“There is nothing more surreal than reality.”

Giorgio Morandi in his paintings investigates the relationship between the real and illusory : “I am essentially a painter of the kind of still life composition that communicates a sense of tranquility and privacy, moods which I have always valued above all else”. “What interests me the most is expressing what’s in nature, in the visible world, that is.” “Everything is a mystery, ourselves, and all things both simple and humble.” My colleague and friend Keith Wheeler had made me aware that the Phillips Collection was just around the corner of my hotel. I used my free morning in Washington to go there. To my happy surprise they had an exhibition of Morandi. For me looking at his paintings is a training to understand perception, reality and emptiness. The still lifes almost have an architectural composition of bottles and other simple utensils. There is very little depth and focus; almost no perspective or shadows; colours, forms and texture are almost ‘mute’; light, time and space seem to have stopped to exist. I could not take my eyes off them. I can still hear their silent message: inner peace.

Never change a winning team

Be careful with changes in the objectives and design of the workshop, when you are already half way. Recently - on the evening of the second day - I found the organizers and some of the participants by the pool of the hotel. For the last few hours they had been heavily discussing a complete re-design of the workshop. The face of the facilitator was getting desperate. When it was my turn to say something, I said: “Of course we have to be flexible, but never change a winning team! Our facilitator has spent a lot of time on the design of this workshop. It is better to provide her with some feedback on her ideas how to fill in the time slots of the last two days, than to try to restructure the whole workshop”. It all had started from the fact that the first two days of this workshop had been planned in much detail. The last two days on action planning, recommendations and agreements had been only roughly designed. As the steps of action planning and recommendations always follow certain principles, they can be designed in advance. This way you minimize the need for improvisation. Workshop flow and participants already give you enough to adapt to!

Briefings of facilitators and resource people

Clarity about objectives, a proper preparation and investing in ownership are success factors for a good workshop. The briefing is key. “Could you imagine preparing a three-hours session on strategic communication for sustainable development for a group of 10-15 participants to be run twice during the ‘training’ day (morning and afternoon) of our 4-day workshop?” Of course I had said: “yes!”. But until the last minute I had little clarity about the target group, the real issue and the objectives of the workshop. When I was contacted first I should have been more assertive and have used my checklist briefings to ask the right questions. The training sessions went all right, but in the end it was clear that the organizers had a different idea about communication objectives and strategy than I had: e.g. on the day after the training session they lead the group in action planning, asking them to define first messages and then look at target groups. Finally a next time I would advise them to give more time to develop ownership. You earn this time more than back through increased interest and motivation.

A letter to myself

How do we ensure that participants in a workshop remember their learning and apply it once back in their office? Recently one of my colleagues used a technique I had not used myself for some time. All participants had to write a letter to themselves at the end of a workshop: the three most important things they had learned and the three things they were going to do about it once they were back home. We had to put the letter in an envelope, close it, write our address and give it to the facilitator. She collected them and promised to post them after a month. Indeed a few days ago my letter was in the mail. I reread my key points of learning, looked again into my notes from the workshop and checked the three things I would do. And I made time for the things I still had not done. The posting below is one of them.

Communicating ABS

Don’t communicate externally before you have clarity about the message. When a product, policy or legal regime is still in development, do not communicate externally anything else than: “we are working on it”. Only when you have clarity about the behavior change you want you can go public. Until that time it is better to engage in a range of small scale concrete projects with major stakeholders and then find out what different stakeholders have to know, and how to change attitudes and behaviour.
ABS or access to genetic resources and benefit sharing arising out of their utilization is one of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The idea behind it is that the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry make profits that are partially based on the biodiversity and local knowledge in tropical countries – and that we neeed an international regime to make sure that part of these profits go to the communities that provided knowledge on and or access to the genetic resources. The CBD would like to define key audiences and messages. But I would say that at the moment you can’t say more than "we are developing an international regime for the 'fair trade' in genetic resources" and for the rest stick to two-way communication approaches (click on the matrix from the CEPA toolkit).

Our 'grey cells': why isn't the brain green?

