There is a whole day of events, but if you don’t want to be there all day, please come and check out the keynote and opening rally at 11:45am EST. It will be at the Commonwealth Assembly Area which can hold over 300 avatars (a lot for SL!).

Full info about the day of events is below. Sorry to post the entire press release, but this info doesn’t seem to be online anywhere else.

*******************
*** PRESS RELEASE ***
*******************
PRESS CONFERENCE: 10AM SLT FRIDAY 30 NOV 2007􀀍

LOUIS LANDON’s PEACE REVOLUTION! headlines
MAJOR PROTEST ACTION IN SECOND LIFE called
LAG for PEACE: DON’T IRAQ IRAN

Live Music Artist Biographies are Included In-line Below… Louis Landon, Hathead Rickenbacker, and Leslee McCarey

WHEN: DAY OF ACTION: 8AM to 6PM SLT SATURDAY 1 DEC 2007
WHERE: Commonwealth Island (All Music, Poetry, Speakers)􀀅
PROTESTS AT: Capitol Hill, CNN, Reuters, and other locale (see schedule inline below)

Press Contact: any1 Gynoid (Second Life) or email to: any1gynoid@googlemail.com

************************
*** SCHEDULE OF EVENTS ***
************************

Unless otherwise noted, all events at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Commonwealth%203/12/53/22
􀀃

8:00 am LIVE MUSIC for PEACE: Leslee McCarey, Singer Songwriter
􀀊

8:45 am: KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Sequoia Pinion, Founder, Spiritual Peacemakers
􀀋

9am KICKOFF RALLY and Introduction to the Protest Action
Featuring: SuperActivist DALINIAN BING
Supported by the Lag4Peace Team Leads
and Lag4Peace Organzing Committee (see lists below)
􀀌

10am PROTEST RALLY – CAPITOL HILL of SL

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Capitol%20Hill%201/91/21/31

􀀆

DJ JONI VILLOTA rocks the Lag4Peace Main Stage!

11 am POETRY for PEACE – SERENE BECHIR, Poet/Emcee
LIVE Poetry read by Serene Bechir, Prajna Vella, Larkworthy Antfarm,
and Sartor Indigo
And FEATURING contributed poetry by Bayou writer,
Ladykendred Allen, Lumi Michinaga, and other great SL poets
􀀉

12 noon PROTEST RALLY – CNN IREPORTS HUB

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Future/214/218/27

􀀇

Live DJ DENOTSOOT BINDER…. ROCKS the Lag4Peace Main Stage!

1pm LIVE PEACE MUSIC – HatHead Rickenbacker, Award Winning Peace Musician
Lag4Peace Main Stage

2pm PROTEST RALLY – REUTERS NEWS HQ

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Reuters/145/115/24

􀀂

Live Deejay/Club Owner “The Gathering” ATOMIK HAMMERER rocks the Main Stage!

3pm DANCE 4 PEACE PARTY – Live DJ/Club Owner “ROBS Song Spot” DJ SONGDOG WOOLLEY
Featuring Dance Host: Grog Fossil
􀀀

4pm PROTEST RALLY – Linden Estate Services

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Linden%20Estate%20Services/156/125/39

􀀈

Live DJ BUFFY RANG rocks the Lag4Peace Main Stage!

5pm GALA PEACE CELEBRATION – LOUIS LANDON’s PEACE REVOLUTION ! (live concert)
􀀁

***********************
*** ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES ***
***********************

*** LOUIS LANDON’ PEACE REVOLUTION! ***
*** LIVE MUSIC 5PM SATURDAY ***

LOUIS LANDON’s brand new CD “Peace Revolution!” was released at the in-world launch celebration on 24.11.07. An exclusive performance of Peace Revolution! music and other favorites from Louis’ repertoire plays LIVE at Lag 4 Peace’s Don’t Iraq Iran! Main Stage on 1st December from at 5pm.

LOUIS LANDON is 3 avi’s in SL (see Louis Volare’s profile). Here
is a recent photograph.􀀄

LOUIS LANDON has played classical music for Mikhail Baryshnikov and Latin music with “Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers” on national and international tours, pop music with Rupert “Pina Colada Song” Holmes on television and national tours, rock with John Hall, opening for “Little Feat” on national tours and has written and produced music for film, video, and commercials, including three years of “best plays” and “bloopers” commercials for the National Basketball Association. He has been performing his own music in the New York tri-state area for the past 12 years.

