XQ Institute is launching XQ: The Super School Project, a challenge to reimagine and design the next American high school. Harnessing the best of American ingenuity in cities and towns across the country, XQ aims to help spark a movement to rethink the American high school—an institution that was designed to meet the needs of the Industrial Revolution and hasn’t changed in more than a century.
“Our nation is radically different than it was 100 years ago. Nearly every aspect of our daily lives—from how we communicate to how we work and play—has changed dramatically,” said Laurene Powell Jobs, Chair of the board of XQ Institute. “But our high schools have stayed frozen in time. Together, we have an opportunity to help fuel a movement for students, to inspire great high schools, and even to rethink school itself. Our passion at XQ is to help educators everywhere foster students who are curious, engaged, and creative—armed with the new literacies, knowledge, and skills needed to thrive,” she added. “To do that, we must use our collective imagination.”
From the Model T to the Tesla and the switchboard to the smart phone—everything has changed except for how we prepare our kids for the future. XQ: The Super School Project is a rallying call to America to change the outdated model that has failed to prepare our students for the demands of the global economy, and an open call to every community to rethink high school for today and tomorrow. XQ Institute will provide a fund of $50 million to support at least five selected schools over the next five years. It will also partner with them to provide expert support and guidance to turn their ideas into real Super Schools that can inspire the country.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7611851-xq-institute-super-school-project/
The 11th annual Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF), which took place on April 25-26 in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana, has drawn praise from all sides as a leading platform for regional and East-West dialogue.
Welcoming some 600 delegates from 46 countries, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, stressed the importance of the media as a unifying influence in society.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60656-eurasian-media-forum-astana-kazakhstan
Global gold demand in Q3 2012 was 1,084.6 tonnes (t), down 11% from the record Q3 2011 figure of 1,223.5t. This dip in demand is in comparison with exceptional demand in Q3 last year. Gold demand remains resilient. Q3 2012 was above the five year quarterly average of 984.7t, according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends Report.
In value terms gold demand was 14.0% lower year on year at $57.6bn and the average gold price of $1,652/oz was down 3% on the record average Q3 2011 price.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/58938-world-gold-council-gold-demand-trends-report-q3-2012
Global thought leaders today gathered at the World Capital Markets Symposium (WCMS), organised by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in conjunction with its 20th anniversary.
At the opening session this morning, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Razak will be delivering a keynote address to more than 700 senior policymakers and representatives from global financial institutions, academia as well as local and foreign media from over 40 countries.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/63959-october-22-world-capital-markets-symposium
With women comprising half the U.S. workforce, 57 percent of household breadwinners, and 50 percent of business owners, the economic recovery depends largely on women’s productivity and innovation. Now a new book by Apollo Research Institute —the research arm of Apollo Group, which owns University of Phoenix and other education providers—presents groundbreaking research to show how women are redefining career paths and helping organizations emerge stronger out of the recession.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/59918-apollo-research-institute-women-lead-knowledge-economy-careers
The TOEIC Program recently launched Why English Matters, a new content-based website that seeks to build awareness and share information about the important role that English-language proficiency plays in the global economy.
Why English Matters features a new video documentary series that explores the role of English through interviews with human resource managers and decision makers from leading global organizations. The site also features related research and news articles about the impact of effective English communication skills for the international workforce.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/7056051-ets-toeic-program-why-english-matters-website-documentary-series
Haiti’s Francis mango is back for a short six to eight weeks at Whole Foods Market. Starting now and for a limited time, shoppers will find this exclusive Fair Trade™ Certified fruit under the grocer’s Whole Trade program, which drives meaningful dollars into the struggling Haitian economy. Whole Foods Market is the sole buyer of Fair Trade Certified mangos and purchases the fruit from small Haitian growers, sometimes buying from a family with just one tree. The Whole Trade Guarantee ensures growers receive equitable pay – a key point since this mango crop is often the only source of cash income for many of these farmers. Additionally, many stores will offer organic Haitian mangos. This is the third year the company has brought Whole Trade Haitian mangos to stores, and Whole Foods Market is working to expand the number of growers it works with, providing more mangos to shoppers and more money in Haitian grower’s pockets.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/49714-whole-foods-market-haitian-mangos-fair-trade-certified-fruit
Jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-none, beware: Companies increasingly require specialized talent, and professionals with niche skills in fast-growing fields are often receiving multiple job offers.
A just-released downloadable white paper from Robert Half, The Specialist Economy: How Businesses and Professionals Can Prepare for the Trend Toward Specialization, highlights the increasing demand for workers in professions requiring both a college education and specialization in areas such as healthcare, accounting and finance, information technology, marketing, and law.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/55077-robert-half-the-specialist-economy-white-paper
No conversation is more top-of-mind for today’s business and marketing leaders than the impact of social media on the changing face of business in this tough economy.
Simon Mainwaring, author of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller “We First: How Brands and Consumers use Social Media to Build a Better World”, is at the forefront of this discussion, as he proposes a vision for the re-purposing of the private sector that he characterizes as a shift from “Me-First” to “We-First” capitalism. So timely is his proposal that Amazon named it a Top 10 Business Book for 2011, and strategy+business named it their best Marketing Book of 2011, stating, “We First is that rare marketing book that is truly visionary.”
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/51616-we-first-social-branding-seminar-simon-mainwaring
The pace of economic growth has slowed significantly since the start of 2011 and the slowdown is expected to continue into the start of 2012, according to a survey of CEOs of small-to-medium-sized businesses. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 92.9 in the Q2 2011 survey, substantially below the 105.2 posted in Q1, and erasing all the gains recorded since 93.7 was registered in Q1 2010. Though declines were present in every major survey component, the largest losses were in evaluations of the overall economy. Rather than expecting a renewed economic downturn, the majority of CEOs anticipated a stagnating economy: growth too slow to support robust gains in employment or investment, and resulting in lower revenue and profit levels than previously forecast. Half of all firms put planned investments on hold due to the slowdown in economic growth.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/vistage/51040/
Small business CEOs expressed a remarkable resurgence of optimism both in the overall economy and for their own companies. The Vistage Confidence Index jumped to 106.3 in the 4th Quarter of 2010, after reporting 95.1 in the 3rd quarter, 94.4 in the 2nd quarter and 93.7 in the 1st quarter of this year. Of the 1,729 respondents in the Q4 Vistage CEO Confidence Index, 77% expect increased revenues and 63% foresee higher profits in their own companies.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/vistage/44999/
