I was just writing some briefing notes about the WSIS process for IISD's president, David Runnalls, and it really struck me that the last ones smiling at the end of the Summit win. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the politics and the institutional short-comings of these processes... But that just wears out people's energy and ends up with them dropping out of the process.

As long as everyone involved with the WSIS Youth Caucus can still be smiling on 13 December -- feeling that we worked hard together, had a great time, made some new friends, made other people think, and raised even a bit of awareness and funds to help other young people change the world -- it will all have been worth it.

And my gut feeling is that that feeling of joy in our own work and in our efforts together will have more of an impact and lead to greater future success than anything that we actually say or do. Smiles and spirit are infectious. Pass it on.

Whatever happened to equality of opportunity?

Faced with looming deficits and a stalled economy, US states are slashing funding for higher education. In response, the universities are raising tuitions - sometimes by more than 20% in one year.

According to David Breneman, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, this could have severe repercussions for the primary and secondary education systems as well: "We're tying to promote achievement for all children in K-12, and at same time we're now slamming the door on higher education. What if the 'No Child Left Behind' program succeeds. What will we tell all those city kids who want to go to college but can't afford it?"

Does this sound familiar to people in other countries? Lots of attention to elementary education, but no clear sense of how that links to university degrees or any sense of how it leads to building either better citizens or an employable workforce?

Every year in Winnipeg, there is a massive two-week cultural festival, called Folklorama, with pavillions representing 47 different regions or countries from around the world. It's an amazing way to "travel" around the world without leaving home. It's also a wonderful way for immigrants to maintain their cultures and to pass them along to their children.

I went to the Filipino pavillion last night and ended up all nostalgic and missing my friends from the Philippines. I worked there for a year when I finished university and learned SO MUCH from the experience. Some day, I hope to be able to visit there again. In the meantime, I'll just hang out at the pavillion at Folklorama listening to sappy karaoke and watching the little kids doing tinikling.

Woohoo!

On Sunday, the novice quad boat I was in came in first place in the master's category at the Tops and Bottoms Regatta in Kenora, Ontario. My double (with my friend Tina) came in second in our category. And I think our mixed eight even managed to come in third (which was pretty amazing since we only practiced twice before the competition).

More important than that, though, was that we had a great time. It was so wonderful to be part of a team of 20 or so people who cheered each other on and chipped in to help each other out. And, it was great to just shut off my brain and row. And row and row and row until I thought I was going to die and then just row some more.

Sports are good for putting everything else into perspective. There's no time to worry... you just have to trust in your training and keep counting strokes so you know how far you've come.

Tell me if I'm doing the math correctly.... according to an article in the Globe and Mail newspaper, the Canadian federal government spent $3 billion on culture in 2000/2001. The provinces and municipalities spent another $2.1 billion (primarily to libraries and also direct grants to artists). That adds up to $5.1 billion on culture.

By comparision, the estimated Canadian military budget for this year is slightly under $12-billion.

Let me get this straight.... that means that Canada spent just over twice as much on its military as it did on its culture....? That's not too bad. Of course, I'd love to live in a world in which those numbers were reverse, but still...

Does anyone else know what the ratio is like in their country?