Betsy Merkel of REI introduced Peter Whitehouse, who
introduced the panelists and facilitators:

• Dr. Cathy Whitehouse, the wife of Peter Whitehouse, is a
  founder and the Principal of The Intergenerational School, the only such school
  in the world and a charter school serving eastern Cleveland.
• Kirstin Frei-Herrman is the Project Director of Experience
  Corps/RSVP of Greater Cleveland, a program providing an intergenerational
  tutoring program in the Cleveland Public Schools.
• Crystal Davis is from the Office of Family and Community
  Engagement, Cleveland Municipal School District, an office dedicated to
  stimulating family and community involvement in the education of our children
  and implementers of aspects of the No Child Left Behind program.

The facilitators for the panel discussion were Monica
Dumitriu and Betsey Merkel, both Consultants at REI.

The 02.08.04 Tuesday@REI continues an important collaboration exploring unique value in Northeast Ohio child development - today expanding focus to "Intergenerational Learning", which leverages the value of all ages learning together. Here we see notes on presentations and discussions featuring:

"Intergenerational Learning"

Location

The Economics of Early Child Development initiative for Northeast Ohio kicked off February 01, 2005, with a fantastic forum at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where 11 important community leaders representing organizations ranging from the Gund and Cleveland Foundations, Treu-Mart Fund, CCC, Cleveland Public Schools and Hanna Perkins, were moderated by REI leaders Ed Morrison and Roberta Waxman-Lenz in insightful presentations and Q&A on what NEO will look like in 2010, when we are the world-leaders in Early Child Development - join the over 160 attendees as we plan next steps at a special NEO Childhood Community of Interest Link here!

Here are some useful resources that build the connection between early child development and economic development.

The 1998 Commission on the Future of the South report

Notes from the first Early Child Development Forum:

Tsunamis of Hope: The Human
Face of Relief and
Development

Location

Location

A two-part forum on: The Economics of Early Childhood Development

 Awareness: Session; One February 1, 2005, 4:00-6:00PM, Cleveland Museum of Natural History on Wade Oval in University Circle

Location

"Monuments differ in different periods. Each age has its own."

"Maybe, just maybe, we shall at last come to care for the most important, most challenging, surely the most satisfying of all architectural creations: building cities for people to live in."

Philip Cortelyou Johnson: July 8, 1906 - January 25, 2004

What will NEO look like in 2010 if we focus on Early Childhood Development (ECD) supporting pregnant women, babies and children - for them and for economic development

Forum 02/01 is part of a process leading to regional action plan. Roberta Waxman-Lenz at REI, Joe Gauntner (sp?) Dir. Cuyahoga County Center for Family and Children and Joyce Bressler (sp?) at Starting Point.

In anticipation of the 02.01.05 REI forum on Early Childhood Development, being held at the Natural History Museum in University Circle, WCPN is featuring the topic on their 90.3 at 9 radio broadcast on 01.25.05 - tune in and get up to speed on this most critical issue for our community... and visit the NEO Childhood Community Of Interest Links for more insight!

Location

Those companies with diverse board (of directors) representation benefit from having executives who "get away from group-think" and "challenge the prevailing way of thinking," promotes The Greater Cleveland Roundtable in their weekly e-news on trends in diversity and inclusion. They further quote the CEO of diversity award winner Pitney Bowes as saying diverse directors "pay more attention to moral issues and how the frontline employees feel...They're more challenging of the orthodox ways of thinking." That is the kind of thinking we need in NEO - go to the Roundtable site and subscribe to their eNews for such insight in your box weekly.

A Community of Interest committed to the understanding North East Ohio's greatest strength is our cultural diversity, and that is the key to our sustainability as a community, society and economy

The 01/21/05 Financial Times has picked a decidedly hopeful NEO spin on the recent resignation of Peter Lewis from the board of the Guggenheim Museum, asking if this development marks opportunity for Cleveland - like $77 Million worth. It seems possible only if Cleveland starts acting in concert to demonstrate the innovative, sophisicated thinking Peter clearly expects around him. So far, we haven't impressed him, and it is clearly time to change our approaches and collaborate to show Peter NEO is worthy of his further support - plenty of other regions will try to do so and Peter is far from locked behind any of our gates - so let's think open, openly.

Each Tuesday from 2:00 - 4:00 PM REI is holding REALNEO planning and orientation sessions for open dialogue and inclusion supportig the Open Source Economic Development framework for North East Ohio. These sessions are open to everyone - feel free to come anytime between 2 and 4, and stick around after for the weekly Tuesday@REI meetings, from 4:00 - 5:45 PM.

