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Archive for the ‘Personal Empowerment’ Category

Year in pictures: Tech giants, startups, politics, soccer and more put focus on Seattle in 2019 – GeekWire

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Scenes from Seattle tech, clockwise from top left: Amazon buildings going up; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella; the Riveter wins Startup of the Year; Sounders FC celebrate MLS Cup win. (GeekWire Photos)

It was another big, busy year in tech around the Seattle region, whether it involved the largest companies or the scrappiest startups.

GeekWire was there to cover the innovation and ideas, conduct the interviews, watch new office buildings take shape and old ones fall to rubble. Opposing sides battled politically, and a tech-backed soccer team battled its way to another championship for the city.

Dreams of the next big thing had companies and workers setting their sights as close as South Lake Unions bustling tech hub, on the cloud floating above it all or as far away as the moon and deep space.

Keep scrolling for some of the stories of 2019 that captured our attention and images we used to try to help capture yours. We look forward to sharing more in 2020.

At home in Seattle and on the other side of the country, Amazon dominated a variety of news cycles. The tech giant cancelled plans to build part of its so-called HQ2 in New Yorks Long Island City neighborhood, and also announced it was moving a key division and thousands of employees out of Seattle and across Lake Washington to Bellevue. CEO Jeff Bezos even made big news on the personal front as he and his wife MacKenzie Bezos announced they were divorcing after 25 years.

Microsofts resurgence in 2019 began with a look back, as it knocked over a historic part of its Redmond, Wash., campus to make way for a major new redevelopment that will position the tech giant for its future on the Eastside. GeekWire sat down with CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith to get more insight into where the company is headed.

Related: GeekWire founders Todd Bishop and John Cook also recapped the extraordinary year for technology and innovation emerging from and impacting Seattle and the Pacific Northwest during the latest GeekWire Podcast. Listen for their insights here:

While President Trump continued to poke at Amazon and Jeff Bezos on Twitter, Democratic candidates looking to replace Trump came to Seattle to seek supporters and fire up crowds. And Seattle politics were again an interesting show to watch, especially as it related to Amazons attempts to upend the City Council and oust Councilmember Kshama Sawant.

Movers and shakers were definitely moving and shaking up the Seattle regions real estate scene. Online travel giant Expedia ditched Bellevue and moved across Lake Washington to take over and redevelop a huge campus on the Seattle waterfront. Tech giants such as Google and Apple wanted their own bigger piece of Amazons prime South Lake Union surroundings. And F5 Networks bucked the campus trend by moving on up, into a gleaming new skyscraper at the southern end of the city.

The race for space showed no signs of slowing down in 2019. Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin unveiled a lunar lander and the moon itself showed off during a much-photographed red-hued eclipse. Read aerospace and science editor Alans Boyles complete recap of the Year in Science.

A pizza robot plopped pepperoni on a pie right before our eyes, but other high-profile startups failed to rise beyond initial expectations. We saw the closure of high-tech football helmet maker Vicis, high-priced headphone creator Human, scientific wellness startup Arivale, and online beauty brand Julep, among others.

With an ownership group rooted in tech, the Seattle Sounders FC maintain a strong connection to that community, and they rewarded their fanbase with another MLS Cup title when they topped Toronto in November. The Seattle Seahawks paid tribute to late owner Paul Allen by making him the 12th inductee in the teams Ring of Honor. And Seattles baseball stadium took on a new name and hue as T-Mobile Park became the home of the Mariners and magenta made a splash.

At GeekWire events throughout the year, we welcomed some of the biggest names in tech and innovation to share their stories around a broad base of subjects. Startup founders, scientists, sports heroes, unicorn creators and more joined us at the GeekWire Bash, GeekWire Cloud Summit, GeekWire Awards, GeekWire Sounders Day, GeekWire Summit and other happenings around Seattle.

Bill Gates stood in line for a Dicks burger in Seattle before he sat down for a GeekWire interview and we were intrigued by both circumstances. Melinda Gates also joined us to talk about her new book and her insights around tech and philanthropy. Other geeks and entrepreneurs wowed us with robots and their own intriguing projects.

We geeked out over natures flashes over Seattle during a rare lightning storm as well as the man-made flashes from New Years fireworks booming off of the Space Needle. The Red Arrows of the UKs Royal Air Force also did a colorful fly-by, and north of Seattle in Everett, Wash., we got ready to fly out of a new passenger terminal at Paine Field. It was just some of the stuff that wasnt strictly tech, but that deserved a second geeky look.

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Year in pictures: Tech giants, startups, politics, soccer and more put focus on Seattle in 2019 - GeekWire

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December 31st, 2019 at 11:45 pm

This Mumbai organisation is enabling changemakers and bridging the talent gap in social sector – YourStory

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Mandeep Kaur (36), a media professional working in the corporate sector, was passing by Mumbais slums in 2014 when she witnessed the social-economic inequality. She thought how she could bring about a change in the lives of people living in the slums. Finding her true calling in the social sector, she decided to do something about it.

Mandeep quit her stable job in media marketing and started working with NGOs to understand the sector better. She realised there was a huge talent gap in the social sector, which led to the birth of Tribes For Good in 2014.

Mandeep Kaur, Founder & Programme Director-India, Tribes For Good

Mumbai-based Tribes For Good is an experiential learning programme for people who are looking to understand the social sector and bring about a change.

