Nerd Nite Liberia

Join us for the 22^nd edition of Nerd Nite @ Fuzion on Tuesday, April 28th @ 8pm for an evening of intellectual stimulation and beer! Get ready to learn about mating practices, Malta, and math-based manipulation!

Presentations include:

Malta: a popular beverage, home of Maltesers chocolates, place of the falcon or just my country? —By Jonathan Said

And

Statistics and How It Gets You Out of a Jam with the Law—By Jessi Hanson

And

The Sex Lives of Dogs —By Joelle Gordon

Here’s more information about the presentations and presenters:

Malta: a popular beverage, home of Maltesers chocolates, place of the falcon or just my country? —By Jonathan Said

People always ask me where Malta is, what it’s like, what language is spoken, is it where Malteser dogs and cats come from, and why does it exist. Here are some possible answers. The presentation will give a brief insight into the history, culture, food, language and attractions of Malta, while providing some interesting facts. And there might be space for a little quiz.

Jonathan is from Malta (funnily enough). He grew up there and left when he was 22. He visits twice a year and his family live there. After a good old Maltese upbringing (we all know what that means, right?) he headed to the UK, then to Tanzania, Guyana, Malawi and now Liberia. The main thing to know is that he’s Maltese, like the falcon, and this presentation isn’t a presentation about a hobby. Blame Dara for that.

Statistics and How It Gets You Out of a Jam with the Law—By Jessi Hanson

Have you ever been in a pickle with the law and thought what you could have done to make it go better? Here is your chance to find out how research can help you with your next ticket or your police encounter! This presentation will provide some qualitative and quantitative research that may help people when being ticketed or who are in a pickle with the law and how they can help the situation (legally).

Jessi is the interim Executive Director for Teach for Liberia and the co-founder and Program Director for Liberia for Playing to Live. A fan of how cool stats can be and what they can teach us. In her spare time, she enjoys torborgee and hot pepper soup and teach Liberians how to make guacamole. Ms. Hanson’s expertise with statistics and law come from firsthand experience including avoiding unlawful arrests or detentions or ticketing in four countries, including: Liberia, United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic.

The Sex Lives of Dogs —By Joelle Gordon

Have you ever wondered about how dogs get it on? Well, wait no longer. This presentation promises to answer all the questions you have ever had about the sex lives of dogs, and perhaps even a few that you wouldn’t even think to ask.

Joelle Gordon arrived in Liberia 5 years ago, and she just won’t leave! She and her trusty three year old hound, Endor, can be seen driving around in their jeep, like they have no not a worry in the world. After having been asked on many occasions for Endor puppies Joelle introduced Endor to a couple of willing ladies, and so far 14 puppies have joined the world. Having no previous experience in breeding dogs, Jo set out to learn all she could about canine reproduction. Here are her findings. Warning this subject might be sensitive for some people.

In wonderful news it appears that Nerd Nite is back on track, and we have an exciting group of presenters set for this Tuesday!  Please join us on Tuesday, March 10th at FuZion (14th and Tubman, Sinkor) at 8pm sharp for an evening of learning and beer consumption, the topics are:

The Senate and People of Rome–By Francesco Kirchhoff

And

How to make a (improvised) Bomb–By Dave Luke and Richard Scott

Here’s more info on the presentations and presenters!

The Senate and People of Rome–By Francesco Kirchhoff

In the 16th century, a disgraced politician in his exile was dreaming of turning his hometown of Florence into a republic modeled after ancient Rome – an ideal so unattainable in his “corrupt” times that he turned to plots of turning the Medici ruler into a ruthless Prince of a unified Italy as plan B. A short talk about the unique constitution that made the Roman Republic so successful in the eyes of history’s most reviled political theorist, Niccolò Machiavelli.

Rome-born, Berlin-based Francesco is a caffeine addict who toils away day and sometimes night as a freelance UX designer and product manager in order to support his tragic habit. Currently, he is the Product Owner for the Ebola apps of eHealth Africa

How to make a (improvised) Bomb–By Dave Luke and Richard Scott

Explosive Hazard Awareness – key lessons to keep your arms and legs intact.

Dave- Irish, ginger bearded budding humanitarian. Scotty- English, no bearded baby humanitarian.

