Security Day!

Hey everyone,

Today started with two hours devoted to coming up with projects in our small groups. Though I feel like we're making progress, we're really struggling with how we can make our projects self-supporting in future years. We (as a group, though I personally am a little unsure) feel confident that we could raise requisite funding for the initial costs of a project, but long-term revenue generation currently eludes us.

My favorite idea so far is to do a survey project of Eastern European businesses to determine where they are in terms of sustainability, and what their tool/resource needs are. There are several benefits to this, including the fact that it would fit well within the year time-frame that we have to use the money, it is within the skill set of the group, it would help to generate data in a currently under-explored area, and it would keep us from developing a project that Central European businesses have no real interest in or use for. Unfortunately, we were kinda discouraged from doing research projects, and that's really what this is - it's also not something that's self-sustaining (unless we promise to do follow up studies on a frequent basis... with additional money from.... somewhere). We'll just have to keep brainstorming tomorrow.

After the brainstorming session, everyone met to listen to the two security presentations. They were reasonably interesting, particularly the one by the Czech former general. He said that he felt that the Czech Republic was toning down its security in the wrong ways. For example, he said, and we all agreed, that if there were to be a bio-terrorism attach in the Czech Republic, it would probably happen in Prague, and it would probably be in the Metro, where lots of people would be exposed. Unfortunately, the hospital that is equipped to deal with that is over 100 km away. People would have to be transported by helicopter. Unfortunately, the helicopters are also located far away, and there is a mountain range between them and Prague - a mountain range that can't be crossed by helicopters in the winter. There is a hospital that is equipped to handle bio-terrorism closer to Prague. It has four beds. So... with all that in mind, I guess that I feel like he made a pretty compelling argument.

After lunch, the next session was on environmental literacy and using education to create sustainable development. The speakers were pretty good, though they both seemed a little jaded. Blazena Huskova talked to us about nature deficit disorder and how challenging it is to change beliefs and attitudes once people get older - her organization has had more success in working with children. Jana Dlouha talked about the history of environmental and sustainable development education, and highlighted some of the differences between the two. As nearly as I can tell, sustainable development education looks at the future and encapsulates a number of different values, while with environmental education, the environment and nature are the values. Both speakers agreed that in order for change to occur, there needs to be a respected spokesperson, and that educating children is the way to go.

After hearing about environmental literacy, my friend Laura (a native of York, ME) and I decided to explore Prague a little bit. We took the metro and then the tram to the castle, where we walked around the grounds. It was really cold - I was really hoping for some snow (it was on the forecast!) but alas. The castle is absolutely huge, and seems to have had several different additions from different time periods. We even got to see the changing of the guards! Not as exciting as it is in London, but still. I'll put the video up on Facebook at some point. We kept walking and window-shopping and eventually made our way back to the hotel.

Now I'm going to do some school work. We're eating with our dialogue group (so all the other people in the environmental section) tonight, so that should be fun.

Plans for tomorrow
Chipping Away at Intolerance in America - Wayne Drash and Robert Johnson, CNN
Group Photo
90 Minutes Live with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Program (Focus on Chechnya and Human Rights) - Jeff Gedmin, President of Radio Free Europe; Jaromir Stetina, Czech Senator; Josef Pazderka, Czech TV Reporter
Group Project Meetings Group Reports Closing Remarks - Judith A. McHale, Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, US Department of State

Feel free to comment! Also, sorry about the photo - it was foggy today.
P.S. KATIE COMES TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Encouraging Comments

Hey everyone,

Before detailing my day and telling you what I'm up to tomorrow, I'd like to encourage everyone to comment on my posts. I would love to be able to take your questions into the sessions tomorrow, and the conference really promotes it. We've even been told that people who submit their blogs to the media guy for this trip win an opportunity to introduce Judith McHale, Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs on Thursday (some of the runners up get to have lunch with her). It's very fancy. So feel free to comment! (And here's a picture of the astronomical clock)

And now, today.
Today was more or less the environmental day, starting with remarks from Vaclav Cilek of the Czech Academy of Science and Joel Rubin of the National Security Network. Vaclav talked about a whole range of issues, from perceptions of climate change in Central Europe, to food security around the world. Joel talked about some of the issues surrounding climate change (economics, politics, ethics, etc.) and some of the responses and potential responses to the rise in temperature.

