Hey!
This week started out by visiting the statue of the African Renaissance. Standing 52 meters high, this impressive statue is larger than Cristo Redentor in Brazil (30 Meters) and the Statue of Liberty in the U.S. (48 Meters) . It is the largest statue in the world that you can go into! (Below, me inside the man's hat) Inside there is also a small art museum which has a number of statues representing merging man with nature.
The statue of a man carrying his family into the future was supposed to be a cross-continent symbol of the African resurgence, ushering in an era of scientific, cultural and economic progress. Instead it has become a controversial and political touch point for a variety of reasons ranging from it's origins (Built by North Korea), it's cost ($27 Million) to the former president demanding 35% of profits due to intellectual property rights. It is truly a bizarre monument to say the least!
Finishing The Project (Nerding out)
The rest of the week has been dedicated to finishing what I came here to do! As the clock ticks down to the final day I'd love to reflect on the work we have done with the help of my colleagues here in Senegal and in Toronto. These include.
Guides For Each Center
I would like to thank all the Senegalese people who have given me a great and warm welcome to their country. My room mate even gave me a gift of traditional Senegalese clothing! ( it is quite comfortable) The opportunity to work on this project has been a fantastic gift full of challenges (which are fun) opportunities to learn and a great platform for cross cultural exchange. As much as I have learned about Senegal, I am always peppered by questions about Canada by Senegalese people and I am sure they have learned a great deal about our country as well. Exchanges like this truly make the world a smaller place.
My flight leaves on Sunday morning and arrives at midnight, on Tuesday I will be back in my office, it will be a hard adjustment to come back but I can't wait to share my experiences with my coworkers, friends and family.
See you all in Toronto!
Pablo
This week started out by visiting the statue of the African Renaissance. Standing 52 meters high, this impressive statue is larger than Cristo Redentor in Brazil (30 Meters) and the Statue of Liberty in the U.S. (48 Meters) . It is the largest statue in the world that you can go into! (Below, me inside the man's hat) Inside there is also a small art museum which has a number of statues representing merging man with nature.
The statue of a man carrying his family into the future was supposed to be a cross-continent symbol of the African resurgence, ushering in an era of scientific, cultural and economic progress. Instead it has become a controversial and political touch point for a variety of reasons ranging from it's origins (Built by North Korea), it's cost ($27 Million) to the former president demanding 35% of profits due to intellectual property rights. It is truly a bizarre monument to say the least!
Finishing The Project (Nerding out)
The rest of the week has been dedicated to finishing what I came here to do! As the clock ticks down to the final day I'd love to reflect on the work we have done with the help of my colleagues here in Senegal and in Toronto. These include.
- Compiling and translating the year end report for 2014 in English, Spanish from French.
- Preparing a quick highlights video.
- Taking over 600 photos to be used in future content creation by the communications team.
- Miscellaneous document translation (English, Spanish, French)
- Developing a communications strategy.
- Training over 30 senior staff, branch presidents and general managers and key volunteers in best practices and agreed upon communication strategy.
- Preparing and printing communication guides for each center (standards and best practices).
Guides For Each Center
I would like to thank all the Senegalese people who have given me a great and warm welcome to their country. My room mate even gave me a gift of traditional Senegalese clothing! ( it is quite comfortable) The opportunity to work on this project has been a fantastic gift full of challenges (which are fun) opportunities to learn and a great platform for cross cultural exchange. As much as I have learned about Senegal, I am always peppered by questions about Canada by Senegalese people and I am sure they have learned a great deal about our country as well. Exchanges like this truly make the world a smaller place.
My flight leaves on Sunday morning and arrives at midnight, on Tuesday I will be back in my office, it will be a hard adjustment to come back but I can't wait to share my experiences with my coworkers, friends and family.
See you all in Toronto!
Pablo
