This is the New Integral leadership Review. Lots of themes which are crucial for global leadership in any form for the next decade. I enjoyed starting the in depth review of Marylin Hamiltons new book "Integral City". Done by my ILR colleague from Canada Jordan McLeod.

Jordan is member of Youth Organization from Club of Rome and we are co-creating some bridges for a project called "Sustainable Dubai".


Table of Contents, October 2008

 
Leadership Quote: Dee Hock
 Leading Comments: This Issue
 Integral Theory and Integral Action, Part 12: Mark Edwards and Russ Volckmann Leadership Coaching Tip: Amiel Handleman, Brutal Facts Plus Positive Emotion
 A Fresh Perspective: Integral Futures: A Conversation with Christopher Cooke

Review in Depth: Jordan McLeod, Marilyn Hamilton's Integral City, including a discussion with the author
 Article: Zachary Stein, Myth Busting and Metric Making: Refashioning the Discourse about Development
Article: Sunil Ahuja, Jon Ebersole, Otto Laske, Pia Neiwert, Mirna Perez and Ron Stewart, Business Leadership for an Evolving Planet: The Need for Transformational Thinking in Intercultural and International Environments
 Integral for the Masses: Keith Bellamy, Holding Leaders to Account or Letting Them Squirm
 Article: Bruce Lloyd, Power, Responsibility & Wisdom: Exploring the Issues at the Core of Ethical Decision-making
Article: Mark Walsh, Learning Integral the Hard Way-An Autobiographical Account of Martial Arts, Peace and the Pieces of the Puzzle
Article: Raquel Torrent, The Leadership of the Heart: Eagle's Flight through Life Experiences in the Awakening of Integral Spain
Leadership Cartoon: Bill Bates Update
 Leadership Cartoon: Guest Cartoonist, Mark Hill
Article: Debbe Kennedy, Open Invitations: Engaging People One Dialogue at a Time
Article: Janet E. Rechtman, Towards an Ideal of Global Leadership
Global Values Update: Alan Tonkin, Developing a Sustainable Democracy in South Africa? How Understanding Different Values Can Shape Our Democracy
 Article: John Renesch, Conscious Leadership: Transformational Approaches to a Sustainable Future

Notes from the Field
 Stuart Black, Integral Coaching in London
David McCallum, Third ILiA Collaborative
Peter Merry, The Hague Center
 Leslie Stoller, A Spiral Dynamics Boot Camp with Rafi Nasser
 Gayle Karen Young, Genpo Roshi Gayle Karen Young, Integral Women's Retreat
 Lu Yung-Pin, The Integrative Leadership Conference

 Announcements: Lithuania, UK, Belgium, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Canada, USA

 Leadership Emerging:

David V. Day, Michelle M. Harrison and Stanley M. Halpin. An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise.
Ann Howard, Ph.D. and Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D., Confidence in GLOBAL LEADERSHIP FORECAST 2008|2009: Overcoming the Shortfalls in Developing Leaders.
Richard John Hatala and Lillas Marie Hatala, "The Business Case for Leadership Development".
Lillas Marie Hatala and Cheryl Dougan, Integrative Leadership: Let Spirit Be the Lead of Your Life, Study Guide.
 Coda: Daniel Goleman and friends, Knowing our Emotions, Improving Our World

This article from Arianna Huffington summarizes it best what the essence of Baracks Victory is. I can only assure this is true for Europeans view too. Its celebrated here as its possibility was celebrated and appreciated already long ago.

My own choice for Barack goes back 2 years now. At a moment for most dems had focused strongly on Hillary and reps did not see him even on the radar screen. "Emotionally)

Today: congratulations to America and joy for the world!


Why All Americans Have A Reason To Celebrate

Even if your candidate didn't win tonight, you have reason to celebrate. We all do.

Ten months ago, when Obama won in Iowa, we had a glimpse of what was possible and what became real tonight. What I wrote then about one state is now true for the whole country:

Barack Obama's impressive victory says a lot about America, and also about the current mindset of the American voter.

Because tonight voters decided that they didn't want to look back. They wanted to step into the future -- as if a country exhausted by the last seven-plus years wanted to recapture its youth.

And they turned out in unprecedented numbers today to make sure that no amount of scrubbed rolls, malfunctioning machines, endless lines, or polling places running out of ballots would block the way.

