Lucy and I caught a taxi to the Palais UNESCO. A short walk later we ascended the marble steps of the palais, built in the 40's, and symbolizing Lebanon's new independence from France. In comparison to the taller buildings around it, the palace appeared humble. The carpet was well-worn, trim board missing in places, bathrooms outdated and small. Some of its former magnificence was evident in an enormous room sized crystal chandelier that was hanging in the two-story entry hal.
We moved to the reservations tables to claim our name badges. From there we went upstairs for a bite and tiny paper cup of Turkish coffee. My advice? Watch out for the last swallow! There were no chairs, standing room only. We headed for a tall table and were soon joined by others, a group of UN workers from Mexico, United States, Bangladesh, and Lebanon. The American was dressed up in sports coat, looking a bit warm to me, and introduced himself as Christopher Littlefield, husband of Maria, a UN worker from Mexico. I quickly recognized him as one of the speakers for the day! His talk would be about "Recognition in the Work Place".
Downstairs we joined the crowd growing in front of the closed auditorium doors. In the crush I conversed with Giovanni, a Lebanese citizen who had just received his Masters in Biology from UCSD! We had a lot to talk about. I shared that my nephew, Paul Matson, was there studying ocean algae, had already earned his doctorate in Marine Biology (help me out with this Cathy!). Giovanni clearly loves San Diego, but came home to spend time with his parents in Beirut. His dad is fighting cancer. He was adamant about his desire to return to the states, and hopefully UCSD, to work on his doctorate. About this time the doors opened and we moved as one into the auditorium. Lebanese do not line up, they mass! This was seen and 'felt' later at the lunch counter where Lucy's youth and soccer speed put her at a distinct advantage... grabbing enough of the tiny sandwiches off a tray to feed 3 of us; Lucy, Augustine, and myself.
The TED conference was a series of 5 to 15 minute speeches, seven speakers per set. Each speaker talked about ideas on a wide variety of topics. Most speakers were Lebanese. A few, like Christopher Littlefield, live in Lebanon. He is the husband of a UN employee.
I'd seen TED talks on line and found them inspiring. The first speaker was Dr. Imad Saoud. He talked about feeding the people of the future. He explained that at today's current rate of growth, in 40 years the earth will have 2 billion more people than the 6 billion it has today. Since the amount of water on the earth is the same as it has been since the age of dinosaurs, it's up to us to come up with ideas to get more bang, agriculturally, per drop. He is a professor from AUB and discussed his ideas for raising masses of herbivore (rabbit) fish vs. carnivore fish like salmon, to feed more people at an environmentally lower cost. He also described that inland farmers are experimenting with the raising these same rabbit fish in large irrigation containers,which enrich the irrigation water and also provide a protein-rich food source. He said they are experimenting with this process in Lebanon now, and it seems to be working on a local scale. He urged everyone in the audience to "Save a liter of water a day" by turning off the tap while brushing teeth, or by washing the car once every 10 days instead of once a week. I wondered if the concept of water preservation is something new in Lebanon. They have always enjoyed abundant fresh water from their mountains, unlike their Middle Eastern neighbors.
Charles Elachi, project leader for NASA and Lebanese, came to talk about the Mars Rover, his greatest space triumph to date. He showed us a video of the Mars landing. "We did the impossible!" The challenge? Space vehicles race along at 18,000 miles per second, and "our task was to land it safely on Mars in just 7 minutes." This they did, against all the odds. He attributed this to the passion and teamwork of his people; the idea that if something didn't work there would be no fingers pointed in blame. He explained that for success to happen, team members had to feel safe and free to create. Every idea and its results are borne by all. It was truly an inspiring talk. Made me think about how I could create this kind of teamwork among my 4th graders.
