I just got notice from the MacArthur Foundation that they are sponsoring an event entitled "What are Kids Learning in Virtual Worlds?" happening on Wednesday, November 14th at 6PM PST. The discussion, taking place at the University of Southern California, will feature the following speakers: Julia Stasch, Vice President of the John D. and Catherine…
Category: Civil Society
Grundfos celebrates UN World Development Day with events, exhibits on sustainable development
Last month I blogged about pump manufacturer Grundfos opening a sim in Second Life devoted to environmental issues (click here to teleport.) It looks like the company has made good on their promise and opened a pretty cool island focusing on different environmental issues, only somewhat connected to their products and brand. On Wednesday, October…
Join millions in standing against poverty TODAY at 10AM PST
Today at 10AM PST (1PM EST) there will be a "Stand Up Against Poverty" event in Second Life sponsored by the UN Millennium Campaign. If you don’t make it, it will repeat at 6:30PM PST / 9:30PM EST. Both events will take place at the Plush Nonprofit Commons sim (teleport SLURL.) Here’s the official description:…
OneClimate.net opens virtual door to UN climate change summit in Bali
I just got the news that the international non-profit network OneWorld.net has launched an island in Second Life called "OneClimate" to promote public action on Climate Change. In the 1990s, OneWorld was instrumental in bringing to the web the work of hundreds of non-profit causes from around the world. So it’s appropriate that the UK-based…
Global Kids offers innovative “choose-your-own” job description
Remember those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from when you were a kid? I used to LOVE those things. Well, now my friends at Global Kids have announced a new "Choose-Your-Own-Job-Description" set of job openings: We are currently looking to hire three to four people. However, each position contains more than one area of responsibility,…
Tax issues for non-profits in Second Life
Complicated issues surrounding taxation for Second Life business activity have come to the fore recently, including VAT tax for Europeans and Congressional hearings on the issue for Americans. Non-profit and charitable organizations also need to familiarize themselves with the relevant tax issues that might apply to their in-world activities. It’s simply short-sighted to think that…
New York teens sought for machinima program at Global Kids
Global Kids teens presenting their projects at the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago last August Tabitha of the Online Leadership Program at Global Kids sends out news that they are looking for teenagers in the New York City area to participate in the second year of their "Virtual Video Project." This after-school program is…
Games for Change is looking for a community manager
I just got word that the super-cool non-profit group Games for Change is looking to hire a new "Online Community Manager" responsible for "fostering participation and providing leadership and editorial oversight for a variety of forums dedicated to digital media, learning, and social issue games." G4C is doing amazing bridge-building work between major industry players…
Enabling remote participation at the Rio Internet Governance Forum: blogging and virtual worlds
Brazilian blogger and researcher Jose Murilo Junior posts an interesting set of questions regarding how to enable effective remote participation at the upcoming Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janiero in November. Jose references my thinking on this subject at the IGF in Athens last year. Here’s my new response to Jose: event blogging and…
Second Life demos in solidarity with Burma tomorrow (saturday)
Like millions of others, I am shocked and horrified with what is happening in Burma / Myanmar. The nearly complete isolation of the small country makes it virtually impervious to outside public pressure, short of military invasion. I have long been an admirer of dissident Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, back in 1999 when…