Save CBYX!

This past week I went to an interesting seminar for PPP/CBYX in Frankfurt.  I will address the details of this seminar in the future when I have more time. But, immediately, I would like to bring to your attention a dire need of the program.

The funding for CBYX has been cut by 50% (2 million dollars) for the next program year on the US side.  CBYX was a joint project created in equal parts by the USA and Germany over 30 years ago.  It is the primary exchange and people-to-people diplomacy program between the USA and Germany aimed to foster cultural exchange, train citizens in international work settings, and provide continuing education. On the German side, the participants are actually screened and picked by their local government representatives.

The decision to cut the program on the US side elicited a strong response from the Bundestag.  They are opposed to the abandon of this program and have decided to pay for the US side of the program- but only for one year.  Just within the last year, the importance of transatlantic relations, and particularly a strong relationship with Germany, is evidenced by the USA's experiences and challenges with 

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), CIA spying revelations,

the Russia/Ukraine Crisis, and EU interests and involvement in the Middle East and Africa.

I know that I am probably preaching to the choir, so please visit http://savecbyx.org/ (or click here) to sign a petition for Secretary of State Kerry and members of the US Congress..

If you'd like to read more without changing pages:

From saveCBYX.org (01/25/2015):

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) is an important instrument of foreign policy and public diplomacy that for more than 30 years has been jointly funded by the legislative bodies of both the United States and Germany.

The following 10 points emphasize the many facets of the program which make it unique. Each point alone would provide sufficient argument against the 50% budget cuts to CBYX (approximately $2M) currently proposed by the US Department of State; the cuts would fundamentally affect a program that is one of the most outstanding exchange opportunities in existence.

The CBYX is one of the most renowned and unique international youth exchange programs because it is:

1. Creating a Cornerstone of Transatlantic Relations
   Created in 1983 in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the first settlers from Germany in America, CBYX has been a symbol of the special relationship and close connections between the two countries for over 30 years. That relationship is rooted in historical and ongoing ties that bind the two nations politically, economically, and culturally.
   The substantial budget cut imposed by the State Department works against the foundation on which the program was built, namely the strengthening of bilateral relations and an understanding of our shared values. Not only that: a budget cut to this program in particular sends a strong message regarding the political and cultural significance of the German-American relationship at a time when solidarity, not a further shift away from each other, is necessary.

2. Involving US Congress and German Bundestag RepresentativesCBYX emphasizes the idea of transatlantic solidarity, in that it directly involveshundreds of Representatives of the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag each year in the selection and support of program participants throughout their exchange experiences. As such, Representatives are able toestablish a direct link with their constituents and the host families, schools, and companies in their districts, who all benefit from this exchange. A funding cut would not only negatively affect the number of students who would be able to participate in the program every year, but would also significantly reduce the number of Representatives directly involved in the program. Hundreds of Representatives in both countries would lose their personal contact to the German-American partnership.

3. Promoting reciprocal exchange and fundingIn order to achieve the program’s goal of increased understanding between the peoples of the U.S. and Germany, CBYX was designed to be a 1:1 exchange. For each participant sent abroad, a participant from the partner country comes in, to promote the same level of understanding on both sides of the Atlantic. This principle of reciprocity is made possible by the funding structure of the program: each legislature finances an exchange of the same number of participants as the partner country. This bilateral sharing of funding means that a funding cut on the American side of the program automatically forces a cut on the German side. Funding cuts could therefore quickly spiral out of control. The German Bundestag has already indicated that it will reduce funding if the U.S. government does not restore previous funding levels. This threat of a funding cut on the German side, previously unheard of in this program, would paradoxically mean a reduction in the number of American participants who could take part in the exchange.

4. Engaging Youth in Public Diplomacy
   CBYX participants are selected and sent abroad explicitly with the purpose of acting as young ambassadors of their home country and culture. This purpose in mind, they are prepared and trained to fill this role as young ambassadors with life every day of the exchange. Through their interactions with people from all facets of society in their host country, CBYX participants share the culture and values of their home society, promote a positive image of their country to the people they meet and through the media coverage they receive. A cut in funding would severely hurt the explicit public diplomacy mission that CBYX serves.