The history of America is studded with great breakthroughs -- propelled by leaders such as Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Martin Luther King - followed by decades of consolidation and occasional regression.

The Bush years have clearly been in a period of regression. The repudiation of those years is now almost universal. Even conservatives are admitting it; over the course of today, I've received numerous emails from conservatives ending with some variation on "Go Obama!"

In America's journey toward a more just and truly democratic society, tonight is another milestone. And not just because the son of a Kenyan father and a mother from Kansas is now President-Elect. But also because tonight's outcome is a declaration that we are once again a nation more driven by hope and promise than a nation driven by fear.

Bush's re-election in 2004 was a monument to the power of fear. And McCain, his staff stocked with Karl Rove disciples, followed the Bush blueprint and played the fear card again and again.

Be afraid of Obama, the GOP warned us. Be afraid of something new, something different. He would meet with our enemies. His middle name is Hussein. He "pals around with terrorists," consorts with the radicals at Acorn (which is "destroying the fabric of democracy"), and doesn't see America "like you and I see America." A vote for Obama would be "dangerous" and "too risky for America."

Read more...

Yesterday, exactly one year ago, the European Council on Foreign Relations had its

Official Launch In Berlin

In a new article co-founder Mark leonard and Daniel Korski are asking urgent questions for European Poltical leaders which are awaiting not only answers but action blue prints and tough decisions. I could not agree more. When I spoke with Daniel Korski personally last year it was clear  for us that time is running and the European role in the world must liberated from many blind spots, atrophies and missing proactive shaping intention.

The article:

What Now?

By Mark Leonard and Daniel Korski - 05 Nov 08

For much of the last few years, European leaders have been happier providing a running commentary on the failings of the Bush administration than taking responsibility for global problems themselves.  Barack Obama's election brings that era to a decisive close.  When he arrives in Europe for his first trip as president, European publics will line the streets, while their leaders queue for photo-ops.  But Obama's visit will also pose a profound challenge to the comfortable introversion of many European governments.

Many pundits have predicted a crisis of expectations.  No matter how liberal Obama's administration will be - it will still be more impatient, more focused on national security, and more willing to use military force than its European partners.  But tensions are as likely to be driven by the relative ambitions of the two blocs as by any differences in ideology. 

The biggest shock to Europeans will be the discovery that the natural corollary of Obama's determination to break with Bush's unilateralism is a desire for tangible assistance from Europeans.

Obama famously wants to shift resources from the ‘bad' war in Iraq to the good one in Afghanistan. But, no matter how much European governments try to manage down expectations on what they can deliver, he is unlikely to be satisfied with a re-badging of existing commitments. If Europe remains unwilling to make the necessary military contribution to ISAF - and the US becomes forced to "surge" unilaterally, as it did in Iraq - an Obama administration could conclude that Europeans have little to offer as a war-fighting support.

On Iran, the EU is delighted that Obama has signalled a willingness to engage with the mullahs, but they will also need to contemplate much tougher sanctions if diplomatic overtures fail to deliver.

Europeans are asking Obama to begin his presidency with a push for peace in the Middle East rather than waiting till the end of his term. But are they ready - or even able - to supply the blood and treasure needed to be a "co-sponsor" of a deal.

On issue after issue - from Darfur to climate change - Obama will expose the gulf between European rhetoric and  capability. Even when it comes to closing Guantanamo Bay, Europeans will be called on to absorb those detainees - around 50 - that the US would like to release, but who cannot be returned to their home countries because they would be likely to be tortured.

When Warren Christopher made his first trip to the Balkans as Secretary of State for President Clinton, he asked European leaders what their vision was for the Balkans.  He was not prepared for the awkward silence that followed.  The French Presidency has worked hard to ensure that Obama's envoy has a less shakey start.  European foreign ministers have agreed on a letter to the new president of the United States that sets out four shared European priorities.  But media reports suggest that the issues they have chosen - and the meagre resources they have put on the table - are more likely to lead to a crisis of expectations than a trans-Atlantic honeymoon.   

European leaders have just 72 days between the election and the inauguration to close the gap between rhetoric and reality; to work out what they want to do in the world, and what resources they are willing to commit.  It is vital to start a structured process now - amongst Europeans - so that the EU can approach the incoming administration with a shared plan of action - backed by European commitments - rather than a shopping list of complaints.

