EcoKnights®

19 October 2011, Petaling Jaya -- EcoKnights was very privileged to host a writing workshop last Wednesday conducted by American writer and communications expert, Paul Spencer Sochaczewski.

The 2 hour workshop was attended by more than thirty participants from all walks of life. Some were academics and mass communications lecturers and students, while some where just budding writers looking for some inspiration from Paul's vast experiences. And of course government officers and also fans of Paul. All in all, EcoKnights small little office space was full to the brim and we hoped our hospitality made it comfortable for those who turned up.

So here's a bit about Paul.

Paul's international career began when he joined the U.S. Peace Corps in 1969.  He served as an education advisor in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.  He then worked as the creative director of JWT advertising agency and as a freelance journalist in Singapore and Indonesia, living 13 years in Southeast Asia.  Later, based in Switzerland, he created and ran WWF’s global public awareness campaigns to save rainforests and biodiversity and then ran the WWF Faith and Environment Network.  He was the director of communications for the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Paul has written more than 600 by-lined articles in the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Traveller and Travel, Leisure and Reader’s Digest.  His books include Redheads, a comic eco-conservation novel set in Borneo  (Daniel Quinn, author of Ishmael, said “Redheads does for the struggle to save the rain forests of Borneo what Catch 22 did for the struggle to stay alive in World War II”), Soul of the Tiger (George Schaller, director of Wildlife Conservation International, said this was "a marvelous book, unique, intelligent, attuned to cultures and filled with stimulating ideas"), Sultan and the Mermaid Queen (“In the great tradition of Asian reporting.  The humanity of Somerset Maugham, the adventure of Joseph Conrad, the perception of Paul Theroux, and a self-effacing voice uniquely his own”, according to Gary Braver, bestselling author of Skin Deep), and the section on nature in Malaysia: Heart of Southeast Asia.

He was on the editorial advisory board of the Indonesian Heritage encyclopedia.  Paul also developed and conducted creative writing workshops and created IGOLF-International Golf and Life Foundation, which promotes environmental and social responsibility in golf worldwide.

While in Sarawak Paul helped isolated primary school teachers introduce a new English-language curriculum.  He spent free time hunting wild boar, playing football on the local team, drinking too much rice wine, and helping out in longhouse communities – he was one of the few conservationists who has hands-on experience with slash and burn.  At that time, in 1969-1971, Sarawak’s rainforests were lush and vast, and Paul developed enormous respect for local folks who knew and respected the forests.

EcoKnights would like to thank the US Embassy for arranging Paul's trip to our humble office.

Top: All ears!	Top: EcoKnights crew, Lana Zulkifli, Afiq Amirul, Aaina Karina and Fadly Bakhtiar with Paul Spencer. He autographed a book and donated it to our small library.	Top: Full house. 15 minutes later, more participants turned up and we had to offer them floor space instead.

For more information about Paul and his work, please visit the following site, http://www.sochaczewski.com/