How to crush a non-informatic virus by using your fingertips

The World Bank states 1.6 billion students around the planet are not attending the school due to Covid-19, the new kind of corona-virus. In Peru, the (theoretically) mandatory quarantine imposed to hold the virus was extended until April 12th. Considering the classes began last March 16th, it means a 2020 Annual Course’s month is lost, and it’s possible that coming back to the classroom takes more time.

Around the globe, the initiatives to avoid the students to lose the scholarship’s rhythm are beginning to outbreak and that’s good. Many teachers have recalled a not-so-new ally to achieve it – information technology. And they are taking any resource, any platform to continue, because it’s not about we are on vacation, we have kept not to infect. It’s not the same thing.

Along Peru, the government is setting up a whole platform including the public radio & television, the Ministry of Education, and some associations which are implementing collaborative and friendly environments. Along Piura? I learned this week it does, and it happens in Sullana Province, Marcavelica District indeed, more specifically in Vista Florida Village.

Virtual classroom

14854 José Santos Chocano School, as thousands of schools across Peru, is closed doors but not its communication channels. So Principal Leonila Saavedra had the idea to do in virtual environment wwhat was interrupted in physical or presential ones.

Let’s push pause here because this school and this principal don’t appeared in the air after a blink. It was one of the seven schools across Piura Region recognized by the Ministry of Education (Minedu, as its acronyme in Spanish) with Valora grade, a kind of certification granted for innovating all processes of management and teaching, three years ago.

In José Santos Chocano’s case, its competitive advantage was precisely the use of tools based on information technology. Let’s get back to March 2020. Mrs Saavedra summoned the engineer Iván Martín Rotta, who worked with the platform that allowed her the Minedu’s recognizement in 2017, and who has developed interesting related ideas about this issue at Piura’s César Vallejo University, where he studied.

The engineer designed a virtual classroom as a technologic solution, first for the teachers to coordinate strategies and contents, then for the parents to join the companion of their kids, ultimately to incorporate the children in the whole process. Look what an interesting strategy to add all the members of the basic educational community. If they can add later to the ones who are not part of this community but who are going to contribute in the process, perfect! They’re going a good way!

The teachers who participate in this experience see it much expectant, judging what they have shared on the virtual classroom’s forum. How did I have Access to the system not having an user and a password? Surprise, surprise! When my radar detected this story, I asked Iván to launch two simple questions: what they think of the environment, what challenge it produces them. Then, the quotes you’ll see on this op-ed are spontaneous reactions of those proffessionists. Get your own conclusions.

“They’re the right place to ask questions, to propose activities, or to solve doubts, because there’s no only interaction by asking the teacher, but seeing also what other students ask,” teacher Luis Estrada wrote.

“The virtual education is other vogue in those times and its use gets into different current spaces, although it also has some inconsistences, for example, not all the parents know those virtual environments, who will accomplish a very important role in this process,” teacher Paola Farfán adds.

“Anyway, despite social disagreements, the current scenario makes the virtual education to be already the solution for the problems in Peruvian education. It’s true that a big advantage of virtual education there is a lower Covid-19 contagion risk, because to access the classes for the students, eliminates the displacement to a specific location, situation not able to be done in this emergency,” teacher Yuliana Astudillo complements.

Growing hurts

For the teachers to adapt to the environment, even borning in the Informatics Age, has not been easy because the traditional education usually trains everybody for a predictable space: the board in the background, the door beside the board, the desks in front of the board, teacher’s desk beside the board, wide windows, four walls and a ceiling.

But in the virtual environment, that fades, and especially another factor – time. Perhaps it’s not necessary the 45-minute pedagogical hour. Perhaps you require more time, perhaps you need less. Everything is going to depend on your attention and understanding rate.

And that has been the same challenge of the teachers in Vista Florida, Marcavelica. Let’s reflectionate through their own reactions on their school’s virtual classroom.

“Too much confused in the beginning because we have changed our traditional way to work in classrooms due to the use of a mobile device, lap-top, or computer,” teacher Farfán underlines.

“However, when investigating a bit more and having an virtual education technology  back-up, I feel more secure. That’s why we have focused that in this emergency it’s important to strengthen the interaction media among the students, teachers, and contents, as well as promoting the use of infovirtual tools because the educational stakers will move in a digital environment,” shee adds.

“It’s complicated in the beginning, but to have the motivation of knowing that your students will not lose the Academic Year, makes we work hard on learning with the expert Iván Martín Rotta these virtual educational environments, those are also totally free, so facing this emergency,” teacher Astudillo opines.

“It has not been easy to enter the field of virtual education, but with the back-up of technology we are receiving by the expert Iván Martín Rotta, the learning becomes easier,” teacher Estrada says in his side. “Meanwhile, I can opine that the virtual education requires teachers with technological profiles, but also human, practical, pedagogical, and ethical, different to presential education’s.”

Well, it’s overunderstood that one of the contributions of the Internet to the life of everybody is now we can custom the contents we receive, precisely, to give utility and pleasure to our experience. And why shouldn’t the education be also a pleasant experience, as well as useful?