In a series of articles over the next few weeks, ECFR fellows will suggest areas that the EU should focus on. We will end by setting out some ideas on how European leaders could re-wire the institutions of the trans-Atlantic relationship.

The fall/winter edition of Kosmos Journal is out.

See:

Table of Contents

Nancy Roof -editor-in-chief and founder of Kosmos Journal wrote this editorial:

A letter to you,

Twice a year I have the opportunity to connect with you and to express my gratitude to those who have inspired and uplifted me on this long journey toward planetary harmony and wholeness. Although I have not met many of you in person, I think of you often, knowing we are resonating to the same note. Many of you are designing and crafting exciting projects and exploding with creative ideas. You wrote such meaningful essays with so much caring, concern, and effective action that my heart was full of hope for our future. We named this issue Hope of the World because of you.

We understand that recognition of the inadequacy of our traditional institutions is the first step toward taking that great leap into a new era where a higher-level consciousness will be reflected in our transformed institutions. Although we know that pervasive creative destruction will bring in a brighter light in the long run, we are deeply concerned for the suffering that will be endured by the most fragile members of our global family. Sensitivity towards this suffering spurs many of us on to make contributions way beyond what we ever thought possible.

Again, I was full of excitement and hope as the feature articles began to come in for this issue. It was clear that social entrepreneurs, gone global, were bursting at the seams and implementing creative ideas, with love, backed up by a resolute will. My hopes rose more as I saw our youth step forward to take responsibility for creating the new civilization. Tatiana Glad, amazed me with her ingenuity in founding The Hub, habitats for social entrepreneurs who now flock together in major cities to enhance one another's innovations. Then, the brilliant Helen Titchen Beeth spun off a casual e-mail to a group about the foundations of systems theory that eventually became a full-scale article for Kosmos. Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's idea of producing videos inquiring about the meaning of ‘oneness' and giving them away without charge, raised my hopes even more for a culture of sharing. And Google Foundation's leader, Larry Brilliant, a veteran social entrepreneur, is now defining what compassionate capitalism is, while materialistic values reveal their shallowness and ‘giving' reveals its fulfilling interior rewards.

Then there is the ‘commons' movement, which identifies a new force in society to protect what should be the common inheritance of all people from the grasp of a few. It is an extension of the idea of civil society and a clearer definition of the need to protect common resources for the good of all humanity. It is a revelation of the current dangers of losing such basic commons goods as the right to water to private profiteers. James Quilligan, Kosmos Board of Directors, and David Bollier are leading the way to civil society as a distinct third force-the hope of the world for fair governance, economic justice and the new civilization.

The great shift of values is expressing itself through all fields of endeavor. Elisabet Sahtouris, our science entrepreneur, has initiated a worldwide effort for a new evolutionary science that she calls Global Sciencing. Barbara Fields engages us with 21st century spirituality based on experiential knowing and spiritual activism. Philip Hellmich, an amazing youth leader, tells an engaging story about how he maintains inner peace while dealing with traumatic conflicts in Africa.

Kosmos is noted for carrying the message both with words and through evocative images. In this issue we have invited some of the most talented and innovative artists for our Galleries. Mia Hanak, another young social entrepreneur, tells us her story of founding the World Natural Museum. Martin Hill designs stunning natural sculptures which demonstrate lessons learned from nature, while Anne-Marie Pochat shares her visions of the Birth of the Worlds in stunning detailed forms of beauty.

Rounding out this issue, we present an innovative Kosmos seminar that took place in Bolivia, by Nila Tadich de Ossio and an interview by Susan Cavanagh with John Schmidt about his research on mindsets and sustainability, part of the ‘Wisdom Leaders Series' soon to be released on CD by Kosmos and SummitSpeak.I am inspired by hope. I am surrounded by young and old social entrepreneurs, born to elevate our world. Millions of people, just like you and me, are stepping up to participate in this world-wide opportunity to create the kind of world that inspires hope, where dignity and grace and justice accompany our evolutionary journey. This is the call we dare to answer.    

A nice piece of political correctness. Correct? Maybe in times of threats of all kinds not clear in the first moment. A first litmus test for Obama recruitment process.

As Hillary is in the pipleine for a potential job she would have the advantage that some "clearing" already had be done:):)

You find the The 7 page questionaires below the article.

For A Washington Job, Be Prepared To Tell All



By JACKIE CALMES
WASHINGTON - Want a top job in the Obama administration? Only pack rats need apply, preferably those not packing controversy.

