11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Change the World
Celebrating our 11th Anniversary in 2015!
For 11 Days and other Updates Subscribe to the WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter here |
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts of people, organizations and movements working for the common good www.WE.net 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World! September 11- 21, 2015 |
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11DaysOfGlobalUnity.org 11 Campaigns For Change Promoted Globally Culminating on Sept. 21st the U.N. International Day of Peace 11 Days of Global Unity September 11-21 is a worldwide platform providing 11 Ways to Transform Our World. All agents of social change are invited to join in this global campaign for peace, justice, sustainability and transformation.Join the Extraordinary Partners and Allies of 11 Days of Global Unity! Register your group (it’s free) – Your Group’s Name, Link, Mission, Goals and Action Steps will automatically go up on our 11 Days Participation pages which we regularly promote to a global audience!
Become a Program Partner – Post your Events and Announcements from anywhere worldwide on our newly launched Global Unity Calendar. This Calendar is compatible with Google, Outlook, Apple and many other Calendars so you can easily Subscribe and add your group’s calendar events to the Global Unity Calendar!
Become an Outreach Partner – Provide outreach and promotion of 11 Days of Global Unity to your networks and followers and we will feature your work on our Partners & Allies pages and promote your group’s activities to our global audience. Reply to this message or click here!
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Deep Dialogues on Each of the 11 Themes of Change Featuring some of the most Visionary Thinkers
and Activists of our Time
When you register you can also participate in the Shift Network’s ongoing Summer of Peace Speaker Series. Speaker Schedule
Dialogues start each day at 1:00PM USA Eastern Time: Sept 11 Unity – Deepak Chopra
Sept 12 Interdependence – Indigenous Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim & Carole Hart Sept 13 Environment – Rhea Landig Sept 14 Economic Justice – Andrew Mazzone Sept 15 Health – Patch Adams Sept 16 Children & Youth – Cherine Badawi and Mariah Lin Sept 17 Women – Eve Ensler Sept 18 Human Rights – Jacqueline Murekatete Sept 19 Freedom – Rabbi Michael Lerner Sept 20 Disarmament – Helen Caldicott & Alice Slater Sept 21 Peace (the UN International Day of Peace) – Deborah Moldow & Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury (Philip Hellmich, Co-Host with Rick Ulfik) Host and Moderator for each dialogue: Rick Ulfik (Founder of We, The World) (Note: Schedule is subject to change – please check 11daysofglobalunity.org for updated information.) Have a question you want to ask Deepak Chopra or one of the other Summit speakers? Click here! Click here to register – it’s FREE! To be a Co-Sponsor or an Affiliate of this 11 Days Summit reply to this message or click here! |
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It’s Time to Unite Our Efforts We, The World is seeking highly motivated individuals passionate about creating social change to positively impact people and the planet. If you want to join the WE Team and help coordinate one or more of the 11 Campaigns For Change CLICK HERE. Together, WE Will Transform Our World!
Thank you!Rick Ulfik
Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net Your generous Donation will help us to continue and expand our coalition-building. |
Andrew Mazzone Speaks on the Subject of ECONOMIC JUSTICE
September 14, 2015 at 1:00PM USA Eastern Time
Participate by computer or phone from anywhere worldwide!
and Activists of our Time
When you register you can also participate in the Shift Network’s ongoing Summer of Peace Speaker Series.
Dialogues start each day at 1:00PM USA Eastern Time:
Sept 11 Unity – Deepak Chopra
Sept 12 Interdependence – Indigenous Grandmother Agnes Pilgrim & Carole Hart
Sept 13 Environment – Rhea Landig
Sept 14 Economic Justice – Andrew Mazzone
Sept 15 Health – Patch Adams
Sept 16 Children & Youth – Cherine Badawi and Mariah Lin
Sept 17 Women – Eve Ensler
Sept 18 Human Rights – Jacqueline Murekatete
Sept 19 Freedom – Rabbi Michael Lerner
Sept 20 Disarmament – Helen Caldicott & Alice Slater
Sept 21 Peace (the UN International Day of Peace) – Deborah Moldow & Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury (Philip Hellmich, Co-Host with Rick Ulfik)
Host and Moderator for each dialogue: Rick Ulfik (Founder of We, The World)
(Note: Schedule is subject to change – please check 11daysofglobalunity.org for updated information.)
Have a question you want to ask Deepak Chopra or one of the other Summit speakers? Click here!
Click here to register – it’s FREE!
To be a Co-Sponsor or an Affiliate of this 11 Days Summit reply to this message or click here !
FIRST historic case before ITNJ : Respondents : SA Government & Constitutional Court of South Africa for breach of fiduciary trust with fraudulent intent : {THIS IS HISTORIC}
: Case documents & annexures to investigation at: http://www.giftoftruth.wordpress.com/annexures.
www.abetterworld.tv has been promoting the Pachamama Alliance for the past few years as its values & mission are parallel with ours. This is a Free Event. To register:
The Symposium in NY Sat., April 30, 1-5pm. It’s a powerful education across a broad spectrum of social, economic and environmental, indigenous issues and justice.
See you soon–
Mitchell J. Rabin, M.A., L.AC.
Creative Consulting, Stress Management
Host & Producer, A Better World Radio & TV
212 420-0800
www.abetterworld.tv
www.mitchellrabin.com
http://www.youtube.com/abetterworldtvshow
www.huffingtonpost.com/mitchell-j-rabin
www.naturalnews.com/Author_Mitchell_Rabin.html
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” –Margaret Mead
Welcome to The Global Peace & Prosperity Summit in Mumbai. It is being hosted by Global Peace & Prosperity Initiative & Brahma Kumaris, on 27th Aug, from 10:30am to 1 pm at Kalina University, Mumbai.
Celebrating Peace events in 196 nations of the Earth.
You will be delighted to be in the presence of distinguished guests and speakers from the Global Peace & Prosperity Initiative, USA.
Highlights of the summit:
1. Peace Music & Dance
2. The Peace Pledge
3. Peace Dialogue
4. Peace Meditation
The ‘Global Prosperity and Peace Initiative’ was first launched globally at the 2nd World Parliament on Spirituality in Nov’16 in Utah, Salt Lake City, USA, by the Women’s Information Network (www.WomensInformationNetwork.com) an organization with its presence in all 196 nations.
On September 9th, join groups from across the city as we march through the borough against Gentrification, Racism and Police Violence!
11 AM Gather at Barclays Center
12 PM Beginning of march to Ebbets Field
1 PM Franklin Avenue and Fulton Street
1:30 PM Ebbets Field, Crown Heights
3:30 PM Von King Park, Bedford-Stuyvesant
4:30 PM Myrtle Ave and Broadway
5:30 PM End of march at Myrtle-Wyckoff Plaza
To read this online in your browser Click Here WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts of people, organizations and movements working for the common good www.WE.net 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World September 11- 21, 2017 Culminating on the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE Sept. 21st It’s Time to Unite Our Efforts! Every day we hear about new social, political and environmental challenges for our society and world. Millions of people are concerned about increasing economic insecurity, militarism, and environmental .degradation Growing polarization and intolerance is keeping us from collectively addressing the issues that potentially threaten our civilization’s very existence: The Mass Extinction of Species and Climate Disruption – both of which scientists say may become irreversible in the next 5-10 years if extraordinary action isn’t taken.
Join the Action – WE will promote your activities during 11 Days of Global Unity!
Free Resources for Collaboration & Action Generous Support from our Friends makes all of this Possible!
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Post your Events and Announcements
Worldwide! This Public International Calendar is compatible with Timely, Google, Outlook, Apple and many other calendars so you can easily Subscribe and Synchronize your group’s calendar events to it. When you post your social change or cultural events on our Calendar, the post shows up on many other websites as well for added global exposure!
We invite you to submit a Trend Report on your organization’s work for our online magazine Trends and for our ongoing Trends Newsfeed
To Register Your Organization: Click Here
To Become a Campaign Coordinator: Click Here
11 Global Unity Campaigns (Note: These Themes support the UN Sustainable Development Goals)
Sign-up your organization HERE Theme 2 Campaign: INTERDEPENDENCE Theme 3 Campaign: ENVIRONMENT Theme 4 Campaign: ECONOMIC JUSTICE Theme 5 Campaign: HEALTH Theme 6 Campaign: CHILDREN & YOUTH Theme 7 Campaign: WOMEN Theme 8 Campaign: HUMAN RIGHTS Theme 9 Campaign: FR EEDOM Theme 10 Campaign: DISARMAMENT Theme 11 Campaign: PEACE See Complete Campaign Descriptions HERE
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Cooperation & Coordination with New Global Allies
Contact our Coordination Team at: WeTeam@WeTheWorld.org WE will facilitate:
If you and your group create it, we’ll promote it during 11 Days of Global Unity! September 11 – 21
Key objectives:
11 Days of Global Unity
Tele-Summit September 11-21, 2017
Deep Dialogues on Each of the 11 Themes of Change
Featuring Visionary Thinkers & Activists This year including: Ralph Nader, Marianne Williamson, Pre-Register for FREE: 11DaysSummit2017@WeTheWorld.org
New voices are emerging
that may have an unexpected influence in high places… An Urgent Message From Your Children http://WeYourChildren.org Are you alarmed about the kind of world our children will grow up in? They are too! If you or your friends have environmentally concerned children who are 12 years old or younger in your life, here is an opportunity for them to express their fears, concerns and hopes for the future in a simple video.
An Urgent Message >From Your Children at http://WeYourChildren.org is a Public Service Video Series featuring children under 13 speaking in their own words to adults, making an appeal to all of us to respond with appropriate urgency.At http://WeYourChildren.org you’ll see 20 inspiring kids speaking in their own words, and learn how the children in your life can create and upload their own videos to add their voice for a Livable Future.Let’s spark a global children’s movement that gets the attention of those in power and helps to create major change! Your generous tax deductible Donation will help us to continue and expand our global network of collaboration and action! With your Support we will:
Thank you! Rick Ulfik – Founder of We, The World |
The Extraordinary Highlights from 11 Days of Global Unity 2016!
See All 11 Days 2016 Featured Allies and Events: http://WE.net/11days2016highlights
If you think organizing for change is more important now than ever before, please consider supporting our efforts with a generous donation and connecting us with potential major funders. We are working to create unprecedented cooperation and coordination between the world’s transformative grassroots movements. Our goal is to build public support and political will for solutions (like renewable energy) that create sustainability and peace for all.
Thank you!
Rick Ulfik
Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Change Your World
Trends in Global Grassroots Organizing , Trends Newsfeed
An Urgent Message From Your Children at WeYourChildren.org
GlobalUnityCalendar.org – See and post social change and cultural events worldwide!
Renewable Energy Media Campaign and Movement
Volunteer Sign-up: http://WE.net/takeaction/volunteer
Organization Sign-up: http://WE.net/11days/participate
Donation Page: WE.net/donate
Facebook – Twitter
WE - A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts of people, organizations and movements working for the common good WE.net The 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit
September 11-21, 2017
Robert Thurman, Karenna Gore, Nwamaka Agbo
Michael Beckwith, Sande Hart, Jonathan Granoff
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER – IT’S FREE!
Nwamaka Agbo - Program Manager at Restore Oakland.
Nwamaka Agbo has over 10 years of experience in working on social and economic justice issues and campaigns that help support the sustainable and equitable development of thriving and prosperous communities as the New Economy Innovation Fellow for Movement Strategy Center. Through a strategic partnership with Movement Strategy Center, Nwamaka serves as the Program Manager for Restore Oakland – a joint initiative of the Ella Baker Center and Restaurant Opportunity Centers United.
Most recently, as the Director of Programs at EcoDistricts, Nwamaka was responsible for leading Target Cities – a pilot program designed to support 11 innovative neighborhoods in 9 cities across North America in applying the EcoDistricts Global Protocol to help accelerate and achieve their district-scale sustainability goals.
During her time as the Director of Programs at Transform Finance, Nwamaka helped to design and launch the inaugural Transform Finance Institute for Social Justice leaders. The Institute was created to educate and train social justice community leaders about how to best leverage impact investments to deepen their social impact for transformative social change. Prior to that, Nwamaka worked at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights for over six years in a range of positions spanning from Policy Director, to Campaign Director and Deputy Director. During her tenure at the Ella Baker Center, Nwamaka helped to support the launch of the Oakland Green Jobs Corp and later went on to develop the organization’s Oakland-based Soul of the City civic engagement campaign.
Humanity’s Team projects include: Global Oneness Day – a day that Humanity’s Team created following its visit to the United Nations in May 2010 and a conscious business initiative focused on creating a new global standard for business in the 21stcentury.
Summit Background
The 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit is a FREE online event produced by The Shift Network in partnership with We, The World as part of the annual Summer of Peace, now in its 6th year. Each year, the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit broadcasts from September 11th through September 21st — the UN International Day of Peace.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Jane Goodall, Tavis Smiley, Eve Ensler, Daniel Ellsberg, Amy Goodman, Bill McKibben, Hazel Henderson , and many other visionary global leaders have spoken on the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit in the past.
This Tele-Summit is a key component of 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World — a global platform for changemakers that annually includes as many as 700 associated events in over 60 countries. The theme of the Tele-Summit is Moving from Vision to Action! and it features speakers (like you) who are global leaders in their respective fields, and whose actions are creating a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
We hope you will join us for all the sessions of the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit! Register for FREE: https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/11D17WTW/WTW
For more information about We, The World and 11 Days of Global Unity go to WE.net
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts
of people, organizations and movements working for the common good
WE.net 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit
September 11-21, 2017
Featuring Visionary Thinkers & Activists including
Robert Thurman, Nwamaka Agbo,
Michael Beckwith, Sande Hart, Jonathan Granoff, and many others!
Pre-Register for FREE: 11DaysSummit2017@WeTheWorld.org
RALPH NADER
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, author, lecturer, attorney, and multiple time US Presidential Candidate who is directly credited with landmark American consumer protection including the Clean Water Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, and the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act – all which affects everyone in the United States through laws mandating seat belts, food ingredient labelling and so much more. He has been named to lists of the “100 Most Influential Americans” by Life Magazine, Time Magazine, and The Atlantic.
Summit Background
The 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit is a FREE online event produced by The Shift Network in partnership with We, The World as part of the annual Summer of Peace, now in its 6th year. Each year, the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit broadcasts from September 11th through September 21st — the UN International Day of Peace.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Jane Goodall, Tavis Smiley, Eve Ensler, Daniel Ellsberg, Amy Goodman, Bill McKibben, Hazel Henderson , and many other visionary global leaders have spoken on the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit in the past.
This Tele-Summit is a key component of 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World — a global platform for changemakers that annually includes as many as 700 associated events in over 60 countries. The theme of the Tele-Summit is Moving from Vision to Action! and it features speakers (like you) who are global leaders in their respective fields, and whose actions are creating a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
We hope you will join us for all the sessions of the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit! Pre-Register for FREE: 11DaysSummit2017@WeTheWorld.org
For more information about We, The World and 11 Days of Global Unity go to WE.net
SUBSCRIBE to our WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter CLICK HERE | ||||
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts of people, organizations and movements working for the common good WE.net International Women’s Day March 8, 2018 Join the Action – Add your Programs & Events to our public international
Global Unity Calendar at http://GlobalUnityCalendar.org When you post on our Calendar the post shows up on many other websites as well!
Please let us know if you want to synchronize your calendar with ours.
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First Annual
Featured Speakers Include
Sande Hart – Director of the Women and Girls Sector of Charter for Compassion International Rick Ulfik – the Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
Other Featured Speakers include Treasures >From The Universe members Nina Laiberg, Nancy Baldry, and Sarah Otis.
Please join us for a dynamic, inspiring and interactive live conversation on the women’s movement and women’s empowerment between passionate advocates Sande Hart, Rick Ulfik and a collective of women who have come together to give birth to Treasures From The Universe – a project of co-creation and collaboration bringing light, love, and healing to the world in tangible ways.
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WEBCAST March 7-9, 2018 http://peacechannel.com Co-Sponsored by We, The World, Playing For Change, Unity Foundation Pledge To Peace and Step It Up for Gender Equality Since 1909, International Women’s Day has celebrated the power of women around the globe. On March 8, 2018, International Women’s Day spotlights a worldwide movement for women’s rights, equality and justice. In our first annual Women’s Day Webcast, Peace Channel honors the strength and courage of the women who make up nearly half of the planet’s 244 million migrants, preserving families and contributing to the global economy. You may Embed the Peace Channel W ebcast on your own webpage using this code: <a class=”embedly-card” href=”http://peacechannel.com/“>PeaceChannel</a><script async src=”//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js” charset=”UTF-8″></script>.
To learn more, contact us at darlene@peacechannel.com. Let us know on Facebook if you are planning a Vigil in your area. here are our new Love Power T-Shirts! |
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Visit www.facebook.com/spiritualitygonewild
and like the page to get notifications of when we are live On March 8th, join us for a whole day filled with inspiring interviews, global meditations, and empowering action steps to become what we wish to see in the world. Conscious Women leaders in love, compassion, and kindness will share their uplifting stories of hope and ways the audience can help co-create a kinder and more loving world for all of us.
Guests include: Ladies Go Live, Tina Valant, Lottie Hern Ross, and Jenn Nelson, Then Wendi Gilbert of Kindness Evolution, Sande Hart of Charter for Compassion Women and Girls Sector, Teri Angel of Angelspeakers and Spirituality Gone Wild, David Nichol will lead us in a Global Meditation for Unity, Ann Cabano Founder of Just Be Love Project, Scarlett Lewis of Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, Heidi Little of We, The World and International Children’s Month, and ShaRon Rae of No Judgement Just Love Movement.
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Unleashing the African Woman Thato Angelina Gabaitse Founder and Director Gabarone, Botswana Unleashing the African woman is a program aimed and designed to train groups of vulnerable women across Botswana. The mission of this program is to empower women to take full control of their lives. The program is designed to bring out the beautiful, strong and compassionate goddess in every woman.
This program strives to achieve this goal by developing the woman’s mindset through the building of leadership, life and entrepreneurial skills. This will be achieved through training conducted for 30 weeks through a body, mind and soul transformation journey with counseling, training on the development of a wholesome and holistic childhood foundation through love, abundance, and joy. Other activities include arts & crafts, theatre & dance, and gardening. Currently we are mobilizing resources to launch the program in partnership with YWCA Botswana (Young Women’s Christian Association), an organization that gives teen mothers the opportunity to continue with their secondary education while their babies are enrolled in the day care centre within the institution!
And soon we will be opening a branch office for We, The World in Botswana. For more information contact us at info@WeTheWorld.org |
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ZEMYNA The Goddess of Earth
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1654075494638275 Inviting all Eco Warrior women to join hands with us to make this a better planet Organised by Namrataa Arora Singh Country Director for Charter for Compassion India, Women and Girls Namrataa Arora Singh is a spiritual eco-feminism activist, currently a fellow with Change.Org’s She Creates Change program in India, battling against the use of plastics and other issues relating to empowering women.
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W.O.M.A.N., Inc.
Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent http://www.womaninc.org 26 Boardman Place | San Francisco, CA 94103
Direct Line: (415) 969-6761 24/7 Support Line: (415) 864-472
Roberta Donnay’s New Album Release
For International Women’s Day March 8th |
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International Women’s Day 2018 Campaign Theme
#PressforProgress https://www.internationalwomensday.com Now, more than ever, there’s a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. There’s a strong call to #PressforProgress motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.
Individually, we’re one drop but together we’re an ocean. Commit to a “gender parity mindset” via progressive action. Let’s all collaborate to accelerate gender parity, so our collective action powers equality worldwide.
Take action here: |
On International Women’s Day
Hear & Join Eve Ensler’s Passionate Call for 1 Billion Women To Rise! Go to http://WE.net/EveEnsler for the inspiring interview with Eve Ensler who has led a global movement to end violence against women.
“At the beginning, we got a group of women together in my living room. I think living rooms and kitchens are where all revolutions really begin.”
– Eve Ensler Tony Award winning playwright, activist, and author of the theatrical phenomenon The Vagina Monologues
Eve Ensler was the Featured Speaker on WOMEN for the 11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit 2015 produced by the Shift Network in Partnership with We, The World.
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It’s Time to Unite Our Efforts
Rick Ulfik
Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
Subscribe to our WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter: WE.net/subscribe
Extended Interview with Eve Ensler at http://WE.net/EveEnsler
Resources for Collaboration & Action
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World
11 Days of Global Unity Tele-Summit 2017 – Listen to the recent interviews with Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Ralph Nader, Robert Thurman and many others!
Trends in Global Grassroots Organizing , Trends Newsfeed
An Urgent Message From Your Children at WeYourChildren.org
GlobalUnityCalendar.org – See and post social change and cultural events worldwide!
Renewable Energy Media Campaign and Movement
Volunteer Sign-up: http://WE.net/takeaction/volunteer
Organization Sign-up: http://WE.net/11days/participate
Donation Page: WE.net/donate
Facebook – Twitter
Share your smiles, compliments, time, talents, money, and energy with those around you. We must truly be the change that we want to see. And we can do it. We are doing it. Believe that the future is full of mindfulness where hearts mean more than our accounts.
The Love Initiative.
Notes From the Road – Bright Lights Blog
http://troubadourofpeace.blogspot.com/
Book a house concert or music for a yoga class today!!
TOUR DATES
Date | Time | Venue | Location | Cost |
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3/22/18 | 3:00 PM | Choices | Akron, OH | |
3/22/18 | 6:00 PM | Tea Time for Peace | Kent, OH | |
3/23/18 | 5:00 PM | Friends of the Metro Parks Benefit w/ the Bright Lights | Akron, OH | |
3/27/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
3/30/18 | 6:30 PM | 330 Day @ Akron Civic Theatre | Akron, OH | |
3/31/18 | 10:30 AM | Celebration of Life for Marilyn Stroud | Cuyahoga Falls, OH | |
4/3/18 | 6:30 PM | MLK Kirtan | Akron, OH | Donations |
4/4/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Circle | Akron, OH | Donations |
4/6/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Rhodes St Rude Boys | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
4/7/18 | 8:30 PM | Mustard Seed Highland Square w/ Bright Lights! | Akron, OH | |
4/10/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother Lounge | Cleveland, OH | |
4/16/18 | 7:00 PM | Wolf Creek Winery | Norton, OH | |
4/21/18 | 6:30 PM | Bright Lights @ the Rialto | Akron, OH | $5 |
4/22/18 | 4:00 PM | Yoga Central | Canton, OH | |
4/28/18 | 7:00 PM | Wine Mill | Peninsula, OH | |
5/2/18 | 6:30 PM | Nonviolent Communication Series | Akron, OH | Donations |
5/4/18 | 7:00 PM | Big Love Night @ Live Music Now w/ Gretchen Pleuss | Akron, OH | $5-10 |
5/5/18 | 12:00 PM | Cleveland VegFest | Cleveland, OH | |
5/5/18 | 6:00 PM | Bent Ladder winery | Doylestown , OH | |
5/8/18 | 7:00 PM | Brother’s Lounge | Cleveland, OH |
FREE MOVIE TICKETS: We invite you to the opening of the highly awarded feature film Summer in the Forest on March 23-30th at the Village East Cinema. The movie is breaking down prejudices towards people with disabilities. For over 20+ movie goers there are FREE TICKETS.to WE Commkunity www.summerintheforest.com, for information contact paul.sladkus@goodnewsbroadcast.com 212 647 1212
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite and amplify the efforts
of people, organizations and movements working for the common good
WE.net
Dear Friends,
As one of the supporting organizations of this conference, We, The World is very excited to invite you to attend (in person or via livestream) the Inaugural Global Town Hall for Global Governance Renewal, Innovation and Reform – a FREE event July 21-23, 2018 at the University of Colorado in Boulder. This will be the first of a series of Global Town Halls leading to 2020 the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The Global Town Halls are a means for direct citizen input into an effective and inclusive preparatory process for a UN2020 summit to catalyze the renewal and strengthening of the UN.
Complete details are below. Please Note: If you Register for the livestream, you will be given the direct livestream link prior to the event. We hope you will join us!
Rick Ulfik – Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
Subscribe to our WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter: WE.net/subscribe
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World
GlobalUnityCalendar.org – See and post social change and cultural events worldwide!
Facebook – Twitter
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Radical [Re]Construction of Values Workshop Series – FOOD + HEALTH
Sat, August 25, 2018, 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM CDT
312.508.3982
We invite you to join us for the next workshop of a year-long series of gatherings and events that seek to catalyze the Radical [Re]Construction of Chicago’s South side. At this session, you will engage in action-oriented dialogue through which we will collectively reflect on our current state and begin to articulate the values and actions required to realize our vision of reconstruction. Light breakfast, coffee, and lunch will be provided. Arts and crafts activities will be available for children. RSVP Required. Click here to register. **************************************** |
Dr. Charles Mully
Mully Children’s Family USA
OnBuzz
Mother Teresa.
The Letters: The Untold Story of Mother Teresa.
will benefit Mully Children’s Family
Please join us in celebrating an amazing humanitarian
and Nobel Peace Prize winner who
served others in need.
After what seems like forever playing defense, our chance to go on the offense comes September 8.That’s the day we Rise for Climate across the world — there will be big events in at least 80 countries.
But the most important focus may be in the U.S. — we launched this day of demonstrations to coincide with the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in California. Just as we did before the Paris climate conference, we need to demonstrate that there’s a deep and wide demand from people across the U.S. for climate action.
And if we can’t do it now — after the hottest May to July period in American history, after wildfires that closed Yosemite and Glacier national parks, after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria — then when? This is the moment. We’re not trying to persuade Trump — he’s unreachable. Instead we’re telling governors, mayors, local officials of all kinds that they need to take up some of the slack from D.C.
We’re focused on 100% renewables (and the price of solar power keeps hitting record lows). We’re focused on stopping the build out of new fossil fuel infrastructure (and just last week came the news that yet another court has ordered yet another new review of Keystone XL). And we’re focused on stopping the flow of money to the fossil fuel industry (we’re still a little giddy from the news that the entire nation of Ireland is divesting, bringing the total commitments to well over $6 trillion).
But now we need you, in your community. If the past days of global action are any indication, this will be fun, moving, and extraordinarily useful. Find out what’s happening near you, and sign up. And see you in the streets.
Boston RISE for Climate, Jobs, and Justice: Rally and People’s School
Date and Time:
Sat, Sep 8, 2018 12:00 PM (Local Time)
Time is tentative.
Organized By: Massachusetts Chapter
Location: Boston, MA 02114, USA
Map | Directions
Event Organizers:
Michele Brooks
michele.brooks@sierraclub.org
(617) 423-5775
Climate change impacts people of color, low-wage workers, and Indigenous peoples—here and around the world—first and worst. Extreme heat, drought, floods, wildfires, storms, and poisoned oceans caused by fossil fuel pollution worsen the war, famine, poverty, violence, and oppression they already face. Many are left with no choice but to leave their homes and seek refuge in the U.S., only to be met with more violence and oppression by our own government. Families are being torn apart. Ecosystems are collapsing. People are dying. The tide is rising…but so are we. As governors, mayors, and corporate reps meet at the Global Climate Action Summit in CA—and as our own Governor & Legislature in MA continue to accept money from the fossil fuel industry and then fail to enact commonsense climate and immigration reforms—we’ll prove that real climate leadership rises from the grassroots up and doesn’t leave anyone behind. On Sept 8 (and beyond), local climate and immigrant justice groups are joining forces to strengthen relationships across our movements, build collective power, and demand accountability and ACTION on climate change and immigrant rights: 100% renewable energy for all. Dignity & respect for all. JOIN US to envision & build a JUST TRANSITION in MA: FROM dirty coal, oil, & gas TO clean wind & solar power. FROM prisons & deportations TO freedom & sanctuary. FROM worker abuse TO safe, green, family-sustaining union jobs. FROM gentrification & displacement TO affordable housing & transit. FROM corporate control TO community control. FROM polluted air, water, & soil TO healthy people & planet. FROM extraction & exploitation TO economic & environmental justice. On Sept 8: Resist – Learn – Build – Connect – Act – RISE – for Climate & Immigrant Justice Join us for the Climate, Jobs, & Justice outdoor “People’s School.” It will start with a short kickoff rally that highlights the intersections of our issues, the failings of our political system in MA, and the urgency of this moment for us to come together and take action. The rest of the day will consist of interactive teach-ins, skill-shares, and art-builds that touch on a range of intersectional topics to educate folks, build relationships, and lift up the work of local frontline groups. |
Join us on the Road to 2020!
