For skilled immigrant professionals: BUSINESS EDGE

105 St. George Street, Toronto Telephone: (416) 978 3423
Ontario, Canada M5S 3E6 Facsimile: (416) 978 5433

Business Edge: A Program for Internationally Educated Professionals
Business Edge is an Executive Education program for highly skilled immigrant professionals who are determined to take their careers to the next level.
Graduates emerge with an increased understanding of Canadian workplace culture and the ‘unwritten rules’ that govern it. They develop the skills needed to gain visibility and build networks critical to their success. They master the ability to present, negotiate, influence, and lead. In sum, our graduates emerge with a clear understanding of their brand and their value – and how to capitalize off both.
Participant Profile
Business Edge is for professional women and men educated abroad who have at least two years’ work experience in Canada and are currently under-employed. Our participants also hold accredited university degrees and have at least five years’ international work experience. They have advanced communication skills in English and are ready to lead again.
Participant Benefits:
Organizational Benefits:
 Participants learn critical skills that will help them become more effective team members
 They develop their leadership capacity and ability to drive change and influence others
 They learn to capitalize on their strengths and to maximize their visibility and organizational contribution
Employees emerge from Business Edge more productive and ready to take on new challenges and responsibilities.
They have a clear sense for how to add more value to your organization.
They are equipped with a host of communication, presentation and leadership skills that Canadian organizations value.
Apply online at www.rotmanexecuitve.com/businessedge or call 416-978-6803
Curriculum & Course Content
1.) Leadership Development
Leadership skills are valued across the globe. Yet great leadership means different things in different cultures. These sessions will build upon the leadership skills you acquired internationally and help you transition to being a leader in Canada. You will learn to influence, negotiate, and present in a Canadian context.
2.) Canadian Workplace Culture
Technical skills and hard work are essential for getting ahead. On their own, however, they are not enough to advance your career. That’s why we have a number of sessions that focus exclusively on workplace culture and organizational behavior in order to give participants a thorough understanding of intercultural dynamics in the workplace.
Participants learn:
 the ‘unwritten rules’ and subtle cultural norms of the workplace
 strategies for making their accomplishments visible
 techniques for building critical relationships with key decision makers
3.) Advanced Communication
In a knowledge economy, communication skills are paramount, and they go far beyond understanding a language and its grammar. Advanced communication skills involve:
 Giving feedback in a way that conveys a message without damaging a relationship
 Conveying the right tone in a difficult medium such as email
 Knowing the culturally appropriate phrasing to use when disagreeing with an idea, following up with a networking connection, or proposing an organizational change
Business Edge devotes a number of classes to these topics, and covers how to handle these and other situations that leaders experience daily.
Schedule
Next cohort: February to June 2013
Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 pm to 9:00 p.m. and all day Saturdays
Program Fee
$2000 + HST (includes all study materials)

Sandra Pupatello perceived front runner at Liberal Leadership race

"Inclusive" education & parents responsibility

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church under the topic of "Duties of Parents" we find these two wonderful reminders of what Christians are called to do:
"Parents must regard their children as children of God and respect them as human persons. Showing themselves obedient to the will of the Father in heaven, they educate their children to fulfill God's law. (2222)

The Church teaches that parents, the father and the mother, not the school board or any government, are the first educators of their children. They are called to instruct them in the faith, in living virtuously, in giving a proper example, and in loving one's neighbour. When Dr. Steve Tourloukis tried to assert this parental calling as a Greek Orthodox Christian with the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, he was told he didn't have this parental right. Why did the board deny his many requests to exempt his children from classes that violated his parental right to direct his children's moral education? The answer: school boards in Ontario thanks to the provincial government and the passing of Bill 13, now believe they can supplant parental rights and responsibilities. The new law and board guidelines permit this attack on traditional parental rights. The boards are legally backed by this unjust legislation which wants to force the whole society to accept the redefinition of human sexuality, marriage and family. Welcome to relativism and secularism deceptively disguised as inclusive education. Thank God that most people can still tell the difference between apples and oranges, even after being told that they are the same.

"Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. the home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the 'material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones.' Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children." (2223)

Ontario parents must accept "Equity and Inclusive Education" and this means they cannot object to same-sex marriages, abortion, contraceptives, a hyper-sexualized curriculum, gay/straight alliances and the ever increasing number of sexual orientations. Inclusive education is not so inclusive because it seems to end where a Christian education begins. Dr. Tourloukis could not accept this and decided to take the Hamilton Board to court. The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund is supporting the case by helping to pay for some of the legal expenses.  In this interview at the recent Minnesota Catholic Conference, Dr. Tourloukis explains why he went to court. Parents need to pay attention and reclaim their parental rights before they completely lose their children's souls to the indoctrination dictates of a "mommy/mommy", "daddy/daddy", "parent A/parent B" Ontario. In Ontario, we are told that when it comes to parental rights we are all equal, but from what's happening in the schools one can only conclude that these new family structures are more equal than others. Parents beware!