Location

Topic:
"Building Global
Models in NEO: Alternate Strategies for the Arts & Entertainment
Industry"
What
would Northeast Ohio look like as a global leader in the Arts &
Entertainment industry? With world renowned landmarks like Severance Hall,
Playhouse Square, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and so many others, what
opportunities are we missing? What will it take for our region to become a
global leader in Arts & Entertainment? Learn more about alternate proposals
designed by dedicated civic entrepreneurs. Help us build the networks toward
next steps.

Location

There is a fascinating article in the 01/16/05 NY Times on the challenges outstanding international students have finding jobs in the US. Considering the US is an immigrant-based economy and, except for Native Americans, we're all relatively recent transplants, the current "lock the gates" federal policy is probably the most harmful to the US economy of any of the current administration - we are not importing knowledge workers, at a time when the world is eclipsing us in brainpower. As you read on you'll see, there's Ivy League brainpower all over the world and some of it wants to work in America - foolish US policy is keeping it out, driving US companies to send work abroad, as other economies gain competitive advantages over the US. Perhaps smart leaders in NEO can excel as world-experts in bringing global brainpower here, as a unique value of NEO. Tell me, why not! Read on...

Each Tuesday from 2:00 - 4:00 PM REI is holding REALNEO planning and orientation sessions for open dialogue and inclusion supportig the Open Source Economic Development framework for North East Ohio. These sessions are open to everyone - feel free to come anytime between 2 and 4, and stick around after for the weekly Tuesday@REI meetings, from 4:00 - 5:45 PM.

Location

Sonoma State University hosts a media research group called "Project Censored", with the mission to educate people about the role of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The News That Didn't Make the News and why. Project Censored "tracks the news published in independent journals
and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list of 25
news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported
or self-censored by the country’s major national news media". Project Censored is part of the open source knowledge building community that includes independent journalism, and REALNEO, that is transforming society world-wide, for the better. Read on for links to Sonoma State University's list of top 25 censored news stories of last year, as we work for an inclusive 2005.

Congressman Sherrod Brown was the speaker at the first Cleveland City Club Friday Forum of 2005, on January 7, where he presented insight from his recently published book on American free trade policy, Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed, and shared personal perspectives on life in Washington, Ohio, and around the world. Appreciative attendees enjoyed the company of an insightful speaker, empowering statesman, and refreshing intellectual – and we may well have been the first to learn Brown is seriously considering a run for Ohio Governor in 2006. Where else but the City Club may we the people of Cleveland get up close and personal to explore the most important issues in the world, with the most insightful people in the world.

City of Phoenix offers support for local artists via ICE - Information Community Effectiveness. The following eNews from City Hall highlights "a new pilot grants program designed to assist individual artists living in Phoenix and working in all artistic disciplines." The focus is quite basic and low-level and low-cost - one could say negligible, in the big picture... $10,000 total... yet for individual artists this is a sign the city cares about their development and success. As NEO's Community Partnership for the Arts is now planning how to allocate $100,000s of dollars to artists, it is worth thinking so small with some of that money, to spread the wealth like in Phoenix...

How do cities encourage and empower residents to be great civil servants - to develop an appreciation for social responsibility? Perhaps through appreciation for jobs well done. The mayor of Baltimore used his "Taking Care of Business" eNewsletter to thank local businesses and 1,000s of citizen volunteers for making their schools better, and below is an eNewsletter from Mayor Rybak of the indisputably effective city of Minneapolis thanking "civic leaers" for their contribution to the quality of life of others in that community - from community gardens and a food co-op to developing a social contract for families to have dinner together at least 4 times a week - it seems the least good citizens deserve from their elected officials is an occassional "thanks for the help".

No big surprise NYNY Major Bloomberg is a master of ICE -
Information Community Effectiveness - as that has made him untold $ millions.
But I am always surprised how well he and NYC.gov use the WWW to serve the
diverse needs of citizens - through his virtual outreach he makes clear he is
an ingenious and caring statesman very deserving to lead one of the world's
most remarkable and complex cities. For example, today I received the following
"Health and Mental Hygiene News" on "How to Find a Doctor",
which "tells
you how to find the doctor you want regardless if you have insurance or not,
lists many free or low-cost health insurance programs, and explains how having
a regular doctor can greatly improve your health." How many 100,000s of
people in NEO need this knowledge, from an eGov taking care of citizen needs?