FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Bali Institute Friends Around the World -
BALI -- What an amazing culture. This island of rich ceremonies is like no other place on earth. During March of this year, I was fortunate enough to witness the Balinese new years celebration. It’s one thing to honor the end of the year with a BANG. But only in Bali do you get an opportunity to watch giant demons and evil spirits be carried thru the streets, accompanied by gamelan clanging and chiming that could wake up the entire planet. And all of this precedes a complete day of silence as their way of bringing in the new year.
Being out in the streets of Ubud to witness this ritual, I was stunned by the enormous excitement and joy that was present everywhere. This is not a ritual taken lightly. All thru the early evening there were “ogoh ogoh” presented in the streets. These ogoh ogohs are gigantic paper-mache renditions of evil spirits artistically created in every village, and it took weeks of preparation by village volunteers, young and old. Early in the morning and late at night, work was underway to build these masterful 15-foot high monsters. There aren’t many experiences in the west that come close to this level of community participation. Xmas – no. Halloween, nah! New Years eve, hardly.
People live more collaboratively here. They have community. They live into a sense of belonging to their village, their banjar (community center) and their culture. It is part of their every day routine, and you can see the results in how excited everyone becomes in preparing for, and during, the Ogoh Ogoh ceremonies. Pure joy. Infectious laughter pouring out of the villages. Genuine pride for their unique versions of their village’s evil spirits.
And then, once the parades were over and the streets cleared, it was mandatory that everyone be at home, inside their compound, in total quiet for 24 hours. No lights could be used, no food prepared, no autos or motorbikes on the roads. Not even airplanes can land or ships docked during this time. Total silence, except for the natural world – which never sounded more alive and full of its place in the world!
I hope you’ll find a way to come celebrate the Balinese new year – Nyepi – in April of 2011. As you’ll read in our e-newsletter below, we have a wonderful Global Film Festival happening right around that time. So, come for Nyepi and stay for the films.
You can never get enough of this brilliant, highly evolved culture.
See you in Bali!
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Om |
Summer 2010
In this issue
"Our
mission in this new century is clear-we live in an interdependent
world. Therefore, we have to spend our lives building a global
community of shared responsibilities, shared values, shared benefits."
Bill Clinton
Pass it on
If you know someone who may be interested in receiving this newsletter, you can easily forward up to five copies at once. |
|
Global Social Change Film Festival & Institute
Join us at the first annual
GLOBAL SOCIAL CHANGE FILM FESTIVAL & INSTITUTE
In collaboration with Bali Institute
Ubud ,Bali
April 13-17, 2011
The Global Social Change Film Festival & Institute (GSCFFI), in collaboration with Bali Institute for Global Renewal, will host its first global film festival in Bali April 13-17, 2011. Join us at this exciting movie gathering that will be supporting international filmmakers as effective social activists through engaging visual storytelling.
This year’s inaugural focus is Global Women and Film. International woman filmmakers will be featured as honorees and keynote speakers. Dignitaries include Indonesian's Nia Dinata of Jakarta as one of the featured honorees! Other will be listed in the coming months. Read more
More than 50 students/professors attend Bali Institute Program
 Northeastern University
May / June was a busy month for the Bali Institute team, both in the U.S. and Bali. Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts asked us to help co-create a 5-week program for 30 students in one of their international studies classes – focused on global social entrepreneurialism. Another group of 22 students also came for a 2-week immersion experience as part of their studies in health sciences. Both classes had planned on being in Thailand but had to cancel because of the recent civil unrest. Instead, they asked if Bali Institute could jump in and help create experiences/programs having the Balinese culture as the emphasis.
In less than one week, with the help of our youth program director Ryan Feinstein, curriculum was quickly designed to support the needs of these two student groups -- the best of our cultural immersion learning. The Balinese advisory team included Peliatan Prince Cok Agung, ARMA Museum founder Agung Rai, Agung Prana, Beratha, Zanzan, Ghandi Ashram director Indra Udayana and others, all of whom helped generate fascinating, transformative Balinese experiences. Our itinerary included a private dinner at the Peliatan Palace (joined by many of the local villagers), early morning walks with master Balinese historian Agung Rai, village meetings and “om” stays in Sudaji, a private visit at the Ghandi Ashram, meetings with numerous NGO organizations, time with world-renown author/activist Dr. Suryani, and other cultural immersion explorations. More than 20 Balinese students were also included with the international studies group for their 3-week classroom sessions, and a final presentation of their NGO research was given at ARMA Museum.