5. Emphasizing Diversity
   Closely tied to the role of citizen diplomacy is the importance emphasized by both legislatures that CBYX participants reflect the cultural diversity of their home countries. Participants come from diverse socio-economic, ethnic, educational, and regional backgrounds. Participants typically under-represented in opportunities abroad, including those with disabilities or who would otherwise not be able to partake in such a program due to their social or professional backgrounds, are especially encouraged to participate in CBYX. Thus, the program achieves a breadth and depth of participant diversity that cannot be found in any comparable programs.
   This diversity is especially apparent in the case of the CBYX for Young Professionals program portion; by its small numbers, this very outstanding component of the CBYX is unfortunately especially susceptible to the State Department’s funding cut.
   savecbyx
6. Providing cultural, social and professional immersion
   CBYX places a strong emphasis on a holistic immersion experience to deepen the understanding for the host counties culture. This is achieved over the course of a full year, through different phases and complementary program elements: living with a host family, attending school or university, intensivelanguage training, and professional experience in an internship.  Another unique aspect of this program is that each participant volunteers their timeoutside of the above-mentioned activities to benefit their communities: charitable organizations, schools, religious institutions, environmental organizations, retirement homes, refugee housing, and other institutions all belong to the social organizations that benefit from CBYX volunteers, who seek out these opportunities on their own initiative to benefit their host communities.

7. Sharing cost between public and private parties
   The diversity of the CBYX program content necessitates the involvement of a wide array of individuals – mostly on a voluntary basis. This includes host families as well as countless supporters from schools, colleges, and institutions.Adding up the contributions of host families as well as the non-money services of all supporters and institutions listed, this would amount to about €2 million/ year, which is currently applied in Germany as a private cost-sharing expense to benefit the program. On the US side, participants, host families, host colleges and host companies contribute a total of $2 million/year in expenses they pay personally, through tuition reduction or compensation during internships. So CBYX is a true public-private partnership, given all the various parties that invest in the program. 
   savecbyx
8. Building and Multiplying German-American Networks 
   One of the main objectives of CBYX is to establish an extensive network of young people and young professionals, who create lasting transatlantic ties in the wake of their year-long stay in the host country. This goal supports the multifaceted and politically supported CBYX program structure, as well as the deliberately broad target group of young people between 15 and 24.
   Currently 350 young people from each side of the Atlantic – both students and young professionals – participate in CBYX each year, accounting for a total of700 annual participants.
   Since the beginning of the program, over 23,000 young people from Germany and the United States have participated in the exchange. Maintaining the current levels of participants is essential to the scope and quality of the exchange and directly contributes to preserving a broad and sustainable transatlantic network.
   Assuming that each participant tells 100 people in both their home country and/or host country about the CBYX program, the potential impact is 2.3 million Americans and 2.3 million Germans personally speaking with participants and hearing about their culture, language, politics, etc. – and not just once, but several times.

9. Ensuring Sustainability in Transatlantic RelationsThe goals of CBYX are designed to have lasting and sustainable effects. This is particularly achieved through self-initiated and self-funded alumni activities. Alumni continuously organize events to benefit German-American relations and are able to “pay the experience forward” in the form of hosting international exchange students and volunteering their time for CBYX. All of these aspects of the program contribute to its sustainability and to the lifelong commitment of its participants to the program goal of strengthening transatlantic relations.

10. Supporting High-Potential YouthCBYX promotes high potential at all levels – not just a small social elite. Today, a variety of CBYX alumni can be found as national and international leaders in politics, economics, culture, education, and society, thus guiding the future of both countries. These CBYX alumni are able to do this with the peculiar experience and perspective of a year-long exchange; an exchange that is not just like any other, but a transatlantic exchange that has existed, and still does, thanks to the special, shared vigilance of the political legislators of both countries.

These are the 10 points demonstrating the unique excellence of CBYX - in terms of its objectives, content, participants and long-term success as a sustainable tool for the promotion and preservation of German-American relations.
These 10 points demonstrate why representatives of both countries agreed over 30years ago to not only personally promote but also financially support the CBYX program.

A substantial unilateral reduction in the budget threatens to bring an end to this consensus. A reduction in funds -- and thus number of participants – of 50% would haveserious short and long-term consequences.

The planned budget cuts affect CBYX in its entirety – both its concept and objectives.Essential priorities and goals that are associated with the program would be called into question. The unilateral reduction will have exponential consequences and could affectthe future of the program as a whole.