This is where I got to thinking about geoengineering. Once considered fringe science, Geoengineering has recently taken a move toward the legitimate, with a 2009 report from the Royal Society and several well-attended conferences. So, after the talk, I asked Joel about whether geoengineering was considered to be an "on the table" option, or if it was still completely outside the realm of possibility (I was particularly interested as he had mentioned military responses several times). And... he didn't know what I was talking about. Boo. Oh well.

The next session was smaller, and everyone had six choices. I, being the good pseudo-business and the environment student that I am, went for "Creating Businesses that are Profitable and Environmentally Sustainable." The speakers were Vojtech Kotechy of Friends of Earth, and Jana Ledvinova of the Resource Alliance. After a fairly general introduction (what is sustainability on a personal level, etc), we had around an hour for questions. I got the first one, and picked up on something that Vojtech had said about FSC. I asked how small and medium sized businesses can be encouraged to pursue the high standards of certifications like ISO, FSC, and LEED, if the costs of pursuing the actual certifications are prohibitive, and how those businesses can be held accountable/recognized for their good work if they can't afford the actual certifications.

Apparently in Central Europe, environmental standards are set by the government, and then certification companies perform verification. More certification companies in the market has driven down the price, but not the standards (as they are government controlled). It wasn't quite what I was looking for in terms of an answer, since many of the largest and most credible certification schemes are multi-national, but it did lead to a group discussion about B-Corps, GRI, and (shout out!) Green Plus. Made me smile. One of the other things that the discussion made me realize was that there really are far fewer options for business leaders who want to be sustainable in Central Europe - it's not being incorporated into MBA programs as it's starting to be in the states, and there aren't many resources built up around that. Very interesting.

After lunch, we had a session on social entrepreneurship. It was pretty good, and the woman leading it - Susie Lawrence - was very charismatic. She didn't really touch on any of the challenges associated with social ventures, but she did have some good case studies. I think that secretly she wanted us all to go out and start our own social ventures tonight. She was just that enthusiastic.

The last thing on the agenda today was the group project meeting (after this conference, there will be $90,000 total and $10,000 per project available for trans-Atlantic projects). I'm in the -wait for it- Developing Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Responsible Businesses group. Pretty predictable, I know. I'll have more to report on that in the next few days, as we're really still in the brainstorming session.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the conference. Logistically it's a dream, and I've really enjoyed talking to some of the other conference participants about these issues.

Tomorrow (Comment or Email if you have any questions that I can pass along!)

Why Security Matters - James P. Rubin (Atlantic Partnership President)
Threats Influencing the Trans-Atlantic Area - Andor Sandor (Former Chief of Defense Intelligence for the Czech Republic)
Environmental Literacy: Education for Sustainable Development - Jana Dlouha, Charles University, and Blazena Huskova, Foundation Jizerske Hory
Technology, Social Media, and Creative Messaging for Social Change
30 Mosques in 30 Days: An American Ramadan Roadtrip Adventure - Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq

Have a good night everyone! (It's 10:00 here)

State Department Sponsored Internet

The Internet is ours, the Internet is ours. Great day in the morning people, the Internet is ours.

After a fairly comfortable flight to Frankfurt (that I more or less passed out on) we took a much faster flight to Prague (that I did pass out on). Have no fear, I did manage a bretzel in between.

Our hotel is only around 25 minutes from the airport, so we were able to arrive and check in around 3:00, with our walking tour of Prague scheduled to begin at 3:15. Just enough time to drop our bags and hit the streets.

On the tour, we saw the Old Town Square, a large section of what used to be Prague's Jewish ghetto, and the Charles Bridge (which had a lovely view of the castle, which I'll describe in greater detail in a later post). We made it back to the square by 5:00, so that we could see the astronomical clock hit five, which is when several things happen. First, the clock chimes. Then, twelve saints parade past the windows above the clock, followed by a rooster. Finally, several people at the top of the clock tower play trumpets. I'll try to get video of this sometime in the next few days.

