badges « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Up | Russel's Badges

dom2d — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:33:56 +0000

Here’s the list of scout badges that were created for Up’s Russel.

Viral Shopping Mall BADGES Available NOW for Sharing :)

shopanthropy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:16:34 +0000

Hello fellow Shop-Anthropists!

As you all may know, we are coming up on the busiest shopping weekend of the year – but what you may not know is that your shopping dollars can make REAL positive impact all over the world, in several different ways and without much time or effort on your part…

Let me explain -

When you mix philanthropic shopping (shop-anthropy) with green or fair trade shopping your dollars are put into the hands of people working towards positive change!

1. If you shop through http://www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com a percent of your sale goes to your favorite nonprofit organization and is spent on their various initiatives or projects. (this could mean your money goes toward the building of a windmill in Zimbabwe or the cleaning up efforts of a Southern Californian beach or perhaps it means helping children get the medical attention they need)

2. When you buy GREEN it means that that product was made with the environment in mind and every purchase goes towards an effort to stop creating continuous waste and pollution.

3. If you buy Fair Trade – it means that you support healthy and humane global economics. Communities can thrive and survive within this model – rather then struggle and fight back death and disease.

So this holiday season make BIG change with small effort – simply by shopping!

CLICK BELOW to share the Viral Shopping Badge:

http://www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com/shop/badges

Share with ALL your friends and help spread Shop-Anthropy today!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at http://www.nonprofitshoppingmall.com!

Laura-Kate's Illustrations

winterartsmarket — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:04:31 +0000

Look at Laura-Kate’s beautiful work!

'Here comes the circus' by Laura-Kate Chapman

What does she say? “I am a freelance illustrator and my work is a world of hand drawn quirky creatures and beautiful detailed patterns. As well as creating pictures and prints, I print my images onto mugs, badges , gift cards and coming soon-T-shirts. All images are hand drawn using water colours, pencil crayons, felt tips and pencils, a computer is only used as a means to print my images. I believe very strongly in hand created art work”

'Punk Lion' by Laura-Kate Chapman

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

James Jett — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:03:23 +0000

HAPPY THANKSGIVING:

If its Ok with your doctor. You have my permission to over eat today.

Enjoy, with Family and Friends

Art Cube

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:16 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Art Cube
Wiedauwkaai 52
9000 Gent (Belgium)
More information about Art Cube …

An overview of the available activities for Art Cube …

Antwerp Engineering Company

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:00:17 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Antwerp Engineering Company
Indiëstraat 10
2000 Antwerpen (Belgium)
More information about Antwerp Engineering Company …

An overview of the available activities for Antwerp Engineering Company …

Beurs-World Trade Centre

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:00:18 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Beurs-World Trade Centre
Beursplein 37
3011 AA Rotterdam (Netherlands)
More information about Beurs-World Trade Centre …

An overview of the available activities for Beurs-World Trade Centre …

De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:00:12 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre
P.O. Box 972
3000 AZ Rotterdam (Netherlands)
More information about De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre …

An overview of the available activities for De Doelen Concert and Congress Centre …

Brabanthallen Den Bosch

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:17 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Brabanthallen Den Bosch
Diezekade 2
5222 AK ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)
More information about Brabanthallen Den Bosch …

An overview of the available activities for Brabanthallen Den Bosch …

Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC)

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:00:13 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC)
Postbus 1630
6201 BP Maastricht (Netherlands)
More information about Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC) …

An overview of the available activities for Maastrichts Expositie & Congres Centrum (MECC) …

Amsterdam Convention Factory

expopedia — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:00:12 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Amsterdam Convention Factory
Czaar Peterstraat 213
1018 PL Amsterdam (Netherlands)
More information about Amsterdam Convention Factory …

An overview of the available activities for Amsterdam Convention Factory …

Autotron

expopedia — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:14 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Autotron
Postbus 142
5240 AC Rosmalen (Netherlands)
More information about Autotron …

An overview of the available activities for Autotron …

BADGES

modernmeritocracy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:41:26 +0000

# Take a dance class

# Draw something

# Sew something

# Review a film

# Review a restaurant

# Go on a bike ride

# Ski

# Camp

# Learn to drive a stick

# Take a cooking class

# Write an essay

# Host a dinner party

# Take a trip by myself

# Take an acroyoga class

# Write a short story

# Write a poem

# Learn to play the piano (again)

# Ride a horse

# Sing something on key

# Make a video

# Play nine holes of golf

Amsterdam Arena

expopedia — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:01:03 +0000

This venue has recently been added on Expopedia, the tradefair service finder. Visit our website for more information.

