http://temmylade.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/497245 Branding can be described as many things, but it's best defined as a promise… a promise of the value of the product… a promise that the product is better than all the competing products… a promise that must be delivered to be successful. Branding is the combination of tangible and intangible characteristics that make a brand unique. Branding is developing an image -- with results to match.
Branding (some call it self-branding when talking about individuals) is essential to career advancement because branding helps define who you are, how you are great, and why you should be sought out. Branding is your reputation. Branding is about building a name for yourself, showcasing what sets you apart from others, and describing the added value you bring to a situation.
Most job-seekers are not proactive in establishing and building their career brand, letting their actions speak for them when seeking promotions or new jobs. But why not take the time to master some very basic tactics that can help build your career brand and make you a much more attractive employee or job-seeker? Remember, if you don't brand yourself, others will for you. And while you may be happy and secure in your job now, you really never know when that will change.
Management guru Tom Peters, writing in his book The Brand You50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an "Employee" into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion! states: “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are the CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.” He adds, “You're not defined by your job title and you're not confined by your job description.”
This article takes you through five easy tactics for building and strengthening your career brand.
Gain Experience/Track Accomplishments
Building your brand begins with tracking your past accomplishments and gaining strategically important new experiences. Your accomplishments are the foundation of your career brand.
But before you seek out new work, take the time to plan and focus on what you want your brand to stand for -- and develop a strategy for gaining experience in areas of your brand in which you are weak.
So, besides doing your job, ask for new and challenging assignments that will build your brand. Consider freelancing or consulting. Use volunteering to gain experience. If you're a student, seek out multiple internships.
Complete Education/Training
For many careers, a minimum amount of education is necessary, but to excel in your career you may need to complete additional education, training, or certifications. Getting additional education can greatly enhance your career brand.
It may be hard in terms of time and finances, but find a way to do it. Some employers even offer an educational reimbursement benefit.
If you are unsure if you need more education -- and you probably do -- seek out a mentor, someone highly respected in your field (who has branded himself or herself well), and ask for advice.
Promote Yourself
You can have an amazing brand, but if no one knows about it, you are not going to have much success with your career development. And no one more than you has more reasons to promote your brand.
Throw modesty out the window? There is a fine line between bragging and promoting -- and you need to learn it -- but it's always better to err on the side of promoting your brand than not.
One of the oldest tools of promotion for job-seekers is the resume, and you certainly need to start there by listing all your key accomplishments, skills, and education on your resume. You may even have your positioning statement (qualifications summary) on your resume… but don't stop there.
Begin developing two career portfolios -- a print one and an online one. If you don't have a personal Website, now is the time to buy a domain (such as myname.com) and let the world read all about the benefits of your brand. Your portfolio should include all important brand artifacts: resume(s), mission statement, detailed accomplishments list, samples of work, articles and working papers, speech transcripts, awards and honors, testimonials, and more.
One interesting trend we've seen is of employers “Googling” the names of prospective job-seekers -- typing each name into one or more Internet search engines -- and basing initial candidate screening decisions partly on the number (and quality) of hits for each job-seeker. The lesson? Your brand needs to have a strong online presence.
And finally, don't forget to promote your brand on the job. Workers often assume the boss knows your accomplishments, but often times s/he does not. Certainly at review time, have a list of all you have achieved since your last review, but also consider finding ways to let the boss know your successes throughout the year.
Become an Expert
Nothing builds credibility in a career brand more than establishing yourself as an expert in your field.
Start by writing articles that showcase your knowledge -- and getting them published (ideally) in noteworthy media outlets. Consider self-publishing.
Seek out conferences and meetings where you can give speeches and presentations.
Play up awards and other recognition that can help label you an expert.
Get quoted by offering your thoughts, ideas, and opinions to journalists and reporters.
Consider constructing a professional Website where you can publish all your articles and speeches.
Build Relationships
Nothing in marketing is more powerful than a promotion tool called word-of-mouth, which can be defined as what people say about you.
Thus, nothing is more powerful in building your career brand than what your network of contacts -- your friends, colleagues, customers, clients, and former bosses -- say about you and your set of skills, education, and accomplishments.
And keeping your network strong involves nothing more than relationship building. Keep in good contact with your network and be sure they know of your most recent successes.
But the best brand-builders don't stop with their current network; these folks are in constant network-building mode. Search out new professional associations as well as the growing number of online networking communities.
Final Thoughts
Once you identify and build your brand, remember to continue strengthening and protecting it. There will always be competing brands (job-seekers) ready to fill any gap you leave behind. You are indeed founder and CEO of Me, Inc., and the more you do to cultivate your career brand, the more successful you'll be with your current employer and in the job-search.


