The Glitz & Glamour of Los Angeles

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The first time I went to Los Angeles was purely for my daughter’s sake heading straight to Disneyland on arrival – I’m not sure who enjoyed Disneyland more, the husband or the child. After that it was a lot more of a grown up holiday as I don’t particularly enjoy kids stuff and my last 2 trips to LA was on my own…must find my inner child for my daughter’s sake.

So what’s nice about Los Angeles…plenty actually. There’s endless fun stuff to do in every part of the city. Who doesn’t love Hollywood – one can walk on the footsteps of the legends and be inspired. Universal Studios and the Arts District are particularly great places to go. I cant remember much about Warner Brothers Studios or if we ever made it to the Palladium so will have to dig through my daughters photos to go down memory lane on that one.

Downtown is equally interesting with great cinemas, the music centre, museums etc. On one visit I was luckily to be there as the same time as AAM (American Association of Museums) conference so was able to do tours of all the museums in LA in the evenings as part of the event. Other than science centres, I did like the Torrance Cultural Arts Centre that has inspired me to one day have my very own Japanese Garden. I would love to see a performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Ahmanson Theatre or the LA Opera which I’m told shows Puccini’s Madame Butterfly.

I was never interested in the Madame Tussauds wax museum…prefer meeting real people although I did have a bit of fun in Vegas (check my pic with Whoopi Goldberg on twitter) when walking towards Venetia and I must say that coming across Johnny Depp on Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco was nice…even though he was all waxed up :).

For evening drives in LA suburbs, my favourite places include Brentwood (my friends who live there describe it as paradise), Robertson Boulevard, Malibu, Santa Monica and San Fernando. I found the people at San Pedro dodgy because a few kept touching my skin as though it was the most exotic soft thing they’ve come across. After the fifth time, I jumped in the car and left the Maritime Museum to avoid the creepiness.

It was interesting to see that Mexicans were treated like God….everyone loved their food, clothes and culture etc. The South Americans were treated like dirt and as low class citizens…they were the maids, waiters, prostitutes and street sweepers. I was hoping I would pass off as a Mexican and be treated like a goddess 🙂 . Although I do love the Brazilians too and would love to go to Peru one day….my only 2 bucket list spots in that part of the world are Rio de Janeiro & Peru.

I was told most North Americans find that the presence of poor South American nationalities lead to increase in crime and prostitution that makes most North Americans look down on people from places like Uruguay, Argentina and Bolivia. Naturally I made sure the LA peeps knew I was an exotic Fijian so got treated like a diva instead.

I missed visiting the LA library which I’m told as a Literary MA student I should have made a priority. Apparently the building has Egyptian style architecture and has amazing literature books. If you love the hustle bustle, don’t miss the California Plaza, the Venice Ocean Front Walk and Griffith park. I didn’t have time to do much retail therapy because of trying to take it all in, driving from one place to another but I’m sure shopping in LA is a lot of fun. My friend and ex colleague Siew keeps harping about The Grove, Glendale galleria, Beverly Center and Montana Avenue – she’s a HOT LA model so she knows a thing or two about fashion. Must compare this with the fashion scene in Paris.

If you  are into cuisine and like pasta (my sister still makes fun of me wanting pasta in LA), Matteo’s Restaurant is an LA institution. I still cant imagine why she ridicules me on this as the pasta there was WOW! Anything Mexican is fabulous and I love the seafood at Kendall’s (this was introduced to me by a make up artist to the Hollywood stars and I was not disappointed). One day I will listen to her advise and actually stop at the Farmers Market for tapas and other world cuisine. Hopefully I will find a travel companion whose appetite for fine cuisine matches mine. Speaking of tapas, I must at some stage write about Spain.

Whatever the case, I feel that driving from one attraction is the best way to see LA – you can really spend time at venues that appeal to you without the worry of having to catch a tour or worrying about transport when exploring the suburbs.

It never stops….learning that is

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A celebrity acquaintance asked me this evening at the OSN re-launch at the Atlantis where I get the energy to keep up with work, travel, dance, child, gym and still buy books to read (this was after she read my blog on the potential near death of the publishing world)….it was a tough question because somehow, when you go with the flow, you integrate activities like reading into your lifestyle with ease. There is no set formula I can share with women who are hip, trendy working mothers who want it all in life and want to make no apologies for their ‘me’ time. I guess, reading falls under ‘me time’ for many, including myself.

It all boils down to how much you love reading. For instance I keep my blackberry on all the time because I love my job and believe in the philosophy that if I can tackle something right away while enjoying the sunset on the beach after work, it certainly beats staring at the computer doing the same thing the next day….it only delays things. There are days I take my magazines to the beach near my office and read it in between swimming – I learnt this by seeing how some Emirati women come to the beach with the Quran, read it just before sunset and pray after that with the sound of the waves in the background….they always look so calm and serene when they do that so it has inspired me now to stop at the beach after work, read and swim before heading home.

When you love what you do….its easy to integrate that in your lifestyle. I dance on days I don’t feel like the treadmill and choose what takes my fancy at that moment….depending on if its salsa, bellydancing, zumba or hip hop, I then decide where I will work out and if I can do my groceries on the way. When I need extra time with my child, I choose a gym nearer to where she is to make it easy and it gives me extra time to read or watch TV because she goes to bed early. Its all about planning your life around things that you enjoy.

Reading, like travelling broadens your horizon, your thinking and your outlook of life. I travel for work but naturally prefer travelling for pleasure…my holiday travel stopped tremendously with my current job because I had taken on way too much than I could chew to my own detriment. But I’m slowly getting back to my normal self where I make time to get out and see places instead of slogging all the time.

A therapist friend told me a few months ago that no matter how much you work there is always somebody else’s business benefitting from it such as clients demanding and getting more and  more and the money doesn’t necessarily go back into the same business unless you work for yourself. I even had a amusing incident last year where I was harassed by a woman from a dodgy country for money for a job she didn’t do any work for. These are good lessons because you learn the hard way that making sacrifices on your reading or ‘me’ time because of working during your personal time does not help you grow – books teach you about the world and going to places you read about enhances the experience.

There is a Chinese proverb that says “Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back”.  Learning new things is not just for personal growth though – in the business that we are in, intellectual savvy is just as important to gain clients confidence as much as the know how of the technical and implementation work. I strongly believe that clients have more confidence in people who are well travelled and have a wider knowledge base because they have better insights and can give different perspectives to different situations.

The business world today with unpredictable economic shifts and changing media keeps us on our toes and makes us become adaptive and savvy to stay one step ahead of the game. So I guess, reading is no longer a luxury but a necessity. And to my friend from tonight….yes making time to read is tough but its got to be done.

San Diego Adventure

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I started September in the USA starting out from San Francisco to San Diego to Las Vegas to San Jose and finishing off again at San Francisco. Although I’ve been to California numerous times, this was my first venture into San Diego. Most resorts in San Diego are thankfully located on the world’s finest beaches (over seventy miles in fact stretching from Harbour Beach to the State Park in San Ysidro).

Personally, I had a wonderful experience and content at just being at the Paradise Point Resort sitting at breakfast looking at people getting off yachts, returning from deep sea fishing, kayaking and surfing, enjoying the sound of the waterfall next to my table and the sound of birds. The best part is that the resort is less than 5 minutes drive from the famous Sea World (check http://www.seaworld.com). I’m told that Knott’s Soak City and Belmont park are just as much fun as the Sea World.

I recall a few years ago we took my daughter and nephew to Disneyland in Los Angeles after a long drive from San Francisco….we contemplated going further to San Diego but there was way too much on the schedule to make it happen. I’m glad we didn’t because I feel to do justice to San Diego, you need a special trip focused only on this city to fully enjoy and appreciate all that it has to offer. My Californian sister said I should spend some time with my cousins in San Diego but I told her there was no way I was going to give up my adventure to get stuffed on home cooked Fijian food as I normally do. I had far more interesting company to make the journey exciting.

I am amazed at the number of academic centres and research institutions in San Diego….unbelievable. I hope my daughter decides to do her university there….what an amazing experience that would be with a world of opportunities at the doorstep for her to delve in…hopefully that will give me a chance to stay somewhere like Hillcrest (Hint!)