A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive - some say invasive - application ever.

The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants' spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.

Only the smallest details are excluded; traffic tickets carrying fines of less than $50 need not be reported, the application says. Applicants are asked whether they or anyone in their family owns a gun. They must include any e-mail that might embarrass the president-elect, along with any blog posts and links to their Facebook pages.

The application also asks applicants to "please list all aliases or ‘handles' you have used to communicate on the Internet."

Read more..

International Herald Tribune is asking:

Can Europe Produce An Obama?

Casting diferent examples in UK, Fanrce and Germany hty basically focus on migration and questions of multiculturalism. This is ok however it misses the central core of the phenomenon Obama.

The stardom celebrated in USA is a specificum. Years ago -during a conversation at first European SDi Confab in Netherlands -Don Beck said (according to a protocoll):

"Europeans can listen to Wilhelm Tell overture without thinking of Lone Ranger."

While Europe is defining itself - motto of EU United in Diversity)- with its diverse identities, America has a central dream and its defining moment of revolution.

What is in demand here is capability to integrate these identities. To give them soul. To go beyond the limited either or of multi-culturalism and national movements,. Not to mention regional ones.

less Stardom is needed as in USA. However a strong, far sighted, determined and innovative collective leadership.

And a public mood, a Pan european thinking, a collective visible power in all of its intelligencies, and a vertical perspective with freshness, boldness and global imopact. A sexual appeal of bridging the maximum of diversity without loosing vertical proportions. Enthusiasm.

Change as felt momentum and dynamics. As a wind of change. not administrative efforts and institutional and structural outlining.

Change with inclusion of age old European melancholy but without surrendering to it.

Change as riding the tiger of time. As moving the edge in reaching out to the world like in the time of Rennaisance. And creating verticality in its cities, communities, countries, cultures and citizen grassroots.

Leading its 450-500 Million people as much as one of the big world powers as offering the world the best of EU`s "Unity in diversity".

YES. WE EUROPEANS CAN.


Can Europe Produce An Obama?

By Steven Erlanger PARIS:

In the general European euphoria over the election of Barack Obama, there is the beginning of self-reflection about Europe's own troubles with racial integration. Many are asking if there could be a French, British, German or Italian Obama, and everyone knows the answer is no, not anytime soon.

It is risky to make racial comparisons between America and Europe, given all the historical and cultural differences. But race had long been one reason that Europeans, harking back to the days when famous American blacks like Josephine Baker and James Baldwin found solace in France, looked down on the United States, even as Europe developed postcolonial racial problems of its own.

"They always said, 'You think race relations are bad here in France, check out the U.S.,' " said Mohamed Hamidi, former editor of the Bondy Blog, founded after the 2005 riots in the heavily immigrant suburbs of Paris.

"But that argument can no longer stand," he said.

For many immigrants to Europe, Obama's victory is "a small revolution" toward better overall treatment of minorities, said Nadia Azieze, 31, an Algerian-born nurse who grew up here. "It will never be the same," she said, over a meal of rice and lamb in the racially mixed Paris neighborhood of Barbès-Rochechouart.

Read More..

SPIEGEL ONLINE summarizes some Arab emotions, thoughts and expectations from the Arab World regarding the next US president and his foreign policy.

Its clear thast now tough learning processes for all stakeholders are in demand. At the heart of this change are the cultural codes. Poltics and business should reflect an understanding of it.

As much from the new Government as from Arab Leaders. As I am engaged in this context since last 4 years I know personally what it takes. At a simple business level. Vmemetic landscapes -especially across Europe, Mideast and USA are huge canyons with big spaces betwen them and to bridge some gaps demands  than the boldest architects and designers. And of course collaboration in infinite ways. Making hands dirty and moving in the real worlds.

The Arab World Looks To A New America

By Gerhard Spörl and Bernhard Zand

The US has long been a model for many parts of the Arab world, but the Bush administration's foreign policy led to rifts. Now, the region has high hopes from America, but they aren't sure what to expect from President-elect Barack Obama.



It's about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, which is roughly the distance from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. One hundred years ago, California was the El Dorado for the Americans, a land on the horizon, far off near the edge of their map and yet at the center of their fantasies. Today, the Gulf Emirates occupy a similar place in the imaginations of the Arabs. Rich. Modern. Bold. The Emirates are enlightened where much of the Arab world is repressed and held back by its self-imposed restrictions. Many a young man in the slums of Cairo, in the prisons of Baghdad or behind the walls of Palestine has dreamt of speeding, wild and free, along the road from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in an SUV or in a convertible earned through his own hard work.



