Messy and Masterful

So who among you has ever seen the Hollywood blockbuster 'Patch Adams'? If you haven't seen it yet, please go ahead and do so - it will be worth your while. Now the movie - starring Robin Williams as Dr. Patch Adams - has moved millions in this world and ignited a movement of 'clini-clowns' to bring more joy and laughter to the very serious world of hospitals and healthcare. And I can assure you that the actual person is even more impactful and impressive than the movie. I really loved this interview with Patch (Episode 20 in Season 1) as he literally took this conversation everywhere. What stayed with me is his undying optimism and his unbreakable resolution never to have a bad day in his life. I am trying to make that my mantra now as well. Make sure you live every day to the fullest! Never have a bad day:) By the way, I would be very grateful if you share with us your thoughts on Notes to Nono or on any other Episodes of The TeachPitch Podcast. So if you are listening to this and are enjoying it (or perhaps the opposite) you absolutely hate and want us to know - please leave us a rating or a review. It really helps us to grow this Series and allows other people to find out about it as well. Thanks for doing this! Very much appreciated. Without further ado; please enjoy this Notes to Nono 6 with Dr. Patch Adams.

A very warm welcome to yet another Episode of the TeachPitch Podcast. I hope you are doing well, that you are having a beautiful summer in which you can rest up a bit, re-energise and more. Did you notice our new intro music? I absolutely love it. 'Very majestic' is what our producer Natalie said and I tend to agree. Love that word - 'majestic' - I would love to hear what you think so do get in touch with us on social media or ping us a quick email at [email protected] Now it is Thursday which means we are here with another interview and this conversation is taking us back to our educational roots and we are very happy to connect you with the Education Above All Foundation, an organisation that is on the forefront of improving the global state of teaching and learning in our world through a variety of programs, and more specifically with its amazing Innovation Director Janhvi Maheshwari-Kanoria. Janhvi is a guiding light and a force of nature with the work she does at Education Above All and I highly enjoyed speaking to her about all the programs of the Foundation, the many teachers they trained, the funding they provided, the scholarships they have granted and all the other work that is so, so relevant to make sure that everyone of us will be granted the right to a high quality education. So without further ado, let's dive into the world of Global Education with an awesome Innovation Director, Janhvi Maheshwari-Kanoria. You can find out more about the impressive work of Janhvi and Education Above All by going to its website: https://educationaboveall.org

This interview means a lot to me. Not only because the guest I got to interview was extremely interesting, funny and engaging. But also because this conversation really intrinsically touched me. To me this interview with Dr. Marc Brackett was such an 'aha' moment, such an absolute confirmation that I was doing the right thing - it got me in such a flow - that to this day I am still grateful for. Dr. Marc Brackett is Executive Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Author of Permission to Feel. He talks about how important it is that we understand and recognise our emotions and has made his life's mission to help others to truly understand what they feel. In Episode 26 of Season 2 - you can listen to the full interview and if you don't want to listen to just me yabbling on I can also highly recommend an interview that Marc did with the one and only Brene Brown for her Podcast 'Unlocking Us'. Let's never stop caring about each other and make sure that 'How are you?' or 'How are you feeling?' is a genuine question we ask each other worthy of a genuine answer. Each day and every day. Please enjoy Notes to Nono 5 with Dr. Marc Brackett.

For this interview we are going back to the Balkans and more specifically to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo where I had the great honour to speak to Uranik Begu, the Executive Director of Innovation Centre Kosovo. We again had the great honor of attending and speaking at ThinkTech - Kosovo and while being there I seized the opportunity to speak to many interesting people who are seeking to dramatically change the situation in this country for the better. One of these people is Uranik Begu who with the Innovation Centre has helped thousands of startups, hundreds of products and through its many events managed to support many, many ICT businesses in the country. I felt that Uranik and the centre are well placed to assess how Kosovo is evolving - specifically when it comes to getting more people into technology. The conference we spoke at was called 'Building Bridges' and it was very inspiring to hear the many notable guests speak about the bridges they felt needed to be built. Among others we had the Minister of Industry and Innovation speak at this event and I, for one, was very impressed with the drive, ambition and energy of the young people attending to change the situation in their country for the better. Uranik was a great spokesperson for these people and I sincerely hope you take the time to listen to what he had to say. So with that - please enjoy Episode 52 - ThinkTech Kosovo with Uranik Begu.

The world is in good hands if we have people like Gitanjali Rao becoming the leaders of tomorrow. This inventor, aspiring scientist, UNICEF ambassador and the first ever TIME kid of the year is an example to all of us. I had the great pleasure of meeting her in Qatar at the World Innovation Summit for Education. I really enjoyed talking to her for Episode 28 in Season 2 and was blown away by her eloquence, self awareness and authenticity at such a young age. The things she said in this interview speak for themselves! Most noteworthy is her observation that you cannot change what people think of you but that you can change how you react to them. There will be people who will shoot you down but the end you have the same amount of power as everyone else. Please enjoy these notes to Nono of Gitanjali Rao.

A very big welcome to Season 3 of The TeachPitch Podcast. I am hyper excited to be opening our latest season and cannot wait to hear your thoughts on all the awesome things we have in store for you for this series of episodes. We are kicking off and we are kicking off big because I have the great, great fortune to open Season 3 with some of the very best architects in this world. For our 51st Episode we are taking you to Tokyo, Japan where we had the tremendous honour to speak to the great Yui & Takaharu Tezuka. Now I am genuinely not lying to you when I tell you that this couple has shaken the world of architecture and that because of them and their magnificent designs this world is a more beautiful place. Tezuka Architects has won the Japanese Institute of Architects Prize (twice over), The Yoshioka Prize, The Architectural Institution of Japan Prize and the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2017. If you haven't already seen it, please, please check out the TED talk of Takaharu Tezuka about 'The Best Kindergarten You Have Ever Seen' - 1.3 million people have watched his talk before you and for very good reasons. I loved Yui and Takaharu because of their simplicity. I am very much inspired and in awe about their choice to find their architectural ideas in nature or as they say themselves - merely amplifying what is already there instead of trying to rework or undo what nature has given to us. I also love the fact that they always wear the same colour of tshirts in the family - blue for Takaharu, red for Tezuka and I believe green and yellow for their son and daughter. Anyways, I learnt loads of loads of this interview and hope you will as well. We have also included the video recording of this interview on our YouTube channel so do check that out as well, if you want to get an idea of what these wonderful people look like. With that, please enjoy - 'Yui and Takaharu Tezuka' - The Architects! You can find more information about Yui and Takaharu through the website of Tezuka Architects: http://www.tezuka-arch.com

This Episode is entirely devoted to reading and more specifically to how reading is changing for us humans in the year 2022 where some say we are dealing with a global 'attention crisis'. Aldo speaks to Dr. Anne Mangen, a Professor at the Reading Centre of the University of Stavanger in Norway. Dr. Mangen's research focuses on how reading shapes our brain and in her field makes granular comparisons between reading books and reading from digital devices. We talk about which one is better and what you can do for yourself and others to retain your focus. You can read more on Dr. Mangen's findings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anne_Mangen