Ending 2019

 as it's the last Friday of this year, I looked back to the stats and topics I wrote to this egroup to find that I've shared 48 messages including this one which is the highest since I started my blog in 2014.

The stories showed my own interest on several issues, i.e. internationalization (IZN), leadership, and future of the world. My passion on the latter has grown evidently as I also listen and read much more ka. Still feel scary yet fun to explore further what education can lead our people to be better prepared for the unknown advancing world.

Personally I think this passing year has been quite kind to me. It has offered opportunities to try something new with so much learning about project design, cross-cultural interactions and communication, and monitoring and evaluation. 

Thanks so much to all who have given me such valuable platforms ka.

After all, I think having freedom to use imagination and creativity and make it happen is the best way to sharpen our own potential, to enhance teamwork, and to acquire new practical approaches. 

More on the human side, to co-exist with AI,  we need to be even more ready to enhance human's strengths on our capabilities to network, to use our unlimited imagination, to think and act strategically, and to care with our heart and soul. Partnership to work with AI alongside of us is also essential for us to advance further.....not to become 'the useless class' stated by Yuval Harari lae ka. 

I'll keep learning from listening to podcast and book summaries, from watching YouTube interview clips, from reading books of my choice, and from sharing with this egroup ka. 

Hope you've enjoyed your 2019 while looking forward to a heightened and healthy learning year in 2020 na ka. 

Happy holidays with lots of joy ka.

Internationalization and gender

Hello all! I'd like to share with you what I left off from 'Factfulness' which is good to know ka.

The authors identified 5 world issues we should be worried about. They are: 'Worldwide Plague', 'Financial Collapse', 'World War 3', 'Climate Change' and 'Extreme Poverty'. Yuval Harari's 3 core issues (21 Lessons for the 21st Century) on Nuclear War, Climate Change, and Technological Disruption are somehow similar na ka.

Now, as seen from the subject, I attended a Unesco-sponsored seminar on, Internationalization and Gender, organized by MHESI's international cooperation strategy bureau. Here are what I'd like to share ka:

- Global citizenship in our world of disruption requires us and students to jointly reshape our education and activities. Gender can be used as means and end to promote internationalization the way each institution has defined.

- I think the changing world has been a catalyst for us to pay increased attention to gender, which is the cross-cutting issue of SDG with one goal on its own. Unesco seems to collect gender equality statistics focusing mainly on men and women, boys and girls. This made me think of 30 some years ago (that lonnnnng time ago!) when the world had so much gender-divide, girls and women in particular. Then, Unesco had many projects to promote this group plus projects to encourage 'women in development'. Recently, Unesco has stressed 'STEM Ed' for girls (still categorizing male and female). However, in the current and Thai contexts, opportunities for girls and women have risen (and more to do in some specific dimensions and countries/regions)  and perhaps we should explore what boys and men need to be encouraged too.

- Since the Women's Liberation decades ago, even with some remaining issues to communicate, would it be time to include LGBTQIA+? (I just learned it the other day ka....besides lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer....there are intersex and asexual plus more ka!)

- No matter what one's sexual orientation is, we all do need to offer some form of platforms for all to share thoughts and maximize diversity to the fullest. Diversity and inclusion with two-way communication are needed for all and individuals.

- I've thought of 'General Education' which should include a course related to gender to educate students along with the university community. This is even more crucial for our Z'ers to express themselves and/or design the lessons they think could help best. 

Several speakers suggested it too and viewed that university lecturers can integrate key issues into their teaching by redesigning their lessons to reflect gender equality awareness for all to become quality 'global citizens', who can work with people from diverse backgrounds and are comfortable to be their own selves.

At the macro-level, more efforts to review/revise curriculums at all levels while linking them for continuation from basic education to higher education. Media has played a key role to disseminate quality shows and series to educate the public too. 

At the micro-level, each family could learn how biased they are against some particular diverse groups, not necessarily LGBTQIA+....was thinking of 'class' in the Thai society too ka....a street cleaner once told us in a meeting that she felt bad to see facial expression of a person using the restroom after her, making her feel she was inferior and could dirty the restroom. I felt real upset and this story struck me hard!

- Leaders haven't become one of the key jigsaws in the process and senior leaders should be involved to learn from 'listening' to all.

- Attitude, culture, context, respect, and empathy are to be considered along with the efforts. Yet, we must be aware that gender equality has a blurry line with 'entitlement'.

- One Z speaker said any group needed to voice out didn't need to be aggressive as when we looked around, there're also other disadvantaged groups. I think after all, balance needs to be identified jointly!

This message has come to you at the time when the public has been critical about one piece of hot news. Do need to teach, learn, observe some cultural traditions with respect ka.  

Happy weekend ka. 

Factfulness

 I just finished  a book entitled, 'Factfulness' by a Swedish statistician Hans Rosling with his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna Rosling Rönnlund, 2018. It gives 10 reasons we're wrong about the world and argues that the world has in fact been better ka. 

Thanks to my former colleague who lent me her book a translated version by Dr. Natee Sakornyuttadet, making it much easier to skim through ka. 

To get started with my sharing, let me pick several questions out of 13 from the book like how it begins to ask you na ka.

Please answer without consulting google....Also note that my translation may not be that accurate as what is actually written kaaa!):

1. In lower income countries worldwide, how many girls have got their primary education?

a) 20% b) 40% c) 60%

2. During the past 20 years, what is the proportion of the population who lives in extreme poverty

a) almost one time higher b) almost the same level c) less than half

3. What is the percentage of the world population who has access to electricity?

 a) 20% b) 50% c) 80%  

4. How many one-year old have got the necessary vaccinations?

a) 20% b) 50% c) 80%  

Out of 13 questions, I think I could do only 7 ka. The statistics from different regions of the world also showed low correct answers too (I was a little relieved but shocked with my low level of knowledge too!)

The answers to the above without my checking them first fall into 'C' ka. How well did you do it ka?

The authors pointed out that we tended to expect the worst and don't really think that slow development could lead to change. We are likely to be in a rush to get answers or point fingers to others than our own selves and look at only one side of the issues....these are some of the reasons why we could fail to answer the questions about the world ka.

I think though it sounds like the world has improved a lot, are we up to it to  handle the storm of digitalization mai ka?

Yuval Harari mentioned similar progress about the globe in his book I shared earlier (on the negative side, there're several too kaa!) Moreoever, Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder and executive chairman of Singularity University has kept repeating that 'This is the best time to live in this world.'

'Factfulness' confirms their beliefs and I become a bit more hopeful ..... only a bit because I see our own people in the higher education institutions still compete against one another even when the world cries out loud for 'collaboration'. Happy to listen to a few CEOs from the private sector who have highlighted the need for 'collaboration', not so much from our circle yet!

We (individuals, authorities like MHESI, and universities) may need some new working cultures to move away from 'formality' like having to sign an agreement before starting any actions or ceremonies that may take long for preparations without much productive result, to look beyond our own world to the outside more seriously' and to 'get our hands dirty to learn from joint efforts'. 

Sorry if I sound like I'm complaining again na ka!

Happy Wednesday ka.