In an effort to inspire new people to present, I’m bringing back some MVPs for this Nerd Nite, including a return to some of the most popular topics and presenters from previous Nerd Nites (myself not included, but I’m the host, so there).

Presentations include:

Not Just Lincoln and Kennedy: The True Stories of US Presidential Assassinations—By Tracy Slagle

And

Branding 101—By Charles Dorme Cooper

And

Are you sure Suriname is not in Africa?: How the slave trade and the bold acts of a courageous few led to modern day African villages in the heart of the Surinamese jungle—By Dara Lipton

Here’s more info about the presentations and presenters:

Not Just Lincoln and Kennedy: The True Stories of US Presidential Assassinations—By Tracy Slagle

Facts surrounding American presidential assassinations tend to get lost in silly conspiracy theories or nonsensical coincidences – when the facts about the more than twelve successful and attempted assassinations are often even stranger than fiction. Learn about the assassin who, after being the most unpopular member in a vegetarian free love cult, decided he should kill the President, the number of would be assassins that were instructed by either God or a dead president (or Charles Manson) in a dream to murder the President, and why poor President Ford was the only President to be the victim of assassination attempts by women.
Tracy currently works for Tiyatien Health, where she spends her days talking about community health interventions and policy, and supporting the Ministry of Health’s management of the EVD Response. During her free time she likes to tell anecdotal stories about American presidents, which her friends have assured her is a perfectly normal thing to interject into conversations. Tracy is also sorry that she is giving this presentation again to those that have already seen it, but her only other options on short notice were discussing the developmental stages of kittens or Taylor Swift, so she thought everyone would enjoy this more.

Branding 101—By Charles Dorme Cooper

Branding has proven to be the single most effective device for influencing consumers in today’s marketplace. In fact our identities can be largely defined by the brands we interact with, whether it’s by those we actively select or reject, or by those we simply don’t notice. Every day we are exposed to between 3,500 to 5,000 brands, and a brand can often be the most valuable asset on a major corporation’s balance sheet. In his presentation Charles will explain the basic concepts of branding, using examples from some of the world’s most prominent brands.

Charles Dorme Cooper is a Liberian communication designer who specializes in branding, marketing, graphic design and web development. With over a decade of experience, his clients have included Bank of America, Blackboard Inc., ePals Inc., UNICEF, USAID, World Bank/IFC, PSI Liberia, the Liberia Maritime Authority, the National Investment Commission of Liberia, and the National Port Authority of Liberia. He is a co-founder of Liberia’s first “dot-com” company, www.COOKSHOP.biz, and he is also a founding member of the Liberia Marathon Trust. Mr. Cooper has degrees in Graphic Design and Visual Communication.

Are you sure Suriname is not in Africa?: How the slave trade and the bold acts of a courageous few led to modern day African villages in the heart of the Surinamese jungle—By Dara Lipton

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, hundreds of thousands of slaves were transported from various countries in West Africa to the Caribbean and northern South America to work the plantations of their British, Portuguese, French and Dutch slave owners. Many of these newly arriving slaves fled into the rainforest and created independent communities that survive today and retain many of the linguistic, cultural, and social characteristics of their West African ancestors. Dara will focus on these retentions among the West African descendants living in the jungles of Suriname.

Dara works for an INGO in Monrovia focusing on civil society and media sector strengthening, has lived in Liberia for two years (as of January 10th), and has been the host of Nerd Nite since July 2013. She hopes you will be inspired by this evening’s Nerd Nite to sign up and present next month.

Join us on Tuesday, June 10th at 8pm at FuZion (14th and Tubman, Sinkor) for the 19th edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations include:

Carbon, oxygen, cotton puffs and rhubarb: how using new ingredients to build batteries will save the planet—By David Giesbrecht

And

The History, The Spectacle: A look into everyone’s favorite Jewish coming of age ceremony–the Bar and Bat Mitzvah—By Dara Lipton

And

Bourbon: it’s not just for breakfast anymore —By Michael Nicholson

Here’s more info about the presentations and presenters:

Carbon, oxygen, cotton puffs and rhubarb: how using new ingredients to build batteries will save the planet—By David Giesbrecht

We need to stop using fossil fuels, but renewable energy sources are unreliable. If storing energy was cheaper, solar, wind and hydro would be more competitive and carbon emissions would decrease. I will talk about recent advances in battery technology that replace expensive metals like nickel and cadmium with things that grow in nature.

