Some ‘OMG, the Sauvé program is over!’ reflections

The last months have been a thought provoking rollercoaster. My days at the Sauvé program were filled with gratitude, joy, excitement, stress, and a lot of work. Time flew. 

To be perfectly honest, I still have not processed the things I have learned, and I suspect I will become more aware of how it impacted me as time goes by. Spending the last few weeks in the almost empty Sauvé house, I have been invaded by the saudade of missing the other Scholars and by the sense of awareness for another beautiful period of my life that just ended. These are some my 'omg, the Sauvé program is over!' reflections.

I spent the last 9 months in a house with 12 people from 11 countries. Describing the program, I have often commented that I feel that every single one of my roommates comes from a parallel universe. Each of us has a distinct way of eating, talking, interacting, making jokes, etc. What blows my mind is that despite the fact we relate so differently to so many things, (from conflict resolution, collaboration, time management etc.), I have NO doubt that every single one of my roommates is a leader in her/hir/his own very unique way. They are leaders in different contexts, with different spheres of influence and battles, but they all share a sense of responsibility to something other than themselves. With this responsibility comes a lot of freaking hard questions.

Some of my daily reminders during the Sauvé Program.

During the Sauvé program I became a lot more at ease with the concept of leadership; I think I understand the term in a more raw way. This year I have seen my colleagues and I go through a lot of ups and downs. In a way, the Sauvé house incubated both our struggles and our successes. Sticking around and sharing the same space with my roommates, each on their Odyssean leadership adventure, I learned to accept more easily that there is not a straight line to achieving results. I have been touched, moved and amazed seeing my roommates battle with their big questions. In our chats what emerged was the pain, dedication, passion, struggle, questioning, compromising, and persevering that comes with the willingness to feel uncomfortable. Living with the other Sauvé Scholars taught me that leadership is vulnerable.

In one of our first tea talks, I remember Tosin mentioned his desire to develop his own definition of success (I forgot to ask if he found his own definition...). Personally, I will keep defining my own with a commitment to enjoying the ride of my epic journey and with more willingness to embrace the disappointments and surprises that come along the way. I step out of the Sauvé program with more courage to remain in this vulnerable place of my own leadership.

- Gioel G.

Graduation!!

Our Sauvé year ended with a beautiful Closing Reception and a memorable Closing Dinner with lots of emotional speeches, congratulations and hugs!! Thanks so much, Desiree for giving us a final "hang out together" at karaoke party! It was super fun!! Thank you all- my Sauvé 'family and friends'! The nine months with you has been the most interesting part of my life! Much love to you all! and this is how I feel: 

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio +20

From the “Future we want” to the future we get.

By Handy Acosta Cuellar

Introduction

It is well known that the United Nations is a battleground between developed and developing countries. What we see in these negotiations is only the tip of the iceberg of more complex processes and a conflict of interests.  In that context everyone tries to apply pressure and win their share but very few get benefits and many more are in an accommodated position.

The United Nations struggle is a reflection of today´s world, the complex society in which we live and the important changes that we are experiencing.

To understand the weak results of the last UN Conference on Sustainable Development we need to analyze how the process was driven and what is the current situation at the UN international negotiations forums.

 Cuban NGO representatives during the Rio+20 Dialogues.

The Global crisis

In 2008 the financial crisis in the United States of America and the European Union along with food prices crisis, the energy crisis and the climate change crisis, create a global scenario of multiple crisis, caused mainly by the non-sustainable development patterns.

Concerned about this situation the United Nations proposed to organize a Conference on the Financial Crisis and its Impact on Development. The Government of Brazil takes the initiative to propose a conference on the 20th anniversary of the Summit of Rio 92.  

After difficult negotiations the Conference was approved, but with only 2 points in the agenda: the Green Economy and the creation of a World Environment Organization.  No extra money was allocated for the Conference with no funds and time for the negotiations the results were condemned to be very insubstantial.

Preparatory process

In the preparatory process the multiple interventions revealed the diversity of views and positions on each of the elements, in particular the Green Economy in the Context Sustainable Development. 

In one side the G-77, pledge for an effective implementation mechanism and the allocation of adequate financial resources. In the other side the European Union said the conference should achieve two key elements: first, a global commitment to the green economy and second the transformation of UNEP into a specialized agency for the environment.

The document submitted as Zero draft in January 2012 was named: "The Future We Want".