LOUIS LANDON’s previous CD, released in December of 2005, is solo piano new age CD entitled “unwind,” and is currently charted at #3 of the top 100 CDs for the month of February, 2006 on NewAgeReporter.com’s website, playing on over 174 stations internationally! It is also featured on internet and satellite radio stations including “Whisperings” at www.solopianoradio.com, reaching over 950,000 people monthly. Check out “Peaceful” and “Feel” in the audio section. More samples from “unwind” available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/louis4 and myspace.com/louislandon2

*** HATHEAD RICKENBACKER – LIVE MUSIC 11AM SATURDAY ***

HATHEAD RICKENBACKER is an award-winning musician who performs jazz, blues, funk, soul and electronica – often all at the same time. HatHead’s performances on piano at overly expensive restaurants earned him Best Music from Toronto Magazine several years in a row. HatHead believes that music is a power to be used for peace. Hathead Rickenbacker plays LIVE at Lag 4 Peace’s Don’t Iraq Iran! Main Stage on 1st December from at 11am.

*** LESLIE MCCAREY – LIVE MUSIC 8AM SATURDAY ***

“A fusion of folk, classical and light jazz allows her [Leslee McCarey] sound to be always versatile and rich in character. Keep your eyes opened and your ears tuned to this performer. . . good things are sure to be happening!” – Dirty Linen Magazine

[Leslee McCarey] “Grips the listener’s ears, heart and funny bone.” – Highline Times, Seattle

“Music that’s non-stop!” – Ichabod Caine, KMPS Radio, Seattle

“A durable, lived-in voice. . .conjures up great folkies of the past” – Option Magazine

“Gentle folk music – and then some. . . good stuff!” – Factsheet Five

Second Life singer-songwriter LESLEE MCCAREY (known in real-life music circles as Leslie McKay) is a Pacific Northwest native who blends folk, contemporary and classical influences into a powerful personal statement. Her diverse original material covers the full emotional spec¬trum, from sensitive love song to rollicking slice-of-life humor, from good-time toe-tappers to thoughtful mood-pieces. Leslie’s clean acoustic guitar and sophisticated piano provide a backdrop for her dynamic contralto vocals.

LESLEE MCCAREY has performed at festivals, conferences, coffee houses, noisy bars and kitchens from Seattle to Santa Fe, including appearances in Spokane, Portland and San Francisco. Appearances in the Northwest have included the Northwest Folklife Festival, Oregon Folklife Festival, Ballard Seafood Fest and the Seattle Wooden Boat Show.

LESLEE MCCAREY’s (Leslee McKay in RL) debut album, “Only A Rose,” includes 11 original songs, and was originally released on cassette. It is currently in the process of being re-released in MP3 and CD formats. The Ballad of the Cathlamet, a single, was released in 1987 –this tongue-in-cheek musical saga of the misadventures of the locally infamous Whidbey Island ferry has become a perennial favorite with both radio and live audiences. Leslie is one of the Northwest artists featured on the Victory Music 20th Anniversary Album, has written and recorded video soundtracks, and has been active in studio work and producing for other local artists. She is currently composing a major choral-orchestral work, and periodically contemplates her second album.

*** ABOUT LAG 4 PEACE ***

Lag 4 Peace is a grass roots, SL-based and promoted coalition inviting the media to attend our protest, as we stand in consensus about the insanity of contemplating, much less making happen, such horrible human and environmental tragedies as war. We welcome participation from all groups and individuals in Second Life who pray for a world free of war and tyranny. The Lag 4 Peace organizers’ team leads include: Dalinian Bing (Protest & Signs), Smoke Wijaya (Logistics), Any1 Gynoid (Talent, Media), Stone Gynoid (Media, Greeters), Eye Inifinity (Protest Animations), Plot Tracer (Peace Camp), Hayduke Ebisu (Commonwealth Facilities), Solidad Sugarbeet (Communications) as well as JFK Peccable, Rin Tae, and Green Hawks covering Security and Technology.

