Ilco van der Linde - Nieuws Copyright (c) 2009, Ilco van der Linde http://www.ilcovanderlinde.nl en NEWS related to projects and campaigns Ilco founded/produced/reorganised/supports: info@bitman.nl Mon, 06 September 2010 06:20:27 +0100 <![CDATA[Amsterdam, ON THE COVER WITH LIBRESSE]]>  

This month my picture is on the cover of Onze Wereld, the Dutch development experts magazine ('for engaged world citizens'). Of course I am proud and it's good publicity for MasterPeace.
It is just that… it's a pity for me that the cover also announces a campaign for Sudan on behalf of Libresse, a sanitary napkins brand. No, that's not sexy at all. Then again, somebody on Facebook reminded me about their slogan: “Libresse gives you wings” ...and that's what I definitely need this week. 
 
I am now in Amsterdam for ten days chock-a-block with meetings and parties (such as my father’s 89th birthday - without DJ’s I presume…) I will have to run, or fly, rather, and leave you with the latest news on some great progress we have made lately: 
- The small Peace Day seminar we aimed for in Cairo might well turn out to become the biggest Peace Day event of the Middle East. It is to take place on 17 September, attended by thousands of visitors, top actors and DJs, CEOs of Egyptian and Dutch companies, the Dutch Ambassador to Egypt, several peace-building NGOs presenting themselves and smooth 'inner peace' activities, too. Of course I will be there to support the Head Quarters team during this great first achievement. For more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140863452617586&ref=ts
- The Ministry of Sports (Egypt), the biggest and most prestigious business club of Egypt (GSC) and the Dutch Embassy are actively supporting the start-up of MasterPeace HQ and this Peace Day event;
- Nine (nine!) female Members of Dutch Parliament, from liberal to conservative, will be supporting our PR initiative in The Hague on Peace Day, 21 September. Eight international top designers created wonderful 'MasterPeace hats' especially for them for them. The MP's will wear these in attendance of the Dutch Queen during her annual Speech from the Throne on that day.  Due to the embargo I cannot tell you much more, but more news is to follow. In any case, we will reach millions of people, that's for sure; 
- The contract with Founding Partner IKV Pax Christi/Pax Christi International is ready to be signed, so we will become partners for 5 years, for international cooperation. Much more about this later too;
- In the night before Peace Day we will support our partner Pax-it with their 2nd 'Nacht voor de Vrede' (Peace Night), that is launched as 'inspired by MasterPeace'. If you live in The Netherlands, please come to Studio K in Amsterdam and join in! Please see www.nachtvandevrede.nl (in Dutch only. Sorry);
- In September we will have meetings with the following organizations interested to discuss possible cooperation: Dutch Youth Council, U-Peace, UNOY for young peacebuilders, Heineken (global director activations), ID&T (Holland's biggest dance event company), City of Utrecht, the Dutch youth Ambassador at the UN, Nigeria Delta Campaign and VoiceOver 2015 (connecting me LIVE, on 20 September, with youths out of 14 conflict areas; future advisors for us on the ground)
- Thanks to the HQ team in Egypt a brand new interim website will be launched at the end of this week, so please try www.masterpeace.org this weekend; 
- our Dutch team member Shrinath van Praag is the proud father of a second son: JAYFIE. And yes, I will see the little one this week. Hope we can create a more peaceful world for him.
 

PS. Here's the link to the article in Onze Wereld (in Dutch):  http://www.onzewereld.nl/index.php?page=3&articleId=838

]]> Thu, 02 September 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Tarifa, WIND BENEATH WINGS]]>  
My office is in Tarifa this week. The walls, view and ceiling are all blue: it is the ocean. I check my e-mails daily, but the rest of the program is extremely relaxed: reading, sun bathing, playing with my children and kite surfing and at night I am cooking pasta under the full moon. Perfect for inner peace, but maybe a bit less for global peace. But don’t worry. Since last week, the official Headquarters of MasterPeace is located in Cairo, quite close to the Gizeh Pyramids. A company donated all the equipment, such as the desks, chairs and computers.

A couple of days ago my companion Mohamed Helmy wrote to me: “I am so happy working here”. Together with a small and dedicated team, he is preparing the first MasterPeace pre-launch event in the Middle East on 17 September to promote the International Day of Peace on 21 September (an event which is completely unknown in Egypt) and to involve business and content partners in our multi-year challenge towards Peace Day 2014.
After a couple of weeks, the team in the Middle East is experiencing the same as the team in Europe; the goals, name and energy of MasterPeace are (already) capable of attracting new peace partners. New volunteers, new ideas, new experts. If we continue to do what we have been doing we will certainly be the wind beneath the wings of the people and NGOs that are already working for peace, inside or outside conflict areas. Which is one of the reasons why we exist in the first place. Making togetherness and peace-building into a cool thing to do.  