By June 15th very slight progress had been made. There were distant positions on the Green Economy, Institutional Structure for Sustainable Development and the definition of a set of sustainable development objectives. At that point all the participants asks Brazil to continue with a process of consultations to finalize the document.

The final text was adopted in Plenary "ad referendum" by knowing it was the outcome of a difficult and very hard negotiation.

This is a clear fight of developed countries to take out from this scenario any negotiation regarding funding commitments.

Latin American leader Rafael Correa pledge for
sustainable development in Rio+20

Results

The document "The Future We Want" is the result of this process and must then be judged in this context, especially in controversial areas.

The first result to consider is the effectiveness multilateral system to achieve complex negotiations. This process opened a path to maintain the paradigm of sustainable development and poverty eradication in a moment of multiple crises.

Another key result was the ratification of the Declaration of Principles Rio 92 and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The creation of the high level forum for sustainable development is one of the potentially most important outcomes. 

The final document of the Summit "The Future We Want”  is the kind of agreements we get if there is no real participation of civil society and other development agents.

Cuban Vice-President was the Head of the delegation
during the negotiations

Recommendations

Rio +20 is not over, it had begun. It is now up to the General Assembly to fulfill its mandate and reach a consensus to accomplish the agreements.

To monitor this process   is essential that the governments maintain the same energy on sustainable development.   It is also very important that the media, the social movements, academia, professional organizations, civil society and NGOs keep their observation on the progress and that UN should give them fully participation in the draft of recommendations and in the upcoming negotiations. 

The future we want will not only depend on governments and their negotiation talents. The future we want will mostly depend in our capabilities to make pressure on them and in our willingness to fully overcome social, economic and environmental challenges. Now is time to change but, are we ready?

Lifelong Gift

 It is Apri 21, less than two weeks to the end of the program. Nearly every one overwhelmed with the final presentations, various deadlines, next step in life, and many other “what”s and “how”s. Spending a beautiful night, all together, in Anita’s house distances us from our daily frustrations, stresses, and thoughts. For those who do not know, Anita and Brett are our two senior fellows in the Sauvé program. We could seek their support in our professional and personal lives. They contributed a lot to the enrichment of the program. They coloured their presence in our Sauvé life with inviting us for a lovely dinner in Anita’s pretty house.

Our evening was full of deep enjoyments and happiness. We chatted and ate dinner. After, we all sat together and shared memorable minutes together. Anita’s and Brett’s initiative built authentic moments for all of us: giving each of us a tangible lifelong gift. They gave an adjective to each of us, an adjective that best describes our being. Those who know us can say how these words fit us:

  

Thinh: Fearless. We found resonance with this adjective; it can be our impression of Thinh, a young lady who does not stop in what she aims to do. A strong head girl moving forward toward her dreams with fierce steps.  

Naomi: Pioneering. What Naomi is doing with her project is pioneering. But it is more than that. Naomi is pioneering not just in the scale of an enterprise, but also in other aspects of life, which we experienced at Sauvé house.

Tosin: Upstanding. I did not know what this word means. But it adequately describes a man who irons his shirt so crispy, speaks and articulates every syllabus, and is honest and responsible. It well describes Tosin.

Tairah: Tenacious. It is the best description of Tairah’s action on opening the world’s eyes to the reality behind the beautiful scarfs and sweaters of Kashmir. Tairah is determined to show the torturing stories of the largest democracy in the world. Tairah, you need to be tenacious to do what you are doing.

Micah: Remarkable. Those who have experienced the warm hugs of Micah would never forget it. Micah’s openness and willingness to challenge norms catches our attention. Micah is remarkable with hear strength and sweetness.

Jonathan: Sparkling. This adjective describes how Jonathan is intelligent and full of life. Jonathan would remain in our hearts with his smiles and joyful purposes. “Jonathan has exactly the right size bubbles, not too small you do not notice them, not so big that they bug you. It is just likely ever best suits.” Brett.

Mame: Regal. What could better describe Mame’s Great pose and posture, with her fancy dresses and her sweet smiles and deep eyes. Mame is a person who lives in a community and leads the community and is a strong representative of a community.

Handy: Romantic. A man who thinks with his heart. A man who does not think linearly. Handy embodies romance and is a dreamer, with all of different kinds of dream. You feel that in his approach to problems and people.

Gioel: Force of the Nature. Gioel cannot be described in one word. She breaks open the words, she needs more space, she is boundless. Giole’s energy fills everywhere, including our Sauvé  house.

