David Lovejoy

by Editor BGF | Sep 30, 2023 | Executive Board

David Lovejoy’s international journey seamlessly weaves his North American roots with extensive experiences in Asia. This worldly perspective underpinned his success as a tour guide in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Japan, where he championed mutual understanding and cultural appreciation. An MBA graduate from the University of British Columbia, David’s leadership capabilities shone as the Vice President of the university’s consulting club. There, he played an instrumental role in assisting local charities and SMEs to bolster efficiency, expand their reach, and secure crucial funding. Recognized for his outstanding contributions, David was honored with the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. Committed to fostering the next generation of leaders, David mentors students for career development and is a founding member of TEC Canada’s peer mentoring group. His vision culminated in establishing Horizon Search, a groundbreaking platform that embodies his dedication to global collaboration and innovative thought exchange.

Joseph Caristena

by Editor BGF | Nov 22, 2023 | Executive Board

With over 20 years of experience of capacity building at all Government levels, Joseph Caristena is a specialist in building the required and necessary “Aqui Culturelle” and “AI Ecosystem” for the new paradigms of the III millennium, helping teams to give priority on what really matters and understand what needs to be done and avoiding to reinvent the wheel and converting complexity into simple concepts.

He worked successfully with many “Government Information Agencies” always focused in bringing these environments to the next level not only with the adoption of the best workflow automated pipeline digital architectures, but also explaining the importance of the taxonomy of knowledge.

As EU DG NEAR TAIEX expert focused on “Capacity Building”, Joseph Caristena gives technical assistance for information exchange to trigger and accelerate the “cultural harmonization process” required between nations to better understand each other’s national identity.

Joseph Caristena as a well experienced worldwide speaker designed and updated an experimental LIVE cross-disciplinary authentic narration technique called “Ekphrases” which is an ancient mind journey experience to strengthen and empower social intercultural dialogue, social perception and to reduce at the same time social distance.

This research is important because emotions play a crucial role in the processing of all kind of media content perception (artworks included), and specifically, in the enjoyment and experience associated with them.

There is a wide spectrum of emotions and sensations occurring in response to the perceived aesthetic appeal of stimuli determined by a cultural performance (which must not be considered only as an art performance performed by artists, but also as a human interaction like a simple discussion).

The Mediterranean Basin has been the cradle of world civilization since the first settlements. Today in our turbolent age, history recalls the Mediterranean cultural heritage to play a crucial role in promoting dialogue and intercultural understanding.

Joseph Caristena is a performer and a worldwide keynote speaker of social innovation, digital transformation and planetary transition.

Planetary transformation and transition are the next threat of human kind.

We must not repeat in Space the same mistakes done on Earth.

Rethink the way you think!

Akiko Kawai

by Editor BGF | Sep 23, 2024 | Executive Board

Akiko Kawai is an entrepreneur thriving at the intersection of politics and business.

After earning her MPA from The Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University in 2014, Akiko joined the International Political Team at PSB Research (formerly Penn Schoen Berland), where she contributed to election strategies in various countries and supported lobbying efforts in Washington D.C.

Leveraging this experience, Akiko founded a Tokyo-based political marketing firm, where she serves as CEO. Through polling and strategy development, she is bringing fresh perspectives to Japan’s political landscape. Simultaneously, she established a global nonprofit organization dedicated to “Tea Diplomacy”. As a member of ANCSSC, a UN alliance, this organization promotes cultural exchange across multiple countries including the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.

Furthermore, Akiko serves as an overseas expansion advisor for the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, supporting regional businesses in their globalization efforts. As an accomplished amateur violinist, she often incorporates her musical talent into her diplomatic endeavors, fostering international understanding through the universal language of music.