11 Days of Global Unity is a community action-oriented program, hosted by the Florida Earth Charter Initiative and “We the World.” Beginning on September 11th, and leading up to the UN’s International Day of Peace – September 21st – Syraj Syed, founder of Your Authentic Self Work, and Sue Blythe, creator of the FutureFlash! Climate Challenge, will interview community activists for each of 11 Themes for Change.
Register at https://docs.google.com/forms (copy link to browser) to receive each day’s Community Exchange and learn how you can find your place in the movement of movements for a sustainable, just and peaceful future.
Join us on the Road to 2020! |
Celebrating 20 Years With We, The World & Good News Planet
CHURCH OF THE VILLAGE
201 WEST 13TH STREET (corner of 7th Ave.) Manhattan, NYC
WEDNESDAY SEPT 12, 2018
6:30PM – 9:30 PM
Sliding Scale: $10/20 in advance, $15/25 at the door
Ticket Link: http://bit.ly/WTW20GN
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/250681448989549/
Livestream Link (day of event): https://www.youcanview.com/
Official Website page: https://we.net/20years
Don’t miss this Unforgettable Once-In-A-Lifetime Event!
6:00pm Doors Open
6:30pm Sharp – 9:30pm Program
9:30-10:00pm Networking
With Hosts
Paul Sladkus, Founder, Producer and Host of Good News Planet and
Rick Ulfik, Founder of We, The World and the We Campaign
Featuring:
Special Opening Performance at 6:30 by Dynamic New York R&B Recording Artist Al Smith
Kathryn Davis, host of Heart of Mind Radio
Rev. Deborah Moldow, founder of Garden of Light
Singer songwriter Heidi Little
World Dance with Kaeshi Chai and PURE (Public Urban Ritual Experiment)
Singer songwriter Kristin Hoffmann
Claire Diab, International Yoga Therapist, Board Member of the Deepak Chopra Center
Joumana Rizk, Peacelights
Monica Willard, United Religions Initiative
Rev. Susana Bastarrica, Founder, Vigil for Peace and Ecology
Alan Steinfeld, host and producer of New Realities
Mitchell Rabin, host and producer of A Better World
Drs. J.J. and Desiree Hurtak, Academy For Future Science
Andrew Kaen, Founder, Planet Heart, Producer of Annual World Peace Earth Day Celebration
Tribute To Carole Hart (helped launch Sesame Street, Free to Be, You and Me)
World Premiere of the We, The World Song by Heidi Little, Rick Ulfik, Andrew Kaen and others
Tribute to Aretha Franklin & Wilson Pickett Featuring Cherette White, Al Smith, Rick Ulfik and other Musicians
Plus Special Video Presentations including:
Video Message from Deepak Chopra (Bestselling Author and We, The World Advisory Board Member)
Woodstock Forever: Peace, Love, Hope. Movie Premiere Trailer
An Urgent Message From Your Children
For more information contact: Andrew Kaen, organizer 646-765-7890
or email andrewkaen@wetheworld.org
GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT
Moscone Center South in San Francisco, California.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 — FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2018
The Global Climate Action Summit will bring leaders and people together from around the world to “Take Ambition to the Next Level.” It will be a moment to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of states, regions, cities, companies, investors and citizens with respect to climate action.
It will also be a launchpad for deeper worldwide commitments and accelerated action from countries—supported by all sectors of society—that can put the globe on track to prevent dangerous climate change and realize the historic Paris Agreement.
The decarbonization of the global economy is in sight. Transformational changes are happening across the world and across all sectors as a result of technological innovation, new and creative policies and political will at all levels.
States and regions, cities, businesses and investors are leading the charge on pushing down global emissions by 2020, setting the stage to reach net zero emissions by midcentury.
ATTENDING THE SUMMIT
People everywhere are encouraged to participate in the hundreds of affiliate events taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world during the week of September 10-14th, including climate action panels, workshops, tours, exhibits and other special events. The full affiliate event schedule will be posted here this summer.
From September 12-14, you can virtually attend the Summit by streaming it live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. In person, Summit attendance for the plenary and other high-level sessions is by invitation and will require accreditation. If you represent an organization ready to make a major climate commitment at the Summit, please send details about that proposed announcement by clicking here.
The Global Climate Action Summit is also committed to reducing the environmental impact of the Summit event itself. To see how the Summit looks to meet or exceed international sustainability standards for large events, please click here.
At the heart of the Paris Climate Change Agreement is the commitment by national governments to review their progress and rachet up the ambition of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The Global Climate Action Summit, happening midway between Paris 2015 and 2020, is timed to provide the confidence to governments to ‘step up’ and trigger this next level of ambition sooner rather than later.
The momentum we generate this year must lead to bending the curve of emissions down by 2020—science advises us that this gives the world the best opportunity to prevent the worst effects of climate change. 2018 therefore must be the beginning of a new phase of action and ambition on climate change.
The Summit will underscore the urgency of the threat of climate change by mobilizing the voices and experience of real people, in real communities already facing real and stark threats. It will challenge and channel the energy and idealism of people everywhere to step up and overcome it.
At the Summit, international and local leaders from states, regions, cities, businesses, investors and civil society—known as “non-party stakeholders/non-state actors”—will be joined by national government leaders, scientists, students, nonprofits and others in a new wave of mobilization.
They will be sharing what they have achieved to date and committing to doing more to usher in the era of decarbonization, greater levels of sustainability and prosperity for the many rather than the few.
These actors will also celebrate a range of new climate commitments under five key areas: Healthy Energy Systems, Inclusive Economic Growth, Sustainable Communities, Land and Ocean Stewardship and Transformative Climate Investments.
The confidence, enthusiasm and support generated by this wave of action now and through 2019, will embolden national governments leaders to trigger the necessary domestic processes ahead of 2020 while also triggering more states and regions, cities, businesses and investors to ‘step up’ further action themselves.
THE CO-CHAIRS
WORLDPEACEPRODUCTIONS.ORG, WE.NET, VEGANSEDONA.COM & FamilyOfLight,org invite you to participate in a global #11DAYSOFGLOBALUNITY movement for Peace & Sustainability Sept 11-21, culminating with the International Day of Peace.
The 4th DAY of our ONLINE #11DaysOfGlobalUnity FREE FILM SCREENINGS – VEGAN FILM FESTIVAL is Sept. 14. THEME: Economic Justice FILMS: VEGAN 2017 Please host or attend a free improVdinners.com film screening, watch the film online, donating to our cause and joining our MEDIA THAT MATTERS movement, and/OR take an 11 Day Challenge to goVegan! by Breakin’ Bread Together for a Better World! www.VeganFilmFest.com
“A decade ago, Unity Foundation launched the Peace Day Global Broadcast to celebrate the message that peace is really possible,” explains Bill McCarthy, founder of Unity Foundation and co-founder of the Peace Day Global Broadcast. “Since then, we’ve been honored by participation from world leaders and international celebrities. Our audience has grown each year. Last year, we had more than 700,000 views in more than 130 countries. This year, we plan to surpass a million views.”
UMass Campus Center – 1 Campus Center Way Amherst, MA
REGISTRATION—-https://cohousingassociationoftheunite.regfox.com/northeast-cohousing-summit
This regional cohousing conference is for :
People who want to learn about cohousing, how to create it, how to live it
Those that are forming a cohousing community, whether you’re just starting or already building
Residents who currently live in a cohousing community
Architects, developers, planners or other professionalsinterested in creating communities
What is Coho/US?
Coho/US is a national non-profit raising awareness of the benefits of cohousing and supporting the development of cohousing communities nationwide. We serve as a connector and clearinghouse to grow and nurture cohousing.
What is our Mission?
Coho/US advances cohousing by assisting forming and existing communities through a robust network of resources and access to technical assistance; and educating the public about the benefits of cohousing, from resource conservation and sustainability to resilient communities and healthy families.
Coho/US Program & Services
- Educating and inspiring through national and regional conferences
- Serving as a clearinghouse and connector for resources and professional services
- Building a national cohousing community through networks and mentoring
- Fostering a cohousing-friendly social, political and economic environment through education & advocacy
- Collaborating on opportunities to grow the cohousing movement and nurture communities.
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REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN for the Northeast Summit!
Conference sessions held at UMass Campus Center – 1 Campus Center Way Amherst, MA 01003
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Affordable Cohousing, Including Affordable Farming – Lessons Learned and Being Learned at Rocky Corner, Bethany CT – Saturday Session with David Berto, Richard Wilber & Jerome Garciano
Rocky Corner is the first cohousing community in Connecticut. It is being developed by Green Haven, Inc., which is a local group who got together to create this community that they then want to live in. Construction is underway at this time. The community is located on an abandoned dairy farm of 33 acres in close proximity to New Haven, CT. With clustering of the buildings, most of the property is preserved as farmland. The goals of this project include creating a vibrant cohousing community in a rural setting, with a wide range of affordable units for a wide range of income diversity, and creating an effective and affordable approach to utilizing the remaining farmland. All of these goals presented large challenges but are being accomplished. Development of a cohousing community in this rural setting inherently had initial challenges of high land costs, zoning and town approvals, and creating of water, septic, road access and fire safety. The community of 30 homes and families will have 13 of these at reduced prices that are affordable to purchasers in a range of limited incomes. With the relatively small farm area, alternatives are being evaluated to determine the best ways to effectively utilize this area for ongoing and productive agriculture. An initial detailed evaluation was undertaken by a permaculture expert to define the best uses in the different locations throughout the site. Alternative uses are then being defined and evaluated to best align with the soil characteristics and local interest. Uses include community supported agriculture, community gardens, fruit and nut trees, eggs, small animals, coppice, and other uses as they are identified.
Affordable Co-housing: The Sharing Housing Option – Saturday Session with Annamarie Pulhar
Many people who see the benefits of co-housing and would like to live in such a community can’t afford it. The costs of land and new construction mean that only the affluent can comfortably commit to joining a co-housing communities. But what if people agreed to buy in together to live under one roof? Or an owner opens his/her house to a home-mate? How might that simple idea make it possible for the less than affluent to participate in co-housing communities? How does this impact the community?
This Think Tank will explore the how shared housing can be incorporated into co-housing communities. Lead by Annamarie Pluhar, author of Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates and President of Sharing Housing, Inc., it will begin by identifying the barriers and opportunities to implementing this idea. Small groups will then discuss how those barriers can be overcome.
Age-Friendly is Human Friendly – The Appropriate Environment Supports Purposeful Living at Any Age - Saturday Session with Ruth Neeman
Environments that support healthy aging are residential, inviting and are desirable for all, at any age. Universal Design, that is based on principles of equitable use, flexibility and adaptability, simplicity and clarity, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and appropriate accommodation for a variety of abilities – dovetails beautifully with the Cohousing focus on community, interdependence, friendship, accommodation and support.
A Taste of Dynamic Governance / Sociocracy – Saturday Session with Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
Looking for an effective way to make decisions? Check out this taste of sociocracy, an increasingly popular governance and decision-making method based on the values of transparency, equivalency, and effectiveness. We will have an appetizer of the basic principles. We will gorge on two main courses: a hands-on experience of organizational structure that maximizes participation and empowerment, and a real consent decision-making process of selecting someone to a role. We will close by looking at the dessert menu of the ways feedback keeps a community yummy!
Getting the Work Done – Saturday Session with Lyons Witten
How do you get all your community work done? Each cohousing group needs to decide what tasks to include in community work, what system to use to connect each member with their tasks, how to organize meals work in particular, and whether and how to enforce work agreements. In this session, I will explore a wide range of work systems used by existing communities, as well as presenting a framework for understanding the many facets of community work. I will illustrate the breadth of work taken on by most cohousing communities using a “work budget” matrix that can be adjusted to fit your specific community, and will present useful information on how to actually keep your community running smoothly.
Growing Your Group – Saturday Session with Dyan Wiley
Explore the many ways that successful cohousing communities have marketed and promoted their community and the benefits of cohousing. Consider strategies to attract and retain interest and participation — orientation/meet and greet sessions, local news stories, special events, e-newsletters, and social media tools. Understand the importance of good communication skills, being comfortable with conflict, and other factors contribute to building the social fabric of your membership as you build the physical structures and policy agreements that will support your community over time.
If It Doesn’t Work Socially, Why Bother – Saturday Session with Charles Durrett
Across the globe, we seek ways to make neighborhoods more conducive to living lighter on the planet and being happier. We yearn to let our kids play with the neighbors knowing they are safe. New and “innovative” solutions are trying to solve the senior housing challenge, only to fail due to lack of buy-in from the community. Charles Durrett says, “Forget trying to reinvent the wheel. The answers do exist – it’s a matter of addressing our social beliefs and asking if they will bring us happiness.” Durrett will explain the importance of being authentic and listening to the community when addressing senior and intergenerational housing. He will also explain why crafting a well-fitting glove in a facilitated process is one of the keys to success.
Living and Farming in Community – Saturday Session with Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm and Stowe Farm Community
Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm (NN&F) and Stowe Farm Community (SFC) will present and discuss the joys, benefits, challenges, and options of farming in community. The presentation will include information about several other agricultural cohousing communities in the northeast region. Join us as we share stories and lessons learned – and learning!
Meals 3 Times a Week – Saturday Session with Ross Harpestad & Catya Belfer
Well, really it’s 11-13 per month, but who’s counting? Come hear about the Mosaic Commons meals program, from Cat Belfer, cook and kitchen czar, and Ross Harpestad, meals scheduler extraordinaire. Tell us what’s great about how you do meals, what you’re struggling with, what you wish for.
Nathaniel Hawthorne Hated Co-Housing: Our Transcendentalist History – Saturday Session with Samantha Bernstein
This presentation will offer a deep dive into the spiritual ancestor of co-housing: the transcendental Utopian communities of the 1840s. Brook Farm and Fruitlands (both in Massachusetts) will be described, along with a discussion of voluntary simplicity (an essential component of these communities), and how the concept has changed and developed since those communities were founded. An essential question will be posed and discussed: How does co-housing support or not support voluntary simplicity? Presentation is for anyone living in co-housing or thinking about living in co-housing.
Replacement Reserves: Taking the Worry Out of your Community’s Financial Future – Saturday Session with Lyons Witten
A real-life DIY cohousing Replacement Reserves (RR) Spreadsheet will be used to explain the benefits of Replacement Reserves, how to manage the multitude of potential items needing replacement (someday), how Replacement Reserves are funded, what big-ticket items cannot be included in Replacement Reserves and how to manage those expenses. Those who do not have such a spreadsheet can use this example to set up their own. This is a “living DIY model” that should be reviewed each year by the Finance team/committee. Having said that, and shown how to use the “living model”, it may be that some/most communities would want to hire a consultant to help them fill in the categories, costs, and life-expectancy of each item in the RR model. This session will provide insight for either way the DIY RR model is used.
Singing in Community – Saturday Session with Zachary Belfer-Shevett & Catya Belfer
Would you like to sing more in your cohousing group? Come experience how groups use song to grow community. Combining conversation and singing, Zach & Catya will share some great songs that really work well for different cohousing groups. Learn about why “having a good voice” doesn’t matter. Learn pitfalls to avoid when selecting songs. Learn about bringing singing into your group’s culture. Cat & Zach will create space for songs from participants, so bring your favorite. If possible, contact us beforehand to teach us your song. (Note: we’ll not be sharing explicitly religious songs.)
Structure in Community – Saturday Session with Karen Gimnig and Carolyn Shapiro
In this session we’ll talk about some of the structures available to cohousing communities including Sociocracy and Imago Relationships tools. We’ll briefly describe each one, share our experience with the transformational power these structures can have, how they can be adapted for different groups, and what can be challenging about them. Bring your questions. This will be a time of story telling with just enough explanation to enable you to bring pieces back to your community.
User-Centered Cohousing Design: Perspectives from Environmental and Social Psychology – Saturday Session with Debi Levine
What lessons can we learn from environmental and social psychology to inform the design and development of cohousing communities? How can theory and practice in these areas help us maximize satisfaction of individual and social needs?
Environmental psychology, also known as person-environment studies, provides insight into how the built – and natural – environment affects individual and interpersonal behavior. Social psychology helps us understand how interpersonal dynamics influence our notions of community, and can also help us evaluate how to apply community design principles originating in one culture (Denmark), to our own.
This session is an opportunity to (1) learn how basic human needs for both privacy and positive social interaction can be addressed through macro and micro physical design elements; (2) expand upon user-centered design principles to address how cultural norms and notions of “community” can inform design choices; and (3) share experiences about design elements that have worked well – and not so well. Insights from social psychology that can inform the consensus decision-making process around design will be interwoven throughout the session.
Want Something to Change in Your Community? – Saturday Session with Betsy Waters
With a change you are interested in making in your community in mind, explore organizational development strategies. We will draw heavily from the work of the consultant group, Vital Smarts.
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Bios: 2018 Northeast Cohousing Summit
Alan O’Hashi, MPA, resides in Silver Sage Village cohousing in Boulder, CO and is a documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and seasoned storyteller. His latest, “The New Deal Artist Public Art Legacy just aired on Wyoming PBS. He’s developing the Lincoln Court Mixed Use Intentional Community in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Annamarie Pluhar, M.Div, is the founder of Sharing Housing, Inc. a nonprofit 501©(3) whose mission is to promote the idea of shared housing for adults and provide
educational resources. An award-winning speaker, she is the author of Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates. She designs and delivers in-person workshops and on-line webinars to teach individuals and organizations the tools for effectively selecting a good home-mate. Her blog is at https://www.sharinghousing.com. The nonprofit organization is at https://sharinghousing.org. She is a graduate of Vassar College and has a masters in divinity from The Episcopal Divinity School. She lives in Vermont with one two-legged and two four-legged Housemates.
Carolyn Shapiro is an artist/education. She worked with her husband to establish White Pine Cohousing where she introduced the sociocratic method as the way to conduct cohousing meetings. She looks forward to sharing her experiences with how the sociocratic method works for White Pine and how it has helped members deal with difficult issues.
Catya Belfer is a founder and resident of Mosaic Commons, about an hour and a half East of Amherst. Catya works as a technical program manager and also builds websites for cohousing groups and others, including www.cohousing.org. She cooks for the community once or twice a month. She is passionate about building connections between people and has been involved in intentional communities since 1994. On the non-technical side, she is fascinated by how we build community through ritual, tradition, and song, though she’s not as good at singing and harmony as her kid.
Charles Durrett brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. He pioneered the cohousing movement in the U.S. and teaches architects and community leaders how to start successful cohousing communities around the globe.
David Berto created Housing Enterprises, Inc. 25 years ago to provide creative solutions to housing development and to preserve historic structures. Prior to this he was a nuclear engineer. Housing Enterprises, Inc. now has a staff of 4. Housing Enterprises assists small nonprofit groups and others in all aspects of developing and sustaining all types of affordable, mixed income and mixed use housing projects in Connecticut and other parts of the country. They work with each organization throughout all steps of the development process to create quality projects that strengthen neighborhoods and provide housing where families and individuals can feel proud to call home.
Debi Levine is a freelance instructional designer and professional facilitator with advanced graduate training in Social Psychology, People-Environment Studies, and Human Relations Training. Over the past 25 years, Debi has developed and led workshops on a broad range of management and professional development topics, and has consulted to several Cohousing communities on consensus-building and effective facilitation skills. Debi has an abiding interest in how the natural and built environments influence individual and interpersonal behavior, and how they can support health, healing, and a sense of “home.” She has been an active member of the Environmental Design Research Association, a board member of LivableStreets Alliance, a six-year resident of Cornerstone Cohousing in Cambridge, MA, and a former expatriate, having lived in Denmark for nine years – including in a variety of informal “living-together” housing situations.
Dyan Wiley is a founding member of Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community in Amherst MA. She was a key member of the Membership committee working to attract newcomers to their start-up community 25 years ago. She also served on the community’s Development Team, Facilitation committee, and kitchen design team. She has helped several other communities with their marketing and outreach efforts through trainings and informal consulting. For her day job, Dyan works full-time in the grants office at Mount Holyoke College and is a busy activist for immigrant rights.
Elizabeth Magill is one of the early members of Mosaic Commons Cohousing in Berlin, MA, and has been part of their conflict resolution (now called community support) team through its many changes. Liz also handles conflict and community in her “day job” is as a pastor in the United Church of Christ. When it’s all too much she hides in her attic making quilts.
Gabriel Mugar is a researcher and activist working at the intersection of technology, media, and community building. He is currently a Design Researcher at IDEO in Cambridge, MA. Until May of 2018, Gabriel was a research associate and affiliate faculty at the Emerson College Engagement Lab where he coordinated a national study on civic media practitioners and taught courses on qualitative research and digital media studies. Gabriel earned his PhD from the Syracuse University School of Information Studies where his dissertation research looked at the newcomer management strategies of digital participatory platforms and how newcomers negotiate such strategies. Gabriel’s recent work includes designing experiences to engage Boston Public School students in conducting research and writing for descriptions of historic locations in augmented reality games developed by Niantic, Inc. (makers of Pokemon Go), and researching Civic Media Innovation in the United States, published as a white paper for the MacArthur Foundation. Gabriel is the founder of the Transformative Culture Project, aBoston-based nonprofit that supports career development for young media professionals across southern
New England, and is an affiliate of the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard
University.
Jana Lussier is a Head Cook at Pioneer Valley Cohousing. She has also cooked semi professionally at various restaurants in her former life. Now she is a licensed Acupuncturist.
Jerome Garciano is an attorney with a concentration on state and federal tax financing incentives affecting the built environment. His experience includes provided legal support for developers, syndicators, investors, non-profit sponsors, and government agencies in renewable energy and real estate developments using the historic, new markets, renewable energy and low-income housing tax credits. As a LEED, AP, he has also served clients utilizing energy efficiency and renewable energy tax incentives. An attorney at a major Boston law firm, he has also served as a finance project manager at The Community Builders, Inc., a national non-profit developer of affordable housing. Prior to that, Mr. Garciano was a financial analyst with Recapitalization Advisors, a nationally recognized real estate finance consulting firm, specializing in repositioning affordable multifamily housing assets. He is a CPA and has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.
Jenny French and Anda French, AIA, are principals of French 2D, an architecture studio based in Boston. French 2D’s work combines architectural form-making with integrated art practice, and experimental collaborative methods in commercial, residential, and civic projects. French 2D works on housing and mixed-use with a focus on unconventional housing types that combine familiar ideas of home with more radical organizations and typologies. They focus on the ethos of compact living and shared resources in projects like the first all micro-unit building built in Boston. French 2D was one of five finalists in the 2013 Museum of Modern Art PS1 Young Architects Program in New York, and the firm was featured as Architect Magazine October 2017 Next Progressives. Jenny French is a Design Critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and Anda French serves on the Board of Directors of the Boston Society of Architects.
Jerry Koch-Gonzalez is a founding resident at Pioneer Valley Cohousing, and has been
teaching sociocracy and Non-Violent Communications for many years.
Karen Gimnig is a certified professional facilitator with Imago Relationships International. She believes that every decision to be made and every conflict that occurs is an opportunity to increase the sense of community in cohousing. She is passionate about sharing the tools that help communities take advantage of these opportunities to experience deeper relationships and greater joy. She brings experience from her own cohousing community as well other other communities, the board of Coho US, and other non-profit organizations. Feel free to contact her with questions at gimnig@gmail.com or 678-705-9007.
Laura Fitch is a founding principal with Fitch Architecture & Community Design in Amherst, Massachusetts and a 24-year resident of Pioneer Valley Cohousing. Fitch specializes in energy-efficient building design for homes, commercial properties, and smart growth communities. She has worked on programming, schematic design, and/or full architectural services on over thirty cohousing communities across North America for which the firm has received numerous awards.
In 2006, Fitch was given the Boston Architectural College’s “Distinguished Alumni Award”, stating “because of you, Laura, many people have found more neighborly and sustainable ways to live. Through your work, our world is a better place”. Laura, principal of Fitch Architecture & Community Design, Inc., can be contacted at lfitch@facdarchitects.com. 413-549-5799
Lyons Witten, 24-year resident, chairman of the Buildings Grounds Circle and a member of the Finance Circle of Pioneer Valley Cohousing (Amherst, MA), will present useful information on how to keeping your community running smoothly. From fascinating meal sign-up sheets to complicated replacement reserve spreadsheets, he has helped run a tight ship through the quagmire of cohousing!
Email: lyons@cohousing.com
Mary Kraus, AIA, LEED BD+C is a cohousing architect and facilitator who has worked with over two dozen communities in the US and Canada over the past thirty years. She was a founding board member of the Cohousing Network (now Coho US). She lives at Pioneer Valley Cohousing, the first cohousing community in the eastern US, where she can be found preparing dinner in the common house kitchen with her cook team.
Nubanusit Neighborhood & Farm has 29 families in a rural cohousing community on 113 acres in Peterborough, NH
Rev. Dr. Betsy Waters — a workshop leader, coach and a church consultant, pastor, past school psychologist and teacher, facilitator and process leader at Mosaic-Commons. www.renewingchurches.com
Richard Wilber has a B.A. in Fine Art, worked as a computer programmer, and is now retired. He is an amateur woodworker and has recently received a Permaculture Design Certificate, skills that will come in handy in the Rocky Corner cohousing community. He believes that living in community and designing the landscape using permaculture principles are important for the health of our planet. He is hoping that Rocky Corner can set an example in living the change we want to see, and that others will be inspired to do something similar.
Ross Harpestad is a resident of Mosaic Commons, about an hour and a half east of Amherst. He cleans up after meals three to four times a month as well as performs the monthly meals accounting and the every-other-month meals scheduling process. Ross works as a Senior Software Engineer and Analyst for a large for-profit that designs financial software geared towards schools, cities and counties governments. He grumbles a lot and has been involved with Mosaic Commons since 2009.
Ruth Neeman AIA, Principal, Director of Senior Environments Design Studio – LWDA Inc.is a registered architect with more than 30 years of experience in planning, design and research focusing exclusively on environments that enable elders and support independence and aging with dignity. Her project experience includes new construction and renovations of Independent Living Communities, traditional and memory supportive Assisted Living facilities, Long Term Care centers, short term rehabilitative care units, as well as community based day centers. E-mail: rneeman@lwda.com
Samantha Bernstein’s childhood summers were spent in a co-housing “situation” in Otis, Massachusetts that was founded by all four of her grandparents. She has a BA in Anthropology, a BS in Nursing, and an MA in American Studies, and is currently working on her MS- Nursing at University of New Hampshire. Sam became academically interested in co-housing and voluntary simplicity during college and her master’s thesis “Buy Less, Be More: The Transcendentalist History of Anti-consumerism” devoted an entire chapter to cohousing. She moved into Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm with her family in 2015 and has recently moved out of the ‘hood.
Shelly Parks left a nationally recognized sales and marketing career in the retirement living industry to focus on sharing her professional skills and experience with cohousers. Shelly completed the 500 Communities Program in 2017 and is now an affiliate of Cohousing Solutions. She is also a member of Skagit Cohousing, a developing community in Anacortes, WA. To learn more about Shelly and her work, go to her website: www.covisionconsulting.com
Stowe Farm Community will have 11 families when complete, it has 8 families now.in a rural cohousing community on ~80 acres in Colrain, MA
Zachary Belfer-Shevett grew up in community and now attends Hampshire College here in Amherst. They are a dedicated musician who plays guitar-like instruments and have sung in a variety of choruses, and are an avid contra dancer. Zachary recently finished a course in Ethnomusicology.