My most memorable time in San Diego has to be spending the day at Old Town, which is California’s birth place when in 1769, Father Junipeo Serra established 21 missions that became the cornerstone of California’s colonisation. On the nearby hill is the Heritage Park where Victorian looking houses have been authentically restored to its full splendour.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Mexican fiesta De Reyes with more nachos and salsa I’ve ever had while looking at traditional dancers entertaining the crowd plus a photo session that transports me back to the old times in a saloon, with guns and a dress that will particularly rock the senses out of my Y-chomosome friends .(Hence it will remain under lock and key until its cropped enough to make it safe for public consumption).

Driving along the city port in San Diego is an experience in itself. Looking at the USS Midway Museum with its collection of restored aircrafts is overwhelming….an equally adventurous friend took me to his favourite waterside restaurant to try calamari which was fine but we adored the dish at Paradise Point and San Clemente Pier a lot more on the drive to places like Laguna Beach, Newport and Balbao Island etc. I have the most beautiful art image from Laguna Beach – love it.

The coastal drive on historic Highway 101 was an unforgettable experience – from San Diego to La Jolla to Laguna Beach to Newport and finally to Balboa Park that is home to more than 15 museums. La Jolla was as breathtaking as I imagined and at Balboa, it was fun driving the car onto the ferry, getting across to the other side and sitting by the beach, watching people (I was chilly so we left quickly).

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a Spa junkie….and most Spas in California (Paradise Point, Aria at Las Vegas etc) carry the Pure Fiji line products so I was in heaven. Still have warm memories of my bath with rose petals and bath oil by Pure Fiji and how smooth my skin was for 3 days after…..like a baby according to my therapist at The Spa at the Fairmont!

I never made it to the San Diego Zoo, the Children’s Museums, Ultrazone for laser tag, the Palomar Observatory and Legoland cos of Vegas calling but have left it as something I would do with my charismatic daughter one day. She would love the Discovery, Air & Space, Surf and maritime Museum as well as the science centre while I cant wait to see the Auto museum, being the car junkie that I am.

Till then I have to work on convincing Tash that San Diego is the perfect place for her to do her higher studies and the fact that we can drive to LA …wish me luck – this kid has probably picked out her choice of university, course and apartment already being the diva that she is!

The Onam experience

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Last week I went through memory lane as I saw signs of the Onam celebrations around me in Dubai Supermarkets, jewellery stores etc. Living in Fiji I never came across this festival and had no clue of its significance until I came to Malaysia to study. My parents, being anxious about me in a country where I didn’t know a single soul at the age of 19 arranged with family friends that I should spend some weekends at their sisters house in Subang Jaya.
The family, who I still love and adore happened to be Malayali or Keralite, a community known to be highly literate, cultural and very warm. I thought at first all Indians were the same, spoke the same language etc but instead was introduced to a whole new world of cuisine, dance, theatre and met specialists in English literature that would leave some of the Harvard Professors gaping in awe.
As a Fijian I am used to being hospitable and having an open house policy to guests but my family friends went way beyond that to the point of making my favourite dishes on weekends, taking me to visit the extended family on trips and dropping me off to University (30 minutes away) when I had early morning classes.
Going back to Onam which is a ten day festival…..one of the things I remember in the nine years I spent in Kuala Lumpur was that every September, we ate a dozen or so dishes off a banana leaf in various family gatherings also known as sadya. My favourite sadya dish was payasam of course which is a dessert cooked in milk.
The community organises dances, numerous theatrical productions during this period and famous singers are called on for performances etc. I can almost smell the string of jasmine flowers in my hair when we set off for a dinner performance or a sadya outstation. Women buy gold during this 10 day period and many wear the traditional cream sari with a gold border (known as the kasavu yarn) that looks so awesome on them. I’m told that historically kasavu sari’s appeared in ancient Jain and Buddhist literature and over the years the material may have changed to suit the fashion trends but the colour and look remains the same.
Onam is over but the memories of yesteryears and my time with the Venugopal family, their extended families and friends in Malaysia still linger. I learnt so much from them that I feel I gained knowledge of an entirely new community from their perspective. Another thing I have to thank my parents for – they certainly guided me into situations that helped me learn and understand what the world is all about outside my comfort circle.

