Challenge 

 A common challenge in my work as a Regional Technical Advisor for biodiversity and land degradation is   to persuade individuals to adopt more sustainable practices in terms of farming in order to reduce land   degradation , soil erosion , water pollution , deforestation and loss of biodiversity . As was emphasized in    the Coursera course , we need to “ sell the challenge ” so people can truly understand why the current   situation is negative and therefore why change is required . This is critical in order to elicit behavioral   changes , such as reduced use of pesticides , adoption of agroforestry systems , and more efficient   irrigation techniques , among others . 

 Selection 

 During the implementation of projects under my portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean ,   storytelling is often employed in order to convey messages that are relevant and meaningful to people .   It is not enough just to present people with the facts and data on the negative impacts of current   production practices on water quality , forests , biodiversity and climate change . It is important to create   emotional connections with producers . In order to do this effectively , we need to understand the target   audience(s ) and what values and issues are important to them ( for example , safe drinking water for   their families ) . The storytelling can then be more focused . 

 Application 

 In various projects under my portfolio , the storytelling tool is applied in different ways . One way is to   fund exchanges among producers from different regions so that they can learn from each other . This   often involves storytelling from the “ converted ” producers to describe how the adoption of more   sustainable practices has changed their lives for the better . Another way in which the storytelling tool is   applied is through the creation of videos with testimonials of project participants who inform the   viewers of the negative impacts associated with their former practices and the tangible benefits   experienced from the adoption of more sustainable production practices . This combines both   storytelling as well as the design tool of visualization , making it doubly effective . The messages / stories   conveyed during the farmer exchanges as well as the in the project videos focus on the part of the   message that is most powerful to the particular audience at hand . The stories also indicate what actions   people need to take to be more sustainable so it is as clear and simple as possible . 

 Insight 

 By applying this tool , I have learned that storytelling ( and effective communications in general ) is critical   for behavior change and environmental impact . My experience with this tool has underscored the   importance of finding the most effective messages for target audiences rather than simply imparting   information to promote environmental sustainability .   I also gained insight about how two different   design tools can effectively work together for greater impact , in this case , storytelling and visualization . 

 Approach 

 In the past , projects typically focused more on presenting the facts of an environmental challenge to   promote behavior change without making strong connections to people´s emotions , values and   priorities . Current projects are now more effective at using storytelling to elicit emotional connections 

 and are therefore more successful at increasing the adoption of sustainable practices . In the future , I   think it will be increasingly important to better understand the different sub - groups within target   audiences and their differing priorities in order to tailor the storytelling ( and visualization in the case of   the production of videos ) more effectively . This will likely require the use of another design tool that   was introduced in this course , namely , mind mapping , in order to gather key themes and insights based   on large amounts of information and data on producers ´ perspectives , priorities and interests , and   thereby inform the design criteria . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Challenge 

 A common challenge in my work as a Regional Technical Advisor for biodiversity and land degradation is   to persuade individuals to adopt more sustainable practices in terms of farming in order to reduce land   degradation , soil erosion , water pollution , deforestation and loss of biodiversity . As was emphasized in    the Coursera course , we need to “ sell the challenge ” so people can truly understand why the current   situation is negative and therefore why change is required . This is critical in order to elicit behavioral   changes , such as reduced use of pesticides , adoption of agroforestry systems , and more efficient   irrigation techniques , among others . 

 Selection 

 During the implementation of projects under my portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean ,   storytelling is often employed in order to convey messages that are relevant and meaningful to people .   It is not enough just to present people with the facts and data on the negative impacts of current   production practices on water quality , forests , biodiversity and climate change . It is important to create   emotional connections with producers . In order to do this effectively , we need to understand the target   audience(s ) and what values and issues are important to them ( for example , safe drinking water for   their families ) . The storytelling can then be more focused . 

 Application 

 In various projects under my portfolio , the storytelling tool is applied in different ways . One way is to   fund exchanges among producers from different regions so that they can learn from each other . This   often involves storytelling from the “ converted ” producers to describe how the adoption of more   sustainable practices has changed their lives for the better . Another way in which the storytelling tool is   applied is through the creation of videos with testimonials of project participants who inform the   viewers of the negative impacts associated with their former practices and the tangible benefits   experienced from the adoption of more sustainable production practices . This combines both   storytelling as well as the design tool of visualization , making it doubly effective . The messages / stories   conveyed during the farmer exchanges as well as the in the project videos focus on the part of the   message that is most powerful to the particular audience at hand . The stories also indicate what actions   people need to take to be more sustainable so it is as clear and simple as possible . 

 Insight 

 By applying this tool , I have learned that storytelling ( and effective communications in general ) is critical   for behavior change and environmental impact . My experience with this tool has underscored the   importance of finding the most effective messages for target audiences rather than simply imparting   information to promote environmental sustainability .   I also gained insight about how two different   design tools can effectively work together for greater impact , in this case , storytelling and visualization . 

 Approach 

 In the past , projects typically focused more on presenting the facts of an environmental challenge to   promote behavior change without making strong connections to people´s emotions , values and   priorities . Current projects are now more effective at using storytelling to elicit emotional connections 

 and are therefore more successful at increasing the adoption of sustainable practices . In the future , I   think it will be increasingly important to better understand the different sub - groups within target   audiences and their differing priorities in order to tailor the storytelling ( and visualization in the case of   the production of videos ) more effectively . This will likely require the use of another design tool that   was introduced in this course , namely , mind mapping , in order to gather key themes and insights based   on large amounts of information and data on producers ´ perspectives , priorities and interests , and   thereby inform the design criteria .
### Output: 