It is expected to be a warm day today. The sun is out early and people are out and about. I see many people jogging and some just sipping coffee by wayside cafes.
I've been in Washington D.C for a week now and have begun to love this beautiful city.
The city is sprawling with ample spaces and gardens and the buildings are not taller than the Washington Monument, which is about 555 feet high.
When I wan in Bandung in 2008 I heard Charles Landry speak about Creative Cities. Charles Landry is the author of the book, Creative City.
In what makes a creative city, Charles said, " a creative city is a generous city. It gives value to space".
This is evident in Washington D.C. The place give you a sense of space and purposefulness.
It seems everything is there for a reason. People are busy and they go about their daily task in an orderly fashion.
It seems everything is there for a reason. People are busy and they go about their daily task in an orderly fashion.
Despite their busyness, people take time to smile at each other, greet each other and also are ever helpful. I have yet to find a person who was too busy to greet, smile or help me get to my destination.
Good people - what makes them generally? A sense of self-esteem?
I know some of you may be wondering, "what happened to his reporting of the Presidential Summit and his International Visitor Leadership Program ?"
Let me tell you this : writing about the Presidential Summit is not an easy matter especially one such as this - the first ever Summit on Entrepreneurship ever hosted by a President of the United States.
Writing the chronology of the events and what transpired is the easy part.
Loads of information on this is already readily available on the White House website and likely in other sites.
Writing the chronology of the events and what transpired is the easy part.
Loads of information on this is already readily available on the White House website and likely in other sites.
What I would like to write about is about the extraordinary people I've met and the conversations I've had with them.
I don't want to rush into this narration. These people are extraordinary and some of the conversations has been life transforming ones.
Another reason I was unable to quickly report was that the venue did not have free internet access and it was not easy to flip open a computer in a venue with so much conversation and networking going on. You don't want to miss anything.
It is also considered impolite to keep pounding on the keyboard as people are trying to passionately tell their stories. The media was there to report already - I am there to learn, talk, network, look at people and see the glint in their eye and to capture the energy that is changing the world.
It is also considered impolite to keep pounding on the keyboard as people are trying to passionately tell their stories. The media was there to report already - I am there to learn, talk, network, look at people and see the glint in their eye and to capture the energy that is changing the world.
So, join me in this journey. It will be a slow and careful one with the observations of a bystander.
Today, I plan to meet a friend by the name of Cludia Pompa from Paraguay. Claudia is studying at the George Washington University and I 've known her through the Global Entrepreneurship Week since 2008.
Claudia and I plan to take a walk along the Ambassador's row and to attend some open houses and meets some ambassadors. Hope to meet the Malaysian envoy to the US, Mr Jarjis, if he is around.
So stay tuned..
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