Economic Empowerment at the Local Level

I am studying a course called Equality, and this is my second Action Project. In this section, “Ownership”, I studied different perspectives and definitions of the concept of ownership throughout history, to finally arrive to the present forms of implementation of the concept in different parts of the globe. I was surprised at how complex this whole principle is and even arrived to the point where I began questioning my own way of approaching ownership. For this AP I had to write a manifesto that would drive people towards questioning their own concepts of ownership and lead them toward a more equal and conscious perspective of the matter.

In this AP I had to contextualize the concept of inequality in ownership by researching about any specific  product  believed to be presently indispensable through the lens of its interaction with race, gender, and class. I have always been curious of soap; why is it a modern necessity? Why is it so important? What is it even made of? I decided to present my manifesto in the format of a podcast. Below is both the podcast and my Manifesto in written form.

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Soap is considered necessary today because it plays a main role in hygiene and prevention of diseases. Specially when washing your hands, armpits and groin, soap kills a vast amount of dangerous diseases that would otherwise be harmful. It also kills bacteria in other things through which diseases can be transferred easily, such as silverware and clothing.

The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali, and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC. After that, it has been found that Soap was linked to the Roman Empire, Ancient China, the Middle East, Medieval Europe, etc. all the way to the present time. 

Throughout history, Soap passed to be from a luxury to a necessity. Before, according to some historians, one could read the wealth of a civilization by measuring the quantity of soap produced. For about 50 years now, soap has been considered a hygienic necessity.

I think the best word to describe soap in the early soap making period is exclusiveness. Soap making was an exclusive technique used only by small groups of soap makers. Thus, soap was very expensive, and only the upper social classes could afford it. Over time, soap recipes became more widely known, and yet soap was still very expensive until 1791, when the frenchman LeBlanc discovered a much simpler chemical soap-making process

More than 20 years later, another Frenchman identified relationships between glycerin, fats and acid that marked the beginning of modern soap making. Since then the recipe for soap has not really changed. What has changed is the ingredients. Soap makers began acquiring products of luxury for cheap prices once palm oil was imported from Africa, and copra, the dried flesh of the coconut, imported from the Caribbean. With these new ingredients, the aspect of soap became much more attractive, instead of being the crude bar with a rather unfavorable smell and color, as previously known. 

In time, manufacturers began linking soap with cleanliness and health. With the help of marketing, which linked soap with things such as honey, sunlight, and snow, soap was conceived by the consumers as an indispensable product of personal hygiene. The industrial Revolution arrived and soap became a product of industry instead of a handicraft.

Soap has become the individual’s indispensable product, something he must constantly own and have with him. 

Nowadays, the proletarians work in industries that make soap in mass quantities, and use this same soap as well in result of its low prices. The Bourgeois make handicraft soap, which is much more expensive and made out of much more exclusive ingredients, and they use this soap as well.

In the present century, small, local businesses have begun to sprout in response to the asphyxiating industry that controls such principles like necessity, quality, and quantity. In order for these businesses to stay alive, however, they need a lot of money invested in them. The products they sell must also differentiate themselves from the products the industry is selling, usually by bettering their quality. Which is why the bourgeois are the only class who can maintain their small businesses alive and striving, offering something different and unique in contrast to the industry. 

The industry, however, continues to produce in mass quantities which permits them to lower their prices. This, and the lack of small local businesses that could offer jobs makes it so that the only options for the proletarians is to work in these industries as well as use their cheaper products.

I will now explain my intentions in the manifesto through assuming the role of the bourgeoisie in soap production. My role in the production of soap lies in the concepts of local production and local empowerment. I will use my resources to both start local businesses that offers environmentally-friendly hand-crafted soap, a unique product that contrasts in quality to the soap produced by the general industry. My market is mostly the bourgeoise itself, but I will also have cheaper products that will  also be a much simpler and yet a much healthier option for the proletarians. My business will provide jobs with better wages and working conditions. 

I will also use my apprenticeships in the business area to offer free workshops to the general community directed to empower mostly the proletarian population. The value of my work is recognized by both the bourgeoisie and the proletarian local population.

