Washington DC: The city and the politics.

The first week in Washington DC can easily be divided in two parts. We spent the first couple of days getting to know the city, with visits to the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court and the library of Congress. We also took a double-decker tour, which was essential as, being the first time the three scholars visited the city, and due to the vastness of it, we needed to be efficient with our transportation between meetings.

We had two dinners on our first couple of days here, one with part of the board for the Fund to American Studies and another with a program director for the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Very lively debates were held on both dinners, where we discussed the American way of living, its political, and international affairs. There was a more informal feeling to dinners, which made the conversations less institutional and more personal, with the topics being discussed in a very open manner.

We then spent the second half ot the week with more formal meetings. We explored the consultancy world, with meetings at both the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation. After exploring the internal organization of each institution, we discussed the US’ position on Latin American when in Brookings, and the state of Conservatism in the US when in Heritage.

We had another very interesting meeting at the International Foundation for Election Systems, where we met with the Chairman of the Board, with whom we discussed international elections, with a special focus on Afghanistan. It was extremely interesting to get an insight into all the struggles for free and transparent elections in contentious areas, and to get to better understand all the difficulties faced.

That marked the end of the program for the week. The weekend was dedicated to exploring the rest of the city and visiting some of the many museums. Being here is quite remarkable. The city has an imponent component, the political institutions are everywhere and you can feel extremely important decisions are being made at any given time. Although obvious comparisons can be made with Brussels, the atmosphere is just different.

Reflections of my time in Colorado Springs.

I’ve thought long and hard of how to best describe the time I spent in Colorado Springs. I came here not knowing what to expect. Just like most people, I couldn’t wait to go to Washington D.C. for two weeks. I am now full of mixed feelings. These three weeks in Colorado Springs have affected me in ways I did not even think was possible, and I can honestly say I would have happily stayed for longer.

The highlights were many, but I shall mention three.
First of all, the internal structure of El Pomar, and the way the Fellowship is set up. I’ve never seen a program that puts so much responsibility in the hands of young people, which, combined with the team bonding activities, makes for a strong and cohesive team, that reflects that responsibility but also a huge aura of trust.

Of the many important meetings, I was particularly impressed with Mayor Rivera, with Eric Cefus of the Catamount Institute and with Dick Wadhams of the GOP for their very down-to-earth and pragmatic approach. Even though there was passion for what they did, they were still realistic enough to know how the most adequate way of acting in whatever situation would be, and how to bring bigger change due to that.

Finally, the beautiful outdoors. Not only is being surrounded by the Rocky Mountains already an amazing experience, but we had the chance to visit some beautiful places, including the Maytag mountain ranch, where we felt at home.

I am not the same person I was three weeks ago. I am not as ignorant as I was of the American culture. I have met some truly wonderful people. I am actually considering coming back and study/get a job somewhere in Colorado. All of these facts made my experience in Colorado Springs a valuable one, and one I will cherish.

Week 3 – Making change

The last week in Colorado Springs was bittersweet. All the meetings were, as usual, extremely interesting, but the fact that we were leaving for Washington on Sunday made the week full of nostalgia, as it officially marked the end of the 1^st part of the program.

We have spent a lot of time discussing the future of the region in meetings with the Mayor, in a Forum for Civic Advancement, in a meeting of the Forum for the Pikes Peak region, and in a lively discussion about electoral reform. A large part of our time was also dedicated to the military, with a visit to the Air Force Academy, where we had a chance to meet with a professor of political science, and we also met with a retired Sargeant-Major, with whom we discussed civilian-military relations. All of these meetings gave us a broad sense of what the main priorities of the region are, and how the local authorities are planning on making change. It was extremely interesting to once again realize the power of the civil society, how its voice is heard and how active it is. Although Colorado Springs is not, by today’s standards, considered to be a big city (approx. 414.000 inhabitants), it is a very large one (482 km2), which makes it very different to most European cities, meaning the approach to any issues must also be thought of in a completely different manner.

