, including drugs, has a market. Why not bring in transparent competition. Currently the drug market is a monopoly. In a free market there’s competition; profits are reduced. Black markets currently damage the health, life, and dignity of huge sectors of Latin America and the world.”

“I think you need to take my class again,” said professor Kleiman.

“But you gave me an A.”

“Some vices in society are so harmful that government must regulate them; gambling, alcohol, illegal drugs,” said Kleiman.

It was an intense, thought-provoking discussion on the liberalization/prohibition of drugs in society. After the debate concluded, Roemer asked for a show of hands. “How many people changed their minds from where they had been at the beginning?”

Despite all the discussion, very few hands went up. Nevertheless it was an achievement to be speaking openly and civilly about the elephant in the room.

Ideas set to stream from Puebla

Fast on the heels of Day of the Dead, it’s again time for Mexico’s other annual November luminous experience, the City of Ideas.  Founded in 2008, this is my third City of Ideas.  I look forward to it as a stimulating mental retreat.

It will be held from November 5 to 7 in Puebla’s 5,000 seat, recently-remodeled, Auditorio Siglo XXI.   Though the event sold out within days of its tickets’ release the entire three days is live-streamed on the Internet -- you needn’t miss a moment.  Most everything is in English -- even the theme of the conference:  “What’s the Point?”

The conference is the brainchild of Mexico’s San Francisco Consul Andres Roemer, who co-curates with Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Chairman of Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra.   Romer said of Salinas “He’s a visionary -- breaking the typical prototype of the business entrepreneur.  I met Ricardo through books.  After reading two of my books he wanted to meet me. An avid reader, he has read many of the books written by the presenters at City of Ideas.”
 
TED Talks have become popular world-wide; the City of Ideas may be of equal importance.  The slogan of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks is, “Ideas Worth Sharing.”  Growing out of a one-time conference, TED Talks, are curated by Chris Anderson. Anderson, born in Pakistan to Medical Missionaries, went on to an Oxford education in so many disciplines that he, himself, could be considered a Renaissance Man.

Fascinated by the emerging computer world, Anderson began to publish magazines dedicated to various facets of the computer revolution. He used his newly-created wealth to fund the Sapling Foundation and acquired TED. The rest is history.

City of Ideas has a format similar to TED; each speaker is allowed only 14 minutes.   On a single stage only minutes separate the speakers.  All attendees have the opportunity to see all speakers.  From experience, I can attest this is a physically challenging three days.  Yet you hardly want to take a break for lunch.  When the right brain approaches absolute overload, there will be a left-brain interlude of phenomenal music, dance, even magic.

This year’s theme is “What’s the Point?”  If past is prologue, all of the speakers/presenters will, in some way, answer that question.

World leaders and politicians will be heard including former heads of state of Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico and Spain. 

Patrick Magee, a long-imprisoned member of the IRA, will share the stage with the daughter of a British General killed by the IRA.

The US drug war will be one of the topics of “What’s the Point?”  There will be speakers from all sides of the issue, including some major players who have dramatically changed their minds about the impact of this “war.”

Who says one person can’t change the world?  These have.

Canadian Ryan Hreljac was only six years old when he learned about the difficulties Ugandans faced obtaining clean water.  He immediately started doing chores to earn money to give to an African charity that builds wells.  Others began to match his donations and the story went global.  Ryan’s Well is now an international Foundation.  Though now only 23 he has helped build hundreds of wells in Africa and has traveled the world raising money for clean water.

Another exciting and world-changing voice is Sugata Mitra’s.  Professor Mitra is an educational scientist working to solve the global problem of a lack of teachers and schools.  In impoverished areas of India, South Africa, and Italy, he “implanted” web-connected computers in walls located in public places.  He left no instructions with the computers but returned periodically finding them surrounded by children learning complex mathematics and other subjects.  The kids were teaching themselves!

Can the blind learn sonar and navigate the world without vision?  Daniel Kish has been blind since 13-months but has learned to “see” through sonar.  He now teaches his skill to others.