The coastal road, known as highway 11, recently received new signs similar to those in the US, including emblems like those used in the Interstate highway system, indicating whether a driver is going "northbound" or "southbound." The step was not an arbitrary one. Even though the British controlled this part of the world for centuries, modern Gulf Arabs have always looked to their protective power, the United States, emulating its capitalism and megalomania. The skyscrapers of Dubai and the checkerboard urban landscapes of Doha and Kuwait are concrete acknowledgements of their role model.

"I love everything about America," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, said two years ago. His words reflected the sentiments of a growing class of ambitious Arabs who are tired of being seen as the eternal losers in world history. He spoke on behalf of those who are simply interested in doing business and have long felt alienated by the leftist and nationalist ideologies of pan-Arabism, by Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia and by the Palestinians' obsession with victimhood. But despite the rapid pace of progress in this futuristic region during the last eight years, the current administration in Washington has made things difficult for these modern Arabs. This explains why the sheikh of Dubai followed his words of adoration with a much-quoted caveat: "I love everything about America, except for its foreign policy."

Read more.

SPIEGEL ONLINE sumarizes some of German Press voices regarding the building of  new US cabinet. its clear that the pressure of existing problems needs first a tough action plan. Proven Track Record ranges ahead of innovative shaping force.
Thats necessary. And fast paced deadlines will mark Obamas starting time.

As Don Beck says these days-in another context but close to these steps:



"Well, I think we now know. The mixture of Orange
and Green value-systems without a good functional
Blue expression of responsibility, discipline and
regulations has helped provoke this crisis,
especially in the home financing business.
Unbridled Orange greed married to Green naivete
is an unhealthy union as negative versions of
these two codes have contributed mightily to the
mess we are current in. This spiral down dynamic
has literally exploded through financial
institutes around the world. No doubt these toxic
elements reflect the end stages of the First
Tier, a condition that Graves envisioned many years ago.

This will be a great time for people like us as
even the election of President-Elect Obama did
not causes this revival; it simply revealed what
has been happening for some time. Social tectonic
plates are shifting with mind-quakes on the
surface that are just now becoming visible."

For me, it will be most interesting how Obama Cabinet will perform first 100 days next year. And 2009 in general. As elections in United Kingdom and Germany will happen in 2009 too this year will ofer a most amazing window of opportunity for new transatlantic intiatives.

Obama Has Secured The Best Economic Expertise Available

US President-elect Barack Obama is assembling his cabinet quickly, but focusing first on his economic team. German commentators are pleased by his selections so far.

The message coming out of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is clear: Now is not the time for political dilettantes or those without proven experience. Rather, it is a time to circle the wagons in the face of numerous problems facing the US.



His first big move was that of tapping Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State, though the appointment won't be finalized until after Thanksgiving. Other big Democratic names -- including Bill Richardson, Tom Daschle and Janet Napolitano -- appear to be primed for other seats around Obama's cabinet table.

Given the importance and severity of the current financial crisis, Obama seems determined to get jerseys for his financial team first. On Friday it was revealed that Obama wants Timothy Geithner, 47, to head the Treasury Department. The news of Geithner's probable appointment sent the US stock market's current roller-coaster into a steep 500-point ascent Friday. Geithner has held posts in the Treasury Department under three administrations and is currently the president of the New York Federal Reserve.

More importantly, Geithner has been intimately involved in working with current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in orchestrating the response of President George W. Bush's administration to the ongoing financial crisis. While some see this as good preparation should he assume the reins in tackling the economic slowdown and credit crunch, others worry that his involvement might lead to some heated opposition during his confirmation hearing.

Read more...

The age of the book is coming to an end, writes Wired founder Kevin Kelly. Books are replaced by screens. We are turning from readers into seers. But how should we organise and use the flood of images as we are accustomed to with text? "We don't have the equivalent of a hyperlink for film yet. (...) With true screen fluency, I'd be able to cite specific frames of a film, or specific items in a frame."

This is a lucid piece of writing from Kevin Kelly. I have only one suggestion. its not about  becoming.Screen Literate per se. Its about the speed of reality manifestation in realm of media.

