Tag: collaboration

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Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année from Paris with Love

In late November, I was scrolling down my social media feed. Suddenly, I was drawn in by a glimpse of the Christmas Tree at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris. I became enthralled with the romantic and exquisite combination of holiday colours and glittering grandeur. It hypnotized me and drew me in like a late-night ad for the latest kitchen gadget. Suddenly, I was making plans to fly across the globe to see this example of “haute société” Christmas décor.

@Galerieslafayette December 2025 Image by Theresa K. Howell

INTERVIEW with PARISIAN Businesswoman, SOPHIE VU; Audio Translations en Francaise

Bonne Idée ? Good Idea?

Okay, I know this sounds irrational, but this year has been one of immense changes. In 2025, I began in Paris, so I decided it would end in Paris. Both instances involved friends whom I had made in 2024. I was ecstatic about going back and celebrating this time of year with them. Like past trips, this excursion was filled with communications and connections. Unlike past trips, my French language learning has surpassed the previous voyage, and I was also branching out, meeting artists who would soon become part of this Vlog.

Vieux Amis, Nouveaux Amis; Old friends, New Friends

My first meetup was with my musician friend, Richard Poher, who recently released his premier solo album last May. I interviewed him following this release. Check that out here. It was wonderful to find out he was that much closer to completion of his master’s in music education (pedagogy). He has been busy traversing between musical events and his studies. His dedication to his art is immense, and it was fantastic to see his smiling face again.

The following day, I met up with another friend to celebrate her belated 40th birthday. So, to complete the evening, we went to watch some Jazz at the famous Jazz Club, the 38Riv. We got our tickets early to the sold-out shows for the Robin Mansanti Trio. The Trio features three incredible young musicians: Robin Mansanti, Solène Cairoli, and Dexter Goldberg. The lead member, Robin Mansanti is becoming a rising star in the jazz scene which all took place years after moving to the city of light. That night, SeeChangemakers requested a feature interview upon their premiere album release, slated for Spring/Summer 2026. Follow us into the New Year to hear more about them.

Robin Mansanti Trio Image by Theresa K. Howell
Image Courtesy of @RobinMansanti

Noël modern; Modern Day Christmas

As that incredible evening turned into daylight, I arrived at the notable Marches de Noel aux Tuileries. This is the Christmas Market at the Tuileries Garden. It felt somewhat reminiscent of Niagara Falls to me. A Christmas carnival of sorts now flanked the landscapes of trees, sculptures, and thousand-year-old buildings. It was quite a sight.

Image by Theresa K. Howell

Before I left Vancouver, I booked two Airbnbs, which seemed quite busy at this time of year. Most North Americans think of touring Paris for Spring or Summer, but winter? However, Europe loves to visit this glistening city and shop alongside the magic. This activity can be compared to North Americans flocking to New York City during Christmas. Shopping for the price-heavy, high-quality gifts, followed by skating against the backdrop of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Plaza.

Cadeaux de partout; Gifts Everywhere

While at my Airbnb, I met two dynamic young women from Belarus. They, too, were taking a pre-Christmas vacation within “la ville de Paris”. It was easy to strike up a conversation with Alla Parhimovich and Ilona Tamilian. I learned both were astute businesswomen, even though they didn’t look older than 25. Alla currently has 15 years of photographic and digital creation experience. This fact, coupled with her strength and ability to make connections with others, gave me pause. Meanwhile, Ilona is a master crafts person, creating Western-style hats with a unique flair for the obscure.

While talking with Alla, I asked if she might be interested in doing some European interviews for this publication. She agreed. Although for mutual collaborations, she began by suggesting a photo shoot with her. I agreed. Below are the results. Who was that woman looking back at me?

Photographer @alla_parhimovich

In the end, this last-minute adventure generated many spontaneous meetings. All in all, these new connections created a verve that I had been missing. Thus, I am glad I followed my heart on this wild venture.

Another meeting became our December feature interview. Sophie Vu, a single parent and astute businesswoman, is the owner of a stunning Parisian duplex in the 17th arrondissement. A well-kept, old-world example of Parisian Haussmann architecture. In our next installment, read how this biracial woman managed to carve out a self-managed business career.

INTERVIEW IS NOW UP…

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Prism: An Aural and Visual Kaleidoscope

Last night my daughter and I had an opportunity to take in the premiere showing of PRISM thanks to Lisa Mennell of The Cultch. It exceeded both our expectations. Walking into the Historic Theatre on time for the show to start at 7:30pm, we found our seats and the lights dimmed. Suddenly, the spotlight opened on a cluster of five performers huddled together in the middle of a mirrored triangle positioned centrally on stage. The stage set, lighting, and clothing designs were simple, yet, highly effective. The five vertical mirrors acted as echoes of the performer’s bodies creating a Picasso effect for the viewers. Various angles of the troupe would be displayed in each choreographed movement. The clothing choices of monochromatic primary and secondary palate colours created a brilliant visual display as the performers weaved their bodies back and forth; in and out together.