Some key reasons for this major protest… According to BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5346524.stm), a highly fictionalized intelligence report was published by US Congress, containing a plethora of war-inspired lies about the current state of Iran’s Nuclear Program and activities in Iraq. The United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) vigorously denounced the report as a pack of lies, and produced a point by point refutation. On November 15, 2007, the IAEA reported that Iran was entirely cooperative with the UN inspections process, and all nuclear materials were accounted for. A recent article in the New Yorker revealed the US Administrations’ intentions, in particular: “There is a desperate effort by Cheney et al. to bring military action to Iran as soon as possible.” In response to this alarming news, Left/Progressive residents of Second Life are organizing a major protest action in SL, for 1st December 2007 with coordination with other progressive groups and individuals in SL.

*** LAG4PEACE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (100 RL/SL People) ***
Dalinian Bing
GenJCChritian Homewood
Smoke Wijaya
Rin Tae
Solidad Sugarbeet
Stone Gynoid
errcheck Hicks
JFK Peccable
AnnaQuay Heart
Eye Infinity
higgleDpiggle Snoats
Sequoia Pinion
DjOsiris Darkstone
KimLenswomanPhotographer Writer
Any1 Gynoid
01 Hifeng
Alexius Gasparini
AllanAlves Raymaker
Alys Abruzzo
Amandeep Timeless
Ana Herzog
Anarcho Lunasea
Andromeda Xi
Angela Ge
AnnaQuay Heart
Bernard Herzog
Blue Revolution
Blueshells Sands
Books Janus
Br00ke Delight
Brainstorm Shepherd
Carl Dreschler
Carlos Benigni
Cessi Charron
Chosen Raymaker
CrystalShard Foo
DASCOM200 Oh
Daya Voss
Deana Alvord
Ergot Connoisseur
Gavin MacKay
GenJCChritian Homewood
Greywolff Flatley
Hayduke Ebisu
higgleDpiggle Snoats
Irene Muni
jacmacaire Humby
Janna Mannonen
Jemiah Sporleder
Jenny Beale
Joni Villota
Kelvin Glimmer
Klaatu Congrejo
Knildrig Aabye
Korobas Korobase
Lapsus Weinstein
Lelani Carver
Mara Razor
Melzi Amat
Mercurius Jacobus
Morgaine McBride
Movies1963 Beck
Ms Qunhua
Musimba Yellowknife
Paix Chambers
Peaches Palou
Pokey Edelman
Rainah Voom
Ransom Silverspar
Reghen Greggan
Reverend LeShelle
saezalvaro Romano
Saladin Salyut
Sequoia Pinion
Sheeznit Naheed
Skink Jaxxon
SongbirdClone Writer
Tamara Mokeev
Thorne Fitzpatrick
Trouble Welles
union6 Gapchenko
Vera Dawes
Vivienne Cassavetes
Widget Whiteberry
Xodia Blackburn
Yannn Burt
Yinyan Mommsen
Yosemite Aero
Yuu Nakamichi
DjOsiris Darkstone
Tonks Akina
Imper Fegte
Nabstery Neddings
Ruby Glitter
Yosi Tomorrow
Rascal Ratelle
Pinetree Cioc
Alan Innis
Lea56 Hyun (Reporting for CNN I-Reports)
Lanai Jarrico and AdventureGuide Sandell (SL Enquirer)

Because we all must be the change we want to see in the world.

I will join thousands of other Americans tomorrow in refraining from food from dawn to dusk. I will meditate and I will generate compassion and love (metta) for the people of Iraq and the U.S. service members, who are suffering every day that this war goes on and will continue to feel the physical and mental pain of war for years to come. And like many others, I will join with an interfaith community to break the fast and celebrate our unity around the cause of peace.

Find out more and find a fast-breaking near you at http://interfaithfast.org

Join me in Second Life to feed our avatars and our souls at 7pm EDT. keep reading for more information.

INTERFAITH FAST TO END THE WAR IN IRAQ
Monday, October 8, 2007 • http://interfaithfast.org

Second Life observance:
meditation hourly from 8am – 4pm SLT
celebration at 4pm SLT
Commonwealth Island
——————–
We call on all Americans to join in fasting from dawn to dusk on Monday, October 8, the day officially known as “Columbus Day,” to call for an end to the Iraq War. On this day, people of faith across our nation will act as catalysts to transform the meaning of the day from one of conquest to community and from violence to reverence.