To this date, the organisation has successfully trained over 1,000 volunteers and has created an impact across 50 social enterprises. It currently has its networks in the urban slums of Mumbai - Malwani, parts of Goregaon, and Dharavi.

In India alone, over two million social impact businesses are working to develop solutions to the countrys most pressing social and environmental issues, and reports suggest that more than 50 percent of these businesses are understaffed, leaving an opportunity for businesses to double their impact.

To help the young minds understand how he or she could drive the change, Tribes for Good guides them through a series of steps.

Mnadeep interacting with the local community and the participants

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To give an insight, TFG trains students, professionals, and retirees from countries like Australia, the US, and Europe on innovations at the base of the pyramid in India. They want to give back but arent sure how, says Mandeep.

The flagship programme of the organisation, called Young Changemakers, is suitable for young adults who are likely to be the future entrepreneurs, consultants, and diplomats, and want to participate in social, economic, and environmental issues affecting India. The programme also helps to sensitise people and build essential problem-solving skills. It lets participants understand their responsibility towards future generations.

TFG's Social Impact Journey focuses on developing a deeper understanding of peoples potential to bring about a social change. This is a week-long, curated expeditions of discovery and insights in India where the participants work on a dedicated project. It is mostly focused on womens empowerment and youth, and lets participants use their management skills, bridging the talent gap faced by the social impact organisations.

The last programme is aimed at sustainability, which are curated day experiences or day walks for individuals to give them an introduction to the sustainability scene in India.

Getting local community on board

These programmes are run along with vetted non-profits or social enterprises that have a strong influence on the community. The professionals are chosen as they have been working in the communities for years and hence there is trust, care, and openness to new ideas.

At present, Tribes For Good comprises of mentors from diverse backgrounds including engineering, law, and management professionals across the globe. Besides, the team also has well-known people such as Deepa Krishnan, founder of Magic Tours; Anusha Bharadwaj, a social entrepreneur; and Pradeep Mahtani as advisors on board.

To begin with, the organisation maps the area that the communities want to work with - be it financial inclusion, digital inclusion or even improving their comprehension skills.

Participants

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Speaking about the challenges, Mandeep says, visitors, travellers, and students they bring in to work with marginalised communities sometimes find it difficult to adapt their services quickly. She says, participants should overcome their assumptions on safety, lack of amenities, and bias.

Building in-roads with the communities through organisations and great personal outreach and involvement was one of the challenging tasks, including adapting the services in an agile fashion to cater to the different people, she says.

The organisation is creating email marketing, videos, and business communication workshops for Aftertaste, which is a social enterprise it has partnered with that uses art as a form of empowerment to uplift low income women.

The video and communication material has been used for fundraising and to positively impact the bottom line of the organisation.

TFG also runs basic financial literacy training like using ATM and BHIM UPI to increase the financial inclusion and building on key components of trust, access, and comfort.

Mandeep along with the participants and the local community

Adelina Kriplani, an alumnus of TFG, shares that she could not only learn about the social space but also about whether the changes she, as an aspiring changemaker, strives for in the social sector are truly occurring.

Adelina was intrigued about how NGOs strive to make these changes, and if she, as a young recently graduated volunteer, really had any valuable skills that could contribute to creating sustainable change. It was those questions that led her to Tribes For Good.

Mandeep says, she looks forward to reaching out to a greater number of people by partnering with students, individuals, and retirees.

She says, Over the last year, we have doubled the number of organisations that we have worked with and have expanded to Bengaluru and Delhi. We are also looking at attract more mentors who can work on social impact projects.

(Edited by Megha Reddy)

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This Mumbai organisation is enabling changemakers and bridging the talent gap in social sector - YourStory

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December 31st, 2019 at 11:45 pm

Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards winner: Cova – Insurance Age

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Coveas director of HR and learning Lisa Meigh and chief operating officer Adrian Furness collected the award from Stephanie Denton

Following last month's Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards, we caught up with all the winners. Today, we talk to Lisa Meigh, director of HR & learning at Cova, about the insurer's win in the Staff Empowerment category.

Can you explain what Cova has done to create an empowered staff culture across the business?

Cova Insurance has a clear strategic goal to be a great place to work. Our inclusivity strategy supports this goal by ensuring we do the right thing for our employees. We believe getting this right makes our business stronger and delivers better outcomes for our customers.

Our broader D&I strategy has helped to drive employee engagement and establish a culture where our people feel empowered to get behind the issues that matter to them.

Cova Minds is a mental health initiative led by employees and sponsored by a Cova Insurance executive director.The initiative has been driven by the passion, kindness and energy of our people who have taken ownership to facilitate an organisational cultural shift around attitudes to mental health.The outcome has been to establish a safe and supportive work environment, where mental health can be openly discussed without judgement.

To support this, weve trained up mental health first aiders, trained dementia friends, partnered with a mental health advocate (Luke Ambler) to run resilience workshops, openly shared personal stories of mental health, held well-being events such as yoga, created chill-out rooms in each site, and run vulnerable customer workshops to increase the empathy within our organisation for those suffering with mental health or dementia.

Since it was launched, what has the response/impact been?

Since the launch of Cova Minds, we have seen a positive turnaround in attitudes towards mental health at work.It has been inspiring, honest and brave of our people, including members of our senior management and executive team, to share personal stories of how they have dealt with mental health challenges.The impact has been powerful.