“The education in virtual environment also will help to improve the student’s mood for not feeling missed. We also ccan approach the care measures before the Covid-19, helping the work the Peruvian State comes doing,” teacher Astudillo stresses.

And this is every crisis’ about, putting creative, not letting to overwhelm by the problem and the impact it can have over our lives. It’s about how we turn every problem into a solution, but also, and this is the lesson of the story I share you today, how the unity of many talents and wills can make something more than solving the problem – innovating, reinventing, becoming a better version of who I used to be.

And Peru is rich in that but it fears to leave the comfort zone (I’m not meaning you go out your home during the quarantine). Vista Florida is understanding it, and according to engineer Rotta told me, other schools are thinking to join. Congratulations about that! Goa head!

My radar also has detected that a similar initiative is making in Fe y Alegría 48 Network in Tambogrande. I don’t have hard facts, but I promise when I know something else, you’ll know it on here.

Antes de afirmar, verifica si tienes la razón

Hay historias que son realmente buenas para contar, pero que al disponerse para su cobertura encuentran una seria dolencia: el manejo de los datos. Un caso típico ocurrió hacia 2010 en Sullana, la ciudad donde vivo cuando una serie de hedores comenzaron a atormentarnos todas las tardes. Imagina a una ciudad de casi 200 mil personas aguantando oler algo parecido al excremento de cerdo, y nadie parecía tener una respuesta.

Y en principio ésa fue la hipótesis general, así que todo el mundo, incluyendo las autoridades, se puso a buscar si acaso las granjas de cerdo estaban haciendo algún tipo de manejo que generara ese hedor molesto. Cuando la búsqueda terminó, no se halló nada de eso. Entonces alguien culpó a las procesadoras de aceite esencial de limón, el que, cuando se fermenta, apesta de una forma que no tienes idea. Pero se necesitaba un océano de aceite para generar ese problema.

Fue cuando alguien descubrió que no eran ni los cerdos ni el limón. Rastreando la fuente del hedor, todos los caminos conducían a las plantas de etanol ubicadas al oeste del área metropolitana de Sullana, donde se procesaba la caña de azúcar, que dejaba como residuo la vinaza. ¡Ésa era la fuente del hedor!

Aunque su cantidad no era masiva, sí tenía el poder suficiente para generar esas olas que atormentaban (y que aún atormentan de vez en cuando) a la población todas las tardes. Incluso hubo una verificación oficiosa que comprobó el dato. Fue cuando alguien de nuestra comunidad saltó hasta el techo y acusó directamente a una de las empresas procesadoras de etanol por contaminar el aire. Como respuesta, la empresa amenazó a esa persona con una querella por delitos contra el honor y la buena reputación. ¿Actuó bien la empresa? Pues… sí y no.

Sí actuó bien desde el punto de vista estrictamente legal. Una investigación de FACTORTIERRA.NET basada en el Código Penal peruano, donde se compendian todos los delitos y sus posibles penas, encontró que existe un vacío legal en la forma cómo se denomina a la contaminación: los supuestos eran amplios, pero obviaban el asunto del mal olor por una razón puramente técnica, ¿cómo podrías ccuantificarlo? [Lee la historia completa]

Si tú acusas a alguien de algo, y mas aún si haces una acusación pública, necesitas una base que lo sustente todo. Si la empresa contaminaba el aire con hedor, ¿en qué cantidad lo hacía? La respuesta de la gente solía ser mucho, poco o nada. Pero, si todo termina en una acción legal, ¿cuánto es mucho, cuánto es poco, y hasta cuánto es nada? Peor aún, si no existe delito bajo el que puedas acusar a alguien, no hay caso, se derrumba, se archiva y ahí quedó todo. Empresa, 1; población, 0.

Ya en términos de imagen, de responsabilidad social si quieres, es obvio que la empresa pudiera haber actuado mal porque su actividad, si bien da empleo y todas esas cosas, debería considerar como un factor clave la satisfacción de la comunidad, la buena imagen de ella, el hecho de que generas ganancias sin afectar a terceros. En mi opinión, creo que una salida digna para la empresa debió ser una petición de disculpas y la promesa de que están trabajando para corregir o mejorar el problema que causa la molestia. Eventualmente, se requirió la presión de las autoridades para hacerlo, lo que resquebraja más la relación entre empresa y comunidad.

Al margen de ese caso en especial, la lección detrás es que si bien es cierto puedes tener tu problema a comunicar perfectamente identificado, el otro aspecto que debes cuidar es que esté debidamente ssustentado, y sustentado sobre una base oficial. Pensemos en el sujeto que acusó a la empresa por contaminación. Quiero creer que en su pensamiento, causa-efecto, el delito era evidente. Yo pensaría lo mismo, déjenme confesarles. ¿Dónde falló esta persona? Debió verificar si tal delito existe, y aquí el razonamiento es interesante: si el delito existe, claro que podía denunciar y eventualmente eso iba a proceder; pero si no existe, hay dos opciones, o frenar en seco o darle la vuelta a la tortilla.