–> In Second Life we will meet for 10 minutes of mediation for peace in Iraq on an hourly cycle beginning at 8 am SLT.

At sunset, we will eat once again to break bread together as a sign of our commitment to work together for peace and an end to violence. This shared meal will be a sign of our covenant with one another – as individuals and as communities – to stand against the war in Iraq, and to work with one another to stand against violence in our communities and around the world.

–> In Second Life we will break our fast virtually with food and drink and sharing at 4pm SLT. Participants are invited to bring a reading on peace and/or a ritual from their faith to share with the group.

All events will take place at the campfire on Commonwealth Island. SLT is equivalent to Pacific Time.

RSVP’s are not required, but are welcome at

For more information, contact Ruby Glitter in-world or e-mail ruby@forpeace.net.

This event is brought to you by the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Peacemaker Institute, and Commonwealth Island.

*A note about fasting*

You may wonder: will our fast also be “virtual?” And if so, what meaning does it have?

We will be fasting in real life, but celebrating it with this spiritual community in Second Life. For many of us, this is just as real and moving of an experience as you might have in a place of worship, and has the added benefit of allowing us to connect with people across the country and across the world.

Over the past week there have been countless demonstrations around the world is support of freedom and democracy in Burma. Even in the virtual world of Second Life there has been a red t-shirt campaign and a "human chain" action to bring people together, spread the word, and show support for the people of Burma. On Flickr you can see many more pictures of this innovative action as well as photos from demonstrations around the world calling for peace and justice in Burma.

Our colleagues at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship have been hard at work and have a lot of information to share including this list of Burma events around the U.S. and the world, a collection of statements from Buddhist communities in support of their brethren in Burma, and most importantly an updated list of what we can do to support the people marching for democracy in Burma.

BPF's action page includes this harrowing first-person account of events:

We just got phone call with our sister living in Yangon about a few hours ago. We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse. For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this morning.

A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one's head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.

The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets.

When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery.

Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks please please !!!!!!!!!!!!
'Arrested' is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to death !!!!!!

- BPF / Monks March in Burma

Newt links:

• Is Newt Gingrich About to Gamble on His History? – TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime, 9/24/07
• Thoughtless for the Day – Newt Gingrich breaks our date, 1/26/05
• LAist: Somebody Buy Newt Gingrich a Dictionary!, 3/9/07
• Rant Review of 10 Biggest Pricks in American Political History only at RuthlessReviews.Com, #3 Newt Gingrich, 3/7/06
• Newt Gingrich Has Lost His Mind » The Moderate Voice, 4/24/07

At last week’s meeting we had a lively group with some regulars and some newcomers and folks came up with a great idea: a voter registration drive to make SL residents aware of the need to register and vote and to make it easier for them to do so. Being the voice of reason (a.k.a. seasoned cynic), I recommend that our volunteers bring us a plan to be discussed at our next meeting. (We’ve had issues with folks bringing good ideas but not following-through.)

Sure enough Jamming Independent (a.k.a. John Breyault in RL) has come up with a plan, and we will be discussing it at our weekly SL Netroots meeting tomorrow (Thursday) at noon PDT/3pm EDT. We will also be talking about the Netroots Nation group that emerged from YKSL and how to work together with them in the future.

This is great stuff going on and I am very excited! If you’ve been meaning to come or if you used to and haven’t been in a while, this one is the meetup to attend. Hope to see you there.

8:40 pm EDT
The sim is already full and folks can’t get in. There is an overflow space at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Lake%20West/127/1/26

8:47
My first pictures are up at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubyji/sets/72157601449952247/

8:50
We are currently listening to a woman doing a nice solo guitar-and-singing thing. Enjoyable, but I always find it funny to hear folk music in virtual worlds…

Here are the ladies of the hour, from left to right: Glitteractica Cookie (Susan Tenby of TechSoup, organizer of this event and this community), Jeska Linden (NP liaison for Linden Labs, not sure if LL did anything in particular for this besides create Second Life), and Anshe Chung (SL real estate baron and donor of the island and buildings that house the NPC)

9:05
SL crashed my computer, as it does about once per visit on average.