Amsterdam Arena
Arena Boulevard 1
1101 AX Amsterdam Zuidoost (Netherlands)
More information about Amsterdam Arena …

An overview of the available activities for Amsterdam Arena …

Work Loads, Business Tasks and Progress

James Jett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:28:07 +0000

The last twelve months have been time consuming leaving very little time for writing and posting content. In the last six months, my job has been to transfer three years of a company’s accounts from paper too electronic, without any changes in the account names or amounts. Since the accounting recorded was needed for the funding application. So each day was consumed working on the accounts, leaving no time for posting or pleasure.
With the accounting work complete, I loaded my car and transported myself to Ohio. Once here, I went to work on the landscaping required to get the yard back in shape, after the County of Lake, installed a new water line and used my parking space on the side of the garage as off-street parking with the promise they would do all needed repairs, to make it whole again. That work is still pending, but I spoke to Lake County’s Project Engineer, and agreed that I will write a letter to the contractor and let them know that I expect them to keep the agreement.
All the business concerns, health matters requiring care, and the house and yard needing much care, consumed every hour in the day. Add the time getting my computer repaired, and working with my Grand kids parents to get the girls started in swimming and playing Soccer, seem to exceed the hours in a day!
Now we are back, ready to write posts and pages, telling every business effort we engaged in, successes and failures. Yes, I mean tell-all, in some detail. Always making sure, I honor all NDA agreements. (Non Disclosures Agreements). Why tell-all? We are in business, starting, expanding and growing businesses. I was asked to come on board because my associates got burned on three large contracts. You can see why, people in this business dislike dishonesty and will help each other avoid getting burned by someone trying to get enough information by talking to you, and get a contract with a buddy or friend because now they can do it themselves. “ Proceed with caution. This stuff occurs every day.”

Bureaucrats with Badges

stevepepple — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:09:28 +0000

There was a peculiar piece in the American Spectator online last week, a “Special Report” by Mark Hyman. The author lists a number of unfortunate circumstances by which harmless passengers, many times military personnel, have been delayed or hassled by TSA and airport security protocols. He blames these anecdotal mishaps on “government bureaucrats armed with ‘rules, policies and procedures’ and employing no commonsense.”

He goes on to question a number of security and procedural policies in government and military institutions, which he thinks are unnecessary and demeaning to the personnel at these institutions. As a primary example, Hyman makes the case that the rules for issuing and renewing CACs (Common Access Cards) are unneeded and absurd.

He is miffed because he did not renew his CAC before it expired and he had to go though a bureaucratic process to straighten this out:

“My CAC had expired days earlier so I contacted an issuing office to get a replacement. A clerk in the ID card office informed me that all appointments had to be made online using the intranet. Yet, my expired CAC prevented me from using the intranet system. In spite of my predicament the clerk told me, “Our policy requires all appointments to be scheduled online. If you are unable to use the intranet, then there is nothing more I can do.” It sounded like the beginning of an Abbott and Costello routine.”

“Rather than fight this particular battle, I decided to renew my CAC at another issuing office. While there, I was asked to produce a picture ID. I showed my state driver’s license. I was then asked for a second form of ID and was told the CAC was not acceptable since it expired five days earlier. A week earlier it would have been valid, but on this day it was deemed worthless. So I showed the clerk my company-issued ID card that looked as though it was made on an office computer and laminated at the local Kinko’s. As a matter of fact, that was exactly how that ID was manufactured. But it was good enough. The clerk accepted the flimsy company ID over the just-expired military CAC.”

Hyman concludes,

“What makes this episode even sadder is that the military CAC is generally not accepted as a valid form of identification for use by visitors to the Pentagon. Visitors must also have a Pentagon-issued ID or another form of identification such as a state driver’s license. The reason, according to a security officer, is that at least one machine that manufactures CACs and several hundred blank CACs are missing and presumed to have been stolen. Security officials do not know which CAC is valid and which is a forgery.”

