June 23, 2009
Will work for $1
A man knocked on our door yesterday saying he was willing to clean our windows for a dollar. He said he needed grocery money. A dollar? Can you imagine? This is Canada.
My wife cried at the thought of it all. I remain humbled. I know times are tough, but if you can spare some cash, please give some to any number of organizations that feed the impoverished.
And 'yes' we gave him more than he asked.
Covenant House
The Red Cross
The Good Neighbours Club
Posted by Jason at 6:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 8, 2009
Heads Up: Net Change Week at MaRS
This sounds really interesting. The event is scheduled for June 8-12.
From the site:
Toronto is abuzz with innovators, social entrepreneurs, digital media developers and leading design thinkers, not to mention a swath of charitable organizations dedicated to social change. Imagine if these communities were working together. It could be transformational.
Net Change is a week-long event designed to explore how social technology can bolster social change. Presented by the Social Innovation Generation team at MaRS (SiG@MaRS), Net Change Week will tap into the potential that exists when new methods of communicating, organizing and mobilizing are brought to bear on chronic social issues.
Visit netchangeweek.ca for more details.
Posted by Jason at 2:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 30, 2009
Activist Toolkit: Parliament of Canada website
Recently, an important new feature was added to the Parliament of Canada website. Constituents can now see how their MP voted on issues debated in the House of Commons. To access these records, do the following:
1) Select "Senators and Members" in the main menu.
2) Select "Current" under the House of Commons menu.
3) Within the body of the page, you'll see a link to "Members of Parliament". Select it.
4) You'll then be presented with a list of MPs. Select you MP's name and you will be taken to his/her page.
5) On the MP's page you'll see a "Votes" tab. Select it and discover how your MP voted.
I'm really pleased that a new layer of "transparency" has been added to the site. As a designer however, I find that this website is a bit of a usability nightmare – built for librarians and not the public (IMHO). That being said, knowledge is power and this new information should help many activists in their endeavour to make change.
Posted by Jason at 9:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 29, 2009
Government 2.0
Tim O'Reilly over at O'Reilly Radar wrote a thought provoking piece on applying the Web 2.0 social-media spirit to community activism. I've had similar thoughts as of late and hope to introduce you to a new project of mine shortly.
In the mean time, hopefully you'll find Tim's article inspiring. A couple of interesting quotes:
Now is the time for a renewal of our commitment to make our own institutions, our own communities, and our own difference. There's a kind of passivity even to our activism: we think that all we can do is to protest. Collective action has come to mean collective complaint. Or at most, a collective effort to raise money.
But let's not forget that we ourselves are the raw material of collective action.
Posted by Jason at 6:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 20, 2009
G-20 death linked to police abuse
An independent autopsy released Friday has determined that Ian Tomlinson died of abdominal bleeding during the G-20 Summit demonstration, and not of a heart attack as originally reported. If you recall, Tomlinson was knocked to the ground by police while walking home from work. Apparently, he was not part of the demonstration. A video of the assault can be seen here. Additional details about this unfortunate event can be found here.
The officers involved are now under investigation. Although Ian Tomlinson's life can never be restored, let's hope that an era of peaceful demonstration can.
Posted by Jason at 9:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 13, 2009
Heads Up: Downstream
Free Toronto premiere of the oil sands documentary Downstream
Short listed for an Academy Award, Downstream is a short documentary about a Canadian doctor who raised concerns about the alarmingly high rates of rare cancers amongst Aboriginal peoples in Fort Chipewyan, downstream for Alberta’s oilsands developments.
Tuesday, April 14th, 9 pm
Innes College, 2 Sussex Ave at St. George Street
(Subway: go to St.George Station and walk south to Sussex)
Panel Discussion
Moderated by Olivia Chow, MP
Panelists include:
Jack Layton, MP, Toronto-Danforth
Christie Ferguson, Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaign Coordinator
Leslie Iwerks, Academy Award and Emmy Nominated Director
Philip Alberstat, Emmy-Award Winning Producer
Food for Thought – Toronto
As seats are limited, please RSVP to info@jacklayton.ca or call (416)405-8914
Thanks to Arel and John for hipping me to this event.
Posted by Jason at 9:37 AM | TrackBack (0)
March 17, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI aka Epidemiologist...NOT!
I don't mean to offend any Catholics out there but Pope Benedict XVI has recently stated (erroneously) that condom distribution in Africa was not the answer to solving the AIDS and HIV problem, rather “... it increases the problem.” He advocates sexual abstinence.
Wow! Where to begin? Statements like these really piss me off and push me to hate organized religion. There are millions of people around the globe without the educational capacity to understand something like the spread of HIV and AIDS. It is reprehensible that the Pope would wield his influence in such a heinously reckless manner.
Here are some facts the Pope has conveniently "forgotten":
• An estimated 33 million people throughout Africa have HIV or AIDS.
• An estimated 2 million people died of AIDS in African countries last year.
• An estimated 2.7 million people contract the disease each year
Entire families are being destroyed everyday throughout Africa. The number of "AIDS orphans" is steadily increasing. History has shown that abstinence has never worked as method to prevent the spread of any STI. This is religious indoctrination, plain and simple. In his attempt to save souls, the Pope is risking lives.
Africa is apparently the fastest-growing region for the Roman Catholic Church. At this rate, the Pope's following will be very small indeed.
*UNAIDS/WHO report
Posted by Jason at 9:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
March 13, 2009
Working on Stuff that Matters
I really need to create a "Technology" category. Until then, check out this interesting post on ReadWriteWeb. It's a speech by Tim O'Reilly on the opportunities smart and creative individuals have to work on some of the most important challenges that face our world. I'll admit, he's not necessarily saying anything new, but sometimes it is important to be reminded of what we are capable of and why we should do what we do.
So ask yourself, "What matters to you?"
Posted by Jason at 9:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
March 12, 2009
Inspiring: The Living Library
Another one of those, "I wish I thought of that!" ideas.
The Living Library is a project that allows individuals to "sign-out" other people for 30 minutes in order to get a better understanding of their experiences and view points. The idea originated out of Denmark in response to the xenophobia and violence the project's creators witnessed.
Here's the Globe and Mail article in case you missed it.
Here's a link to the official website.
Posted by Jason at 9:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
February 16, 2009
Favourite Activist(s): Muhammad Yunus
Continuing on with the series... I asked the question who's your favourite activist? Here's a response from Melanie, a mother and real estate agent:
I would have to say my favourite activist is Muhammad Yunus - an economist in Bangladesh responsible for creating the micro-loan and 2006 Nobel Prize winner.
Yunus established Grameen Bank in 1983 to help people lift themselves out of poverty in rural Bangladesh by providing them with credit without requiring collateral. The bank focuses on women borrowers and only the poorest of borrowers. Grameen has provided loans to over 4.4 million families.
Taking Grameen Bank's lead, more than 250 institutions in 100 countries now offer micro-loans to third world impoverished families, allowing many families to get out of abject poverty permanently.
Posted by Jason at 10:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