Sobre darle la vuelta a la tortilla, podemos dedicarle otro artículo si lo deseas; pero yo quiero mas bien concentrarme en la moraleja que nos deja esta historia: antes que nada, verifica en la fuente oficial si aquello que vas a decir en público puede ser probado. Si existe, úsalo como tu referencia básica; si no existe, tendrás que generar el dato usando el método científico, y siendo muy inteligente en el manejo de las conclusiones de tal modo que si alguien quiere rebatirte, le sea altamente complicado lograrlo, o simplemente le dejes sin palabras.

Como alguien me lo reflexionó en redes sociales, el asunto aquí no es si el público piensa que eres acertado o no; tienes que ser forzosamente acertado muy a pesar de lo que el público piense de ti. Si consideras que no eres capaz de ganar el grado de certeza, lo mejor es esperar hasta lograrlo, o desistir si no hay manera de probarlo… o voltear la tortilla de manera inteligente, como lo sugerí hace poco.

En nuestro caso, no insistimos en si el mal olor configura delito de contaminación porque la respuesta era obvia: según la ley peruana, no. Mas bien decidimos no atacar a la empresa sino llamar la atención de los legisladores peruanos: hay un vacío legal sobre el mal olor, y al existir un problema social en progreso, el legislador debería buscar las herramientas técnico-legales para regular. ¿Lo hizo? Hasta ahora no, pero fíjate cómo de pronto la fuente oficial nos permitió mover la historia hacia un arista que nadie había explorado. Habrá que seguir insistiendo.

Recuerda que me encantará mejorar tus técnicas y estrategias de cómo te relacionas con los medios de comunicación. Contáctame a mi cuenta de Facebook, Twitter, mi canal de YouTube, LinkedIn o aquí abajo en los comentarios.

Don’t mistake exactly like Sullana

This is a real story at the Peruvian Northern, where I live. I dont know if it happens to you, but I feel the smallest, furthest towns use to be the most proactive when it’s about recognizing and saving in every sense. It happens me with Malingas, Tambogrande District, it is beginning to happen me with Sapillica again, which I just have a journalistic relationship, where something happened this week that encourages particularily to me.

It was just the last Sunday when checking out the filtered messages on Facebook, I found one from José encalada, whom I have met 19 years ago, and who has been a Radio Cutivalú’s Correspondent in Sapillica during his lifetime. I was introduced to him while a trip with Margarita Rosa vega and the Tambogrande Collective, once we had the first news of non-formal mining activity out there the nascents of Chipillico River.

Then, José was our guide, although that was not my first time in Sapillica. Actually, this year marks two decades since I knew that beautiful place for the very first time. I worked for the Fe y Alegría’s Project in Malingas that time, and only by one school, located in Sesteadero, it was necessary to sspend three hours tripping by pick-up for doing paperwork.

Including the Catholic nuns I worked for, a Mississauga, Ontario-based stock broker named Matthew sammut came with us, whom I browsed many times on Facebook but I have not found yet. And the joke with Matt was he came ignoring much about Spanish, intended to learn Spanish, and got back not speaking more Spanish than some basic greetings and thanks. And as I was the only bilingual guy at the office, discounting the nuns, so match him to Nelson for the man doesn’t feel very isolated in some meaning.

What I remember much of that friendship with Matt is he taught me to read the NBCUniversal’s business channel CNBC stocks ticker running below the screen, and the trip to Sapillica, that was scored by Shania Twain’s hits, whose both resulted to be fans.

Matt didn’t let to take photographs of everything in Sapillica, especially the cattle gracing at the nearby hills to the town.

 “It’s great!,” he repeated once and once again.

Already in previous days, we tried to hik Malingas Mount,where the nuns have their convent – he was not tired to shot photos.

 “Do you feel this looks like something in North America?,” I asked.

“Yes… like… Montana.”

When we traveled to Sapillica, I didn’t ask him what it looked like but if that motivated him to come back further. He said yes, and that was one of many experiences those convinced me about an additional development possibility for those towns beyond agriculture and cattle – tourism. Of course I was not clear that time what kind of tourism, as I came to learn it 11 years later in Malingas, but there was a chance, indeed, and that increased me the pride about that Piura where the Andes start to rise. [Check out Matt’s YouTube channel] 

As everybody, the next one we learnd about Sapillica was the invasion and the infestation of the illegal mining, that instead to keep beauty the mountains and the forests, drill them with holes and tunnels every size. The today congressman Daniel Urresti interestingly worked for pacification in the zone due to the interdiction policy, for the Farmers’ Patrol took the control of the district later, at the point that nobody comes out to the street after nine at night.