It’s a matter of two million dollars…
… A $2 million investment in 700 young people annually!
… A $2 million investment in the future of an essential transatlantic relationship!

London again

I also went to the Winston Churchill and War Rooms Museum one day.  It is the secret underground facility where Britain held its strategic command center throughout the war.  Along the way I came across a massive crowd and the changing of the mounted guard within the complex of governmental buildings near Big Ben.

The museum was extremely well done and worth the visit.  I particularly enjoyed finding out more about Churchill's life apart from his rousing speeches and cigar habit, which was about the extent of my knowledge before visiting the museum.

Churchill was a big fan of writing history, and even got a Nobel prize for it:

He also had a really long career.  This painting was all of the different "Winston Churchills" wishing him a happy 200th birthday.  It shows his army days, wartime days, artistic days, etc.

The museum also included an interactive timeline of Churchill's life during wartime, which included artifacts from 20 years of political activity.  It was interesting reading the letters he was sending and receiving from different world leaders as well as people within his own government.

The other part of the museum was the War Rooms, which included a great audio guide explaining every little detail of events.  I thought the map room was the most interesting, because it was how the British kept track of all of the fronts of the war as well as their troops.

It also included information from the time when Germany almost overran the UK.  Here is a list where the British tried to keep track of violations of their airspace as well as casualties from V2s.

They kept all of the rooms preserved from wartime and even included some wax Brits to help our imaginations out:

The War Rooms were completely secret and had a staff that spent almost everyday of their lives underground.  Here is Churchill's room, which was the biggest by far.


And, they had a poster store at the end.  This one was made before feminism:

After the museum I met up with Russell for one last 12 mile stroll through London:

I bet whoever did the Bearing Calculations was very nervous and mad at the architect.

Not the best picture, but the london skyline is a nice mix of old and new.

Russell stopped for lunch at "the Monger" or something, which was a giant food flea market.  We ate samples for lunch.  My favorite was Nordic smoked salmon because the fish-monger was nice enough to really explain a lot about the smoking process and how to pick the right cut of meet from a salmon.

You said this is.. Cheese? never heard of it... do you mind if I have a piece? I may invest heavily.

We are almost certain this is not the original Shakespeare theater:

Later, we found a full size replica of the ship Sir Francis Drake used to circumnavigate the world.  I appreciated that the description explained how during his time, "Privateer" was British for "state-funded pirate".  Sir Francis Drake did a pretty good number on the Spanish back in his day.

We also visited the Tower of London castle. From the outside. It was late and we were tired.

This castle used to have a very impressive moat and the river extended all the way to one side of its walls. It also had prisoners from Norman Invasion through 1952.

And then the northern sunrise was very pretty.  Tower of London bridge:

London, Museum of

We visit the Museum of London. It was very crowded.

I think the coolest moment of the day was walking out of the foyer and into the covered courtyard of the museum.  The lighting and space was really different than any room I had ever been in.  Also, this statement is really embarrassing when you see what we got to see next.

Rosetta Stone!! It is so cool to see things that everyone has to read about in history class.  It's incredible how important this stone is, and that it's just out there for any one to look at.

There was also really cool Greek art from THE Parthenon.  A morally questionable part of museums is that they are essentially filled with the plunder of nationally sponsored looting campaigns.  The Musuem of London included some posters where they talked about the conflict of Greece wanting their things back (for the last 180 years).

The debate (over-simplified and misrepresented by me) is: are the artifacts really Greek in the sense of belonging to the current civilization, or is Greece (of today) just as removed from ownership as anyone else? If they belong to the world, than the Museum of London has them displayed in appropriate context. And, they would argue that by taking them they 'protected' them.

This blog and my brain aren't the tools to really get to the bottom of this...

Me and Russell smiling in front of a victorious Centaur who has just murdered Lapith.

Sumerian (or Babylonian?)

A cool display in the Museum was a giant library with many small objects and old books in the glass bookcases.