There was also a healthy slate of leisure activities (as Monday was a public holiday), with us visiting Pikes Peak, the Pioneer’s museum, and also going to a baseball match.

Overall, it was not a very intense week, work-wise, but had the right mix of fun and work, which was the perfect way to say goodbye to the city.

Although none of the fellows knew much about the region prior to the trip, we were able to get a real grasp of the American way of life, the functioning of the political system, and the role of the military in the region. Many myths were dispelled, much was discussed, much was learned. We will now be confronted with a completely different reality in Washington D.C., something we are all very much looking forward to.

Business and politics.

Tuesday.
We went to an exhibition on Terrorism, called The Cell, Tuesday morning, before meeting with the Consul-General for the UK in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, Kevin Lynch. The discussion was lively, and we looked into the past, present and future of the EU/USA links.
We then returned to Colorado Springs and met with the Chancellor of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Although many have discussed the crisis faced by European universities and how they’re losing ground to the American ones, it was intersting to realise the Americans keep our model closeby and are constantly trying to improve.

Wednesday.
Wednesday was spent on a day trip. We visited the premises of Colorado’s Farm to Tableprogram, and we spent the day reaping corn and getting to know about the program, which focuses on raising produce to distribute to soup kitchens and other institutions. I had a short but very pleasant chat with the founder before leaving, and it was very rewarding to realise that there are people who will still push for change, and can make a difference, no matter how limited.

The program was set up with Tony’s own funds and relies heavily on voluntary labour. It has been growing steadily, and will keep on making a difference. It was also quite nice to spend a day with most of El Pomar’s fellows, to see them in a more relaxed environment, and to get to know them a bit better.
Thursday.
We had meetings with the CEO of an NGO called Catamount Institute and with the CEO of the US Olympic Committee on Thursday morning, and with the Legal Counsel of the Foundation and with the CEO of Colorado Springs’ Chamber of Commerce in the afternoon. I was very impressed with the pragmatic approach to environmentalism, during the 1st meeting. An idealist who’s not pragmatic will always be an idealist. By taking a very pragmatic stance and investing heavily in the education of the citizens, the Catamount Institute has been gradually promoting change in the people’s consumption habits and making them more aware of many simple steps one can take to be environmentaly-friendly.

We had a long weekend (as Monday was Labour day), and did a lot of things, which I will try to describe in the best possible way in the nearest future. This week is focused on the future of the region, and we’ll also learn about the military.

Denver.

The first day of the second week was one of the most interesting ones, as it was closely related to my personal interests. We traveled to Denver, where we met with the CEO of the Denver Chamber of Commerce early in the morning. Even if business is not exactly my area of expertise, it was still very interesting to explore the political link in it, and all that happens in the backstage. We were able to get a broad overview of how business is conducted in CO, how hard it is to try to define priorities with so many different members, and how the crisis has affected the state, business-wise.

After a very pleasant lunch and walk through Denver’s downtown, we went to meet Dick Wadhams, chair of the GOP in Colorado. This would, by itself, be extremely interesting, but we met with Pat Wawk, chair of the Demoratic party in Colorado afterwards, so we had a chance to compare their points of view in the same topics and how different their overview of the past, current and future events is.

Dick Wadhams is a very direct, no-nonsense person. He answered our questions in a very pragmatic way, not taking any detours or trying to be politically correct, which was incredibly surprising and refreshing, especially in a political party. He has surprisingly praised Obama and how he maintained his word, doing everything he promised during the campaign, saying he doesn’t quite understand why people are so surprised with his policies. While he admires an ideological president, he believes the people are now aware of the dangers of having one, together with a majority in both Houses. He sees people disapproving Obama’s policies, but could not say who would be the most likely Republican candidate for the 2012 elections. Pawlenty, Barbin and Romney appear to be the most likely candidates, but it’s still wide open and some surprise names could appear.
He has, also rather surprisingly, pointed big government as being a key issue to be debated, as it’s being proved that a big government means stagnation. When asked about immigration, he said no party had the stomach to openly debate the topic, but he’d like to see it being widely discussed, as it’s an issue that divides even Republicans, and as 62% of Coloradans support the highly controversial Arizona law.

