The GES Outcomes Team recently brainstormed over 80 different organizations that we’re interested in working with this year and did extensive research on all of them to determine which ones would be a perfect fit for GES. It was exciting and inspiring to see the awesome work that other organizations are doing in the field of international development. I can’t wait to start working with some of them!

At the end of the meeting we decided it would be great for the GES Outcomes team to have a slogan this year. Some of the ideas we came up with included, “the next ascent,” “more than a summit,” “taking you to the next level,” “the descent,” and “to the summit and beyond!”

We also want to create a name for all the cool organizations we partner up with for the Global Engagement Summit. In the past these have included orgs like Global Giving, Fast Forward Fund, Mission Measurement, All Day Buffet, and Pivot Non-Profit Consulting. In the future we will add stellar organizations including the Unreasonable Institute, Sparkseed, and Starting Bloc. But we don’t have a good way to describe our partnerships with these organizations. We were inspired by the fact that the Unreasonable Institute names their partners “pipeline partners,” so we want to work off of that. Unfortunately… all we could come up with was “aqueduct partners” and “opportunity catipultors.” Not so great.

We’re not quite sure what works best for us, so we’re opening it up to you for suggestions! Leave your suggestions for us in the comments area, and one lucky reader will get to choose the 2009-2010 Outcomes team slogan and partnership name. As a reward for your creativity and for helping us out we will arrange for you to have an all-expenses paid dinner at the globally engaged restaurant of your choice. So start suggesting away!

The OpenShutter Project creates immersive media environments that move beyond simplistic narratives of people, problems and places. By increasing awareness of the world around us, transcending barriers of language and endeavoring to create the idea of a global community, we hope to inspire tangible action and positive social change.

GES 2009 Nathaniel Whittemore Keynote: “A New Story About Our Generation” from Nathaniel Whittemore on Vimeo.

One of the most important responsibilities of the Content Team is to select two keynote speakers for the conference: one who will talk at the opening banquet to the GES community (staff and delegates) and one who will close the conference with a speech to the entire Northwestern community. Last year GES hosted Nathaniel Whittemore and Premal Shah as opening closing keynote speakers, respectively. This year, Content wanted to follow more or less the same model, choosing a young, inspiring storyteller that can connect immediately with the delegates, and a pragmatic, accomplished individual recognized in the social entrepreneurship sector who can draw from his or her experience to encourage Northwestern and GES members to pursue similar work.

Nathaniel Whittemore and Premal Shah were such inspiring keynotes that the task of choosing keynotes for GES 2010 seemed overwhelming at first. We had to take a step back and ask: what makes a good keynote? Is it a big name? Accomplishments? How recognized the person is? The truth: there is no such formula. That “something” that you feel when you see an inspiring speaker can’t be defined by prominence, big names or accomplishments. We will simply choose people who have passion to change the world through their own innovative approaches, and who can effectively transmit their passion to GES and Northwestern.

Next week our team will start meeting with Northwestern organizations such as NCDC and The Global Engagement Summer Institute so we can get ideas to improve our curricula and expand our contacts. This way, we will have a wide range of possibilities when we choose facilitators. Our staff is currently brainstorming for new workshop topics for next year. They have great ideas. We have discovered that students new to GES and unfamiliar with the social entrepreneurship sector offer a less limited, creative perspective when suggesting topics and organizations.

OpenShutter, an exciting initiative within GES, is now accepting submissions for its fall exhibit, taking place November 13-19 at Cafe Enigma in downtown Evanston. So, do you have a story to tell; a compelling narrative currently stuck on your computer’s hard drive or camera’s memory card? Share these images with the Northwestern community and the world.

OpenShutter selects Northwestern students’ photography based on the principles of responsible media creation. We live in a media-saturated world — a world in which a camera dangles from every traveler’s neck, and everyone seems to be clicking away at the sight of others’ poverty. OpenShutter strives to place humility at the center of the conversation about documentary photography. In addition to conventional aesthetic criteria  — color, light, saturation — we believe the photographer’s worldview is all-important in analyzing a photograph.

Submit your photos, arranged in a series of 3-5 related images, toopenshutter@theges.org by this SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31th. And stay tuned for more information about the fall show. We look forward to giving you a multi-sense exhibit experience.