The importance of ‘wind beneath wings’ is easily proven by my ten meter long kite in front of me. Without wind it is just a nicely colored piece of plastic. Same beach, same sea, same kite, but with wind this time, which is captured by my kite, brings grace and power and an unstoppable flight forwards. Especially when I continue to practice for just a couple more days.    
 
Here is  the address of the MasterPeace HQ:
 
MasterPeace HQ
4A Juhaina St. Dokk sq.
6th floor suite 66
GIZAH
EGYPT

Please send them your greetings and support.
Thank you!
 

 
]]> Tue, 24 August 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Montefrio, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN]]>
Believe it or not, but a couple of weeks ago two people approached me with the idea to built a 10 kilometer long ladder, a sort of Stairway to Heaven, which would be connected at the top to an old weather station. They would like to travel all over the world with this ladder, using it as a decor to bring people together and for peace negotiations, MasterPeace events and the like. Somebody else came up with the idea to project our logo on all major UNESCO buildings because World Heritage belongs to everyone and is something to cherish, like peace. A designer in New York came up with the idea to design a ring for each and every MasterPeacer which would start to glow as soon as a fellow MasterPeacer would be near. These are just three of the endless flow of ideas I am presented with, just because the rumor of MasterPeace - its ambition, its name, its vibe - is starting to spread all over the globe a year before the official launch. 
 
Last week, two young, rebellious Dutch designers suddenly entered my patio in Andalucía. "Hello, hello, anybody home? We come in peace!" One of them had read about MasterPeace and my home in Spain in a Dutch magazine. They asked around in my village for a Dutch family with three daughters and found our farm. They wanted to meet and chat (and eat and stay for a night), and they wanted to personally introduce me to their work and their idea for MasterPeace. They developed the idea to hang light fixtures and digitally connected mistletoes over squares all over the world. When (Master)Peace events or special meetings are held on these squares, or when two people kiss each other under the mistletoe, people on the other side of the world would be able to see it and get extra energy from it. Making connectivity visible. I think it’s a great idea.
 
Sometimes people ask me if it is possible to organize an international peace project from a little village in the south of Spain. My “politically correct“ answer is: “I am not doing this alone“. There are people working on this idea in the UK, the USA, Belgium, Holland and especially Egypt, the country of our Headquarters. My “being so innovative“ answer is: "With all the social media and digital facilities I feel as connected as if I am working in a big city. Facebook, LinkedIn, e-mail, and of course, Skype ... it’s providing with me easy and free connections with like-minded people all over the world. The ˝historically inspired̎“ answer I sometimes give is that Andalucía is one of the few areas in the world where Jews, Muslims and Christians have lived peacefully together for ages. It was the only area mentioned by Obama in his Cairo speech (June, 2009). But now, I have a new practical answer available: "If I am not able to visit all people who would like to join, they seem to be willing to come to the south of Spain themselves. This is a good way to test possible future partners on the aspects of entrepreneurship and dedication, wouldn’t you say so?“.
]]> Mon, 16 August 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[London, REACH FOR THE SKIES]]>  
In the English countryside all villages are extremely clean and tidy. It feels as if I and my rental car have ended up in the setting of a tourism commercial. I happen to park the car in the wrong place and get to experience the polite version of 'move your ass': “Sir, may I kindly request you to park your car on the other side of the street? Thank you”.
For a couple of hours it seems like heaven, till it starts to feel unreal, as one big cover up. “Hello my dear”, “Thank you, love”. And I start to understand why the English super entrepreneur Richard Branson is obsessed by offering affordable voyages to the moon, to leave this unreal correctness as fast as possible. 
 
In his new book 'Reach for the skies' Branson writes about how over the a handful of pioneers risked it all to make flying become a reality. From Icarus till Richard Branson himself. He states that all successful pioneers have the same drive and naive obsession. But no word about something all pioneers need, too: people who follow with faith and dedication, people who work hard to make the pioneer’s idea really, really happen. In the MasterPeace team one of those unstoppable followers is Mariet. For the past ten years she has supported all my new projects. For dance4life she was the first employee to be hired. And now she volunteers in starting up MasterPeace in the United Kingdom. But not today, because she is getting married in the English countryside and of course I am attending.
This time to be there for her.
 
