Re-thinking Life !

Almost 3 million people are expected to reach Europe by the end of 2017. This creates a tremendous geo-cultural challenge for refugees, especially at the outset. Being forlorn, destitute, lost in translation – and with a mobile phone, new comers do not have enough local information and are held back by language barriers. As much as they get help, especially in Germany, there is a mismatch between public aides and refugees. The is why Integreat app was developed. Integreat provides comprehensive local information for refugees, is multilingual, has simple administration, and is connected to local authorities, is linked to job platforms, and is free of charge. Creators of Integreat asked these two simple questions that lead to the creation of the app : Can we provide all the relevant information to incoming people in our city in their own language as quickly as possible – without permanent internet access and without confusing paper chaos? Integreat is ava...

  Misty Adoniou , University of Canberra A couple of years ago, early one morning, I received an SMS advising “resadents to stay indoors because of a nearby insadent”. I was shocked by the spelling, as much as the message. Surely, I thought, if it was a real message then the spelling would be correct. Spelling matters. In a text message from a friend teeing up a night out “c u at 8” is fine - but in an emergency warning text from a government agency, I expect the spelling to be standard. But why is it that some people struggle with standard spelling? Spelling remains the most relentlessly tested of all the literacy skills, but it is the least taught. Sending a list of words home on Monday to be tested on Friday is not teaching. Nor is getting children to write their spelling words out 10 times, even if they have to do it in rainbow colours. Looking, covering, writing and checking does not teach spelling. Looking for little words inside other words, and doing word searches ar...

Every Friday Prayer I am used to go to two Masjids where I feel comfortable in terms of Khotba (Oration) and Salah. What I usually seek for in a Friday Prayer is a lesson that “sticks in my mind” and that I can reflect upon as I connect it to life . At least this is one of the intended learning outcomes of Friday Prayers, to strengthen Muslims’ faith by offering advice, casting a new knowledge about Islam that many would otherwise would be oblivious, or reminding Muslims of issues that they might have forgotten due to their daily work and commitments. Last Friday however, I went to a new Masjid upon my friend’s suggestion. Regrettably, I went out of that Friday Prayer with only one lesson: In a learning setting, human capacity is enormously superior to the the institutional facility. As I stepped into Masjid Al Rahma, I felt a sudden but salient surge of wholeness due to the magnificent structure and only honed by the great scent. As I was early for the Friday Prayer time, I had ...

                                                                Source: http://goo.gl/XxTui9 In February 2010, on the Andaman’s Islands of India, Boa died at the age of 85 … and with her died an ancient language the Bo language. The extinction of Indigenous languages like Bo language are exponentially increasing in an age that relies heavily on globalization. There are currently 6,000 to 7, 000 spoken language around the world, and it is reported that more than half are in danger of extinction .  Some languages disappear in an instant with the dying of the lone speaker, like Boa or die gradually in a bilingual society where the prevalent language overtakes and thrives...