Today I started writing again. Writing is a skill which gives us the power to communicate better and helps us being recognized in our field. I used to like writing when I was in school, but nowadays, there are no words that come to my mind. My partner was not happy with this because he is writing blogs every day. But my second visit to NYC where my partner lives and works had a positive effect on me and now I have the confidence to start writing. My partner Francesco Rulli, who has special skills in writing blogs, communicating, making speeches, creative thinking and who is confident in meetings and conferences, inspired me during  those three weeks working with him in NYC .

Before this trip, I thought that writing was a skill which some people have in their blood. But I changed my mind when I saw Francesco Rulli. Here is one of his blog, “Critical Thinking – Beson Henderson and Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Central and South Asian Creativity”, where he wrote about his skills in writing: “My argumentative and conversational skills were excellent but I lacked results on written tests" in school," I was aware of my weakness but I decided to go further and establish my own tasks and surpass my own expectations. Two years later, I was visiting my high school where my English teacher was proud to introduce me to her new students and prize my perseverance and success.”  Then I told myself, “Roya, comnon, it’s not a big deal, accept your weaknesses and write blogs and articles, even if they are not perfect in the beginning.” But they are going to be better with more practice. And I should not be worrying  about mistakes as they make the future successful.

But where is my partner Francesco Rulli from?

He is originally from Florence and has lived in NYC for 22 years. Florence is the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany that has around 370,000 inhabitants. Francesco Rulli always talked about the history of his birthplace which motivated me to study it. Yes, it has a great history in political, religious, art, fashion and economical aspects. This history made Florence a special city in Italy and a famous one in Europe that attracts millions of tourists every year.

After some research. I found out that Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in the world regarding art and fashion. This is where Francesco Rulli got the idea to start a fashion company in the USA. It reminded me that people in Florence love to dress up and make a lot of efforts to have the best outfit. It shows how the Florentines love fashion and I love it too. The mix of styles and tastes out there made me think of starting a show with that would show scarves and jewelries, mixing Italian and traditional Afghan design, in NYC in March.

The fashion in Florence can be found in their culture and history. About the city, Wikipedia says: “Florence has a legendary artistic heritage. Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance, Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.” .

Francesco Ruli comes from this city which gave him a creative thinking in the business and art.

Several of the greatest artisit in history worked or studied in Florence, like Michelangeloand Botticelli. This city is famous for its architecture too as it has many churches, public buildings and houses that was constructed with Romanesque or Gothic architecture.

Francesco and I started together the Afghan Development web channel on June 2012. It has 4 million unique viewers per months and more than 52,000 fans on Facebook. With the revenues generated by this Web TV, we built 7 IT centers in schools and connected 30,000 students to the world wide web. Meanwhile, we are working on the Examer Educational software in Afghanistan and thinking to extend it to South and Central Asia.

 I am proud on him and the way he does business. It inspires me and brings a lot of changes in the way I do business. I learned a lot from him.

 

 

Roya Mahboob

 

 

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