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Pre-conference Intensives on Friday Sept 21st (optional)
Pre-conference Intensives held at Pioneer Valley Cohousing – 120 Pulpit Hill Road, Amherst, MA 01002
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Participants will learn and practice 5 simple tools that increase connection and make conflict more productive and more easily resolved in any community
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This hands-on intensive will mirror the participatory design process used to create cohousing, and will delve into creative living solutions for particularly tight sites. In addition to presentations on cohousing site design and case studies of dense urban living, you will be working directly on to-scale models to generate site plans.
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Interested in learning more about menu planning for diverse eating needs, explore the culture of eating together, how to organize meal sign ups/payment AND cook fun appetizers together that will be served at the conference? Then join us!
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We’ll help you craft your “elevator speech” summarizing your story so it is quickly understandable and then provide you some low / no cost ways you can get your information out there to your targeted market through online media.
Having a compelling online media presence is increasingly important. It’s crucial to outline who you hope to attract to your community, so your message reflects that. We’ll outline tools and best practices for finding your future neighbors via your website, newsletter, facebook, twitter and Meetup pages, as well as Coho/US’s resources.
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The Common House is the heart of every cohousing community. How can you design your common house to enhance your community? What spaces should you include? What spaces can be combined to achieve economy? What will your kitchen and dining room feel like? How will kids and adults enjoy the building simultaneously? This workshop will answer these and many other questions.
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Whether you are just beginning to form your group, need to re-energize your efforts, or you just need those last few members, this intensive will give you tried and true marketing and sales tools to ensure your community’s launch. Topics covered will include a broad range of best practices including how to create a strategic marketing plan and how to turn interested people into committed members.
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When people hang out with other people, conflicts arise. Even in cohousing. Maybe especially in cohousing. This workshop will explore how to put together a community support or conflict resolution team, who should be on the team, and how to work as a team.
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Sociocracy is an increasingly popular governance and decision-making method based on the values of transparency, equivalency, and effectiveness. Through verbal, visual, and hands-on physical demonstrations and practice exercises, we will demonstrate the consent decision-making process, including proposal generation and selection of people to roles. We will explore organizational structures for cohousing communities and the feedback processes that keep communities from going stale.
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In this pre-game show, you will learn why senior cohousing is such a big deal today and how to get them started. Become aware of current challenges, including the influx of an aging society, and learn why cohousing is a successful model to combatting this challenge. Learn how you can become the tipping point in your area, becoming an active voice for seniors in local government and culture (Spoiler alert: It’s actually not that difficult.)
BE THE GENERATION TO TAKE ACTION.
Global Citizen is calling on YOU to take a stand, use your voice to make change and Be the Generation to Take Action.
From Sep 22 – 29, we are turning NYC into an arena of advocacy, with dozens of events and activations. We are uniting Global Citizens to learn, take action, and see world leaders commit to achieve the Global Goals for Sustainable Development and a world without extreme poverty by 2030.
Global Citizen Week coincides with the annual leaders meeting of the United Nations. We kick off at the historic Riverside Church on the Upper West Side celebrating the human rights leaders and movements who spoke up against injustice, and culminate at the iconic Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on Saturday, Sept 29.
Join us at conferences and concerts, on the streets, in shops, and in churches to show our leaders that the movement for change has never been stronger.
Be sure to check back as we add more events and opportunities for you to get involved!
SEE events already listed on website!
30+YEARS
STANDING WITH FAMILY FARMERS
Farm Aid works year-round to build a system of agriculture that values family farmers, good food, soil and water, and strong communities. Our annual music and food festival celebrates farmers, eaters and music coming together for change.
September 29–30, 2018
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles
Note that times are for Pacific Coast Time Zone
jotff@anewwayoflife.org
323-563-3573
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Note: Last movie – SURVIVORS GUIDE TO PRISON – with Q&A to follow with producer DAVID ARQUETTE
September 30 | 3:30 PM (RunTime: 102 minutes) – at MAYER THEATRE
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Film Synopses & Trailers
Saturday, September 29
(Screenings will be followed by Q&A with filmmakers)
RT: 30 minutes
September 29 | 11 AM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with writer/director Tiffany Johnson and producer/animator Jonathan Clark
The Real Background Check
This animated short film is based on the real life story of Tiffany Johnson, who survived life-altering trauma caused by early childhood abuse. “The Real Background Check” breaks down what happens to people before they enter the criminal justice system.
RT: 57 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with Johnny Perez (Director of U.S. Prison Programs, National Religious Campaign Against Torture)
Rikers: An American Jail
From Bill Moyers comes the first film to focus exclusively on former detainees who were held at Rikers Island. Their searing testimonials about the deep-seated culture of systemic violence and corruption that has plagued the notorious NYC jail for decades add a powerful authentic voice to investigative journalism that has reported on violence and abuses at the jail.
RT: 68 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with writer/director/producer Saffron Cassaday
Returning Citizens
“Returning Citizens” focuses on a passionate group of individuals who are looking for a second chance – or perhaps a chance they never had to begin with. Set in Southeast Washington, DC, the film offers a humanizing perspective on a community that has been negatively impacted by mass incarceration.
RT: 40 minutes
September 29 | 1:30 PM
Seaver 200 Theatre
Knife Skills
What does it take to build a world-class French restaurant? What if the staff is almost entirely men and women just out of prison? What if most have never cooked or served before, and have barely two months to learn their trade? Oscar-nominated Knife Skills follows the hectic launch of Edwins restaurant in Cleveland. In this improbable setting, with its mouth-watering dishes and its arcane French vocabulary, we discover the challenges of men and women finding their way after their release.
RT: 45 minutes
September 29 | 3:05 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
The Bail Trap: American Ransom
Money bail is one of the main causes of mass incarceration in the United States. Yet, few people know what the money bail system is, let alone how it all works or why we need to do away with it. This short film compilation from Brave New Films explains America’s broken bail system.
RT: 22 minutes
September 29 | 3:00 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with producer/director Terrell Wormley
Wild Roots
Hakeem, a reformed gang member, gets out of jail and wants to change his life around, but the hood won’t left him go easily. He knows how senseless gang banging is, but what do you do when your past catches up to you?
The Talk
After an unarmed black teen is killed, James & Maddie argue about whether they should warn their 9-year-old son about police brutality.
RT: 16 minutes
September 29 | 3:40 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Q&A to follow with Marlon Perrier, writer/director/star of “The Talk”
Sunday, September 30
(Screenings will be followed by Q&A with filmmakers)
RT: 60 minutes
September 30 | 11 AM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with director/producer Ultan Guilfoyle, Craig Webb (Gehry Partners) & Leonard Noisette (Justice Team Director, Open Society Foundations)
Building Justice
At the invitation of George Soros and his Open Society Foundations, architect Frank Gehry arranged two ‘masters’ studios, one in SCI-Arc in Los Angeles, the other at the Yale School of Architecture, to investigate prison design as a subject for the best architecture students in the US. Partnering with Susan Burton of A New Way of Life Re-Entry Project in
Watts, Gehry and his students explored all aspects of prison design, learning first hand the design flaws of prison living from women who have been incarcerated in America’s worst prisons and visiting what are considered to be the world’s most successful prisons, in Norway.
RT: 60 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Life Sciences Building Auditorium Theatre
Q&A to follow with director AJ Ali
Walking While Black: L.O.V.E Is the Answer
“Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer” presents proven action steps
to bridge the painful gap between peace officers and the communities they serve. Featuring interviews with peace
officers, faith leaders, educators, activists and others, the film offers an inspiring blueprint to end racial profiling and heal our communities.
RT: 73 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Seaver 200 Theatre
Q&A to follow with director/executive producer Rahiem Shabazz
Elementary Genocide III: Academic Holocaust
Elementary Genocide: Academic Holocaust adds more statistical proof of the scholastic inequalities faced by Original people around the country. The documentary revisits the importance of education and its impact on self-image, family structure, financial freedom and the collective future of African/indigenous people in America and abroad.
RT: 16 minutes
September 30 | 1:50 PM
Seaver 100 Theatre
Let My People Vote
Filmed in Tampa, two days before the 2016 presidential election, this verité short covers a day-in-the-life of civil rights activist Desmond Meade. His mission? Assisting people in voting — something our “forefathers marched and died for.”
What begins as an upbeat day of faith in our democratic process, ends with a heartbreaking realization: Jim Crow is not dead.
RT: 102 minutes
September 30 | 3:30 PM
Mayer Theatre
Q&A to follow with producer David Arquette
Survivors Guide to Prison
Follows the stories of two innocent men, Bruce Lisker and Reggie Cole, who spent decades behind bars for murders they did not commit. With gripping testimony from formerly incarcerated people, guards, cops, lawyers and reformers, “Survivors Guide” exposes the failed “punishment model” and examines the programs proven to work.
‘GRANDMOTHERS ON THE MOVE’ Podcast Episodes
Click HERE!
NO START TIME and NO END TIME – LISTEN to past and current podcasts!
Grandmothers To Grandmothers Campaign
The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign exists to support the indomitable African grandmothers who are caring for the millions of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. Members of the Grandmothers Campaign share three goals. They work to:
- Raise funds to meet the needs of African grandmothers and the children in their care;
- Listen to African grandmothers, respect their expertise and amplify their voices, in order to promote authentic and substantive responses to the epidemic in Africa;
- Build solidarity among African and Canadian grandmothers in order to motivate and sustain the vital work of turning the tide of AIDS in Africa.
Canadian grandmothers groups are tremendously active in their communities. They put on concerts, organize card tournaments, and sell jewellery. They visit countless schools and community organizations. They bake, cook, sew, knit, paint, write, organize cycle tours, walks, and even ride motorcycles – all to raise funds and awareness for grandmothers in sub-Saharan Africa through the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
To learn more about how you can get involved in the Campaign, write to Ilana here.
Articles About The Campaign
What started as a conversation around a kitchen table has grown to become a movement to empower women, especially grandmothers, in Africa.
The Grandmothers Campaign, an initiative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, is known as Grandmothers 4 Grandmothers in Regina, which was among the very first places in Canada where women took on projects to support families in Africa.
‘We know the power of women’s organizing in Canada and older women have an extraordinary amount of vigour and energy.’– Ilana Landsberg-Lewis
As Ilana Landsberg-Lewis explains, the movement arose in response to the human crisis, observed by her father Stephen Lewis during his time as a special envoy for the United Nations, afflicting the African continent during the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
Millions of children were orphaned by the deaths of their parents. Their grandmothers were left to raise them, with little or no support.
“Grandmothers were just in an agony of loss,” Landsberg-Lewis said. “Death was everywhere. They were left with no income and often isolated by the terrible stigma surrounding HIV-AIDS.”
Landsberg-Lewis recalled how requests seeking aid referred to the grandmothers as “caregivers” and when she asked why, she learned there was a strong bias in play.
“Nobody wants to fund them because they’re older women and nobody sees them as a meaningful investment,” she learned.
“We decided if Canadian grandmothers knew what was happening on the [African] continent then it would surely resonate with them and boy did it ever,” Landsberg-Lewis said.
“I wish I could say that I was prescient but it would be overstating it,” she said, talking about how the success of the organization, which quickly grew from a handful of activists brain-storming at a kitchen table (her own) to over 250 chapters across the country.
Since 2006 they have raised about $25 million.
“It was really extraordinary but I can’t say that I’m surprised,” she said. “Older women in our communities, we know the power of women organizing in Canada and older women have an extraordinary amount of vigour and energy.”
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The Campaign currently boasts more than 240 grandmothers groups across the country. Many of the groups have organized into regional and national networks in order to support each other’s efforts in solidarity with African grandmothers and the children in their care.
Resources from the Grandmothers Campaign go to grassroots organizations that support African grandmothers with food, health care, school fees and school uniforms for their grandchildren, income-generating programmes, counselling, social support, essential shelter, and other necessities. Throughout Africa, grassroots organizations run by and for grandmothers are sharing insights, deepening their expertise, collaborating with other local organizations, and building their capacity to turn the tide of AIDS at community level.
These calls are designed to
bring together Pachamama Alliance
participants, leaders, and supporters who are actively engaged
in creating a shift in humanity to a worldview
that honors and sustains life
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By coming together and grounding in this vision, you will:
*Feel supported in your work.
**Be inspired and energized in your unique role in a worldwide
network committed to a new future for all.
***Strengthen your connection to like-hearted people and to the spirit
that has inspired Pachamama Alliance since its inception.
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GO TO: https://www.pachamama.org/events
to reserve your space for the conversation.
Fill out the online form and submit.
You will receive a confirmation email.
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In Conversation With Mother Jones
Mother Jones is bringing its fearless reporting and in-depth conversation to a city near you. Our In Conversation series features timely discussions with writers, thinkers, and changemakers who are pushing the national conversation forward.
Our latest event featured the Rev. William J. Barber, a preeminent civil rights leader and co-founder of the Poor People’s Campaign, in conversation with our senior reporter Ari Berman about voter suppression, civil rights, and the upcoming midterm elections.
Watch the Facebook Live stream of the event.
Join Us for Our 2018-19 Events Lineup
(Current topics and dates are tentative. More details to be updated shortly.)
February 2019: California leads the way (Part 1 – San Francisco)
April 2019: Women leading the way (New York)
June 2019: Food security and politics (Los Angeles)
August 2019: The future of education (Washington, DC)
October 2019: California leads the way (Part 2 – Los Angeles)
If you are interested in sponsoring future events, please contact the Mother Jones sales team.
An Online Summit Celebrating 10 Years of Transition in the US!
On Saturday, October 27th, Transition US will host our first-ever national online summit, bringing together Transition US community members and organizers from across the country for a day of education, inspiration, and celebration. Both groups and individuals are invited to join in the fun!
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
We will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Transition Movement in the US with an inspiring full-day program, including:
– Keynote sessions featuring international Transition Movement founder Rob Hopkins and world-renowned author, educator, and activist Margaret J. Wheatley.
– Engaging panel discussions focused on sharing some of the greatest success stories from our national network and deepening connections with the wider movement for community resilience.
– A live, interactive session with a talk by Transition US staff about the state of our movement and the presentation of several awards nominated by you, the community.
Scroll down for schedule and program details, and additional information on how to participate! Tickets available here.
HOW TO REGISTER
Registration is now available here, with flexible pricing options available for groups and individuals.
We encourage Transition groups to use this Online Summit as the basis for hosting local gatherings. Click here to download a PDF guide for how to host a local watch party for your Transition or other community resilience-building group.
Please email info@transitionus.org for more information or if you’d like to join our planning team.
Here’s to another decade of building thriving, resilient community for all!
DETAILED SCHEDULE
Below are approximate times for our livestream of this event, which requires online registration and will take place via our Zoom video-conferencing platform. Please note that if you’re planning to host a watch party in your community, all of these times (except for our live, interactive session) are flexible. Suggested schedules for organizing an event in all four North and South American time zones are included in our downloadable “How to Host a Watch Party” guide.
– Arrival and welcome: 12:45-1:00pm Eastern Time (9:45-10:00am Pacific)
– Rob Hopkins keynote: 1:00-1:45pm Eastern Time (10:00-10:45am Pacific)
– Replicable examples panel: 1:45-2:30pm Eastern Time (10:45-11:30am Pacific)
– Margaret Wheatley keynote: 2:30-3:15pm Eastern Time (11:30am-12:15pm Pacific)
– Wider movement panel: 3:15-4:00pm Eastern Time (12:15-1:00pm Pacific)
– Live, interactive session: 4:00-5:15pm Eastern Time (1:00-2:15pm Pacific)
– Visioning, discussion, and closing: 5:15-6:00pm Eastern Time (2:15-3:00pm Pacific)
PROGRAM DETAILS
Below is a list of session titles, descriptions, and presenter bios. More information will be posted here as it becomes available.
KEYNOTE 1
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON “THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE”
In this lively keynote session, Transition Movement Co-Founder Rob Hopkins, Sarah McAdam, Delivery Director for Transition Network, and Don Hall, Co-Director of Transition US will explore a wide variety of themes that have emerged from the practice of Transition internationally and here in the US since its inception over a decade ago. In addition to pointing out successful strategies and common challenges, we’ll also look forward from this reflective moment to consider how the movement might continue to broaden, deepen, and scale-up its reach and positive impact over time.
Rob Hopkins: I’m a co-founder of both Transition Town Totnes and Transition Network. I’m also a serial blogger, author of The Power of Just Doing Stuff and 21 Stories of Transition, and I tweet as @robintransition. I previously wrote The Transition Handbook and The Transition Companion, and was awarded a PhD by the University of Plymouth – and more recently – Honorary Doctorates by the University of the West of England and the University of Namur. In 2012, I was voted one of the Independent’s top 100 environmentalists and one of “Britain’s 50 New Radicals.” I have appeared on BBC Radio 4’s “Four Thought” and “A Good Read,” appear in the French film phenomenon “Demain” (“Tomorrow”), have spoken at TED Global once, and at three TEDx events. I am an Ashoka Fellow, a keen gardener, one of the founders of New Lion Brewery in Totnes, and a Director of the Totnes Community Development Society, the group behind Atmos Totnes, a very ambitious community-led development project. If you’re wondering why I’m now writing a book about imagination, you can find out here.
Sarah McAdam: I play a coordinating role for Transition Network, paying attention to the overall health and strategic direction of our organisation. I’m currently working with people across the international network of Transition Hubs to design and implement innovative governance models and projects which support the sharing of power, resources, and learning across and beyond the Transition movement. I’m also a Council member for ECOLISE, the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability.
Don Hall: I have had the good fortune to participate in the Transition Movement in a variety of capacities over the past decade. Initially serving for two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Transition Colorado, I went on to found and direct Transition Sarasota from 2010 to 2016. A certified Transition Trainer and experienced facilitator, I was named Co-Director of Transition US in 2017. I hold a Master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University and currently live in Sarasota, Florida.
KEYNOTE 2
INTERVIEW ON “CREATING ISLANDS OF SANITY: LEADING WELL IN THIS TIME OF INCREASING TURBULENCE”
Margaret (Meg) Wheatley is dedicated to awakening us to be leaders for this time of profound disruption, to reclaim leadership as a noble profession that creates possibility and humaneness in the midst of increasing fear and turmoil. She summons us to use our influence and power to create Islands of Sanity, to commit ourselves to engaging with compassion and insight amidst the increasing turbulence of our world.
Meg is especially interested in bringing the concept of Islands of Sanity to Transition Towns. Building on the strong identity of community that’s been established, sane leadership is the necessary next step. Sane leadership is the unshakable confidence that people can be generous, creative and kind. At this time when fear and polarization predominate, and people find it increasingly difficult to work well together, how do we create the conditions for people’s best qualities to manifest within the community on behalf of the issues we most care about?
Since 1966, Margaret Wheatley has worked globally in many different roles: a speaker, teacher, community worker, consultant, advisor, formal leader. From these deep and varied experiences, she has developed the unshakable conviction that leaders must learn how to evoke people’s inherent generosity, creativity, and need for community. As this world tears us apart, sane leadership on behalf of the human spirit is the only way forward. She is a best-selling author of nine books, from the classic Leadership and the New Science in 1992 to her newest book (June 2017) Who Do We Choose To Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity.
COST
To cover the costs of producing this event while ensuring that no-one is turned away for lack of funds, we are offering a variety of different registration options for individuals and groups. Please click here to register as soon as you’re ready.
For Individuals: $15 covers our cost per person to produce this event, $5 is our minimum suggested donation, and $30 covers our cost per person while helping another person to attend on scholarship. Those who are unable to afford the $5 minimum donation are welcome to attend for free.
For Groups: We are offering a sliding scale from $20 to $200. If your group is well-resourced or you have a member who can afford to pay $200, we’d greatly appreciate it! If not, consider taking up a collection at your next meeting – just four people contributing $5 each will provide a basic level of support and you should be able to easily make this back (and then some) by turning your local event into a fundraiser for your initiative!
WATCH PARTY HOSTING GUIDE
We strongly encourage Transition groups of all sizes to use this historic summit as an opportunity to host local gatherings and watch parties. We’ve prepared this PDF guide to support you in facilitating a live event with your local community resilience-building group to celebrate 10 years of Transition in the US.
In the weeks leading up to the event, we’ll publish a listing of local Online Summit Watch Parties and other live events here on our website. If you’re planning something, let us know!
If you have any questions, or if you’d like us to list your local watch party here on our website, please email info@transitionus.org.
PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!
This movement is fully organic and 100% people-powered. Please help us make it irresistible by sharing this excellent opportunitywith your local and extended network of change-makers and resilience-builders.
Please RSVP and Share our FB event page here.
Thanks!
~The Transition US Team
THE ALCHEMY OF WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE WISDOM AND POWER Pre-Parliament Women’s Sacred Circles On November 1, 2018, 9- 12 PM EST, a collaboration of women’s organizations will host a circle with a sacred center for 200 women and girls attending the Parliament of The World’s Religions in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, www.parliamentofreligions.org.
We hope you will host a local circle anytime on Nov. 1st, and connect with us in prayer and through this Group. We will live-stream the opening, speakers, water ceremony and the closing. We will have reflection questions that empower and unite us as a mighty force of feminine energy. The questions and other information will be posted here. We will have a water ceremony and encourage you to have one also. Each person adds water from their source to a common bowl and blesses the water.
Please connect as local circles of women, men, youth gathering to give each one a voice in a circle with a sacred center that supports, encourages and empowers the collective feminine wisdom and power. Please spread the word to organizations, circles, groups and individuals. Please put in your newsletter, newspaper, FB groups and Timeline.
Basic Circle Principles and information on how to start a circle found on www.millionthcircle.org and www.gatherthewomen.org
SEE more on Facebook — Alchemy of Women’s Collective Wisdom & Power
Early Childhood Education and Public Charge
November 7 at 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT – 1:00 PM PT)
On October 10, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was published in the Federal Register, outlining the administration’s intent to dramatically change the meaning and application of “public charge” provisions in immigration law. This proposal could harm the health and well-being of millions of children and families and is of great concern for young children’s development and the early childhood field as outlined in this Q&A. Staff at the Center for Law and Social Policy will provide an overview of the proposed public charge rule, its potential impact on young children, and explain how the early childhood field can support immigrant families and take action during the public comment period.
What Housing and Homelessness Advocates Should Know about the Public Charge Rule
November 8 @ 3:30 PM ET – 5:00 PM ET (12:30 PM PT – 2:00 PM PT)
On October 10, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule that would make it more likely for certain immigrants to be denied admission to the U.S. or denied green cards because they receive or would receive lifeline benefits, including public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and project-based Section 8 housing subsidies. Previously leaked drafts of this drastic policy change have already led many families to drop out of critical food and nutrition programs for their children. This chilling effect is poised to impact hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrant households that depend on these programs for survival.
PIF Campaign: New Research and Estimating the Impact of Public Charge
November 8 @ 3:00 PM ET – 4:00 PM ET (12:00 PM PT -1:00 PM PT)
Join partners with the Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Campaign as we discuss new research estimating economic and demographic impacts of the proposed public charge rule. During this webinar, panelists will present the findings of three new resources from Manatt Health, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Fiscal Policy Institute. For more information about the webinar, please contact Jackie Vimo and Renato Rocha.
PIF Campaign: Public Charge 101
November 14 @ 2:00 PM ET – 3:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT -12:00 PM PT)
A recurring webinar from CLASP and NILC. The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposed regulation on “public charge.” If finalized, the regulation would dramatically rewrite immigration policy and make green cards only available to the highest bidder. This webinar describes public charge policy today, how it would change, and what you need to know if you work with immigrant families.
For more info: bit.ly/askPIFcampaign
AURA HOME WOMEN VETS
50 South French Broad Avenue
Suite 203
Asheville NC 28801
828-771-6979
http://aurahomewomenvets.org
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Prem Rawat Foundation Supports Veterans With Peace Education Program
This article is also available in: French
For too many veterans, finding an enduring sense of peace remains elusive long after they return from war. They often face immense challenges as they transition to civilian life, from trauma disorders to unemployment and homelessness.
Thankfully, November 11 marks an occasion to honor their service and support solutions that can improve their lives. The date is Veterans Day in the United States, and in many other countries it is called Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I.
A growing number of veterans say the Peace Education Program is a solution that gives them the tools they need to harness their own inner-strength and overcome their obstacles. The program’s workshops feature videos of Prem Rawat’s empowering international talks on themes such as dignity, choice and hope.
“The Peace Education Program tries only to achieve one simple thing: it’s to put you in touch with yourself,” says Rawat.
While the goal is simple, the impact was profound for Alyce Knaflich, a veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress, depression and homelessness for 10 years. She credits PEP with giving her the confidence to now work as the executive director of Aura Home Women Vets, a charity in Asheville, NC that provides housing and support to homeless women veterans.
Veteran Alyce Knaflich shares her story in this video.
“I was lost. Prem Rawat and his message in the program, it brought me home. And my home is my heart. Peace starts on the inside,” says Knaflich.
She has incorporated the Peace Education Program into Aura Home’s services to help her clients have the same enriching experience that she did.
“Prem’s message will help them heal their emotional stress, and ease the transition of coming out of the military and trying to find a new career path. It will help them center themselves and bring out their confidence,” says Knaflich.
HONOR NATIVE LAND:
A GUIDE AND CALL TO ACKNOWLEDGMENT
IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND AMONG TRIBAL NATIONS IN THE U.S., it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not. Together, we can spark a movement to change that.
We call on all individuals and organizations to open public events and gatherings with acknowledgment of the traditional Native inhabitants of the land.
Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth. Imagine this practice widely adopted: imagine cultural venues, classrooms, conference settings, places of worship, sports stadiums, and town halls, acknowledging traditional lands. Millions would be exposed—many for the first time—to the names of the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the lands they are on, inspiring them to ongoing awareness and action.
For more than five hundred years, Native communities across the Americas have demonstrated resilience and resistance in the face of violent efforts to separate them from their land, culture, and each other. They remain at the forefront of movements to protect Mother Earth and the life it sustains. Today, corporate greed and federal policy push agendas to extract wealth from the earth, degrading sacred land in blatant disregard of treaty rights. Acknowledgment is a critical public intervention, a necessary step toward honoring Native communities and enacting the much larger project of decolonization and reconciliation. Join us in adopting, calling for, and spreading this practice.
Download the Guide: Created in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.
Download the #HonorNativeLand Guide
Fill out the form to download the guide
WHY INTRODUCE THE PRACTICE OF LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT?
- Offer recognition and respect.
- Counter the “doctrine of discovery” with the true story of the people who were already here.
- Create a broader public awareness of the history that has led to this moment.
- Begin to repair relationships with Native communities and with the land.
- Support larger truth-telling and reconciliation efforts.
- Remind people that colonization an ongoing process, with Native lands still occupied due to deceptive and broken treaties.
- Take a cue from Indigenous protocol, opening up space with reverence and respect.
- Inspire ongoing action and relationship.
Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationship and informed action. But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation.
Print, Customize, and Post #HonorNativeLand Art
Imagine going to a local coffee shop, music venue, grocery store, or town hall, and finding a sign on the wall acknowledging traditional lands. Sound far-fetched? It doesn’t have to be! As part of this campaign to #HonorNativeLand, we partnered with Native artists to create downloadable signs that you can print, customize, and post in your community.
After Downloading the Guide, Take the Pledge
We urge organizations, collectives, institutions, and agencies to publicly commit to practicing traditional Native land acknowledgment.