Bali Institute has since been asked by the assistant provost at Northeastern University to develop a year-long study abroad program that will be launched by Fall of 2011. Conversations are already under way to collaborate with the major universities In Bali as part of this study program - incorporating internship possibilities, cultural immersion, field trips, volunteerism and meetings with Balinese visionaries, academics, researchers, authors, leaders and activists in civic engagement. more >>
New York University
New York University’s Professor Dr. Ellen McGrath recently contacted BIGR about bringing a small group of students to explore opportunities with the Bali Institute for next year – internship programs, service learning opportunities and more. Dr. McGrath is an award-winning adjunct faculty at the Wagner School at NYU, where she teaches the fundamentals of Global Social Entrepreneurship. In late May, we created a 7-day Bali-sampling trip for Dr. McGrath and her group – offering some of our core experiences and rich resources that Bali Institute can uniquely offer. Between our Balinese advisory team and Dr. McGrath’s enthusiasm, she was more than “sold” on the possibilities of collaborating with us for future student programs.
more >>
Global Leadership Adventures Selects BIGR For High School Summer Program
Bali Institute (BIGR) has been chosen by Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) to provide high school students from around the world an exciting and unique cultural immersion program in Bali beginning summer of 2011.
GLA will have Bali Institute provide two 3-week service learning trips in 2011 that combine cultural immersion, volunteer work with local Balinese social service organizations, meetings with local villagers, leadership training and fun excursions around the entire island.
"We are thrilled to partner with the Bali Institute to offer service-learning programs in Bali.” says Andrew Motiwalla, GLA Executive Director. “Your deep connections with the community, experience with leadership development and appreciation and respect for the local wisdom and culture are exactly what we are looking for in a partner. It's a pleasure to work together with you to develop the next generation of global citizens and leaders", he said. GLA is a program of Terra Education and was started in 2004. Several hundred students ages 15-18 have participated in these unique summer programs in more than 50 countries. For more information, visit http://www.experiencegla.com/ or http://www.baliinstitute.org
Living Leadership in Bali – Lessons from the Balinese
One magnificent outcome of the Bali Institute’s global thought-leaders gathering held In Bali last December was a recent article researched and written by Dr. Renee Levi on her reflections while being with our group In Bali. She was an attendee of the gathering and is co-director and director of research for the Powers of Place Initiative, a network of people, organizations and places brought together by the Fetzer Institute to catalyze a field of study and practice based on the importance of place.
Her story begins:
“Late last year I had the privilege of spending five days In Bali, Indonesia in conversation with a group of people envisioning the future of The Bali Institute. Twenty-five people representing various ethnic and cultural backgrounds (ages 25-76), and professions met in a variety of settings in Bali – a Hindu temple, a sacred costal area, a royal palace, a villager’s home – to envision future program offerings for the Institute and with a question of how setting impacts and amplifies the work people do together…”click here for complete article or visit http://powersofplace.com/ .
News Updates
Go Yoga
--Yoga and culture retreats are part of Bali Institute’s offerings in partnership with International Yoga based in California. Interested in connecting your yoga practice with cultural immersion, Bali Institute style? Over the next six months sign up for one of several yoga retreats being offered by International Yoga LLC. more >>
Fundraising - Royal Style
--Bali Institute provided a unique way of fundraising for Volunteer San Diego by auctioning an opportunity for a private tour and d inner with a member of the royal family of Bali, Prince of Peliatan. The winner was from Los Angeles and happened to be going to Bali this summer. We heard it was an unforgettable evening. Another group of 6 women also bid on this special evening and will be meeting the prince later in September. Funds also were used to support scholarships for Balinese to attend Bali Institute programs In the future.
Listen Up!
--Ready to manifest your highest dreams for humanity, our planet and your life? Listen to an exciting on-line gathering of visionaries who are helping to change the world. “Co-Creating Heaven on Earth” begins July 15-August 2 and will feature a remarkable group of eight visionary leaders as they share their wisdom, experience, isight and practical steps to help activate a positive new story for humanity and our planet. Marcia Jaffe, Bali Institute founder and president, is one of the selected guests and shares her visions and innovative thinking about the importance of cultural immersion as a source of co-creating new ways to understand what it means to be a true global citizen. To register for this telesummit and to learn more, click here
Join The World
Ready to come to Bali and experience Bali UNTAMED? We are now offering our unique BALI-UNTAMED 12-day immersion tour with as few as 2 people. Designed by our team of indigenous Balinese experts, this adventure promises to be like nothing you have ever done before -- a combination of visiting the REAL Bali, intimate meetings with remarkable Balinese visionaries, and daily experiences designed to transform your world forever. Bring a group of 10 or just your best friend. Available any time you are ready to come. See you in Bali! click here.
The Chosen One
Ubud was recently named the Best City in Asia by travel-magazine Conde Nast Traveler. This honor was based on its more than 25,000 readers worldwide. Ubud is considered the arts and culture capital of Bali and most of the Bali Institute programs, workshops and events are held in local venues, museums, and meeting centers that support Ubud's culture, community life and local villagers.
|
