At The Crossroad Of An Advocacy Work
A colleague at the local internet café association that I helped organize advises me to rest ‘for a while’ from my advocacy work for the internet café industry in the country. She said I had been on it for five (5) continuous years so I must be very tired by now. What with all those criticisms being thrown on me by the very people that I self-sworn to support no matter what. As some sort of consolation, she added that “only trees with fruits get stoned”. She emphasized though that I should rest from my advocacy work only for a while so that the industry would know the importance of what I had done and whatever else I want to do if I am out of it. Some sort of saying “you would not know a man’s worth until you lose him”.
When I heard my colleague’s advice, I told her that she maybe correct that I need a rest from the advocacy work that I am doing. I had to pause though and asked her, what will happen to the things that we have worked on in the one year that the legally-organized national advocacy organization existed? Most of them are still half-cooked so should they just go to waste? I definitely believe it should not happen that way. There should be people in the organization that must take the job to its fruition.
The year is ending and it is time to make plans for the new one. The industry that I have sworn to help is not changing. The advocacy work that I am doing seems not to work on them. There seems to be brighter minds with better ideas for the industry to grow. I feel it’s time that they take the reign for their own sake. This is not goodbye. I will still be around to observe what’s happening and give advice when asked.
EDIT (12-28-2010) – I received an email from a regular reader of this blog and he got the impression that this is a farewell post. I wish to clarify that it is my advocacy work as Chairman of I-Café Pilipinas that I will abdicate after a formal turnover of my ongoing activities in the organization to its current Board of Convenors. I will continue my blogging on this site although there could be less topics about the i-café business because I would no longer have first-hand information regarding the issues confronting the industry.
Hi sir
First time here in your blog. I’d just like to share an idea… Sometimes we keep pushing on a rock that doesn’t seem to move no matter what we do. Then we try to push more and push harder just to end up with the same result. Rest for a while because this would allow us to think of better ideas. Who knows maybe a better idea might not be pushing the rock but getting around it instead? Hope this helps…
Thanks for the advice, Tim. The stakeholders in the i-café industry especially the government regulatory bodies, internet service providers, gaming companies and IT vendors appreciate the presence of the advocacy organization that I am heading.
Unluckily, many i-café owners do not seem to understand the advocacy work that we are doing for the industry. Maybe, they want to do it themselves so I believe it’s about time to let them go for it .