The party was excellent, but the next day I was happy to be in the chaos and liveliness of East London. People from India and Pakistan everywhere, spicy food and CD shops with inspiring music, crazy shops, and surprises behind every corner. It turns out to be a perfect background for a photographer of the Guardian to shoot me for the cover of the September issue of OnzeWereld; a magazine for development experts in the Netherlands. And I am visiting one of the MasterPeace campaigners Tom Himpe, author of the "Advertising is dead". He's developing a project in which he connects (social) entrepreneurs and other pioneers with funds, marketeers and brands, so they can reach for the skies together. Needless to say he may well connect me, too, at some point. Finding funds and additional founding partners is one of the priorities for the coming months, so Mohamed and I can hire the first indispensable fulltime 'Mariets'. 
 
 
]]> Fri, 06 August 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Barcelona, BEING ALMIGHTY]]>
“So we are actually floating, daddy?” I am heading for a waterpark in Granada and my youngest daughter Dunya (age 6) is asking some challenging questions: “Why is the world round? Why does a day have 24 hours? What is the universe? How does gravity work?” And finally the unavoidable last one: “Daddy, who created the galaxy?” I tell them God is the creator, but I do tell them God can have many names, like Allah or Buddha. I also tell them that I don't think it is a man with a beard (my three girls like this part) and that there is some God in all of us (this part raises eyebrows). But almighty? No, I don't believe anymore that He is almighty. Why in God's name would He make hundreds of Catholic priests abuse little children? Why do child soldiers exist or  wars, starvation, cancer or even mosquitoes? What is it good for? One of my best friends died a couple of years ago at the age of 37, leaving a one-year-old girl behind. In his final hours he said to me: “If I meet Him somewhere up above, I will surely hit Him. Last week, 16 young people died while they were dancing in the LOVE Parade. Mind you, the LOVE Parade. It wasn't a racist gathering of the British National Party or a meeting of suicide bombers. They were dancing in the German LOVE Parade, doing no harm to anyone, just spreading positivity. Why were they killed, leaving 16 families and many others behind in misery and making this the last LOVE Parade ever? Is this His sadistic way of crowd control (And yes, beloved e-mail friends, MasterPeace will NOT push 200,000 people in the tunnel under the Pyramids, I promise you)? Last week, my MasterPeace companion Mohamed lost his grandpa and cousin due to two different traffic accidents in Cairo. In Egypt they say: "It is His will". But how can He want this? Taking away two honourable, friendly people for no reason at all? Mohamed and I e-mailed with each other and came to the conclusion that we just don't understand Him. 
With a head full of questions and the captivating book “Gods Wish” (“Come Dio Commanda”, written by Niccolo Ammaniti) under my arm I enter the plane for a MasterPeace week in Barcelona and London.
 
 
 
]]> Thu, 29 July 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Tarifa, THE KILLER WHALES HAVE ARRIVED!]]>
 The killer whales (orcas) have arrived in the Street of Gibraltar. I pitched my tent smack bang on the beautiful, unspoiled beach of Tarifa and searched for two days on the open waters between Spain and Africa. Four years ago, I saw these gracious animals for the last time when I rafted with them in Newfoundland. Now, two orca families have arrived here, one with fourteen and another one with five 'family members'. I couldn't find them, but I did find hundreds of dolphins, two huge whales, friendly Moroccan fishermen and ten different shades of blue. All wonderful, of course, but still I am sad that I couldn't find the orcas because this is a bad sign. The orcas are here to find red tuna. These tunas breed here and in the Gulf of Mexico. In the Gulf, the BP oil spill is killing the red tuna and here, Spanish fishermen are catching the last tunas with huge nets because Japanese companies pay for them with gold. If we continue like this, the red tuna will be extinct by 2012 and this will make the orca an endangered species too.
 
After traveling for two years through Africa and the Middle East (in 2007 and 2008), I had two causes in mind to which I wanted to devote my time and energy. In February 2009 I wrote the first MasterPeace concept and now I am happily involved in building the most heart-warming peace project ever. But it could have been different. Two weeks earlier - in January 2009 - I came into contact with Sea Shepherd, an organisation that is really fighting hard against the killing of whales. I told them I was an experienced photographer, marketer, scuba diver, former national championship swimmer and genuinely interested in whales, sharks, dolphins and other deep-sea life. They wanted me to join their ship for at least 4 months per year. A logical request but I didn't want to be without my family for that long. This choice was easy to make, although so many people need to be informed about and involved in this cause as well.

On the waves next to me I see hundreds of kite surfers with their rainbow colored sails. Hardly anyone is aware of the drama underneath their boards, that’s for sure. The only, very limited, thing I can do is to write this weblog, to give you the URL of the organization that supports dolphins and whales in this area (come, visit, learn, enjoy: www.firmm.org) and, which is the hardest part, to stop eating red tuna.   
 

