social-justice

The 2010 People’s Summit

- Adam Clare

The G8 and the G20 are coming to Toronto this month and they are effectively shutting down the city (yes, that’s bad news). For a good spin on things, The People’s Summit will be happening as a “counter summit” to the G20’s and bring people from many walks of life together to make the world a better place.

The 2010 People’s Summit is civil society’s alternative “counter Summit” to the G8 and G20 Summits happening in Huntsville and Toronto this June 25th – 27th. Together we will create a space where diverse local and international movements can democratically organize to advocate and educate for global justice.

Community organizers, activists, non-governmental organizations, independent media, workers, impacted communities, artists – the people – converge this June to work together to educate, empower and ignite the positive change we would like to see in our world.

WorldDevils Highlights Evil for Good

- Adam Clare

WorldDevils is a site that aims to bring people’s attention to the wrongdoers on our planet. The site is very young so right now it’s only a predictable list of devils (GW Bush to Carlos Menem). I encourage everyone to sign up and add some lesser-known evil people to see what happens at this site.

How is this site good you ask, well over at Mashable they argue that:

The hope with WorldDevils is to bring awareness to those individuals and entities that are causing harm on a larger level, whether it be socially or politically. The company has indicated that it will be adding a system for curbing the abuse of its system by those out to cause harm on a personal level.

It’s up to you decide if calling people devils increases awareness and will provoke change.

Blogs for Empowerment

- Adam Clare

Information technology can be used for more than spam and this is a perfect example. Blogs for African Women uses blogging to communicate ideas and share resources with women to empower them.

Nine young women, activists in non-governmental organisations or community programmes in Lagos, will come together online and face-to-face to gain technical skills in blogging, podcasting and wikis over the next six months. Networking for Success is geared towards women who are already looking for ways that technology can help their work, who want to reach out to other organisations and collaborate more effectively.

Save the Environment While Helping the Poor

- Alison 1 Comment

Van Jones, 38, wants to know: Why aren’t environmentalists and social justice activists already working together? He insists this is possible when building an environmentally sustainable economy and healthy environment for all.

Jones is working with politicians, business leaders, educators and community activists to develop such cooperation in Oakland, Calif., where he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in 1996 to tackle criminal justice issues.

“We are working with community colleges and labor unions and prison re-entry organizations to create a green job corps, where urban youths and workers will be taught to install solar panels, do organic gardening or retrofit buildings so they don’t leak energy.”

Jones believes that the safest communities have the best education and jobs for young people, and is “calling on environmentalists and human rights activists to join in a national drive to save the environment and improve the lives of the working poor”.

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