Girls’ nights – Food for the Soul

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Some of the best times I’ve had in the recent times have been with my girl pals… I’ve always loved the concept of girls’ nights out and chick flick nights in and find it extremely therapeutic.

A friend once said girls nights’ out is the best way to get over a bad day or a broken heart. After being lied to and cheated on for over a year by a dude who she considered her best friend and soulmate, my friend found a lot of solace in working out and having fun girly nights out with women who made her laugh and see the positive side of her life.

My last girls night in was for iftar at my pad with my girl pals, Maissa, Edina, Wajma, Habiba and my daughter Natasha. It was great catching up with all of them and as I watched everyone chatting, I realised each one of us were unique and came from interesting backgrounds.

Maissa, a local Emirati with an amazing personality is my soul sister. I love her diverse interests in cooking, interesting serious movies + sitcoms, chick flicks and our mutual interest in art, museums and exhibitions. I absolutely love and adore her entire family and moments with her are always treasured.

I was introduced to Maissa by her mum (an amazing writer) with whom I share a passion for publishing and I hope one day in the near future we will venture on a writing project together. I love working wholeheartedly with friends with whom I can build something special that has a positive impact on people around us. It doesn’t feel like work when you do need to go the extra mile. I can just see myself lying on Afra’s sofa discussing a cookbook or the next cheeky alternative reading material for the mixed local audience.

Its interesting to see my daughter and Maissa discussing movies and stuff when they get together. I really believe my intelligent, beautiful and charismatic friends will have an amazing influence on Tash and am glad I only relate to and hang out with very unique intellectuals from equally unique backgrounds.

On the same night I also had my Bosnian Australian friend Edina visiting with Wajma, an Afghani Australian. They are both friends of Natasha’s guardian Amira who is a Lebanese Australian. Edina is an ace HR chick while Wajma’s family owns and runs a TV station and needless to say, they are both drop dead gorgeous. I would love for Tash to learn more about their work and enjoy their company as much as I do.

Visiting us the same night was Habiba, an Egyptian Italian who just moved back to Dubai from London so it was a delight to catch up with her over iftar and introduce her to my other inspirational friends in Dubai. I got to know Habiba through Leila, my French Algerian friend, ex-colleague and confidante who I love to bits and wish she was living here instead of Paris to share my girly nights with.

We sorely missed Rajah, my Fijian chum married to an Emirati, my Italian friend Michela and my gorgeous Belgian Moroccan neighbour Farah who is Dubai’s hottest fashion stylist. I so wanted to introduce Farah to all my regular friends because I think they would have gotten on so well together.

Having these treasured moments with friends are possibly the one thing that keeps me sane in between work and traffic. Whether it’s a Wagamama or movie session with Maissa or bumming on the couch with Rajah, there is nothing as therapeutic for a woman as a fun girly outing that’s full of laughter.

To all my gorgeous friends out there…I love you loads and hope to have more girly nights out…hopefully we shall have a bigger group for our next chick flick night. XXX

 

Turning pages no more

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My 10 year old diva is in the process of downloading iBook on her new generation chic looking ipad 2. As a geek who collects gadgets as often as sexy lingerie, I am feeling a tad bit left behind by the fact that my kid owns something that is far more advanced than what I have and has nailed the process of buying Apps with her ‘BLING’ credit card with more savvy than what I am comfortable with.

Talking about iBooks – I am delighted about the fact that with this application, perhaps I wouldn’t have to weed through the 1000s of books that we have between our small family in the libraries that exist in every room of our villa and pad. But there is a bit of sadness that comes with it as I love the smell of books….love the fact that the libraries in our home make us feel like its our place and comfort zone. With digital books, this is likely to change as I can imagine that my daughter who reads close to 7 – 8 books a fortnight will now download her reading material on her swanky ipad2.

