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.

Energy from within

By Naomi Kincler

In this week, dedicated to holocaust remembrance, Yom Hashoah, I am acutely aware of both my freedom and my good fortune.

I am also reflecting on the power and necessity of inner strength and confidence; because although it is wonderful to find energy from outside forces, it is most powerful and sustainable to find that energy within myself.

The victims and survivors of the Holocaust are a true testament of this ability to sustain oneself from forces within. They found the courage and strength to believe in themselves and their own self-worth. Some even found the courage to fight back, as in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which marks its 70th anniversary this year.

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I am nearing the end of one of the best weeks of my life. It was filled with so many inspiring events and experiences that have given me an intense amount of energy. I am so grateful for these blessings; however I am also reflecting on how to sustain this level of confidence and strength beyond this week.

It started last Tuesday with the Mimouna; the magical and glorious Moroccan Jewish celebration that marks the end of Passover with platters of delicious carb-filled delicacies. With an open door policy throughout the community, I hopped around with friends and family, finding more hospitality and deliciousness with every home we visited.

On Wednesday, I was invited to speak at a leadership conference organized by the Garnet Key Society of Concordia University in Montreal. I spoke about how my parents and grandparents, themselves holocaust survivors, have informed and inspired my academic and professional career, as well as my ongoing commitment to social justice. This influence has expressed itself through three key pillars that have supported me through the years. These include: 1) Learn a skill – in any and every class, job, or experience, I think about what can I get out of the situation to add to my toolbox, and focus on enhancing that skill; 2) Be brave – opportunities are abound, but you need to take risks and seize them as they come; 3) Leave a place better than you found it – you will always gain more if you invest in the community, people and place around you. 

I was so touched by the students’ response to my talk, and their genuine passion and engagement for their own work and ambitions. I never felt so honored and respected; it made me realize how far I’ve really come since I was in their shoes as an undergraduate student at McGill.

On Thursday, I was in the depths of organizing a conference, running around like a chicken without a head. Amidst the frenzy, I received a call. It was someone from the office of the ROI Community inviting me to attend this year’s ROI summit in Jerusalem, Israel. The ROI summit brings together young Jewish innovators each year for four days in Jerusalem. People come from around the world; from Brisbane to Belarus, Boston to Brazil. I first participated in the summit in 2008. As I could barely contain my excitement, the woman over the phone expressed that I was selected among hundreds of alumni to return as one of the thirty representatives from past summits. She explained how the ROI leadership had recently seen me in action at NU Montreal, a conference for young Jewish innovators working in New Media, and felt that I would be a great addition to the team.

Then the day I have been working towards all year finally arrived. I am launching a web startup this spring called Trudat; a platform for collaborative data discovery. My co-founder and I organized a conference - the Open Data Exchange 2013 - at Maison Jeanne Sauvé this past Saturday. The conference was for researchers, advocates, techies, politicos, and friends involved and interested in Open Data movement for liberating data sets to improve transparency, civic engagement, and innovation in government, research, and beyond.  

ODX13 was a beautiful symphony of brilliant minds and engaged souls. And although I was one of the conductors behind the orchestra, it was the performers and audience who really made the magic. At the end of the day, I felt on top of the world from all the positive energy they were sending my way.

Today I turn 29 years old; the culmination of a wonderful week, as well as a charmed life. I feel so energized from this past week’s events, filled with positive affirmation from others for my life choices and performance. However, this year has also been filled with many many moments of self doubt. My wish for my 29th birthday is to harness this positive energy to find it within myself to always believe in my own self-worth. Encouragement is always welcome and needed, and I feel so fortunate to have so many supporting forces in my life; but I strive to find those voices within myself. I strive to believe in my infinite talent and potential and to continue to inspire the same in others.

Sauvé Scholars at the Garnet Key’s Leadership Symposium

The run-up to the leadership symposium event at Concordia University was mixed with excitement and tension. Excitement because this was the first time both the Garnet Key and the scholars were organising an event of this nature. Tension because for the Garnet Key, the spring season heavily coincides with university exam season, and for the Sauvé scholars the spring season signals the end of the Sauvé program hence less time and room for other engagements. However, what began as tentative dates finally gave way to actual dates and room 760 of the Henry F. Hall Building at Concordia was soon booked. The Keys in their Maroon blazers were resplendent in leading the event on the 26th of April which was graced by Sauvé Friend and fellow Kenyan, Lady Flora Terah.

The Symposium started with presentations and discussions on Youth leadership and the environment, led by me, then followed by the role of peace education in creating a value based society that can help in prevent violence, by Mohammed Shabaan. Stephanie Jensen-Cormier then talked about the role of China in leading the green energy movement. A call for other societies’ including the Canadian society to understand and learn from China. I must admit I never knew the Chinese have clear climate change policies before I met Stephanie.