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xviiWithout safeguards for balance in the developmentsystem, development processes will put stress on thesystem, leading to imbalance and instability, whichmay not be apparent in the short-term but certainlywill lead to systems failure in the long-run. Imbalancesare often witnessed in the form of cycles of boom andbust - a way for the system to re-adjust itself. This cycleof boom and bust has been very prominent in ourrecent human history.Bust : Collapsing to readjustIn a world that is changing at such an incredibly paceand distractions, that internal peace is hard to come by.We can however try to cultivate inner peace throughregular practice using techniques of reflection andmeditation and appreciating nature, according to yourown cultural orientation and faith. These practices areacts of internal peace building and can help us todevelop self confidence, dignity, wisdom, compassion,acceptance of others. With the development of theseinner strengths comes the foundation for reducingviolence, and developing the insight to good decisionmaking and reconnect us to our human spirit or ourhumanity. All faith and religious beliefs have thesequalities.Summary:Clearly this model promotes production andconsumption as main activities. It is a system ofconsumerism. The globalization of consumerism ishappening at such a rapid pace that the planet can nolonger sustain it. According to Global Foot PrintNetwork, we have been consuming more than whatthe planet earth can regenerate since the 1970’s. At themoment we are consuming 150% of our only planetearth. In about 30 more years we will be consuming200%, or twice what the planet can reproduce.Essentially we are killing our planet and in the processkilling ourselves along with it.A wake up call has been way overdue:We need to break the vicious cycle of mindlessconsumption and senseless over production. In orderto wake up and break the cycle, we should begin withrecognizing the interconnectedness of all things,mainly the Heart, the Head, and the Hands. To dothis, we need to consciously remind ourselves andreflect regularly that everything is inter-connected in acause-effect relationship. Such mindfulness creates aninternal force of internal peace, which will drive thesustainability of the world. Peace starts with us andwith our every step.I hope that over the next few days as we discuss thevarious development issues and challenges facing ourregion, we should also reconnect with ourselves andwith each other and try to:• Work together to create a shared vision over thenext few days so that you can go back to yourhome countries and convince others and youhave each other to continue to support you onthe journey;• Make use of the up-to-date technological toolsto disseminate and connect further. Social mediahas helped the Arab Spring revolution. In asimilar way we can use it to revolutionize theregion’s holistic transformation.• Invest in your country’s young people’s holisticeducation and development as they are potentialagents of change to gaining momentum behindthe new balanced model of development. Weneed to focus on youth because they have lessbaggage to unlearn. They have energy andcuriosity to learn and to experiment with newideas. We have been saying for too long thatyouths are the future and they are agents ofchange. But so far we have not engaged them andgive them enough space to participate ineducation and in development. It is time to givethem greater role to discover their own potentialand to plan for their own future.• Education must promote more experientiallearning and discovery learning so that the head,heart, and hands of the students arestrengthened simultaneously. This way they willbe well prepared to lead the new developmentparadigm.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows