About Cognizant Windy Lands: Identity is Everything

The average life expectancy at birth in Japan is 84.6 years. In Swaziland, it is 50 years. Difference is good, we should embrace it. Many people have said that, including myself. 

I stole a small yellow memo pad I had found on the old desk behind the bookcase and I was hoping no one would mind. All I wanted to do is to learn things and share them with others. I also wanted to challenge myself, cross as many borders as possible, pretend to be a fearless explorer and find satisfaction and love. I was always looking for more contentment. 

Barrow was not full of colors. I did not expect to find colorful scenery in the northernmost city in America anyway. It was not a place where newly married couples would spend their honey moon. Inspiration was strong in me. Sometimes I needed to stop and just think about that very exact moment and the reason why I came to the “top of the world” as I had read on the welcome sign in the city of Barrow. Alaska was of an astounding beauty. 

Where I was, what I was doing, what were my friends and my family possibly doing back home, what was happening in Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, North Korea, and also Chile, Portugal, Estonia, Burundi and Mongolia. I was thinking about all these possible questions and I knew that the possibilities to find others were endless. But I did not want to lose my mind. It was dark. I looked up at the sky and saw green and red flames of light stretching across the horizon. I knew they were northern lights. It was then when I was involuntarily thinking about life expectancy in Japan and Swaziland, starvation in Somalia, crimes in Honduras, gender equality in God knows where, social justice, culture differences, weird traditions in Asia and sand storms, dead whales, dead bears and dead people, the Swazis and the Japanese, iPhones and wars, previous wars, current wars, art, and cliffs and fjords and romance languages and faded 15-year-old memories. 

“What could possibly define one’s identity?” I asked myself. I knew it was not the place where I was born, nor the passport I used to travel. I knew it was not the school I attended nor the things I was taught there. I knew it was not the traditional music of my hometown that I sometimes introduced to foreigners and tourists. And I also knew it was not the superego I developed, the dreams I had in mind, the goals I had set,  the aspirations that at some point I thought were the sources of my happiness. Then as I kept walking not too far from the city, I took the yellow memo pad that I had found, and started writing random things down that sometimes did not make any sense, at least for those who were not trying to get lost in Alaska. 

Many people can easily find a strong set of ideas and wise arguments on what defines their identities and what makes them unique. Those are lucky; they find answers easily and quickly. They can sit on their couches, watch some TV, drink a beer or two, or more, order food and make Hashtags like “Bring back our girls” and “ Save the whales” because it proves they are good people who care about the world. 

I thought the progress of Mankind is a long, endless and complicated process, just like defining identity, just like building it, or let me say, letting it be built. I do not want to define it by space and time and what we believe in and work on. I define it by everything else. And this is not a complicated version of an alternative definition for identity. Our definitions are different because we are different, and any other option would not be very valuable. 

It was getting colder so I rushed back to the city, but little did I know, I had already lost my way. 

Barrow, AK

YaLa Academy and the New Media and Citizen Journalists Program

The MENA Region

Inspiration has been a strong and valuable asset that I always welcomed. It helps me remember how big the world is and how big my responsibilities are. And that I believe is very important to make my life of use. I found in YaLa Academy the possibility to serve the passions that I hold close to my heart, and most importantly the inspiration that I just mentioned in this lovely introduction.

I feel I have always been connected to the issues that my generation is facing especially in the Middle East and North Africa, and to the ways I could find to interact with people from there and find innovative solutions to the different challenges of this region. It is true that many organizations and institutions are now focusing on what has been going on in the MENA countries, trying to support them overcome their problems, conflicts, fulfil their needs and use their resources to the very best.

The YaLa Academy is one of these networks that aim to bring people together and promote peace-building and conflict resolution through a number of projects and events. One of its most recent programs is the YaLa New Media and Citizen Journalists Program in which I am taking part. This initiative was launched to train a group of young activists from the MENA region and provide with the necessary skills to interact with each other making themselves better writers, storytellers, bloggers and peace-builders. The project focuses on practical skills of journalism, new media and active participation.

We are now in the second month of the program, and we have been very lucky to be given lectures by inspiring leaders and professors who were also able to answer the questions and the comments of the group members. I have to say it is absolutely incredible how such a simple initiative that has been conducted online can help us come up with creative ideas, inspiring stories and most of all, give us the opportunity to positively interact with each other, give feedback and defend the values that each one of us believes in. I believe in the great importance of empowering people, and that is why I believe in YaLa Academy.

The second assignment that was suggested to us was to write a piece about one of these topics: Identity, Peace-building, Social justice, Gender Issues or Culture and Tradition. I chose to write about Identity, inspired by my trip to Alaska.