]]> Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:36:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/497245 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/345699 The Memorial Conference on the Rwanda Genocide, which had started with a minute of silence for the victims, was co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Rwanda and Canada and moderated by Ruth Iyob, Director of the Africa Programme, International Peace Academy, and David M. Malone, President of the International Peace Academy.
During two panels that followed the opening of the Conference, participants in the event remembered the 1994 tragedy and considered means to ensure a more effective international response to genocide in the future. The Conference attracted representatives of governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, academics and members of the Rwandan Diaspora.
The international community had failed Rwanda, the Secretary-General stated. If it had acted promptly, it could have stopped most of the killing. But neither the political will nor the troops had been there. If the United Nations, government officials and the international media had paid more attention to the gathering signs of disaster, it might have been averted.
The Rwandan genocide raised questions that affected all humankind, including fundamental questions about the authority of the Security Council and the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping, Mr. Annan continued. If confronted by a new Rwanda today, would the international community respond effectively? He had suggested a number of measures that would better equip the United Nations and its Member States to meet genocide with resolve, including a special rapporteur on the subject. More must be done, and he was currently analyzing what further steps could be taken.
The Foreign Minister of Rwanda, Charles Murigande, stressed the need to learn from the tragic failures in Rwanda, saying that no other nation or people should be allowed to suffer what the people of Rwanda had suffered. . . .
The international community, while it had learned what needed to be done, still lacked political agreement to prevent a Rwanda from happening again, said the Foreign Minister of Canada, Bill Graham. . . .
Harsh words were said about the role of the international community in Rwanda during the first panel - entitled "In Memoriam: Bearing Witness", which was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Rwanda.
While the head of the Association of the Widows of the Genocide, Speciose Kanyabogoyi, and genocide survivor, Eric Nzabihimana, recounted the events of April-August 1994, when some 800,000 people were murdered, former Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), Romeo Dallaire, said that the Mission had been "a last priority" for the international community. It had no budget and no structure at the time the killing began. The Security Council had made it a point not to consider the threats and warnings about Rwanda, and as the months went by and the peace agreement was "falling to pieces", there was political stagnation and no real desire to put any resources into the Mission.
He also recalled that some 2,000 personnel from several countries, including France, United Kingdom, United States and Italy, "remained firm in totally ignoring the catastrophe" as they fulfilled their mission of evacuating their expatriates, "though they were stumbling on corpses". On 22 April, when over 100,000 people had been killed, the bulk of the Force was ordered to withdraw, but 450 African and 13 Canadian troops were told to stay on the ground and observe. As millions were internally displaced, killed and injured, the Mission was able to save some 30,000, and on top of that, he had been ordered to abandon them. The order had come from the Security Council, and nobody objected.
"Never Again: Toward a More Effective International Response of Genocide" was the title of the second panel, which was chaired by Canada's Foreign Minister. Its keynote speakers included Ibrahim Gambari, United Nations Special Adviser for Africa, Ramesh Thakur, Vice-Rector of United Nations University and Danilo Turk, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. . . .
Mr. Gambari said that the real key to preventing conflict and genocide was political will to act promptly and decisively. Without a doubt, it was the Council, especially its most powerful members that had failed the people of Rwanda in their gravest hour of need.
The controversy over the international community's culpability for its failure to prevent the genocide in Rwanda would not easily go away.
]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:10:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/345699 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269537 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:30:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269537 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269533 Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair - these bow the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the star like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what-next, and the joy of the game of living.
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt;
as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear;
as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
]]> Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:22:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269533 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269531 this short story open your eyes to one of the deep
reasons we are here on earth!!!

