My favourite photo!
I spent last night creating my LCP Platform to re-run for a second term in 2007. My last- minute formatting was helped along to no end because of Aleks, Kezz, Azz, Bo and Dan Willett sending me photos (all my photos were wiped after my computer crashed a few weeks ago). As a result, I've now got a crazy collection of pictures from almost every point of my time in AIESEC; most of which I'd never seen before.My FAVOURITE photo; courtesy of Bo: Dan Willett, myself and Nakey at Fridays; the first time I'd seen Dan since he'd returned from his European jaunt and the reunion of the 'Porn Crew'.
In stitches...
I’m in stitches – I picked up a copy of the Big Issue today and in the ‘Encyclopedia of Australian Life’ (Sections Q – R) Toowoomba had a mention:
‘Recycled Water: An attempt to force the people of Toowoomba to imbibe unclean substances. The people of Toowoomba voted to start licking the dew off rocks rather than drink water that might once have been near a toilet.’
Snaps for the Big Issue and our new office magazine rack. (I promise my next posting won't be about water).
Sydney Trip (and then I digress back into water)...
SYDNEY TRIPA big thank you to Sydney for looking after me during my random trip! I was only there two and half days but in that time I had a day in the office, saw how induction was managed at a city-based LC, went to a Brazilian (read: Spanish) cultural dinner and saw Regional Board elections for 2007!
Thank you…
Jakey for putting up with me last minute, hours before your election and just before you left for Poland. Manny for keeping me entertained – we will have chocolate croissants and SPM’s! And finally, Daz – thank you for convincing me to do something completely random and jump on a plane!
The best part of my trip? Easily the look on Mel Mel’s face when she saw me at elections. CLASSIC. Mel had been speaking to me in ‘Queensland’ only hours earlier…
WATER
I was checking out newspapers (as I always do when procrastinating) and I came across this article: “Cost of water shortage: civil unrest, mass migration and economic collapse.” (the Guardian, August 17th 2006)
“Cholera may return to London, the mass migration of Africans could cause civil unrest in Europe and China's economy could crash by 2015 as the supply of fresh water becomes critical to the global economy. That was the bleak assessment yesterday by forecasters from some of the world's leading corporate users of fresh water, 200 of the largest food, oil, water and chemical companies. Analysts working for Shell, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Cargill and other companies which depend heavily on secure water supplies, yesterday suggested the next 20 years would be critical as countries became richer, making heavier demands on scarce water supplies.
"Globally, water usage has increased by six times in the past 100 years and will double again by 2050, driven mainly by irrigation and demands of agriculture. Some countries have already run out of water to produce their own food. Without improvements ... the consequences will be even more widespread water scarcity and rapidly increasing water prices," said Frank Rijsberman, director of the institute. The institute, funded by government research organisations, will report next week that a third of the world's population, more than 2 billion people, is living in places where water is overused - leading to falling underground water levels and drying rivers - or cannot be accessed.
According to the institute's assessment, Egypt imports more than half of its food because it does not have enough water to grow it domestically and Australia is faced with water scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin as a result of diverting large quantities of water for use in agriculture. The Aral Sea in central Asia is another example of massive diversion of water for agriculture in the Soviet era causing widespread water scarcity, and one of the world's worst environmental disasters.
Three visions of the future
1. Misery and shortages in the megacities and drought in Africa
2. China leads recycling rush as world moves to a new hydro economy
3. Water is the means of social control as floods and disease devastate world
This is a pretty heavy article. With some pretty damn huge implications. I’ve only been considering the water issue in reference to Australia’s situation. Somewhere in the back of my mind I’ve always know that it was a global issue, but it was only after reading this article that the scale is starting to sink in. Sounds like we should all be buying shares in Mount Franklin and Evian.
Airports...
Before I was in AIESEC, I traveled a lot. A few times overseas, and a lot of road-trips around Australia; everywhere from Cairns, to Hobart to Perth. But nowhere near as much as I travel now.
Since I’ve been a member, I’ve been to…
Sydney – July 05 (National Conference)
Adelaide – January 06 (National pre-Conference)
Perth – January 06 (National Conference)
The Philippines – March 06 (APXLDS)
Sydney – May 06 (Youth Leadership Convocation)
Melbourne – June 06 (Random jaunt! Caught up with Daz)
Sydney – August 06 (Random jaunt! Sydney’s elections)*
And coming up soon…
Sydney – September 06 (September President’s Meeting!)
Adelaide – January 06 (National Conference)
That’s a lot of airport time. This isn’t including the airport pickups before a conference and CEED and intern welcomes and farewells, so it’s no surprise that I spend a lot of time waiting in airports. Although on the flipside, I’ve spent a lot of time rushing around airports to catch my plane. I’m YET to miss an AIESEC associated flight but I’ve come damn close:
YLC – I stayed up all night to get a 5am flight. Traffic + Sydney + tired and confused Jess is trouble.
The Philippines – the closest call yet… as Nicky, Azz and Aleks will remember. So incredibly close to missing our flight back to Australia.
Random jaunt to Melbourne – Daz and I got distracted in an art gallery.
Random jaunt to Sydney – Check in. Run through terminal. Straight on the plane.
I’ve got no doubt I’m going to miss a flight soon. AIESECers have a high ‘missed flights’ strike rate.
*Yes. I’m in Sydney. Elections are tonight! Here’s a breakdown of the thought process that was taken to get me on a plane. Easily the most spur of the moment decision of my life:
1100 ‘What? Daz is in Sydney?’
1101 ‘I could be in Sydney.’
1200 *Checks with EB*
1215 *Contacts lecturers*
1400 *Contacts parents*
Quote: ‘Why are you calling me for permission? I only want to know if you’re going to Iraq or Afghanistan.’
1500 *Flights booked*
1630 *Packing commences*
1635 *Farewells CEEDy Chris*
1700 St James decides to mess with me and convince me I have a meeting with the DVC tomorrow = no Sydney = evil VP.
1800 *Emma and James take Jess to the airport*
1845 *Jess runs through terminal*
1900 *On the plane*
1915 ‘Why am I on a plane?’
2045 *IN SYDNEY!*
Best of luck to all the candidates – Pete, Jakey, Nicky and SuSu – you guys are all AIESEC stars. Whatever happens at tonight’s elections, with any of you guys at the helm of AIESEC Sydney, the LC is going to go great guns.
