Bob (RJ) Burkhart, age 63, Lawrence / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, September 11, 2006

September 11, 2006

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was working with a group of collaborators in St. Paul, Minn. We were seeking ways to improve Emergency Alert Systems for communities where English is a second language. This project was organized through the Emergency and Community Health Outreach (ECHO) collaborative.

The membership of ECHO includes the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, a number of local public health agencies from the metro area, private voluntary sector organizations and leaders from the cultural communities that will be served.

That afternoon, our crew was ready to launch a Web cast on WMD Threats for the Minnesota FBI InfraGard Chapter. Its meeting at Hamline University was rescheduled for the following month.

My daughter, Malia, was traveling via Hiroshima, Japan, to perform at a global festival in Seoul, Korea. The Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theater has as its global mission community building through hands-on storytelling. Its themes include the futility of war to resolve regional conflicts.

Then in fall 2005, as she was departing for Taiwan to help guide the Dream Community festival, we discussed fresh perspectives on remarks from "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman.

I'm delighted to find creative signs of "sea changes" in future thought leadership learning programs.