David Giesbrecht grew up in Manitoba, Canada. He works for The MENTOR Initiative which is an NGO that does malaria control and research. This allows him to spend time in swamps and rice fields collecting mosquitoes. He loves picking blueberries and canoeing and misses his mom’s rhubarb pie.

The History, The Spectacle: A look into everyone’s favorite Jewish coming of age ceremony–the Bar and Bat Mitzvah—By Dara Lipton

The bar and bat mitzvah is a sacred initiation right for the Jewish people, one that has existed for thousands of years and marks the moment when a young girl or boy is formally welcomed into adulthood. What is the history of this ceremony, and how has it evolved from sacred rite, to back-up dancers and smoke machines? Why are some Jewish woman allowed to participate, and others not? And how does this ceremony fit within the broader spectrum of coming of age ceremonies? Come learn all you ever wanted to know and more about this uniquely evolving ritual, and if you’re lucky, you’ll all get matching t-shirts.
Dara Lipton is the host of Nerd Nite and therefore is clearly abusing her privileges tonight by choosing herself as a presenter. Notably, today, June 10th, 2014, is the 18th anniversary of Dara’s bat-mitzvah, which inspired this presentation, and she is happy to celebrate this all-important anniversary with all of you. When she’s not hosting Nerd Nite or honoring her jewish history, Dara works at an international NGO here in Monrovia supporting the capacity development of the media and civil society sectors. She also requests that you sign up to present at Nerd Nite so she can stop recruiting herself, her band mates (David), and other unsuspecting friends.

Bourbon: it’s not just for breakfast anymore —By Michael Nicholson

Everyone gets a little bit more patriotic on the eve of the World Cup, even Americans, so let’s celebrate that all-American drink, bourbon whiskey. Although bourbon comes from Kentucky, USA, its production is not exclusive to Kentucky, and its enjoyment is certainly not exclusive to anyone (except those who don’t drink responsibly.) Bring high spirits for a discussion of fine spirits! (And, alas, you may have to bring your own bottle, unless Ali has some Four Roses on the menu: for the record, for all time, Jack Daniels ain’t no bourbon.)

Kentuckian Michael Nicholson, economist, has been a certified Maker’s Mark Ambassador since May 2009 and an Honorable Kentucky Colonel since November 2011. Ambassador Col. Nicholson is thrilled to discuss his state’s greatest (legal) export, bourbon whiskey, although, alas, he has none left to share from what had likely been one of the finest private collections ever found in West Africa. Look him up next year in Islamabad, though, and he’ll again be ready to trade a long glass for some good conversation.

Join us on Tuesday, May 13th at FuZion (Sinkor, 14th and Tubman) at 8pm for the 18th edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations include:

Transatlantic textiles: Liberian quilts, world’s fairs, and museum collections—By Stephanie Beck Cohen

And

The Troubles in Northern Ireland: Cheatsheet—By Anne Kennedy

Here’s more info on the presentations and presenters:

Transatlantic textiles: Liberian quilts, world’s fairs, and museum collections—By Stephanie Beck Cohen

In 1892, Liberian quilter Martha Ricks traveled to London to present Queen Victoria with a quilt decorated with a coffee tree, marking the first diplomatic quilt gifted by a Liberian to a head of state. The queen then sent the quilt to Chicago in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition, where quilt and quilter received global recognition. In this talk, Stephanie will discuss Liberia’s diplomatic gift of choice from the 19th century to JFK.

Stephanie Beck Cohen is an art history graduate student (Indiana University) and Mellon Foundation fellow studying Liberian art at the World’s Fairs and women’s networks in the 19th century. A first-timer in Monrovia, she’s interviewing as many quilters as possible before she has to head back stateside.

The Troubles in Northern Ireland: Cheatsheet—By Anne Kennedy

Cheat your way through any conversation about Northern Ireland’s bizarrely twisting conflict after just 20 minutes. Experts on conflict or Ireland and other disruptive types will be refused for partisan political reasons at the door.
Anne Kennedy is a freelance consultant based in Monrovia who does online promotion including creating websites and internet training. She is also the woman writing the first travel guide book to Liberia. In one of her many former lives she coordinated week long tours of Ireland that required her to talk non-stop about Ireland 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, for months at a time.