But in July 2016, an urgent call put me over the track of a science I was starting to appreciate – archeology, and that has been one of the recurrent coverages of FACTORTIERRA.NET. Then, my partner Marco Paulini was beginning the journey to decrease the maternal mortality across Sapillica from three per year to zero –what he achieved and held until the Health officials decided not to hire him again—when he found a beautiful trace on the rock that made him to remember the sites we have identified and registered in Malingas. [Check out the full story] 

It’s about a big spiral on a 20-feet-height rock, just at the entrance of Loma Alta Village, Masías Bajo Community, that when he sent it, he put the whole newsroom on alert and eased next to other producer, estany Tineo, I traveled with to verify what seemed to be incredible on the photograph – A petroglyph! A more-than-touchable evidence of the Formative Age’s people needed to picture something on the rocks for marking something we are trying to understand since 11 years ago! [Check out the full story] 

In Malingas, we came to convince that work could be until 4000 years old, much more ancient than the Incas, the Aztecans, the Mayans! Anyway, could it happen the same in Sapillica? The first photographic and spectrographic analysis by the archeologist Daniel Dávila upon high-resolution images we got to take at that place leave the suspicion more than open, and a hypotheses for the moment: they could be part  of the so-called Samanga Tradition, in reference to the site at el Toldo Village, Ayabaca District, where the best conserved traces are located.

My initial reaction during the two trips I did to identify and register petroglyphs was notifying José encalada because, to begin, before than me, I ever tought he is the fair person who has to tell the world what we are finding. It’s his district, isn’t it?, I mean. What matters if I have or don’t have an interchange agreement with Cutivalú! The issue here is it must establish it exists, and it’s there when the journalism does one of its most wonderful works, increasing the science and the knowledge.

I never could met Pepe but I ever kept the connection, we ever have been in touch. I also have known his house and met his beautiful family that had me much kindly, what I will ever thank. And, look what nice the human relations are, Pepe call at my cellphone Sunday night to release me the story: “I was noticed about some petroglyphs in Pampa Verde.”

I confess I tried to hold moody, something it’s not happening while I write this op-ed, that I write pretty enthusiastic, but I was fascinated of the story, because it proves a work hypotheses launched by the same Sapillica people since the first time we arrived: the district is nailed by archaeological evidences. I have mentioned you Loma Alta, now Pampa Verde, that is in the occidental side, add Tunal in the southern side, and Trujillo, very close to the Sapillica Town. Is there much in that territory that is just over 150 square miles? We do suspect that. [Check out the story]  

The good to be in 2020 for Sapillica, for you, for our crew, and for me, is we are not in November 2009 anymore, when we started underground and following fake clues. Today we can say, almost not mistaking, the petroglyphs networks in Sapillica and Tambogrande could be connected, being part of one only way, that also disperses across Quiroz Valley, climbs up through Pacaipampa, reaches Huarinjas (Huaringas), passes over Sang Ignacio and Jaén, in Cajamarca, and could have one of its starting points in Luya, Amazonas, at the Peruvian Jungle highlans.

José, as well as us, has wondered to know more, to understand the message it has been kept (who knows) during four millennia on those rocks, to explain the district, the region, the country, and the world what they all are about and how it can evolve the history as it has been taught for decades. That would be a nice Project, actually, that the people of Sapillica must engine! Look at Malingas, where they are very motivated to retake it.

And while I look at Sapillica encouragingly, when I get back mentally to Sullana and I watch around, I can’t say the same. Here, in the second most important province of Piura Region, we are predating our past rather, as it happens in El Cucho, or we treat it indifferently, despite, as a colleague of mine whom I covered one of those stories told, there is evidence wherever you step on.

If Sapillica (and Malingas) gets to arrange an archaeological research and changes the History books, it will have something real to blame to Sullana everytime it wants because it will be a positive example that everybody will wish to imitate. And if the tourism comes in a planned, ordered manner, it would be much better. They really deserve it, and they have to work since today for that becomes another local economic axis.

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As simple as if you cut it off, it will cut you off

Sullana, Peru-based small businessman Mario Sarango is worried because the deforestation and the climate change are risking his business – apiculture. The news is not new but it is crucial from the sustainability point of view of its entrepreneurship as well as our whole life. And when I talk about our life, I’m talking about our life on the Earth.

But before we go to the very global, let’s try to understand the Sarango’s preoccupation in a most local sphere, and the best way is remembering our high-school first grade little classes, or less, when we learned about ecosystems and food chains.

One of the most remarkable species in Piura Coast is our kind of carob tree, the Prosopis pallida, that is something like our national tree. Native of South-American Central-Western edge, it’s not only is a source of food, fertility, and life, but its complex system of roots allows to fix the soil and capture the underwater that sustains the so-called Equatorial Dry Forest while no rain drop falls from the sky.

And when the sky hugely loads, the carob trees, in alliance with other tree species, prevent erosion and keep the fertility levels, plus being the shelter of a hundred species living among their trunks and branches. Yes, like the waltz sings it.

One of those species are the bees, those within other things don’t only help to pollinate everything, then propitiating the growth of our food, but they also make the whole list of products in their ives, which the honey is just the top of the iceberg. And that list is the sustain of hundreds of people in our community who gain their life by caring the environment and giving jobs to other people and sustaining one of many value chains where even the people who never knew an ive in their lifetime end to benefit.

Let’s get back to the pollination issue, the action through the bee, working to extract the nectar of the flowers for giving to eat its wwwhole community, gets its little paws sticked with pollen, that tiny mostly yellow dust that once carried to other flower of the same kind, fals down inside it and allows the fertilization. So, the formation of a fruit, and that fruit turns in our food… unless the bee enjoys to eat corn.

