There are 3 geographical areas swimming around in my fuzzy brain that seem to focus around people I know who may or may not be in a position to help set up speaking engagements.

1. UK

David Bale - Cambridgeshire

Rhiannon Talbot - York (former LiA volunteer & onet member)

Cale Ryder - London (a former Kiva volunteer who spent a lot of time at LiA)

Matoke Matoke - Oxford (a new UK based retail venture that has approached us about reselling crafts in their shops)

If I was to visit the UK it could either be in the last week of July or later in August. I know lots of people are off for summer holidays during this period though and do not have a good grasp on whether or not the trip would actually be productive or not.

2. New England/East Coast

Vermont - Lars (will plan to attend PT workshop during the 1st weekend in Aug)

Massachusetts - John Berger (how fun would it be to see the new TEN shop!)

New York - Michelle?

14. Carolina - a bit of a stretch but maybe some opportunities with ON member Susan Milner

Will definitely be on the East Coast to do the peacetiles workshop, but the question is whether I will stay in the region or move on quickly

3. West Coast -

I'm thinking Portland & possibly a joint event with Homowo. Possibly No. California if some of the SF crowd can help pull some things together.

All in all still very iffy since I haven't talked to anyone about this yet. If nothing materializes I may bag the whole Idea, but if something's going to materialize it should be soon.

Comments anyone?

Christina -

I will think, think, think on this. Would be terrific. Will email people I know and explore possibilities.

I'm bumming a little re: the timing! I'm headed to St. Louis for a major Jewish Educators conference Aug 4-9. Making it a bit impossible for me to be in Vermont just before. (but planning to visit Lars in July).

Will you fly out of NYC back to Uganda? Another possibility is to do NY/NJ on the way back after West Coast...

Dear Christina, I think your idea is brillant. Maybe I can meet up with you in Vermont? That way you do not have to stretch your resources. I wanted to do a Peace Tile Workshop as well. What do you think of putting together a fact finding but also a fundraising trip to LiA in Uganda for people who want to have a "hands on experience"? Several weeks this summer or fall?

christina, i would be delighted to hook you up with the vermont forum on globalization, maybe a radio show, the vermont law school, and an institute for sustainable development in burlington. if you could let me know whether you'd like to have this fall before or after the workshop that'd be great!

Susan - I like your idea for a trip. I am really hoping to go sometime in Jan - Mar 2008. Perhaps further out gives people more time to plan?

I'm glad you found your way to LiA discussions!! :-)

I hope you can make it to So Cal while you are here. Don't know if you can stand to stay with family again, but we sure enjoyed having you! I will work on some speaking gigs if it will induce a visit.

:-)

Shawn Kelly said:

I hope you can make it to So Cal while you are here.

Planning a so cal family visit in December. Can't travel so close to family and then not stay a while so the jury is still out on whether I will make it there this time. Will keep you posted as things evolve:) ... but still planning for a visit later this year in any case with Nobs and the boyz.

Michele -> kids+art+charity said:

Susan - I like your idea for a trip. I am really hoping to go sometime in Jan - Mar 2008. Perhaps further out gives people more time to plan?

Susan I really like the idea too. In fact, I'd really love for a group like that to come sometime in the fall - I've got a fabulous format that can draw from the Onet conference experience for a really great hands on experience. How long of a trip for how many people are you thinking?

Michelle - no need to think of trips at different times as mutually exclusive. If Susan can rally a group for the fall and you can rally a group for late winter, we'll have a flow of visitor groups coming, which is what we'd hoped to set up anyway.

Lars Hasselblad Torres said:

christina, i would be delighted to hook you up with the vermont forum on globalization, maybe a radio show, the vermont law school, and an institute for sustainable development in burlington. if you could let me know whether you'd like to have this fall before or after the workshop that'd be great!

Wow Lars - I may never need to leave Vermont! You are amazing and that all sounds great!

Here's a pertinent but possibly way too crazy of a question: is anybody driving up the E. Coast to vermont who could possibly pick me up at Michelle's on the way? Of course, that assumes a visit with Michelle might work around then.

Excuse me while I impose on everyone I can!

Michele -> kids+art+charity said:

Will you fly out of NYC back to Uganda? Another possibility is to do NY/NJ on the way back after West Coast...