The Performance

My daughter commented at one point, “This reminds me of the contact dance, I do every week, mom!”. For what little I know about this new form of dance movement amongst Millennials, I had to agree. We were hypnotized by the exquisitely refined intertwining of movements as the lights shone down on the red, yellow, blue, green, and orange bodies. The one-hour performance, no intermission, ended with a standing ovation. The dancers successfully manipulated the mirrors and their bodies to finalize the show with the audience reflected in the final dance montage. It was brilliant!

details of show
Tentacle Tribe PRISM_Photo-by-Do-Phan-Hoi

The Experience

After the show, Samantha and I went back to the Cultch’s lounge. Shortly afterward, the performers and choreographers entered the space for conversation and feedback. Talking with Elon Hogland, (choreographer/dancer) Emmanuelle Le Phan (choreographer), and Valmont Harnois (dancer), I heard about their many years of hip hop, butoh, martial arts, and performance art. All of these have culminated in this current tour. It truly was a Kaleidoscope, for the audiences’ senses as well as the performer’s experiences. Ultimately, the small amount of time and money I spent would resonate with me long after the show ended.

Final Words

Speaking of time, this will be the shows’ second-to-last stop before they travel back home to Quebec.  Make sure to capture this brilliant spectacle of performance art at the Cultch Historic Theatre in Vancouver, BC, which features them to October 27th. They will finalize their tour in Kelowna, BC on October 30th at the Mary Irwin Theatre.

In early 2025, See Change Makers will talk to Elon and Emmanuelle of the Tenacle Tribe in detail about PRISM and other endeavors, so stay tuned.  

cover introductory image
Tentacle-Tribe-Prism-photo-by-Elias-Djemil-Matassov
WEB-Prism_Program-Guide-1Download
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Waking up to the New Realities

In the recent podcast on See Change MAKERS, we explored the idea of collective housing. In these communities, many people collaborate by sharing their skills to better a home life environment. During the COVID-19 crisis, we have learned how important working together as a global community can make on finding answers to big issues such as learning from what other countries do to curb a virus that has no boundaries; wash hands with soap and water; social distance and stay home. However, meeting challenges by isolating and ignoring the situation, means matters will worsen as seen by countries such as the United States. The US administration initially applied denial then took a hands-off approach when helping their state senators and citizens mitigate the crisis. Now, they have the greatest number of cases, globally.   

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization states in their current healthy green recovery manifesto, we need to work together to climb out of this crisis in a conscious and thoughtful way. The guide outlines six key points to enable a healthy and safe green recovery. They are:

  1. Protect and preserve the source of human health: Nature
  2. Invest in essential services, from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities.
  3. Ensure a quick healthy energy transition.
  4. Promote healthy, sustainable food systems.
  5. Build healthy, liveable cities.
  6. Stop using taxpayers money to fund pollution.
World Health Organization’s “Prescription for a healthy & green COVID-19 recovery” published May 29th, 2020

The WHO also establishes that when we put our energies towards the betterment of humanities, health and welfare, people will listen to create the needed changes. Currently, global scientists, researchers, various companies and organizations plus health care providers are working together collectively to come up with a vaccine as well as interim preventative measures.

Collaboration in the sciences is nothing new. Peer-reviewed journals are a mainstay for all scientific research. It is necessary and mandatory to have research reviewed by your peers to look at the pitfalls or other peripheral circumstances that may not have been considered during research. This is practiced in universities, hospitals, and many other established public research institutions. Collaboration and cooperation are also important in the field of technology and business. Much of the day to day computer-related tasks are based on these foundations in their very application. Consider Google, one of the most popular search engines with a stunning 87.35% market share. Google hosts a variety of collaborating resources such as Google Drive, Docs & Meet to name a few. Each of these offer platforms in which others can contribute and/or share information. Whether it is health, technology, business, or education, we live in a society that at its foundation requires some form of collaboration.

Commons-Based Peer Production produced by P2Pvalue & designed by Laura Recio

The World Health Organization invites you to contribute your Big Idea to shape the future of training and learning in achieving better health for all.

CONTRIBUTE YOUR IDEAS BY CLICKING HERE

The next phase in human evolution anticipates our ability to work together for the common good for us all. This leads us to the consideration of the next global industrial revolution, which will be discussed during See Change MAKERS’ next BLOG installment.

Please stay tuned in…