As my efforts related to my business and the education of the local population progresses, I begin to realize that others stand beside me and are willing to help. More local businesses sprout and the local economy strengthens.  The line that used to clearly divide the bourgeoisie from the proletarians begins to blur. In other words, I realize that real change comes from systemic, local, and detached efforts to the betterment of the community. 

So what is ownership in my town? Ownership means you are part of a big body of individuals who all work towards a collective goal. Ownership means each individual owns what he needs, and is willing at any time to offer his service to other inhabitants who might be in need. In my town we understand that conscious ownership benefits everyone.

My intentions in writing this manifesto is to express my belief of where real transformation comes from: Unity and commitment at the local level.

Lastly, I will sum up my intentions in a total of 4 commandments:

Commandment 1: Equality in every aspect: All inhabitants of every community/municipality must tend to equal opportunity to education. 

Commandment 2: Local business fund & institution: All inhabitants must have an opportunity to donate to a local fund which purpose is to support small, innovative, and environmentally friendly businesses. This fund must be managed by a fund institution, whose purpose is to parallelly educate the inhabitants of every community/municipality to comprehend the importance and value of the local business fund, as well as to promote the inhabitants to donate to the fund. 

Commandment 3: Local goals: All communities/municipalities must have a set of short term and long term goals that focus on improving the social/economic conditions of the area for more equal entrepreneurship opportunities. These goals must be consulted with the general population and a reflection meeting must be held every 3 months after the goals have been set to review the community’s efforts and asure they are effective and well directed.

Commandment 4: Variables: There may be variables in all the previous commandments that accommodate themselves to the culture and reality of every specific community/municipality, but they must first be consulted with a general national body whose purpose is to promote and ensure social/economic justice.

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Citations:

Song in Podcast: Choros No.1, Hector Villa Lobos, interpreted by RS.

"Surfing the Streets of Pto. Ayora" Artpiece

I am studying a course called Equality, and this is my third and last Action Project. In this unit we studied about why different things have been censored throughout the history of equality and freedom across the globe, and created a personal point of view of how and when the concept of censorship needs to be applied in different scenarios. For this Action Project we had to create an artistic piece of political propaganda based on a case study about a social issue we chose to purse. I especially enjoyed this Action Project because it permitted me to have a critical eye towards the reality of the town I live in, which further nurtured my sense of responsibility and appropriation for my town.

“Surfing the streets of Pto. Ayora”, RS.
Dip Pens  & Black Ink, 297 x 420 mm Paper

Censorship is the act of prohibiting or limiting something to meet a specific goal. This may be done by political groups, organizations, or even individuals. Even though it is generally agreed that there is a need for a general set of laws to ensure collective freedom, many nations and groups interpret the concept of censorship in many different ways.

I chose as my case study on censorship what I believe to be a specific set of issues occurring in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, the town I live in. Firstly is the fact that all of the beaches in Santa Cruz Island are not so easily accessible. By this I mean that, in contrast to the other inhabited islands in the Galapagos, all of the beaches in Santa Cruz are within either a considerable distance or only accessible through sea-related forms of transportation. The reason for this is because buildings were built on the sea borders of Puerto Ayora, and different beaches and other accesses to the ocean were blocked. As a matter of fact, in most sections of Charles Darwin Av., the main avenue of Puerto Ayora that rides along parallel to the sea, the sight of the sea is blocked by buildings.  Therefore many if not most of the islanders have very few contact with the sea, and they have not built any sort of relationship with them.

As a second matter, there is the fact that everything inside the National Park (which constitutes 97% of Galapagos) is considered out of bounds to all inhabitants of the islands and tourists, except for certified guided trips to the National Park which are directed mostly towards tourists (pricewise). This makes it so that there is very few if not any sort of contact between the common inhabitants of Santa Cruz and the rest of Galapagos and the National Park.

I consider these issues to be both direct and indirect forms of a negative and bias censorship. It is a constitutional right for all citizens to have public access to all exists to the sea, and yet many of these exists in Puerto Ayora still remain either private or not accessible. The National Park is similarly censored for all of those who don't earn enough to purchase a tour service, which includes the great majority of the Galapagueñan population.


