Dear Reader,

This issue marks another milestone for us - Starlink's eighteenth birthday.

But even a birthday issue of Starlink should be no different from any other ... in that we hope it has some interesting or useful gifts for you in the items we've gathered.

And, although there are many other birthday customs or birthday traditions from which to choose, we're spending the occasion quietly. We may allow ourselves a little self-congratulation perhaps ... though we have no party, cake or candles planned. However if you'd like to send us a birthday greeting, we'd love to hear from you. :)

Cheers
Sue & Chris
BJ Seminars International

With Christmas looming - though it's still only November - we are already bombarded with 'buy, buy, buy' advertising in the media and in promotional displays in stores festooned with tinsel and Christmas decorations. While finding that perfect present for a friend or family member can mean a more commercial purchase, we thought our Starlink readers may also be interested in Pro Bono Australia's annual “jolly good” Not for Profit Christmas Giving Guide.

The guide includes both well known favourites as well as newcomers to the field of charities and nonprofits offering alternative, ethical, practical, sustainable or unusual yuletide gifts. The fourth edition of our annual Gift Guide is the biggest yet and reveals a whole host of great giving options. It has become so easy to ‘do good’ at Christmas.

In today's world, collaboration with others is mandatory if we are successfully to tackle the challenging local and global issues we face. As important as it is to do, achieving collaborative relationships is not easy! Here are two resources we've found recently about the challenge of collaboration, which we hope you'll find interesting.

Firstly an animated video from YouTube of a talk my Matt Koschmann: The Collaborative Challenge, subtitled "Making Quality Decisions Together in the Age of Complexity". An interesting view of the factors that can support or hinder collaborative efforts.

And here is a talk by Ken Blanchard at a TEDXSanDeigo gathering: Collaboration: Affect/Possibility. As Ken says so succinctly in his presentation, "no one of us is as smart as all of us," and he presents three aspects of successful collaboration: if you meet someone who wants to accomplish something, and you want to accomplish something, the experience is meant to be dynamic; rely on the different skills and experience people bring to the table; and "essence" and "form" are the two characteristics of a solid collaboration.

And as a final note ... we've reflected on this issue ourselves in the following three blog posts. If you've not already seen them, you may like to check them out:
True Collaboration
Collaboration: In Deed
Real Collaboration

Here are two articles that may be of interest for our readers, reflecting on corporate philanthropy and social impact.

Firstly, there was an article some months ago, The Charitable-Industrial Complex, written by Peter Buffett who is Warren Buffett's son. In this article he admits he 'doesnt have the answers' but is calling for a new paradigm for philanthropy:

Money should be spent trying out concepts that shatter current structures and systems that have turned much of the world into one vast market. Is progress really Wi-Fi on every street corner? No. It’s when no 13-year-old girl on the planet gets sold for sex. But as long as most folks are patting themselves on the back for charitable acts, we’ve got a perpetual poverty machine.

Then, partly in response to the earlier article, is another piece written by Ben Powell, a Fellow of the Ashoka Foundation: Is Philanthropy Ready for System Change?

Among several other excellent points, Ben Powell points out that Philanthropy would also benefit from taking a more collaborative approach with beneficiaries, viewing them as highly committed entrepreneurial teams that can build and strengthen communities, rather than grateful grant recipients.

Produced by the Queensland Government, Foundations for Success is a practical guideline to extend and enrich learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their kindergarten year. The 80-page guideline supports educators to implement a program that connects with families and communities and builds on the cultural knowledge, strengths and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Though produced for Queensland educators, the guide is also very relevant to all involved with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children in their early years and it aligns with Belonging, Being and Becoming: the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) for Australia.

Visit our Events Calendar to find details of conferences, workshops, training opportunities, exhibitions and special days to celebrate!

With Christmas approaching, the coming weeks see a downturn in the number of conferences and forums offered of course. But there are still plenty of other events in which you may be interested to participate, including a number of special awareness days.

Or, if you're dining out with family or friends, check out the restaurants that are contributing to DineSmart. And in addition to Pro Bono's Christmas Giving Guide (mentioned above), you could take part in out Planet Ark's 12 'Do's of Christmas month or participate in the national Give Now Week.