Those who have taken the Pledge:
- Artist’s Laboratory Theatre
- Arts in a Changing America (ArtChangeUS)
- ArtSpark
- ArtWell
- California Indian Culture & Sovereignty Center
- Dancing Earth
- Democracy at Work Institute
- Emerging Arts Leaders/Los Angeles
- Indigenous Women Rise in Gallup
- Ink People, Inc.
- IU First Nations Educational & Cultural Center
- Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection
- Marietta Ohio Arts Innovation Lab
- National Council for Science and Faith
- Native American Music Awards
- Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
- New Economy Coalition
- SOMArts
- Women of Color in the Arts (WOCA)
- Artivists LA
- Kamiah Community Library
- Peñasco Theatre Collective
- Self Help Graphics & Art
- The Field
- YWCA Olympia
As a step toward honoring the truth and achieving healing and reconciliation, our organization commits to open all public events and gatherings with a statement acknowledging the traditional Native lands on which we stand. Such statements become truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and sustained commitment. We therefore commit to move beyond words into programs and actions that fully embody a commitment to Indigenous rights and cultural equity.
The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture is a people-powered department — a grassroots action network inciting creativity to shape a culture of empathy, equity, and belonging. Learn more about the USDAC and read our Statement of Values, then join this act of collective imagination
Contact info: hello@usdac.us.
PROTOTYPING CULTURAL DEMOCRACY SERIES Part 7: Remember2019, Memory and Reflection on Mass Lynching in Phillips County, AR
By Arlene Goldbard, Chief Policy Wonk
This is the sixth in a series of blogs profiling the USDAC’s Policy Prototype projects, seven projects across the U.S. receiving micro-grants to document their work related to the proposals in “Standing for Cultural Democracy: The USDAC’s Policy and Action Platform.”
The proposal submitted for a one-off USDAC Policy Prototype micro-grant by Ashley Teague, a theater director with extensive community experience, focused on the critical issue of commemorative justice (as did the STICK + MOVE project featured earlier in this series). Partnering with Mauricio Salgado, co-founder of Artists Striving to End Poverty and Arielle Julia Brown, founder of The Love Balm Project, Remember2019 lives in South Phillips Country Arkansas where in “1919 arguably the largest mass lynching in American history, took the lives of more than 230 African Americans in less than 72 hours….,”
Remember2019 was developed in response to Bryan Stevenson’s (founder of the Equal Justice Initiative) call to action when he said, “Formalizing a space for memory, reflection, and grieving can help our communities recover from this traumatic history of mass violence.”
In the Remember2019 proposal, Ashley wrote:
As we approach the centennial of the massacre in South Phillips County, our goal is to partner with individuals and organizations throughout the region to create a theatre event that unearths this erased and contentious history and considers how it has affected the communities past and present. Furthermore, we will raise Dr. Martin Luther King’s timely question—where do we go from here?— tour the play during the 2019 centennial year, organize an annual residency that will continue after the theater event, offering local artists opportunities to create their own self-determined work around issues of memory, reflection, belonging, and cultural citizenship.”
Three Platform points were referenced:
- Point 2. Support A Culture of Justice and Equity
- Point 3. Redeem Democracy with Creativity
- Point 5. Invest in Belonging and Cultural Citizenship
The work touched on all three, but as Ashley explained when we spoke, “we ended up doing more work towards point five, investing in belonging in cultural citizenship. That’s where this long-term artist residency came from, working with community-based centers to reuse abandoned or underused spaces and some of our focus with the young people.”
“We believe that culture influences policy,” Ashley wrote in her proposal. “Therefore, it is our responsibility to reframe our cultural narrative so that it inspires just policies. This project begins by recognizing a history that was intentionally devalued and disposed of in order to entrench a normative white supremacist culture. In order to do that, this project will embody equity and participation by prioritizing the leadership, stories, and talents of community members that have been historically ignored. Our model is flexible, scale-able and nimble enough to adapt to the specific context and goals of the community, while still based in well-researched frameworks and proven methodologies.”
Remember 2019 is a long-term project, as Ashley explained when I interviewed Mauricio and herself:
The big picture is that we’re producing six residencies over six years. The first two are trailblazed by Remember2019, beginning with a blues event featuring local musicians using their music to synthesize personal stories and testimony with the rich history of the blues in the Delta. The next residency is the original, full-length play featuring community testimony and community and professional actors on stage. Then the next four will be determined by local artists. We are part of funding those residencies and getting a group of local folks together to take on those residencies past our involvement in the community, creating a long-term artist residency in the neighborhood.
“Another way of thinking about this long-term project, Mauricio added, “is that we are supporting local efforts to build an ecosystem of art spaces and work. At the moment there are a couple of spaces where folks engage in visual or performing arts—aside from churches, I think there are only two. There are local artists like Kyle Miller at the Delta Cultural Center who are hoping to build out a community of art spaces and art makers and that’s what we’re trying to do. How else do we build that ecosystem but by creating opportunities for performance and for sharing?”
Ashley agreed. “In this community there are a lot of vacant spaces that used to be for commerce. One part of our conversation is if there is a way to repurpose these as creative spaces. Is there a way to take on these underused or unused spaces in the blues festival performance and also in other residencies moving forward?”
The team’s time on the ground in South Phillips County was revealing and catalytic, as Ashley explained:
During the two months we were in South Phillips County we found ourselves wondering, “Where are the young people?” There’s nowhere to hang out. There’s no public space to let loose and relax and see friends other than going to church. How can we create space for that? How can we provide food and entertainment and make a space where people can just hang out and commune?
A major goal is to create and perform in 2019 a play grounded in the experiences and voices of local people who have been affected by the massacre of 1919. Mauricio explained:
All of our work, both the story-sharing institute as well as the current blues festival, has conversation at its core. We are interested in reflecting on the story-sharing practices that remember that moment in time and how that has been affected and where that has been channeled. There’s some research at the institute that the blues changed in response to the red summer of 1919, for instance. So all of that’s in the mix of thinking about the dream for the play next year.
Ashley explained that the playwright, Clos Sirah, “has gone several times to the community for interviewing and story-gathering, including one time when we were all there together for weeks. We’ve been having meetings with our community partners—community-based organizations, community-based centers in the area—as we shape what that play will be to make sure we’re getting community feedback at every stage. Ultimately it will be a performance that is inspired by and based on community testimony and will involve community in the making and performance. One idea is that it may travel around the community so that part of the experience is really being present in the space, really being aware of generations stacked up on this land and here we are now as a community moving through our space together.”
Mauricio noted the nuances and controversies that commemorative justice projects can entail. “The Elaine Memorial Foundation is putting up a memorial and there are a series of events that are being organized for next October. And so how are we doing something that adds to that conversation? That puts up against it? That isn’t just the same thing? How is our work refracting, reflecting on, reckoning with the conversation that is already happening in light of the memorial that’s being created?
The past is always in dialogue with the present in such work. “Something we heard often from our partners and from folks we’d meet in the community,” Mauricio told me, is ‘We’re not just what happened in 1919. We’re a lot more than that, and who’s interested in that? It seems like folks are only interested in the hype around that one moment. How do we broaden our understanding of that story so that we can tell that side of ourselves too?’ That’s only possible if there are several conversations happening simultaneously that can use the events of a hundred years ago as a jumping-off point.”
Ashley and Mauricio explained that their team has been in conversation with all kinds of local groups, from Waves of Prayer to the Delta Community Center to the Boys and Girls Club, local educators, social service organizations, and beyond.
What binds our work and theirs is a desire to have this story told on a national level, to give voice to these stories, and understanding that art and theater is the way to do that. People tell us “We’re trying to move our community forward and we need this story to get out and we need attention to come here. We need jobs to come here. We need work to come here,” and the understanding is growing that theater as a vehicle for storytelling can serve those purposes as well.
This type of long-term relationship-building grounded in art calls on Citizen Artists to be open to sharing their gifts in a spirit of flexibility and generosity. For instance, Mauricio noted that he’d been helping folks from the Delta Cultural Center write a grant proposal for an after-school music academy, and the person he was working with
…says to me, “I feel funny. I don’t know what this has to do with your work.” And I said “Listen, Kyle, we are in for the long game of supporting the development of the arts in the area. So helping you write this grant is also my work.” We are showing up as much as we can for the community and the community’s needs, checking at the door our own particular agendas or even our own abilities. In that way I think this project will continue to morph. We will continue to produce these events, and that will be a centerpiece of our work. But also a whole lot of other things, because it’s going to take participating in many things.
Remember2019 has received funding from Alternate ROOTS, the Highlander Research and Education Center, The MAP Fund, and the Network of Ensemble Theaters to support this long-term cultural development in the service of commemorative justice.
In fact, a keystone event made possible with this funding is coming right up: in Marvell, Arkansas on 29 September 2018 and Elaine, Arkansas on 2 October:
Remember2019 Collective members Carlos Sirah and Mauricio Salgado are collaborating with James “Gone for Good” Morgan, Marcus “Mookie” Cartwright, and Vera White to present Black ‘n da Blues: Stories and Songs from the Arkansas Delta. The event is free to the public and will include a reception with food.
In Black ‘n da Blues, Phillips County musicians explore the relationship between legacies of race and artistic expression – locally, nationally and beyond. The event is being produced in partnership with The Delta Cultural Center, The Elaine Legacy Center and The Boys, Girls, Adults, Community Development Center (BGACDC).
Major events like these emerge from a fabric of community dialogue and story-sharing. For example, Remember2019 Collective members Arielle Julia Brown and Carlos Sirah convened a two-day story-sharing institute on 18 and 19 June, inviting local people to share “freedom songs, delta blues traditions, oral histories, meal centered oral traditions, story circles, testimonies, gossip, folklore, interviews and more,” culminating in a Juneteenth Freedom Celebration in a local park.
Specific activities also emerge from a convergence of interests in which the artists’ desire for commemorative justice—for their work mattering to people and serving as a vehicle for everyone’s liberation—connects with local desires and aspirations. Mauricio recalls being asked by a community leader
“What’s your investment in the work?” She would question us whenever we would say “We’re here for you.” Towards the end of our last time together, she heard us start to say “We’re here because we want. We want.” She says, “I only trust people who are here 100% for themselves because how do I know that you’re committed unless you too realize there’s something here for you?” That’s the level of commitment we’re being asked.
If you’d like to explore bringing any points in Standing for Cultural Democracy to life in your community, please feel free to contact us at hello@usdac.us. While Policy Prototype micro-grants were a one-time thing, we can still offer technical assistance and help share information with the wider world if you have a project that promotes one of more of the Platform points, so call on us.
Empowering Women through Writing, Weaving and Sharing
Be heard, connect with your inner resources and cultivate courage to create change.
Our Mission
To create a woven tapestry based on the stories of 1,000 women globally by 2020 that will be exhibited internationally to shine a light on the creative accomplishments of women while calling attention to the challenges women currently face world-wide.
To foster a culture of self-knowledge and sharing that builds courage and fosters a sense of power in women everywhere to contribute to their communities in positive ways.
To allow women to tell the story of their lives, as a catalyst for change, particularly by opening up discussions about issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse in a safe and supportive way.
To promote resilience, compassion, open communication, healing and peace in individuals and communities.
Intro to the Project
Participating in Woven Voices is a journey that starts with self-reflection and writing, and transforms into a woven tapestry, a visual storyboard of women’s lives from around the globe. The 3 elements of the Woven Voices project work together as tools to access, claim, and celebrate our power as individuals and together as a global community of women.
The Artist
Brecia Kralovic-Logan is a passionate champion of creativity who has spent the last 40 years helping people of all ages to embrace and express their unique individuality.
Brecia Kralovic-Logan
4164 Mount Hukee Ave
San Diego, Ca 92117
Mobile: 805-896-3287
breciakl@gmail.com
breciacreative.com
thespiralofcreativity.com
Humanity’s Team Summit program for Conscious Business Innerprise
FACT: The 57 Senators who voted against the #GreenNewDeal took more than $55 MILLION dollars in contributions from #fossilfuel companies. Want to learn more about what’s really going on here? Join us on Thursday, March 28th at 8 p.m. ET for our first webinar with “People of Faith for a Green New Deal”!
RSVP for THURSDAY >> https://bit.ly/PeopleofFaith4GND
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For over 25 years, we’ve inspired, educated and activated thousands of communities and organizations through our solutions-focused programs and ready-to-use social and digital tools. Together, they provide the launchpad for emerging generations and sustainability leaders to experience “ah-ha” moments that lead to extraordinary environmental and social change.
- a 21-day engagement program focused on carbon reduction;
- a challenge taking place April 3-24 and;
- following actions highlighted in Drawdown, a book based on meticulous research that maps, measures, models, and describes solutions to global warming that already exists and;
- where participants track and share their progress online in a robust platform and earn points for taking action and;
- the combination of collective action, camaraderie, and friendly competition makes change a little easier — and a lot more fun and;
- providing tools and inspiration to turn intention into action, and
- giving participants a fun and social way to think about and act on proven solutions to reverse global warming!
Over eighty actions within seven challenge categories
provide participants with diverse options to reduce carbon usage.
The EcoChallenge Platform is a signature offering of EcoChallenge.org (formerly Northwest Earth Institute), a sustainability organization that provides innovative social and digital tools designed to be a launchpad for emerging generations and sustainability leaders to experience “ah-ha” moments that lead to extraordinary environmental and social change. EcoChallenge.org also hosts a global October EcoChallenge which is free and open to everyone, everywhere. Over 73,500 people from 101 countries have used the EcoChallenge Platform and the organization has engaged over 250,000 people throughout its 25-year history. The EcoChallenge Platform can also be used to create custom Challenges that meet the engagement and action goals of your workplace, college, or community.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 227 2807
PURPOSE AND INTENTION
Climate Change & Consciousness: Our Legacy for the Earth, April 20-26 2019, will be a collaborative and participatory investigation into how we can steward a sustainable future on what has already become a radically changed planet Earth. We have travelled to this ‘new’ planet on a burst of carbon dioxide. A new planet requires new ways of living.
The conference will bring together eminent scientists, wisdom keepers, business people, activists, artists, entrepreneurs, young people and others, to envision and begin to inhabit our joint future. It will be an international, inter-generational and multi-disciplinary gathering. This is the principle of ‘the big tent‘, borrowed from party politics, whereby diverse viewpoints, backgrounds and interests (the ‘voices in the room’) are brought together to engage and dialogue.
Floor plan of the Universal Hall, the main conference venue, with
a symbolic representation of the diversity of ‘voices in the room.’
Through interactive, embodied and experiential means, participants will access intuitive, intelligent and innovative insights into how we will meet the demands of this new world. Each individual will be invited to invoke their ‘Legacy for the Earth.’ Our combined roles and commitment will represent a global mission of stewardship. Everyone will be part of this love story.
Participants will collaborate in exploring:
- The science and truth of climate change in language that we can all comprehend;
- Ways to embody our longing to connect with the Earth and hear Her voice;
- How we can build and rebuild communities as functional entities;
- Political, legal and social activism, and networking for social change;
- How do we nurture children and support youth to restore our environment;
- Soil restoration, organic food production and community-scale agriculture;
- Alternative energy sources and appropriate technologies;
- Biodiversity and the intrinsic preciousness of all species;
- Racism, misogyny and gender bias – how they deepen the environmental crisis;
- Contemporary and traditional resources to address the trauma of climate change;
- What can we learn from indigenous cultures, activists and wisdom keepers;
- Healthcare and the detoxification of environmental pollutants and toxins; and
- How to generate inspiration for a grassroots upsurge to reclaim our future.
THREE MAJOR ORIENTATIONS
Three major threads running though the conference will be:
- AWAKE: Facing the truths of climate change.
- CELEBRATE: Using the arts to express our love for the Earth and all life.
- ACT: Developing our response, locally and globally.
TEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CCC19
These principles were received along with the guidance for the manifestation of CLIMATE CHANGE & CONSCIOUSNESS on November 8, 2016:
1. That the gathering be a grassroots representation of diverse global populations;
2. That the gathering be held at the Findhorn Foundation due to its origins and because it represents and embodies community and sustainability;
3. That indigenous environmental leaders be represented;
4. That youth play a significant role and that their voices be heard;
5. That all participants, both at the conference and online, be encouraged to connect, engage, contribute and network.
6. That everyone at the gathering have an opportunity to establish and cultivate a direct, intimate and personal relationship with Nature;
7. That the gathering be infused with art as one of the key celebrations of human creativity and resiliency;
8. That the outcome of the gathering be the creation of networks of innovation and communities of inspired action;
9. That these networks and community initiatives be seeded before the conference begins; and,
10. That they be effectively supported to grow and flourish after the conference ends, in order to accelerate the generation of sustainable, life-serving responses to climate change.
WHY THIS CONFERENCE IS UNIQUE
While words like ‘climate change’ and ‘sustainability’ are in the popular parlance, the truth about the magnitude of our environmental predicament is not well understood. This is in part because the language used to deliver the science is frequently infused with acronyms that deter engagement. This conference will translate scientific jargon into language that is accessible to anyone. In addition, we intend a celebratory response to climate change that emphasises human resilience and creativity, which is key to coping with the scientific reality. These two sides of the coin (environmental science and celebratory resilience) will be linked at every juncture of this gathering.
This conference will be led by some of the most knowledgeable and highly regarded voices of the climate change movement. The key contributors are recognised internationally for their expertise, their commanding presence, and their proven capacity to identify practical and optimistic strategies for sustainability action. Joining these voices with those of artists, healers, parents and youth has seldom been attempted in quite such a way.
YOUTH
We are planning (although it’s funding dependant), a separate youth programme that will run parallel to the conference. Youth aged 16 – 20 will form a contingent that will join with, and present to, the entire assembly. Their ideas will be woven into an action plan that is developed for follow through after the event. The intention will be to permeate schools and social media with viable options for surviving and thriving in a climate-changing world.
LIVE STREAMING
There will be live streaming from Findhorn of most of the conference programme (details to follow). Aside from individual subscriptions to the streaming, we are encouraging organisations (such as community groups, non-profits, institutions and companies) to subscribe to the streaming as a collective, or hub. Hubs will take the opportunity to do much more than just passively watch the streaming. We will encourage them to self-organise a mini-conference of their own, whereby they hold their own in-house discussion groups, panel sessions, workshops and so on. We envisage these hubs becoming cells of impassioned and empowered activists who sustain their climate activism into the future.
Interested in forming a hub? Please contact us or email: CCC19@findhorn.org.
WHY FINDHORN?
The Findhorn Foundation and Community are a renown ecovillage, spiritual community and learning centre (See blog post here). This conference comes at a time when the art of community building is badly needed. Findhorn famously demonstrates the potential of community to develop low-impact settlements and lifestyles. Further, Findhorn’s deep roots in the natural world and 50 years of ‘co-creation with the intelligence of nature’ makes it the perfect host for this event.
The central intention of Climate Change & Consciousness is to encourage the participants (including thousands watching by live-stream) to prioritise their love for the Earth, putting the environment first in order to steward for the children of the future. This epitomises the role that Findhorn has long played in raising consciousness for the good of the whole. This conference fulfils Findhorn’s essential purpose as a lighthouse beaming forth messages from Mother Nature.
The Universal Hall at Findhorn, the main conference venue.
PRESENTERS
ANGAANGAQ ANGAKKORSUAQ
Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq is an Eskimo-Kalaallit Elder from far North Greenland. He is a shaman, healer, storyteller and bearer of the Qilaut (wind drum). Angaangaq has been a keynote speaker at international conferences on climate change, environmental and indigenous issues. His beliefs and practices are deeply rooted in the wisdom and traditions of his people. www.icewisdom.com
Quotes: “The greatest distance in the existence of Man is not from here to there nor from there to here. Nay, the greatest distance in the existence of Man is from his mind to his heart. Unless he conquers that distance he can never learn to soar like an eagle and realize his own immensity within.”
“The Ancient One’s say that One Day, when the World needs it most, the Sacred Fire will come home to the people on the Top of the World.”
CHARLES EISENSTEIN
Charles Eisenstein is an extremely popular philosopher, author and internationally renowned speaker and program facilitator. His books include The Ascent of Humanity, Sacred Economics and most recently, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible. His forthcoming book, to be released in 2018, addresses the impacts of climate change. www.charleseisenstein.net
Quotes: “Humanity is meant to join fully the tribe of all life on Earth, offering our uniquely human gifts towards the wellbeing and development of the whole.”
“Enlightenment is a group activity.”
“The path of service is a path of self-realization.”
“Our salvation must come from recovering a direct relationship to what is alive in front of us.”
POLLY HIGGINS
Polly Higgins is founder of Ecocide Law, the Earth Community Trust and co-founder of the Earth Law Alliance. She holds the Arne Naess Chair at Oslo University and won the 2016 Polarbröd‘s Utstickarpriset prize for Future Leadership. Ecologist Magazine have named her one of the top ten visionary thinkers in the world. www.pollyhiggins.com
Quotes: “The shift in consciousness required here is an espousal of our collective responsibility for the ecology of our planet. Once we have that shift we will have true social progress.”
“Without the wellbeing of the ecology of our planet, our wellbeing suffers.”
“Calls for public and environmental justice are about securing peaceful life for future generations, the aspiration for a better world. To me, this is the ultimate altruistic act; to give your life in service for a greater good. My rallying call is for life for all who inhabit this planet, not just humans. It can be your call too if you so choose. I ask you to join me.”
XIUHTEZCATL MARTINEZ
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is a 17 year old indigenous climate activist who has spoken at the Rio + 20 Summit and the UN. With beauty, flare and music he reachs out to youth to invite them to be advocates for the Earth. He received the Peace First Prize in 2015 and the Children’s Climate Prize in Sweden in 2016. www.earthguardians.org/
Quotes:“My generation faces a total systemic collapse on every level of our planet. Never before has there been such an intergenerational opportunity to shape the world we serve.”
“Every young person in the world has the potential to lead. There is nothing holding us back…Whether it is on the local level or it is about the entire world, we can take on the leadership role. We deserve a healthy environment to live in.“
“I have to do something with the sadness I feel about what is happening to my world. I am totally in love with this planet and it is falling apart. I have to use my voice and my passion to make a difference. I have to education, empower and inspire.”
BILL MCKIBBEN
Bill McKibben is a pioneer of the climate change movement, best-selling author, journalist, environmental activist and founder of 350.org, a global grassroots climate change movement. Bill has won the Gandhi and Thomas Merton Prizes. He is a Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College. The Boston Globe calls him “America’s most important environmentalist.” www.billmckibben.com, www.350.org
Quotes: “We must step up the fight to keep climate change from getting even more powerfully out of control, and to protect those people most at risk, who are almost always those who have done the least to cause the problem.”
“We will build the architecture of the world that comes next. We will create the dispersed and localized societies that can survive the damage that we can no longer prevent. We still must live on the world we’ve created and we will do that lightly, carefully, and gracefully.”
JONATHON PORRITT
Jonathon Porritt CBE is founder and Director of Forum for the Future, the UK’s leading sustainable development charity. He was co-chair of the British Green Party (1980-83); Director of Friends of the Earth (1984-90); and Trustee of WWF UK (1991-2005). Jonathon received a CBE in January 2000 for services to environmental protection. www.forumforthefuture.org
Quotes: “Imagine the good world we are going to be living in – massively improved by smart, clean technology, and committed to a much fairer, more sustainable model of economic growth.”
“Practically everything we need to fashion a sustainable world for nine billion people is either out there, on the drawing board or in the lab. And the pace of change is extraordinary, the wealth creating potential quite staggering.”
VANDANA SHIVA
Vandana Shiva PhD is a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, physicist, feminist, philosopher of science, science policy advocate and author of 20 books. She has taken on what is likely one of the greatest challenges of climate change – feeding a growing population without further harming the Earth. Vandana was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1993. http://vandanashiva.com/
Quotes:“Soil teaches us how to be earth citizens.”
“We will either make a democratic transition from oil to soil or we will perish.”
“Soil is the metaphor of decentralized and deep democracy.”
“Living economies are grounded in the soil; literally and metaphorically. They are localized, which reduces our ecological footprint on the planet while enhancing our wellbeing. Economies rooted in the soil are centered on nature and people.”
“Earth democracy grows in the fertile soil shaped by the earth, the human imagination and human action.”
ADDITIONAL PRESENTERS
Margaret Elphinstone is one of Scotland’s foremost writers who has written extensively about the crises in which we now find ourselves. Margaret contributes to Dark Mountain, a British based project that seeks, through the arts, to elicit urgently needed myths that reflect our times. She is Emeritus Professor of Writing at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Scottish Literary Studies. www.margaretelphinstone.co.uk
Mumta Ito is founder of the charity Rights of Nature and the International Centre for Holistic Law. A former financial lawyer in the City of London, she was an adviser to governments, multi-national corporations and investment banks. She is now a public interest environmental attorney. She initiated the European Citizens Initiative to put the rights of nature on the legislative agenda of the EU. www.rightsofnature.eu
Deborah Jay Lewin is an energy worker disguised as a dance teacher. She is a senior practitioner in her field having trained with Gabrielle Roth in 1994 and as a co-founder of Open Floor International in 2014. Her knowledge of and respect for the wisdom of the body is incisive and contagious. Deborah is devoted to utilising embodied movement to harness creativity for the benefit of all beings and the Earth. www.vitalmoves.co.uk
Rachelle McCabe, concert pianist and Professor of Music at Oregon State University, enjoys an international career as an artist-teacher and as a solo recitalist and highly respected chamber musician. She has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, Southeast Asia and England, and has been heard on NPR’s Performance Today, the CBC, and PBS television. http://www.riverwalking.com/a-call-to-life.html
Stephanie Mines is a neuroscientist, psychologist and author of five books on the treatment of trauma and shock. Stephanie first went to Findhorn in 2011 when she was a keynote speaker at the Conscious Medicine Conference. She has returned every year since and has a strong love for the community and the place. Stephanie lives in Portland, Oregon and is married to environmental attorney Robert E. Yuhnke. www.Tara-Approach.org
Kathleen Dean Moore is a moral philosopher, nature writer, and veteran climate advocate best known for her ability to weave science, ideas, and emotions in her spoken-word performances and books. She is the author or co-editor of a dozen books, including Great Tide Rising, Moral Ground, and the newest, a novel, Piano Tide. http://www.riverwalking.com/a-call-to-life.html
Dave Rock is a spoken word artist, storyteller and Authentic Speaking coach. He works with communities, co-creating rites of passage, ritual and celebration; and with stage performers and change makers to help them embody and express their message as a way of being. As a performer he finds ways to speak all voices and remember life into being whole again. www.speakingrocks.life
Joey Walters is the Founder of Awakening Feminine Leaders. Her work is a soulful, authentic pathway to allow feminine leadership to emerge. She is gifted in inviting the power of ritual to accompany her gentle, clear and focused leadership. Joey is completing her first book based on her successful international series “A Call to Stand.” She lives close to nature in the woodlands of Scotland with her partner and two wee sons. www.awakeningfeminineleaders.com
Robert E. Yuhnke has been an environmental attorney and policy consultant for forty-five years. He co-authored the Clean Air Act in the US and has worked tirelessly for its enforcement. His ability to explain the science behind climate change and how communities must respond to survive and thrive will add significantly to this conference. Robert lives in Portland Oregon and is married to Stephanie Mines. bob.yuhnke@prodigy.net
Note that time listed is PST – Please adjust for your time zone!
This spring, Grist is teaming up with the Peoples Climate Movement to host a series of discussions about the potential impact of a Green New Deal on communities that are on the front lines of climate change, including communities of color, rural communities, low-income communities, displaced workers and indigenous peoples.
On May 21st, we’ll be hosting a virtual town hall discussion, moderated by Grist journalist Zoya Teirstein, about what a Green New Deal could mean for workers. We’ll be joined by Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of Maine AFL-CIO, Alison Hirsh, Political Director of 32BJ SEIU, and April Sims, Secretary Treasurer of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, who will be taking your questions on the challenges that workers face around the transition to a green economy, and what something like the Green New Deal could do to address them. We’ll also discuss how a Green New Deal done correctly could create opportunities for workers, and what a ‘Just Transition’ would really mean.