We now have over 30 mental health first aiders covering all sites to ensure help is always at hand and we have over 460 dementia friends, all providing extra support for our people and customers who might be struggling with the mental health issues.

The key to the success of this initiative has been empowering our people. We believe that by really getting this right, our business is stronger, and we can deliver better outcomes for our customers.

The importance we place on our people is evidenced through our Gold Investors in Peoplestatus and Best Companies Employee Engagement survey results. Over 90% of our people say Cova Insurance can be trusted by customers/clients, and weve been named one of the top 75 companies to work for in Yorkshire & the Humber.

We also hold the highest available accolade from the Institute of Customer Service, ServiceMark with Distinction, for our personal lines, commercial & high net worth claims departments.We think this really shows that employee engagement goes hand-in-hand with delivering great customer service.

Where could this initiative go next?

Weve had an unprecedented reaction to our resilience workshops that we ran with Luke Ambler.

They were so popular thatweve extended these and will run more on a range of topics, all aimed at giving our people the tools to be able to deal with mental health issues.

How supportive is the group in terms of raising the profile and boosting the acceptance of D&I across the business?

The group have been unbelievably supportive in raising the profile and acceptance of mental health issues in the broader context of workplace inclusivity. It doesnt get much more real than people in high profile roles talking about their own mental health challenges to convince others that its OK to talk.

We believe one of the reasons the mental health message has resonated so powerfully across the business is that mental health affects so many people in so many ways.Its the number one cause of disability worldwide, with one-in-four of us experiencing it at some point. Within our business alone, this represents around 500 employees, emphasising the importance of reducing the stigma of mental health as a key element of our commitment to workplace inclusivity.

What was it like being a winner at the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards?

It was an incredibly proud moment, not just for me but for our amazingly passionate people across our business the people that have been owning and driving our D&I activities and making Cova Insurance such a great place to work.

We brought the award straight back and gave it to our D&I ambassadors and the award is now being circulated around our offices. This award was a recognition of the importance we place on empowering our staff and we couldnt be more delighted.

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Diversity and Inclusion in Insurance Awards winner: Cova - Insurance Age

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December 31st, 2019 at 11:45 pm

What’s On: January 2020 Kicks Off The New Year With A Culture-Packed Calendar – Malaysia Tatler

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From a Lewis Capaldi gig and a jazz piano festival to a historical exhibition about our central bank, it's a nice mix of cultural activities this month

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In partnership with Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Ilham Gallery presents ILHAM x SAM a.k.a. The Body Politic And The Body. The collaborative art exhibition features artworks from SAM, plus art adaptations and loans from Malaysian artists. The artworks are aimed at igniting conversations about the socio-political landscape of Malaysia, its history and impact on society. Some of the highlights include Long Lost Memories by Ahmad Fuad Osman, Quiet Rooms by Nadiah Bamadhaj and The Voyage by Mohammad Din Mohammad.

Find out more here.

In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Bank Negara Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery is currently having an exhibition tracing the growth and development of the central bank. Offering a rare insight into Bank Negara, one can learn more about the pivotal moments in the nation's banking and financial history, as well as some interesting facts you may not know such as the motivation behind the Kijang logo.

Click here for more details.

Founded by renowned jazz pianist Michael Veerapen, the Malaysian Jazz Piano Festival returns to KLPAC with an exciting line-up that includes Fazz, Frankie Sixes, Wei Li Cheah Quartet and many more. The festival also features free workshops with Mei Lin Hii, Justin Lim, Julian Chan, Wan Gigi and Tay Cher Siang, as well as a forum on music directing with Veerapen, Genervie Kam, Dato Mustafa Fuzer Nawi and Roslan Aziz.

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Rising to fame with the emotionally powerful Someone You Loved, Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi will take to the stage for the first time in Kuala Lumpur at Life Centre. Lewis will perform a number of his hits such as Bruises and Mercy.

Find out more here.

Choreographed by Gen. T Honouree 2018, Suhaili Micheline and London-trained dance artist Kenny Shim's Woman-On-Man-On-Men features two dance routines, Pendatang Pampers and Wet Room. Both tackle dominant male characteristics, behaviours and egos in corporate spaces as well as personal relationships in a response to the new wave of women empowerment.

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With good food, live music and beautiful lanterns, the Lights Water Fest at the Sepang International Circuit promises to be great fun for the whole family, culminating in lighting your own lanterns and floating them on the lake.

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The 6th edition of the marathon is expected to attract more than 10,000 runners who will be competing in 6 different categories from the 42km full marathon to the 1km Kids Dash. Themed "Futuristic", participants will be flagged off at Persiaran Flora Cyberjaya.

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Arts Exhibition Concert Light Festival Marathon January 2020 New Year

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What's On: January 2020 Kicks Off The New Year With A Culture-Packed Calendar - Malaysia Tatler

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December 31st, 2019 at 11:45 pm

What Rizal taught us about the pitfalls of spreading and reading fake news – ABS-CBN News

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JoseRizal has been the subject of funny memes often highlighting his image of being a chickboy, and playing with the many over-the-top theories about him (i.e. that hes the father of Hitler, or hes the real Jack the Ripper, etc.). The debate about who between him and Andres Bonifacio should be considered the National Hero continues to rage on online as wella battle that also takes place in the classrooms. Put the removal of Philippine history as a subject in high school into the pot and youve got a formula for the propagation of confusion and misinformation about our local heroes and their contributions.

