Note To Awakin Call Guest
ServiceSpace
--Kanchan Gokhale
3 minute read
Aug 17, 2014

 

Because of our wonderful nominations for Awakin Call guests from across the ecosystem, our upcoming queue is usually five to six months!  Thank you, all.

Yesterday, we got this note from one of the nominees: "I am not totally sure I'd be a good fit for an Awakin Call. I'd actually like to be on one of these calls or hear a recording. Is there a way I could do that?"

One of our coordinators wrote a thoughtful reply that speaks the essence of Awakin Calls ...
 

It would be great to have you join an Awakin call. You can do that any week -- just RSVP here any Saturday that you're open and/or available and you'll be emailed the instructions. And you can also access the audio recordings of archives anytime as well.

Of course, every week is different, partially because of the guest, but partially also because of the different volunteer host and moderator. For example, last week, we had Jess Merkt from Afghanistan as a guest, and the woman who moderated was Obama's lawyer in his first term and actually crafted the Afghanistan constitution. Or the week before, it was a local hero, Kazu Haga, whose call was moderated by a volunteer who had been giving away thousand bucks a day for the last couple years. Two week prior, we interviewed a former Marine working in Africa, moderated by the former editor of CS Monitor. This week, we have an incredible photographer, whose life was changed due to a homeless man, and in gratitude, he'd go out to take photos of other homeless folks -- until it became a legend on the streets, that whoever had their photo taken by Bob ended up getting off the streets. Except it wasn't a legend, because Bob's photo would elegantly reflect a homeless person's dignity to himself or herself and that had a beautiful ripple effect. Like that, the stories go on.

As per you being a guest, I think everyone is a great fit :) -- because everyone has a story that we can learn from. Our platform is entirely non-commercial and not rooted in sensationalism, so it takes a long time to build but it gives us the latitude to operate from a deep alignment with our values -- like this notion that everyone has a story worth celebrating. For instance, couple weeks back, our guest was one of our coordinators -- Amit. Now, CNN is never to going to reach him for an interview, but he has some incredible stories of kindness to share, about how his parent's passing moved him to head onto a path of service while still keeping his day job in finance.

As a story teller yourself, I think it would be a joy for us and the world to have a peek into what the world looks like with your lens -- the moments that defined you, the moments that became turning points, your outlook towards the present world and its future, and how others can engage with you and/or your work.

Do let me know if you have any questions, and/or if I can help find a date for the call. However, please don't feel any pressure on our end -- we're happy to support, with or without the Awakin Call.
  
 

Posted by Kanchan Gokhale on Aug 17, 2014


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