Join us at Fuzion (14^th and Tubman) on Tuesday, April 8th at 8pm for the 17th edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations include:

The Alien Tort Statute – Accountability for International Human Rights Violators in US Courts—By Monica Tulchinsky

And

King Ludwig II. of Bavaria – Life and myth—By Ursula Hein

And

“They Say, Dey Say” – Let’s Build an App!—By Charles Dorme Cooper and Mlen-Too Wesley

Here’s more info about the presentations and presenters:

The Alien Tort Statute – Accountability for International Human Rights Violators in US Courts—By Monica Tulchinsky

For the past 30 years, American human rights lawyers have harnessed a little-known loophole in the law, known as the “ATS,” to bring the world’s most horrific human rights abusers to justice, including the infamous Charles “Chuckie” Taylor. Recently, this law has come under attack by the US Supreme Court. In this presentation, Monica will explore the fascinating history of the ATS and the battle raging in US courts to ensure that perpetrators of torture, genocide, and other international crimes are brought to justice.

Monica Tulchinsky is a human rights attorney and Carter Center Fellow embedded in the Sexual and Gender Based Violence Crimes Unit of the Ministry of Justice. When she’s not prosecuting sex crimes, researching torture, or engaging in other similarly fun and lighthearted activities, she spends her time volunteering at the More Than Me Academy and purchasing Hello Kitty items in bulk.

King Ludwig II. of Bavaria – Life and myth—By Ursula Hein

Every tourist visiting the most beautiful part of Germany, Bavaria, will come across the famous King Ludwig II. Well-known for his castles, even borrowed by Walt Disney, his life is full of rumors and myth. However, being King in a time when Germany was still growing together, his political decisions changed the German landscape till today.

Proudly Bavarian, Ursula was born and raised near Munich. Even now, living in Liberia, she promotes the open, welcoming and beer-loving culture of her home country. Besides that, she tries to fix and improve the Liberian road network.

“They Say, Dey Say” – Let’s Build an App!—By Charles Dorme Cooper and Mlen-Too Wesley

To demonstrate the potential created by the proliferation of mobile devices in West Africa, the presenters will build a simple, interactive social app for web and mobile devices called “Dey Say”, and will walk the audience through the process of planning, designing, and developing the app.

Charles Dorme Cooper and Mlen-Too Wesley are the creators of Liberia’s first dot-com, www.COOKSHOP.biz, an online platform that lets users browse and order food from the best restaurants in Monrovia via mobile phone or computer.

Join us at Fuzion (14^th and Tubman) on Tuesday, March 11^th at 8pm for the sixteenth edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!  All three presentations are really different, and really awesome.

Presentations include:

Not Just Lincoln and Kennedy: The True Stories of US Presidential Assassinations—By Tracy Slagle

And

The Power of One Vote—By S. Aaron Weah-Weah III

And

Barbershop Singing is Cool!—By Chris Sheehan

Here’s more info about the presentations and presenters:

Not Just Lincoln and Kennedy: The True Stories of US Presidential Assassinations—By Tracy Slagle

Facts surrounding American presidential assassinations tend to get lost in silly conspiracy theories or nonsensical coincidences – when the facts about the more than twelve successful and attempted assassinations are often even stranger than fiction. Learn about the attempted assassin whose main motivation for murder may have been his severe stomach problems, the number of would be assassins that were instructed by either God or a dead president in a dream to murder the sitting President, and why poor President Ford was the only President to be the victim of assassination attempts by women.

Tracy currently serves as the Director of National Partnerships for Tiyatien Health, where she is lucky to spend her days talking about community health interventions and policy. During her free time she likes to tell anecdotal stories about American presidents, which her friends have assured her is a perfectly normal thing to interject into conversations. 

The Power of One Vote—By S. Aaron Weah-Weah III

Voter apathy is a major challenge affecting young democracies around the world. The more and more elections there are in a country, the less important citizens see the need to turn-out and vote during elections. There are many factors that are responsible for this behavior trend, many of which you may be aware of. But the essence of the presentation is not to state those factors responsible but rather provide hope for electorates in the midst of so many failed campaign promises and politicians disregard for the needs and aspirations of the vast majority within a democracy.  We always need to be reminded that, indeed, there is power in one vote.