Such is the nature of discussions in the online world. There is high access to information, but the challenge is how to filter which information is useful, true, or fake and which narratives are reasonable or politically weaponized. The comments section is a cancerous, toxic debate place where everyone can voice their opinion, informed or not. Also, the creation and spread of fake news supported by armies of online trolls is an effective tool to drown dissent and amass political clout. In the recent two elections, Rizals image and memes turned political, for the purpose of supporting certain candidates, further confusing what Rizal truly stood for.

Though Rizal being used in advertisements is not a new phenomenon (Rizal in brand of soft drinks, matches, funeral homes, cement, bank, etc.), this reflects Renato Constantinos bookVeneration Without Understanding,which shows our tendency to take Rizal for granted. This is reinforced by the thesis of Mike de Leons film Bayaning Third Worldwhich upholds the idea ofkanya-kanyang Rizal(to each his own Rizal) as the persona of the National Hero has been used by all sides in political debates and messaging.

So what is the essence of Rizal in the time of fake news? Three timeless writings of Rizal that touchon the issue of truth and reason may enlighten us.

If Rizal along with other propagandists like Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Antonio Luna were alive today, they might find the phenomenon of fake news as nothing strange. During their time, they themselves were subjected to similar fabrications and attacks from newspaper editorials.

As members of the Propaganda Movement, they were engaged in an information campaign, and part of their advocacy was to push for reforms in the Philippines. They advocated for equal rights, better justice and education, and the transfer of parishes to Filipino secular priests. This advocacy drew the ire of certain people in power in Spanish colonial Philippines, the Spanish friars who cling to their influential stature among them.

The editorial attacks tried to discredit theIlustradosby spreading exaggerated, prejudiced or even false claims against them. Rizal and his comrades answered back with articles and essays via allied newspapers and magazines and their own newspaperLa Solidaridad.

In RizalsEl Filibusterismo, one often overlooks the character of Ben Zayb, the writer for a newspaper who exaggerates reports and changes the details to make his stories interesting. He also writes to please authorities and could be considered a sipsip (suck-up).

One such instance is when he writes a story where a friar single-handedly faced off with 50 bandits who tried to take away tens of thousands of pesos. Zayb wrote his exaggerated version of the story first without checking the facts. And when he went to confirm the details, to his dismay he found Padre Cammora nursing a concussion after being robbed of a mere 50 pesos by three bandits. Zayb berates the injured friar saying you know nothing of what actually happened to you.

Rizal said on Chapter 36 of El Fili that his articles can be likened to wine laden with poison the articles of Ben Zayb take effect may it be read or not by Filipinos.

Reading about the fictional exploits of Ben Zayb maybe comical but they could be interpreted as people who create and spread fake news for ones personal gain. Rizal said on Chapter 36 ofEl Filithat his articles can be likened to wine laden with poison the articles of Ben Zayb take effect may it be read or not by Filipinos. In the context of fake news, once it spreads, the damage has already been done. Peddlers of fake news can be likened to Ben Zayb.

RizalsLetter to the Young Women of Malolosis a must-read not just to understand the importance of empowered women in society but because of the importance of having ones own mind. The letter is most notable among Rizals other writings as it is one of the few written in Tagalog and touches on three key issues: women empowerment, true Christianity, and the importance of critical thinking.

Before ending the letter, Rizal lays down seven points of reflection. On the third point he writes that, ignorance is slavery, for the mind reflects the person: a person without ones own mind has lost his humanity; one who blindly follows another elses will is like a beast led by a leash.

Ignorance is slavery, for the mind reflects the person: a person without ones own mind has lost his humanity; one who blindly follows another elses will is like a beast led by a leash.

But the most striking would be his sixth point where he writes: everyone is born equal, naked and without chains. Not created by God to be enslaved, not endowed with intelligence to be blinded, and not adorned with reason to be deceived by others. It is not pride to refuse to worship a fellow man, to enlighten the mind, and to reason out everything. The arrogant one is he who wants to be worshipped, who misleads others, and wants his will to prevail over reason and justice."

How to Deceive the Native Landis a must-read for teachers and students of history and Rizal. Often overlooked as an editorial response to an editorial published byLa Voz de Espaa, a pro-friar publication that severely attacks the dignity of Filipinos, it is one of Rizals most relevant writing which deals with freedom of expression and the search for truth. Here, Rizal writes that, neither hiding the truth and fanaticism, nor oppression or superstitions ever have united nor will they ever unite peoples. On the other hand, liberty, rights and love bind different races around the same flag, a single aspiration, and one destiny.

In the writings of Rizal, we find the word obscurantism which means the deliberate prevention of the spread of knowledge or truth. In their advocacy, obscurantism, not ignorance, is the enemy of reason. For ignorance can be cured with knowledge and reason, while obscurantism is deliberate misinformation.

The editorial attacks were meant to discredit Rizal and the other ilustrados. Discrediting valid concerns and criticism in the pursuit of unity is hypocritical and deceptive. Ones responsibility is to uphold the truth even at the cost of ones personal comfort nor safety.

In the writings of Rizal, we find the word obscurantism which means the deliberate prevention of the spread of knowledge or truth.

Rizal and other propagandists did not fold to public harassment but rather continued for the sake of justice and reason. In a similar way, modern-day misinformation never unites a nation, it just turns people against one another, and obscurantism furthers this division. Alas, a divided people are easily conquered and oppressed.