These issues affect the Islands in many ways. Galapagos has been crowned with the title of a patrimony to humankind, and it is imperative that every inhabitant of these islands concentrate his efforts in protecting these fragile ecosystems. And yet, it seems irrational to me that we expect these inhabitants to rise up to protect and conserve the Galapagos if they have no sort of relationship with the sea and the unique wildlife to begin with, that is, what mainly makes Galapagos such a special place. And that is, not the mention the National Park Institution itself.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught” – Baba Dioum. 

I decided to approach these issues with a drawing of a surfer because I am a surfer myself and have had the chance to witness how productive this sport truly is. Among the many beautiful advantages this sport has, there is one that sticks out the most for me: Surfing creates a very strong bond between the people who practice it and the sea. This is the main reason of why I support surfing so much and promote many people, specially islanders, to practice it. However, most surfers in Santa Cruz Island find themselves with a disadvantage. Even though this island counts with various world-class waves, the waves closest to Puerto Ayora are of a much poorer quality, whereas the best waves are found deep within the National Park, and thus out of bounds. Surfers in Santa Cruz must wait patiently for just the right swell to arrive that stirs the bay Academia, where Puerto Ayora is situated, and then make their way to the not-so-easily accessible beaches. This makes surfing quite unpopular to the overall Santa Cruz population, even though it could serve as a great way to promote people to loving the ocean they live so close to and practically live off of.

In my art I decided to employ two main types of propaganda which are often called “name calling” and “plain folk”. Name calling is referred to the type of propaganda where you directly mention the competitor and you say bad things about him/her/it. In this case, I mention the National Park Institution and how they prohibit surfers and common folk from visiting the National Park. The plain folk technique involves using ordinary people to, well, sound ordinary. I drew an anonymous surfer to also include that feeling.

Citations:

Quizlet, "7 TYPES OF PROPAGANDA", TEEJWIN1, 2018.
https://quizlet.com/5435505/7-types-of-propaganda-techniques-flash-cards/

SWOT Analysis of GCE Lab School

From the Systems & Models course, this is my final Action Project. In this section of the course we learned mainly about I-O Psychology; what is it for? Under what circumstances is it useful and why is it an ever-growing carrier in the 21st century? We merged the apprenticeships we gained from both individual and collective psychology to understand the psychology of the workplace. I deeply enjoyed this Action Project because I had the chance of viewing my own school with a critical eye by crafting a SWOT analysis. I love my school very much, and having the opportunity to offer my point of view and having the chance to help is very gratifying. Following is a general SWOT analysis of GCE Lab School under my point of view, based on my experience with the school:

Strengths

• Action-based, passion-oriented curriculum: The way the curriculum exposes students to a real-world application fo the skills and concepts learned in the different courses, as well as how the field experience permit you to see these skills and concepts being applied already contributes to this strength.
• Sense of community where all students can contribute to: The internal and external service-related activities the school hosts and participates in, such as indoor lunch on Fridays, helping paint and decorate the school, and engaging in civic events such as 291 #enough, as well as the the small size of the school permits the students to enjoy of a sense of community among their peers & general staff.
• Healthy ambiance that favors a healing process: There are many aspects of the school that contribute to this central attribute. The school’s curriculum leads the student to the conclusion that his/her purpose lies in contributing to the betterment of the world. It guides the student towards quality relationships with their peers, teachers, family, friends, and whomever might cross their path These relationships create a healthy ambiance in and outside of the school for each student. Students learn not only to accept differences, but to benefit themselves from them. The relaxation on behalf of the school in most common classroom and homework regulations in a certain way affects students negatively, however many, if not most students who come to GCE have been sincerely affected by the irrationality and asphyxiating traditional educational system, and this “flexibility” in many ways permits the students to heal and regain their passion for learning. 