I am back in-world, amazingly was able to get back to NPC, and the live video from San Fransisco is now starting. Susan Tenby is telling the crowd about TechSoup’s work in Second Life. 300 group members, thousands of avatars have come to their weekly meetings.

9:09
I’m told the video is also available at http://dss7.streamhoster.com/lv_slcompumentor/sltest.sdp

9:13
And crash #2.

9:22
I was in for about a second and then crash #3. Restarting SL now…

9:25

OK, I’m back in and I’ve got more pictures up. Here’s Susan Tenby appearing by video (behind the stage where her avatar is sitting).

Anshe Chung’s avatar is on the video and she is speaking from China. Susan is pointing out the avatars to people in the audience.

9:33
Susan reports that there about 100 avatars in attendance including the overflow area.
Next up: Coughran Mayo from Preferred Family Healthcare speaking via Skype.

9:40
Here’s Evonne Heyning on screen while her avatar In Kenzo is on stage.

Oh no! Evonne says that Vivienne Cassavetes was not able to get in to the event! She has been doing great nonprofit stuff in SL! Also we are being reminded of the URL: nonprofitcommons.org

Now there will be a Q & A with questions from SL.

9:46
Question: what predictions do you have for the future of non-profit activity in Second Life in the coming year?
Susan: Don’t know but has ideas about how to grow NPC.

me: I predict: it will grow.

9:58
Some discussion of volunteer efforts in SL and funding. Rik shared this link about Macarthur’s announcement today: http://www.rikomatic.com/blog/2007/08/macarthur-found.html

Here are some folks hanging out:

10:02
There was a question from the SF audience about how a nonprofit employee could justify SL to their organization. I think they meant how to do you get your org to support using SL. Here’s what I and others said:

Ruby Glitter: Do you also have to “justify” using the web?
Ruby Glitter: Let’s not use this word “justify!”
Ruby Glitter: My org trusts me and I do it during 9-5.
Spirals Sol: we told our org. that it’s a new fancy way to reach out to the world
Master Quatro: if you volunteer then you don’t have to justify .. use your volunteers to do this
Fletcher Dovgal: I think results speak, so someone has to do the legwork, but then more get on board when it works
Huckleberry Fargis: justify is appropriate as an eval of effectiveness
Ping Rau: thanks
Ruby Glitter: This is just as important as doing online outreach in any other medium. True we don’t reach everyone, but there is an important constituency here and it’s growing.
Carmen Gray: I think it is a a great idea
Fletcher Dovgal: sometimes I just say ‘it’s email/chat with pictures’
Rik Riel: pepole with aspergers and autism use Seoncd Life
Carmen Gray: that is needed
Rhiannon Chatnoir: This space has allowed the extension of real life programs for non profit organizations I work with like Global Kids who are able to do outreach programs … just in a different way
Ozma Malibu: my org gives input into what we want
Dru Rossini: /deaf people can read

10:27
Now folks are visiting the 32 nonprofits who have offices here at NPC. I am mostly visiting one that is Yehoodi, the swing dance society run by the fabulous Rik Riel. Rik is DJing for us a real time, the swing music is great! Here we are getting down:

10:32
It’s about bedtime for me so I think that’s end of my updates. All my pics are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubyji/sets/72157601449952247/

Go visit nonprofitcommons.org on the web and http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/130/125/22/ in Second Life. Good night!

Much more information is posted below and check back here for live reports and pictures from the event tomorrow night.

San Francisco Meets the Metaverse: 32 Nonprofits and their supporters will host a grand opening celebration Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 5:30 p.m. PT/SLT, in their new locations at the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life.

The Gala event will be a mixed-reality launch party, complete with networking, a panel of speakers (featuring Susan Tenby of TechSoup and Jeska Dzwigalski of Linden Lab in the live-event, and Anshe Chung in Second Life). Audio and video content will be streamed live between the two worlds.

Generously donated by the world’s first virtual millionaire, Anshe Chung, this nonprofits-only space, managed by TechSoup, creates and houses a community of nonprofits in the online virtual world of Second Life. This community of practice is entirely volunteer-run and hosts organizations from across the globe. To date, they have created a community blog (http://www.nonprofitcommons.org ), and a resource-rich wiki (http://npsl.wikispaces.com ) and have held mixed-reality events, workshops, and regular weekly town hall meetings.