Finding the truth might be difficult but should never be taken for granted. Those calling out the wrongs of society should never be dismissed nor discredited for society is not perfect and the first step to addressing a problem is talking about it. All attempts to deceive, misinform, and take advantage of confusion and ignorance are all attempts to suppress truth and free expression.

At this age, fake news and weaponized political narratives are deception. They will persist as long as a few people, especially those in power, benefit from them. Rizal after all warned that to deceive the native land is the greatest crime of all crimes.

*This article is based ona public lecture Controversies, Misconceptions, and Fake News: Rizal in Social Media first delivered in June 30, 2018 in Rizal Shrine Calamba.

John Ray Ramos is a part-time history instructor in the Ateneo de Manila University and in the Institute of Formation and Religious Studies. He also teaches Politics and Government. He finished his bachelors degree in history and is finishing his masters degree in Public Administration in the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is the author of Bayani Biographies: Jose Rizal and co-authoredBayani Biographies Andres Bonifaciopublished by Kahel Press.

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December 31st, 2019 at 11:45 pm

Financial Services Can Secure Future Innovation By Focusing On Trust – Forbes

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The future of financial services lies in consumer-permissioned data. Innovation in this space is about connecting the dots between consumer bank accounts and third-party apps, services and resources. But its about more than that. Its about translating those connections into improved financial wellness and inclusion.

To enhance these benefits, industry focus must be on facilitating consumer empowerment. True empowerment only comes when consumers have access to the information and insights they need to make the best financial decisions for themselves, their families and their businesses. This brand of authentic empowerment will, in turn, drive consumer trust in the data sharing process.

Unfortunately, empowering consumers is all too often an industry buzzword, superficial and empty of any real commitment. There are five key requirements that financial services providers (from banks to data providers to fintechs) need to emphasize if they are to make empowering consumers a reality. These requirements are control, access, transparency, traceability and security. Dedication to not only recognizing these five key areas, but to enhancing each one, will produce products and processes that consumers can feel comfortable trusting with their personal financial data.

Control

Ultimately, its not enough to tell consumers that we have their best interests at heart. We need to give them the ability to control how their data is shared, who has access to their data and how their data is used. Informed consent and centralized permissions portals are two areas where meaningful changes can be implemented.

Informed consent is central to consumer control of personal financial data. And that consent needs to be accessible. For example, navigation systems within applications should showcase designs that are intuitive and user-friendly. Any and all consent language needs to be clear, as concise as possible and easy to understand. Not only is this in everyones best interest; its what consumers are demanding. Too many steps, too much indecipherable fine print and too many confusing processes inhibit informed consent and make things difficult for consumers.

Finally, developers and designers of financial services products should build out centralized permissions portals. These types of portals allow consumers to easily view, modify, add and revoke permissions across their library of financial services. When permissions are buried out of reach, informed consent has not actually been reached. Power only exists when control can be exercised and managed.

Access

The second requirement we need to focus on to encourage true consumer empowerment is access to personal financial data. Account ownership should equal data ownership.

As with control, accessibility depends on ease of use. Service providers should deliver a simple, intuitive process for authentication. Basic user experience changes include minimizing unnecessary steps in every user process and avoiding language that might cause confusion, delays or friction. We know that time-consuming or confusing digital experiences lead to lower rates of adoption. Unfortunately, when consumers abandon a process that does not meet their expectations, they may be missing out on services that would benefit them.

Transparency

Third on the list of requirements is transparency. This transparency manifests in two primary ways. First, consumers must always be able to view, manage, modify and revoke permissions. Second, service terms must be clearly explained. These terms should detail data handling and privacy agreements. Consumers must know exactly who will be accessing their data and how that data will be used. They must also describe consumer options and the consequences of any available choices. Its time to find creative ways to incorporate these terms across the onboarding experience rather than reserving all terms and conditions for a lengthy document at the end of the consumer registration process.

Traceability

Transparency and traceability are twin functions. Traceability ultimately depends on transparency. Comprehensive traceability means that both consumers and data users should be able to map out the routes data takes along the data-sharing network. Each step, each transfer, each service provider should be clearly delineated. This also ensures that security breaches can be quickly and efficiently managed. All parties involved with the data in question should be automatically notified so they can enact proper security protocols.

Security

Finally, any discussion of empowering consumers would be incomplete without careful consideration of security. All financial service providers must have security policies and practices in place to protect consumer data. This means constantly adjusting security measures to include advances in encryption and tokenization technologies. Security and transparency work together. For example, explicit clarity related to data definitions, usage and privacy should be provided to consumers so they can make informed decisions related to data handling and privacy.

In the end, it doesnt matter how convenient or how cutting edge a tool is. Without consumer trust, even the most potentially useful solution will never gain traction in the market. Whats needed now is an industrywide commitment to strengthening consumer control and access and to enhancing transparency, traceability and security throughout the data-sharing process. Only then will we fully earn consumer trust. And its this trust that will launch the future of financial services innovations.

