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January
A Tale of 10 Euros
Christine Longé and I visited La Bergerie at
Colle sur Loup, the venue of our SIETAR Europa 2005
Congress. On the way home the three of us (her
little son Marc came along) stopped at
François, our favorite pizza house for a
bite of lunch. Since the pizza and a drink cost
10€00, I handed the counter man a 20€00 bill. He
apologized for not having smaller notes to make
change and handed me five 2€00 coins. While waiting
for the pizza to be served, I glanced at the coins.
I was amazed to see in the same handful that each
coin was from a different country...Spain, Germany,
Portugal, France and Italy.
Perhaps like many of you much of my attention
over the past year has been focused on what was not
going quite right in the world, and rightfully so,
as the political atmosphere seems to be as tense
again as it was during the Cold War and there seems
no end in sight to the provocations of fear and
violence. Like you, I suspect, I held great hopes
for the new Millennium, hopes that are certainly
under siege each day. Endless wars and streams of
refugees, constant threats and counter threats,
rampant poverty and a withering ecology. There is
so much to do…
The ten euros reminded me of something that
something was going right, a perhaps small but not
insignificant symbol of international,
intercultural collaboration, a chance for human
togetherness. The holiday season many of us
celebrate with the transition to a new year and for
us on the northern half, the gradual return of the
light provides a moment of reflection a time to
connect with each other, to restore our vision and
to steady ourselves for what is yet to come.
Please accept my best wishes for you and those
you love, for success and the fulfillment of your
hopes in 2005 and for renewed inspiration on the
part of all of us to pull together to create a more
sustainable future for ourselves, our children and
future generations.
© 2008 George
Simons
Other Resources Books
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There are no elements so diverse that they cannot
be joined in the heart of a man. - Jean
Giraudoux
George Simons
is a US specialist in intercultural and gender
communication who hangs out in Mandelieu - la
Napoule, France, as well as in Santa Cruz, CA. In
the 1980’s he was one of the founders of the
Hidden Valley Center for Men and the Cyberguys
network. He is currently the treasurer on the board
of The National Men's Resource Center™. He is
on the faculty of Management Centre Europe, where
he consults on virtual global teamwork. He has
written over a dozen books on culture and gender
including Working
Together: How to Become More Effective
in a Multicultural
Organization and
with Deborah G. Weissman, Men
& Women: Partners at
Work. (Crisp
Foundation) and is the creator of the award-winning
Diversophy® game. www.diversophy.com
or E-Mail.
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