My buddy Tony Fleming sent me this info about a discussion on "Virtual Collaboration, Real Results" being organized by OneWorldUS and Interaction tomorrow, Thursday, May 8 starting at 10:30AM EST. At the event you will "learn from practitioners at InterAction and OneWorldUS who are exploring the vast potential being presented by virtual worlds in international…
Category: Civil Society
Donate to Global Kids Scholarship Fund!
Although some people know Global Kids mostly through our work with virtual teens in Second Life, GK works mostly with underprivileged real world teens in the New York area to teach them about global issues such as human rights, the environment and the United Nations. Every year we throw a scholarship fundraiser to help assist…
USC Network Culture Project announces Second Life Community Challenge
I just attended the formal announcement of the "Second Life and Public Good" Community Challenge sponsored by the USC Network Culture Project, featuring an introduction to the Community Challenge by Cory Ondrejka, former CTO of Linden Lab and currently a fellow at USC. I am honored to be serving as a selection panelist alongside such…
Whyville and virtual world elitism
As an active resident of Second Life, with only passing experience with other virtual worlds, I’m as guilty as others of "home town" boosterism. I.e. looking at There.com, ActiveWorlds, Habbo Hotel, etc as lesser locales in comparison to Second Life. It’s as natural as my tendencies to feel like New York is the center of…
Avatars of the world unite! Union Island launches in Second Life
Union Island organizer Uniglobalunion Oh and me on Union Island Happy May Day, everyone! Apropos, I got the news of the launch of Union Island in Second Life today (click here to teleport): Union Island plans to use Second Life to create a community for trade unionists, which will let activists from around the world…
Compare McCain, Clinton and Obama on global issues at “08 or Bust!” website
Just a reminder that my friends at Citizens for Global Solutions have created a cool website called "08 or Bust" that tracks the positions of each of the major candidates for the US presidency on a range of international issues. The heart of the website is an interactive comparison chart that allows you to pull…
Leveraging virtual worlds for civic action
One of the main reasons we created the International Justice Center in Second Life was to explore the challenge posed by MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton last year, who asked, "Might not there be a group in Second Life that could come together to educate itself about the ICC and organize a campaign to persuade public…
Non-profits in SL: Glitteractica & Randall Moss speaking at Metanomics today
My friend Glitteractica Cookie of Techsoup.org (pictured above) and Randall Moss of the American Cancer Society will be speaking today at the popular "Metanomics" talk show in Second Life from 11-12PM PST. The event will take place on Muse Arena on Muse Isle, and filmed and streamed live on SLCN.tv. Check the full event entry…
“The Trade Show”: international justice and art as political expression
Last night I serendipitously encountered this performance art piece in the Arts District of Chicago called “The Tradeshow.” A moving and critical artistic commentary on the garment industry, it provided unexpected closure to the international justice conference I had been at for the past two days at DePaul University.
“Justice for Darfur” campaign focuses on arresting 2 Sudanese indicted by ICC
Today the "Justice for Darfur" campaign launched with a bold call for the international community to arrest two Sudanese leaders accused of masterminding the devastation of Darfur. The coalition is composed of 29 human rights groups from around the world, including some of the most prominent international organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International…