I think it would be best either the week before the vermont workshop, or the week after it. Could either of those work for you?

fwiw a jetblue flight from NYC to Burlington can be as low as $60 one way (http://www.jetblue.com). The train is a lovely way to go; about $90 (http://www.amtrak.com).

christina, do you have a bio you could send me and a list of topics you speak on? alternatively, i could just get you the contacts and you could try and arrange it yourself. let me know your preference(s).

ps - we also have a refugee assistance network if IDPs are an issue you speak to.

Well, to heck with waiting until Christmas. If you are going to be in NO Cal or Portland then I am going to sell all my clothes for a plane ticket and meet you there. Can't let you be on the same continet and not see you :)

We could do something fun in Portland. Will check with Susan and Obo and find out when they're back from Ghana. But I'm sure there could be some type of social entrepreneur talkback roundtable type thing we could put together.

We will be back from Ghana on August 21st. Will be a little out of ourselves from the flying but would love to be a part of something. The roundtable idea sounds good.

Press sidenote. I was listening to BBC's World Have Your Say on the radio this morning and they are broadcasting this week from Uganda. Christina, could be an interesting radio audience for you if you can get to one of their broadcasts.

Funny you should say that Mark.

BBC's World Service's Outlook programme are featuring Eric Wanjamah on tomorrow's programme (being broadcast at 2.00 pm GMT) and are linking him up from Nairobi with me in the Cambridge studio in the UK in a discussion about the probation services of Kenya and the UK.

I've already tried to interest the producers of the programme in other things that are going on on O.net and it is clear that it is unknown territory for them. I'd love to pursue this further tomorrow, but it's not part of their schedule on this occasion, so I doubt whether I'll get much chance.

I have been thinking about whether I might get BBC Radio Cambridgeshire interested instead. That seems a real possibility, especially if I can link it to something locally newsworthy - say, like touting for customers for Christina's forthcoming presentation outside a local supermarket or in the market square.

(not that I'm suggest that that's to be the venue for Christina herself!)

If anyone wants to share the idea (or related ideas) with World Have Your Say

worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Christina -

I'm planning to be in Chicago for the o/net conference - are you planning to be there? July 20-22. I'll fly back probably Monday night, the 23rd. So you may travel back to NJ with me (if you're going to be in Chi-town), or come anytime between July 24 thru Aug 3. I'll be leaving 8/4 for St. Louis thru 8/9.

As Lars was thinking along the lines of a bio and speaking topics, I was also thinking about marketing you visually...just a start...would love to work with you on this to make it just as you'd like :-)

Michele -> kids+art+charity said:

As Lars was thinking along the lines of a bio and speaking topics, I was also thinking about marketing you visually...just a start...would love to work with you on this to make it just as you'd like :-)

OMG Michele I am floored by the effort you've put in on this! thank you so much! Just shared it with a couple of folks in my office who were very encouraged that you'd take so much effort on our behalf.

What's the context in which we might use something like this, do ya think? Trying to think on what information needs to be there. Also would love to see more pix of families/kids. There are some in my flickr favorites that might lend more human purpose to the presentation http://www.flickr.com/photos/kir abo/favorites/

About Chicago...

DAVID, do you think it's worth going to the UK on this trip? I was thinking end July (which would rule out Chicago) but I could stop on the way back sometime in late August. Not sure if that's a ghood time in the UK though.

alternatively, I could just cut the UK out of this trip and consider it at a later date.

I'm glad that you like the idea!! :-)

I wanted to put something about the farm, too. So images, logo - think about facts and details.

I started creating it because as I began to think about people I wanted to contact re: your visit, I felt that I needed something "official" and compelling to grab their attention.

So originally, I'm thinking this would be something emailable as a tool for booking you.

Later we can post on blogs, maybe your website, anywhere! And when we've got some dates nailed down we can use this piece for mktg/promotion.

Christina - it may take 2 pages to tell the full story...we can create it as a "digital brochure."

that's a great thing to do michele - the pix are great. if i could also have something "straight" like a one page bio and a list of topics christina can speak to, that'd be very helpful as well. two different audiences i think: michele's piece would be a lovely way to draw in the public; basic text is useful for media, universities, etc.

will work on something appropriate lars.