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Financial Services Can Secure Future Innovation By Focusing On Trust - Forbes

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December 5th, 2019 at 3:50 pm

Childhood trauma can slow academic development. Here’s one way to fix it. – Bangor Daily News

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In the last couple of decades, Maines schools have felt effects of childhood trauma brought on by the effects of rural poverty, the opioid crisis and increased urbanization in some parts of the state. This summer, Portland welcomed an influx of asylum seekers from African countries many were families with school-aged children, whose migration story included multiple traumatic experiences. As student populations with diverse needs continue to increase, Maine should prioritize training a K-12 workforce with trauma-informed practices to increase equitable learning outcomes for students who have experienced adverse childhood experiences, or childhood trauma, especially for immigrant, refugee and asylum-seeking students.

As the number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds entering Maines K-12 public schools continues to grow, school leaders and educational communities must be prepared to meet the unique needs of these students. Immigrant children and families often acquire traumas in their new communities due to discrimination, acculturation and racism in addition to the traumas they may have experienced in their home countries. Schools need to consider the social and environmental stressors that affect the children of the immigrant families they serve and use research-based interventions to assist students in their development.

For immigrant students, adjusting to the social and cultural behavioral expectations of a classroom, coupled with the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences or intergenerational trauma, often means they struggle to meet academic expectations. As a result, mental and emotional challenges often manifest in behaviors such as aggression, difficulty controlling behavior and trouble paying attention. A culturally responsive, trauma-informed approach could help reduce disciplinary incidences, which only cause additional stress to students.

Trauma-informed practices emphasize the need for integrated approaches to responding to students with a history of childhood trauma. These practices integrate mental health supports, personal empowerment, and community collaborations to help increase positive student outcomes. Training all staff and personnel working with students in K-12 settings to use trauma-informed practices is a positive step toward equitable access to learning for students with trauma who often lack the self-regulation and resilience necessary for success in school. Training initiatives should pay special attention to include and respect positive cultural beliefs and language when addressing the unique experiences with which immigrant students, children of immigrants and students from historically marginalized communities are challenged. This would ensure students feel their identities are valued and celebrated and can be a source of strength.

By addressing the importance of properly training professionals to understand the long-term effects of childhood traumas, educational professionals can mitigate those effects and avoid further traumatizing students. Maines Legislature has taken positive steps to respond to this issue through a task force with LD 1168, a Resolve to Improve Maines Response to Childhood Trauma. This legislation has the potential to support school systems in meeting the unique challenges of many diverse student groups who have experienced childhood traumas.

If Maine is going to take actionable steps to address inequity in its communities and schools, it should also better address the impacts of race, socioeconomic class and culture in conjunction with efforts to train educational professionals and leadership to respond to childhood trauma. Policies should include language emphasizing a deliberate and intentional attempt to address the systemic disparities often resulting in inequitable access to positive educational experiences for immigrant and refugee students who have experienced childhood trauma. Legislators should continue to enact policies to bring long-term, systemic changes to the ways our communities respond to the social and emotional needs of these diverse children and their families.

Andrea Mercado is a K-12 educator with the Lewiston Public Schools and doctoral student at the University of Maine. This column reflects her views and expertise and does not speak on behalf of the university. Her column is a guest contribution for the Maine chapter of the national Scholars Strategy Network, which brings together scholars across the country to address public challenges and their policy implications. Members columns appear in the BDN every other week.

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Childhood trauma can slow academic development. Here's one way to fix it. - Bangor Daily News

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December 5th, 2019 at 3:49 pm

Cumming: Down to the entryway of higher education – Roanoke Times

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Cumming is an associate professor of journalism at Washington & Lee University.

For millions of Americans, community college is the gateway to higher education, job skills and a better life. This fall, for me, community college has been a gateway in the other direction.

It led me, temporarily, out of the bubble of elite higher education.

With a semester off as a tenured journalism professor at Washington and Lee University, I have spent this fall teaching a writing/research course at Surry Community College. Every week, I drive the 130 miles from Lexington to stay at our sons farm in Fancy Gap and teach a class of 16 challenging students on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Dobson, N.C.

I recommend the experience to other university professors. We have a lot to offer and something to learn.

This is Trump country. And yet, I have found more diversity here than at W&L. Four of my Surry students are Hispanic. One young woman wrote in an assignment of her mothers Hispanic shoe store getting ripped off by a few shoplifters. An African-American single mom in her 30s wrote in another assignment a memo to the principal of her daughters elementary school, questioning the decision to pull her daughter out of the regular class for special help.

One student manages the local Dairy Queen. Another works at Chick-fil-A. Four are Early College high school students. Four are repeating the class. Four more failed to show up or have dropped out.

Virginia has a system of 23 community colleges and an ambitious goal of making first-generation college student an obsolete term, with a college graduate in every household. North Carolinas community college system, once considered one of the most progressive in the country, has 58 campuses.

The funding of this system seems criminally low for being progressive. My pay as a one-class adjunct barely covers mileage and meals, even with the extra $4.70 a week thrown in for my Ph.D.

But the experience has been rewarding. It has freed me from a privileged liberal arts environment and tested my real value as a teacher. If this is left-behind America Trumps unrewarded supporters and demonized immigrants what could I teach them about writing?

A lot. Nonfiction writing, I try to show, is personal empowerment. Instead of a research paper, I gave assignments I thought could be useful to them: a memo, an op-ed, a press release, a blog post, a publishable book review. Writing, I said in every way I could, is connecting with a real audience. Its thinking logically, supporting assertions, making claims that persuade.

And what a time for applying these ideas with the U.S. House engaged in the ultimate Constitutional exercise from the Age of Reason: impeachment of a duly elected President.