Pat Waak was more of a politician. There was never a bad or even doubtful word said about Obama and his mandate, with optimism being a key word in her speech. She admitted one of the biggest challenges for the upcoming elections would be to make all the Democrats come together, as many were disappointed with Obama’s policies. She was much more defensive on the immigration issue, due to the elitism, racism and mean-spiritedness of how the debate is often held, admitting it’s an issue that should be debated on a federal scale. She was extremely friendly, but it was very hard to get a direct answer to many of our questions. She has, admittedly, a much harder job than Dick Wadhams at the moment, due to the rising discontent with Obama.
She did not consider the role/scope of the state as an issue per se, as people can recognize that it is the government who paves the roads and provide with much of what we have accessible on our daily life.  She concluded by saying that the worrying part is that the loss of faith in Government will, ultimately, lead to economic stagnation.

We returned to CS afterwards, with much food for thought.

And now for something completely different.

Thursdays to Sundays are always free, so we tried to use these 3 days to get to know our surroundings a bit better.

We went to the Garden of the Gods on Thursday morning, and had a nice walk around the quite astonishing rocks. We then made our way to Manitou Springs, where we had lunch and spent the afternoon. It’s a nice little city, still very traditional, and that has fresh water springs all over. In the evening we went bowling.

We went to a huge flea market on Saturday, and found some true bargains. It’s quite frustrating to have a weight limit on our luggage, otherwise I think we all would have bought much more. In the afternoon, we went to something I was quite looking forward to: a roller derby. I had a lot of fun with the whole thing, took loads of pictures, and even got to talk to a few of the players. I really felt I was in a completely different reality, everything was just amazing. We then met some people and went to a bar. Me and Katie did a quick stop at CS’s best ice-cream place before going back home, as we needed to get up quite early today.

And it was so as we were going whitewater rafting. The season’s about to end, meaning there isn’t as much water as we’d have liked, but it was still great fun. The morning was ok, as the rapids were not very challenging, but it all got much more interesting in the afternoon. We got wet, we laughed, we thought we were going to tip over a couple of times, we went for a swim, we jumped off a small cliff to the water. A really nice day, indeed.

Back to work and to Denver, in the morning!

Work and fun.

Day 4 started with a very cheerful visit to Colorado Spring’s Conservatory. Funded by the sheer driving force of Linda Weise in 1994 , it has been steadily growing and it’s a very pleasant space. The rooms are properly equipped and, with an 100% graduation rate and with the idea of giving back to the community always present, it plays a very important role in the civic capital of Colorado Springs.

We did something completely different in the afternoon. We met with a couple of fellows and traveled to Maytag Mountain Ranch, 1,5h away. We were all pretty much blown away. Not only the place is absolutely stunning, as the owners were incredibly friendly and made us feel at home. We got to understand the whole cattle raising process, went to visit the cattle and even rode horses. I found it really nice that they are very worried in doing things the way they should be done – i.e., man not playing God (if you have time, you can read about cattle being fed corn, as it’s too much to describe).

So the cattle is grass-fed, so it is not fed with any strange substances to speed up its growth. The ranch is huge and the cattle is constantly moved to greener pastures. Although I’m not an expert, the animals seemed very healthy.

We went horseback riding, which was a bit of a challenge. I’d never ridden a horse so big, but loved every second of it. It was time to leave, after that, but it truly was an amazing afternoon.

We finished the day with a typical american activity. We went bowling!

August 25.

Day 3 was quite unique. The day started with the all-staff breakfast, where great food was served and we got a chance to hear, from most of the staff, updates on the projects.
After that, we headed to a meeting room with a Vice-President, where we got the results of the Myer-Briggs personality test, in order to measure our leadership skills (I’m an ISTP). We got to do a few exercises to test how compatible we all were in a working environment, and what could be done to improve our relationships at work and how to better work with each other. It was all done in a very accessible way, and it’s something I now consider to be essential, in order to improve the workplace atmosphere and workflow. We had a very pleasant lunch with Jim Hayes, of Time’s fame, and we then proceeded to visit Atlas Prep school, before returning to Penrose house to meet with Richard Soudriette, from the Center for Diplomacy and Democracy, with whom we talked about international elections.

