Bamboo harvest in Japan.
What is wrong with this picture?
Yes, the picture above shows a beautiful bamboo forest and freshly cut bamboo poles. However, there is something wrong, something missing. This is an analogy of what's been going on with the World Bamboo Organization. What is wrong, what is missing? Where are the people? There are no people meeting publicly!
The WBO has been a network of bamboo people for nearly 3 decades, when a small group of people met in Japan for an international event and determined the need to connect and organize around the subject of bamboo. We needed to cross the bamboo bridge! The result has been a growing global network of people committed to promoting bamboo.
From Puerto Rico to France to Japan to Bali to Costa Rica to India to Thailand to Belgium to Korea to Peru to Mexico to Manipur, people committed to bamboo have gathered for years to share and exchange ideas around the myriad of wonders, uses, ecologies, applications, industries and potentials of this amazing grass.
We were on our way to Taiwan for the WBC, to personally share, learn, see and experience all that Taiwan's bamboo community and industry could reveal. Dead stop: the Covid-19 Pandemic stole the show and has altered our lives. Fortunately the TAIWAN BAMBOO SOCIETY has been able to continue their amazing activities and the Taiwan bamboo industry continues to innovate and grow. We look forward to going to Taiwan in the future. It truly has so much to share!
Many people have stayed connected by sharing pictures, projects and works over social media. Many have sat through webinars and online seminars. These have been interesting but still, not the same as being together IN PERSON. The World Bamboo Organization simply can't exist virtually... we need to be together in person to truly get the most out of the experience of sharing bamboo.
At the Manipur World Bamboo Workshop 2019.
On Facebook, we have nearly 14,000 followers. I post the majority of articles, and manage the page, and not allow it to become a marketplace for simply selling bamboo products & services. On the World Bamboo LinkedIn group page, we could do so much more. We have over 1,800 members in the group. Is there any person out there who would like to become an Administrator of this group, add content, etc? I would be so grateful if you could take over this volunteer position for WBO. Please email me: info@worldbamboo.net
On Instagram, WOW, Ambassador Katia Sei Fong of Uruguay continues to #KeepBambooStrong with her management of our World Bamboo Instagram account. She has attracted over 1,800 followers and posts Stories as well. GRACIAS y abrazos to Katia! Regarding Twitter, again, I can't keep up with Twitter myself. Would someone like to manage the World Bamboo Twitter account? We have nearly 2,900 followers, but our presence could be much greater.
SOCIAL MEDIA is a great way to stay connected and learn. Thank you for all of you who post, follow, lead, share, and promote bamboo via social media! Volunteers are needed!
So, what is new?
We are working with a group in Vietnam to bring to life a World Bamboo Workshop AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. We are in discussion for the next World Bamboo Congress to be held in Europe, but it is too early to make an announcement. Stay tuned!
We are now part of the World Bamboo Foundation, and have 8 World Bamboo Fellows receiving our support for specific bamboo research projects.
Two volunteers are re-formatting all the WBC papers into an archival format with uniform file names, searchable under specific subjects, which is very much appreciated! We hope this project will be finished by World Bamboo Day. Many thanks to Liz Kruger of South Africa and Shaun Rolph of the US for stepping up!
We continue our support of the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, and take part in webinars, etc. We strongly believe in The Ten Principles, and see bamboo's role in many of The SDGs.
The World Bamboo Ambassadors are doing their best during the pandemic to #KeepBambooStrong and promote bamboo! I sincerely say THANK YOU and wish them the best to stay safe and healthy!
World Bamboo Day is September 18, and we are planning a global celebration. In some locations, there may be actual public events, and in others, it will need to be a virtual celebration. Whatever we do, we need to #ThinkBamboo #BambooNow #BambooisGrowing, and always, #KeepBambooStrong.
The world is still suffering terrible loss of life by the cruel Covid-19 virus. There are still curfews, and travel bans, deaths, and fear. We must look forward with delight to the day we are all again together to share and experience bamboo, as a personal & professional network of friends and colleagues, artists and architects, designers and growers, farmers and builders, industry and society. Covid-19 will end, and we will be reunited to cross that bamboo bridge again. I will be there to greet you!
Thank you for your continued support.
Susanne Lucas, Executive Director
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