I felt the same way a few years ago when emails became the norm. Instead of getting a romantic poem from hubby every month on a nice smelling paper (all of which I still keep), I started getting them via email instead. It was just as nice but the emailed ones are sitting somewhere in a diskette or usb right now while the ones I received in hard copy is still among my personal stuff in a treasure chest. I guess it meant a lot because as women, we love being being serenaded and worshiped by getting meaningful stuff that comes from the heart and hand written poems and cards mean a lot more than getting material stuff which most men get away with these days. Thank god my daughter still gives me cards with cute messages, girly stickers and coloured hearts for every occasion…there’s hope yet!

I do feel sorry for the publishing industry though….statistics show that more and more people are turning towards digital technology and book sales don’t have the same edge anymore as they did before. On the positive side, more trees will be saved. While this is a good thing, I don’t ever see myself parting with my giant collection of Shakespeare in one edition or my Dante (not even my collection of over 200 Archie comics unless someone offers me a collectors price of a few million)….i think even my daughter would hit the roof if she had to part with her library of Roald Dahl, Lord of the Rings or for that matter, her Harry Potter books.

I guess I should get my young diva to teach me the joys and possibilities of iBook plus other cool stuff she has bought that has left my credit card smoking while I was on my USA adventure. Perhaps its time to buy Apple shares and start designing a digitised smart home that responds to my every need at the touch of a button on an Apple gadget. That certainly would make me feel more positive about reading my next book on an ipad.

Up, close and personal with Rami Al Ali

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Before I ventured out for my great American adventure, I was invited to have suhoor with the charismatic Rami Al Ali one evening at the Madinat Jumeirah Ramadan tent. Having met Rami socially a number of times and exchanging pleasantries, I never got to know him well except that he was warm, friendly and a delight to be around at VIP events around town.

However, because of the intimate set up of Ramadan tents and being a gracious host that Rami is, we got to know more about each other and what we do a lot better and I am left in awe of this multi talented down to earth designer – hence, I have decided to dedicate an entire blog to him. Partly because he is one of the few local celebrities who likes to know the person in front of him as much as he wants you to know about his work. (I have never told so much about my life to anyone as I have told Rami – partly because he is a good listener who is so comfortable to talk to and partly because he genuinely is interested to know and understand the audience around him)

Rami’s interest in fine fabrics and design led him to the College of Fine Arts in Damascus, Syria, where he studied visual arts, giving him the opportunity to work with some of the region’s leading fashion houses. With his talent, it was not long after when Rami Al Ali Couture entered the fashion arena with a bold collection and uncompromising couture designs.

After a number of inspiring fashion shows around the Gulf, Rami has become a celebrated artist coveted by those who know something about fashion. With royal, celebrity and social muses like Youssra, Ivana Trump, Natasha Bedingfield and Lateefa Nawal, among others, Rami’s designs have stood out from the red carpet of the Adonia Awards to the international stage of Najem Al Khaleej.

As the popularity of Rami Al Ali Couture spread through the region, the need for a ready-to-wear collection was clear. The Rami Al Ali woman needed dresses suitable for dinners and intimate gatherings, and the designer was happy to oblige. The excitement continued and garnered attention from global brands such at Swarovski.  Rami was chosen to be a part of ‘Unbridaled’, a book published by the global Austrian crystal brand, with revered couture veterans Giorgio Armani, Vivian Westwood and John Galliano, among others. The collaboration demonstrated his ability to participate in an international market.

Having recently completed his sixth season at Rome Fashion Week, Rami is sure to continue dazzling us all with his unique style of women’s evening and bridal wear. In Rome, he has built a reputation as a fashion ambassador for the Middle East as his collections are always demure with an Arabic sense of glamour and modesty.

With Rami’s personality and his creative genius, I can’t wait to check out his new collection and would encourage fashionistas of the region to get to know him and his fabulous team….I will warn you though that you will be charmed to the core once you get talking to Rami.

‘In the cloud’

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Being technology challenged, I’ve realised that my MacBook Air woes happen to be just one thing that slows me down and keeps me out of the loop. Recently I kept hearing the expression of being in the cloud, or references made to the cloud from my IT geeks and wondered what it all really was about. So naturally I turned to my ever powerful savvy women CEOs group who amusingly assured me I had no reason to worry as I was already in the domain and using the cloud – Being the inquisitive chick that I am, naturally I delved further into nailing this whole cloud scenario thing. It became a mission – only to find out being in the cloud means being totally online in all spheres of your work and social life.
I can’t believe I went through the process of becoming familiar with terminologies like crowdsourcing and unified communications before venturing into what the cloud was all about. (I certainly would like to get my hands on the smarty pants who came up with this whole thing and teach him a thing or two about making life more complicated with phrases than it already is). If in simple terms, the cloud is merely using the web for just about anything and everything, then why not say so instead of beating about the bush coming up with new obscure terminologies.