I wanted to show respect for them, as they did for me. So for class discussion, I used a few good opinion columns I could find that leaned slightly in Trumps favor.

Professors in their ivory towers wonder what could have gone so wrong with America, that so many citizens could elect a big-time real estate cheat and reality TV star. For some of us, our reaction is a sincerely baffled curiosity, with a sense of obligation to serve the common good in a time of need with our modest skills teaching, scholarship and service.

Community college, as W&Ls provost told me, is where the real heart of American education is happening right now. A Harvard-educated law professor recently left his New York university to teach a semester in ethics in Appalachia, to try to understand what went so wrong in 2016. Evan Mandery was turned down by a Tennessee community college, but eventually taught at Appalachian State, writing that he took solace in the shared moral values he found underlying the argument of liberals and conservatives (but not libertarians, who he said valued abstractions over empathy).

I suspect that other professors would like to teach at least one term or course at a community college, if such experience were rewarded by their home universities. But that would take a fundamental shift in the reward system.

Community colleges could help by making it easier for us to teach there. I was dismayed at how many hoops I had to jump through for almost no pay.

But there are rewards. For me, the best reward is to be let into another world, sometimes poignantly expressed. I come from the kind of place where the tobacco grew and the factories fell, one student wrote. The place where Im from has little to offer and little to gain.

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Cumming: Down to the entryway of higher education - Roanoke Times

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December 5th, 2019 at 3:49 pm

Lessons From Michelle Obama And The 2019 Obama Foundation Summit: Empowering Communities Through Education – Forbes

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Michelle and Barack Obama at the Obama Foundation Summit 2019 in Chicago, IL.

Chicagos South Side Bronzeville neighborhood, a center of African-American life and culture, hosted the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit at the Illinois Institute of Technology on October 29, 2019. The Advancing Women in Product (AWIP) team was invited to cover the Summit as press, and from the perspective of a female empowerment and advocacy NGO.

Kira Alvarez, who is the Press Lead for Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), took time from her busy schedule as a researcher at Freie Universitt Berlin to cover the Summit for AWIP. Kira has taught and published throughout the U.S. and Germany, on topics such as diplomacy, history, and the intersection between science, technology, and society.

The South Side of Chicago was a deliberate choice. This region boasts a visionary past that has witnessed Ida B. Wells, President Obama, and Michelle Obama among others working toward social change. The Summit aptly chose the phrase Places Reveal Our Purpose as the conference theme, and touched on a number of pressing societal issues such as racism, poverty, and gender inequality. It showed that the South Side of Chicago is full of hope, love and energy that can inspire other places throughout the world. The critical role that communities and networks can play in supporting and promoting social advancement and opportunity was a powerful message from the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit.

Women leaders including Michelle Obama and Academy award nominee filmmaker Ava DuVernay spoke about their personal and professional journeys. These women showed that ambition and drive alone are not enough in pursuing a successful and fulfilling career. Support networks are key to achieving broader social change, especially for female advancement. This is in line with what researchers like Herminia Ibarra have remarked on the topic, that sponsors (both within and outside an organization) can help to accelerate careers and create opportunities. For Michelle Obama, support came from her family and a strong belief in self, which helped her overcome the prejudice she experienced growing up. For those who are looking to create their own support networks, search within your current social and professional networks optimizing for those that will generate new opportunities.

An example of community engagement from the Obama Foundation is the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA), a program that seeks to empower girls and their respective communities through education. AWIP was invited to the intimate GOA roundtable with Michelle Obama, which featured international educators from countries including Cambodia, Guatemala, and Malawi who tirelessly work on the front lines to improve girls lives. According to Michelle, the lack of investment in female education is an international emergency: What a waste. What a waste for society, what a waste for a family. What a waste for that girls soul to be trapped by her fate and not by her ability.

Michelle Obama with leaders from the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA)

The Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA) empowers young girls in three dimensions: By growing an online network of grassroots leaders, by providing financial support for individual projects through GoFundMe, and by encouraging young people throughout the developed world to join the cause of promoting greater educational opportunities for women. GOA sees its work as not limited to a local or national context and therefore requires a transnational approach. Creating an alliance of young womens opportunities is ultimately about human rights. Investment in a network of girls education programs is key not just for the advancement of individual women, but also for the long-term advancement of societies. Being aware of opportunities outside ones immediate surroundings, especially if those surroundings are limited by lack of resources, can be extremely freeing. According to the Gates Foundation 2019 Goalkeepers report, the lack of access to education and jobs is destructive for everyone. It keeps women disempowered, limits their childrens life chances, and slows down economic growth.

The Summit also featured other Chicago leaders who stressed the creation of strong networks and equality in education. Among them, Obama Foundation Scholars, Aime Eubanks Davis and Dominique Jordan Turner, are founders of organizations that promote education and network creation. Ms. Davis, a 2018 Obama Fellow, is the CEO of Braven, an organization that works with universities and businesses to assist low-income, first-generation university students find employment post-graduation. Ms. Turner, a 2019 Obama Fellow, is the CEO of Chicago Scholars, a seven-year mentorship program that assists underprivileged Chicago youth in the college application process and subsequent employment search. Both Braven and Chicago Scholars are exemplary models of how organizations can provide disadvantaged students greater opportunities in the American educational system.

