Earth Hour

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Australia to promote awareness about climate change.  The following year it went global and it is growing every year. This year, Earth Hour is on Saturday 26^th March 2011 from 20:30 to 21:30.

In my opinion the idea of Earth Hour is an act not only to promote awareness for people like you and me but also to show our governments that we are aware of climate change and we want this issue to be looked into. I believe that some good reactions have come from governments around the world because of it but there is still a long way to go.

The Earth Hour can be also used as a reflection hour to think about what you can do to “beyond the hour” to help slow down climate change. It doesn’t matter how big or small but something. For some ideas you can check the website. There you can also make your commitment to what you will do to fight climate change.

Personally, the most important thing about the Earth Hour is the reflection about how you live and what you really need. Nowadays people just want things for the sake of having them and do not think about the bigger picture.

We are afraid of the wrong things

You might be afraid of the dark, cockroaches, death or even heights; we are all afraid of something, but most of the time we are afraid of the wrong things. All our fears come from within us so no matter what we fear most of the time these “things” are actually ourselves.

I think that the worst fear that someone can have, which is a fear that most people have, is the fear of not being capable of success. Most people don’t have an idea of their true potential and instead of trying something new they leave it because there are afraid of not succeeding in it.

People get to comfortable where they are and this holds them back from progressing and succeeding. They tend to live on the “what ifs” instead of trying and risking the possibility of failure. Even if you fail you are actually succeeding because you will learn something from the experience and this will help you grow and be successful with the next attempt.

Being afraid of your own potential will only cause harm to yourself and create more barriers and more things to be afraid of. It may sound cliché but you have to be the one who believes in yourself the most because if you don’t, nobody will.

Little Brazil

As some of you know I have my own business, Little Brazil, where I organise get-togethers for Brazilians and Brazilian culture fans. Little Brazil in Cape Town came to be in November 2007 when a friend of mine, Mario Ribas, organised a Brazilian party for a club’s opening. At this first event, with only a few CDs and DVDs playing through the night, the party was a hit. People really enjoyed themselves and loved the Brazilian vibe. In 2008 Mario went back to Brazil and I took over Little Brazil.

Since the first party a lot has changed. I have actively worked on the PR creating a brand for Little Brazil. Today we have a website, Facebook profile, facebook group for Cape Town and Johannesburg, Twitter account, blog and we are registered on various other event websites.

Today, Little Brazil is not only a party but also a place where Brazilians coming to Cape Town can find a support system to answer they questions about the city and how to go about things. Little Brazil has also been a very effective way to promote the Brazilian culture in Cape Town; as an example, last year we were part of the organisation of Casa Little Brazil during the World Cup.

This year we also started to give back to the community with donations of supplies bought with a percentage of the profits and participating in the Community Chest Carnival with a Brazilian stall. The Carnival stall was done with the support of the Brazilian Consulate of Cape Town. 2011 has just begun and there are a lot of new things planned for this year…just watch this space.

Fish falling from the sky

When I first read this title I immediately thought of a saying that we use in Brazil where the straight translation would be “it is going to be raining pocket knives”. This is a turn of phrase we use that means that something that is considered impossible to happen does indeed happen. If the pocket knife is open, then it is a true a miracle. Well, a fish falling from the sky is also kind of… impossible.

During this week it seems that most of the PR Btech students are hoping for some “fish to fall from the sky”. You just see all around on twitter, facebook, blogs and even by their facial expressions the sentence “so much to do, so little time”. Although we can also see the word procrastination, varying synonyms of it and acts of procrastination all around. I am by no means saying that I am not guilty of it, but I find that I work more efficiently and effectively with a little bit of pressure.  Nevertheless there is a fine line between working under pressure and losing control of everything. Time management together with a “To Do” list can help you enormously.

At the moment I am also wishing for some fish to fall from the sky and make the weekend three days long. I guess my fish will fall soon…

PR mascot

It might be tacky, but I like the idea of a mascot or a symbol.  I think that it gives a sense of glamour and fantasy to what it is representing. Public Relations in South Africa does not really have a symbol. If you try to Google it you will, for the most part, find images of microphones, people talking or the letters PR. Other professions have more recognisable symbols such as Lady Justice with her sword and scales associated with law worldwide and the staff of Aesculapius with a serpent curled around it for medicine.  Why not ours?

In Brazil Public Relations has a mascot, a colour and even a stone! The colour is blue (Pantone Reflex Blue C), the stone is Blue Sapphire and the mascot is the Spinner dolphin. This dolphin was chosen as the mascot for Public Relations as it is considered to be one of the most communicative and sociable animals on the planet.

 However Public Relations practitioners in Brazil also enjoy the art of discussing and persuading. It is for this reason that some believe that the platypus is a better suited mascot as they are more adaptable to different situations.

I personally like the dolphin. If South African Public Relations professionals decided to have a mascot or a symbol, what would you like it to be?

What is the colour of the wind?

The wind has no colour

The wind has all colours

The wind transforms

into the colour it touches

as somebody trying new clothes

The wind can be green

when dancing around

with the trees leaves

on a spring day

The wind can be brown

when playing around

with the girl in the park

The wind can be gray

on a stormy day

The wind can be blue

on a summer day

The wind has no colour

The wind has all colours