Old and accurate model of the solar system for university lectures

 And, as always, I found the propaganda art really cool.  Shown below is the modern imitation of Russian porcelain propaganda, which was made to commemorate an anniversary of a utility provider.  The original (which was also in the room) was commissioned by the USSR to celebrate the opening of certain power plants.  One of the current execs from the aforementioned power plants visited the Museum of London a few years ago, thought the art was interesting, and again commissioned art as a homage to the history of the plant. (all paraphrased, but pretty much that was the story as I remember it).

And this was more diamonds than I have ever seen in one place at one time:

Around London

Here are some sights and moments from wandering around London with Russel and Joanna:

The 'Auto Adjust' function of my phone makes me an ideal candidate for Instagram.

People loose there minds to stand at this corner and take a picture with a red phone booth and Big Ben.  I was only dedicated enough to throw a bus in there.

We visited Trafalgar Square at one point.  I was happy to visit because I used to be a huge fan of Viscount Horatio Nelson (8th grade) and had read about the monument in his biography for a report.  Nelson was a great naval leader during the Napoleonic wars; he defeated the French navy and also died during the battle of Trafalgar 

"Roosters and the color blue symbolize nobility" - an excerpt from the Artist's sales pitch

 

They were using trained birds of prey at the square, I am assuming for pigeon control.

The giant rooster was actually very cool.  I thought it made more of a statement than its counterpart, which was a rearing horse of similar size.

Best street performer ever.  This guy changed the definition of juggling with some of his soccer tricks.  Also, every thing he did was coordinated to techno music.

We took a coffee break in the London Opera house.

York, in December

We caught an early morning train to York. York is a good place to visit because it the only place in England with an old castle, a Minster (Church of England Cathedral), and cloister. 

One of the interesting things I noticed about being so far North was how long sunrises and sunsets took.  It created some awesome lighting and beautiful sunsets. But, it was a little depressing how short the days were, and how long my noontime shadow was.

Mike trying to get 'The Shot'

York has a region that 'Diagon Alley' from Harry Potter was based on.  The street was very narrow and had lots of buildings that looked like they were minutes from falling over.  This is on our way to Diagon Alley:

York also has a specific type of tea associated with the town. We decided to evaluate the tea over my first (and likely only) English breakfast.  An English breakfast involves toast, blood-sausage, Ham ('bacon' if you speak British English), beans, and sunny side eggs. It was very filling, but nothing to write home (a blog) about.

Russell's fellow Marshals were very fun to travel with.  They had great senses of humor and were easy going with the Beaumont travel style (relatively unplanned).

From breakfast we headed to the Minster.  The congregation was hearing church, so we weren't allowed to immediately go inside.  As we walked around the Minster we took in the scenery and the massive scale of the building.

The Roman Empire of Constantine the Great extended to York, which is difficult to imagine.

The church was the brightest church (inside and out) I have ever seen.

Russell and I so you can get an idea of height. And see our famous 'pocket pose'

The Meta-Selfie.  The beginning of the end for Russell's photography. 

Still really enjoy the ceilings of these beautiful buildings.

The Church of England churches we visited in England really had a different feel from other churches I have visited.  The church decorations blend biblical imagery with more practical identification of historical politicians associated with the church.

The stained glass windows were incredible.

Dying is such a drag.

The church, like all old churches, has been renovated and expanded upon for centuries.  We went to the museum in the basement that talked about the structural history of the church.

We got one last look above ground before heading to see more sights:

Cliffords Tower, Castle of York:

It was hard to imagine how this tower was once part of a castle because of its small size and immediate proximity to a parking lot and modern buildings.  At best, the tower was eccentric- the grassy hill was very bizarre and its angle/shape was impressively uniform.  Russell's friend matched eccentricity with eccentricity and whipped out the old tobacco pipe:

We were in the middle of a 'cheap' spell and didn't actually go inside the keep.

We instead walked around and watched Russ take a few Meta-selfies.

Joking aside, the keep was interesting in terms of the uniformity of construction as well as the perceived amount of effort it must of required.  I did a little research on the internet and found two fun facts: 

1) the keep (and no longer existent castle) are from around 1060. 

2) the keep was used as a prison until 1929

After the keep, we went for a walk to see the ruins of the cloister.  It was in a park that was beautifully landscaped; we were very tired and spent a lot of time on a bench admiring the space around us.

We finished up the trip with some cask ale, chips, and burgers.  I would recommend York to anyone- it was easy to walk, friendly, quaint/British, and it had pretty sights.