If we take the bee out or eliminate it of the picture, the natural process of pollination will not be possible, then the formation of fruits either. The human being can artificially intervene pretending to be a bee (and I’m not talking about costuming such as a bee), but if there is already a species that manages this issue efficiently, then there’s no reason why the human being, as it uses to do, break down that balance.

The protection of bees doesn’t only mean not killing the bee, although more than a guy falls in panic because the bite, while others have a justified fear because an overreacting consequence of the body if that accident came to happen – the so-called anaphylactic shock.

The protection of the bees goes through also protecting the spaces it uses like a house and the spaces where it flows through looking for its food not damaging anybody, rather the whole opposite.

Here is where the carob tree plays its part because many bees, due to some good reason, like to form their ives or their ives to be installed next to the carob trees. Even, the existence of carob fruits, which starts other value chain that the algarrobina is another iceberg top, highly depend on pollination that our buddies know to do excellent.

How are we responsing them in practical terms? We are cutting off the carob trees for diverse purposes, but the recurrent ones are the expansion of agricultural surfaces, the horizontal growth of the cities, or the making of coal that it’s usually consumed by the restaurants offering broaster chicken or the BBQ’s through many people are looking for extra money.

Our replacement or reforestation policies of individuals we have cut off are inexistent in practical terms in spite of many people say to have it written, or sstill the worst, when it is reforestated, early or fast-growth species aare used, those are not native of our ecosystem, then what we have is short-term trees but not integrating to the chain set with the carob tree. If the chain cuts off, everything cuts off, especially the natural production of food for human consumption.

And if that is a bit, in times of climate change, the carob trees cut-off also seems to be weakening other carob trees. When they don’t find conducive fertility conditions to blossom their flowers, it’s impossible the individuals replace each another ones in a natural way, like the carob tree itself were letting to die. Bad news for the bees because without flowers, they won’t have pollen to carry. And without pollen, there won’t be fruits neither, so they are also bad news for the humans.

Here is the Mario Sarango’s preoccupation: to protect the carob trees and the bees not much because his business gets protected so, that is a valid purpose since his business is benefitting the whole community, but the protection of bees and carob trees suppose the protection of humankind.

As Sarango has told me, what he has got as an answer are from indifferent attitude to arrogant attitude at any local or regional government office he has presented to expose his arguments. And, look, Mario is not any rookie on the spot because he has experience in funding, authomation, aand where you see him, he has traveled twice to Australia for having internships those allowed him to perfectionate in apicultural management. He is also an enthusiastic advocate of the activity  next to other partners across Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and Canada, he uses to participate in advocacy and training activities with all them, and he’s a lover of Sullana’s traditional tales and our folklore too. Yes, he doesn’t fit quite in the profile of the average businessman or entrepreneur, as we have in the local market. And that’s good!

The problem with Mario, as I said him many times, is this campaign to protect the carob tree and the beess has not to entirely lay over his shoulders, despite he has stated on his Facebook posts that he is addressing part of his gains to reforestate (and somebody should deduct it from taxes in case of success), but he should be, at least, a province-wide campaign. Forget if the municipality passes a resolution ruling about because it uses to be useless, although if it does it is useless either. It should be a commitment of our whole community.

Now the school is up to begin, for example, a pretty school project could be to reforestate and sponsor a carob tree. I don’t know, and I wonder, for example, and look at me releasing a name  because I meet him, former Bellavista’s Councellor and teacher Hary Piedra whose (yes, he’s going to kill me for uncovering private chatting) I certify the ecologic issue fascinates him and he has tried to hold campaigns about, during his administration in that metro district. I think Mario has an excellent ally there, as he link other district adding to his.

Yes, I know it’s bad education to point out, but, people, keep the shyness for other moment and lift up to the adventure of making alliances, damn it. Let’s continue.

As I said it in other op-ed, behind his house lives a follower of mine and also lover of local folklore called Luis Enrique Curay, who is entrepreneur and athlete too. We also have Sullana Museum’s Carmen Cruz, who Mario knows very well and supports a lot. We have there two more allies. Here, the whole El Regional de Piura and FACTORTIERRA.NET newsrooms, if my senior publisher doesn’t pull my ears, also can join that campaign by publishing and educating, I think.

And so and so, you, you, you, you, and you can also join, and when we have the less awareness, all Sullana is part of the change, and a change able to measure, see, and reply. It’s no other additional promise that never becomes real.

Do you realize? The thing is as simple as understanding the problem and joining. Will the little bees and the carob trees thank it to us? Yes, of course. They will do it. How? By preservating us as a species. A more practical action like that is imposible and is crucial for us to continue living. Of course, we have to link that to a policy of water, energy, and resources saving. Anyway, changing our mind and and that mind that comes us back to the simple life, provides us prosperity.

Rather, and only for satisfying the bureaucracy in Piura and Sullana, Mario and who join that campaign actually should quantify how much we have lost, how much we need, what the loses will be in every sense and every term. You know, the typical bureaucrat, if you don’t overflow with statistic, will feel you are teaching the cathecism – pure good will, zero commitment.