Weaknesses

• Relaxation in regulations meant for engagement/Difficulty in properly implementing the curriculum: The quality of education varies from classroom to classroom. Some of the classes I participated in were ordered, and had a set of rules to follow in class such as no eating and not using phones unless required for the following exercises, and at the same time offered a space to make open-ended questions and share work and ideas with the rest of the classmates. Homework timelines worked to help the student organize his/her time. In others, however, a little “too much” space was given. Students would end up talking about topics that were not part of the class discussion or playing games, etc. Engagement was lost along the way and students would work to simply turn their projects in before the timelines and fulfill enough of the rubric to achieve a passing grade. In other words, the “passion” aspect was lost along the way. I think all teachers should gather a set of guidelines to follow in order to effectively implement the general curriculum. The purpose of these guidelines would not be to force all teachers to follow an identical way of teaching the courses in their classes, but rather to provide the teacher with a set of tools that will help him/her have a better sense of the nature of the curriculum and will therefore help the teacher implement his own methods effectively.

Opportunities

• Partnerships: As many connections as GCE has with very valuable organizations, GCE also has the opportunity of generating partnerships with other schools that share a similar vision. This would benefit students and the school both directly by offering them the option of periodical exchanges and thus further improving their global citizenship experience, as well as indirectly by learning how other institutions apply and implement their similar visions, and therefore enriching how GCE might implement its own curriculum and vision.

Threats

• Enclosed Community: A healthy way for an organization to grow is by associating itself with other organizations with similar goals. Specially in small institutions, the same ideas tend to bounce inside the same walls time and time again, which often leads to a type of inner-circle stagnation. When new points of view are not brought into the consultation inside an organization, frequently a resistance to outer ideas begins to form and competitiveness begins to appear among its members. Generating partnerships with other organizations clearly solves this threat, given that this involves sharing apprenticeships and knowledge with other groups of people, and at the same time learning from these other groups and generating a win-win situation, where competitiveness is not part of the equation.
• Lack of Donations: Another threat that GCE might face is that they might not receive the necessary amount of profit from donations to cope with the school’s expenses. I foresee some simple solutions for this threat. One is that the school could work on their official website, given that it serves as a first impression for many donors. There could be a student’s committee in charge of constantly updating and innovating the school’s website and format. Another solution that the school might consider is to offer small yet nice & exclusive things to their donors, such as special tours around the school, or personalization such as choosing the precise section of the school they might want to donate to, or even the specific student the might like to sponsor financially. 

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Related O-I Psychology Breakthroughs:

Institute of Employment Studies (IES) in 1990 ‘From People to Profits, the HR link to the service-profit chain’ 

https://www.hrzone.com/engage/employees/history-of-employee-engagement-from-satisfaction-to-sustainability 

Psychology, “Merger, Acquisitions, Strategic Alliances.”, 2018.

http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/industrial-organizational-psychology/organizational-development/mergers-acquisitions-and-strategic-alliances/

Music and Productivity in the Senior Class

From my Systems & Models course, this is my second AP. In this unit we learned a lot about how people interact with other people, and about how individuals can mold a collective space, as well as how collective behaviors can mold individuals as well.  We also dived into the different patterns and behaviors in groups that tend to lead to either breakdowns or breakthroughs. This lead us to reflect about the social groups we are part of and the patterns they follow. For this Action Project we had to run a scientific experiment based on group observation to further explore any given topic we’d like to know about how people interact. I chose to run a experiment that addressed the following guiding question: How does the way we(students) listen to music while working affect our productivity?

Experiment Details

Taking advantage of the fact that I am visiting GCE Lab School in Chicago, I decided to do this experiment with my classmates and our teachers. There are a total of nine students in the Senior Year, and all teachers in GCE have at one point or another taught senior year, which sums up to five teachers

I created two surveys, one to be taken by students and one to be taken by teachers. The student’s survey was a series of questions that challenged them to think about what they believed to be the most productive way of listening to music while studying, in different scenarios such as in class or at home. The teacher's survey revolved around the experience they’ve had with the present senior class, with questions that would challenge them to think about the different ways students interact with music and, based on their observance, which way they believed to to be most productive.

