Open KnowledgeコミュのYukiko: Youth Forum Social Innovation

"But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back."

- Martin Luther King Jr.




昨日日米学生会議に参加してきました
there were some ideas that the panelists introduced that I'd like to share


is a cup half empty
or half full?

do you see a world full of deficiencies?
or a world full of assets and gifts?

isnt it easier to pave forward with a map of assets?
a map of potential?
a map of imagination?

this is a vision one of the panelists illustrated

there is much talk about development, poverty, and many other social issues that we see in the world

to begin with, I find the world "development" contradictory

development is not about lending hands from above
its about walking side by side
moving forward together

what the issue is,
is not the matter of the state of being
in fact, there is no need for sympathy
patronizing is worse than indifference

"from clients to citizens"

this is how i would like to see the world

its not about the donations or charities
these are no panacea
in a way, though i have no right to stress this,
it is a mere superficial symbol of what we would like to believe expresses good will
but sometimes good intentions are not enough
sometimes we need to dig down to the root causes

sometimes we need to be structuralists as well as liberalists

partnership
imagination
empowerment
humility

"where in our sphere of influences can we make a difference?"