How do we change behaviour? Should we concentrate our efforts on how people relate to nature or on how people deal with uncertainty, time, potential gains and potential losses? And if we look at change processes: do people base their decisions on analytical assessments of costs and benefits or on emotional drivers, based on personal experiences? How many worries can people deal with at the same time? How does the framing of risks influence people's attitudes? What are the differences between decisions reached on an individual basis or in a group? Would it not be wise to investigate to what extent technical solutions resonate with people, before investing in them? These are only some of the questions addressed in an article by Jon Gertner - "Why isn't the brain green?" - in the New York Times. This weekend Keith Wheeler sent me this overview of recent research on environmental decisions. ‘Gefundenes Fressen’ for further reflection and discussion, I would say for anyone who works to change policies, practices and behaviour in order to deal effectively with issues such as climate change or the loss of biodiversity.

Pilgrim sites: communication without words

What are the eight great places of Buddhist pilgrimage we are visiting, telling me? How can I better phrase it than the great Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote in 1935: "I once had gone on a visit to Bodh Gaya, and it had thrilled me to think that he who hallowed the earth by the touch of his feet had once come to that very place in the flesh. Why, had I thought with a pang, had I not been born in this day, that I might have received his holy influence directly with all my mind and all my body." Visiting the sites on which between 500 BC and 1200 AD stupas and temples were build, reminds me also of the Teachings: developing a strong sense of compassion, responsibility and concern, cultivating sensitivity and sharing, developing deeper human insight, refraining from violence, engaging in social action that benefits society. In many places there is only a few hours electricity; our mobiles don't work; the beds in the viharas are hard; there is little water; we have to cook ourselves; the roads are dusty and full of pot holes; everywhere beggars flock - almost aggressively - around us: a training in patience and compassion. In the end helping to make the earth a better place by "living" the sustainability ethics, serves our own happiness.

Engagement based on compassion

Buddhism is about transformational change of one's mind through training in compassion and wisdom. Many Buddhists just concentrate on their own mental change. Not so an engaged Buddhist such as Dr Adriana Ferranti. Since many years her Maitri (Compassion) center serves the poorest villages in the Gaya district with health care (leprosy, TB, HIV/Aids, mother and child care), primary education, animal care and natural resource management. The center operates in a decentralised way. Daily most of its 35 staffs are in the field advising villagers and patients, making sure medication is taken, looking after neglected animals and providing teachers to local schools. For Dr Ferranti it may provide her with good karma. At the same time her leadership contributes to transformational change beyond the individual level. Over the last decade the oasis of trees, she created in the midst of a desert, is an example of a different way of development compared to the urbanization that takes place in Bodhgaya town. The mud brick buildings combine aesthetics with local technology and climatic comfort. Contributing to better health, education and access to natural resources are small but basic steps towards sustainable development in the villages. Especially where essential government services are completely absent, true compassion has to lead to an engagement that benefits both the self and society.

Sustainability: not missing out on the important!

In reality phenomena are not always what they look like. Or actually never are. As a consequence our distorted perceptions make us miss out on many of the good things of life and often cause us only suffering. This is one of the tenets of Buddhist philosophy. So the content of the first email I opened here in an internet cafe in Bodhgaya (India) resonated very much with me. The mail was from Tina Trampus, a colleague from Slovenia. This is the story - it happened in 2007 - she sent me:

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 mins a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 mins later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 10 mins: a 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on. 45 minutes; the musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. 1 hour; he finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments .... how many other things are we missing?

Tina concluded: "Live here, live now, live THIS moment and enjoy it – is the best and the only you really have."

Bring The Comfort Of Indoors To Outdoors!?

In Europe already for some years, the market is lured into the new hype of patio heaters. As temperatures drop at nightfall, and people still want to sit in the garden, they invest in a patio heater of some sort. Since the ban on smoking, smokers flock round them outside bars. Restaurants now serve dinner even in midwinter on their terrace. It irritates me every time I pass these examples of extravagance. Why warming up the night sky by burning energy and therefore casting a carbon shadow? Ban not only smoking, but also outside heating. Yesterday with Copenhagen in mind my environment colleagues here in Delhi discussed how much less countries like India should contribute, compared to Europe. They took me out for dinner to their favorite Italian restaurant. We were to sit on the terrace - yes: with patio heaters! To sit inside was no alternative. This section is closed, said the sign on the door of the restaurant. As action speaks louder than words, I insisted to go somewhere else. The Delhi Supreme Court forced buses, taxis and rickshaws to change from diesel to natural gas. Why not also ban patio heaters? Until that time, environmental leaders should set an example as consumers both in the developed and the developing world.