Najme: Earnest. *Oh, it is so immodest to talk about myself. I directly quote from Brett: “An essentially Canadian adjective for a non-Canadian who embodies that so essentially. Najme is so much of what she does. Disciplined, positive thinking, empathetic, contributory, concerned about doing a right thing, and ...”. (I turned red by this time)

Guy: Nobel. A man who was not born into royalty, a man despite whatever the beginning, is standing here, respectful, precisely because of what he represents. Guy is the best of humanity, trying being over circumstances, and gives us a new window of the world we are living in.

Gerald: Enthusiasm. Have you ever seen anyone tweeter feeds and facebook posts that so encapsulate enthusiasm for whatever he is doing. You would love to tell Gerald something new and hear and see the response OOOH. But after a while you might find yourself doing it and imitate that Ugandan posture.

 The night did not finish here. Now it was our turn to come with adjective for Brett and Anita. It was an interesting but hard game. It was then when we realized that Anita and Brett should have spent ages to come with those adjectives.

We wanted to describe Brett as a philosopher, a resource of knowledge, an alive body that all kinds of knowledge flow in an out. Erudite was an adjective for Brett, but it is not enough to fully describe his manner, support, deep friendship, and creativity. He still owes us a Ping-Pong tournament though!

Anita for us is a person with big ideas and thought. She never stops. When this professionalism is combined with generosity, empathy, and openness, a unique character like Anita can be imagined. Magnanimous was an adjective that we gave to AniTa. A positive thinker with a great network of people that we saw just one glimpse of that in her 40^th birthday. 

We were all full of appreciation for the opportunity of being together, and enjoying the last moments of our companionship. We finished this fabulous night by sharing a sentence each:

·         It will not be as bad as you think it is

·         Do not wait for the second chance. Take the first chance.

·         Smile and be happy in your life.

·         Hope for the best but be prepared for the worse.

·         Be kind to yourself. Complement yourself. Admire yourself. Love yourself.

·         Do not stay in the past, it makes you depressed. Do not be in the future, it makes you anxious. Be mindful and present, it gives you inner peace.

·         Remember to acknowledge what you do not know. Embrace humility.

·         Read the little prince.

·         Be who you are, you need to be who you are.

·         Be intimate. Search intimacy in others and find the beautiful parts of others.

·         Do not be over analytical about things.

·         Have curiosity and constant hunger to know people and things, BUT LET OTHER PEOPLE TO KNOW YOU too, open up yourself.

·         “US” is always stronger than you and me. Be “us” J

·         Try and fail. But do not fail to try.

·         Give more than you take.

·         Be committed to healing.

·         Believe in your strength and power and amazing human spiritual being.

·         Be empathic.

·         Do not be entitled to what you have. Entitle to what you aim at.

·         Sit and have meal with the people you like every day, and sit on the table as long as you can.

·         Embrace who you are, so the world would open up to you.

·         Open up yourself to all the things that world offers you.

·         Acknowledge your choices which are present in every second of your life, meet all new people

                                                                                                                                                            

  

  

Have we, Sauve Scholars, embraced diversity?

Receiving an email of complaint a few weeks ago made me disappointed and reflective. We had failed to fully be present in the sessions that we have had guest speakers at home. The complaints were around not being entirely attentive while listening to our lovely guests, for example sleeping during the session. Of course the guests would be offended … But, is it all true?

To what extent have we, Sauve Scholars, embraced diversity? Here may be a place to start. 

Leaving as part of the Sauve family for nearly six months, I have always been amazed by the massive diversity that exists in our small community. But, the question goes around the extent that this diversity is understood, and is a positive force in working together.

Chatting about the came up issue in the house, opened my eyes to a reality; we have not wholly embraced the existing diverse culture. No one was sleeping during our guest’s peach. Someone was carefully listening with closed eyes!!! Closing eyes is an effective way of concentration, reflection, and listening in some of our cultures and communities. We might not know enough about each others’ cultures …

Diversity is a positive force in our Sauvé family. We should understand it and realize how to work with that to make it a reinforcing factor. Now that the program is coming to its end, I think we could have recognized and known our cultures more in depth. The beginning of the Sauvé program could be a space for bringing high degree of awareness about cultural differences. It is a ladder that starts with trying to be politically correct. The next rung is to understanding ethnic, cultural and gender differences. From there we can see the broad dimension of diversity. We can then go higher and step on the rung of accepting different perspectives, and finally get to the highest rung and value differences.

