Korea: An Actress, Her Good Deed & Her Family History

A popular young actress who is called the 'national star' due to her naivete, humble attitude, and good acting, Moon Geun-young is famous for making donations to society. She usually hides her good deeds from public view. This month a welfare organization, exposed that she donated 850 million won (1 US dollar= 1,500 won) for 6 years in public. Her family history was also introduced by the media for the first time. 

Under the condition of being the actress, she promised her family to share her earning with the poor and organizations, such as North Korean aid organizations. Her grandfather was in prison for more than 30 years as a political prisoner and communist and her family members were victimized in the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. While the media tended to introduce her good deed and her family story as a sad part of Korean history, it leads to unexpected reactions. Some netizens praise her good deed and feel sorry for her family story. But the history seems to still linger around now. Some politicians regard this action as a dangerous element in terms of political security and other netizens interpret this scandal in diverse ways.

(for full story)

Subject on Voluntary Work Introduced into Curricula

Kuwait: A new subject has been introduced into school curricula for the current academic year. According to an education official, the new subject pertains to volunteer work and the preservation of Islamic values and identity.

Speaking at a seminar on Sunday which was held to discuss this new subject in coordination with the Kuwaiti Volunteer Center, the Head of the Farwaniya Educational Zone Yuser Al-Omar said that the new subject is aimed at fostering a stronger sense of social responsibility and community work amongst students.

Al-Omar noted that the introduction of this subject will serve to promote volunteer work in the country and will tackle many of the impediments faced by workers in this field, such as a lack of awareness of the need for voluntary work, a lack of encouragement to the youth to engage in such activities and a poor sense of community amongst the younger generation.

Also speaking at the seminar was the principal of Anas Bin Malik High School, Waleed Al-Eisa, who explained that the value of volunteer work has been recognized as a leading principle in the fields of education and parenting and is an area which merits greater attention on the part of parents and teachers in order to ensure a better future.

The seminar, which was held at Anas Bin Malik High School, included the participation of a number of education officials as well as students from the school. 

People, this is a good opportunity for us to initiate contacts with schools for 'push it forward' and get the students engaged also off-line and on-line.

Yalla!

(original source: Al Watan Daily, Monday 24/11/08)

PUSH IT FORWARD ONE LAST TIME IN SWEDEN

It is my last day in Sweden. I will be heading to the airport in 10 minutes. 

I leave totally happy and satisfied that just a few minutes ago, I have given one of the Hellstein Hotel employees my train pass and asked her to be inspired to push it forward to someone else and to certainly log into our blog and write about the experience.

Erik Pushes It Forward - Observations

Erik Pays it forward

Agnes Pays it forward (3)

3. Pushing a bill down a neighbour’s mailbox.
I’m a little doubtful as to whether this was really a good deed. 20 crowns isn’t a lot and I could certainly have given it to someone more deserving than a random neighbour - like a homeless person or a charity organization, but I was running out of time. Ironically, while doing this I was really scared of getting “caught”.