Tune in online to ask questions and hear how the what the Green New Deal really is and what it could mean for workers — what’s exciting, and what the debate over it means for our vision of a just and equitable future for climate, jobs and justice.
Register today to save your spot in our live chat. There is limited availability so act fast!
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Introducing the Encore Public Voices Fellowship
The Encore Public Voices Fellowship is a prestigious year-long initiative to accelerate the ideas and impact of 20 new and necessary thought leaders working at the intersection of aging/longevity, inter-generational connection and social justice.
Many parts of the world are rapidly aging. In the United States, we have added more than 30 years to life expectancy in the past century, but not across the board. Whites live longer than people of color. Women live longer than men. And the richest Americans live 10-15 years longer than the poorest. In 2019, for the first time ever, there are more people over the age of 60 than under the age of 18. The ripple effects of these shifts will affect every aspect of society.
We need better and faster ideas from a more diverse set of people of all ages, including those who are most impacted by the uneven implications of these realities, and thus most likely to see new solutions and envision a more just future. The Encore Public Voices Fellowship is a collaboration among The OpEd Project, Encore.org, and Ann MacDougall and is part of The OpEd Project’s national Public Voices initiative to change who writes history.
Participants will receive extraordinary support, skills and mentoring to ensure their ideas shape the greater public conversation. All participants will publish at least two written pieces (hopefully many more) during their fellowship. Read this summary oped to learn how the first 20 fellows are changing the national conversation.
After a highly successful pilot year, we are looking for community and business leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, writers, educators, researchers and other thinkers. We are committed to building a cohort that is inclusive across all identities and backgrounds. We will take into account a variety of factors, including but not limited to race/ethnicity, geography, age, gender and area of expertise. During our pilot year, over half of the cohort consisted of people of color.
Encore.org is an innovation hub and catalyst, working to realize the potential of longer lives and intergenerational connection to solve our most pressing social problems.
The OpEd Project is a think tank and leadership organization that expands history by accelerating the ideas and public impact of new and necessary voices, including women of all backgrounds.
Ann MacDougall, former president of Encore.org, serves as a senior advisor to the Encore Public Voices Fellowship.
Our Advisory Council is comprised of a small group of outstanding social innovators and media professionals. Members include Ellen Goodman (Chair), Sylvia Brown, Mary C. Curtis, Ken Dychtwald, Raymond Jetson, Katie Orenstein, Trabian Shorters and Lester Strong. They will advise on strategy, recruitment of candidates and fellow selection, and may participate as guest speakers.
MORE ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP The Public Voices Fellowship is part of an ambitious national initiative to change who writes history. Launched by The OpEd Project in collaboration with a core group of institutional partners, including Yale, Northwestern, the Ford Foundation and a dozen others, we have had extraordinary success accelerating the ideas and impact of new and necessary voices at the highest levels in their fields, including women of all backgrounds. Watch this short video to hear how last year’s fellows describe their experiences.
Selection
Fellows will be chosen through a competitive selection process. The 2019-20 fellowship targets leaders across all fields and generations who are working somewhere in the intersection of aging, longevity, intergenerational connection and social justice. We strongly encourage people in adjacent fields to apply provided they have a clear and demonstrated desire and ability to contribute to the public dialogue on these issues. Areas of focus could include intergenerational activism, ageism, encore careers, financial security/insecurity, climate change activism as a “legacy” to our descendants, outdated retirement policies, etc.
Selection criteria includes work history, professional track record, and desire to help change the cultural narrative.
Details
-
Year-long program
-
Up to 20 fellows
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Four interactive day-long seminars in NYC designed to expand thinking and deepen expertise (dates are: September 26-27, 2019; December 3, 2019; March 6, 2020; and May 8, 2020)
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Dedicated editors (top journalists) to provide regular, hands-on, one-on-one support/editing/coaching
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Access to ongoing mentoring for the fellowship year
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A limited number of travel stipends for those who need them
THE ENCORE FRAMEWORK Guided by the belief that the aging of America is every bit as much an opportunity to be seized as a problem to be solved, Encore.org tells a new story about the possibilities of an older America, creates new ways to enable people of all ages to contribute more fully to their communities, and seeds a movement built around these ideas. We hope to change both the conversation and reality around the years after 50, not just for the enormous cohort of baby boomers, but also for generations to come.
There are barriers to this exciting vision. Ageism remains pervasive. Neither government nor big business have been especially innovative or supportive of policies or programs to pr.epare experienced people for new roles. And there are scant pathways and opportunities for individuals to get from their midlife work to a new chapter, often called an encore career. Many people in this life stage find themselves in difficult financial circumstances, without the resources to weather later life. And sadly, some low-income communities are missing out on these “bonus years” altogether.
Encore.org has been a leader in this space for the past two decades, working to normalize the idea of people in this life stage as a force for social good. Scores of leaders (the vanguard of an emerging encore movement) are now engaged in thought leadership in this area, but this issue has not yet become part of a mainstream, public conversation. Rather, it is driven by a small chorus of people who are not reflective of the diversity of our population
Water: Reconnecting the People of African Descent, UN High Level Political…
Event Information
Description
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, July 18
9:00 – 10:30 am PST / 12:00 – 1:30 pm EST
The terrible issue of immigrant children detained at the U.S. border
The United States of America has, since its inception, been a country formed by immigrants. Yet now, at our southern border particularly, thousands of people leaving their home countries are requesting asylum or entrance and are being held in detention centers and processed very slowly. Meanwhile, the immigrating families are being separated and the children held in cells – cages in many cases – without adequate sanitation or bedding, without adequate nutrition and without access to their parents or adult relatives. In spite of legal and popular objection this problem has continued and continued to worsen for over a year under the Trump administration.
Is the description above adequate to define this problem? What are some of the underlying causes of the problem and what can or should be done instead? What actions can we take to effect those changes?
Looking at this issue through your social justice and elder lenses, please read the materials suggested below, focus your attention on this issue in other news you read and conversations you hear, then bring your thoughts on the subject to our conversation July 18th.
In our Community Conversations we draw on the experience and wisdom of our group to better understand the critical issues we are facing and discern what actions we would want to take as elders in our society today. We offer moral support for each other as we grapple with the issues and challenges of our times and discern how to best support the activism that we are each engaged in.
Resources:
Letter from Santa Fe Dreamers:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We know that you have all been reading and watching the absolutely horrific news unfold about the conditions of detention on the border. We know that many of you feel scared, frustrated, angry, and powerless by the way that our government is treating vulnerable people, especially children. We are writing today with information and direction towards action but also to urge you not to feel powerless. We are always capable of making change through our collective power. Of course this requires courage, stamina, and an intelligent, disciplined, and organized theory of change. It will not be easy. We encourage you to turn away from despair and towards this place of collective power knowing that it will test you. We will be with you the whole way. Below you will find some ideas for inspiration.
Love,
Your friends at Santa Fe Dreamers Project
- Educate yourself: Here at SFDP this is always our number one piece of advice. The more you know, the fiercer you will be as an advocate and a voter. There are plenty of explosive news articles to read but here are a few that we have learned from recently: We suggested this piece in our last newsletter but if you haven’t had a chance to read it we highly suggest Dara Lind’s “The Border is in Crisis. Here’s How it Got This Bad”. The New Yorker ran an incredibly thought provoking piece written by a historian about “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camp”. Again from the New Yorker, a report from the lawyers who were recently allowed in to inspect a children’s facility in Clint, TX, “Inside a Building in Texas where Government is Holding Immigrant Children”. Another really important thing to learn about (and something that is not highlighted enough in the news) is the Migrant Protection Protocol or MPP program that has currently turned thousands of thousands of migrants around at the US border to wait in Mexico. This is an excruciatingly dangerous policy that is threatening the lives of migrant families day after day.
- Understand that this cruelty is not new and these tactics did not just begin. In fact, the Obama administration reignited the practice of family detention in 2014. One of the reasons this summer feels so out of control is because the sheer numbers of people asking for asylum are so high. The Obama and now Trump administrations’ policies attempted to deter migrants through punishment, suffering, and torture but their success was dependent on the flow of migrants actually stopping. Now that the numbers are so high, these cruel and failed policies have now turned deadly.
- Engage with politicians: Here is the thing: The Trump administration cannot be swayed with moral arguments or blame. They are doing this on purpose. One way of thinking about engaging with politicians is to remember that Congress has the power of the purse and is funding this enforcement regime. One theory is that we can defund ICE and CBP and redirect that money to agencies or NGO’s that are capable of handling a humanitarian crisis of this scope and are not killing people for political motive. This means we have to pressure progressives and democrats and republicans with a conscience to do more than just signal compassion for immigrants. We need these leaders to articulate how they are going to disempower the Trump Administration and make sure it is part of the work they are doing to secure our votes. We can and must demand courageous leadership from our Senators and Representatives and that their actions reflect our deep desire to end the state sponsored violence on the border.
- How to respond to the threat of ICE raids: Trump’s twitter threat for a massive enforcement action last week was credible and achieved its purpose of scaring the shit out of immigrant and refugee communities all over the US. While it has been “delayed”, now is a wise time for communities to get organized. The American Friends Service Committee published this resource about how allies can support their immigrant and refugee neighbors during this time. Here is the ACLU’s guide to knowing your rights during ICE encounters and we suggest exploring it. Santa Fe Dreamers will be holding walk in hours for people to help families with power of attorney and family prep plans every Friday in Santa Fe from 1-5 at our 1213 Mercantile Rd office. If you work with concerned families let them know about this resource.
- Actions happening in NM: There is a lot of talk about national protests to close concentration camps on July 12. One of the organizations that is involved with planning this is called Lights of Liberty. Their Facebook page is a source of info– although we don’t have much info yet about that organization. We are talking with folks in NM about planning more locally focused actions and as soon as we have more details we will announce it. Choose your social media of choice or keep reading our emails to stay in touch.
- Where to donate: Of course here at Santa Fe Dreamers Project we use your donations to protect vulnerable immigrants and refugees in a million different ways every day. Specifically, we need more help on the border. We just rented a much larger office space in El Paso for our expanding team there and are raising funds for a legal assistant so we can have greater impact in the borderlands. You can donate to that effort here. Write border in the note! We are grateful for any help you can give putting this donation link out there into the universe. For those of you wondering where else it might be useful to donate here is our list of several grassroots legal organizations that we know are having impact (we also know we have left many out!)
- And finally an offer of poetry from our director, Allegra, who likes to contemplate what this particular poem is trying to teach us when thinking about the horrors we witness:
Now you know the worst
By Wendell Berry
To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin
Now you know the worst
we humans have to know
about ourselves, and I am sorry,
for I know that you will be afraid.
To those of our bodies given
without pity to be burned, I know
there is no answer
but loving one another,
even our enemies, and this is hard.
But remember:
when a man of war becomes a man of peace,
he gives a light, divine
though it is also human.
When a man of peace is killed
by a man of war, he gives a light.
You do not have to walk in darkness.
If you will have the courage for love,
you may walk in light. It will be
the light of those who have suffered
for peace. It will be
your light.
Regarding Investor Activism:
Here are some groups focused on Social, Environmental and Governance-conscious investing:
- Proxy Impact
- Sustainable Investment Institute
- As You Sow
- Green America (and also: www.greenamerica.org/finance)
And finally, for your research about political donations, money flow and lobbying influence:
How to join the conversation:
We will be using Zoom video conferencing, which is very easy to access by computer or regular telephone. If you choose to use your tablet or smartphone, be sure to download the Zoom app ahead of time. We will be starting each meeting on time so please connect 15 minutes before the call so that the host can help with any technical difficulties or questions you may have. Once the call starts the host will be not be able to help with connection issues. Once you are connected via Zoom you are welcome mute your microphone and turn off your video until just before the meeting starts, or you may enjoy chatting with others in the meeting while you wait.
Instructions and access to Zoom conferencing
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here:
SIGN UP
One simple goal – to make a child feel special.
Beverly’s Birthdays provides birthday cheer for children experiencing homelessness and families in need. We spread birthday cheer 365 days a year. Today, nearly one in four children in the U.S. live at or below the poverty line. In Southwestern PA alone, there are nearly 3,000 school-aged children identified as homeless. Children living in poverty often go without the everyday items that we take for granted. Special milestones, like birthdays, are often overlooked because of their families’ personal/financial circumstances. Beverly’s Birthdays enriches the lives of the children we serve by making sure they are remembered on their special day.
Honoring the Past • Healing the Present • Celebrating the Future
A CELEBRATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN ART, MUSIC AND CULTURES
Thank you Joanne and Monte for this inspiring, hope-infused interview.
Tickets: www.sheatheater.org
Note that the concert is at the Shea Theater at 17 Avenue A in Turners Falls at 7:30 pm on Saturday and tickets are available before the event at a reduced rate and also available at the door.
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Festival details and schedule: www.nolumbekaproject.org
P.O. Box 285, 91 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01302
The mission of the Nolumbeka Project is to promote a deeper, broader and more accurate depiction of the history of the Native Americans/American Indians of New England before and during European contact and colonization;
To protect and preserve sites sacred to, and of historic value to, the Native Americans/American Indians of New England; to create and promote related educational opportunities, preservation projects and cultural events; and to work in partnership, as much as possible, with the tribes.
We will strive to exemplify the Native American/American Indian peoples’ respect for Mother Earth and all living beings; to be mindful of our role as caretakers for future generations; and to honor our connection to the Earth and Sky and to the Creator.
The Nolumbeka Project, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the history of Native Americans/American Indians of New England through educational programs, art, history, music, heritage seed preservation and cultural events. We are actively building, maintaining and expanding an historical archive research library for use by the Tribes and Educators of the Northeast and beyond.
Our Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who have been active for more than 40 years in a number of other preservation, historical research, environmental and social justice organizations.
The Convergence
Archives Available on VoiceAmerica Empowerment Channel
In a world inevitably going global and multicultural, what becomes of religions and spirituality? What becomes of activism towards real global change? In THE CONVERGENCE, global Interspiritual pioneer and scientist Dr. Kurt Johnson joins interfaith leaders Ben Bowler of Australia and Doug King of America in engaging women and men who are inspiring leaders and change agents around our world. Spiritual and cultural leaders, sacred and secular activists, scientists, artists, writers, economists, politicians and even shamans join in this discussion of a world trying to wake up and grow up. What is at stake and what are the technologies and cosmologies creating a world that can work for everyone? If you are concerned for our world’s future and sincere about your commitments to bold and world-serving ideas, you’ll want to tune in to The Convergence on the VoiceAmerica Empowerment Channel.
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Episode Description
VoiceAmerica presents this Evergreen Special detailing major 2019 and 2020 global events upcoming from UNITY EARTH partners Standing for Peace Campaign, Road to 2020 Events, and Caravan of Unity across America. The five sections of the Special spotlight, now and for months to come: United Nations mandated global holiday events like the International Day of Yoga and the International Day of Peace, the vision and work of Light on Light Magazine and VoiceAmerica in covering all these events, UNITY EARTH and its partners month to month activities and initiatives 2019-2020, and the roles of partner groups like Transformation365, We, the World, URI, UNIFY, EcoPeace and The Evolutionary Leaders. Featured are global leaders from the UN, UNITY EARTH, Light on Light Magazine, Transformation365, We, and The Evolutionary Leaders. Lets share this Special, ongoing, as a resource and PR instrument pointing toward all of these global events and gathering a global constituency for their success!
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Elder Activists for Social Justice
Community Conversations
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, August 15
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
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Bystanders to Activists:
Ways of Being Engaged in Ensuring Social Justice
3rd Thursday of each month
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
We participate together over Zoom video conferencing in a lightly-facilitated, educational and interactive conversation. We have time to deep dive into our topics using an Elder and social justice lens…always provocative, meaningful and community-oriented.
We began, three years ago, by looking at issues related to racism, white privilege, wealth inequality and Islamophobia, and have recently studied Native peoples’ history, reconciliation and the moral voice of an Elder. Each month’s topic grows from the previous month’s and the interests of those attending.
Approximately two weeks before each meeting we may post resources about our subject which include relevant readings, videos, articles, and introspective questions. Our meeting format is participatory, and everyone has a chance to interact and share. All meetings are via Zoom video conferencing. Click for instructions and access to Zoom conferencing. ALL ARE WELCOME.
Our next Community Conversation will be on
Thursday, August 15
9:00 – 10:30 am PT / 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
Bystanders to Activists:
Ways of Being Engaged in Ensuring Social Justice
In this month’s Community Conversation we turn toward taking specific actions on developing an EASJ project to end the separation of immigrant children from their parents at the border. Your task, should you decide to accept it, is to look up and read everything you can find on recent actions taken by the US government, state and local border governments, prison facilities housing immigrants and ICE officials to change separation practices.
Also, think about how you would actually define the problem and its underlying causes. Be thorough in asking yourself “Why?” or “What does that mean?” because we’re setting this up as a serious project. We’re not just talking about or protesting the problem. We’re developing responsible action for finding and enacting positive solutions for this terrible, heartless situation. Join us!
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here.
July Conversation:
The terrible issue of immigrant children detained at the U.S. border
At our July 18 meeting we asked What can I or We do about [the] problem [of immigrant children being separated from their parents at the border]?…. As Elders who care deeply but who are not necessarily able to get up and go to protests – although some do – determining what can one person do presents the usual question of just that – what can one person do? The power of positive action of any type was deemed to be essentially of a personal choice, but whatever it is, it’s important – whether it be writing letters to editors, senators or representatives; joining local or bigger groups and jumping on the bandwagon; donating money for aid or bail for immigrants, or writing to our mutual fund investment managers about divesting from prison complex companies like Geo Group (GEO) and CoreCivic (CXW), it’s all good.
But, perhaps the best way to help is to follow Shannon’s information she found in the New York Times on June 24, 2019: Children Shouldn’t Be Dying at the Border. Here’s How You Can Help
Donation of money (100%) to the National Bail Fund Network aids in disrupting the injustice of bail requirements in the immigration detention and mass incarceration systems. For more information contact Pilar Maria Weiss, Director of Community Justice Exchange at 202-279-1656 or go online to: www.communityjusticeexchange.org/national-bail-fund-network
So…show up…speak out…and ‘be the light’ because it all matters!
Resources:
Letter from Santa Fe Dreamers:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
We know that you have all been reading and watching the absolutely horrific news unfold about the conditions of detention on the border. We know that many of you feel scared, frustrated, angry, and powerless by the way that our government is treating vulnerable people, especially children. We are writing today with information and direction towards action but also to urge you not to feel powerless. We are always capable of making change through our collective power. Of course this requires courage, stamina, and an intelligent, disciplined, and organized theory of change. It will not be easy. We encourage you to turn away from despair and towards this place of collective power knowing that it will test you. We will be with you the whole way. Below you will find some ideas for inspiration.
Love,
Your friends at Santa Fe Dreamers Project
- Educate yourself: Here at SFDP this is always our number one piece of advice. The more you know, the fiercer you will be as an advocate and a voter. There are plenty of explosive news articles to read but here are a few that we have learned from recently: We suggested this piece in our last newsletter but if you haven’t had a chance to read it we highly suggest Dara Lind’s “The Border is in Crisis. Here’s How it Got This Bad”. The New Yorker ran an incredibly thought provoking piece written by a historian about “The Unimaginable Reality of American Concentration Camp”. Again from the New Yorker, a report from the lawyers who were recently allowed in to inspect a children’s facility in Clint, TX, “Inside a Building in Texas where Government is Holding Immigrant Children”. Another really important thing to learn about (and something that is not highlighted enough in the news) is the Migrant Protection Protocol or MPP program that has currently turned thousands of thousands of migrants around at the US border to wait in Mexico. This is an excruciatingly dangerous policy that is threatening the lives of migrant families day after day.
- Understand that this cruelty is not new and these tactics did not just begin. In fact, the Obama administration reignited the practice of family detention in 2014. One of the reasons this summer feels so out of control is because the sheer numbers of people asking for asylum are so high. The Obama and now Trump administrations’ policies attempted to deter migrants through punishment, suffering, and torture but their success was dependent on the flow of migrants actually stopping. Now that the numbers are so high, these cruel and failed policies have now turned deadly.
- Engage with politicians: Here is the thing: The Trump administration cannot be swayed with moral arguments or blame. They are doing this on purpose. One way of thinking about engaging with politicians is to remember that Congress has the power of the purse and is funding this enforcement regime. One theory is that we can defund ICE and CBP and redirect that money to agencies or NGO’s that are capable of handling a humanitarian crisis of this scope and are not killing people for political motive. This means we have to pressure progressives and democrats and republicans with a conscience to do more than just signal compassion for immigrants. We need these leaders to articulate how they are going to disempower the Trump Administration and make sure it is part of the work they are doing to secure our votes. We can and must demand courageous leadership from our Senators and Representatives and that their actions reflect our deep desire to end the state sponsored violence on the border.
- How to respond to the threat of ICE raids: Trump’s twitter threat for a massive enforcement action last week was credible and achieved its purpose of scaring the shit out of immigrant and refugee communities all over the US. While it has been “delayed”, now is a wise time for communities to get organized. The American Friends Service Committee published this resource about how allies can support their immigrant and refugee neighbors during this time. Here is the ACLU’s guide to knowing your rights during ICE encounters and we suggest exploring it. Santa Fe Dreamers will be holding walk in hours for people to help families with power of attorney and family prep plans every Friday in Santa Fe from 1-5 at our 1213 Mercantile Rd office. If you work with concerned families let them know about this resource.
- Actions happening in NM: There is a lot of talk about national protests to close concentration camps on July 12. One of the organizations that is involved with planning this is called Lights of Liberty. Their Facebook page is a source of info– although we don’t have much info yet about that organization. We are talking with folks in NM about planning more locally focused actions and as soon as we have more details we will announce it. Choose your social media of choice or keep reading our emails to stay in touch.
- Where to donate: Of course here at Santa Fe Dreamers Project we use your donations to protect vulnerable immigrants and refugees in a million different ways every day. Specifically, we need more help on the border. We just rented a much larger office space in El Paso for our expanding team there and are raising funds for a legal assistant so we can have greater impact in the borderlands. You can donate to that effort here. Write border in the note! We are grateful for any help you can give putting this donation link out there into the universe. For those of you wondering where else it might be useful to donate here is our list of several grassroots legal organizations that we know are having impact (we also know we have left many out!)
- And finally an offer of poetry from our director, Allegra, who likes to contemplate what this particular poem is trying to teach us when thinking about the horrors we witness:
Now you know the worst
By Wendell Berry
To my granddaughters who visited the Holocaust Museum on the day of the burial of Yitzhak Rabin
Now you know the worst
we humans have to know
about ourselves, and I am sorry,
for I know that you will be afraid.
To those of our bodies given
without pity to be burned, I know
there is no answer
but loving one another,
even our enemies, and this is hard.
But remember:
when a man of war becomes a man of peace,
he gives a light, divine
though it is also human.
When a man of peace is killed
by a man of war, he gives a light.
You do not have to walk in darkness.
If you will have the courage for love,
you may walk in light. It will be
the light of those who have suffered
for peace. It will be
your light.
Regarding Investor Activism:
Here are some groups focused on Social, Environmental and Governance-conscious investing:
- Proxy Impact
- Sustainable Investment Institute
- As You Sow
- Green America (and also: www.greenamerica.org/finance)
And finally, for your research about political donations, money flow and lobbying influence:
How to join the conversation:
To receive email reminders for Elder Activists for Social Justice (EASJ) meetings, monthly community conversations and workshops, please sign up here.
We envision a world where women’s history inspires all people to have equal respect for everyone’s experiences and accomplishments and to see there are no obstacles to achieving their dreams.
When a field trip is out of the question, bring the museum to you! The National Women’s History Museum is offering 45 minute electronic field trips for 4th through 11th grade classes, non-profit organizations, corporations, extracurricular groups (and more!) on a variety of topics this fall. Interact with a Museum Educator through field trips that are streamed directly into your classroom using the Zoom video platform, and offer your students a glimpse into how museums bring history to life. All sessions last one class period and include pre-and post-program curriculum materials.
Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/electronic-field-trips-tickets-68218392047
Prices:
- $125 – private schools, youth organizations, homeschool associations, clubs, corporations, & non-profits
- $100 – public schools
- No Charge – Title I schools (contact us to verify status as a Title I school and to schedule the field trip)
Current Electronic Field Trips:
Standing Up for Change: African American Women and the Civil Rights Movement
In the 20th century, African American women formed the backbone of the modern Civil Rights Movement. They were the critical mass, the grassroots leaders challenging America to embrace justice and equality for all. This program discusses women’s critical roles in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Little Rock’s Central High School integration, and the little-known women behind the scenes of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Join us to explore the Civil Rights Movement through the perspectives of its women leaders.
Taking a Stand Part 1: The Beginnings of Woman Suffrage (1776-1872)
Though the woman suffrage movement started in 1848, the movement had roots going back to the beginning of the country. This program will explore the early factors in the suffrage movement including key women such as Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony. Learn about the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States and the legislation that was put in place to halt the movement.
Taking a Stand Part 2: Woman Suffrage and Protest at the White House (1872-1920)
By the early 20th century women had yet to achieve the vote nationally. A group of women, adopting radical tactics from their British counterparts, brought their protests to Washington, DC and the White House fence. Learn how Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) drew public attention to their cause and became a model for peaceful public protest marches in the United States.
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Previous Electronic Field Trips (videos are currently free for use):
Women Pioneers of Computer Programming
In 1943 the US Army hired six women mathematicians to set up and operate the Army’s newest top secret weapon in World War II. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was the first electronic, digital computer. These unsung heroes figured out how to wire the electrical connections that enabled ENIAC to complete 300 multiplications per second. This field trip incorporates math and science content including electronic circuits and geometry. To see a recording of this program, click here.
Katherine Johnson and the Mathematics of the Space Race
Getting astronauts to space and back involves more than rockets and hardware. During America’s space race in the 1950s and 60s, mathematicians performed calculations that determined the geometry for space orbit. Women “computers”, including National Women’s History Museum’s Women Making History honoree Katherine Johnson, were integral members of NASA’s teams. Join us to learn the mathematical concepts behind space orbit and the women who sent America’s astronauts into space. To see a recording of this program, click here.
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It takes an African American woman until almost the end of August (2019) to make the same amount that a white man made through Dec 31, 2018.
That’s why we are launching our Equal Pay for Equal Work Petition to
#DemandMore here at NWHM.
Add your name now to sign on and help us reach our goal of 10,000 members strong!
“…Each one of us can make a difference, and together, we make change.”
SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI
Socially Conscious Leadership from the Inside Out
Our guest this week has come to believe that “No matter how wonderful a program is, if it is done as a bestowing – a certain group of people making decisions for another group – that is never going to bridge the divide in our city.” Does your work fit within this paradigm of “bestowing,” and how do you plant seeds for a deeper mindset or consciousness shift to address underlying structural issues? Share Your Reflection »
Dallas-based therapist, activist, writer, community leader and speaker Michelle Kinder examines and teaches conscious leadership “from the inside out.” She offers practical, achievable steps for parents, teachers and others to support children’s social-emotional health, and for business and other leaders to drive transformation in their lives and organizations. While exploring the lack of mental health resources in southern Dallas, Kinder got to know the work of the Momentous Institute, a 99-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit organization that has been building and repairing social-emotional health through education and mental health programs. Momentous Institute serves vulnerable children through therapy services, curriculum and teacher training focused on See full.
Five Questions for Michelle
What Makes You Come Alive?
Thank you for asking. Learning makes me come alive. Learning combined with contribution has long been a winning formula for me feeling most alive. Over the years I developed the habit of checking in with myself every six months or so with the questions “Am I learning? Am I contributing?” There have been interesting seasons on how the two balance each other. There are times that striving to contribute crowded out the kind of white space by brain needs for deep learning and I have had to course correct. And there have been other times that I was learning a lot, but didn’t feel like I was being a good steward in terms of making a difference for other people or for causes I care about. I should also say that because I am currently in a season of more white space and more time for discernment, increasingly, simple pleasures are what make me come alive. Listening to birds, watching our dogs, yoga, running, sunshine, good coffee and the sound of my girls laughing together. Things like that.
Pivotal turning point in your life?
When I was in High School I left my family in Guatemala and came to the states to attend boarding school. It was a transformational experience. The wonderful faculty there saw qualities in me that they nurtured into leadership and I really learned who I was and what I was capable of during those four years. Interestingly, in my previous school, there were teachers who experienced the exact same qualities as problematic, annoying or something to control. Having that experience has made me very interested in how adults show up in the lives of children in a way that respects the enormous privilege and responsibility. I always say there are no neutral interactions when it comes to our relationships with children – all interactions are either positive, negative or missed opportunities.
An Act of Kindness You’ll Never Forget?
When I was in college, my 24-year-old sister died suddenly and it was an enormous challenge to go back to school while navigating the grief process. Several weeks into it, when people had stopped checking in, I found a card tucked into one of my books. It was from a classmate I knew somewhat, but not super well. It said something like, “I know time has passed but your hurt hasn’t.” I still tear up thinking about that act of kindness. It meant so much and it has shaped my desire to show up for others in similar ways.
One Thing On Your Bucket List?
Have the kind of flexibility to visit different places for a month at a time and work remotely while folding into the local scene.
One-line Message for the World?
Regardless of the situation, if you ever aren’t sure how to be most helpful, regulate your own nervous system.
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Awakin Circles: A hub for local meditation circles that started in the Silicon Valley and have now spread to 80+ cities around the globe. The circle start with an hour of silence, followed by a circle of sharing and dinner in silence. A newsletter with a passage selected from various wisdom traditions and an audio reading is sent out to 87,000 subscribers each week. See also Awakin Calls that hosts weekly conversations with wide-ranging thought leaders.
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ServiceSpace is an organization run entirely by volunteers. We leverage technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. Our aim is to ignite the fundamental generosity in ourselves and others, creating both inner and outer transformation.
ServiceSpace was conceived by volunteers, was built by volunteers, and is run by volunteers — all for the benefit of volunteers. Our projects range from a daily positive news service, to an acts-of-kindness portal, to a gift-economy restaurant. Regardless of the endeavor, we act in concert to create service opportunities for each other and to support each other’s service journeys.
In September of 2011, we formally changed our name from CharityFocus to ServiceSpace. Founded in 1999, ServiceSpace was originally started to help non-profits with technical services. Over the past dozen years, the organization has become an umbrella for many generosity-driven projects. Thus we have expanded our services from focusing just on helping charities, to encouraging everyday people to contribute in meaningful ways to the world around them. As the name suggests, our new expanded ServiceSpace platform allows people to stay connected with others interested in service, participate in service opportunities through any of our dozen projects, organize their own local service event using our tools, and stay connected to inspirational content. Above all, we believe in the inherent generosity of others and aim to ignite that spirit of service. Through our small, collective acts, we hope to transform ourselves and the world.
We hold these three principles steadfast within our organization:
Stay fully volunteer-run.
ServiceSpace was founded by volunteers and is run by volunteers. There is no paid staff, no office, and no central facilities. All ServiceSpace programs are conceived, designed, implemented, and administered by people who selflessly give their time so that others can benefit from those services.
Based on twelve years of our experience with a volunteer-run infrastructure, we’ve developed a streamlined process that structures projects in a distributed and decentralized manner. This allows more volunteers to give small chunks of time and still deliver high quality services to the end-receiver.
Being volunteer-run also allows us to organically self-organize. Instead of hierarchies and prefabricated business plans, our volunteer infrastructure is dynamic, low-cost and open to radical change. Everything is based on relationships and presence, and that creates a powerful context to BE the change.
We continue to be amazed at what inspired and dedicated individuals can do. Margaret Mead eloquently said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” We could not agree more.
Serve with whatever we have.
We have chosen a slightly different path than most organizations, and choose not to focus on fundraising, grants, or other sources of revenue – for example, none of our websites contain any advertisement. All services are distributed are gifted without any fees. Thus, we serve with whatever support and resources that come in organically when people are truly moved to give.
ServiceSpace projects are built within a gift-economy system, an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a traditional market economy, one’s wealth is increased by saving. In a gift economy, giving leads to increase: an increase in connections and relationship strength.
Our services are given freely, without asking for anything in return. Instead of scarcity and fear for an uncertain future, our second principle roots us in abundance and trust. We have realized that over time, if you serve with pure intentions, people’s cups of gratitude overflow. They don’t give to fulfill a need, they give as an expression of their own solidarity and joy. These genuine gifts, no matter how small or large, are what sustains us.
Focus on the small.
Our attempt is to do “small acts with great love”. As our tagline says, “Change Yourself, Change the World.” If we started out by having a goal to change the world, we might have been a little disappointed in our abilities; when we start with ourselves, we notice that the ripples around us continue to get bigger and bigger and as more people try to do small acts, we have every potential to change the world.
Just as every tiny bit of a hologram contains information of the whole, we feel that paying attention to the process, to the present moment, gives us plenty of information to become instruments of a larger, systemic change.
This is how ServiceSpace makes things happen. But essentially the engine that drives the organization is inspiration, pure and simple. We learn from each other, spur each other, help each other, and frequently amaze each other. Sure, we are stirred by the words and lives of great men and women like Gandhi and Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa; but the examples set by our ServiceSpace colleagues–everyday heroes–are the real sustaining forces behind our projects.
SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH
AND
The 2019 Theme is “Prepared, Not Scared.”
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Support charities that help those affected by disaster by
donating to PayPal Giving Fund.
100% of donations made to PayPal Giving Fund go to
charity, no deductions, no fees.
Every two minutes a woman dies from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, and millions around the world are denied the choice of if and when they want to have children.
UNFPA Supplies supports over 20 million women and girls worldwide with family planning services, contraception, and vital maternal medicines, and since 2007 they have saved over 1.1 millions lives.
Without additional support, their vital work — and the safety of over 20 million women and girls — will be at risk. Call on world leaders to step up for women and girls by pledging new funds this year.
Thank you so much,
Annabelle Roberts
17 September 2019 – Opening of the General Assembly regular session | 24 September 2019 – Opening of the general debate.
Sign the petition telling world leaders — including the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany — to pledge new funds to UNFPA Supplies and protect women’s lives everywhere. We’ll be handing your signatures over to decision makers this September at the United Nations General Assembly, so add your name now!
When: Friday, September 6, 2019 from 5:30PM – 8:30PM
Where: Novick Urban Farms, 3660 S. Lawrence Street (just past intersection of Pattison Ave and S. Lawrence)
What: Join in for a night of food, drinks, games and more! There will be Southeast Asian food, games & prizes, a farm tour and performances. Hosted by SEAMAAC and its partners (Philabundance, Vetri Community Partnership, and Novick Urban Farm), you can purchase tickets by visiting this site.
EAMAAC, Inc |
2154670690 |
events@seamaac.org |
seamaac.org |
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We are grateful to those in our communities who help us drive hunger from our
communities today and end hunger forever, including the individuals, partners,
small businesses and others who are hosting
benefits on behalf of Philabundance.
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PCK is a 14-week culinary vocational training program which has been transforming the lives women and men with low-to-no income since 2000. Students in the 500-hour program will; earn their ServSafe certificate; intern in the culinary industry; prepare meals for those in need; and receive retention services by PCK staff for two years after graduation to ensure that students maximize their training and maintain positive work ethics post-graduation.
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Moving Food Forward: Product Innovation
Our goal is to create nutritious food from surplus farm products in a way that extends shelf life & adds value for our communities in need (upcycling). We partner with manufacturers to create retail items which fund the same high quality items for donation. The Abundantly Good brand allows us to provide better food for clients AND engage socially conscious consumers in our mission in an exciting new way.
Lobbying and Advocacy 101
September 10, 2019 – 2 PM ET
Now more than ever, your community is relying on you to stand up for them. If you think your 501(c)(3) public charity status prevents you from advocating for new laws and policies, think again! Whether protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants, pushing for quality education, or demanding safe communities for everyone, you can legally advocate for public policy and community change at every level of government. After this webinar, you’ll have a clear understanding of:
- Your 501(c)(3) organization’s right to lobby;
- What does and doesn’t count as lobbying;
- Your annual lobbying limit; and
- How to make the most of your organization’s lobbying power
This webinar is at 2 PM ET / 1 PM CT / 11 AM PT.
Once you register, you will receive an email from GoToWebinar with the link to register for the webinar.
Alliance for Justice is a national association of 130 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. Since 1979, AFJ has been the leader in advocacy for a federal judiciary that advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans. AFJ’s work is divided into two main programs: our Justice Program, and our Bolder Advocacy program. Bolder Advocacy is the leading authority on the legal framework governing nonprofit advocacy.
Access to Justice
AFJ works to ensure equal access to our justice system. We track Supreme Court and lower court decisions affecting the legal rights of everyday Americans, educates the public on efforts to narrow those rights, and works with our allies to advocate for progressive legislation and courts that will respect the access to justice that is so fundamental to American values. Click here to read more about our Access to Justice work.
Want to make a difference? Make your voice heard. Join one of our current campaigns, follow us on social media, and sign up for workshops and email updates!
FOR SAMA
TUESDAY, September 10, 2019
4:00pm – 6:30pm
Konover Auditorium
Dodd Center
University of Connecticut
FREE ADMISSION
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Sponsored by
Department of Digital Media and Design
Human Rights Institute
Huskies for Human Rights
Middle East Studies
&
Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
SUPPORTING FOOD SECURITY AND SEED DIVERSITY SINCE 2009
Sow True Seed has a collection of over 500 varieties of vegetable, herb and flower seeds. We are proud to carry heirloom, organic and small-farmer grown varieties. It is central to our social mission to support and encourage a seed saving community for resilience in agriculture and our food systems.
OUR SEED DONATION PROGRAM OFFERS UP OUR LEFTOVER SEED AT THE END OF EACH SELLING YEAR UP TO PUBLIC & PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY GARDENS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO USE THE SEED DIRECTLY TO FEED AND EDUCATE THEIR COMMUNITY.
Who we are: Sow True Seed provides open-pollinated, heirloom, and organic vegetable, herb, and flower seeds to home gardeners and small market farmers.
We ask that all of our growers fill out the Grower Questionnaire.
You can do so here
.For more information, contact: Angie Lavezzo, Agriculture Manager
E-mail: Ag@sowtrue.com Phone: (828) 254-0708
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Location: Sow True Seed, 243 Haywood St, Asheville NC 28801
Date: Tue Sept 10 2019 from 6 -7:30 PM
Cost: $10 class (includes a milkweed plant and your choice of flower seed packet!). $5 of each ticket will be donated to the “Bring the Hive Alive” initiative to raise awareness of pollinators by painting a bee mural in downtown Hendersonville – http://handsonwnc.org/hive.
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Need additional income on your farm? Sow True Seed is always looking for more farmers to grow seed for us!
About this Event
Please join The Square One Project and The Vera Institute of Justice for Reimagining Justice: The Next 25 Years, taking place on September 11th at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, NY. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the federal 1994 Crime Bill, this multi-format event will consider the visionary work, big ideas, and fundamental values that will guide the next 25 years of justice policy.
Program: 3:30pm – 6:00pm ET (details to be announced soon)
Reception: 6:00pm – 7:00pm ET
Details for the livestreaming option for this event will be available shortly.
Update: The full list of researchers, activists, and professionals that will be participating in Reimagining Justice: The Next 25 Years is available here!
Speakers and presenters include [list in formation]:
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Co-sponsored by Democracy at Work, Left Forum, Judson Memorial Church & Individual Contributors
Requested Fee/Donation: $10 per person. If you access the videos of these monthly updates posted on YouTube and our websites, we ask you to join our attendees who contribute at least $10 at each event to help defray costs of producing, video-taping, and distributing these videos. Please contribute via our donate page. Contributions to Democracy at Work are tax deductible (we will gladly provide receipts at the event). For those able to contribute more than $10, our special thanks.
WHEN
September 11, 2019 at 7:30pm – 9pm
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WHERE
Judson Memorial Church
239 Thompson St
New York, NY 10012
United States
Our current economic model has become unsustainable, it has lost its moral and political legitimacy. In the competitive market economy it has shown a continuous ability to be creative and to increase wealth. In the last decades, there has been a progressive blurring of its link with the global common good and a significant loss of our capacity to regulate it. Economics have been disconnected from ethics and politics as financial capitalism tends to nurture a speculative race where money creates more money without sufficiently investing in the economy of goods and services useful to mankind. Destruction of the planet and its biodiversity, growing inequality and poverty, injustice, exclusion and alienation are some of the dysfunctions likely to have significant negative consequences for future generations.
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Campaign Nonviolence was created to help unite movements and build peace by working to end war, poverty, racism and environmental destruction.
Since 2014 tens of thousands of people have joined Campaign Nonviolence (CNV) every September marching for peace, racial justice, economic equality and environmental healing. Now, we are gearing up for another powerful nationwide mobilization September 14-22 — please join us!
Over 2,660 marches, rallies, workshops and other public events took place in all 50 states and 25 countries last September. This year we will build on this growing movement by bringing all of our issues together in the same week coast to coast and around the world — and calling with one voice for a nonviolent culture that works for everyone.
Event: Empowered Youth Transforming Humanity:
Photography Exhibition & Videos
Picture 16©, is the most recent exhibition by 21 year-old Canadian award-winning photographer/filmmaker/author & social entrepreneur, Kasha Sequoia Slavner. The 16-piece exhibition is inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #16, Peace, Justice and Strong institutions. As a young global leader and traveling peace ambassador, Kasha explores the intersectionality of goal 16, what we can learn from each other’s stories, and how peace informs the actions we take in our own lives, communities and the world at large.
About the photographer/filmmaker:
Kasha is a Gen-Z filmmaker/photographer/writer, passionate global youth leader & social justice advocate. At 14 she founded the The Global Sunrise Project – a youth-led social enterprise that creates positive impact media. She uses her storytelling platform to inspire youth to become civically engaged and conducts educational outreach with screenings & workshops. Her feature documentary, The Sunrise Storyteller, has screened at 60+ international film festivals and won 28 awards, including the Ron Kovic Peace Prize and Women Transforming Media Award.
She is the first recipient of the Kim Phuc Youth Peace Award. Most recently this committed changemaker became a Diana Award Holder, for sustaining positive social change in the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. She is an 7x UN Youth Delegate with The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and an accredited expert for the Women’s Media Center. In addition, Kasha tours with a 32 piece photography exhibition “Travels into the Heart”. At 17 Kasha published her first 200+ page book of photography “Reflections of the Sunrise Storyteller – A Journey into the Heart as a Global Citizen”. She’s a frequent public speaker, has been commissioned by National Geographic Learning, and a contributor to Thrive Global, The Huffington Post, and several publications.
ECOLISE
The European Network for Community-led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability, is the initiator and main organiser of the European Day of Sustainable Communities. We have 46 member networks and organisations across Europe
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A celebration of local communities taking action for a zero-carbon, regenerative and inclusive Europe.
This is an ECOLISE flagship event. #EDSC19 #SustainableCommunity
Become a co-creator of the day! For details see https://www.sustainable-communities.net/
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There’s only three weeks until Farm Aid 2019! We’re getting excited and
we hope you are too.
Even if you won’t be joining us in person in Wisconsin,
here are a couple of ways to join the Farm Aid fun
from wherever you are:
Stand with family farmers today! The people who grow our food deserve to make a fair living. But that’s out of reach for the livestock and poultry farmers who work in an industry where the power of giant corporations leaves them trapped in a rigged marketplace, vulnerable to abusive business practices.
Showing your support is easy with our online petition that will be delivered to the USDA.
Join the celebration of local communities taking action for a more regenerative, just, and inclusive world!
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Acorn Community FarmMineral, Virginia, United StatesSecular, Egalitarian, Anarchist, Autonomous, Sustainable, Cooperative, Non-Violent, Feminist, Intentional Community… Learn more |
Phoenix CommonsOakland, California, United States
Independence Through Interdependence: Phoenix Commons is designed to maximize its members’ health, happiness, autonomy and interconnectedness as they…Learn more
OUR MISSION
To support and promote the development of intentional communities as pathways towards a more sustainable and just world.
LEARN MORE
Published on Dec 19, 2018
TransOhio and Clintonville Counseling and Wellness present the 2nd Annual Trans Career and Wellness Day at Columbus Public Health! Local employers and community and wellness partners will be onsite to offer employment, health, and other opportunities to the transgender and gender non-confirming community.
10AM – 3PM: Job Fair with dozens of local affirming and inclusive employers and resources from Community organizations
11AM – 4PM: Wellness Workshops
10AM – 4PM: Medical testing by Columbus Public Health
Please check back to hear about the employers and community partners attending this year, details about the wellness workshops, and info about raffle prizes! Please share!
TransOhio, Inc.
P.O. Box 14481
Columbus, Ohio 43214
Email: TransOhio@transohio.org
Facebook: TransOhio Fan page
Our Mission
TransOhio serves the Ohio transgender and ally communities by providing services, education, support, and advocacy, which promotes and improves the health, safety and life experience of the Ohio transgender individual and community.
Our Vision
- to serve as a bridge to other LGBTQ+ and ally communities
- to provide a focus for matters of concern to the Ohio transgender community and their allies by providing open, affirming, visible and tangible support
- to promote opportunities and networking that increase awareness of the Transgender and gender-nonconforming community’s needs and concerns such, as discrimination and violence
- to increase lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual, and ally understanding and cultural awareness of the Ohio Transgender community
- to help ensure that Ohio educational programs and services are inclusive and supportive of Ohio Transgender issues, perspectives, and concerns
- to provide social activities that are inclusive of all LGBTQ+ and ally communities, access to safe-spaces, people, forums for confidential discussion, support, and local and national resource information
- to foster Ohio Transgender community pride
In order to actualize real, lasting reforms to our juvenile justice system
on a national level,
we need your help making a difference on the local and state level.
Governors, state legislators, county commissioners, district attorneys, and mayors all make decisions that shape communities, including what investments our tax dollars fund. Down-ballot candidates for these policy-making positions have the ability to shift resources away from youth incarceration and into community alternatives for our young people.
It’s critical that we build relationshipswith candidates throughout their campaignsto ensure that any person running for officeknows that youth justiceis a priority in your community.They need to hear from you and other voicesin the community who care about youth justicefrom now through Election Day and beyond.We’ve updated our Electoral Toolkit for 2019 to provide you with updated resources, including social media graphics, to mobilize your community to engage local candidates in an effort to end youth incarceration and direct resources to community alternatives. Those seeking political power in local and state elected positions must understand the issues facing youth involved in the juvenile justice system, talk about their positions publicly, and stand ready towork with young people and families if elected.Your participation helps educate candidates about youth incarceration and what is at stake, so that we can create local systems that promote safer communities and a more just system for our children. Candidates also need to know that we are an engaged community that will hold them accountable through our vote and our activism, even once they’re in office, through activities such as voter registration drives, community events, and forums.Please join our movement by downloading our toolkit to learn what you can do in your community and share this with all your friends and colleagues in your own network. You can also share this toolkit on your social media pages using the graphics here.We look forward to joining together with you in this fight.Thank you,The Youth First Team___________________________________________________________________ YOUR TOOLKITTAKE ACTION : LOOK AT THIS PDFYou can take action now to educate your lawmakers on why incarcerating youth doesn’t work! Follow these steps:
NKIP-Shifting-Resources-Backgrounder-Document-2P ___________________________________________________________________ Looking to make a difference? Take action now by joining a campaign in your community! Don’t see a campaign in your state? Consider starting your own campaign. CONNECTICUTIn 2015, Governor Malloy announced plans to close to close the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS). The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance (CTJJA) is spearheading advocacy efforts to ensure that the state replaces CJTS with a comprehensive continuum of mostly community-based programs for youth and their families. KANSASProgeny protects youths’ voice and advocates for Kansas youth touched by the juvenile justice system. Progeny strives to progress, develop and build the future expectations of the youth in our community. Progeny successfully advocated for the restoration of funding for alternatives to incarceration for youth. MAINEMaine Youth Justice is a nonpartisan campaign to end youth incarceration in Maine and invest in a range of community-based alternatives that respond to young people’s needs, support families, and build community in support of community alternatives to youth incarceration. NEW JERSEY150 Years is Enough seeks to transform New Jersey’s youth incarceration system into a community-based system of care by closing two of New Jersey’s three youth prisons, the New Jersey Training School for Boys (“Jamesburg”) and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility (“Hayes.”) VIRGINIARISE (Re-invest in Supportive Environments) for Youth is a nonpartisan campaign of youth, families, and community organizations that successfully advocated for re-investment of funding from the closure of youth prisons in Virginia into community-based programs and placements for youth. The campaign is urging the state to continue to expand effective community treatment rather than build new prisons. |
Women’s Leadership in the Fight for Justice, Democracy & Labor
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 at 3 PM – 5 PM
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25 W 43rd St Fl 19, New York, New York 10036
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Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, the Freedom Fund, Fundación Avina, C&A Foundation, Humanity United and AFL-CIO, Solidarity Center, and Global Labor Justice invite you to join us for a discussion on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm entitled:
Building Power: Women’s Leadership in the Fight for Justice, Democracy, and Fair Work
Major trends and disruptions are altering the world around us. Threats to human rights and labor rights defenders, closing civic space, automation’s impact on the future of work, and the underlying conditions leading to the #MeToo movement are real challenges to ensuring a fair global economy that works for everyone. However, against these threats there are significant efforts underway to build power, set standards, and ultimately to ensure economic and social justice in communities across the world.
At the frontlines of this fight are incredible women who are paving the way for reforms in law, policy, and practice. These leaders understand that to truly course correct we need to build power and work in collaboration. This event will both celebrate their achievements and reflect on what’s worked—and what needs more support—in the fight for justice, democracy, and fair work for all.
Speakers:
- Sharan Burrow is the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation and a former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. She is the first woman to become General Secretary of the ITUC since its foundation in 2006, and was the second woman to become president of the ACTU.
- Liz Shuler is an American labor activist and, since 2009, Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO. She is the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position of Secretary-Treasurer and is the highest-ranking woman in the labor federation’s history.
- Anannya Bhattacharjee is the International Coordinator of Asia Floor Wage Alliance, a global supply chain campaign for living wages and a violence-free workplace for garment workers in Asia who are mostly women and who produce most of the world’s clothing. She is one of the few women trade unionists in India and has helped build grassroots labor-related collaboration between North America, Europe and Asia for well over a decade.
- Maricarmen Molina is the General Secretary of the Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de El Salvador – CSTS, one of the largest trade union confederations in El Salvador.
- Liduvina Magarin, an attorney and longtime public servant, is Executive Director of the Center for Worker and Migrant Integration / Centro de Integración para Migrantes, Trabajadores y Trabajadoras (CIMITRA) based in San Salvador, El Salvador. She is the former Vice Minister for Salvadorans Living Abroad for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, and has held posts in the Legislative Assembly and Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs covering investment, immigration, health, and the environment.
- More speakers to be announced
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On September 25th we’re hosting a live event in Chicago! At AWE Partners we LOVE the idea of blending profit and purpose to change the world. So we have created an event for business women who want to learn how they can support women’s empowerment. The event is called How to Invest, Shop, Give to Empower Women and will feature a panel of extraordinary women whose lives are a testament to doing good. At the event you will learn about…
The struggles our sisters are facing
Who is implementing solutions to change lives
How you can support these solutions in the way you invest, shop, and give
There will be plenty of time for Q&A, networking with other amazing women, and yummy food & drink. The event will be held at Susan Crown Exchange (4 East Ohio) and the price is only $30 – but space is limited so register early. Here’s the EventBrite link…
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
How to Invest, Shop, Give to Empower Women
$15 – $30
Event Information
Are you passionate about creating impact with your actions? Do you want to learn how to empower other women through investing, shopping, and giving?
Join a diverse community of heart-centered, mission-driven, and socially conscious women for a night of networking and learning. Our panelists and fellow impact-oriented women will help us discover how we can best incorporate the principles of Conscious Capitalism into our life and business for more passion, purpose, and profit!
We are embracing a paradigm shift to a more feminine approach to solving our social challenges that says “yes” to a new way forward and “no” to what’s not working.
Our guest panelists are:
Invest – Peg Quinn is a financial advisor and Certified Financial Planner for Paradigm Wealth Management. She works with individuals and families to simplify and organize their financial matters by providing comprehensive financial planning and investment management services. Her studies include a BS and MBA concentrating in finance. In addition, her 35 years of experience within the investment industry provide her a unique perspective into impact investing’s evolution. She is a friend of Gilda’s Club Associates Board and a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).
Shop – Daniela Ancira is a human rights lawyer, an Ashoka Fellow, and founder of La Cana, a social enterprise working with incarcerated women in Mexico and creating social reintegration programs in prison. Daniela has promoted public policies on issues regarding prison labor, and is currently working closely with legislators to create a framework that guarantees basic working and social standards to inmates to incentivize companies to formally employ convicts, in order to help reduce recidivism and delinquency rates in Mexico. She has worked as a Human Rights lawyer defending victims of torture and enforced disappearance at a national and international level, and has collaborated with several organizations in litigating human rights violation cases before the UN and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. She is a member of the Technical Working Group of the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime to create the United Nations Advanced Standards for the Mexican Penitentiary System; and in private practice has worked in prestigious firms in Civil and Commercial litigation, Corporate Law and Intellectual Property matters. Daniela is an Ashoka Fellow and was named Citizen of the Year in 2018.
Give – Izabel Olson is the Founder and CEO of Salt and Light Coalition here in Chicago, a non-profit organization which works with victims of human trafficking. She is dedicated to the empowerment of women, especially survivors of human trafficking, as they reframe their trauma experience and find success in the workplace. The unique combination of an academic background in cognitive science and a passion for holistic self-care gives her a unique ability to have a positive impact on women’s lives. Olson holds a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University and is the founder and CEO of Salt & Light Coalition, a grassroots organization focused on job training and mind/body restoration for survivors of human trafficking in Chicago and beyond. In 2017, Olson was awarded the Illinois Secretary of State’s Latina Humanitarian Achievement Award.
Light appetizers and drinks will be served. The event starts at 5:30 and our panel will begin at 6. Hope to see you all there
Transition Thrive Online Training
Thursday, September 26, 2019 – 11:00am – Thursday, November 21, 2019 – 12:30pm
All times Pacific. We are currently offering two registration options through this page: a $120 Standard Ticket to cover the basic costs of producing this course and a $180 Sponsor Ticket to help subsidize scholarships. If you would like to request a need-based scholarship or group discount, please contact don@transitionus.org
Transition Thrive can be thought of as the sequel to Transition Launch Training. While Launch focuses on the first few steps of the Transition process – understanding the global context, forming an initiating group, raising awareness, and cultivating partnerships with like-minded organizations – Thrive builds upon this foundation to provide answers to how to broaden, deepen, and scale up the impacts of local community resilience-building initiatives over time.
Over the course of eight weekly sessions, you will form mutually-supportive relationships with other participants, develop new abilities and knowledge, receive guidance for overcoming the specific challenges you are facing, and create a robust action plan to take your work to the next level.
Prior participation in a Transition Launch Training is recommended, but not required. This course is open to social change activists from all over the world, but is currently only available in English.
