Dear Andrius and All,

Hello and thanks so much for your letters of recent days, including your
other note to myself, Leon, Kerry (!!!), and Neil. A big welcome, Neil, and
a HUGE welcome back to Kerry, who I count as a personal friend. I am so
delighted to know that you might be back among us, and in particular, that
we might work together with Leon and others on "winning by sharing"!

My apologies for not sharing much of myself over the past couple years
(Kerry)...I have been thinking of you, though, and will hope to write a
catch-up note soon (and respond to Leon's kind note too).

Andrius, I am in the middle of some catch-up work outdoors this week (after
finishing the first draft of the "Blogging Positively" guide)--rather
intense physical labor--so my energy is somewhat too "otherwise engaged" to
respond to your note about "culture" in an in-depth way right now. I
appreciate very much your desire for my feedback, and will definitely be
eager to do that soon!!

I wanted to say now that the timing of your note about "culture", and the
posting of this Nordic application response, is very "synchronous" to some
of the thoughts I have on the topic. We have often discussed, in these
forums and individually, a (your) focus on the individual, and where
organizations and groups fit into that focus.

My view is that organizations and institutions are the Yang to the Yin of
the individual, by which I mean that some of the one exists in the other,
and in fact cannot be separated from the other. We all come from others, and
most of us are lucky to be part of a "family"; through our Yahoo "groups"
and our joint work together over a number of years, we at the MS Lab are
becoming a family too.

Many of us run or are reps of nonprofits, and/or are involved in nonprofit
work. You have a business, ie a for-profit corporation, which is a legal
"entity". In these situations, "entrepreneurship" is both an individual and
a group/entity-related philosophy and activity. There is a minimum of
"bureaucracy" for most of us. There is a concern for individuals, and also
families, communities, countries (re their sustainable development),
regions. And an understanding of how interconnected we all are as a world (a
concept in itself that includes individuals but is also group-oriented).

When we discussed this in January, we talked about "culture" and
"sub-cultures", likening the whole of the MS Lab to a culture, and the
Yahoogroups--built around individual thinkers (and doers), but with the
qualities of a group too, ie of people often focusing on a common purpose,
such as sustainable development--as sub-cultures.

This is a holistic view: to understand that each group--and each individual
within each group--has its/their own qualities, values, identities, goals,
et al--yet there can still be a larger culture, entity, or identity that can
be forged as well, so that we can work, share, grow, and build with one
another.

In a situation like this, some "organizing" is good, and some structure can
be important, especially for better communication and joint endeavors. We do
this too at the Lab, so what NordPlus is seeking is not at all different
from--or contradictory to--what is happening right here among us.

The "I/we" issue raised is also crucial to our MS-related work, and to the
development of a "culture" among us. This has been discussed and even argued
about many times here, most especially last year, during the Pyramid of
Peace activities. It is something you and I mulled over again in January,
when we discussed Worknets and its charter, and where ideas about "culture"
and "sub-cultures" were given concrete form.

If "we" are ever to be a "culture", a "family", there does need strongly to
be developed an outlook and working process that is both "ours" and "mine",
and where there is an inherent linkage between individuals and groups, as
well as a "horizontal" structure in which all parties/partners are seen and
treated as inherently "equal", even if some "vertical" (for example, some
being "leaders" for a particular project) structuring is also needed at
times.

Other links between the NordPlus experience and the creation and development
of an MS culture thus include: equally-involved partners, cooperation, a
"nonprofit" or a "business" approach.

I would like to work on this application with you and try for submission
next year, taking into account some of what NordPlus has said. I think you
might find that you do not have to change your own values in a wholesale
way, to come up with something more along the lines they are seeking.

We can include the "nonprofits" with which many of us are affiliated; we
can craft a "structure" where there is accountability and responsibility,
without it being too oppressive or bureaucratic; we can focus on a region,
while still identifying and working towards more universal applicability; we
can figure out how "some" money might be made, without having that be the
main focus; we can create an administrative approach where you can be the
coordinator, within a larger entity where there is cooperation among
"equals" (in outlook and certain activities and processes), this being both
among individuals and also groups/entities.

I hope this has been a helpful response for now, and that "yours" can also
be "mine", and also "ours" :))). To me this is at the heart of "winning by
sharing", and the idea behind Swarmteams, so it's doubly exciting (and,
again, comes with synchonous timing) that Leon and Kerry will be with us in
a direct and active way, as they can contribute--individually and
together--an essential piece (or pieces) to the creation of our cultural
whole.

With love and blessings to all, Janet

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrius Kulikauskas" <ms@...>
To: "Benedikta Harris" <bha@...>
Cc: <earthtreasury@yahoogroups.com>; "help group"
<holistichelping@yahoogroups.com>; <learnhowtolearn@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2009 9:03 AM
Subject: [holistichelping] Re: Decision of your NordPlus application

> Benedikta,
>
> I appreciate your detailed explanation.
>
> It's interesting that your remarks touch on the mechanics of the project
> rather than the purpose (to create mathematics learning materials for
> self-education, in the Public Domain, organized around "classic math
> problems" and illustrated with examples relevant to our changing world.)
>
> Yes, it seems that I come from a different set of values. I believe in
> individuals rather than institutions; organizing around leaders;
> enterpreneurship rather than bureaucracy; overshooting rather than
> undershooting; less structure rather than more structure; holistic
> rather than sectional; universal rather than regional.
>
> Yes, I should contact our national agency.
>
> I share with my partners and our working groups.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Andrius
>
> Andrius Kulikauskas
> Minciu Sodas
> http://www.ms.lt
> ms@...
>
>
> Benedikta Harris wrote:
>> Dear Andrius Kulikauskas
>>
>> Compared to the other projects received, your project did not receive
>> such a high score. Your project received a total score of 10.66 whereas
>> all granted projects have a total score, which is over 12.
>>
>> Here are a couple of reasons, which explain your lower score:
>> -It was not clear from the application that the involved partners and you
>> as a coordinator had an equal partnership and that it was a partnership
>> of institutions/organisations and not only of individuals. You as an
>> individual were clearly described as the main player in the project, but
>> Nordplus is about cooperation between institutions and not individuals
>> (you also write "my" proposal and not "our" proposal in your e-mail
>> beneath).
>> -The project description does not really explain what you actually want
>> to achieve with the many activities that you have planned, which made
>> your project appear too ambitious and not very structured - this is of
>> course compared to the quality of the project descriptions of the other
>> applications received.
>>
>> Apart from that, the project seemed business orientated and not
>> non-profit (selling of book). Last but not least the effect on the adult
>> education sector and the greater benefit for the Nordic-Baltic education
>> area was not clear. I would like to encourage you to consult with the
>> Nordplus responsible in the Lithuanian National Agency and see, if there
>> are possibilities to elaborate your project and apply again next year
>> (March 1).
>>
>> You are of course also always welcome to contact me, if you have further
>> questions.
>>
>> Venlig hilsen/kind regards
>>
>> Benedikta Harris
>> ----------------------------
>> International rådgiver
>> CIRIUS
>> Fiolstræde 44
>> DK-1171 København K
>> Tlf: 3395 7000 Dir: 3395 7083
>> Fax: 3395 7001
>> Email: bha@...
>> www.ciriusonline.dk
>>
>>
>> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
>> Fra: Andrius Kulikauskas [mailto:ms@...]
>> Sendt: 3. juni 2009 13:57
>> Til: Benedikta Harris
>> Emne: Re: Decision of your NordPlus application
>>
>> Dear Benedikta Harris,
>>
>> Please, do you have more information, why my proposal was not approved?
>> It seemed to have great relevance to your topic, and also great impact
>> (learning materials in the Public Domain) for a basic area (math
>> education). We had a strong team. We would benefit greatly if you might
>> explain your decision in more detail.
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Andrius
>>
>> Andrius Kulikauskas
>> Minciu Sodas
>> http://www.ms.lt
>> ms@...
>> +370 699 30003
>> Vilnius, Lithuania
>> skype: minciusodas
>>
>>
>> noreply@... wrote:
>>
>>> Projekt-ID: AD-2009_1-17674
>>> Your Nordplus application 'Classic Math Problems for Changing Realities'
>>> with the Project ID AD-2009_1-17674 in the ARS system has been processed
>>> with the following result:
>>> The application has been rejected by the programme committee on the
>>> following grounds:
>>> Your application was unfortunately not approved for granting by the
>>> Nordplus Adult Programme Committee.
>>>
>>> General information on the 2009 application round
>>> 62 applications have been submitted to the Nordplus Adult Learning
>>> Programme in connection with the last application deadline (March 2nd
>>> 2009).
>>> There are 1.207.795 euro to be distributed to Nordplus Adult mobility
>>> activities, projects and networks in 2009 and we have received
>>> applications for a total of 2.660.685 euro. Among the applications were
>>> many high quality and interesting applications and, during the selection
>>> process, points were given to all applications as to:
>>> * Relevance (annual priority)
>>> * Project objectives and content
>>> * Organisation and implementation capacity
>>> * Dissemination and utilisation of results.
>>>
>>> Moreover, all applications have in line with the rules and regulations
>>> of the Nordplus Framework Programme and the Nordplus Adult Learning
>>> Pro-gramme been checked for the following:
>>> * Application should be within the framework of the Nordplus Framework
>>> programme/Nordplus Adult Learning Programme.
>>> * Applications should have a clear description of background,
>>> activities, objectives and results.
>>> * The partnership should be relevant in relation to the application.
>>> * Results and experiences shall be evaluated and spread to others.
>>>
>>> You are welcome to keep yourselves updated on the Nordplus Framework
>>> Programme on www.nordplusonline.org . Be aware that there will be an
>>> extra deadline for Nordplus Adult preparatory visits on October 15 2009.
>>>
>>> In case of questions, please do not hesitate to contact Benedikta Harris
>>> bha@... or +45 33 95 70 83.
>>>
>>> Appeals may be addressed directly to the body that handled the
>>> application within three weeks after receiving this notification. The
>>> actual decision cannot be appealed against, but applicants may appeal if
>>> they believe that an error has been made.
>>> Thank you for applying to Nordplus.
>>> Yours sincerely,
>>> The Nordplus administration system
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>>>
>
>
>
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