Jason Padgett was savagely attacked in 2002, left with a severe concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Livescience” staff writer Tanya Lewis says, “The incident turned Padgett into a mathematical genius who sees the world through the lens of geometry.  Padgett, a furniture salesman from Tacoma, Washington, had little to no interest in academics.  He now has the ability to visualize complex mathematical objects and physics concepts intuitively. The injury, while devastating, seems to have unlocked part of his brain that makes everything in his world appear to have a mathematical structure.”

Simon Pierro is a German digital magician.  You’re sure to wish your iPad was as talented as his!  His presentation is certain to be enhanced by neurologists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, experts in the neuroscience of illusion. 

Like City of Ideas curator, Andres Roemer, Simon Pierro and his many fellow presenters will bring magic to Puebla and into our lives.  By this time next week I’ll hope to have an insight into how it all fits together, perhaps even know “what’s the point.”  For now I leave it in Andres’ capable hands and await the magic of the City of Ideas.

Don’t forget.  You can watch it live-streamed at ciudaddelasideas.com.  I suggest you go on early to register.

Crafted by hand

Orizaba, the city at the base of Mexico’s highest mountain, the Peak of Orizaba, had a count during the Viceroyalty years. When the count died, his oldest son would become the new Count of Orizaba.

One such eldest son was known as a good-for- nothing. His father did not relish leaving his affairs to him. “He’ll never even be able to make a house of tiles when he grows up,” he reportedly said.

The boy never forgot this insult. When he became the Count of Orizaba he covered the whole outside of the family’s Mexico City palace with tiles — Puebla’s famous Talavera tiles.

Talavera is a form of majolica — painted pottery using a white tin-glaze decorative technique. The process was originally developed by Islamic potters during the Middle Ages, though it was likely inspired by Chinese porcelain. It was the dominant form of tile in Europe until the mid-18th century. It spread to Spain where it is known as Hispano- Moresque ware.

Soon after the conquest of Mexico, examples of fine majolica pottery were brought over from Spain. With them came the know-how. Skilled indigenous potters were soon trained to make it themselves. They imitated Spanish, Italian and Chinese designs and called it Talavera pottery after the Spanish city of Talavera de la Reina, which was already famous for its pottery.

The city of Puebla became the epicenter for Talavera pottery. Potters found fine white clay nearby in the valleys around Mexico’s second highest peak, Popocateptl.

One of the oldest and finest producers of Talavera is the factory, founded in 1824. They still make it the same way it was made in the 16th century, except they use a modern gas-fired kiln.

I like to take visitors to this amazing factory where we can watch the production of tiles, fine pots, dishes and works of art. Each piece is tapped after the first firing and must ring with the required “Uriarte sound.” The finest pieces are unique and signed; many others are designs copied through generations.

During the workweek Uriarte is generous in allowing visitors to tour and watch the process. On request they will open their second floor museum exhibiting the whole array of their production.

Its function is two-fold. It is of interest to those admiring Talavera ware and, perhaps more importantly, a place for Uriarte’s artisans to visit in order to maintain the style and quality of pottery for which the company is famous.

Over the centuries, ceramic artists have refined their work all the while passing down the designs of master artisans.

If you are looking for a set of dishes where plates, bowls and cups are uniform, Talavera is not for you. Each piece is unique and should be hand-signed.

Originally Talavera was just blue and white — traditional Chinese porcelain colors. The Mexican color palette follows the examples of Italy and Spain where other natural pigmented colors were used. Running your fingers over a tile or dish, you’ll feel the raised color.

Not every potter can claim to make Talavera. In present-day Mexico, the use of the word “Talavera” is subject to Mexico’s Denominación de Origen Law which requires it be made in Puebla using 16th-century techniques. A government agency certifies and periodically inspects shops authorized to use “Talavera” to describe their production.

If Puebla is not on your itinerary, an exceptional collection of Talavera ware is on display in Mexico City’s Franz Meyer Museum. That’s just a four- block walk from where the good-for-nothing covered the family’s mansion with tiles.

Today the Count of Orizaba’s Palace is designated a historical monument. It is also open to the public as Sanborn’s flagship restaurant. You’ll find it two blocks east of the Palace of Fine Arts at the corner of Avenida Cinco de Mayo and Condesa street.

Known as the House of Tiles, it is one of Mexico’s premier destinations and has featured in countless novels, movies and political intrigue.