A few highlights:
- even though you don’t need to be friends to work well together, having a good relationship is a great tool. The fact that there are 20 fellows may make for a difficult obstacle to overcome, but the Foundation tries to improve the communication, work habits and all other aspects that will make for a positive work environment.
- you can literally do what you want, in the USA. Atlas school was started by 2 friends who wanted to open a school in a deprived area of the city. After a lot of research and raising around 500.000 USD in funds, they finally opened it. They now have 180 students, a budget of approximately 1.6 million USD, and the school is making its way to the top, in term of academic results.
- civic education is still seen as essential in getting young people involved in politics.
- the fact that Obama may lose one or two of the Houses will most likely mean he’s reelected.

August 24.

We got to know a lot more of the Foundation on the second official day of the program, with very interesting meetings regarding grantmaking, regional partnerships and international relations. We also got a chance to visit the very interesting Carriage Museum, where we were greeted by a very friendly and enthusiastic guide (Jason), and had a very pleasant lunch with the 1st year Fellows.

A few remarks:
-  quite a few of El Pomar’s staff were involved in the military. It’s quite incredibly how people just drastically change their career path, and all their past experience is highly regarded.
- total donations in the USA in 2009 were of 303 billion USD. 75% came from individual citizens.
- having a lower fiscal rate and expecting less from the government makes civil society more active.
- by granting 5% of your assets per year instead of giving all your money away, you’ll make a bigger impact over time.
- a Foundation with assets of over 500 million USD is considered to be medium-sized. The largest in Colorado only has assets of around 1.2 billion USD.
- local actors are involved in the regional partnership program, as they know the regions better and are able to contribute with priceless inputs regarding what should be the priorities. By doing that, you also engage them in active philanthropy.
- you can be bottom or second bottom in your class and still make a difference.

And so it begins.

Yesterday marked the first day of the program. After a very relaxed Sunday where I’ve met one of the other Fellows with whom I went to lunch with, after getting the rental car, the start was set for 8a.m.

I met with Hubert and we went to pick Katie up (whom we hadn’t met). Upon arriving at the Foundation, we had a briefing on what our week would be like, followed by a “Locker Room with El Pomar Fellows” session. During the rest of the day, we had a tour of the Foundation’s premises, a very American lunch, and meetings with the CFO, VP and CEO of the Foundation.

A few highlights:
- the foundation relies heavily on its (approximately) 25 fellows. It’s quite incredible how people who have just graduated or have little work experience have so much responsibility and all appear to be very efficient at what they do.
- when becoming a fellow, you usually go through a 1 year “training period” with a second year fellow, before being in charge of your own projects. The Fellowship last for 2 years, so its idea is to prepare you for the “real” professional world.
- the “Locker Room” is basically a weekly briefing, under the motto “we respect and utilize individual strengths to build a cohesive team”. The Fellows talk about what they’re doing, what they intend to do, any assistance they might need, all in a very informal but productive way. Even if, in professional terms, you don’t need to be friends with the people you work with to do a good job, that obviously helps, and they try to foster that.
- the Foundation’s annual budget is, in a Portuguese perspective, completely unreal.  We’re talking about approximately 500 million USD, with approximately 25 million USD distributed to NGOs and other institutions per year.
- the Foundation has 10 investors who are responsible for the growth of their assets, and their aim is a growth of approximately 7.5% a year.
- approximately 50% of the requests for financial aid are turned down.
- Obama’s honeymoon period is definitely over.
- it is assumed the next war America will get involved with will not be military, but financial, with China capable of ruining the USA’s economy.
- pie baking contests are real! And they’re quite fun!