Congratulations, John Clark!

One of "us" has been named a 2007 winner of a Cultural Vision Award by NUVO Newsweekly.

It's hard to imagine someone who's worked harder than John Clark (photo, at right, from NUVO) of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research to make Hoosiers aware of the world around them.

Here's what NUVO has to say:

Located next door to a National Guard recruiting station on Indiana Avenue just south of Michigan Street are the annex office spaces of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research. Stop in on any given day and you will hear a diverse mix of tunes wafting from the office of Senior Fellow John Clark. Gypsy music from the Balkans, Portuguese fado, bebop from Kansas City, Cuban salsa, a Mozart sonata or a current remix of a classic Beatles tune all figure into Clark’s eclectic taste for this universal language, an artform that moves human emotion by transcending time and political, religious, ethnic and national boundaries.

The power of transcendence is something Clark emulates with his superior intellect. Whether he is facilitating a public conversation with visiting journalists from Turkey, mayors from Israel and Palestine, or a group of high school students who have just viewed a current film about Iraq, Clark is a maestro in the Socratic method of engaging people in a meaningful exchange of ideas. Through intensive research Clark has also helped to inform a regional conversation about the impact of Hispanic immigration on Central Indiana.

John Clark is a major proponent of the notion of “glocalization,” or the power of trans-local partnerships, which he describes as a new model of public diplomacy and foreign aid. Central Indiana is rich with organizations and individuals that aspire to change the world through international outreach. International Center of Indianapolis, Franciscan Center for Global Studies, Christel DeHaan, Ambassadors for Children, IU-Kenya Partnership, Rotary, Kiwanis International [and the Nationalities Council of Indiana!!!] (to name only a few) — each contributes to a symphony of actors striving for the kind of sustained social change that occurs through an intimate, local-to-local exchange of people, talent, resources and goodwill.

Well-credentialed, Clark received his master’s and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, authored several books and published countless articles; he chooses to share his gifts with the community. “Provocate” is Clark’s latest enterprise designed to connect a needy world with those eager to serve. Visit his Web site at Provocate.org to learn about the plethora of local opportunities to become a more informed glocal citizen and join in the growing chorus of concerned individuals with a willingness to change the world by thinking out loud. —Charlie Wiles