Becoming Screen Literate

By KEVIN KELLY
Published: November 21, 2008
Everywhere we look, we see screens. The other day I watched clips from a movie as I pumped gas into my car. The other night I saw a movie on the backseat of a plane. We will watch anywhere. Screens playing video pop up in the most unexpected places - like A.T.M. machines and supermarket checkout lines and tiny phones; some movie fans watch entire films in between calls. These ever-present screens have created an audience for very short moving pictures, as brief as three minutes, while cheap digital creation tools have empowered a new generation of filmmakers, who are rapidly filling up those screens. We are headed toward screen ubiquity.


When technology shifts, it bends the culture. Once, long ago, culture revolved around the spoken word. The oral skills of memorization, recitation and rhetoric instilled in societies a reverence for the past, the ambiguous, the ornate and the subjective. Then, about 500 years ago, orality was overthrown by technology. Gutenberg's invention of metallic movable type elevated writing into a central position in the culture. By the means of cheap and perfect copies, text became the engine of change and the foundation of stability. From printing came journalism, science and the mathematics of libraries and law. The distribution-and-display device that we call printing instilled in society a reverence for precision (of black ink on white paper), an appreciation for linear logic (in a sentence), a passion for objectivity (of printed fact) and an allegiance to authority (via authors), whose truth was as fixed and final as a book. In the West, we became people of the book.

Read more..

Said Dawlabani, Director/COO from Center for HUman Emergence Mideast, asked me to spread some word. And its my joy and pleasure to do so in this special affair.
The CHE Mideast is THE single project I am following and supporting for years.
It works with an archimedic point of world history in my eyes.

And its mission, vision and perspectives go far beyond a mere regional scope. I support it full-heartedly:

Below is an open letter from our CEO to the Obama Administration. Here's the link to it on our website:

 http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/open-letter-to-barack-obama.php

. If there was ever a time to bring an SDi/Natural Design perspective to the mainstream, here's our opportunity to do so by helping to solve the world's longest continuing conflict. Please send the link to this letter to as many people as you can. We also call on all the bloggers  to link to this article from their blogs and websites. 
 



An Open Letter on the Middle East to President Elect

Barack Obama


From Elza S. Maalouf
Center for Human Emergence-Middle East
25 November 2008


Dear President Elect Obama,



Your election was celebrated by young Arabs all over the Middle East. In Syria they call you "Abu Hussein" an endearing term given to politicians they feel close to. Young people affiliated with our center in Kuwait, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestine wished they had the right to vote for you. Lebanese youth proudly wore Obama T-shirts. "Yes we can" quickly became a slogan heard on Arab streets and our young people added "Yes we will."  This enthusiasm for an American political figure is unprecedented in the Arab world. For this and for the sake of global wellbeing we hope that your administration seizes the moment to help facilitate emergence in the Arab world; an emergence that will be lead by young- progressive Arab leaders and supported by a US administration that is ready to pioneer fresh approaches in foreign policy.

It is no secret that the key to restoring our credibility in the Arab world, is by -first and foremost- resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For several years the Center for Human Emergence Middle East (CHE-ME) has dedicated its resources to uncovering the blockages that have prevented sustainable peace from taking root. We believe that in order for any Middle East peace road map to succeed a Palestinian Systemic Development Map has to be implemented first. Together with our Palestinian partners we have been working on a grass roots movement called "Build Palestine Initiative" in which we identified specific developmental steps that are congruent with the Palestinian value-systems and will be most effective in building capacities in Palestinian society. This movement has gained critical mass among progressive Palestinians who advocate self-reliance and we simply must continue supporting them.

Your choice of Chief of Staff and Secretary of State was met with a lot of apprehension in the Arab media. Polls show that over 60% of Arabs think that both Rahm Emanuel and Senator Clinton will be pro-Israel.  The way we see it at the CHE-ME is that under the mandate for change that you are leading, pro-Israel should mean the following:


A US administration that's actively participating in creating a peaceful neighboring Palestinian state.
A US administration that supports Israel in becoming a full development partner to the Palestinians in business, education, healthcare and progressive social programs.
A US administration that supports the Palestinians in creating a vision of 21st Century Palestine where both states can thrive and let thrive.The Center for Human Emergence-Middle East will be presenting to your administration a position paper detailing our culturally-fit approach to solving the conflict, the breakthrough results we have achieved so far on a grass roots level, and recommended systemic strategies for ushering in sustainable peace.