Thus, we already know what our upcoming work is for now: to prevent that the deforestation of more carob and native tree species surface follows up, and we have effective alert systems that allow to preserve out there when we can’t put the eye because they are too far away, like the rural zone. Obviously, the authorities have top lay their part, but we, who are the majority, also have to play the ours. Let’s start.

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TWP – The key for you to be featured on the media

The people use to have worthy stories for releasing to the public more frequently than they believe. Mostly, the problem is that for many reasons they don’t reach the media and leave missing. That disappoints those people so much, who become to believe the journalism has no quite interest, although it really could be about ignoring a technique making those stories highly attractive to be released

Although having a contact could be your first response, the challenge is how becoming to be public not meeting anybody and not trusting so blind in the power of social media (they help but the chance to overcome is almost a gamble). In the oter hand, you could have the problem of a low, none budget for making a big media campaign that put you in the spotlight. That’s why I propose here a matrix you can consider for that effort begins to be successful.

Memorize this acronyme – TWP, that resumes the skills you must achieve: telling a story, writing a story, pitching a story.

Telling the story

Piura, Peru-based journalist Margarita Rosa Vega, one of my mentors, said during a meeting before scientists, that the best way to say what you are doing is to assume your audience is a 5-year-old boy or girl, so your two first challenges will be to catch their interest and to wonder them.

The first one is gotten by ordering all your data under two logic structures. First, the classic drama or 3-act play, that begins to set me up the basic data of your story, then it develops them, finally it drives them to an open or close end. Second, using what we call inverse pyramid  in journalism, that means putting the important, interesting in the beginning, letting the irrelevant, indifferent for the end.

The second one is gotten by playing the role of who is going to know your story and anticipating a questionnaire you are going to answer by using one of the two structures in the previous paragraph, but taking the ability to create them new questions those leave them hungry to know more. What’s next?  What comes up? How does that change my life?

Writing the story

Having clear the structure to tell the story and the datadose, the best you can do is to take your pencil or your keyboard and starting to write. I know this may be the most complicated part for many persons in case of not having the practice, but it’s precisely the practice  what you need to reach mastership.

Use simple sentences, those subject+verb+complement basic structure, then read what you have written as many times as it makes sense. Correct it as much as you can, then test it. If you don’t have a friend journalist who review it to you, send it to someone you don’t know a lot, who almost ignores what you do, and don’t ask if understood it (to say yes or no) but to say what understood in personal words.

If the answer matches or approaches muchly to the idea you want to spread, you’re pretty on your way. If it doesn’t match or get too away your idea, re-write and when you have a new version, send it to another person below the same criteria. You can also send it to me. I’ll leave you how to contact me down this entry.

Pitching the story

Once your written version had approved the test, have it ready and pay attention to its two first paragraphs. Then, start the adventure to contact the mass media for telling wwhat you are doing. But look, you don’t have to target random, look for the one most preferred by the people whom you are going to address, and the best way to know it is by asking them straight which one they prefer. Save their two first answers.

When you have defined the medium, enter its website, search its contact info, notice if its articles or stories are signed, maybe the author leaves a contact e-mail or social media account. If affirmative, ssend a message telling your story in brief. How is it achieved? Do you remember the two first paragraphs you should choose and memorize? So, here is when you are going to need them.

If the journalist manifests to be interested and replies you, attach the text you wrote in the step-2 exercise. If you have pictures or video links, include them. It’s bettet to use the Attach Files function instead of embedded data because there will be problems at the time we download them. Here is just when your social media are going to work: if you have released something and you got many favorable votes as well as good comments, it’s almost sure that the journalist will propose your story to the editors, and they approve the coverage. If you get to interest the editors, bonus point in your favor.

If you want more advise or need an intensive personal or remote training, you can write to my e-mail address, or contact me on my Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts.

CEI, la clave para que aparezcas en los medios

La gente suele tener historias valiosas para difundir al público con más frecuencia de lo que cree. El problema es, mayormente, que por diversas razones no llegan a los medios y se quedan en el olvido. Esto genera mucha desazón por parte de esa gente, que llega a creer en cierto desinterés del periodismo, aunque en realidad podría tratarse de ignorar una técnica que haga a esas historias altamente atractivas para ser difundidas.

Aunque tener un contacto pudiera ser tu primera respuesta, el reto es cómo llegar a hacerte público no conociendo a nadie y no confiando ciegamente en el poder de las redes sociales (ayudan, pero la posibilidad de sobresalir es casi un juego de azar). Por otro lado, podrías tener el problema de un bajo o un nulo presupuesto para hacer una gran campaña de medios que te ubique bajo el reflector. Por eso, aquí te propongo una matriz que puedes considerar para que ese esfuerzo comience a ser exitoso.

Memoriza este acrónimo, CEI, que resume las tres habilidades que debes desarrollar: contar una historia, escribir una historia, impulsar una historia.

Contando la historia

La periodista piurana Margarita Rosa Vega, una de mis mentoras, dijo en una reunión ante científicos que la mejor manera de decir lo que estás haciendo es asumiendo que tu audiencia es un niño o una niña de cinco años de edad, así que tus dos primeros desafíos serán captar su interés y maravillarle.