 RS, Senior GCE class, 2018.

 RS, Senior GCE class, 2018.

Hypothesis

I believe that even though most students think that they can concentrate better when listening to music with their earphones, the results will show through the teacher’s overall observance that students are most productive when they listen to music with a speaker.

Research

In order to have a bit of context as to what the world already knows about the topic I chose for my experiment, I did some research on how music affects individuals in the workplace in general. Studies show that music can boost your productivity when the type of music is in harmony with the given type of work or scenario. Songs with lyrics, for example, or songs with more complex musical structure tend to reduce productivity when the given task requires critical thinking. However, other studies such as a study from the University of Helsinki  note that the simple act of listening to music while in class can help improve students’ memory and learning capacity. There is also evidence that shows that music played at low volumes during class activities can boost creativity and concentration. 

I also found some interesting studies about how listening to music with headphones often becomes a social barrier in the workplace. The use of headphones in the workplace was cited as a major office-etiquette problem in a 2010 survey of 1,400 chief information officers by Robert Half Technology.  Social dynamics are very important in a classroom; even in individual work some teachers from GCE Chicago expect their students to socialize and compare their coursework to arrive to a richer conclusion. Therefore, it can be inferred that listening to music with earphones in the classroom can sometimes be counterproductive.

Data from experiments

I received a total of seven surveys completed by students, and five surveys completed by teachers. The results were as shown:

Student’s Survey

When I asked students whether they preferred listening to music with earphones, with a general speaker, or not listening to music at all, 62.5% of them preferred earphones, 25% preferred no music at all, and only 12.5% preferred using a speaker.

When the scenario was changed to schoolwork at home though, the response was very different. 50% of the students preferred using a speaker at home, 37.5% preferred no music at all, and only 12.5% preferred using earphones. 

The type of music heard while studying was generally varied, and most students heard the same music genres for all types of schoolwork, disregarding what the schoolwork implied you to do. 

Teacher’s Survey

Teachers agreed that listening to music with earphones can be distracting, on average, 51% of the time, compared to the average of 11% distraction when a speaker is used in class (with a low volume.) 

The most popular music genre played by teachers in class is classical, though many vary depending on the task at hand. When students are doing quiet independent work like writing or drawing, some teachers use mellow rhythms and instrumental music to encourage students to focus. However, when students are working on a project or in groups, teachers often use different genres such as pop and rock. A very small percentage of teachers prefer not using music in class in any way.

Analysis When comparing the student’s most popular ways of listening to music while working at school and at home, the data suggests that most students use earphones in the classroom to block out noises such as chattering, laughing, etc, though perhaps prefer using a speaker while working alone. This is especially conflicting because even though students use earphones with the intention of isolating themselves and reaching higher levels of concentration, most teachers agree that this is the most distracting music-listening technique. Teacher’s data also generally suggests that listening to genres that go well with the task at hand are most likely to rise productivity levels in students. Conclusion A major problem in class is that there are many distracting noises that prevent students from concentrating, especially when the given task involves quiet, independent work. Most students then resort to plugging their earphones in to block out the noise, but the data suggest that this is mostly counterproductive and clearly not a solution. On the other hand, hearing music with a speaker, both in class in at home, especially with a low volume and music that is in harmony with the given type of schoolwork, has been proved to help students concentrate and be generally more productive.

CITATIONS

The Wall Street Journal, “At Work, Do Headphones Really Help?”, June 7, 2012.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303395604577432341782110010  

Inc., “Listening To Music While Doing Homework: Is It A Good Idea?”, December 12, 2017

https://www.inc.com/melissa-chu/research-shows-listening-to-music-increases-produc.html  

The University of Scranton, “ Music in the Classroom Proves Beneficial for Learning”, 2017.

https://www.uscranton.com/resources/teaching-tips/music-in-the-classroom-proves-beneficial-for-learning/#.WxBo3EiUu3A 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Revised

I am studying a course called Equality, and this is my first Action Project. In this unit we studied about the principle of citizenship and of how its definition has transformed (and continues to transform) in time. We learned about this concept by studying the arguments and actions of thinkers in history such as Aristotle, and finally crafted our own conception of the matter. We also reviewed and questioned two main human rights declarations: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Bill of Rights. For this Action Project we had to craft our own declaration of human rights with the guidance of our concept of citizenship, addressing a specific issue we believe to be controversial. I believe my declaration is important and necessary because it offers a unique perspective on citizenship that confronts the prejudices that affect our world arising from divisionary and discriminatory barriers.