Many of the students that participate in the Chicago Scholars or Braven program have the talent and ambition to succeed, but lack networks to help them create and sustain a career and might otherwise fall through the cracks. The programs therefore closely mentor underprivileged students by leveraging a large network of support including college counselors, potential employers, and alumni. Ms. Davis stressed, referral networks are important in order to achieve career success. Simply having a college degree and talent is no longer fully sufficient for gainful employment in the American workforce that is the important lesson that these students are learning. Having the right skills through education is the first step but is much more effective when combined with a powerful support network.

We find a similar root cause with the lack of women representation in tech leadership and executive ranks: many women already have their foot in the door and are often highly educated but are often encountered with a glass ceiling. Organizations like Advancing Women in Product, Pink Innov, and the Operator Collective serve to stack the cards in the other direction: by creating opportunities where senior women can take a high-potential, rising leader under their wing. In a similar vein, these organizations are also creating communities and networks that encourage women to stay in the workforce and also introduce them to open leadership roles within the company as well as board seats for other companies.

The 2019 Obama Foundation Summit ultimately demonstrated that social change requires not just hard work, but also the creation and sustainment of networks. Girls Opportunity Alliance, Braven, and Chicago Scholars are important models that utilize networks to help women and minorities achieve their goals. Lets bridge the gap by building strong networks for ourselves and take our destiny into our own hands.

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Lessons From Michelle Obama And The 2019 Obama Foundation Summit: Empowering Communities Through Education - Forbes

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December 5th, 2019 at 3:49 pm

Kochava Joins Forces with DPAA to Drive Digital Out-Of-Home Growth – Digital Signage Connection

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NEW YORK and SANDPOINT, Idaho, December 5, 2019 DPAA, the leading global organization working to drive out-of-home into its digital future, and Kochava, the leading mobile attribution platform and host of the largest mobile data marketplace, announced today the company has joined the DPAA out-of-home marketing association. This partnership will enable the two companies to collaborate more closely to continue driving digital advertising growth.

Kochava provides secure, real-time data solutions to help customers establish identity, define and activate audiences, and measure and optimize all aspects of their marketing. Trusted by top brands in harnessing their data for growth, the company counts the top 10 largest apps in the world among their customers.

Barry Frey, DPAA President & CEO, said, Kochava is at the heart of mobile data attribution and thus plays a key role in the powerful mobile/out-of-home tie-ups being embraced by advertisers. We look forward to working with the Kochava team to help grow their business as well as that of the entire DOOH industry.

DPAA is a perfect partner for us to help continue fueling the growth for the digital out-of-home industry, said Charles Manning, Founder & CEO, Kochava. We support the associations mission as an advocate for the industry and its member companies.

DPAA is a global, out-of-home marketing association that has created a strong community environment in which members drive and promote their digital capabilities. To deliver on their promise of Digital Out of Home Everything, DPAA functions as a business accelerator and concierge/consultant for members. Membership in the DPAA community brings many benefits, including admission to quarterly mini summit meetings with ad industry and DOOH leaders; access to curated VIP tours and meetings at CES and Cannes Lions; an extensive database of research, best practices and case studies; tools for planning, training and forecasting; social media amplification; publication discounts; an opportunity to participate in media partnerships; insights on software and hardware solutions; further integration into the advertising ecosystem as part of the video everywhere conversation and marketing campaign; and more.

DPAAs annual Video Everywhere Summit (U.S.) brings together nearly 900 delegates representing brands, agencies, digital out-of-home networks, ad tech, mobile and location data companies, research firms and others for a full day of presentations, panels, case studies, networking events and experiential exhibits. The Summit is the largest full-day event dedicated to omnichannel marketing. The 2019 Video Everywhere Summit was held October 15 in New York.

In 2018, DPAA launched WE.DOOH (Womens Empowerment for the Digital Out-of-Home Industry), an initiative designed to aid and empower women in the digital out-of-home industry. The initiative provides a wide range of activities, including personal development programs, educational webinars, networking events and other support services.

About Kochava

Kochava Inc. is the leading mobile data attribution platform and host of the largest mobile data marketplace. The company provides secure, real-time data solutions to help customers establish identity, define and activate audiences, and measure and optimize all aspects of their marketing. Kochava provides enterprise brands with a consolidated Unified Audience Platform including data management and onboarding, cross-device configurable attribution, analytics, engagement, industry-leading fraud protection, and data enrichment. With a culture of customer-driven innovation, dedication to data security, and the most powerful tools in the ecosystem, Kochava is trusted by top brands to harness their data for growth. Headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho, the company has offices globally. For more information visit their web site http://www.kochava.com. Follow Kochava on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About DPAA (www.dpaaglobal.com)

Founded in 2006, DPAA is a global out-of-home marketing association committed to driving the industry into its digital future. DPAA has created a strong community environment in which members drive and promote their digital capabilities. DPAA is a business accelerator that fosters collaboration between agencies and the DOOH community, providing industry-wide research and best practices in areas such as mobile integration and programmatic; and promotes the effectiveness of DOOH advertising. DPAA has spearheaded programmatic development, standards and adoption for the DOOH industry.

Twitter: @DPAAorg

Facebook: @DPAAorg

Instagram: @dpaa_org

YouTube: youtube.com/user/dpaavision

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/dpaa

Barry Frey on Twitter: @barryfrey

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Kochava Joins Forces with DPAA to Drive Digital Out-Of-Home Growth - Digital Signage Connection

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December 5th, 2019 at 3:49 pm


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