The latter claim is nonsensical and shows that the security officials Hyman chats with are miss informing him about how his CAC works. This too, expresses a common misconception— that possession of the card is the only thing that verifies identity.

To his point about the pains of standing in line to renew something only to find that you don’t have the right materials: I can empathize with this, but I cannot gather what rules Hyman thinks are silly, and which are reasonable. Is he arguing that he shouldn’t have to have a CAC, or that he should be able to use his expired CAC, by itself, for renewal? And what does this have to do with policy created by top-level military and government officials?

What is clear from reading the piece is that he doesn’t like the rules much because he doesn’t understand why they are in place. He wanted an exception so he could use his expired CAC. Similarly, in another of his examples, he complains that his wife couldn’t renew her own CAC using an expired passport.

There are two fundamental questions that would help Hyman better appreciate these rules: Why are identification badges, such as CAC cards, used? And, how is the true identity of a badge-holder verified? In other words, what is a CAC good for anyways?

The military provides several resources for answering these questions. In fact, had Hyman consulted these, or unofficial resources, anytime before his CAC expired he would have had less of a hassle renewing it.

Identity, and the privileges we associate with it, is an abstract thing that is difficult to verify. The best way for a large institutions to verify a person’s identity is to gather the various artifacts of identity, such as a state driver’s license, for this person and grade the validity of these items and the authority of the institution who gave the item. The bureaucratic pronouncements on this process (i.e. presidential directives and policies) say that the best way to verify the identity and authorization of millions of people is to create a system of rules that make the procedures repeatable, reliable, and safe. (One such rule may reason that an expired identity artifact should not be considered valid, even if it was valid yesterday.)

Now, the process of using a CAC card is not as simple as it could be. Systems that use badges for the identification of people and the verification of people’s permissions and authority are complex and imperfect, but this is not a problem of bureaucracy. It’s more a matter of improving these systems for most users and reminding users, like Hyman, why they were given a badge to begin with.

TLW Challenge - w/c 23 November (UPDATED!)

magpieschest — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:56:17 +0000

This week’s TLW challenge has an additional bonus; you will need to do this to get the Communications badge!

What you need to do is to send me a creative and imaginative email (using the Googlemail account) showing photos of an enjoyable Scouting activity you have been involved with. During one of the bases we discussed how an email should look.

You may find it useful to go to http://www.magpieschest.co.uk/scoutfolder/scoutstuff.html for Scout pictures!

Two Left Welly points will be allocated for emails received by 4th November.

The email will count towards the Communicator badge if it is received by Friday 11th December.

Une Guignolée qui n'aide pas virtuellement

etiennechabot — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:17:26 +0000

Il n’est pas encore tombé 1 cm de neige sur le sol québécois, on a pas encore pensé à nos décorations et la valse des partys de Noël n’est pas encore amorcée. Je sais.

Mais, je ne peux m’empêcher de penser à toutes les familles qui sont bien loin de toutes ces préoccupations avant d’entrer dans notre rush de magasinage. L’an passé, la communauté web du Québec avait amorcé humblement, via une idée soudaine de notre gourou spirituelle Michelle Blanc, le concept d’une Guignolée 2.0 qui devait être menée à bout de bras par les blogueurs du Québec. L’idée a plutôt bien fonctionnée et en quelques semaines, un site était en ligne afin de recueillir des fonds pour les plus démunis. Cette année, l’idée a définitivement germée et prend de l’ampleur. J’en suis ravi. Le web est un extraordinaire véhicule pour colporter des rumeurs, salir des réputations, propulser sa vanité, s’engueuler, s’insulter mais, il peut être aussi un formidable outil pour changer le monde et ce dans le sens le plus noble du terme. Nous jouissons d’une communauté web tissée serrée au Québec et si nous nous mettons à profit ces liens et cette force de réseautage, on peut arriver à de grandes choses. C’est dans cette esprit que je partage avec vous cette belle initiative.

Les organismes qui redistribueront vos dons auprès des plus démunis sont:

* Moisson Montréal
* Club des petits déjeuners du Québec
* Sun Youth
* Les Auberges du Coeur
* Société de Saint-Vincent de Paul

Un petit geste peut faire faire une énorme différence auprès de millers de familles québécoises. Posez ce geste, partagez ces liens et ces bannières.