By the time we left for the walk home, Lucy and I were filled with inspiration and great contacts. Dr. Saoud told me he would be happy to visit our 4th grade classrooms and discuss his water project. His knowledge will be a great addition to our Spring unit, "Earth in the Balance." We also made friends with Augustine, a UN worker from Bangladesh, Lucy's age. All exchanged phone numbers and hopes for future get togethers.
We moved to the reservations tables to claim our name badges. From there we went upstairs for a bite and tiny paper cup of Turkish coffee. My advice? Watch out for the last swallow! There were no chairs, standing room only. We headed for a tall table and were soon joined by others, a group of UN workers from Mexico, United States, Bangladesh, and Lebanon. The American was dressed up in sports coat, looking a bit warm to me, and introduced himself as Christopher Littlefield, husband of Maria, a UN worker from Mexico. I quickly recognized him as one of the speakers for the day! His talk would be about "Recognition in the Work Place".
Downstairs we joined the crowd growing in front of the closed auditorium doors. In the crush I conversed with Giovanni, a Lebanese citizen who had just received his Masters in Biology from UCSD! We had a lot to talk about. I shared that my nephew, Paul Matson, was there studying ocean algae, had already earned his doctorate in Marine Biology (help me out with this Cathy!). Giovanni clearly loves San Diego, but came home to spend time with his parents in Beirut. His dad is fighting cancer. He was adamant about his desire to return to the states, and hopefully UCSD, to work on his doctorate. About this time the doors opened and we moved as one into the auditorium. Lebanese do not line up, they mass! This was seen and 'felt' later at the lunch counter where Lucy's youth and soccer speed put her at a distinct advantage... grabbing enough of the tiny sandwiches off a tray to feed 3 of us; Lucy, Augustine, and myself.
The TED conference was a series of 5 to 15 minute speeches, seven speakers per set. Each speaker talked about ideas on a wide variety of topics. Most speakers were Lebanese. A few, like Christopher Littlefield, live in Lebanon. He is the husband of a UN employee.
I'd seen TED talks on line and found them inspiring. The first speaker was Dr. Imad Saoud. He talked about feeding the people of the future. He explained that at today's current rate of growth, in 40 years the earth will have 2 billion more people than the 6 billion it has today. Since the amount of water on the earth is the same as it has been since the age of dinosaurs, it's up to us to come up with ideas to get more bang, agriculturally, per drop. He is a professor from AUB and discussed his ideas for raising masses of herbivore (rabbit) fish vs. carnivore fish like salmon, to feed more people at an environmentally lower cost. He also described that inland farmers are experimenting with the raising these same rabbit fish in large irrigation containers,which enrich the irrigation water and also provide a protein-rich food source. He said they are experimenting with this process in Lebanon now, and it seems to be working on a local scale. He urged everyone in the audience to "Save a liter of water a day" by turning off the tap while brushing teeth, or by washing the car once every 10 days instead of once a week. I wondered if the concept of water preservation is something new in Lebanon. They have always enjoyed abundant fresh water from their mountains, unlike their Middle Eastern neighbors.
Charles Elachi, project leader for NASA and Lebanese, came to talk about the Mars Rover, his greatest space triumph to date. He showed us a video of the Mars landing. "We did the impossible!" The challenge? Space vehicles race along at 18,000 miles per second, and "our task was to land it safely on Mars in just 7 minutes." This they did, against all the odds. He attributed this to the passion and teamwork of his people; the idea that if something didn't work there would be no fingers pointed in blame. He explained that for success to happen, team members had to feel safe and free to create. Every idea and its results are borne by all. It was truly an inspiring talk. Made me think about how I could create this kind of teamwork among my 4th graders.
By the time we left for the walk home, Lucy and I were filled with inspiration and great contacts. Dr. Saoud told me he would be happy to visit our 4th grade classrooms and discuss his water project. His knowledge will be a great addition to our Spring unit, "Earth in the Balance." We also made friends with Augustine, a UN worker from Bangladesh, Lucy's age. All exchanged phone numbers and hopes for future get togethers.
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