This “sim,” or virtual acre of land, was designed as a pilot project to lower the barriers of access to Second Life, and to create a community of practice for nonprofits to explore and learn about the virtual world. The Nonprofit Commons provides free office space to qualifying groups to meet and collaborate, create a cooperative learning environment, and foster outreach, education, and fundraising, all in a virtual space

The live-event in San Francisco will be a part of NetSquared’s Net Tuesday. The Gala event’s activities include:

5:30 p.m.: Meet and greet

6:00 p.m.: Speakers and event

7:00 p.m.: Tours of the Nonprofit Commons

The events in Second Life will be at the same time, working in conjunction with the events in the real world, live event. Nonprofit organizations in the Commons will also be hosting their own events in conjunction with this Grand Opening Gala. To find the Nonprofit Commons search the Places tab in Second Life for “Nonprofit Commons,” or, go to:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/130/125/22/?title=Ampitheater%20in%20NPC

This event is free of charge, but space is limited.
RSVP via email to Susan Tenby (susan@techsoup.org), or IM Glitteractica Cookie in Second Life to attend the event in Second Life.

RSVP on the San Francisco NetSquared Meetup site (http://netsquared.meetup.com/1/) to attend the live, real-world event

Attire: Avatar fabulous, if possible, dress as your avatar or your favorite avatar.

OMG, what is my avatar going to wear???

Nonprofit Commons – http://www.nonprofitcommons.org
Weekly meetings (Friday at 8:30 am PST) for their community of 32 nonprofit offices and other orgs, manged by TechSoup.org.

Commonwealth Island – http://commonwealth.wikispaces.com
A natural-themed home for progressive advocacy groups, especially environmental groups. FOR’s virtual office is there as well as ACLU, Code Pink, and the Prison Dharma Network.

A Better World in Second Life – http://www.levjoy.com/blog/betterworld
Short documentary by a grad student exploring the potential for social change in Second Life.

SL Netroots – http://rootscampsl.org
Progressive activist group with weekly meetups (noon PST Thursdays) on Progressive Island in Second Life. I am the facilitator and co-founder of this group.

MacArthur Foundation, Digital Media and Learning – http://www.digitallearning.macfound.org & http://spotlight.macfound.org
“five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative … to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life”

Daily meditations for global peace – http://viviennecassavetesblog.vox.com/library/post/global-meditation-for-peace-update.html

Interesting discussion of faith-based groups in SL and how to deal with “decency” issues: http://www.socialsignal.com/blog/rob-cottingham/matters-of-taste-when-second-life-gets-too-explicit

What did I miss?

The published a schedule of SL events. I’m going to go check in right now, and you can find me there on a panel with two of my favorite avatars – In Kenzo and Glitteractica Cookie. We’ll be talking about online activism at 5:30 pm EDT. Here’s a link directly to the conference hall in Second Life. Hope to see you there!

Update: Here’s a description for our panell…

Session #3: Getting It On(line) for a Cause
Audio to be streamed live from Chicago into Hyperstring.net island with Second Life discussion and panel to follow

Description for BlogHer in RL session: Using technology as a distribution channel for the greater good. Galvanize personal action or bring awareness. Rochelle Robinson moderates the presentation and discussion of two case studies, including Green L.A. Girl (aka Siel)’s amazing Starbucks Challenge project. Walk away with a fistful of practical ideas. Then, with Cooper Munroe and Emily McKhann facilitating, we pick next year’s case study! Learn about how you can help choose the issue we rally around. Introducing a new BlogHer community activism initiative: BlogHers Act!

The conversation continues in Second Life to discuss Second Life’s role as a platform to do good. Second Life Panelists include Susan Tenby (avatar glitteractica cookie) of TechSoup with the help of her volunteers, she recently launched a community of over 300 nonprofit staff members and volunteers in Second Life – and Ruby Sinreich (avatar Ruby Glitter) founder and editor of OrangePolitics.org, and In Kenzo- the creative director of AMO Studio in Second Life and in Los Angeles producing award-winning short movies, machinima, videos, interactive design, arts experiences, television, web and print media.