Real change in the Middle East and in Palestine must come from new ways of thinking, fresh approaches to understanding cultural dynamics, and innovative ways to actually meet the developmental needs of people. We are certain you recognized many of these principles in your work in community development in south Chicago. Simply "doing more of the same" that has produced this situation, will not bring the outcome we all desire.

As a proud Arab-American I am encouraged to see the most powerful democracy in the world having the potential to become the most conscious democracy under your leadership. My hope is that the enthusiasm you brought to Arab youths is sustained by a bold action-plan that can support transformation and emergence in the Middle East.

 

Respectfully,

Elza S. Maalouf
Chief Executive Officer
Center for Human Emergence- Middle East

  Elza S. Maalouf is the CEO of the Center for Human Emergence-Middle East, a non-profit research and strategic design center that integrates different modes of thought and value-system priorities with geo-economic elements within the Arab world.  She is leading innovation within the Islamic Arab world to identify complex thinking that will facilitate the emergence of Arabs into their 21st century Renaissance.

This is an announcement from TED Conference 2009.

I welcome the Go Global Attitude from TED. Oxford is an excellent place. Maybe they were inspired by
 
Google Zeitgeist Europe 2008

which was in UK too.


Dear TEDizens,

We are delighted to announce that TED is coming to Europe next summer as a major new, annual event. TEDGlobal 2009, is to be held in Oxford, UK, 21-24 July 2009, and every year after that.

This is our next major step in taking TED global. From 2010 onward we envision simulcasts of this event to TED communities in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. (The UK's time zone is more convenient for these regions than California's.) To set the stage in 2009, we are reaching out to attendees from every continent to become founder members of TEDGlobal. We welcome a truly international mix of thinkers and doers, creatives and catalysts. Because all of the world's biggest ideas and biggest problems transcend borders and affect us all.  We're in this together.

In a time of extraordinary global uncertainty and doubt, it's time to look beneath and beyond; to dig under the surface; to consider novel ideas that will drive the times ahead. Therefore we've based next summer's event on a potent theme: "The Substance Of Things Not Seen".  

We've signed up a spectacular group of speakers: scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, tech wizards, creative geniuses, game-changing thinkers. As is TED's way, we won't spoil the surprise by revealing them just yet. But the internal view is that this is an amazing line-up, every bit as strong as our California conferences. There's a real treat in store.

Oxford is a one-of-a-kind environment that for centuries has championed the power of reason and discovery and art, and TEDGlobal will be finely woven into the Oxford landscape. Most sessions will take place at the Oxford Playhouse, the city's theatre, with special events and parties at the distinctive Sheldonian Theatre, at the stunning Museum of Natural History, at historic Keble College, and at the Malmaison Hotel -- the newly renovated, extraordinary hotel that was once a Victorian prison. More details and pictures here.

During the 24 hours preceding and following the conference, attendees will be offered a series of discoveries and special programs, including TED University, a tour of Bletchley Park (think Alan Turing and the Enigma machine), punting on the river Cherwell and surprising exclusive visits. These activities will be opened to registered participants only.



We are awed and humbled by the enthusiasm that is surrounding TED and the support shown by you and other TEDizens. We believe TEDGlobal will be a major step in our project to build TED as a borderless community of doers and thinkers that have the future of the world at heart.

We hope to see you in Oxford next July. Thank you very much!

Chris Anderson
TED Curator

Bruno Giussani
TED European Director

I sent my colleague Dr. Dennis Roberts, who works as American Professor for the flagship project of Qatar Foundation -Education City -the Open Letter to President Obama, from Center for Human Emrgence, Mideast.  This is his newest entry from his blog.

Seen from an American citizen who now lives and works in the GCC Region for one year. And how it is all seen from there. Check out also the other entries from Dennis from last months. 

 Mumbai terrorism, Obama and Arab youth, and Thanksgiving


My journey in Qatar continues to include increasing depth of understanding about the political, religious, and other strife that seems to abound in the Middle East. The terrorism in Mumbai and the take-over of airports in Thailand represent the dynamics most often associated with the Middle East, only pushing them further into Asia. Why do these incidents continue to occur and what's the way out?