Writing this blog post is using the cloud, saving pictures on yfrog, tweeting etc all falls under this umbrella. As far as I see, the term was coined by some bored IT or internet specialist who couldn’t think of anything innovative so reinvented a term for something that already exists. Yes, there are some morons who do everything online….their networking, their business, their database management and then they wonder where their lifeline is when the internet is down.
Yes I am one of the people who think putting ‘everything’ online is a big mistake and I was the first one to object when not long ago someone proposed a platform from which we could operate our entire business, put all our resources online, network with clients and colleagues in one space – how incestuous! This is why I am cynical about doing everything in the cloud – there has to be boundaries to protect your assets/resources/staff etc.
Then of course there is the trend of “crowdsourcing”. This involves working with a ‘crowd’ – be it online or off, but mostly using online tools like social media. An article flagged by my lipsticking mates said that there is real business being done through “crowdsourcing sites such as crowdSPRING, CrowdFlower and Trada. To crowdsource a project, you submit an open call to a community of experts and receive a variety of solutions or ideas in response.” What happens when not everyone in your crowd is an expert and the result of crowdsourcing your idea, marketing, or work can backfire. It can only be a worthwhile endeavor as long as you take time to study the results of your crowdsourcing and qualify it as a successful initiative.
The next trend related to Unified communications (UC). The term sounded fairly self-explanatory, involving merging more than one type of communications tool, such as Web conferencing and instant messaging, into a single interface or integrated system. Skype could be considered a UC system because you can switch back and forth between video and phone calls – it all depends on how you need to connect and collaborate online.
Personally, I prefer using one medium at a time and focusing on the person I am communicating with. It does not always work out knowing that I am a multitasking queen and divide my tasks in a needs must basis as a working mum, race track driver, fitness freak, writer, lover, cook and what have you that gets thrown my way. Maybe I should just stick my head in this whole cloud pallava, let cyberspace sort all my tasks in its own complicated way and give it some funky name like the sherrylicious phenomena….now there’s a thought! 

Sensitivity Training!!! What next?

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This weekend I finally ventured out to the Ramadan tents which is an institution in itself when you live in the UAE during Ramadan. (Vouching for the manakish at the Address Hotel tent in Dubai Marina & the fruit juices at Royal Mirage). A number of my university mates hung out with me. Some are incredible HR specialists (I guess that’s why they earn twice what I do despite being a lot younger than me). Anyway….amongst the shisha pipes and with me trying hard to negotiate my way around the smoke in a bid to avoid it, we got around to talking about Ramadan, recession and what’s happening in our lives.

Soon we got to talking about work and my HR friends were mentioning how these days they put candidates through several rounds of “sensitivity training” to avoid internal personality conflicts in organisations. At first it sounded like a fluffy exercise but when you really think about it, I wish most organisations would use this not just with new staff but existing ones. The exercise teaches that human beings are all different creatures and not all are inherently malicious, conniving creatures and that most of our ideas and actions are well-intentioned.

At work, if someone is spiteful, there is nothing to say they are not driven by their personal emotions and perhaps you should show concern, compassion, and curiosity to know more. One must give the benefit of the doubt as there must be a reason why a manager would put down a staff in front of his colleagues or a reason why a CEO turns into a nasty piece of work everytime he is with a girlfriend – either she brings out the worst in him or his idea of impressing her is emailing or calling staff and being rude to them to show his authority. Or why a staff would walk out of the meeting and the reasons why a superior, instead of having a private talk with a staff about his performance decides to humiliate him in front of his team. One never really knows ones motives which is why I guess this whole idea of ‘sensitivity training’ has come about – to make people more sensitive and understanding.