Shops für wirklich individuelle Shirts

lelutinaulsd — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:10:08 +0000

Ich wollte hier ja eigentlich auch hin und wieder über Klamotten bloggen. Da ich aber im Moment nicht so viel Kohle hab, da kein neuer Nebenjob neben dem Studium in Sicht is, kommt das etwas kurz obwohl ich ja immer gern shoppen gehe. Deshalb dacht ich mach ich mal einen Eintrag zu coolen T-Shirts. Habe in den letzten Jahren einige sehr nette Shopsvon Indie-Designern aufgetan.

1. A-Better-Tomorrow: http://www.a-better-tomorrow.com/ (Foto)

Die Jungs von A-Better-Tomorrow lassen ihre Kunden selbst designen. Prinzipiell kann hier jeder sein Design einreichen. Das wird dann von Usern bewertet und die besten Designs werden in limitierter Auflage gedruckt. Schnell sein muss man also. Meist sind hier Amateur-Designer vertreten, denn um so ein richtig cooles Motiv hinzukriegen muss man schon mit den gängigen Grafikprogrammen umgehen können. Doof nur (für mich) das Grundlage der Prints T-Shirts von American Apparel sind und da ist mir selbst Größe S viel zu groß! Dabei bin ich mit Sicherheit nicht der kleinste Mensch auf diesem Planeten, auch wenn ich recht schmal gebaut bin. (62 KG, 1,75m) Für alle, die die Shirts ausfüllen lohnt sich ein Besuch, zumal die Preise mit 18-26 Euro für T-Shirts sehr human sind. Auch Hoodies gibt’s im Angebot. Der Versand ist normalerweise inklusive!

2. Merchline: http://www.merchline.com/

Merchline ist ein Zusammenschluss verschiedener Shops von Designern und Bands, mit zentralem Versand, wenn ich das richtig verstanden habe. Hier gibt es jeden Geschmack etwas. Teilweise sind die Designs sehr individuell. Auch Rob Dobi verkauft über Mercfür hline. Wer ihn nicht kennt sollte mal schauen auf: http://www.merchline.com/fullbleed/ – die Sachen sind echt der Hammer! Auch hier werden die Sachen meist nur in einer Auflage gedruckt. Es lohnt sich also schnell zu sein! Probleme kriegt man wenn man was bestellt aber mit dem Zoll. Die deklarieren das als Geschenk, was eigentlich clever is, aber der Zoll fällt da nicht drauf rein und nimmt einem auch nicht ab, wenn man sagt das hätte einem ein Freund aus den USA geschickt weil ein Packzettel drinne liegt… Naja also etwas Zollgebühren nachzahlen muss man. Aber trotzdem kommt man dank schwachem Dollar so mit 20-25 Euro pro T-Shirt hin, wenn man gleich mehrere bestellt. Der Zollbesuch ist aber alles andre als lustig, denn die behandeln einen per se erst mal wie einen Schmuggler

3. Threadless: http://www.threadless.com/

Ein wahres Paradies. So viel wie es hier gibt kann man stundenlang stöbern. Die Motive sind meist sehr schmunzelig angelegt. Die Preise sind mit meist um die 18$ extrem human wenn man den Wechselkurs beachtet. Ich wollte da immer mal einen Großeinkauf starten, habs bis heute aber nicht hingekriegt. Das Gute ist das die eben nicht nur oder kaum auf American Apparel drucken, von daher hoffe ich das “S” da auch wirklich “small” is! Weiß daher aber auch nicht ob die durch den Zoll kommen

4. Silberfischer: http://www.silberfischer.com/

Die Silberfischer sind ein kleines Fashion-Label aus Berlin und bestechen vor allem durch ihre handGESTICKTEN Buttons. Einer davon prankt auch an meiner Tasche und sagt alles Leuten “Hi!”
Auch die etwas zurückhaltenderen Shirt- und Sweater-Designs könen sich sehen lassen, sind aber nicht ganz billig (32,90 € pro Shirt).

So das reicht erst einmal. Wenn ihr coole individuelle Klamotten sucht empfehle ich auch immer einen Besuch beim stylespion. Der hat auch eine Klamotten-Kategorie!

