Eventually I was left with a couple of hours last night. I was going through some files on my computer when I saw some photos from the Shout Out Social exhibition, and thought to myself ‘I really ought to do something with those’. Voila! Instant story.

Please vote for these slides in the Fuze Tell a Story Contest, because if I win the prize money will be donated to women in poverty through Opportunity International (Grand Prize is $5,000.) I hope you like this short story ‘about love, beginning with you’. It might not be the story I had hoped to write, but I think you’ll enjoy it nonetheless.

This one ..

(also known as a Matryoshka doll.) Please don’t ask me to explain what Russian dolls have to do with microfinance in the Philippines.  I can only suggest it is a symbol of women, community impact and the perpetual nature of Trust Bank loans.  Apparently Matroyshka dolls are also known to symbolise motherhood and fertility.

I thought the slides might be silly, I rushed it and I wasn’t happy with the font – but it made it to the Slideshare feature page – nice! And the best thing is people can learn something about Trust Banks and microfinance (well I can only hope!)

Do you like to think of new ways to tell a story? Do you share your ‘silly’ ideas?  What holds you back?

THANK YOU to these amazing women for their contributions!
Alison Spencer, IBM Australia
Amy Palko, Less Ordinary, Scotland
Anita Pahor, Women’s Opportunity Director, Australia
Beth Kanter Social Media for NonProfits
Bonnie McEwan Owner, Make Waves: Impact Marketing for Nonprofits USA
Cindy Lenferna de la Motte, Director at Fashion Collaborative, Australia
Danielle Johnston, Business Director, Committee for Melbourne, Australia
Debbe Kennedy, Founder, President, and CEO Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies, USA http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
Janette Toral, digitalfilipino.com Australia/Philippines
Joanna Young, Confident Writing, writing coach, Scotland
Kieran Cannistra, Innovation Editor IBM, USA
Linda Griffin Founder ClearWind LLC, USA
Lindy McKeown, eLearning Consultant, Australia
Lynne Wenig,  Scope President (2005 – 2007) Australia
Marigo Raftopoloulos
Michelle Zamora, AP SOA Marketing Leader, IBM, Australia
Nina Simosko, Global Chief Operating Officer, SAP Education USA
Penni Russon, Author, Australia www.pennirusson.com
Phaedra Boinidiris, CEO, WomenGamers.Com USA
Renee Wolforth, Attorney, Washington, USA
Dr Robyn McMaster Sr VP MITA International Brain Based Cente
Sacha Chua, Canada/Philippines
Shai Coggins,Co-Founder & Community Strategist, b5media.com
Silvia Guccione, Director, Pomodoro Italian Cooking School, Australia
Suzanne Male, Publisher, Smink Works Books, Australia
Sacha Chua, Philippines and Canada

If these slides impact you, please consider making a donation of $10 to invest in a group of women in the Philippines.

And share these inspiring slides on your blog or Facebook etc… thank you!

She recently issued a photo challenge responding to the theme of “the changing seasons”. Some of the contributions to Amy’s Flickr group are breathtaking. It’s springtime in Melbourne, which means we enjoy summer, autumn, winter and spring wrapped up together in 24 hours. I couldn’t find any blossoms, but I did find these lovely girls in the garden

And here’s my token Halloween photo, taken down at the beach after a kids’ Halloween party. Overcast, but warm enough to dip your feet into the shallows at Elwood beach. My little monsters had a wonderful splash!

You still have 24 hours or so to add your photo to the changing seasons challenge (before Sat 1 Nov) which also happens to be the deadline for the Women’s Investment writing (for charity) challenge! Amy sent in her poetic response and photo:

I’m putting together the slides right now…so let me know here or on Twitter if you would like to add your quote! Be creative! And enjoy observing and capturing the incredible things around you everyday…