]]> Mon, 19 July 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Montefrio, ALLEZ LES ORANGES!]]>  
From France, Egypt, South Africa, New York and even Catalonia people wished me luck. They all wanted the Dutch to win the final of the World Championships football against Spain. Simply because they are my friends, but also because they thought the Dutch team deserved it. The Dutch were in the final for the third time, whilst for Spain it was a first. The Dutch team had not lost a game for two years - Spain lost against Switzerland two weeks ago.
All 16 million Dutch people were excited and put on orange clothes. Parties everywhere. When the Spanish reached the final only 40,000 people were dancing in Madrid; it doesn’t seem to be as big a thing as it is in Holland . And then there’s the David and Goliath factor. Where it comes to the number one sport worldwide, Holland is the absolute top of the world. For example, they kicked the Brazilians out of the tournament.
This is relevant for MasterPeace, too: see how far total dedication will get you. Also: it goes to show that you don’t have to be big to reach huge results.
“Allez les oranges” … another mail, our friend Jean Marc from Paris this time. Thank you, thank you: the support felt good.
 
Some people, even my own parents, thought that my heart would split in two because I love both my old and my new country. But that was not really the case. We have only lived here for a year-and-a-half, and our history, family and friends are all mainly Dutch, so we support the Dutch team wholeheartedly. Apart from this, most of the players in the Dutch team were educated at Ajax, my favourite team from Amsterdam. Hence, and obviously, when our Spanish neighbours came to our house dressed in red, waving their red and yellow flags, we were ready and waiting for them, totally dressed in orange, with Dutch flags everywhere and fresh orange cake, baked by Anna.
 
The rest is history, as they say. And I hope the same holds good for this referee. Next week he will be fired, that’s for sure. He killed this best promotional moment for football by giving out yellow cards almost every minute. He is an English policeman and he will return to that job. Then he will be fired from that position, too, no doubt. Because he will be too friendly for people who steal. Because he’s one of them himself.  
]]> Mon, 12 July 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Granada, PINK WEDDING DRESSES TO SOLVE ALL CONFLICTS]]>  
When you start a new project, you will suddenly receive your first invoices. Obviously. In your brand new post office box . Obviously. To be paid with your brand new account. Obviously. And if you have not made any arrangements yet on who will empty the mailbox regularly you might find an invoice that has been sitting there for six weeks. Oops. Then you suddenly have your first irritated provider. After we found the invoice our bookkeeper tried to transfer the money through the new account. Two weeks later we found out that this first transfer was blocked for pure administrative reasons. Then you suddenly have your first angry provider. Who is threatening you with a juridical procedure. But what if you read this threat one week later? You suddenly got your first juridical procedure. Ouch. While I hardly had any in 30 years of organizing huge projects and absolutely always paid my bills on time. Such a procedure is something you really don't want.
How to solve this? Tell the provider that the money has been paid?  Which is the case. Explain to him the combination of force majeure and the usual start-up problems of a new foundation? Neither of them worked.
Yesterday, we finally found a solution. The provider once taught me about a social rebuilding project in Haiti he was supporting. He told me he received a request from a girl for a pink wedding dress. 100 Euros were needed. We decided to both put 50 Euros on the table and get this girl her pink wedding dress. Problem solved.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all potential (juridical) conflicts could be prevented by having both parties buy a pink wedding dress for a girl somewhere in the world? Or even better: that each and every pink wedding dress will remind the world that you can also solve problems in a positive way? I am all for this (as you know by now). 
]]> Fri, 09 July 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Amsterdam, LOVE FOR MY JUST DO IT SHIRT]]>
 
 Last week, I was back in Holland, mainly because I was invited to give some lectures. The TSM Business School had organized a Super Masterclass on 'Natural Leadership' for 300 managers and they thought I would be able inspire them. During the preparation, I searched for my old black Nike T-shirt with "JUST DO IT" printed in capital letters on the front. I found it in a dusty corner and wore it under a white jacket. During the lecture. I emphasized that leadership is not about words but about action. Natural leadership is like a joke, I told them; as soon as you start to explain, the joke is gone. If only 10% of all people who read books on leadership would also start practicing it, the world would be totally different, I guess. So I taught them about my projects and how they are developed. Practical lessons for practical steps forward. Obviously, I added some theory, because that was the reason for being together in the first place.