S. Aaron Weah-Weah III is a Liberian youth activist who has spent the last decade getting youth, students, and the broader population involved in local and national decision making processes that affect their lives.  As a country engulfed by the aftermath of over a decade long civil war that was fought mostly by children conscripted as soldiers, Liberia is finally getting back onto its feet. At the same time as the war was ending and the child soldiers were going home, as a young man of the same age, Aaron was working for a calmer country and a greater future, one in which coups could be replaced by peaceful activism, freedom of political expression, and the positive and balanced reform of a working democracy. 

Barbershop Singing is Cool!—By Chris Sheehan

Audio visual presentation with a surprise ending! Chris will give a brief explanation of the history of the barbershop singing art form and show short videos of different performances to demonstrate the appeal of this “hobsession”.

Chris Sheehan is a Technical Adviser with the Ministry of Finance in Liberia. He has a long background of tax administration. He discovered barbershop singing in 2007 and has not looked back. He loves singing and rarely passes up an opportunity.

Join us on Tuesday, February 11th for the fifteenth edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations include:

Bitcoin: the best currency since monopoly money—By Jen Houston

And

The Endurance—By Ben Blevins

And

The Hungry Tide: The Royal Bengal Tigers of the Sundarbans Forest—By Sara Gibson

Here’s more information about the presentations and presenters:

Bitcoin: the best currency since monopoly money—By Jen Houston

Bitcoin is all the rage on headlines these days. There are lovers and there are haters. Regardless of your opinion, people are buying cars, airfare, overstock items, and even living for months on end solely using the digital currency! Join me as I walk you through what exactly these bitcoins are, and why you should care about it. I can’t promise you $200 when you pass Go, but I can promise you that you will leave with more questions about the future of currency and the political process as we know it!

Jen Houston is a teacher at the More Than Me academy. This is her second go at Liberian expat life. In 2011 she worked for Liberty and Justice, the Fair Trade Apparel Manufacturer. Nerding out on unconventional capital markets has always been a leisure activity. She has worked for an impact investing foundation The Eleos Foundation, worked under John Harrington Investments, an ethical asset management firm employing shareholder advocacy and founded an event series called The Good Capitalist to evangelize these ideas. Over Christmas she discovered her own brother is a Bitcoin miner and has fixated her lens on the bitcoin-o-sphere ever since. Jen holds a BA from UC Santa Barbara in Global Studies. (She is not an expert in anything).

The Endurance—By Ben Blevins

100 years since Shakelton’s ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the legend of the Endurance and its crew still ranks as one of history’s greatest adventures.

Ben ‘Barnacle’ Blevins is one of Monrovia’s oldest NGO salts, often spinning yarns as long as his dromedary lashes and getting out of the odd scrape of his own. He enjoys riptides, motorcycles and mosquitoes. 

The Hungry Tide: The Royal Bengal Tigers of the Sundarbans Forest—By Sara Gibson

It is said that if you do not see a tiger while trekking through the Sundarbans, you are lucky- because the Sundarbans are home to the world’s largest man-eating tiger population. Gibson will relate some of her experiences traveling through this region and talk about tiger conservation efforts in India and beyond.

Sara Gibson is a human rights attorney currently working as a Carter Center/Washington & Lee Fellow in the Human Rights Unit of the Ministry of Justice.

Please joins us on Thursday, November 14^th at FuZion d’afrique for the 14^th edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations include:

God, Drugs, and Evolution – By Alveena Shah

And

Can Behavioral Economics Inform Public Policy? –- By Raj Singh

And

Don’t Go To Lebanon—By Ali Fakih

More info about the presentations and presenters:

God, Drugs, and Evolution – By Alveena Shah

Religious belief and behavior are uniquely human and found in all cultures. In spite of being an integral part of daily life for billions of people, religion was largely ignored by neuroscientists until recently. Neuroscientists are trying to find answers to some basic but fascinating questions: How is knowledge of God represented in the mind? What does a brain look like when having an intense spiritual experience? What other human experiences mirror those experiences (hint: see presentation title)? I’ll end with a discussion of the contributions of brain research to a theory of evolution of religious beliefs.

