Graduation!
HELLO, BaW09ers!!!
"Hello and welcome" to our virtual Graduation ceremony and party! Hope you have fun! Before we get on with the show, have you ever wondered about the meaning of Hello, probably one of the most used words in the English language?! I'm almost sure you've taken it for granted... so had I till I got this in an email.
A "mini UN"
Baw 2009, with its 266 participants, mods and coordinators from 43 countries spanning the 5 continents - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, Uruguay, USA, and Venezuela - is truly a global community or, a mini UN. I just wish the authentic UN worked as well and as collaboratively as we do!
This has been the sixth round of BaW (since Jan. 2004) and, so far, we have reached over 1,500 participants in 84 countries. I think we can say that it's quite an achievement and the BaW teams are very proud of it! :-)
BaW Timeline from 2004 to 2009
This is a timeline I have created to show an overview of these six years. It is a small token of appreciation to all the presenters who, year after year, have shared their expertise with us. They come to BaW because of you, our participants who are the ones that have made these six years possible. I added the song "We are the champions to the graduation ceremony 2009, because we are the champions!
(This is a surprise even for Teresa who does not know I am adding this on this page). Daf
Please move the bar to the left to see the timeline from 2004.
Daf, what a surprise! Thank you!!! :-))
You couldn't have chosen a more appropriate song on two counts: I also think we are "The Champions", I mean the BaW teams and participants over the years. And because I love the song!
Coping with stress
By the end of Week 3 everybody is already having to deal with stress and feeling sorry that a day still hasn't more than 24 hours, because there are so many fun things to do and learn and... not enough time.
We've always found that Gloria Gaynor's 70s disco sound and great hit, "I will survive!" helped us cope. It always makes me jump off my chair, dance, jump and unwind. But this year I only sent the link around the middle of Week 4.
Gifts
(Created by Helen Davies)
A relevant part of the Graduation party are the gifts that participants bring. Here are the very creative and meaningful gifts that BaW09ers have left as a token of their appreciation for these fabulous 6 weeks.
After the champagne......
Let's blow out the candles!
No virtual Graduation party would be complete without a virtual cake to celebrate "not the end of a workshop, but the beginning of a new era... life after BaW 2009"! João, my husband, baked this BaW 2009 cake with nine candles, each one with its own very special meaning! Have a slice! Enjoy!
Certificates
And no BaW workshop would be complete without a symbolic Certificate of Participation to show our deep appreciation for your motivation, interest, commitment and perseverance.
Families - neglected husbands, wives and children - weren't forgotten either! Here's our token of appreciation for your patience and understanding! We're sure it's been worthwhile.
Geese: A Baw Classic
Before we call it "a Graduation ceremony and party", maybe you'd like to reflect a little about the meaning of BaW through the lenses of this BaW classic.
Geese is a presentation about togetherness, collaboration and community spirit - some of the basic ingredients that are a big part of any "Becoming a Webhead" workshop!
(Please click the image below and enjoy!)
Time to join the Webheads in Action (WiA)
No, it's not over yet! There's still one final step for those who wish to do so.
Six weeks ago how many of you had a clue about what you were getting into? Six week later you have come of age and are "full-fledged Webheads", ready to join the Webheads in Action community of practice (CoP).
On behalf of Vance Stevens, our Webheads coordinator, Dafne and I (Teresa) now invite you to join our "mother group", the Webheads in Action. Welcome! We hope you will feel part of a big cyberfamily and as fulfilled and challenged as Dafne and I have been for 7 years!
As Webheads, you're now entitled to the "Proud to be a Webhead" badge that Ibrahim Rustamov, a colleague and friend from Tajikistan, created for us. It was his special gift to BaW08. It's very cute! You can embed it to your Web pages, blogs or wikis.
Thank you!
Last but not least, and before we turn this page and start another one tomorrow, Daf and I (Teresa) would like to thank all our fabulous guest speakers, moderators, and participants for a fantastic job and perseverance to the last day, and for having made this sixth round of the Becoming a Webhead workshop the success and life-changing event it was. Without you all, none of this would have happened.
Here's to you all!! Thank you!!!
See you in life after BaW09!!!
Teresa on behalf of the BaW 2009 team!
22 Feb 2009
Graduation Ceremony
Venue: Worldbridges
Host: Jeff Lebow (USA)
Coordinators: Dafne (Spain) and Teresa (Portugal)
Participants: AlfiaM (Russia), Anawu (Brazil), AnaliaD (Argentina), Anisoara (Romania), Anitha (India), Biljana (Macedonia), BrianS (England), Cristina (Argentina), Cris Costa (England), DennisO (USA), Elizabeth Anne (France), EmmaT (Venezuela), HalaF (Sudan), HeikeP (Germany), Helene Laprevotte (France), Holly Suel (Finland ??), Horacio (Venezuela), James/Eurominuteman (Germany), Ligia (Venezuela), Maizie (??), Maru (Mexico), MaryP (Venezuela), Mbarek (Morocco), Mehdi (Iran), Moira (France), Mrs Durff (??), Natasa (Serbia), Sanja (Croatia), NergizK (Turkey), SarahP (Spain), Sasa (Slovenia), SharonB (USA), Siavig (??), WlodekB (Poland)
BaW09 recording and chat log
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.