Mark Harrison

winterartsmarket — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:01:27 +0000

: Illustration by Mark Harrison

Mark says… ”I have drawn as long as I can remember. Mum says it probably all started when I paid particular attention to a drawing of egg and chips by adding the tomato sauce.

“My style is influenced by all kinds of illustrations and imagery from childhood – picture books, film posters, comics, cartoon animation, confectionary and crisps packaging (who remembers the dragon on Walkers Snaps?), lego, toys, computer games, etc. I started out with crayons and over the years progressed to felt tips, pen and ink, coloured pencils, watercolour, pastels, acrylics and finally digital illustration from scanned drawings. Recently I started painting on canvas again and rediscovered my love for coloured pencil on mountboard”

Mark will be showing a selection of recent canvasses, alongside some framed prints, badges and christmas cards all featuring his colorful and imaginative illustrations!

Illustration by Mark Harrison

You can also see his work at Mark Harrison’s Monster Illustration Show at the Unity Theatre Liverpool from 3 November – 28 November 2009! Details here

Meszaros’ Be Proud Merit Badges celebrate every occasion

mcclungsonline — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:59:51 +0000

By: Dominique Lamberton

Photo provided by Lee Meszaros's Flickr

We’ve all been given celebratory cards and gifts for birthdays, graduations and anniversaries, but have you ever been given a little something for being as ‘drunk as a skunk’ or ‘doing it like rabbits’?

Lee Meszaros believes people should be rewarded for these accomplishments in addition to the generic, run of the mill milestones.

In an attempt to find inspiration for her final year project at the Nova Scotia School of Art and Design, Meszaros was scouring a Value Village and an old Brownie sash caught her eye. She wondered why someone had worked so hard to earn the badges that decorated the sash and then simply disregarded them.

And so, Meszaros’ Be Proud Merit Badges were born.

Nestled in a little log cabin in Paris, Ont., Meszaros creates homemade merit badges to celebrate the little things that are commonly overlooked.

Meszaros has over 45 different badge designs that she silk screens, hand paints, embroiders, stuffs and sews. A pin fastens the badges to clothing, bags or wherever the proud recipients choose to display them. Each badge comes with a card that reads, ‘Be Proud’ and is followed with the particular badge’s congratulatory meaning, such as ‘Taking the cake’ or ‘Surviving first love’.

She is constantly thinking up new ideas and draws inspiration from all avenues and walks of life. A big source of her inspiration comes from being surrounded by nature in her log cabin studio. It’s complete with a wood burning stove and her two friendly dogs, Ella and Lacey. There is no running water in her cabin studio so she walks through the yard to wash her screens in the garden. Oh, did I mention she lives in the middle of the forest by a creek? And while she insists it’s not as nice as the “other” Paris, she said it’s a fitting environment for the work she does.

“It’s pretty picturesque, being surrounded by nature,” Meszaros said. “With my work it makes more sense to have a studio in nature than in the city, it’s connected in that sort of way.”

I spoke with Meszaros over the phone and it’s no surprise that her badges are such adorable pieces of work; her giggle was charming and warm, resonating through the receiver. I couldn’t help but grin the entire time.

Sometimes she’ll come up with a new badge simply because she wants to draw one of her favourite animals, like the fox badge, one of her favourites, which celebrates ‘being sly as a fox’. Her favourite – and the one she wears the most – is the badge for ‘having meat on your bones’.

Photo provided by Lee Meszaros's Flickr

Meszaros has also just announced that she has created 16 new badges for the holiday season. She will be unveiling them soon on her Etsy shop where her badges are available for purchase. They are also sold on Good Egg and at various stores around Toronto including Distill, Kid Icarus and C1 Art Space .

“At shows, people usually tell me who they’re buying the badge for and why – and I’m nosy so I usually ask for the story too. That is one of my favourite parts of making the badges,” Meszaros said.

Meszaros and her badges circulate around various arts and craft sales, festivals and shows throughout the continent. Most recently I saw her at The Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts Sale, but I first came across the adorable feel-good accessories at The Canzine Festival last year. Watch for her at the City of Craft sale December 12 and 13 at The Theatre Centre on Queen West.

“I love making things that make people happy.”

It's a question of... labels

questionof — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:28:05 +0000

When I was young (and I realise that writing that makes me officially old), I wore an antinuclear ba

Badges

SpeakingFaces — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:45:28 +0000

Please feel free to use any of the images below when you want to link back to SpeakingFaces from you blog or other website.

