Where did the week go, here it is Friday midnight and Im just getting to update my blog after 4 days of silence. My fans have been most disturbed that their daily fix of life in the fast lane has been delayed. Apologies. I had to actually get some work done!
Its been a busy week but very productive. We have provided 2 deliverables which are an alumni survey to test sentiment (sent to alumni yesterday and already 30% responded in 24Hrs) ; and an alumni profile template to start generating some success stories. These are small items in the whole scheme of our scope of work but they will help inform the strategy so it was key we delivered them early so we get the responses in a timely manner. As to the big ticket items I have just this minute finished the framework for our stategic plan so we can agree on final content, flow and style. We have most of the inputs now and are ready to document our recommendations so its just a matter of pulling it all together ready for review and approval. I make it sound so simple but we have been working very hard! We also intend to deliver an implementation toolkit which will help them operationalise the strategy.
The technology platform for communicating and collaborating is not so easy. SAP JAM would be a good solution but we are not allowed to discount or give away Cloud products so it is a no-go zone. Its also a bit over the top for a small NGO, they like Facebook and WhatsApp to communicate but they have no content management so all the shared knowledge is lost. We are trying to come up with a multi channel technology approach and because its an NGO they have no money so we are trying to bundle together free software applications to achieve the solution. IT requires much research and industriousness (is that a word?). More work to do here.
Its been a busy week but very productive. We have provided 2 deliverables which are an alumni survey to test sentiment (sent to alumni yesterday and already 30% responded in 24Hrs) ; and an alumni profile template to start generating some success stories. These are small items in the whole scheme of our scope of work but they will help inform the strategy so it was key we delivered them early so we get the responses in a timely manner. As to the big ticket items I have just this minute finished the framework for our stategic plan so we can agree on final content, flow and style. We have most of the inputs now and are ready to document our recommendations so its just a matter of pulling it all together ready for review and approval. I make it sound so simple but we have been working very hard! We also intend to deliver an implementation toolkit which will help them operationalise the strategy.
The technology platform for communicating and collaborating is not so easy. SAP JAM would be a good solution but we are not allowed to discount or give away Cloud products so it is a no-go zone. Its also a bit over the top for a small NGO, they like Facebook and WhatsApp to communicate but they have no content management so all the shared knowledge is lost. We are trying to come up with a multi channel technology approach and because its an NGO they have no money so we are trying to bundle together free software applications to achieve the solution. IT requires much research and industriousness (is that a word?). More work to do here.
Back to School We visited a school this week, Colegio Parroquial San Pablo. A train, a bus and 1 hour later we got there. It was actually a much better experience than I expected. The school was clean, the kids had neat clean uniforms and they were well behaved. I had expected to see disadvantage and disruption but the teachers told us its what you dont see that is the problem, the way they are treated at home, the lack of food in some cases. We sat in on a Year 8 Spanish class and observed the teacher controlling the class and engaging them in their work. I could even partially follow it, even with limited Spanish. |
A lunch time walk around the Botanic Gardens
The Popular Hug
This is what the Ensena team meeting is called. It comes from a social celebration where they all join together in a group hug, jump up and down, go around in circles, and chant 'popular hug, popular hug'. Imagine a sports team winning the world cup and you've got the picture. If I hadn't seen it at Pablo's wedding I wouldn't have believed it. The team meeting was a more tame affair but the spirit of the popular hug was present, the team really love working for the cause and truly respect each other. It is a privilege to be part of it. There is also a birthday cake to celebrate the prior month birthdays, so guess who got to have happy birthday sung and cut the cake. See the video file below (not sure if its in a format you can download but you can try). The cake was wickedly good, filled with dulche leche which is a local delicacy, like sweet sticky caramel.
This is what the Ensena team meeting is called. It comes from a social celebration where they all join together in a group hug, jump up and down, go around in circles, and chant 'popular hug, popular hug'. Imagine a sports team winning the world cup and you've got the picture. If I hadn't seen it at Pablo's wedding I wouldn't have believed it. The team meeting was a more tame affair but the spirit of the popular hug was present, the team really love working for the cause and truly respect each other. It is a privilege to be part of it. There is also a birthday cake to celebrate the prior month birthdays, so guess who got to have happy birthday sung and cut the cake. See the video file below (not sure if its in a format you can download but you can try). The cake was wickedly good, filled with dulche leche which is a local delicacy, like sweet sticky caramel.
img_1827.mp4 |
Bye for now, its after midnight and we have a 6am start to fly to Iguazu Falls for the weekend. Can you believe I am living this experience.............soooooooooo lucky!
PS: Uber launched in Buenos Aires this week. As a result the taxis have been striking and have protest rallies at Congresso, which is where our office is. Lots of horn honking, endless parades of taxis, but an otherwise orderly protest. Word is Uber only has 2 drivers but they launched anyway, then shut down within 24 hours. Fun and games........
Chao, have a good weekend, Rosemary xx
PS: Uber launched in Buenos Aires this week. As a result the taxis have been striking and have protest rallies at Congresso, which is where our office is. Lots of horn honking, endless parades of taxis, but an otherwise orderly protest. Word is Uber only has 2 drivers but they launched anyway, then shut down within 24 hours. Fun and games........
Chao, have a good weekend, Rosemary xx