Sessions at a Glance
1. Maps for the Transition Journey (October 3): Identify your initiative’s current strengths and weaknesses using the Transition Healthcheck and explore how The Five Stages of Transition can provide an achievable path to thriving.
2. Cultivating the Collective Genius (October 10): In this session, we will look closely at our individual wholeness and unique collaboration styles while exploring ways of cultivating these so that the collective genius in our groups is more likely to emerge.
3. Running Successful, Practical Projects (October 17): This session will share design ideas for projects that bring tangible benefits to your community, engage and energize volunteers, and support working groups to be effective and rewarding.
4. Reaching Beyond the Choir (October 24): Learn how to create a tipping point of support for your initiative and cultivate strategic partnerships by telling your best stories, harvesting metrics, and designing value propositions.
5. Building Momentum and Capacity (October 31): In this session, we will cover running larger campaigns, forming diverse coalitions, taking a multi-faceted approach to fundraising, and establishing a healthy formal organization.
6. System-Changing Strategies (November 7): This session will explore the mindsets, practices, and structures that support community-wide and whole systems strategies, such as creating localized food systems or transforming local economies.
7. In It for Life (November 14): Here, we will discuss some of the unique challenges we encounter as long-term change-makers, and will suggest tools, mindsets, inner postures, and practices that help us stay inspired and prevent burnout.
8. Bringing It All Back Home (November 21): In this final session, we will circle back to the Transition Healthcheck to harvest key insights from this course, address major challenges, and create an action plan for your group to thrive!
How Does It Work?
Thrive Online consists of a series of eight pre-recorded presentations that will be made available for you to watch before engaging in weekly 90-minute live videoconferences exploring each of these topics in greater depth. We will also provide you with access to a private discussion forum that you can use to share resources and continue conversations in between sessions.
Please don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself to be tech-savvy. The platforms we use are designed to be easy to navigate, and we will provide personalized technical assistance throughout the course to ensure that your experience is as enjoyable as humanly possible.
While this online format enables you to participate in an international learning cohort from the comfort of your own home – at a lower cost and with a smaller carbon footprint than traditional face-to-face offerings – if you’d prefer to host a Thrive Training in your local community, please click here to learn more about how to do that.
Facilitation Team
Don Hall has had the good fortune to participate in the Transition Movement in a variety of capacities for more than a decade. Initially serving for two years as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Transition Colorado, he went on to found and direct Transition Sarasota (Florida) from 2010 to 2016. Don was named Co-Director of Transition US in 2017. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Leadership from Naropa University.
Michelle Colussi has worked in community and economic development for over 20 years with a focus on community resilience and organizational capacity-building and planning. She was a co-founder of Transition Victoria (BC) and their flagship programs: Building Resilient Neighbourhoods and Resilient Streets. She has delivered Launch Training since 2009 and chaired the University of Toronto’s Transition Emerging Research Advisory Group.
Rebecca Blanco completed a Master’s and a Doctorate and has been a psychotherapist for 40 years. Her interest in eco-psychology sparked her conviction that personal transformation within an ecological-social context is crucial for a regenerative world. She’s participated in a mentorship with Dr. Andy Fisher and The Work That Reconnects Training. Rebecca is a workshop facilitator at Forest Center.
Sally Ludwig is a co-founding member of Transition Guelph, with particular interests in inner dimensions of personal and community resilience, ecological and climate justice, effective collaboration, and social applications of Permaculture. She is a trainer for Transition and facilitator of the Work that Reconnects, educator, mentor and consultant. Secretly, she throws seed bombs and does guerilla planting of fruit trees and raspberry bushes.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY |
Governor’s Mansion, One Mansion Drive, Santa Fe, NM |
Located in the ancestral Tewa homelands of Northern New Mexico, Tewa Women United is a multicultural and multiracial organization founded and led by Native women. The name “Tewa Women United” comes from the Tewa words wi don gi mu which can be translated as “we are one” in mind, heart, and in the spirit of love for all.
Learn more about our vision, mission, and history here.
Please Visit the Contact Us page for a list of program/staff emails addresses.
Come Celebrate Our 30th Anniversary With Us!
Please join us for this special evening
to celebrate Tewa Women United’s Past, Present, and Future
This event, on Indigenous People’s Day, celebrates 30 years of being in beloved community and showcases how Tewa Women United has created spaces for Indigenous women to uncover their power, strength, and skills.
Wo’watsi will feature…
- Pueblo Dances
- Blessings from the TWU Sayain/Grandmothers’ Circle
- Words from executive director Dr. Corrine Sanchez
- Indigenous-inspired appetizers from Chef Ray Naranjo
- Offerings of Poetry & Art
- And more….
All ticket proceeds will benefit the work of Tewa Women United.
This will be an evening to remember…we look forward to sharing it with you!
• NOTE: Tickets are limited and available until October 7 or until sold out
• To receive email updates about this event, sign up here
Contact Us
Tewa Women United
Phone: (505) 747-3259 | Fax: (505) 747-4067
Mailing Address:
Tewa Women United
PO B0x 397
Santa Cruz, NM 87567
Office: 912 Fairview Lane, Española, NM 87532
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About Us
About Tewa Women United
Located in the ancestral Tewa homelands of Northern New Mexico, Tewa Women United is a multicultural and multiracial organization founded and led by Native women.
The name “Tewa Women United” comes from the Tewa words wi don gi mu which can be translated as “we are one” in mind, heart and in the spirit of love for all.
Our Beginnings
Tewa Women United (TWU) started in 1989 as a support group for women from the Pueblos of the northern Rio Grande concerned with the traumatic effects of colonization, religious inquisition, and militarization leading to issues such as alcoholism, suicide, domestic/sexual violence and environmental violence. In the safe space we created, we transformed and empowered one another through critical analysis and by embracing and reaffirming our cultural identity.
In 2001 we transitioned from an informal, all volunteer group to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Tewa Women United was incorporated for educational, social and benevolent purposes, specifically for the ending of all forms of violence against Native Women and girls, Mother Earth and to promote peace in New Mexico.
Our Vision
TWU believes in strengthening and re-strengthening beloved families and communities to end violence against women, girls, and Mother Earth.
Our Mission
The mission of TWU is to provide courageous spaces for Indigenous women to uncover the power, strength, and skills they possess to become positive forces for transformative change in their families and communities.
Our Values
A’Gin – respect for self and others
Wina ta yay – Together we live these values
Seegi ma vay i – Loving, caring for each other
Kwee-wa seng-wa vi tuu – female/ male energy – ancestral knowingness
Nung Ochuu Quiyo – Our Mother, Mother Earth, multi-versity
Bin mah pah di – Letting go
Wowatsi – Our breath, our prayer, commitment to live life with purpose and good intentions
Upcoming Events
November 13, 6:30-9:00 pm/Impact Hub Oakland
Meet this year’s honorees Taina Vargas-Edmond and David Cowan:
Taina Vargas-Edmond is the Founder & Executive Director of Initiate Justice, a grassroots organization created to build the political power of people directly impacted by mass incarceration. Under her leadership, Initiate Justice has recruited almost 17,000 members in prison, and fought for important policy wins such as passing and implementing Prop 57, eliminating the Felony Murder Rule (SB 1437), and advocating to restore voting rights to all people in prison and on parole in California.
Taina has a Master of Arts Degree in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from California State University, Northridge.
David Cowan is the Director of a new organization, Bonafide, which connects with prison programs and organizes volunteers to meet newly released people at the gate with a “welcome back pack” of basic necessities. They then organize structured outings including critical learning goals and bonding activities to build learning and community among its newly released members. David is also the operations manager for the Prison University Project.
David has an Associate of Arts degree from Patten University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University in Criminal Justice.
ACTION
We are transforming justice, one life at a time. We provide many services for reduced or no fees.
CONTACT:
Tel: (510) 271-0310
Fax: (510) 271-0101
Address: 220 4th Street, Suite 103, Oakland, CA 94607
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At this year’s event, we will enjoy food from CALA restaurant which hires formerly incarcerated employees for front and back of house positions (and was named the best Mexican restaurant in the U.S. by SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer).
Join us: RootSkills Workshop
November 15th // WaterFire Arts Center // Providence, RI
For full event details, visit the event website – linked here. Including: agenda, workshop offerings, speakers, cost of registration, scholarships & stipends, carpooling & travel.
View event website View workshops & agenda Register to attend Apply for a scholarship
The Grassroots Fund’s RootSkills workshops are day-long gatherings where grassroots organizers, colleagues and supporters convene to network, share stories and dig into both issue- and process-based skills-building sessions. We work with a planning committee ahead of each event to ensure a broad range of lived experiences and perspectives weigh in as we set agendas, select workshop topics and invite speakers.
The Grassroots Fund is committed to participatory, democratic decision making processes across our grantmaking and skillsbuilding programs. We work to bring together a broad range of lived experiences as we plan and design the RootSkills Training Series. We invite community organizers, students, non profit colleagues, funder partners and sustainable business people to apply to be on the planning committee for each of our RootSkills in-person trainings.
Contact program manager Tess Beem with questions about this event: tess@grassrootsfund.org or 603-905-9915×2.
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In an effort to make the RootSkills Conference as accessible as possible, registration is on a self-identified, sliding scale from $35 – $150.
Start: Monday, January 13, 2020• 5:30 PM
End: Monday, January 13, 2020• 8:30 PM
Location:Cherokee United Methodist Church•2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
Host Contact Info: southcarolina@poorpeoplescampaign.org
Join the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival in South Carolina for the eighth stop of the We Must Do M.O.R.E. national tour as we Mobilize, Organize, Register and Educate.
Click here if you’d like to volunteer and help make this tour a success!
The tour in South Carolina will culminate with a Moral Monday March and Mass Meeting on Monday, January 13th in Charleston, SC. This will follow a weekend of activities a community canvas to register people for a movement that votes and a community site visit.
Monday, January 13th | Charleston, SC
South Carolina Moral Monday March & Mass Meeting
5:30 PM – Gather for the march
6:30 PM – Mass Meeting begins
Cherokee United Methodist Church, 2105 Cosgrove Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
**No large bags or umbrellas will be allowed in the mass meetings and small bags are subject to being searched.
At the Moral Monday, we will hear from South Carolinians directly impacted by systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, militarism and the war economy, and the corrupt moral narrative. We will also hear from Rev. Barber and Rev. Theoharis, Co-Chairs of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing a 25-state We Must Do MORE national tour from September 2019 to May 2020. This tour will lead into the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, where thousands of poor people and moral agents will gather at the nation’s capitol on June 20, 2020 to demonstrate their power.
We will demand the implementation of our Moral Agenda and call all people of conscience to engage in deeply moral civic engagement and voting that cares about poor and low-wealth people, the sick, immigrants, workers, the environment, people with disabilities, first nations, the LGBTQ community, and peace over war.
THOUSANDS OF LGBTQ ACTIVISTS TO CONVENE IN DALLAS, TX JANUARY 2020 FOR 32ND ANNUAL CREATING CHANGE CONFERENCE, WITH THEME OF LOVE, LEARNING & LIBERATION!
REVEREND ANGEL KYODO WILLIAMS TO KEYNOTE
– Thousands of LGBTQ advocates, activists, leaders, and allies will gather in Dallas, TX for the 32nd Creating Change Conference from Wednesday, January 15 through Sunday, January 19, 2020 at the Sheraton Dallas.
The Creating Change Conference, run by the National LGBTQ Task Force, is the foremost political, leadership, and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ social justice movement. Since 1988, Creating Change has created opportunities for tens of thousands of committed people to develop and hone their activist skills, build community, and inspire. This year, in addition to the political focus of the work, the Conference will be focusing on the 2020 Census and building capacity to ensure everyone is counted.
The primary goal of the Creating Change Conference is to build the LGBTQ movement’s political power from the ground up to secure our overarching goal of full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people and their families in the United States.
This will be the second Creating Change Conference managed by Andy Garcia, who is bringing some new changes to the longtime activist gathering as attendance grows and diversifies. Garcia said, “It is clear that 2020 will be a critical year for all of us, including LGBTQ communities. We face a historic election year, some of the most significant Supreme Court cases in our lifetime, on-going attacks from the current administration, and an epidemic of violence, among other challenges. Creating Change is where LGBTQ advocates, activists, leaders, and allies come together to learn and connect with each other, with a focus on creating a welcoming space for queer and trans people of color. We need that now more than ever.”
The keynote speaker for Creating Change 2020 will be Reverend angel Kyodo williams, who will kick off this year’s conference at the opening plenary on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 7 PM. With the alarming murders of trans women of color across the country, the Creating Change Conference community will also be rallying to spotlight and build capacity to address this epidemic as well as featuring the resilience, determination, and leadership of the trans community.
PLENARIES
Opening Plenary Session: Love, Learning, and Liberation
From the Census to the election, 2020 is going to be historic. We have a lot of work ahead of us against a backdrop of an epidemic of trans women of color being murdered and a rollback of hard-fought gains by the current administration. This plenary aims to set a new tone for the conference and for our movement: one of love, learning, and liberation. As we create change together, how can we be mindful to center our hearts and our minds?
Opening Keynote Speaker: Rev. angel Kyodo williams: Love and Justice are One
Called “the most intriguing African-American Buddhist” by Library Journal, angel Kyodo williams is an author, activist, master trainer, and founder of Transformative Change. Her newest work, Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love & Liberation, is igniting communities to have the long overdue conversations necessary to become more awake and aware of what hinders liberation of self and society. angel notes, “Love and Justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters.” She was made for these times.
Plenary Session: The Annual State of the Movement Address
Following our Creating Change 2020 theme, “Love, Learning, and Liberation,” Task Force executive director, Rea Carey, and deputy executive director, Kierra Johnson will host the annual State of the Movement plenary. Even as LGBTQ people and their families are under attack by the current administration, we know our community is strong, resilient, creative, and determined. This year, with special guests, we will focus on the issues facing trans women of color, the work being done to address anti-trans violence and systemic discrimination, and moving us forward in our work for freedom, justice, and liberation. Come be inspired to fight on, and defeat those who intend to make our lives invisible!
Closing Plenary Session: Queering Immigration: Owning Our Power, Building the Defense Line
Immigration will once again be a top issue this election year. This panel will focus on how we can collectively build power by centering the needs and experiences of those most impacted: queer and trans people of color. Our expert panelists will talk about deportation defense, rapid response at the neighborhood, city, and state level, the criminalization of Black and Brown bodies, legislative victories, and so much more. Our call to action will be the work that still needs to get done: closing the camps, stopping the arrests and deportations, and imagining a world without borders.
The immigration-focused panel will be made up of Sharita Gruberg (She/Her/Hers), policy director for the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress; Oluchi Omeoga (They/Them/Theirs), a co-creator and Core Team member of Black Visions Collective, a black-led local organization working in Minnesota; Monserrat Padilla (She/Her/Hers) the Coordinator for the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network; Nancy Haque (She/Her/Hers), executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, an LGBTQ political advocacy organization with a focus on transgender justice and racial justice; and Dani Marrero Hi of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
New for this year, the traditional closing plenary brunch will be replaced by a dynamic indoor street fair on Sunday, January 19th with an 11:30 am – 1:00 pm “Send Off Celebration!” including accessible HIV testing and mammogram screening.
DAY-LONG INSTITUTES
This year’s Racial Justice Institute encompasses queerness and racial diversity within an expression and experience that centers on resisting with all our brilliance, our joy, and our truth. Keynote speaker and Queer Black Feminist Love Evangelist Alexis Pauline Gumbs will offer a loving reflection and an accessible practice designed to impact how to work together through and across difference and depth. In addition, our second keynote Timothy DuWhite is a Black, queer, poz-writer/artist based out of Brooklyn, NY. A majority of his work circles around the intersections of state & body, state & love, and state & mind. Following our keynotes is a series of afternoon breakout sessions on topics that range in topics from Talking to Kids about Race, Respectfully United – Allyship Without Tokenization, Beyond D&I: Organizing for Racial Equity, The Metamorphosis of White Men: Ending our Legacy and Creating a New Story.
Also this year, the Conference team is excited to add six new Day Long Institutes, bringing the total number of these intensive eight hour sessions to 23. New topics like Disability Justice and Leading in Complex Situations will be held alongside returning favorites like the Trans Institute, Latinx Institute, and LGBTQ+ Campus Resource Professionals Institute.
For more information about the day long institutes see here: https://www.creatingchange.org/day-long-institutes-2/
WORKSHOPS AND CAUCUSES
The conference features over 250 workshop and caucus sessions. Workshops range from 90 minutes to three hours, addressing the vast scope of issues relevant to LGBTQ activism and organizing. There are nearly a dozen sessions on campus organizing, several intergenerational dialogues, many workshops focused on healing and well-being, art and theater activism, racial and economic justice, trans issues, and a robust track for political advocacy. Caucuses cover a broad range of identities and interests, including caucuses for deaf queer people, lesbians, Queer Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) people, LGBTQ people in STEM, LGBTQ Jews, and parents.
AWARDS
SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues: Carmen Vasquez
Carmen Vasquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Harlem, New York. Among her many accomplishments, Vasquez was the Founding Director of the Women’s Building in San Francisco, helped found the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center in San Francisco, and the LGBT Health & Human Services Network. She was a founder and principal author of Causes in Common (a national coalition of Reproductive Justice and LGBT Liberation activists). Her essays have been published in several anthologies and she has made scores of keynote presentations at conferences and college campuses across the United States. Vasquez is the Co-Chair of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation Board of Directors and the former Director of LGBT Health and Human Services.
Haas, Jr. Award for Outstanding LGBTQ Leadership for Immigrant Rights: Stephanie Cho
Stephanie Cho is the Executive Director for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta. She brings 20 years of experience in labor and community organizing, strategy planning, and fundraising at the local and national level. Under her leadership over the last three years, AAAJ-Atlanta has worked to protect DACA and end local law enforcement cooperation with ICE. Originally born in South Korea, Cho grew up in Oregon. In 2015, she co-authored “Beyond the Binary: A Tool Kit for Gender Identity Activism in Schools.” Last year, she was a Grand Marshal for Atlanta Pride.
The Leather Leadership Award: Judy Tallwing McCarthy
Judy Tallwing McCarthy has been involved in the leather/BDSM world since 1969; and, in 1987, became first International Ms. Leather. That same year, she was the leather community’s keynote speaker at the 1987 March on Washington. She has also served as Co-Chair of the National Leather Association from 1988-1992. She is widely credited for helping change the focus of leather to community activism. Judy Tallwing McCarthy continues to judge, teach, and speak at various leather events and has been honored with numerous awards from the leather community. Of Apache, Tewa, and African descent, Judy Tallwing McCarthy has raised raising six biological children (with 25 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren) and nurtured and protected numerous “leatherkids.” Judy Tallwing McCarthy will be the first woman of color to receive the Leather Leadership Award.
The Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement, sponsored by Wild Geese Foundation: Monica Roberts
Monica Roberts is the founding editor of the award winning TransGriot blog, and a longtime award-winning human rights advocate. She has been advocating for the human rights of transgender people for over 20 years, with a focus on the issues affecting Black trans people. Her writing has appeared at Ebony.com, the Advocate, Black Girl Dangerous, and in the ‘Unapologetically Trans’ monthly column in Houston’s OutSmart magazine. Some of the honors that Roberts has received are the 2018 GLAAD Media Award, the Robert Coles Call of Service Award from Harvard University’s Phillips Brooks House Assn, the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award, the Barbara Jordan Breaking Barriers Award from the Harris County Democratic Party, the IFGE Trinity Award, and being named to the 2019 OUT100.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Creating Change Conference is committed to radical accessibility. Everyone benefits when everyone participates fully and equitably in every aspect of the conference. When you register online for Creating Change, you can request:
- ASL interpretation
- Spanish translation
- Programs in large print
- Electric scooters and wheelchairs
- Assisted Listening Devices
- Magnifiers, readers, and step stools
There will be a staffed Accessibility Table set up near registration, where attendees can ask questions, meet up with an interpreter, and pick up the items listed above.
There will also be an ASL “Hub” where our team of ASL interpreters meet and plan their day. Last year we had over 40 ASL interpreters.
There will also be a People with Disabilities Hospitality Suite where those who need and want to have an opportunity to regroup and relax.
PRESS CREDENTIALS
Press are invited to the conference, and press credentials are given out as space provides. To request credentials email Sarah Massey and Cathy Renna below. Confirmation of credentials will be considered on a rolling basis and as space allows.
MISSION STATEMENT
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That’s why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you. For more general information go to https://www.thetaskforce.org
Contact: Sarah Massey, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 202-639-6308, smassey@thetaskforce.org
Cathy Renna, TargetCue, 917-767-5123, cathy@targetcue.com
Des Moines Iowa Mass Meeting | We Must Do MORE National Tour
Start: Wednesday, January 15, 2020• 7:00 PM • Central Time (US & Canada) (GMT-06:00)
End: Wednesday, January 15, 2020• 9:00 PM • Central Time (US & Canada) (GMT-06:00)
Host Contact Info: iowa@poorpeoplescampaign.org
If you are interested in helping make the Iowa We Must Do MORE tour a success, visit: CLICK HERE to Volunteer
Need a ride or have extra seats to offer in yours? Please sign up here on our MORE Tour Mass Meeting Carpool system.
**No large bags or umbrellas will be allowed in the mass meetings and small bags are subject to being searched.
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing a 25-state We Must Do MORE national tour from September 2019 to May 2020. This tour will lead into the Mass Poor People’s Assembly & Moral March on Washington, where thousands of poor people and moral agents will gather at the nation’s capitol on June 20, 2020 to demonstrate their power.
We will demand the implementation of our Moral Agenda and call all people of conscience to engage in deeply moral civic engagement and voting that cares about poor and low-wealth people, the sick, immigrants, workers, the environment, people with disabilities, first nations, the LGBTQIA+ community, and peace over war.
Iowa is the eighth stop on this tour.
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
Sneak Peek Showing of “We Cried Power: A documentary of the PPC”
Dayton: January 19th at 12:00PM
College Hill Community Church
1547 Philadelphia Drive
Dayton, Ohio 45406
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/ fundraising/ohio-poor-peoples- campaign/
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EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
It’s not the waking, it’s the rising!
We must do M.O.R.E!
Manifesting the DREAM of MLK Jr.!
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THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN AND WE THE WORLD ARE COLLABORATING
Visit OUR Facebook page to watch a virtual screening of “We Cried Power”.
There will be a panel discussion afterwards.
Visit the facebook page here – We, the World
to watch the live screening
of the PPC documentary on January 26th, at 6:00 pm.
Looking forward to hearing your voices and making a change with you to mobilize,organize, register and educate Ohioans around poverty, racism,ecological devastation and the war economy!
Check out the newly designed website! Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Here is a link to a video that describes the tour during the 2nd stop in North Carolina.
PPC in NC, We Must Do M.O.R.E!
For those of you wanting to join us in DC for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington, June 20, 2020, please visit the site below and book your ride! The PPC Rally will also make stops along the way to fill the bus, so if you don’t see your city listed let us know and we can find a way to connect you. We will also need to do a tremendous amount of fundraising to send those that are impacted.
Here is the link to book your ride to DC, Click HERE
Register for the March on Washington Click HERE
Here is the donation link for those who would like to support those going to DC.
https://actionnetwork.org/ fundraising/ohio-poor-peoples- campaign/
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EXCITING NEWS FOR APRIL: The National Mobilizing, Organizing, Registering and Educating (M.O.R.E.) Tour, will be coming to Dayton, Ohio, with Campaign co-chairs Rev. Theoharis, and Rev. Barber on April 23, 2020—details will be coming in a few weeks!
pictured above: Brooke Medicine Eagle
www.Spiritual-Wildfire-Summit.
com Joan D’Argo
I’m thrilled to invite you to a FREE global online Summit that starts Feb. 2-7 called:
Igniting the Worldwide Spiritual Wildfire We Need Now: A Call to Action
LINK TO: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
I’ll be participating with 23 other featured speakers including Sandra Ingerman, Andrew Harvey, Nina Simons, Cynthia Jurs, Steve Farrell and Lyla June Johnston and I’d love for you to join us! Each of us will be offering inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
The Spiritual Wildfire Summit is organized to address the fact that we live in epic times. In fact, we are experiencing nothing less than the reinvention of civilization. Yet as we dive into uncharted waters and move closer to a critical tipping, we see a worldwide awakening beginning to catch fire. The Spiritual Wildfire Summit offers inspiration, healing, and empowering practical tools to anyone who is ready to courageously use their own light to help ignite a worldwide spiritual wildfire.
To register for this free event click here. Link to: https://www.spiritual-wildfire-summit.com
Together we can create a new world based on compassion, wisdom, justice, and joy!
During this FREE 6-day global online summit, together we will experience & integrate profound ways to restore the Story of Our Awakened Hearts.
This transformational event is FREE to all registered attendees! You do need to RSVP in order to receive all of the info you need to participate in this unique and never before seen gathering of visionaries!
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My Queer Valentine Reception
Hosted by Torpedo Factory Art Center and Target Gallery
Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7 PM – 10 PM
Next Week18–32°F Sunny
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105 N. Union St, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
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Art in Person and in Progress. Located in Old Town Alexandria, the Torpedo Factory Art Center is home to 165 working artists, seven galleries, The Art League, and the Alexandria Archaeology Museum. Free admission.
My Queer Valentine Shows the Richness of LGBTQ Life
The warmth of recognition is strong inside the exhibition.
I took my girlfriend to see My Queer Valentine on a Monday morning; it was a date, I told her. We took the Metro down to King Street and walked to the Alexandria waterfront. Once we got there, we strolled into The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery, hands interlocked.
For My Queer Valentine, the contemporary gallery’s spring show, the small space is filled with large-scale photographic prints, paintings on both large and small canvases, and sculpture. Visually, the pieces cover a broad range of styles, including a digitally influenced take on Abstract Expressionism, geometric interpretations of fire, Basquiat-esque mark-making and writing over photographs, sculpture with few references to recognizable forms, canvases made three-dimensional by the attachment of glittery found objects, and small silkscreen prints. Thematically, they may at first seem to not cohere, but that’s only because My Queer Valentine’s juried works cover a diverse and rich swath of queer life.
As for taking my girlfriend, I had another motive that I didn’t say aloud, though she may have picked up on it. I wanted to enter that exhibition as a visibly gay person, and I wanted to see how that affected my experience of the art. It was the right choice. My Queer Valentine does more than curate work that examines what it means to be LGBTQ in the 21st century: It creates a queer space warm with the joy of recognition.
Some works speak directly to that joy, like artist Cat Gunn’s abstract canvases. Their dramatic patterns represent the harmony of being in a relationship where their partner sees them as their authentic, nonbinary self, they write in the wall text. There are glittering squares and wobbling lines moving back and forth across the plane, but things seem to be coming together the longer you look—parts that once made no sense have an internal logic that reveals itself with sustained attention and open mindedness. Recognition can be dangerous, and the closet offers safety, but it also means hiding behind a mask. The relief of dropping the charade and being seen is transcendent.
My Queer Valentine isn’t camp, not as a whole, but it’s full of artworks made by people who understand the humor and the wondrous pompousness of queer glamor. (That glamor and its high drama are knowingly self-important because there are still so many people who wish we didn’t have it.) The first pieces the viewer encounters play with the feminine trappings of artificial jewelry, glitter, plastic, and resin, all in bright, loud colors; one piece dripping with sequins invites viewers to “lick me until ice cream.” That kind of playful sexuality thrives in many of the works, even the more subdued ones. A beige canvas on the opposing wall asks the onlooker to “come (cum on my) back.” The half-joking, half-serious attitude toward sex is one of My Queer Valentine’s greatest strengths, highlighting the laughter and joy inherent in queer life and queer sex.