(Random: Funny how many conferences are in Chicago this summer: Yearly KOS (which I am attending some of, because I got invited to be on a panel), BlogHer Con (I will participate via Second Life), and SLCC. What gives?)

I can’t find this press release on the web, so I’ll post the entire thing below.

Global Kids and Partners to Launch Non-Profit Focus at Top Convention on Virtual Worlds

Global Kids and the MacArthur Foundation have partnered to announce a new nonprofit and philanthropic theme for the third annual Second Life Community Convention (SLCC), to be held August 24-26 in Chicago. In conjunction with the event, a series of research and how-to papers will be published this fall.

“With inhabitants skyrocketing into the millions, it is only natural that some of the million-odd nonprofits in the US might ask questions about their new role” noted organizer Barry Joseph of Global Kids. SLCC is currently the largest gathering of people interested in one the most rapidly growing online worlds – Second Life. The funder behind the effort is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which views the new SLCC work as one of the next steps in the Foundation’s year-long exploration of the role of philanthropy in virtual worlds. The new focus for SLCC builds on Global Kids’ path-breaking educational programming in that environment.

For the conference portion, a new event thread will weave between all four tracks: business, education, social and machinima (digital animation created in gaming environments). For each track, a panel will be developed that focuses on how non-profit organizations are utilizing virtual worlds to extend their mission and reach. The panels will feature:

Education keynote Connie Yowell, Director of Education at the MacArthur Foundation, will address the importance of virtual worlds for informal learning and its nonprofits.

Philanthropy funders, including foundation, corporate and government organizations who are supporting work in virtual worlds, such as the MacArthur Foundation and Learn and Serve America, will discuss the role of philanthropy in virtual worlds.

A panel on Best Practices in Bringing Non-profits into Second Life including such organizations as the University of Southern California, UNICEF, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Idealist.org and TechSoup.

A teen-led mini-machinima festival, in which teens from two non-profit programs will showcase their work using Second Life to make animated movies about social and global issues.

An Educational Non-profit’s History of the Teen Grid: Global Kids’ Adventure in Best Practices.

Following SLCC, two papers will be developed by Global Kids. The first will analyze the education track and be titled The Virtual Worlds for Learning Roadmap, while the second will analyze the non-profit thread.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grant making institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. MacArthur’s $50 million digital media and learning initiative aims to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. More information is available at www.macfound.org or www.digitallearning.macfound.org.

Global Kids (globalkids.org) is a world leader in using virtual worlds for education. Over the past year and a half, with the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Global Kids has received national recognition for its innovative use of virtual worlds for education about global issues and civic engagement. In February 2006, Global Kids launched GK Island, becoming the first non-profit to build land within the Teen Second Life grid. Since then, Global Kids has used Teen Second Life to solicit essays on young people’s relationship with digital media; conducted an intensive summer camp in which youth learned about and took action on critical global issues; organized a collaborative program with UNICEF to educate youth about an international agreement, A World Fit for Children; brought in guest speakers, such as Mia Farrow discussing the genocide in Darfur; and involved youth in ongoing leadership development programming. This work is detailed
on the blog HolyMeatballs.org.

Global Kids work in Second Life builds upon its more than 15 years of experience in youth leadership development and international affairs education, as well as its role as a national leader in using serious online games for educational purposes.

“Global Kids’ Second Life programs offer young people a world in which their characters can take part in myriad workshops and games that educate them about major world issues and events, from the International Criminal Court to global warming and child labor,” says Carole Artigiani, Global Kids Executive Director. “Players learn how to communicate, collaborate, negotiate, and mobilize their peers for social change. We are excited to organize this component of the conference and bring greater attention to the potential that virtual worlds hold for the nonprofit community as a whole.”

About Global Kids, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Global Kids’ mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Over ninety percent of the high school seniors who participate in Global Kids’ leadership program graduate from high school.

About Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP)
Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program, now in its sixth year, integrates the use of the Internet into GK’s leadership development and international affairs programming. The OLP equips youth with the skills necessary to use the Internet as a tool for research and social change and develops online resources for educators and young people to promote civic engagement and global literacy. Currently, the OLP is accomplishing these goals through initiatives within two broad areas: youth-led online dialogues and the development of socially-conscious games. The OLP has built strong collaborative relationships with Microsoft, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the game design company gameLab, among others.

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