Posted by Lou Iacobelli

Carta della Pace

 

Ci sono Uomini e Donne che non hanno bisogno di popolarità.
Essi lavorano e si sacrificano per la collettività perchè è semplicemente giusto che sia così.
Non esiste una spiegazione. E lo fanno fino a sacrificare la loro stessa vita.
Per loro, per questi uomini e per queste donne, è importante dare non ricevere.

 

“Riconosciamo a Donne e Uomini di Buona Volontà il nostro plauso
e proponiamo la testimonianza della loro esistenza
quale esempio educativo per le nuove generazioni
alle quali sono affidate le sorti del Pianeta  e del  Genere Umano
chiedendo ad esse di compromettersi per la Pace”.

 

Il nuovo Console Generale d'Italia a Toronto

Il nuovo Console Generale d'Italia a Toronto, Ministro Tullio Guma, intervistato da Enzo Di Mauro italnews.ca e Roberto Bandiera Panorama ItalianCanadian.
http://italnews.ca/ - www.panoramaital.com

L'Altra Italia: Nuova Stagione 2013

Grande entusiasmo il 5 ottobre, alla inaugurazione della stagione 2012-2013 dell'Altra Italia, l'associazione culturale, in continua crescita per numero di soci e qualità' dei programmi offerti, in primo luogo la programmazione di film contemporanei italiani, che altrimenti non avremmo la possibilità' di vedere in Canada. "La formula e' sempre la stessa, film italiani contemporanei, film d'autore, concerti e tanto altro" ha detto Cristiano De Florentiis nell'indirizzo di saluto agli intervenuti al TIFF, il palazzo del Festival Internazionale dell cinematografia di Toronto. Come di consueto la proiezione del film in programma e' preceduta dai cocktails e cenetta presso la Mason Mercer di cui vi presentiamo alcuni momenti.  Video by: Enzo Di Mauro italnews.ca Toronto - dimauro.enzo@gmail.com

Lecture byJames Harrington: Political Trials of Fethullah Gulen

 

Nov.12: Francis The Holy Jester

DARIO FO’S ‘FRANCIS THE HOLY JESTER’ 
BY MARIO PIROVANO

A celebration of life, liberty, truth and devotion. The story of St. Francis of Assisi.

The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, in collaboration with the Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies, Department of Italian Studies and the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto,

presents a performance of

Dario Fo’s ‘Francis The Holy Jester’ by Mario Pirovano.

Monday, November 12, 2012 – 8:00pm

Robert Gill Theatre - 214 College Street, Toronto (use St. George St. Entrance only — 3rd floor)

General admission $15.00; students and seniors: $10.00. 

Box Office: 416-978-7986

Nov. 8: L'Altra Italia opens in Vaughan‏

                                                                           

L'ALTRA ITALIA OPENS IN VAUGHAN November 8, 2012 Colossus Vaughan 6:30 pm - Reception 8:00 pm - Screening Vaughan Membership Card*                   Toronto Membership Card*    Free admission                                   $ 20 Reception+Movie Non members $ 40 Reception+Movie $ 15 Trial Membership Pass (no reception) *For the season 2012/2013 all members must choose only ONE location where they will attend screenings and receptions, either in Toronto or in Vaughan. For more info visit our website or call 416.893.3966 In collaboration with:

Oct.28/ 2012: Nu scugnizz' a Toronto !!!!

Oct.21/2012: Saint Kateri Tekakwitha!

VATICAN CITY — Kateri Tekakwitha, a woman credited with life-saving miracles, has become North America’s first aboriginal saint after a canonization mass at the Vatican.

Benvenuti al Nord‏: L'alt(r)a Italia

 

October 5th, 2012

7:00 pm Cocktail
Maison Mercer

9:00 pm Screening
Tiff Bell Lightbox

BENVENUTI AL NORD

 

 

Parenting... and video games

Video games started as a novelty in the early seventies with the first commercially successful products called Pong and Computer Space. In 1979,  Pac-Man was released and Centipede in 1980. Today's manipulative and sophisticated video games are no longer something new or mere amusement. These games continue to play a part in shaping and defining our culture; they have also become big business. And where huge profits are at stake you can be sure that morals and truth are sacrificed. Did you know that video games in Canada and America now sell more than the music industry? In 2011, in Canada video games accounted for $1.7 billion in sales and in the United States it was close to $15 billion. Women tend to play less than men; they use games more for lifestyle "improvement" as in the case of My Weight Loss Coach or Quick Yoga Training. But as they have done with smoking they are quickly catching up to men.


