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"Whenever two people meet there are really six people present.  There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is." - William James

INSPIRATION FROM BOGOTA

Our favorite mayor, Antanas Mockus, has recently earned acclaim for his city, Bogota, in our favorite magazine, Utne (Sept-Oct, 2003; www.utne.com). Mayor Mockus attended the 2003 World Forum on Early Care and Education in Acapulco, Mexico, and inspired attendees with his ideas for humanizing his city and advancing the cause of children.  In the article, "Bright Bogota:  Columbia's capital city earns praise for innovative livability projects,"  Utne observes that "Bogota, Columbia's capital city of 7 million, has won worldwide praise for initiatives on curtailing auto traffic and creating innovative social services."

For example, Bogota has 155 miles of bike paths and the world's longest corridor of pedestrian streets.  On Sundays, 95 miles of major avenues are closed to traffic and an estimated 2 million residents come out to enjoy a car free day on the streets.  These Car-Free Sundays are coordinated by more than 1,400 teenage volunteers, equipped with whistles and hand-held stop signs, who direct the throngs of non-motorized traffic and gain valuable leadership experience in the process.  Through an Eco-Neighborhoods project "eco-leaders" aged 15 to 25 take responsibility for educating and aiding their communities on leading greener lifestyles.

The lesson that Mayor Mockus left us with in Acapulco is that you can promote great change without great resources by trying out unique ideas that can cause people to look at their lives and their communities in different ways and to rethink the possibilities for change.

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