#AIK #YAL

The YaLa Academy Logo

Turismo y Desarrollo Comunitario

It is only when I started to travel and live beyond my home that I understood how viable Tourism is for local community development. Many people refer to Tourism as a frivolous asset of little economic value. But residents should educate themselves about the potential positive impact of tourism and the opportunities it can create to bring people together.

I have had the chance to experience two roles during my trips or whenever I stay in my home town: the tourist and the resident. In fact, every resident and every visitor are essentially complimentary partners in tourism planning and its impact on community development.

Five months ago, I decided to cross the borders of my country and of my mind by travelling to Alaska. The trip was undoubtedly unique, as was the fact of being in a place that was, to some extent, infamous. Anchorage, the biggest city in Alaska, is a place that has benefitted from Tourism for years. Even during cold seasons, Anchorage still attracts tourists with a passion for winter sports, lofty mountain peaks, marine wildlife, ice-sculptured fjords and glacier cruises to see the massive tidewater glaciers of Alaska. Tourism supports about 40,000 jobs for Alaskans on an annual average basis. Many of these jobs are in restaurants, bars, hotels, lodges, sightseeing businesses and other establishments that provide services to tourists.

What I have learned while I was in Alaska is that every resident, not just tourism employees, has the capacity to affect a visitor’s perception of the place. Every resident in Alaska is a partner in customer service which is significant in tourism, because it thrives on word-of-mouth reports to friends and family, and now through social media, too. This means that the whole community takes part into the tourism development process, which will contribute to the community’s development afterwards and therefore make tourism a sustainable business. 

In my home town, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy something else. Having been the centre of the Carthaginian Empire and a Phoenician colony during the 1st millennium BC, Carthage has been an excellent historic site in the north of Tunisia, which is over 2800 years old. This city of 20,000 inhabitants attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world each year.

Carthage has grown rapidly during the last decade. We have been encouraging support for tourism by residents, as well as government and local businesses. Many hotels, resorts, museums, and the prestigious International Festival of Carthage have all been contributing to the development and the reputation of the city and the country as a whole.

I believe that residents and tourists are able to help communities discover their tourism potential and work on it. For many communities on earth, tourism has grown into a global economic power and savior in the developing world. However, tourism is also about endless possibilities of life in new places with different people. Because I believe that, to live means to travel in high-definition; any other life is black-and-white.

Ala Oueslati

Somewhere in Anchorage

Anchorage Trails

Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah has its own magic. As soon as I landed in SLC Airport, I was amazed by the snowy mountains surrounding the city from all different sides. The weather was colder than in Portland, and the city seemed to be quieter. 

McKenzie, a close friend of mine who was interning with me in Switzerland in the summer of 2013, is from Salt Lake City. She was kind enough to not only be my guide in Utah, but also my host during the few days I stayed there. 

Salt Lake City was too gray. It was not too crowded or noisy. Snow was still covering the ground and the buildings and everything else just looked peaceful. I was carrying my back bag, my phone and my camera with me, making sure to capture any scene that I found beautiful and unusual. McKenzie was telling me fascinating stories about the city, its astonishing history and its founders, as I walked behind her, looking at every building, every street, listening to the sounds of the city and trying to feel what it was like to be in SLC on that day. 

Not too far from the city center, I could see the most valuable monument in the city: The Temple. The SLC Temple is located in an open area called Temple Square and is certainly the most shining and most prestigious building in the city. It is not only a religious monument, but also a unique symbol that represents the capital of the state of Utah. The Utah State Capitol is just as gorgeous as the Temple. I was not surprised when I met European tourists who were inside the Capitol. 

Provo is where I stayed during my journey in Utah. The city of Provo is not too far from SLC. We took a train to get to Provo where McKenzie’s father was waiting for us in his car. The next day was another great day. It was the day where I got to discover a big part of my McKenzie’s life. Provo is the second biggest city in Utah, and is an excellent area for people who have a strong passion for nature, just like myself. I often got the chance to see some wilderness in the streets, and I was fortunate to go on a road trip all the way to Midway, a place that reminded us of our days in Switzerland, another wonder of Utah. The last day of my stay in Provo, McKenzie and her mom took me to the airport, we hugged, we cried, and then I got on the plane that was flying to Denver, Colorado. 

#AIK #YAL 

McKenzie, Bri, and I, in front of the Temple

Salt Lake City seen from the top of The LDS church office building

Utah State Capitol

McKenzie and I driving in Provo

Road Trip: Dalton Highway, Alaska -- National Geographic

A fabulous story by National Geographic that shows the greatness of Alaska.
Road Trip: Dalton Highway, Alaska -- National Geographic