Citizenship is a very interesting term; its true definition and purpose has been debated directly and indirectly through official constitutions and other documents throughout history. My approach to citizenship is deeply intertwined with a concept I like to call “double moral purpose.” In order for humanity to truly progress, all world citizens must be imbued in a purpose that impulses them to transform individually as well as contribute to the transformation of society.

I believe that a true and coherent definition of citizenship must include primarily all the peoples of the world. I arrived to this conclusion from the realization that norms and modes of individual behavior determine the social environment, and are shaped at the same time by social structures and processes. Therefore, if citizenship does not apply to a certain group of individuals, and are consequently deprived of the laws that protect others who citizenship does apply to, the overall collective advancement of that community is hindered.

 Thus, if a specific group of persons is suffering, the whole world is being collectively affected by it, once again, hindering its advancement.

Furthermore, I have also come to the conclusion that the subtle forms of self-interest and self-centeredness that all independent countries tend to adopt comes from the lack of direct exterior interaction and of assuming global goals. They lack of standards to judge their own progress, and it is then that they eventually forget the social dimension that comes hand-in-hand with a sense of purpose, falling into arrogance and self-satisfaction.

In my project I decided to revise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). My biggest concern, however,  did not lie in the existing articles of the present UDHR, but rather in how this document is being enforced, article by article, in the world.

I believe that there is a sense of responsibility behind using terms such as “all human beings”, “everyone”, and “no one shall be subjected to” ,present in the UDHR, that fell upon the United Nations the moment they adopted the Declaration. I also think that this responsibility is not being fully met by the United Nations, by the mere fact that the UDHR is not an official treaty, and therefore does not directly create legal obligations for countries.

The official body of the United Nations responsible for enforcing the UDHR across the globe is the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). My project addresses my point of view of how this Council should work.

My List of Articles:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be implemented to all world citizens in all the countries of the world, under the following circumstances:

• All constitutions of all independent countries shall be centered towards the globalized concept of human rights displayed in the UDHR, and yet each shaped to strengthen and ensure the blossoming of their own cultures, achieving unity in diversity.

The United Nations Human Rights Council

• The purpose of the UNHRC is to enforce the UDHR across the globe. The Council shall be conformed by individuals representative to each section of the world who may openly consult on the implementing methods of the UDHR. These members shall be elected by the peoples of each section of the world in a purely democratic manner. Each member of the UNHCR has the responsibility of actively participating in the consultations of the Council by providing the Council with a cultural perspective of how the articles of the UDHR shall be applied to their own section of the world, and how the Council shall work with each independent country towards achieving the goal of harmonizing their constitutions with the UDHR.

Elections of the UNHRC

• Eluding partidistic politics, there shall instead be a fixed set of criteria, whereas every individual who fits into this set is automatically applicable to both vote and be elected.  The election process shall also elude campaigning, and therefore any individual or group of individuals spotted by the UNHCR to promote themselves for a seat in the Council shall be considered to not having met the necessary criteria. In the voting process, the secret ballot method shall also be applied.

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To further understand how the modern concept of citizenship affects our world (and why it needs to be rethought) I decided to conduct some research that looked into how citizenship works in the United States, a country with an approximate of 10.9 million illegal immigrants, according to a report by the Center for Migration Studies in January 2016. I learned that citizenship can, in principle be obtained by legal residents but it is incredibly difficult, takes a lot of time, and is less probable to work if you are a member of a cultural minority or have a low education. This is a problem because there is entire communities in the US that are not citizens, and are therefore not covered by the same laws of everyone else. This issue is especially relevant because these illegal communities after all, cannot vote. Many studies question whether the most effective way of legalizing about 3% of the population is the way it is presently being done. 