My keywords were: Faith, no fear, passion and co-creation. This last one was relevant for one of the questions of the attendees: 'Why is the Dutch soccer team better than the French team during this World Championship Football in South Africa?' The behavior of the individuals is crucial. Thierry Henry believes that leadership means demanding a 1000 euros-a-night room in an affluent neighborhood and thinks that cussing out the coach is acceptable. The Dutch team is keeping it relatively simple. They are approachable for fans and media, they opened Johan Cruyff courts in poor neighborhoods and the most important individuals understand that there is nothing wrong about serving the needs of the team. This “war” is more important than just one person. In an interview the Dutch talent Elia said: "If the coach wants me to be the goalie, I will be the goalie." Leadership is not only about making others serving you. It is also about the willingness to serve a need and to serve someone else’s, if needed for the bigger picture. Afterwards, a woman came to me and said: "Your message matches your t-shirt entirely, with and without the jacket. With the jacket over it, we could not see the J and the T, so it read: US DO IT."
 
On Thursday and Friday, I was the speaker during the graduation events of the NHTV in Breda, an academy for education on tourism and leisure marketing. On both days, the entire teacher staff entered the room at the end of the ceremony as old-fashioned waiters, with their left arm behind their back and serving the diplomas under silver cloches with their right arm. The graduates were surprised and delighted and the professors gave 'their' students a final lesson: It is all about team work. We need to serve each other’s needs: Us do it. 
Yesterday, I left the third funding team meeting of MasterPeace with the same 'us do it' spirit. For dance4life, I had initially organized the funding by myself. Later on, there were a number of individuals that helped me with the funding. For my new project, there is already a team working on funding. It is also chaired enthusiastically by somebody else. One of the experts said that one of MasterPeace's unique selling points is our leading idea: peace-building is a verb. Or in other words: Peace? Just do it! I think I will keep my old black shirt for another 4 years or more. And 'JUST DO IT' is no longer covered in dust. How symbolic!
 
(Pictures and info on the TSM Business School SuperMasterClass: http://www.tsm.nl/NieuwsItem.aspx?NieuwsID=320) 
 
 
]]> Mon, 28 June 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog <![CDATA[Cairo, SEE NO REASON NOT TO TRY IT]]>  
Since the killings on the Freedom Flotilla three weeks ago, anger towards Israel is "back to the level of 30 years ago", I was told by Mohamed Helmy’s mother. During my stay in hot and sweaty Cairo (over 40 Centigrades!) she was not the only one who wanted to talk to me about 'Israel'. People brought it up at every MasterPeace meeting. On Peace Day 2014 we want to bring together on one stage all the number one artists of all mayor conflict areas. People understand what this could mean, without even saying it out loud: a Palestinian and an Israeli artist together on one stage? In Egypt? Impossible, some say.

Most people 'just' inform us about the extreme difficulties. But despite their doubts and fears, they all end their advice with more or less the same sentence as the director of a supportive television company did: "But ... I see no reason not to try it." Moreover, people also came up with ideas to make it less impossible.
First of all by not mentioning 'it' too much, because many other conflicts - such as the one in North and South Korea - also attract a lot of attention.
Secondly, by adding an Egyptian conflict: in the past year, people in Egypt have generally been very negative about Algeria (and vice versa) because of the severe fights after Egypt lost the football match that would have taken them to the World Championship Football in South Africa. You can't imagine how much hatred people have towards Algeria. "We Egyptians are very emotional", somebody said. There you go. "But we need to stop this nonsense", a 15-year-old boy said very rationally. 
The third piece of advice was that we need to make sure that the Israeli artist will not agree to the Siege of Gaza by his Government. Just in case this siege is still ongoing by 2014, of course, because we all hope and pray for a breakthrough and 'another American approach' of the issue.

Above all we need to organise support. This also helped when Mohamed and I organised dance4life in Egypt some years ago. A project about HIV, AIDS, sexuality and dance ... All together almost as controversial as Israel. But we managed! After our presentation to Yussra, the most famous actress in the Middle East, she said "MasterPeace could be a historic moment. What a wonderful project! And I will introduce you to everybody you need." What an inspiring ambassador she will be for us! At the Dutch Embassy, we spoke with the Ambassador and her team; the Institute of International Education hosted our Egyptian MasterPeace team meeting; the student organisation AIESEC offered active participation and interns: the building of a positive, solution-focused dream team has started. And we all understand why four years of hard work is unavoidable. This project is not only a matter of peaceful publicity, building a stage and bringing in food, banners, artists and audiovisual equipment. This is about building a way out (or better: forward) for a whole generation. We see no reason not to try it. 
 
 



 
]]> Tue, 22 June 2010 00:00:00 +0100 weblog