I'm not a political scientist nor an expert in Middle Eastern and/or Asian affairs. However, a letter that I received from a colleague reflected the hope that many young people around the world have as a result of the election of Barack Obama. The Center for Human Emergence Middle East issued An Open Letter on the Middle East to President-Elect Obama. Based on the enthusiasm of Arab youth, the letter proposes that one of the keys to possibility and peace is for the U.S.A. to take a more balanced role in relation to Israel and Palestine. In particular, the letter urges that the U.S.A. join with other countries (including Israel) to build the capacity of Palestine so that it can return to a position as a progessive, economically viable, and independent country. I encounter the angst over Palestine all the time in my casual interactions. Whether it's the black and white version of gahfia worn as a scarf by young Arabs or the music of activist artists, the message is unmistakable - stop privileging only one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and recognize that there has been plenty of wrong-headedness and wrong-doing among all parties.

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I am presenting a guest blog from Keith Rice which reflects on current events in Mumbai from a spiral perspective. As the greater Middle East ist the theme this is useful analysis about the large connectivity of dysfunct vmemetic patterns. Which move as much in time as in geospace.  And adresses strategic imagination for securing pre-blue trouble spots worldwide. As much in Cities, Communities, Countries and Cultures.

These thoughts are essential for any foreign policy unit on earth which is worth the money. See also this complimentary. as I perceive it -snapshot from Pentagon Insider Thomas PM Barnett:

On the Motives in Mumbai

"While India is no stranger to such terror (indeed, it can claim to have endured more experience in this regard than any other great power over the last quarter-century, with no other even coming close), these attacks seem to signal a new era for the nation: like a China, India becomes increasingly targeted for its role in embracing and spreading globalization. Thus its need to have a globally conscious and responsible military--meaning an end to the strategic myopia over Jammu & Kashmir."

Abu Ghraib, Auschwitz and Mumbai



Keith E Rice's Blog

Random Thoughts of a SocioPsychologist -
 
http://www.integratedsociopsychology.net/


Abu Ghraib, Auschwitz and Mumbai
Posted by keith at 5:17 pm, November 28th 2008.
It is, of course, decidedly early to pronounce on just who is behind the terrorist attacks in Mumbai; but it is almost certainly radical Islamists of one persuasion or another. One senior Indian military officer has claimed that the attackers came from Pakistan - yet one of the gunmen in the Oberoi Trident Hotel managed to get hooked up to a TV channel and told them he was from the 'Deccan Mujahedeen', a (previously-unknown) group of Indian Muslim extremists.


Given the marginally-improved state of the usually-hostile/often-verging-on-war relations between India and Pakistan, one might almost be forgiven for hoping it was an internal Indian operation that could not so easily be a catalyst for open military confrontation between the two nuclear powers. However, in light of the Hindu orgies of violence against Muslim communities which have followed previous Islamist terrorist incidents on Indian soil, thousands upon thousands of civilian deaths might prove equally unpalatable.

 

Where ever the attackers originated from, few will be surprised if they didn't have at least tacit assistance from radicals in Pakistan. And few will surprised, given the sophisticated level of organisation in the Mumbai attacks, if the hand of al-Qaeda isn't  to be found somewhere in the pulling of the strings.


What makes people so willing to do such dreadful things to other people?

As part of teaching a new specification to my A-Level Psychology students, we've been looking at the notorious Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandals of 2003-2004. (See the Blog entry, ‘Prisoner abuse and the mess in Iraq') To the credit of the new specification, it attempts to apply psychological theory to ‘real life' situations - in this case Stanley Milgram's Agency Theory and Henri Tajfel's Social Identity Theory to Abu Ghraib.


It was as we were discussing the application of Tajfel's ideas that I had what Abraham Maslow would have called a ‘peak experience' - though a rather chilling one! Tajfel's proposition was that, simply by categorising people into different groups, you predispose those groups to inter-group conflict. We looked at how the American guards at Abu Ghraib saw themselves as the in-group - the ‘good guys', self-sacrificing liberators, democrats, Christians, sophisticated, trouser-wearers - while the Iraqi prisoners were the out-group - ‘bad guys', terrorists, tribesmen, Muslims, primitive, dress-wearers. Etc. Etc. Etc.  One of the students commented: "The Americans must have seen the Iraqis as that much further down the evolutionary chain!" And then it struck me: This isn't that far from how the Nazis made the Jews out to be such an inferior - yet dangerous! - species and so paved the way for a kind of tacit acceptance of Auschwitz and the other concentration camps from many Germans.

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