Under a global perspective, it became evident to me how the mere fact that thousands of people from across the world are moving away from their countries to apply for citizenships in others is proof of two things: Some countries are more just towards their citizens than others, and human rights today in a great part rest upon what citizenship applies to you.

In my declaration I address the prejudices that arise from national, racial, and gender-based barriers that the world is being presently affected by. I do this by defining the world of humanity as “one race” and the surface of the earth “one place of residence.”1 Through my declaration I take in account the diversity of culture that enriches and adorns humanity by defining nationality as a symbol of culture and identity only, instead of a symbol of superiority and privilege as it is seen in much cases today.

CITATIONS

1 Abd’ul-Bahá,  The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 231.

Quora, “Do the UN-declared Human Rights apply to all countries in the United Nations?”

https://www.quora.com/Do-the-UN-declared-Human-Rights-apply-to-all-countries-in-the-United-Nations

  

Wikipedia, “United Nations Human Rights Council”, March 29, 2018

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Human_Rights_Council

Scholars Strategy Network, “How barriers to citizenship status increase inequality in the United States”, Sofya Aptekar, May 15, 2015

https://scholars.org/brief/how-barriers-citizenship-status-increase-inequality-united-states

Wikipedia,”Immigrant population in the United States”, April 8, 2018

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigrant_population_of_the_United_States

Local Music Workshop

GCE requires students to complete at least 50 hours of extra-curricular work in order to graduate. To complete my hours I decided to embark myself in a series of activities such as Seminars, volunteering jobs, workshops, etc. This is a small retailing of a two-day Local Music Workshop I helped organize in the town of Chongón, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

I was part of the consulting body that crafted and organized the first ever Local Music Workshop in Latin America, held on December of 2017. Te purpose of this workshop, similarly to the Continental Music Workshops organized by the Medios para la Transformación Project, was to compose music that would create a positive influence in the town of Chongon, in accordance to its reality. The workshop was held in two days, and two songs were composed and recorded.

At first, we were all rather nervous knowing that we had little time to meet out goal of two full songs. However, the capacity of the participant youths was clearly evident by the second day, were actual composing began to take place. It was an experience that enriched us all and motivated us to try a second, more lengthy workshop, which will take place in a couple of weeks.

Volunteering in the Charles Darwin Foundation: Field trip in "Fisheries" Project

GCE requires students to complete at least 50 hours of extra-curricular work in order to graduate. To complete my hours I decided to embark myself in a series of activities such as Seminars, volunteering jobs, workshops, etc. This is a small retailing of a volunteering job I participated (and am still participating in) in the Charles Darwin Foundation.

I have been volunteering in a project called "Ecology and Evaluation of Fisheries" for the past 7 months, in the CDF. This project seeks to increase the knowledge of the ecology, life history and population dynamics of major fishery target species and the habitats they occupy in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The goal of the CDF is to provide up-to-date information for the improvement of fisheries management on the islands.

I participated on a 3-day field trip to the island of Floreana, in a small fishing boat together with two fishermen and a co-worker from the CDF. The purpose of the field trip was to record the time and place were the fishermen caught (or didn't catch) fish, as well as data from the fishes such as the specie and their longitude to further broaden the knowledge of the different species, as well as their average fishing rate. Fishermen don't usually have a need to get down on the island but rather fish around it, which is what we did. We never got off the boat, and ate, slept, and did everything else on the little boat throughout the journey. Even though I only walked on the island once (In a lunch break when we anchored the boat on a small bay with a beach in the protected area of the island), I got to know Floreana and its wildlife more than any $1,000 cruise could have offered me. I also learned a lot about the life of a fishermen, and its privileges (your diet is based on the famous refrain "from the sea to your table") and getting to know all of this and living their life for three days considerably expanded my vision of life.

Floreana is also a funny island because there is only 201 inhabitants and the town is about 8 blocks. So Floreana is mostly one big forest! And being able to go all around it and seeing so much endemic and new flora and fauna for me was simply magical.