During the tour, it had started raining, so we headed back to the hotel after the clock. We also stopped at an ATM ($1 = 17.2 Czech Crowns). We got something like six minutes in our hotel room before it was time to head back down for the welcome reception. This is when I met my roommate, Erika. Erika is Hungarian, and just graduated from law school. She's in the tolerance and diversity dialogue.

The welcome reception was interesting. Joseph Pennington, the Charge d'Affaires from the US Embassy in Prague was our opening speaker. We did a brief question and answer period, and then devoured the hors d'oeuvres. I talked to Pennington afterward and asked what he considered to be the greatest environmental challenges facing the Czech Republic. He said that energy was the biggest issue. Right now the Czech Republic has large stores of coal, and is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. Their efforts to diversify into solar power were unsuccessful, partially due to very high subsidies leading to too many firms in the market. When the subsidies were removed, the whole thing began to collapse, leaving a "sour renewables" taste in peoples mouths.

Finally, after the reception (and my brief trip to Starbucks for the Internet) it was time for bed. I am such a big fan of bed.

First Sessions! Oh, and I made it to Prague...

I suppose that the title should say it all, but I still have more to say (and am generally exhausted). I'm blogging from a Starbucks, because get this - even with the "conference discount" at the hotel, wireless internet is still $6 per hour or $20 per day. And that's in American dollars. Highly unreasonable.

So to pick up where I left off (yesterday). We had the first of our conference sessions while still in DC, primarily consisting of welcomes and informational sessions. Our first task of the day was to sit down and come up with a list of five questions that we hoped to have answered at the end of the conference. My overarching question was "What are some of the barriers to sustainability for small and medium sized businesses in Central Europe, and how are those barriers being addressed through education, policy, etc.?" The assignment was harder than you might think - I had brain drain around question four, and had to write down "Where am I going to work after graduation" before the creative juices got flowing again. It didn't help that I was distracted by the amount of energy that the Hyatt saw fit to use on air conditioning in November. Flipping freezing in there.

Bix Aliu was the first speaker, and he highlighted the importance of people to people diplomacy and the importance of Euripe as a string ally and partner. Joel Rubin echoed the importance of the conference for spreading ideas and dialogue, and also gave us some context for each of the three themes (Trans-Atlantic Security, Climate Change and the Environment, and Tolerance/Diversity). Part of that context was the recent US midterm elections, and what they were likely to mean for our discussions. After lunch, Jiri Ellinger talked to use about the three goals of Czech foreign policy: their relationship with neighbors, their relationship with the European Union, and their relationship with the United States. Overall, the early sessions were really useful - I'm not particularly current on trans-Atlantic security or tolerance/diversity, so it was nice to have a quick overview.

Around 4:00 PM we went to Dulles, and at 7:10 PM we left for Germany. I had a window seat, which made the whole thing much more pleasant. Hooray for Bretzels (and for finally leaving)!

Clearly it's been forever since I posted

But it's been a busy few weeks. It's currently Saturday, November 6th, and I have completed the first two legs of my trip (Durham to Charlotte and Charlotte to Dulles). So far, I have nothing to complain about. My flight was super smooth, the Hyatt at Dulles is very nice, and I'm excited to meet my roommate for tonight.

I have met two of the other conference participants. We ended up on the same shuttle from the airport (they flew in from Pittsburgh). One of them is in the Tolerance/Diversity section of the conference, and the other is in the Trans-Atlantic Security section.

After checking in around noon, I texted Caroline (Troy's sister), and we met up for some delicious Ruby Tuesday. That restaurant has really gotten more classy recently - I seem to remember them having a much larger burger focus. Now they have lobster macaroni and cheese and garlic biscuits. Very fancy. It was great to catch up. She was able to tell me all about the Pizzly bear, which is apparently one of the results of climate change. Polar bears have lost a lot of habitat, and so have moved south in search of land and food. Next step: Family Reunion with the long lost grizzly cousin. Which, of course, leads to baby bears.

So now I'm back in the hotel, with several hours before the YLD dinner tonight. I'll probably read about malaria for a while and then fall asleep. Yay for policy memos!

I may post again after dinner, but in case I do not, shout out to my TA friend Colin, who got married today!