Linda Hesh’s “Kissing Booth” is another joyful artwork. It’s not a stunning feat of technique and construction; it’s just a wood and steel booth, like one you might see at a county fair in the ’50s. It advertises itself as, unsurprisingly, “KISSING BOOTH.” It’s not anchored to a wall. Instead, it stands out from a corner and beckons viewers to come in, where they might notice that its gingham pattern is made up of pictures of kissing same-sex couples. I’ll admit my biases here: I’ve always had a love for participatory art. But the booth’s standing invitation to come inside, to take a picture kissing underneath it, and to share that picture with the world is a brave act, even in 2020 in Alexandria—brave for the artist and the piece inviting those kisses, brave for the people who choose to do so. Even though queer desire is hypervisible in contemporary life, it’s not always recognized as a loving, human affect. By asking people to kiss, Hesh affirms the romance of the gesture and the genuine safety of the space around it.
The most striking pieces were by D.C.-based photographer Matt Storm, a transgender man. His work is challenging, cheeky, and hard to look away from. The two images on display come from his Act of Looking series, where he returns to the same studio in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the famous gay vacation spot, to photograph his body “to create an expanded lexicon of ways to see a body, inclusive of ways to see my body,” he writes in his artist’s statement. In the first image, we see him standing naked, in a pose that looks relaxed but requires him to hold himself in place with his own strength. His muscles are tense but not flexed. His face isn’t overly expressive, but there’s a spark of playfulness in his eyes and a hint of a smile on his mouth. And his arm drapes behind his back, coming to rest between his legs, where he holds his fingers playfully—an obvious commentary on how, as he says, “my body is incongruous with how we are taught to see bodies.” In another, he clasps his hands in front of his crotch, fingers crossed. We can’t see his face, but we can feel the humor. The piece is titled “Crossing my Fingers, Getting Away with Something.”
But a different series of works stopped me in my tracks. Aurele Gould’s photographs pulled my gaze from the moment I entered the gallery. When I saw her triptych of an athlete putting pre-wrap around another girl’s thigh, I felt a lump in my throat. “A moment of transference is constructed, a care and an intimacy among women,” she writes in the wall text. Immediately I thought of Barbara Kruger’s 1981 piece “Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals),” which famously says “You construct intricate rituals that allow you to touch the skin of other men” over an image of men roughhousing. But I thought of it less because of its artistic impact and more because, for years, queer kids on Tumblr have been using it as a memetic reference point for jokes about the forbidden, magnetic pull of another person’s skin. In the three images of the piece, we see hands grab the inner thigh, let go to wrap the tape around, and return to place both hands on the partner’s leg.
Likewise, I’d been primed to see Gould’s piece “Acrylic” before I walked in—it represents My Queer Valentine online—but I stopped myself from making a beeline to it. When I did make my way over and allowed myself to look, I noticed for the first time the two models’ sharp, long, matching acrylic nails gently cradling each other’s faces. That striking image is made more striking by those glittery nails. Gould knows this: “I like how thought processes can fold unto each other, like thinking about when stereotypes can be used and who they can be used by,” she wrote in the wall text. I felt a pang of recognition. I smiled. The two lovers in the photograph stared at me, nails shining, and I took my girlfriend’s manicured hand and stared back.
105 N. Union St., Alexandria. (703) 746-4587. torpedofactory.org.
Toledo/NW OHPPC Mobilizing Workshop
Saturday at 10 AM – 1:30 PM
3 days from now28–46°F Sunny
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Vision Ministries South Toledo Campus1630 Broadway St, Toledo, Ohio 43609 |
We can’t wait to meet all the folks in NW Ohio who want to join the PPC and help Mobilize and Organize Toledo! If you are interested in attending please email us at ohio@poorpeoplescampaign.org.
For more information about the PPC go to Poorpeoplescampaign.org
Let’s get ready for National M.O.R.E. Tour stop in Dayton, on April 23rd and Poor People’s Assembly and March on Washington, D.C. on June. 20th!
We will introduce the campaign to those who are new, update those who have been involved, provide resources and information for mobilizing for April 23rd in Dayton, and June 20, 2020!
WE – A global campaign of We, The World to unite
and amplify the efforts of people, organizations
and movements working for the common good
WE.net
This Special Broadcast
is part of our MLK Program
Carrying Forward the Work and Legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sign Up at WE.net/MLK
The Poor People’s Campaign
A National Call for Moral Revival
Rev. William Barber, Rev. Liz Theoharis, Other Leaders
and a Growing Coalition of Organizations
Drawing on the unfinished work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s
1967/68 Poor People’s Campaign
Panel Discussion and Interactive Online Broadcast
Sunday February 23rd at 6PM Eastern Time
Watch the Broadcast LIVE or Watch the Recording on
We, The World’s Facebook Page
Please LIKE the Page to be notified when our Broadcasts are starting
Featured Speakers Include:
Karen Palmer (Host) is a Global Kindness Leader and a Livestream / Social Media Expert who co-produces several popular online talk shows. She is a best-selling author and is Coordinator of We, The World’s Campaign for Women. She helps change agents and peacemakers find their voice, and share their message and gifts globally. Find her at http://www.globalkindnesstv.
Rick Ulfik (Co-Host) is the Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net. Rick is the Co-Creator of 11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Change the World linking local awareness and action campaigns into an inspiring international movement with participants including Desmond Tutu, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Eve Ensler, Bill McKibben and many others.
The Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis is Co-Chair with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival which has organized the largest and most expansive wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in US history. She is the Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary and is a Founder and Coordinator of the Poverty Initiative.
Rev. Janelle Bruce, Esq. is a National Organizer with Repairers of the Breach and the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. She is also the Founder and Pastor of the Church Without Walls, Global Reach. Her life, ministry and work is guided by Micah 6:8, “He has told you O’ mortal what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord”.
Njimie Dzurinko is the founder and co-coordinator at Put People First and the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign. Njimie studied Urban Studies at Temple University and English Literature/Poetry at University of Pennsylvania.
Take Action and Be of Service
During MLK 40 Days of Peace
To Participate Now Through Feb. 29th
For Updates & To Participate
WE.net/MLK
Takes under a minute!Full MLK Broadcast Links and other activity details here:
WE.net/MLK-program
Don’t SLEEP through the REVOLUTION!Thank you!Rick Ulfik
Founder of We, The World and the WE Campaign at WE.net
Subscribe to our WE Campaign Global Action Newsletter: WE.net/subscribe
Now is the Time For WE Video – Narrated by Desmond Tutu and Jane Goodall for We, The World: WE.net/we-video
Manifesting The Dream – Service Activities to Honor and Carry Forward the Work and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. https://WE.net/MLK
11 Days of Global Unity – 11 Ways to Transform Your World
An Urgent Message from Your Children at WeYourChildren.org
GlobalUnityCalendar.org – See and post social change and cultural events for a global audience!
Volunteer Sign-up: https://WE.net/takeaction/
Organization Sign-up: https://WE.net/11days/
Donation Page: WE.net/donate
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February 23, 2020
A National Call for Moral Revival
Panel Discussion and Interactive Online Broadcast
Featuring National Campaign Leaders
Sunday February 23rd at 6PM Eastern Time
Watch the Broadcast LIVE or Watch the Recording on
We, The World’s Facebook Page
Please LIKE the Page to be notified when our Broadcasts are startingThese Special Broadcasts are part of our MLK Program
Manifesting The Dream
Carrying Forward the Work and Legacy
of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the Compassion Games’ MLK 40 Days of Peace
To Participate in Manifesting The Dream: MLK 40 Days of PeaceSign Up Here
WE.net/MLK
Takes under a minute!Full MLK Broadcast Links and other activity details here:
WE.net/MLK-program
Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Next Week25–41°F Snow Showers
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Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Main Library) 800 Vine Street, Cincinnati 45202
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Meeting will be at the Main Library – Huenefeld Tower Room
In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the core of one of the crowning achievements of the civil rights movement: the Voting Rights Act. The 1965 bill, propelled by the historic march of protesters from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama, officially put an end to the literacy tests, poll taxes, and voting restrictions that had disenfranchised millions of minority voters for decades. And it went further than that: it also required areas of the country with a history of using these discriminatory tactics to get federal approval before making any changes to voting.- Vice News Oct. 16, 2020
Soon after the ruling in 2013, polling locations were closed and many of the closed polls were in neighborhoods with large minority populations.
We will review the history and ramifications of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Then we will discuss what are the possible solutions to solving attacks on our nation’s voting rights in our community, our state and our nation.
If you are able, please bring a dish to share. Please let us know if you have any needs to allow you to participate fully.
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MORE INFO:
PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATORS and anyone who wants to know more
and understand…
RELEASE AND REVIEW OF THE NEW CONTEMPORARY ANTISEMITISM UNIT
A Webinar on February 27th, 2020 4PM – 5PM EST
With a changing education landscape and the recent spike in antisemitic incidents, it is essential that educators have access to strategies and tools to address the reality of antisemitism and hate with their students. To meet this need, Echoes & Reflections is launching a revised Contemporary Antisemitism Unit with an inquiry-based and student-centered learning approach to raise the important topics of hate, antisemitism in the US and globally, and what it means to be an ally. Participate in this webinar, led by the lead developer of this Unit, to discover new curated content and approaches for incorporating these important lessons into your classroom.
Check out other webinars on our website.
Info: manosunidasorg@gmail.com, kmcardot@gmail.com, mariamorengo2019@gmail.com
(413)-841-0298, (413)-464-6485, (413)-310-8944, se habla espanol
“I Have A Dream” / “Yo Tengo Un Sueño”
Four Kings Community Event
The Whitney Museum of Art,
42 Wendell Ave,
Pittsfield MA
February 28, 2020
5-8:00 pm
In the Latino culture , Three Kings Day is a very important event to celebrate the coming of the Three Kings to the Christ child, falling on January 6th, which includes re enactment and gifts for children. Additionally, the “ I Have a Dream” Four Kings event will promote the values of love and equity of the “King of Social Justice”, Martin Luther King.
“To inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization”- MLK JR.
“Para inyectar una nueva dimension de amor dentro de la venas de nuestra civilizacion”- <MLKJR.
Manos Unidas announces a collaborative community event with Roots and Dreams Coop and other dedicated collaborators, to shake off the winter blues! Come learn how to dance a dance from Central America, help create a giant mural on themes of peace and justice, add your dream to the Community Dream Tree, eat delicious Puerto Rican food, witness a colorful Mexican dance troupe, hear songs of peace, *ta gift sharing for our community children.
There will be concurrent tabling and a silent auction, as well as a material donation area for our *Unidos con Puerto Rico” project, which is seeking support again for our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters affected by the recent earthquakes.
At 7:00 pm, we will do a staged reading of our community bilingual play “I Had a Dream,” written by David Detmold, and performed by a dedicated group of Manos Unidas members. Connect with a diverse array of community members in this second annual “I Have a Dream” Four Kings Day tradition in the spirit of community generosity and love.
The event is free to all peoples, but there is a suggested donation of $10 per plate of food, and a suggested donation of $20 for the food and event per family, to raise money for the Hopeseed Empowerment Cooperative of Manos Unidas, which is helping build a multi-class, multicultural movement that assists in building cooperative business visions, as well as raising the capacity of our community to the next level of greatness.
Four Kings/ Cuatro Reyes Performance lineup
The Whit, 42 Wendell Ave, Friday Feb 28th, 2020
Concurrent 5-630: Puerto Rican Food by Gustitos Boricuas
Concurrent 5-7pm: Multicultural Muralmaking with Kristina Cardot of Funky Phoenix and Manos Unidas
Concurrent: Silent Auction and Info Tabling
5-5:30- background music and intros, readings by Manos team and TBA
5:30-6:
Tyramisu- soul music
Indigo and Anaelisa- songs for justice
Chris Stix- drumming
Imaran and Anu- spoken word
6pm: Sandra Bonilla- Salvadorean dance
6:20- Living through the Arts Multicultural Youth Initiative of Manos Unidas children sing
6:30- Hoping Machine
7:00pm staged reading of “I Had a Dream”, a bilingual play about border crossings and the struggles of our times. written by David Detmold and performed by Manos Unidas members and supporters with a special vocal and musical performances by Living through the Arts project children/ Manos team and the Gauadalupenas, a Mexican dance troupe
7:30- 7:50- words and generosity/giftsharing/ concurrent music
7:50 closing and musica
Info: manosunidasorg@gmail.com, kmcardot@gmail.com, mariamorengo2019@gmail.com
(413)-841-0298, (413)-464-6485, (413)-310-8944, se habla espanol
P.O Box 112, South Lee, MA 01260
and popup locations in Pittsfield, MA 0120
http://manos-unidas.wix.com/
For more information about a list of desired items for Puerto Rico or for gift signups for your children or those you know, please text or email one of us above!
Para mas informacion sobre las donaciones para Puerto Rico, para agregarse a la lista de los regalos de los ninos, o cualquier pregunta, porfavor comunicarse con nosostros en los correos electronicos o telefonos arriba!
WORLD INTERFAITH HARMONY MEET
City: Mount Abu
+919079295525
Organizer: Brahma Kumaris
Location:: Gyan Saroval – Academy for a Better World, Mt.Abu, Rajasthan, India
Email: ecoshanti@brahmakumaris.com
World Interfaith Harmony Meet is being organized by Brahma Kumaris at its international Head Quarter Complex Gyan Sarovar, an academy for a better world.
This event is being celebrated during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Gyan Sarovar. Many spiritual, religious and faith leaders will be participating in the meet. The aim and objectives of this event are to share common interests and to also come to common understanding regarding actions that could be taken to mitigate climate-related issues, inter-regional harmony, and value-based education systems. The list of the invited guests include:
HH Dalai Lama Ji,
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Ji,
Sri Ravi Shankar Ji,
Dadi Janki Ji, and many others.
Gyan Sarovar
The Academy for the Better World, known in Hindi as Gyan Sarovar, offers residential programs and courses on development and practical implementation of human, moral and spiritual values and principles.
The Brahma Kumaris started building the campus for the Academy for a Better World, an institution of higher learning established by the Brahma Kumaris along with its sister institution, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust, and Rajyoga Education and Research Foundation, in 1991. The aim was to provide a training facility for the institution’s outreach to all sections of society. Within a few years, 28 acres of land near the institution’s headquarters in Mount Abu was transformed into a modern village complex in a quiet, rural setting.
The campus includes Universal Harmony Hall, an auditorium that can seat 1,600 people and has facilities for simultaneous translation in 16 languages; the International Spiritual Art Gallery housing sculptures, murals, audio-visual and laser displays and other works of art from around the world; the International Center for Higher Learning comprising 13 seminar and training rooms; accommodation for up to 1,500 people; kitchen and dining facilities that can cater to 1,200 people at a time; three man-made lakes that irrigate the 15,000 trees planted to provide fruits and vegetables and a rural retreat atmosphere; and a solar water heater for cooking. The telephone exchange, computers and emergency lighting systems are powered by solar and wind energy, and a unique waste treatment plant is capable of treating 200,000 liters of washing, kitchen and bathroom waste water daily, of which nearly 80 percent is available for re-use.
In 1996, the Academy was presented to Habitat II, the second UN Conference on Human Settlements held in Istanbul, Turkey. It was recognised as part of the Best Practice Initiative for Human Settlements.
“When you increase the number of gardens, you increase the number of heavens too!”
Greater Cincinnati PPC Organizing Meeting
· Hosted by Ohio Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Our Saviour Covington
246 E 10th St,
Covington, KY 41011
Sunday, March 1, 2020
at 4 PM – 6 PM
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Hallock Auditorium, Lewis Environmental Studies Building, Oberlin College
122 Elm Street, Oberlin, OH, 44074
4:30pm – 6:00pm EST; doors open at 4pm
Topic: Tainted: Anti-Suffragism and Race Politics in the Crusade for Women’s Votes
“Determined to Rise”: Women’s Historic Activism for Equal Rights
Panelists:
- Angela P. Dodson, Author, Remember the Ladies: Celebrating Those Who Fought for Freedom at the Ballot Box (Center Street Press, 2017): Angela P. Dodson is author of “Remember the Ladies: Celebrating Those Who Fought for Freedom at the Ballot Box” about the woman suffrage movement in the United States and women’s political gains up to the present. Dodson is also an independent editor, writer and consultant. She founded an editorial services company, Editorsoncall LLC, in 2012, to link freelancers to clients in need of writing, editing, graphic and photographic services. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Marshall University and a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from the American University. Angela is a former senior editor and former Style editor for the New York Times. She has most recently been an online editor and book reviewer for DIVERSE: Issues In Higher Education, diverseeducation.com, and diversebooks.net. She is the former executive editor of Black Issues Book Review.
- Dr. Carol Lasser, Emerita Professor of History, Oberlin College: Carol Lasser is Emerita Professor of History at Oberlin College and former president of the Society for the History of the Early American Republic (SHEAR). At Oberlin she taught about women, gender and race in American history, and chaired the History Department and the Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies Program. Her books include Antebellum American Women (with Stacey Robertson, 2010); Friends and Sisters: Letters Between Lucy Stone and Antoinette Brown Blackwell, 1846-1893, (with Marlene Merrill, 1987), Educating Men and Women Together: Coeducation in a Changing World (1987), and, most recently, with Gary Kornblith, Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio (Louisiana State University Press 2018). Her articles address topics ranging from Civil War courtship to utopianism to the scholarship of teaching and learning. With students, she created Digitizing American Feminisms: Projects from the Oberlin College Archives (http://americanfeminisms.org/), featuring materials that bring feminist history alive. Her current projects include ongoing research on the life Lethia Cousins Fleming (1876-1963), a Cleveland woman of color who pursued a pioneering political career in the first half of the twentieth century. Professor Lasser is also rethinking the racial implications of the Nineteenth Amendment in her work-in-progress, “Bending to the Color Line: The Fight for Woman Suffrage in Ohio,” and she continues her work exploring Oberlin history, focusing on racial inequality in employment, public schools, housing and recreation from the 1930s to the 1980s. She earned her B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. at Harvard University.
- Dr. Ben Railton, Professor of English Studies and Coordinator of American Studies, Fitchburg State University: Ben Railton is Professor of English Studies and Coordinator of American Studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. He is the author of five books, most recently We the People: The 500-Year Battle over Who is American (Rowman and Littlefield’s American Ways series). He also writes the daily American Studies blog, contributes the bimonthly Considering History column to the Saturday Evening Post, and is the Boston Chapter Leader for the Scholars Strategy Network.
- Moderator: Tamika Nunley, Assistant Professor of History, Oberlin College: Tamika Nunley is an assistant professor of American history. Her research and teaching interests include slavery, gender, 19th-century legal history, digital history, and the American Civil War. At Oberlin, she created the History Design Lab that allows students to develop scholarly projects that involve methodological approaches that range from digital humanities, exhibit design, oral history, podcasts, historical fiction, and public history. Her book manuscript, ‘‘At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and the Boundaries of Freedom in Washington, D.C.,’’ examines how black women strategically used the laws, geography, and community networks of the nation’s capital to make claims to liberty during the Civil War era. Her work has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon and Woodrow Wilson foundations as well as the American Association of University Women.
To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/determined-to-rise-womens-historic-activism-for-equal-rights-tickets-93388356087
Fourth Annual “Everyday DC” Photography Exhibition: Opening Reception
Please join us for an opening reception of the 4th annual
“Everyday DC” exhibition
at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery
in Washington, D.C.
on the evening of Wednesday, March 11, 2020
from 5:30-7:30pm.
Remarks will begin at 6:00pm, and will be followed by live music and snacks.
“Everyday DC,” a photography exhibition on view at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery from March 10, 2020, through March 20, 2020, presents a visual narrative of everyday life in Washington, D.C. through the eyes of more than 150 public middle school students from all four quadrants of the city. The exhibition is the culmination of a unit designed by the Pulitzer Center in collaboration with D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and facilitated by over a dozen DCPS visual arts teachers. Images from 14 middle schools are represented in the exhibition.
The Everyday DC project was inspired by the Everyday Africa project, founded by Pulitzer Center grantees Peter DiCampo and Austin Merrill to visually represent a more accurate understanding of what the majority of Africans experience on a day-to-day basis: normal life. Like Everyday Africa, Everyday DC challenges students to consider how Washington D.C. is portrayed in the media, and how they can compose images that more accurately visualize their everyday experiences.
The Everyday DC project is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The project is also supported by the Pepco Edison Gallery, which generously donated the space for the exhibition. For more information about the unit plan and exhibition, contact education@pulitzercenter.org.
Gallery opens to the public every Tuesday to Friday, March 10 through March 20, from Noon to 4 p.m. The space will also be open on Saturday, March 14, 2020. Free admission.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
The Forum, Michigan History Center
702 W. Kalamazoo St, Lansing, MI 48915
6:30pm – 8:00pm
In collaboration with Michigan Women Forward
Topic: Woman’s Suffrage: The West Came First
“Determined to Rise”: Women’s Historic Activism for Equal Rights
Panelists:
- Dr. Molly Rozum, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, The University of South Dakota (Vermillion, SD): Molly P. Rozum, Ph.D., is the co-editor (with Lori Ann Lahlum) of Equality at the Ballot Box: Votes for Women on the Northern Great Plains, published by South Dakota Historical Society Press (2019). The volume includes her article, “Citizenship, Civilization, and Property: The 1890 South Dakota Vote on Woman Suffrage and Indian Suffrages.” Rozum is Associate Professor and Ronald R. Nelson Chair of Great Plains and South Dakota History at The University of South Dakota, Vermillion and teaches the histories of South Dakota, and the Great Plains, and the American West, and Modern Women’s History. Rozum grew up in Mitchell, South Dakota.
- Dr. Lori Ann Lahlum, Professor, Department of History, Minnesota State University, Mankato (Mankato, MN): Lori Ann Lahlum is professor of history at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she teaches courses on the American West, Minnesota history, and western women’s and gender history. She and Molly Rozum edited Equality at the Ballot Box: Votes for Women on the Northern Great Plains, which came out with South Dakota Historical Press in 2019. Lahlum also publishes on Norwegian America.
- Dr. Virginia Caruso, Historian and Member, Board of Trustees, Historical Society of Michigan (Plainwell, MI): Virginia Paganelli Caruso retired in 2001 after 34 years of teaching history at 4-year liberal arts colleges, and community colleges. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Michigan where she received her MA, has a Specialist in the Arts degree from Western Michigan University, and her PhD from Michigan State University. Her interest in both Michigan and Women’s History dates back to early 1981 when she discovered that the standard texts on Michigan History were inconsistent about when women in Michigan achieved equal suffrage. Focusing on this topic for her dissertation, she has been researching and talking about Woman Suffrage, voting rights, voting in Michigan, and the political activism of women ever since. She currently serves on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan, moderates panels at HSM conferences, serves as a Michigan History Day judge, and is active with the local Friends of Michigan Library Group. She also conducts local history research with the informal local history group that uses the library’s resources.
- Moderator: Valerie Marvin, Historian & Curator of the Michigan State Capitol (Lansing, MI): Valerie Marvin serves as the Historian & Curator of the Michigan State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark. In this capacity, she oversees the Capitol’s historical collections, and conducts extensive research on Capitol and legislative history, sharing her findings through publications, lectures, and social media. She is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies, 2005) and Eastern Michigan University (Masters of Science in Historic Preservation, 2009). She is an active member of the Historical Society of Greater Lansing, the Downtown Lansing Inc. Design Committee, and the Lansing Woman’s Club. Valerie lives with her husband David in a 1906 home in downtown Lansing.
To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/determined-to-rise-womens-historic-activism-for-equal-rights-tickets-93316306585
Take Action on National Refugee Shabbat
National Refugee Shabbat 5780, which will take place on March 20-21, 2020, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals around the country to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers.
Register: Learn more about how your community or group can participate at hias.org/nrs – it’s not too late!
There are also many ways individuals can take action for refugees and asylum seekers in the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, as well as on the actual Shabbat itself (in accordance with individual Shabbat practice). Feel free to share the list below widely with family and friends.
12 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION THIS NATIONAL REFUGEE SHABBAT
1. Advocate – Call your Member of Congress to ask them to stand for the rights, safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers.
2. Get Involved in the Election – Research the candidates running in local elections in your area, and let them know that the rights of refugees and asylum seekers are among your top priority issues this year.
3. Update Your Facebook Photo Frame – Show your support for refugees by updating your Facebook profile picture with the HIAS #JewsforRefugees frame. Click here for directions.
4. Join the “Jews for Refugees” Facebook Group – Joining this group is a great way to connect with thousands of other committed individuals across the country, access up-to-the-minute information about the Jewish response to the refugee crisis, and share the actions that you are taking. Click here to join.
5. Donate Your Miles to Asylum Seekers – HIAS has partnered with Miles4Migrants (M4M), a nonprofit charity dedicated to using donated frequent flyer miles and money for the relocation of refugees and those seeking asylum – including families recently separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. HIAS and Miles4Migrants (M4M) will work to identify refugees and asylum seekers who need assistance purchasing airfare to reunite with their families. Donate your frequent flyer miles here the week of National Refugee Shabbat.
6. Buy Refugee-Produced Goods – Support refugees and asylum seekers around the world and in your local community by buying refugee-produced goods and/or researching refugee-owned restaurants in your community and having a meal there. Check out this website to purchase goods made by a collective of African asylum-seeking women living in Tel Aviv, Israel.
7. Give Life to Refugees and Asylum Seekers – In the week leading up to National Refugee Shabbat, set up a Facebook fundraiser to benefit HIAS’ work.
8. Scholarships for Displaced Students – Research whether your local universities and colleges offer scholarships to refugees and asylum seekers. If not, reach out and ask them to consider starting such a program. Check out Columbia University’s program for an example.
9. Have A Difficult Conversation – Using the HIAS Conversational Guide for How to Talk About Refugees with Family and Friends, commit to having at least one conversation with someone in your life who has expressed concern about welcoming refugees to the United States or even someone who has made disparaging remarks about refugees or asylum seekers.
10. Light Shabbat Candles with Intention – As you welcome Shabbat on March 20, use this reading before lighting Shabbat candles to set an intention to stand with refugees and asylum seekers around the globe.
11. Host A Gathering In Your Home – Invite a small group of friends over to your home for Shabbat dinner or lunch or a havdallah (the ceremony for closing Shabbat) wine and cheese gathering. At the gathering, consider using the HIAS National Refugee Shabbat 5780-2020 Programming Content Resource. Use the text study on page 6 of this guide as a jumping off point for conversation, take a look at and discuss the refugee art on page 13 of this guide, or screen the movie suggested on page 14 and 15 of this guide.
12. Start A Book Club – Start a book club – for adults or young people – to read books by and about refugees and asylum seekers. Use this list as a jumping off point for suggestions or search google for even more ideas.
The climate crisis is the greatest challenge we face – already excacerbating injustices and environmental health disparities.
The good news? Leading medical journals and experts confirm that climate change poses the “greatest health opportunity of the 21st century.” Taking action to reduce fossil fuel pollution and address the crisis can save lives, improve our air quality, and address inequality.
Health professionals are essential messengers to inspire action.
Will you join us in Vancouver, WA on March 22nd for this
free education and advocacy training event
focusing on the latest on climate change and health,
and how to effectively promote solutions?
The climate crisis is big, but we know we can achieve meaningful solutions through dedicated advocacy. To do so, we need to build upon our movement and engage more health professionals to drive action. Join us in Vancouver to learn more and get plugged in!
Featured speakers include Dianne Glover, MD, a WPSR Climate & Health Task Force pediatrician, Don and Alona Steinke, RN, of Southwest Washington Climate Action, and Lluvia Merello, Energy Justice Organizer for Oregon PSR.
Vancouver Public Library, 901 C Street, Vancouver WA
RSVP: Vancouver Climate Change & Health Event
This is a FREE event, and lunch will be provided.
See you there!
Sarah Cornett
WPSR Climate Program & Advocacy Manager
sarah@wpsr.org
206-547-2630