I would never forget the amazing personal and professional development program that we had in and outside the Sauvé house. However, if I could start the program all again, I would suggest a more structures plan to focus more on group building and promoting skills to facilitate climbing the awareness ladder, early in the Sauvé year.

The experience of living in a beautiful house with 12 incredible people from all over the world would remain the highlight of my life forever. However, spending quality of time and focusing on some skills at the beginning and during the program, might have even made this experience richer. In a series of sessions we could focus on self-monitoring and speaking about our own background and unique qualities. We do not know enough how our housemates have been behaved back home and what are their expectations of being behaved in the house. Earlier we knew about our differences and similarities, earlier we could form stronger and more transparent friendships. Managing diversity and the related conflicts would be much easier if we know enough about each others` backgrounds and culture. Then it is the time for being an ally and championing each other with different background.

 Sauvé program taught me in order to effectively use diversity as a positive force in our group, we should be able to hold two truths at the same time: a) we are all different; b) we are all the same. It was a journey from self-exploration to exploration of otherness and to the beauty of integration. As we moved on, we went deeper and deeper, from visible diversity to the invisible diversities. It was incredible to realize who maintains and who avoids eye contact when talking to me, as well as how close we stand to one another in our conversations. To establish a sense of privacy we need different spaces. But, how do we establish our space and how do we manage to respect others` spaces?

Body languages and facial expressions are integral part of our communications. Let me give you an example. Imagine you enter a country and the first body language that you face is thumb up. This is offensive in my culture. Can you believe that? It has a special and humiliating meaning in my country. And, it took me a few days to get the whole story.  There are tens of other examples that we could have talked about at the beginning of the program and still we might not know completely about each other. For example, how comfortable each of us is with silence; how long can a period of silence be maintained before it is considered uncomfortable or a void to be filled; what value each of us give time; how late is too late, what are the signs of authority; what behaviours indicates superior/subordinate relationships; what role do factors such as age, sex, class, occupation, nationality, and … play in determining hierarchy in relationship; and etc.

 Sitting in my cozy room, looking outside the window, drinking my mint tea, and thinking to what extent we know the answers to all of these questions. It is nearly the end of the program. How effectively have we been working with diversity? Sauvé program was a practice which helped me: know myself and my framework better, gain knowledge about others’ frameworks, do not make assumptions, use inclusive language in and outside the house, avoid stereotyping and generalizations, be aware of the judgements I make, adopt an attitude of respectful curiosity, develop empathy, encourage open communication, and be an ally.

All of these improvements happened by the nature of the Sauvé program and throughout time. Planning and making strategies from the beginning of the program for fostering community and group building would facilitate accomplishing these goals earlier and to a larger scale. 

Building the Best Gingerbread House

On December 8th and 9th, the Sauvé Scholars, embarked on a mission to build the best gingerbread house we could. Josh found blue prints of Maison Jeanne Sauvé and crafted a scaled replica of the house in sketch-up. We then printed scaled plans of the house and cut our gingerbread to match. The result: a beautiful, bright red gingerbread house with a chocolate bear to represent each Sauvé Scholar! 

Step 1: Cut gingerbread pieces according to correct dimensions

Step 2:  Hold up the walls of the house... it's time to assemble!

Pictured above: Charlotte and Josh proudly hold up their gingerbread walls

Step 3: Ensure that the walls fit together

Pictured above: Charlotte, Josh and Paul assemble the structure

Step 4: Begin gluing the structure together (enlist the help of a partner to prevent collapse)

Pictured above: Alia and Josh glue the structure together

Step 5: Decorate!!

Pictured above: Maria ices the house

Step 6: Enjoy the beauty of your final home.

Pictured above: Maison Jeanne Sauvé

Website Design and Website Development by Switto

Things I Will Miss...

It's impossible to describe all of the magical memories that were made this year. As we wrap up our time here at Sauvé House, here are just a few memories I will take with me...

Food - so much food. We've eaten together, cooked together, been out-spiced by Dechen together.

Camping - our first trip of the year (remember the terrible thunderstorm?)

Preparing for winter, many for the first time

More food. And, a great Halloween party...

Friendship and late night chats

More food (and special treats on birthdays)... Are you sensing a theme?

Building the best gingerbread house and decorating the Sauvé tree

National dinners 

Fun in the snow 

One amazing group of friends (men too!! they just aren't in this picture)