Investissons dans nos enfants

etiennechabot — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:00:24 +0000

Si vous me lisez de temps en temps ici ou sur Twitter, vous avez peut-être remarqué qu’en plus d’être marketer à temps plein, je suis papa de 3 merveilleux tout petits que j’adore.

Au cours des dernières semaines, vous avez peut-être vu cette publicité sociétale qui est parrainée par La Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon.

Mon coeur de papa est toujours très touché quand je la vois surtout que la petite fille me fait penser à ma propre fille!

Cette pub s’inscrit dans la toute première campagne publique de La Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon qui l’a baptisé Bien grandir. Elle s’adresse aux parents d’enfants de moins de 5 ans. Si je vous en parle aujourd’hui, c’est parce qu’elle m’interpelle sous 2 volets qui me passionnent: en tant que jeune papa qui travaille de longues heures en marketing et, en tant que marketer qui désire s’investir de longues heures avec ses enfants.

En tant que jeune parent qui travaille de longues heures…

C’est souvent quand on est jeune que l’on désire faire sa marque et se dépasser professionnellement;
On le fait souvent en prenant les bouchées doubles au boulot;
Or, c’est à peu près au même âge que l’on prend la belle décision de fonder une famille et d’avoir 1, 2 ou plusieurs petits monstres;
C’est avec l’arrivée du premier petit que la quête perpétuelle du difficile équilibre entre le temps pour les enfants et le temps pour la job se présente;
C’est cliché et tous les jeunes parents l’ont entendu des dizaines de fois: 0 à 5 ans, ça passe comme un coup de vent;
Or, comme beaucoup de spécialistes l’ont affirmé, tout se joue entre 0 et 5 ans;
C’est à cet âge que le cerveau de notre enfant se prédispose à l’apprentissage, à la curiosité intellectuelle. Pour reprendre un autre cliché, il est littéralement comme un éponge;
« Alors que le Québec se préoccupe au sujet des statistiques alarmantes du décrochage scolaire, il faut rappeler qu’une intervention précoce peut jouer un rôle déterminant sur l’intérêt et la capacité de l’enfant pour « l’accrocher » à l’école », soutient Germain Duclos, psychoéducateur et orthopédagogue.
« Le cerveau d’un bébé à la naissance n’a que le quart de la grosseur de celui d’un adulte et il va tripler entre 0 et 3 ans pour atteindre 80 % de sa masse corporelle », explique Julie Brousseau, spécialiste de la petite enfance à la Fondation. « C’est à cette période que le potentiel d’apprentissage de l’enfant est le plus grand. Son cerveau est deux fois plus actif que celui d’un adulte. Dans les faits, il apprend à apprendre. Il faut nourrir directement le cerveau de l’enfant notamment par le toucher, le jeu et le langage. »

Les meilleurs pour stimuler le cerveau des tout-petits, ce sont leurs parents: par leur folie, leur présence, leurs mises en scène, leurs chansons, leurs fous rires, leurs gestes, leurs histoires. Ces derniers sont les “idoles” de leurs enfants. Même la meilleure éducatrice ne rivalise pas avec le parent aux yeux d’un enfant;
Encore faut-il que les parents en soient conscients et qu’ils fassent les choix de carrière leur permettant d’être présents pendant cette période unique et spéciale. Pas toujours facile…:-)

C’est pour ces raisons et bien d’autres reliées à mon rôle de papa que je trouve les initiaves de sensibilisation de la Fondation Chagnon tellement à propos. Collectivement, nous ne pouvons négliger ces années car elles représentent un investissement dans notre société de demain. Et, on ne petu malheureusement pas les rattraper. Cet investissement doit s’amorcer dès la petite enfance, pas seulement lors de l’entrée à l’école où le chemin est tracé par le Ministère de l’Éducation.

