This decade's answer to the Paxton's are back in the news...the Corbys.

I am pleased to announce, Schapelle will be the star of a new film called Ganja Queen.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/schapelle-corby-film-to-screen-in-us/2008/04/17/1208025325206.html   

I am hoping the documentary will include plenty of gratituous shots of her sister, Mercedes, screaming blue murder at the media...and please, please Mother Corby impart some of your parenting advice. My favorite gem is this: "At least, I know where my kids are, even if they are in jail." No, I am not making this up, she said so in The Bulletin, January 2006.

She what happens when you answer questions, rather than respond?

Our team is feeling very proud of our Director Andy Kirk for taking on a charity walk from Canberra to Sydney for the charity, Young Care.

You see not only does Andy run our practice, not only is he H&K Sydney's GM, and not only does he have four children, a wife and a dog...he is also a charity world-beater!

I have had a few people who have seen Andy on the TODAY show mention they are going to donate to the charity as a result of hearing about his effors, which is fantastic. So far the story has been featured on the Ten News weather with Tim Bailey and on the Alan Jones radio program. 

With nearly 6,500 young people residing in aged care nursing homes in Australia and many prone to isolation and depression, the issue of caring for these people is broad and complex, which partly explains why very little has been done in the past to address these issues.

Andy has joined David Sexton and Troy McPhee on the journey. They were not asked by Youngcare to initiate the walk, but were fuelled by their passion and personal relationship with young friends and family on the verge of requiring full time care and support due to debilitating illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis.
 

"I have someone very close to me who is in their 30's and in a position where they may be living in aged care shortly", said David Sexton. "When I saw the 60 Minutes story about Youngcare, it was astounding to know that so many other young Australians are either already living in aged care and that there are no facilities providing dignified lifestyles for these people."

To farewell the trio at Parliament House was David Conroy, Chairman of Youngcare, The Hon. Kate Ellis - Federal Minister for Youth & Sport, The Hon. Bill Shorten -Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, The Hon. Pat Farmer - Federal Member for Macarthur, The Hon. Alex Hawke - Federal Member for Mitchell and two Canberra Raiders Players, Joel Monaghan and Phil Graham.

With extensive support growing within the community and at government level, the team will walk for the next ten days and will finish on Friday, March 28th at the televised NRL game between the Parramatta Eels & Newcastle Knights at Parramatta Stadium. The walkers will also be accompanied on their last leg by Kristina Keneally, NSW Minister for Disability Services.

"I acknowledge the commitment that Youngcare and these three gentleman have demonstrated in raising awareness of the issue of young people in nursing homes, and providing appropriate supports and accommodation options", said Ms Keneally.

"It's important that Governments - at all levels - listen to and work with people with a disability and their families, non-government organisations and the community in general, to explore suitable accommodation options for young people in aged care facilities."  

Other high profile members of the community have also been inspired by the men's mission and have shown their commitment. Australian netballer Liz Ellis and David Gallop, National Rugby League CEO, will both be walking with the team at points during their journey.

"The attitude of the sufferers and their family members has inspired me to take part," said Liz Ellis. "One day walking is a small price to pay for potentially, a lifetime of benefit".

In addition to the increasing community and government support, Sage Software Australia - a leading supplier of business management software solutions, has come on board as the leading sponsor of the walk.

"Sage Software Australia is delighted to support the Youngcare Walk. There is a significant need for greater support and accommodation options for young people with high care needs. The Youngcare Walk is a fantastic first step to raise awareness and funds to tackle this important issue and a terrific opportunity for Sage to give something back to the community," said Alan Osrin, Managing Director of Sage Software Australia.

 
The first Youngcare Apartments in Sinnamon Park Brisbane opened on 8 December 2007. The Youngcare Walk team hope to raise enough funds to contribute to the development of similar accommodation in Sydney. At the conclusion of the walk, a Gala Dinner will be held on April 5th at The Hilton in Sydney.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the Gala dinner visit www.youngcarewalk.com.au

I was sent this clip by a self-confessed "cynical, grumpy, tired ***". He said it even touched him.

Obama's Just Word's explanation really underlines the power of storytelling, how words have power and meaning. We also know that words also have the potential for destruction and confusion. Remember what your Mum said about the pen being mightier than the sword?

Here Obama nails it.

Enjoy! 

He has been a bit quiet since the Federal Election, but former Health Minister Tony Abbott is back at doing what he does best - grabbing headlines with his take-no-prisoners approach.

I hit on this article when my colleague Grant Smith started laughing and said: "Lisa, you have got to check the SMH homepage."

I asked him: "What is it? Tony's not naked is he?"

"Better he is saying that John Howard did more for indigenous people than any other Prime Minister," Grant said.

The news that Tony had hit the headlines made me burst into song, much to Grant's disgust.

This is gold. Welcome back Tony. I have missed you.

Here's the link:

  http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/howard-best-pm-for-aborigines-abbott/2008/02/14/1202760448673.html

The Anonymous/Scientology brawl which is now hitting our in-boxes serves as a case study as to why you mess with the virtual world at your peril. It also underlines how the blogsphere or e-advocacy movement is growing in power.

Fifteen years ago you needed to know how to work the media to get media attention and have somewhat of a sense of authority no matter how loose that authority was...now anyone can be an advocate. This is direct action naughties style, and may have implications for clients in the future because direct action no longer means chaining yourself to a tree. It means taking down your IT system, assembling protests with a click of the mouse.

Here's an article that sums up the background to this dispute:

http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2008/02/11/Opinions/The-Secret.Sins.Of.Scientology-3200845.shtml

Actually it is Wednesday here in Australia, but why let the facts get in the way of a good blog post?

The dynamic between Obama and Clinton has helped us reflect on makes a great spokesperson and how to deliver memorable moving presentations/speeches. We saw a lot of this memorable imagery first through Al Gore and how he moved this issue to mainstream through simple, powerful, evocative, visual messages in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Obama has certainly taken a leaf out of Gore's book with his powerful speeches.

My view is that Obama is more of a natural storyteller than Clinton. However, I am waiting for a tad bit more authenticity from him. Clinton seems to be very good with the one-on-one contact with voters, and I have not seen Obama do much of this. 

However, Obama's Yes We Can has certainly captured our collective imagination. In a nutshell, Yes We Can is simple, powerful and evocative. It has so much impact that this catchcry is now the star of a viral music video. According to MTV.com:  "One of the biggest Obama-boosting efforts comes courtesy of Will.I.Am, who recently teamed with director Jesse Dylan (son of Bob Dylan) to release a music video called "Yes We Can." The Bob Marley-like anthem turns the Illinois senator's January 8 New Hampshire primary-night address into lyrics performed by Will, as well as almost 40 other actors, celebrities and athletes, including John Legend, Kate Walsh, Aisha Tyler, Amber Valletta, Taryn Manning, Nicole Scherzinger, Common, Scarlett Johansson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Herbie Hancock and Nick Cannon."

 Hello. Obama now counts Oprah, Caroline Kennedy, Scarlett Johansson, The Black Eyed Peas and the son of Bob Dylan as his supporters. Talk about diverse. It makes me think we may be on our way to an Obama-slide. Bring it on, I say!

Thanks for these Ray:

1. Listen then assert
2. What? Why?
3. Who will be affected?
4. So what you are saying is?