Let's look at some examples from current games, and we will see why they are not just about mere entertainment anymore. Video games expose players, like young children, to a violent world often devoid of right and wrong and a distorted view of the human person. It's too often an anti-Christian world. Many of the games are extremely violent; it's a cyberspace "reality" where killing has its rewards and the degradation of the human person has few moral limits. For example, in Batman: Arkham City the player will hear such phrases as "I'll make you meow, bitch" and in Duke Nukem Forever, a player's ability to survive and beat another gamer is based on how "good" you are at killing others. So, parents should be under no illusion that if their children are playing these games, they are possibly complicit in the formation of their children's negative view of the world and of the human person.

Video games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto are considered "men's games" and contain language and actions which are insulting and hateful of women. In Grand Theft Auto, for example, the characters can buy the services of a prostitute and then kill her. Of course many who play these games, and the companies that produce them for profits, claim that they are just harmless products for fun and recreational play. But the truth is that video game designers and programmers are selling much more than a product. Why else would websites like fatuglyorslutty.com (I will not dignify this site by providing a link) be asking women to post derogatory and insulting comments made about them by male gamers. The need to shame male players because of what they say reveals the hidden sexism and hatred of the human person embedded in these games.
                                                                     

Too often companies rationalize the hurtful effects of their products by saying it's all about fun and that human beings have always been portrayed in negative ways in works of art and film. Players know it's all about exaggeration and games are not to be taken on a personal level. However, the fact is this: in playing a game that is misogynistic and degrades human beings, a player enters and becomes part of that world and its values. You play and react for "real". We may not know what the ultimate effect of this may have, but why expose oneself, especially young players with formative minds, to this violent and negative world of video games. How can we best defend ourselves against this visual exploitation? Don't buy the games, and don't give them as gifts for birthdays and at Christmas. Make sure your children aren't buying and playing these violent games. If they object, explain to them why you have made your decision, and perhaps you may want to declare your home to be a video game free zone.



  Lou Iacobelli

SOCIAL JUSTICE Interfaith Dinner

Interfaith Dinner:  ”Perspectives on Social Justice” organized by
IDI Toronto, ISARC and Church of the Holy Trinity.

September 13th, 2012
Church of the Holy Trinity
10 Trinity Square, Toronto ON M5G 1B1

Moderator:
Deacon Pedro Guevara Mann, Salt + Light TV

Opening Remarks:
Laurel Rothman, National Coordinator, Campaign 2000

Speakers:
Avrum Rosensweig, Founding Director and President, Ve’ahavta - Judaism
Halil Simsek, PhD Candidate, Near & Mid. Eastern Civ., UofT - Islam
Jennifer Henry, Executive Director, KAIROS, Christianity
Sean Hillman, PhD Student, Study of Religion, UofT - Buddhism

Avrum Rosensweig
Avrum Rosensweig, Founding Director and President of Ve’ahavta that is motivated by
the ethics of Judaism and the importance of hands-on volunteerism, and believes that
by working with interfaith partners, both Jews and non-Jews rediscover the beauties of
Judaism, its universal ethical message, and how Jewish inspired acts of charity make
the world a better place. Avrum was a talk show host and performed on television for
ten years. He writes a weekly newspaper column for the Canadian Jewish News and is
also Ve’ahavta’s most popular public speaker.

Halil Simsek
Born and raised in Turkey, Mr. Simsek attended the famous al-Azhar University in
Cairo. He worked at the Ottoman and state archives of the government in Turkey, where
he had ample opportunity to excel in Ottoman Turkish. He came to U.S. to pursue a
second degree in Political Science from Hunter College of CUNY. Currently, he is a
senior PhD. Student at the department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations of University
of Troonto, specializing in Islamic Stuidies. He also works at the same department
as teaching instructor, and teaching &research assistant. He is proficient in Turk
ish, Ottoman-Turkish and Arabic, and well advanced in Persian, French and German

Jennifer Henry
Jennifer Henry has worked for KAIROS and its predecessor coalitions for almost 20
years, and currently serves on the staff of KAIROS as the Manager for the Dignity and
Rights and Fundraising Teams. She holds BA (honours) degree in English Literature
from University of Manitoba. Along with her gifts for leadership and theological reflection,
she brings a depth of programmatic knowledge and a strong commitment to
KAIROS and its relationships with churches, partners and networks. Inspired by a
vision of God’s compassionate justice, KAIROS advocates for social change, amplifying
and strengthening the public witness of its members.

Sean Hillman
Sean Hillman is a Buddhist scholar working on a collaborative doctorate in Religious
Studies (specializing in South Asian Religions) & bioethics, having finished a collaborative
Masters degree in Religious Studies (Buddhist Studies) and Bioethics, and holding a
B.A. in East Asian Studies, all at the University of Toronto. Sean was a Buddhist monk
for 13 years, ordained twice by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in India where he also studied
Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
and the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. He is a faculty member for the Contem
plative End of Life Care program at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Toronto.