He almost didn’t see the old lady, stranded on the
side of the road. But even in the dim light of day,
he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in
front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was
still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No
one had stopped to help for the last hour or so …
was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he
looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was
frightened, standing out there in the cold.

He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only
fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you,
ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where ! it’s
warm? By the way, my name is Bryan.” Well, all she
had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was
bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to
put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two.
Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to
get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening
up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and
began to talk to him. She told him that she was from
St. Louis and was only just passing through. She
couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked
him how much she owed him. Any amount would have
been all right with her. She already imagined all
the awful things that could have happened had he not
stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This
was! not a job to him. This was helping someone in
need, and God knows there were plenty who had given
him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life
that way, and it never occurred to him to act any
other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him
back, ! the next time she saw someone who needed
help, she could give that person the assistance they
needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off.
It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt
good as he headed for home, disappearing into the
twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe.
She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the
chill off before she made the last leg of her trip
home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside
were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was
unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the
telephone of an out-of-work actor — it didn’t ring
much.

The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to
wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that
even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t
erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly
eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain
and aches change her attitude.

The old lady wondered how someone who had so little
could be so giving to a stranger. Then she
remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal and the waitress
went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, the
lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the
time the waitress came back.

The waitress wondered where the lady could be.

Then she noticed something written on the napkin
under which were four $100 bills.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the
lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been
there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m
helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here
is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end
with you.”

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to
fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it
through another day. That night when she got home
from work! and climbed into bed, she was thinking
about the money and what the lady had written. How
could the lady have known how much she and her
husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it
was going to be hard.

She knew how worried her husband about was, and as
he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft
kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to
be all right. I love you, Bryan.”
There is an old saying “What goes around comes
around.”

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you
do not know what it will bring back: a new life, a
new friend, a new love, a new country.”
]]> Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:16:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269531 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333 http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269529 Placing a Premium on Virginity

Many cultures in the past placed a premium on the virginity of girls and young women before marriage. Several still do, and in some places where the practice had declined there has been a return to so-called virginity testing to determine whether a girl has ever had sexual intercourse. In South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal Province, and in the neighbouring kingdom of Swaziland, girls are routinely inspected to check if they are virgins. The reason for the practice, it is said, is to 'preserve beauty, pride and a valuable asset of the nation. Women are regarded as flowers of any nation and each nation has its specific features and perceptions of what value is.'[1]

Linking Virginity to HIV/AIDS Prevention

Virginity testing is now being touted as one method to check the onslaught of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, presumably to encourage abstinence, which is one of the ABCs of preventing the spread of the virus. One of the advocates of virginity tests is South Africa's immediate former Deputy President Jacob Zuma who, while still in office, was reported as having encouraged girls to take the tests as a way of curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS and reducing the prevalence of early pregnancies. Mr Zuma referred to virginity as a girl's 'family's treasure,' saying that traditionally girls 'would only have sex when permitted to do so by their families after marriage.'[2] In Uganda, one Member of Parliament organizes bursaries to enable needy girls to university, provided that they pass a virginity test. He links virginity tests to the prevention of exposure to AIDS. [3]

The South African Parliament in June 2005 passed a Bill to prohibit virginity testing. This drew fierce opposition from proponents of the custom. Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini protested that he was not consulted by the government before the law was enacted, and his supporters are reported to have vowed to defy the ban on this age-old tradition. [4] Many of the girls who undergo the inspection say that they are doing so of their own volition and in exercise of their right to practise their culture and traditions. On the other hand, human rights advocates say the tests are ''discriminatory, invasive of privacy, unfair, impinging on the dignity of young girls and unconstitutional.''[5] The debate brings into focus the sharp clash between the right to practise culture and other human rights of bodily integrity and equality as well as sexuality rights.


Are Virginity Tests an effective Weapon in the War against AIDS?