I don’t think people need to relate to each other with Mother Teresa-level compassion but assess the actions of management, colleagues from multiple perspectives before feeling hurt. Personally I will never understand people who use facades to show superiority or be negative to mask insecurity. Afterall, isn’t the goal of any organisation to motivate staff, give them confidence and promote camaraderie in times of stress so everyone works that much harder to make things work.

I wonder how I’d do with this sensitivity training thingy – I always find the under-layers of goodness in others fueled by an earnest desire to keep them happy. Its not always a good thing  as someone said, believing the best about people only makes them show you their best and not their real self. Maybe its time to be neutral and not take things at face value. Plus realise that no one is perfect and people you often look up to can also be insensitive towards you. It needs to be all about balance! I’d love to know more about this ‘sensitivity training’ and if it really does work.

MTE Studios, Professor Mike Bruton to Chair the 6th Science Centre World Congress

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Over 380 delegates from more than 60 countries including UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to attend the Congress

Dubai and Cape Town based MTE Studios, a consultancy firm specializing in themed architecture and interactive exhibitions, well known for their turnkey themed projects and world-class installations in science centres and museum galleries worldwide, is honored to announce that their Director of Imagineering, Professor Mike Bruton, will chair the upcoming 6th Science Centre World Congress to be held in Cape Town, South Africa from September 4 to 8, 2011.

Ludo Verheyen, CEO, MTE Studios and Professor Bruton will be part of the concurrent sessions addressing science centre and museum professionals from around the world at the Congress where the consultancy firm will also have a team available at the exhibition running parallel to the Congress.

“The Science Centre World Congress is held every three years in a different continent. It is the main gathering of science centre professionals in the world and has three main goals: to assess the status of science centres worldwide and plot the way forward, to facilitate strategic discussions on new challenges and opportunities for science centres, and to promote the growth of science centres in the region in which the World Congress is being held. The 6th Science Centre World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, will be attended by over 380 delegates from more than 60 countries, including delegates from the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and various Muslim countries in North Africa. In addition, a three-day Capacity Building Workshop will be held before the main Congress to develop the skills of science centre professionals in Africa and the Middle East. MTE Studios is delighted to be a supporter of this exciting and inspiring event.” said Professor Bruton.

Recognized as one of the world’s leading museum and science centre professionals, Professor Bruton, along with his peers, will explore the relevance of the concept of the third paradigm museum, highlight the importance of building communities through science, investigate the role of science centres in the present environment, and discuss whether the science centre movement is colonialist. Ludo Verheyen with fellow delegates will highlight the opportunities created by acknowledging the multi-cultural roots of science and technology at the sessions.

“We’re honored that our Imagineering Director, Professor Bruton will be chairing one of the most prestigious events, a gathering that directs strategic planning for the worldwide science centre movement. It is a perfect platform for delegates to meet from all corners of the globe to discuss issues facing science centres and the important role that science centres can play in increasing public engagement in science and technology,” said Verheyen.

With the theme “Science Across Cultures”, the 6th Science Centre World Congress will encourage reconciliation between different cultures and a greater appreciation of the role that science centres can play in highlighting each culture’s unique contributions to science, technology and science education. In the plenary sessions, an international range of speakers will challenge the status quo and propose challenging new ideas. Sixty concurrent sessions on a range of challenging and inspiring topics will provide a comprehensive overview of strategic thinking in the science centre community today.

MTE Studios, creators of the ‘1000 Years of Knowledge Rediscovered’ permanent exhibition on display in the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai have also played a major role in the design, manufacture and installation of numerous interactive exhibits at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, and recently delivered a turnkey science museum for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. The company is also known worldwide for their global travelling exhibition, ‘Sultans of Science’, celebrating the contributions of Muslim scholars in science and technology during the Golden Age of the Islamic World.

The exhibition has been showcased at the MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town, South Africa; the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, USA; Ontario Science Centre in Canada and The TELUS World Of Science in Edmonton, Canada. Due to popular demand, the exhibition will soon be hosted at The Tech Museum in the United States. In addition to the design of galleries and the development, design, prototyping and manufacture of exhibitions, MTE Studios also offers operational planning and training for science centres and museums.

– ENDS –