Monday 17 August 2015

Supporting Outstanding Young Persons by voting #jcinews

It is difficult to turn life around. We all know this in some form or another, either through big challenges that we need to overcome, or small changes that seem huge. 
Some of us come from humble beginnings, some of us face hardship in all sorts of ways but learn to overcome them, others pave their way towards a self-set dream with such energy that it inspires others.  And depending on the region you grew up in, or the supporting (or not) family background you got, opportunities are either vast or limited and opportunities to turn one’s life around are multiple or rare.
My friend Ronda Zelezny-Green took her fate in her own hands and turned it into something bigger (thanks to the support of just a few people, including inspirational teachers). Now, she – among twenty other inspirational young people – just got nominated for the International TenOutstanding Young People Awards, an award organised by the United StatesJunior Chamber (JCs or more commonly Jaycees) nominating people between the ages of 18 and 40 in areas of business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections.

Every nation has its heroes. Inspirational men and women directing their own lives towards new horizons, helping themselves AND others while they are at it. So, vote for those people whose work you find inspirational, and give them an additional boost through your online vote.

Ronda Zelezny-Green is my favorite and I voted for her by clicking on the like button on her page (facebook membership is needed). But I admit to voting for some others too, as support is good energy to share. So please take a look at all of these 20 wonderfully inspirational people that are nominated here.

Ronda inspires me, simply because I know the work she does (combining educational technology and gender) and above all because of the person she is. She is one of those persons who take people as they are, no matter what age, schooling, background, connections … if you talk to her a dialogue develops that fills you up with energy and motivation. She inspires, listens and supports. She grew up in a tough region of Tampa, Florida and is now traveling the world improving education for all.
As a young professional she was a teacher guiding kids who faced rough conditions, now she researches and propagates educational opportunities to young girls (she started in Kenya) who’s educational journey faces regular interruptions and challenges.  She uses mobile learning options to create durable educational support among young female peers. To achieve this, she does not push those solutions onto anyone, no, she looks at how people develop their own solutions and then Ronda investigates whether these solutions can be used in other contexts, to help more youngsters… and it works.

She also created the Gender and Mobiles newsletter, which combines the latest international news on using mobile devices in gender contexts. Each issue provides me with new information that is useful, critical … in short food for thought. It is easy to subscribe via email here.