Lo primero se logra ordenando todos tus hechos bajo dos estructuras lógicas. La primera es la del drama clásico o de tres actos, que comienza planteándome los datos básicos de tu historia, luego los desarrolla y finalmente los conduce hasta un final abierto o cerrado; la segunda es usando lo que en periodismo llamamos pirámide invertida, esto es poner lo importante e interesante al inicio y dejando lo irrelevante e indiferente para el final.

Lo segundo se logra poniéndote en el lugar de quien va a conocer tu historia e imaginar que te hace una serie de preguntas a las que irás respondiendo usando alguna de las dos estructuras del párrafo anterior, pero teniendo la habilidad de crearle nuevas preguntas que le dejen con hambre de saber más. ¿Y qué sigue? ¿Qué viene a continuación? ¿Cómo me cambia la vida?

Escribiendo la historia

Teniendo clara la estructura para contar la historia y la dosis de los datos, lo mejor que puedes hacer es tomar tu lápiz o tu teclado y comenzar a redactar. Sé que esta puede ser la parte más complicada para muchas personas si acaso no se tiene la práctica, pero es precisamente la práctica lo que necesitas para lograr maestría.

Usa oraciones directas, las de estructura básica sujeto+verbo+complemento, y luego lee tantas veces lo que hayas escrito hasta que cobre sentido. Corrígelo tanto como puedas, y luego ponlo a prueba: si no tienes un amigo periodista que te lo revise, envíaselo a alguien que no sea muy conocido tuyo, que casi no sepa a qué te dedicas, y no le preguntes si lo entendió (te dirá que sí o que no), sino que te diga en sus palabras lo que entendió.

Si su respuesta coincide o se aproxima mucho a la idea que quieres transmitir, vas por muy buen camino. Si no coincide o se aleja demasiado de tu idea, reescribe y cuando tengas una nueva versión, envíalo a otra persona bajo los mismos criterios. Me lo puedes enviar también a mí; más abajo te dejaré cómo contactarme.

Impulsando la historia

Una vez que tu versión escrita haya pasado la prueba, tenla lista y pon atención a los primeros dos párrafos. Entonces, lánzate a la aventura de contactar al medio de comunicación para contarle qué estás haciendo. Pero, ojo, no tienes que apuntar a cualquier lado; busca el que sea preferido por la gente a la que vas a dirigirte, y la mejor forma de saberlo es preguntándole directamente cuál prefiere. Quédate con sus dos primeras respuestas.

Cuando tengas definido al medio, entra su sitio web, busca sus datos de contacto, fíjate si sus artículos e historias llevan firma, quizás el autor o la autora dejen un contacto de correo o redes. Si es afirmativo, envíale un mensaje contándole tu historia en resumen. ¿Cómo se logra esto? ¿Recuerdas los dos primeros párrafos que debías seleccionar y memorizar? Pues aquí es cuando vas a necesitarlos.

Si el o la periodista te manifiesta su interés y te responde, adjúntale el texto que escribiste en el ejercicio del paso 2. Si tienes fotos o enlaces de video, inclúyelas. Preferentemente usa la función de Archivo Adjunto antes que la de datos incrustados porque luego habrá problemas a la hora que lo descarguemos. Aquí recién es cuando tus redes sociales van a funcionar: si ya has difundido algo y además de muchos votos a favor, tienes buenos comentarios, es casi seguro que el periodista propondrá tu historia a sus editores, y éstos aprueben la cobertura. Si consigues interesar al editor, doble punto a tu favor.

Si quieres más consejos o necesitas un entrenamiento intensivo presencial o a distancia, puedes escribir a mi correo electrónico, o contactarme mediante mis cuentas de Facebook, Twitter o LinkedIn.

The trail of this samurai started in Peru

 The ChulucanasGym Project, that was created by Chulucanas, Peru-based lawyer Jhon Gómez, and produced online by me, has been launched in December 2014 to identify talents who highlight because of sports in general, and bodybuilding and fitness in particular, originally across Piura Region but extensively everywhere, and using the Internet like its main promotional platform.

In this sense, part of the project consists in searching and telling the stories of those talents for opening markets and inspiring the people, first and proposedly in the audience around Chulucanas City, but effectively in unsuspected places as both coasts of the U.S., England and Europe, and sometimes Eastern Asia (there were interactions in India and Cambodia, especially when we released features about martial arts). Obviously, those results were mainly gotten with the English versions of the features (originally published in Spanish).

Although I meet some bodybuilders and athletes, even online, when I suggested them to tell their stories, the most accept but start to postergate the interviews, or they simply remain silent. The few who lead producing a good feature agree to publish but vanish for promotion. There were ones who came to say straight if that could be worthy for them, totally skeptical, or simply prefer to stay undergrass or undisclosed, even having interesting points of view to be known.

However, my recent assignment brought me across the Pacific Ocean –well, at least online—to meet a 29-year-old dance trainer, a Peruvian migrant in Nagoya, Japan, named Mario Kanashiro, whose story was impossible to miss since the very first time he told me as a simple chat among friends.