En tant que marketer qui désire s’investir de longues heures avec ses enfants

Si je vous parle ici sur ce blogue de marketing, c’est aussi parce que cette campagne utilise des moyens modernes et originaux pour en accroitre sa diffusion. Tel que décrit plus haut, j’avais vu les messages télé mais c’est un gentil courriel de la blogueuse Sophie Labelle qui m’a incité à vous parler de cette belle campagne. Le titre de son courriel était: Tu es papa? Tu es une vedette! J’ai trouvé cette approche personalisée fort intéressante et très originale. Je dois être honnête, malgré l’approche originale, c’est avant tout parce que la cause est importante à mes yeux si je vous en parle ici. Alors, voici en vrac quelques éléments de la stratégie 2.0 attachée à cette campagne de sensibilisation.

La Fondation a décidé de faire appel aux blogueuses et blogueurs sachant que la plupart d’entre eux font partie du groupe cible : des papas et des mamans d’enfants de 5 ans et moins. De plus, les parents se réfèrent beaucoup à d’autres parents pour avoir des trucs et des conseils sur la vie de famille. Aussi, ils ont pris le pari que de rejoindre la communauté des mamans blogueuses, qui est tissée très serrée, seraient une bonne idée.

La création de badges (ou widgets), telle que celle que je viens d’installer dans la colonne droite de mon blogue, est venue de l’idée de ne pas mettre trop de pression sur les blogueurs et de leur offrir le choix de montrer leur appui à la campagne sans nécessairement écrire un long billet. Moi, j’ai fait le choix d’en faire un billet mais j’aurais pu seulement faire paraître ce widget sur mon blogue.

La campagne Bien Grandir de la Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon s’échelonne sur 1 an et demi. Le site Internet biengrandir.com évoluera au fur et à mesure que la campagne se développera. Le volet blogueur s’effectue donc de façon “très soft”, sans de trop grandes contraintes de temps. On veut que les gens s’approprient le message, prennent le temps de s’informer, posent des questions, etc.

Le tout est jumelé à des démarches de relations de presse traditionnelles. Donc, on ne mise pas que que sur le web 2.0. Avouez par contre, que ca s’avère être un excellent complément aux relations publiques traditionnelles.

La grande majorité des parents est au courant de l’importance de stimuler tes enfants en bas âge. Toutefois, peu de parents savent que leurs gestes quotidiens ont aussi un impact majeur sur la réussite scolaire future de leurs enfants. Avec cette campagne, on veut que les parents sachent que c’est réellement dès la naissance jusqu’à 5 ans qu’ils permettront à leur enfant « d’apprendre à apprendre » et de se développer plus facilement à l’école. La Fondation souhaite revaloriser le rôle des parents, car, selon un récent sondage, près de 70 % des parents d’enfants de moins de 6 ans ne sentent pas que la société valorise le rôle parental…

La Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon a pour mission de contribuer au développement et à l’amélioration de la santé par la prévention de la pauvreté et de la maladie en agissant principalement auprès des enfants et de leurs parents.

En sensibilisant les parents au rôle crucial qu’ils jouent auprès des enfants de 0 à 5 ans, la Fondation compte les inciter à offrir aux tout-petits un environnement encore plus riche en expériences positives — sur tous les plans. Le résultat escompté : permettre aux jeunes enfants de développer leur plein potentiel et d’être bien préparés pour leur réussite éducative.

Cette campagne se déploie en collaboration avec de nombreux partenaires et intervenants qui gravitent autour de la petite enfance. Merci à tous ceux qui y contribuent, de près ou de loin. C’est en travaillant de façon concertée que nous réussirons à améliorer la qualité de vie de nos enfants.

Investissons dans nos enfants!

Random Workplace Thought: My Weird Restroom Paranoia

hrbabe — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:22:30 +0000

A few months ago, the Strategic HR Lead was telling me a story about a man he once worked with who would spend 30 – 45 mins stinking up the restroom, with his pants all on the floor. And the worst part: everyone knew who was always doing the stinkin’ up. How? Precisely the point to my Lead’s story: Because his coworker’s pants were on the floor, everyone saw his badge.

Typically, I clip my badge to one of the loops on my slacks, khaki’s, or whatever I am wearing to cover myself up during the day. And my badge just hangs. So now when I go to the restroom, and I drop my pants to sit, I’m always afraid the person next to me can see my badge, which means any noise I make (aside from tinkling) is so very out in the open. The result? I end up *tucking* my badge on the inside of my pants so my badge isn’t exposed to the peeping poopers next to me. How’s that for goofy restroom paranoia?

Do you have any weird restroom paranoia stories? Let’s hear ‘em!