Perhaps the most recognized photo taken there was snapped in 1914. In the heat of the Revolution General Emiliano Zapata’s army and Pancho Villa’s División del Norte converged in Mexico City. A photographer caught some Zapatistas taking a coffee break. Space was tight. They had to artfully wrap up the wide brims of their tall hats in order to squeeze in at the counter.

A modern group of Zapatistas arrived in Mexico City in 1999. Eight members of the caravan accompanied by members of the city’s legislative assembly went to have coffee at the same counter. They were also photographed.

This time they had to sip their coffee through straws. It’s difficult to drink from a coffee cup while wearing a ski mask. Another difference is that they paid for the coffee. The Zapatistas of 101 years ago left without paying.

A city of ideas

An extraordinary learning festival will be held November 6-8 at the Cultural Center of Puebla’s Benemérita Autonomous University.  3500 people will gather for a fast-paced exchange of ideas. Selected from all over the world, 70 speakers will each have 14 minutes to present on diverse topics from the fields of medicine, science, law, education, the arts, economics, gender issues, and politics.        

This event, the Seventh City of Ideas Conference, is titled “Change the World.”  In their invitation to participate, conference director Andres Roemer and co-creator Ricardo Salinas Pliego of TV Azteca, suggest each individual can effect change.  “Don’t underestimate the power of the beating of the monarch butterflies wings in Michoacan to generate a tsunami in Tokyo.”

I was fortunate to attend last year when the topic was “Dangerous Ideas.” I witnessed a spirited debate on the existence of God between Deepak Chopra and Richard Dawkins.  I was moved by Sanjit “Bunker” Roy talking about his Barefoot College – an educational concept that has successfully trained illiterate grandmothers to become solar electricity engineers, able to electrify their poor and remote villages with solar panels they have learned to both manufacture and maintain. 

I was thrilled to hear a world-wide choir of 7,000 people all singing the same song as the camera moved from nation to nation.

This year’s presenters include economist, author and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and Canadian Nicole Ticea, the creator of a new HIV testing process.

Tickets for the City of Ideas Conference are being sold on a waiting-list basis. However you can register and watch online in real time at www.ciudaddelasideas.com.

Videos of last year’s talks are posted on the same site.  Most are in English with Spanish subtitles.
Dr. Roemer conceived of the City of Ideas as a “Renaissance event, where people come together to discuss ideas and to network on how one can effect change in the world.”

Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man.  During the Renaissance it was possible for one person to possess wide-ranging knowledge. Now the world is complex and areas of knowledge highly specialized.

The City of Ideas wants to create a new population of Renaissance people. People whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas are known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve problems.  In a world where there is increased specialization of knowledge these people are vanishing breed, yet necessary to confront and solve the challenges facing today’s world.

Conference director Andres Roemer lives in San Francisco, where he is Mexico’s Consul-General. Perched on the Pacific Rim, with the converging influences of distant Asia and close-by Silicon Valley, he says “I’m here in the U.S. in an area where there are some unique business people.  Their ideas are what’s moving the world.”

Roemer looks to the conference sponsors not just for resources, but also for ideas. The conference was co-founded by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who he called a “curator” of ideas. They look to participants from both the private sector and government for ideas.

Roemer added, “This is a festival of science where more importantly than what is said you learn how to think.  The purpose is to become questioners.  How do we empower social as well as individual prosperity?”

I asked Dr. Roemer why, since Mexico revolves around its capital, Mexico City, Puebla was chosen as the site for the City of Ideas.  “For that very reason.  It is important to get away to a retreat-like atmosphere where participants will not only attend but bond and network with one another during breaks, share their own ideas.  Puebla is a World Heritage Site, has one of the best Conference Centers in Mexico and the necessary infrastructure to support the City of Ideas.”
Indeed I was thoroughly impressed last year with the first-rate installation operated by the University of Puebla.

Change the World’s mission makes me think of the phrase attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  Is it a bit too much to bring him into a meeting sponsored by wealthy business people?  Maybe it’s exactly what needs to be done.  Sanjit “Bunker” Roy certainly got a thundering applause at last year’s meeting when he described illiterate grandmothers becoming solar power engineers.  