Alveena is a kindergarten teacher, which is why she has a hard time talking to adults. She is also the Monitoring and Evaluation Fellow at More Than Me. In one of her past lives, she worked in a laboratory of evolutionary neurobehavior. In the life before that, she is guessing she was some species of lemur.

Can Behavioral Economics Inform Public Policy? –- By Raj Singh

A prime assumption for standard economic theory is that individuals make rational choices however; we are known to make irrational decisions repeatedly and predictably. Behavioral economics strives to understand this irrationality by integrating human psychology into economic analysis. Furthermore, there is a case to be made for how behavioral economics can help design better public policies.

Raj is just an average guy from a different planet.

Don’t Go To Lebanon—By Ali Fakih

Over the years, I have met many people who know very little about Lebanon and nearly all of their information comes from what they see in the news or hear from other people. There are even people who still think the civil war which ended 23 years ago is still going on.  I am not sure whether this misinformation is because of a general lack of knowledge or because Beirut is simply a lost city; a place affiliated only with wars and destruction.

In fact, Beirut, along with most parts of Lebanon has been rebuilt and the economy has been booming for the past two decades. Yes, the politics are crap, but if you put politics aside, you will see a true paradise of historical beauty, phenomenal nature, exotic foods, and a hell of a clubbing scene, like nothing you have ever experienced before.

Ali Fakih moved to Liberia nine years ago, after majoring in Management Information Systems. His one insatiable hobby is meeting new people every day. 

On Tuesday, October 8th join us for the 13th edition of Nerd Nite Liberia!

Presentations this week include:

Accountability in Liberia: The winners of the Liberian Film Festival on Accountability– By Divine K. Anderson, Arthur J. Wahwehlee, Jr., and Dorcas Pewee

And

Big Data and Privacy–By Nouhoun Diarra

And

The Narrow Line between Coca and Cocaine Production: The Bolivian Example – By Georg Salamon

More info:

Accountability in Liberia: The winners of the Liberian Film Festival on Accountability– By Divine K. Anderson, Arthur J. Wahwehlee, Jr., and Dorcas Pewee

Last month, Accountability Lab hosted a Film Festival and screened short films produced by five talented young Liberians after they completed a five-week training program.  The two films to be screened at Nerd Nite address sexual exploitation and water supply and they represent an innovative attempt to change Liberia for the better through film, an idea that is long overdue despite the fact we are living in the multimedia age where film has the potential to have great influence over people. (The films are each five minutes long).

Divine Key Anderson is a film documentary consultant for German International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH’s project “Promoting the Rule of Law and Justice in West Africa” in Monrovia. Previously, he worked for 2-RICH Productions / Movie Academy Liberia, Lion of Judah Business Center, and Opuada Multimedia Studio in Nigeria. He sees film as a tool for social change that can make people change their heart and mind, help our donors spend wisely, inspire audiences to take action, ignite social change, and most of all fight corruption. He is presenting the work along with Arthur J. Wahwehlee, Jr. and Dorcas Pewee, two young and inspired student filmmakers.

Big Data and Privacy–By Nouhoun Diarra

Nowadays, big data is a buzz word in the IT world and it’s about using the power of internet to collect data from all kind of possible sources and try to make sense of it for many purposes including marketing, national security issues, science, and education, etc. This exercise sometimes crosses the red line on users’ privacy and data protection.

Nouhoun is an Information Technology specialist and a project management professional. He has worked in Liberia for about three years, initially with the United Nations and currently with a leading commercial bank in Liberia. He is a proponent of open source technologies, e-learning, and all types of computer mediated communication systems.

The Narrow Line between Coca and Cocaine Production: The Bolivian Example – By Georg Salamon

Bolivia, the largest coca grower and cocaine producer throughout the 90s, has meanwhile managed to vastly decrease its production. Right now, the country finds itself in 3^rd position after Colombia and Peru. Despite of this, its current coca leaf revalorization campaign coupled with the expulsion of the DEA has raised massive demonization by the USA. Where is the country heading with its current policy? What can be learned from the Bolivian approach?

A newcomer in Liberia and Africa as a whole, Georg is still pursuing his International Relations Studies in Germany and spent the last half year in La Paz, Bolivia for an exchange semester.