He got a good job at a Japanese corporation until a hard health condition was diagnosed. The right side of his body was falling into a progressive stroke, so the surgery was the first response. But, as he lost strength in the arm, hand, and leg, he had to do rehabilitation, and a long rehabilitation by the way. Initially, he was not motivated to pass through, but a medical doctor pushed him, and that was his lifetime’s plot point: during a dance class, he realized he could do it very well.

I’m wondering now his face when he understood that. Indeed, one of his female cousins remembered on the comments when he shared the story, that he used to be quite apathetic to dance when they attended to the disco, totally unlike today. The fact is that Mario in re-invention got interested more and more, until becoming a master trainer in shaka-dance, which licensing for trainers in Japan is his new job position now.

Yes, it’s the hero’s myth but with a real-life character, somebody you can meet online or personally in case you are in Japan, and that myth is not necessarily oriental but universal – somebody who considers not to have a place or a mission, who rejects it everyway, until the own experience leads to take control and make more than the circumnstances could set to get a change for real, ultimately.

And the interesting thing is Mario is aware about it very, very well. I think that’s why he was so accessible to me for opening his heart and sharing his last decade of life, with all the lessons attached. My job was put everything in a logical order for the audience to recognize the tips, and realize how they apply into their life. That is the magic behind every journalistic feature made for touching your soul. And, obviously, his humility made me possible the rest of the assignment

I’m still wondering why Mario’s is working, because once we released the story (Spanish and English), the acceptance of the people was instantaneous and positive. My hypothetical answer for the moment is self-esteem. Reviewing my former coverages on this issue, I have the bodybuilder or the athlete, which image is enough to catch the interest of the audience, his story that usually reveals a hard trail to build everything (a body and a career, indeed), and they have got fans. So, what could fail? Thus, the attitude.

I can, you can, everybody can consider that bodybuilder or that athlete may be a reference for others, even when mistakes (or risky decisions) have been committed and overcome, but if that person believes it’s not worthy to share because of fear, shame, distrust, or any reason you can imagine, the problem are not the media those elude to support those people who really need exposure, but the own bodybuilder or the own athlete’s self-conception.

In Mario’s case, definetly his medical doctor was a mentor who knew how to trigger some strings inside that guy, and leading him to find a vocation he never supposed to have, but what is opening himself out to the world. But, what about  the other cases?

If we review the Peruvian chapter, the mentors in bodybuilding and fitness are inexistent or unclear about how to build a personal brand, even doing some things considered as inmoral for people who criticize everything in public but ask for special attention when nobody sees them in private. In other words, if your guide or model doesn’t have clear where the way is, how is going to guide you?

And I’m not talking to be an angel everytime –although it would be the ideal—but clarity to understand my place, my mission, my direction, and my legacy. That’s it.

Building the attitude (not enacting one that’s not yours) escapes to the field of the journalism and even the sport, and goes inside the psychology, and specifically the sports psychology. so you don’t need to have a diploma for that (but it’s recommended), rather the enough criterion to stop, not to push, help that guy for going inside his insights, and carry out again to recognize that the good or the bad is a lesson, and that lesson needs to be processed, and released it someway.

Let’s get back to Mario’s. I’m wondering what happened if his environment were not Japan but Peru. Could his attitude be the same? I live in Peru, and I know that being yourself, to be different, to stand up strongly on your opinion (even if it’s wrong), is a heroic act. People prefer to go with the flow because the local system says that you can suffer lifetime if you try to be unique. But, what is the lesson we find around the planet? To be unique is not bad, and if you know how to take it advantage, it can pay your bhills and even save your future and the future of the ones your love so much. But, to be unique, you need to build self-esteem before muscles, records, body, or career. That’s your basis. If you dismiss that, you can build the rest, but something could be weak down there.

And about this point, there is another aspect I’m aware of, the fact that Mario is a migrant, and as he told me on the story, it was not easy to climb up for him. As Mario trusted me, the Japanese society uses to be very close to foreigners. We blame the migrants in Peru for everything (well, there are some guys who act very bad, actually), but Mario’s experience could make us to do a little empathy homework.

So, when the environment is made to respect who you are, whatever you are, and is clear about the importance of the diversity not like a conflict source but a multi-factor development keystone, then you go up. Check other environments without prejudge and have your own conclusions. Life and science, ultimately, are made of much reflection, instead of prior conceptions.

Setting up that environments is not the only responsibility of the government, the system, but families in the first term, then schools, and finally all the spaces where we go to. And that system, if you want to name someway, is called peace culture – being yourself respecting the others like you want the others respect you. Simple logics, and from that start line, everything has to be built, self-esteem included.

Then, that is the way we must take in general, talking ourselves so respectfully, reaching consensus, learning what we can negotiate and what we can’t. That’s attitude, too!

I’m very happy to meet Mario Kanashiro, and I hope his climb-up to continue because he deserves each good thing he is getting now. I’m proud of him like a human, like a sports fan, like a Peruvian, like somebody else who also fights to enlight. And this is the time to invite you for knowing his great, inspiring story, so click here.

The photos on this post and on the story we produced were provided by Mario Kanashiro.