Chopra, Dawkins discuss religion

Charles Darwin published “The Origins of the Species” in 1859. Sixty-six years later John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in a state-funded school in Tennessee. I was reminded just how powerful evolution and other ideas can be when I attended the International Festival of the World’s Brilliant Minds in Puebla this past weekend.

Held in the crisp, modern Complejo Cultural Universitario in the southwest of Puebla, 3500 people gathered for the three-day City of Ideas event. This year’s theme was “Dangerous Ideas.” Seventy-seven speakers presented — most of them in English — on a wide diversity of topics.

Evolution was the topic of a debate between author Deepak Chopra and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. They wrangled with the questions of whether life has a purpose, is religion good or bad for humanity, and what is the relationship between science and spirituality.

I was pleased that one of my heroes, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones, was on the program. At age 15 Quiñones crossed into the United States from Mexicali sans documents to pick vegetables on California’s farms. Now he is the world renowned “Dr. Q,” chief neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University. As part of his presentation he projected a video of a brain pulsating to the rhythm of the patient’s heart. “It’s a dance in which I, and my surgical team, must stay in close step with that beating heart.”

Dr. Sanjit “Bunker” Roy told us about Barefoot College he founded. Dr. Roy travels to the least-developed countries and selects grandmothers who will study in India for six months and return to their communities as solar electricity engineers. To be considered for enrollment the grandmothers must be illiterate and from remote communities that do not have electricity. They are taught by illiterate instructors and return home transformed into “tigers,” able to electrify their whole village with solar panels. “They know how to fabricate, install, repair, and maintain community solar electrical systems.”

Dr. Roy explained the philosophy behind the Barefoot College. “If you want to change the quality of life of very poor people anywhere in the world, it is important that you take the communities into confidence. Never underestimate the power of poor people who don’t know how to read and write — they are capable of miracles.”

A number of young people also presented their ideas. Sixteen-year-old Jack Andraka described his paper-based sensor that detects pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer in five minutes at a cost of three cents. Eighteen-year-old Puebla resident Alberto Brian Fernández presented his invention based on bats’ echo location ability: a glove that makes it possible for a blind person to detect objects or walk through a crowd without anyone realizing she or he is blind.

Argentine David Konsevik described his Revolution of Expectations theory. He told us that with successes come new expectations. An example he offered was Brazil’s success pulling millions out of poverty under recent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Instead of being complacently appreciative of their new financial success, the former poor have created a political crisis for President Dilma Rousseff by demanding a cleanup of corruption and better quality social services.

Except when set up as a boxing ring for a debate, the stage was devoid of podiums or props of any kind. It was a rare presenter who used notes — though I did see a teleprompter at floor level. Speakers moved from off-stage to center stage by standing still on what seemed to me to be a magic carpet.

A portion of the program titled “Mex-I-can” celebrated Mexican successes on the world scene in science and arts. Molecular geneticist Elena Álvarez-Buylla spoke on the evolution of plants and the importance of protecting corn’s gene pool. Ballerina Elisa Carrillo danced, accompanied by an off-stage piano. When the ballet presentation was over, the piano moved to center stage on the magic carpet. That’s when we saw that the pianist was Abdiel Vázquez, who continued playing for 21 minutes — the time allotted to each presenter.

The tireless master of ceremonies was Andrés Roemer, founder and curator of the Brilliant Minds — City of Ideas Festival. He introduced the presenters during the three-day events, taking a break only during the “under-eighteen” section of the program. His son, also Andrés, introduced those speakers.

Heart-rending accounts were told. Simon Aban Deng told of being enslaved as a child in Sudan. Joseph Kim, orphaned by famine in North Korea, told of his escape to China. Manal Al-Sharif told us she receives frequent death threats for challenging Saudi Arabia’s ban of women drivers.
On the lighter side the Brilliant Minds conference included a magician, a pick-pocket and an art forger, each demonstrating his ability.

It was a wonderfully refreshing weekend of learning for the sake of learning. I’m told that in a few months all the presentations will be shown in movie theaters. After that they will be available online. Keep next year’s festival in mind as a unique, world-class event in English. You can get on their email list at www.ciudaddelasideas.com.