SPONSORED: What’s that you say? You haven’t heard of the Global Readiness Forum? Don’t worry. Neither had we, which is why we had no choice but to create it! But who are we and what exactly is it that we do, you ask? Simply put, the Global Readiness Forum is a group of global business leaders and language industry veterans who study current events and trends at the intersection of language, culture, ethnicity, geopolitics and global business — you know, the types of things that led many of us to be curious about the world and language in the first place, but which, too often, go unnoticed in our traditional day-to-day work.
My interest is piqued! How do I get in on the action? We’re currently accepting applications to join our client-side discussion group, reserved for senior-level professionals working in client-side roles in global operations, which meets at 9 a.m. Pacific Time every other Friday.
Can’t make it? Don’t currently qualify? Tune in to our sister podcast, The Venn Diagram, hosted by Michael Reid, this Thursday at 12 p.m., Pacific Time, and be sure to check out this week’s curated topics below!
June 4, 2021
Just when you think it’s a slow news fortnight, you have to make major cuts to a number of very interesting topics, and the agenda still seems to be way too packed! This week (as many others) we’ll turn our regard toward China and Hollywood, starting with John Cena’s apology — in Mandarin no less — to China for saying that Taiwan was the first country to see Fast & Furious 9, then have a look at cuts to Friends: The Reunion in China, Disney’s pressuring of Filmmaker magazine to censor director Chloé Zhao’s comments about growing up wanting to flee China and China’s Disney diplomacy.
Next, we’ll have a quick tour of what life has been like with COVID lockdowns and closed borders for residents of exclaves, enclaves, and cross-border towns, in particular the New York/Quebec/Ontario Akwesasne Mohawk community.
In the news, we’ll be moved by the effects of hyper-localization in accessibility when a man with cerebral palsy gets a speech aid with a Yorkshire accent, followed by two cases of accusations of cultural appropriation (Yoruba trademark and Harajuku Girls) and finish with a look at how Sesame street is tackling the question of race, racial identity and police brutality with children.