Virginity tests are unlikely to prove a realistic or useful HIV/AIDS prevention method, and may even be an obstacle for several reasons:



Linking virginity and by extension 'purity' moralizes the HIV/AIDS status of people and this is not effective in tackling the disease. It merely leads to discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS. Virginity tests rely on shame and the fear of stigmatization, rather than free choice, to encourage girls to abstain from sex before marriage. In some communities, girls who pass the test wear a colourful dot on their foreheads to show that they are 'pure'. [6] Those who fail the test are shunned, and this is likely to cause immense psychological and emotional trauma to them and stunt their social development. Further, it is likely to lead to people failing to disclose that they are HIV positive and consequently missing out on the benefits of living positively with the virus and drawing on a support system, which has been shown to delay the onset of full blown AIDS and to improve the quality of life of those with AIDS. Countries such as Uganda have been successful in bringing down infection rates largely due to their policy of removing the stigma surrounding the disease.

Moreover, virginity testing fails to take into account involuntary sexual encounters such as rape. Many girls and women, out of shame, do not report that they have been raped. In a country like South Africa which has a notoriously high incidence of rape, a girl who has been raped would undergo trauma on several levels if she had to undergo a virginity test.


In some parts of Southern and Eastern Africa a myth has arisen that an HIV positive man can be cured by having sex with a virgin. This has seen the rape of many girls, from infants to young women, leading to their infection with the virus. Virginity testing would be a dangerous companion to the myth, serving to confirm which girls are virgins and exposing them to the great risk of being raped and contracting HIV.

Virginity testing places the responsibility of preventing HIV/AIDS on girls and women and this is not an effective way to combat the scourge as global statistics indicate that HIV/AIDS is mainly spread through heterosexual sex. Both men and women have the responsibility to prevent HIV transmission. Although there have been calls for boys to undergo virginity testing as well, these have been few and far between. It is mostly girls who are tested as they are the ones who are expected to remain 'pure' before marriage. Most cultures that venerate the girls' virginity do not similarly venerate boys' virginity.


HIV/AIDS is also spread within marriage and a girl or young woman who has avoided contracting the virus before marriage may contract it afterwards from her husband. She may even contract it from another partner if the main driving force for her abstention from sex prior to marriage was to avoid the shame and stigma of failing a virginity test. The tests may therefore just temporarily suspend the risk of getting the disease.


Virginity testing may merely result in young people avoiding vaginal intercourse and having other forms of sexual intercourse such as anal or oral intercourse, through which HIV can still be spread.


In any case virginity tests are often inaccurate. The most common test is checking whether a girl's hymen is intact, but many girls are born without the membrane, or it is ruptured in other ways such as during sport. Around the world, there are numerous other traditional ways to test whether a girl is a virgin, and these are based on myth, such as the test to determine whether a girl's urine is 'clear and sparkling' as a virgin's should be. [7] Moreover, the presence of a hymen is not necessarily an indication that a girl or woman has never had sexual intercourse. In Egypt, China, amongst some ethnic groups in the United States, and in many other countries it is becoming increasingly common for women to have surgery to restore their hymens. The presence of a hymen is not therefore any indication of a woman's HIV status.


South Africa has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, and its leaders have been criticised for burying their heads in the sand about the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and for suggesting doubtful ways of tackling the virus, instead of tried and proven methods of preventing transmission. The South African government's official stance is against virginity testing, but it remains to be seen whether the ban will really be effective in preventing the practice given that the tests have received strong support from some of the country's leaders and are gaining in popularity.

Notes
1. Report on Consultative Conference on Virginity Testing held in South Africa on June 12, 2000 by South Africa Commission for Gender Equality and the South Africa Human Rights Commission. 2. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3683210.stm 3. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4700171.stm. 4. See http://www.plusnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=5052 5. Teboho Maitse, a member of the South African Commission on Gender Equality quoted in 'Ban on virginity testing raises ire of Zulus.' Ibid. 6. See http://www.aegis.com/news/lt/1999/LT990702.html 7. See http://lynx.dac.neu.edu/k/kakelly/virgins/virgins.html

]]> Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:04:00 EDT http://temmylade.tigblog.org/post/269529 6.4530556 3.39583336.45305563.3958333