Issue XXIX – November 2014

INTRODUCTION

Many things come to mind around Thanksgiving -family, friends and  the friends we call family, turkey with stuffing and gravy, pilgrims and pumpkin pie, time to reflect on one’s fortunes and help those less fortunate. Whether you celebrate the holiday with family, friends, or strangers, remember, as the Chinese proverb says, “a single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books,” but the mushrooming ubiquity of digital interaction -through emails, texts, tweets and other apps- is replacing conversation, and even degrading our facility for it. Psychologist Sherry Turkle warns that we are in danger of losing the power of speech as we once understood it.

Mastering the art of conversation takes a bit of practice, but it offers many rewards. By learning to strike up and carry on lively discussions, you’ll feel more comfortable in any work or social situation and gain more pleasure from the company of those around you. Conversation is the bond between all of us, the thing that allows us to share our stories, express our interest and curiosity in others, and learn from others’ experiences. So let us celebrate this common bond by finding our commonality and celebrating our differences.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Brooklyn Celebrates Latino Heritage – Brooklyn has a lot of orgullo, or pride, in the achievements of its Latino community, which makes up about one out of every five Brooklynites. Invited by the Borough President Office, our President/Founder Ariel Rojas participated in the 2014 Latino Heritage Celebration at Brooklyn Borough Hall, where Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna, who is the first Latina to be a boroughwide official, recognized the outstanding contributions made by the many diverse Latino nations that call Brooklyn their great borough home.

Entrepreneurship and Sustainability – On October 31st, our President/Founder Ariel Rojas attended the Social Enterprise Conference organized by Columbia Business School “Millennials Rising: What’s Next for Sustainability?” where former US Vice-President Al Gore was the featured closing keynote speaker. In his keynote address, the Nobel Peace Prize winner echoed a United Nations panel statement: the world is on a precarious trajectory and that the effects of climate change would spiral out of control unless nations collectively agreed to dramatic cuts in pollution. He offered some key advice for entrepreneurs interested in overcoming environmental challenges through the power of business. When it comes to changing the world, Gore’s advice is simple: “You have to make a choice to make things better.”

UNAIDS Invites Transdiaspora Network – Invited by UNAIDS, President/Founder Ariel Rojas and Cultural Ambassador Glenda del Monte Escalante had an outstanding brown bag presentation at their New York liaison office. Transdiaspora Network’s HIV prevention and youth development model as well as our new social media campaign LOVE, UNITY & PASSION (#LUP) were introduced to UNAIDS staff members. Among the attendees were Simon Bland, UNAIDS NY Executive Director; Djibril Diallo, UNAIDS Senior Adviser, and Eric Sawyer, UNAIDS Civil Society Partnership Group. At the end of the presentation, Mr. Bland made the commitment to work closely with TDN in our effort to promote HIV prevention locally, to assist the organization in expanding its global platform and to be our exclusive partner in promoting our social media campaign.