I think it was very ironic the story he told about how he interviewed with the Peace Corps and they denied him because he didn’t have a college degree. However, they said if they have a special skill set like a beekeeper there would be a place for him in the Peace Corps. Well low and behold; he was the beekeeper on the farm he grew up on. Then he went on to become part of the United Nations (UN).
Mr. Alspach mentioned his work in development, and then he made a comment about how long term and short term goals should be present in a disaster effort and in decision making. I agreed with him when he mentioned that most disaster relief aid decision making does not usually involve the long term, but just focuses on fixing short term issues. This is a critical part in disaster relief in my opinion because, it requires critical thinking and understanding the countries already political, economic, and social situation of that country in need. The decision making process in disaster relief projects, needs to keep in mind of the reconstruction of the area if it needs it. If you do not consider those things in your plans then sometimes the relief efforts you are doing just might hurt the process.
The information management circle chart that he showed with the eleven different sections of Emergency Relief that some NGOs have to worry about, made me think, Why do they have one person over seeing all of them. I believe that for each of the eleven sections (water, protection, nutrition, logistics, health, emergency telecommunications, emergency shelter, education, early recovery, camp coordination and management, and agriculture) should all have their own coordinators that reports to a head person or head team. I think if there is a team there would be better results in times of crises because one individual might get over whelmed with everything that is going on.
Finally, I would like to add that I found the video he showed done by Steven Johnson to be 1) extremely effective in how it delievered its message, 2) very creative, 3) very cool, 4) right on the money. Take a look at it and tell me what you think of this video and not just that it is cool, but do you agree with some of the things he says?
Evan, I couldn’t have agreed more with the way you began this blog post. I found the speakers background very strange at first and was very interested how his path finally led him to working for the United Nations and humanitarian relief. I also found it funny when he told the class that he was an Ohio State fan. Surprisingly he pulled himself out of that hole and was able to lead the glass in a solid lecture and discussion. Many of the topics he discussed in this lecture were very interesting and I think that you did an excellent job at covering some of them in your blog this week.
ReplyDeleteThe first topic of the guest speaker’s that I saw you commented about was the fact that short term goals should be present during disaster relief instead of long term goals. Things can change very quickly and at any moment din disaster relief and you have to be ready with a backup plan at all times. You need to think quickly on your feet and know the disaster area around you. The area may also change rapidly during the aftermath of a disaster so it once again always a good thing to keep short term goals instead of long term. I also thought that the video that was played in class was a good choice to play for the class. Using a video in class is also a good way to keep the audience’s attention instead of simply listening to one speaker talk the entire time.
Evan, once again I think you did a great job on your blog post this week and I am not just saying that because I live with you. You really hit a good few of the topics the speaker hit and I think that you were right on point. Keep up the good work I feel you are doing very well in the class.
Mr. Alspach was an interesting person with an interesting background. It’s crazy he went from college to plumber, back to school (a couple of times) and finally working for the United Nations. Not only do I agree that it is ironic that the Peace Corps denied him because he didn’t have any college background, but I thought it was strange that someone needs college experience to join the Peace Corps. It was awesome that he was able to use beekeeping as a skill to join. I would have to agree that both long and short term goals are important. Reaching a long term goal by reaching many short term goals is smart. I also believe that sustainability is important while achieving these long and short term goals. Much like Mr. Olafsson said, sustainability is like putting a band aid on a child. If you don’t educate the child on preventing it next time then it is likely it will happen again. I think applying this idea is just as critical in disasters, educating people afterwards is important. I also wrote about the information circle chart, I think it is important for humanitarian organization to share their information with each other. By sharing information the organization would be able to respond more efficiently. The video is pretty cool, and I think he has a good point. I enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteHey Evan,
ReplyDeleteYou’re right—knowing the interesting background of Alspach really helped us get a background to his presentation and contextualize his achievements had we not spoken to him before. It’s always interesting to hear the routes people go through to get to where they are. Beekeeper to an information management officer at the UN…can’t make this stuff up. I think it was great about how open he was about the UN’s shortcomings, which are many due to the length of time it takes to implement ideas/policy (i.e., a Facebook page after 4 years of deliberation, wasn’t it?). Also the way he integrated both our concerns/questions and the different videos made his presentation really engaging. If you like the video that he provided, you should check out the rest of the RSA collection—it’s pretty vast and I know I’ve seen at least 5 of them myself. Maybe you can check out this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc