Social Justice Blog

Design 21, an organization that sponsors design competitions for social good, is hosting a cool contest -- designing a campaign for Millennium Promise. They are asking people to design a new media campaign that makes people aware of the Millennium Development Goals, which, when fulfilled by a set date of 2015 will help end poverty in Africa.

The MDGs are "eight globally-endorsed objectives and targets that both address and seek to eradicate the many dimensions of extreme poverty. To that end, Millennium Promise is working with impoverished communities, national and local governments, and partner NGOs to implement high-impact programs on the continent by engaging donor nations, corporations, and the general public in the effort to end extreme poverty."

You have 28 days left to enter the contest. Not a designer? You can always join the the Millenium Promise cause group on Facebook.
posted by Alexandra at 5/19/2008 07:42:00 PM

For the nearly 50,000 refugees that came to the United States in 2007 (and the thousands that came before that), making it here is only the beginning of a long, hard, journey. The Association of Africans Living in Vermont is helping its 1,500-plus members make it here in the long run with innovative programming.

The challenge is significant. As Burlington-based newspaper Seven Days reports: "Having emigrated from refugee camps, AALV members are familiar with hardship. But a new life in Vermont isn't exactly a piece of cake: Roughly half live below the federal poverty line. In the winter, food budgets shrink as work in local hotels tapers off. The average size of an AALV family is five or six people, but primary earners only make about $9 per hour."

AALV recently launched two neat new programs to provide opportunities for its members: New Farms for New Americans and a new welding program. Providing economic opportunity is key to building a stable life for new Americans.

Please visit AALV online to learn more and to watch a video that brings to life the challenges Africans in Vermont are facing.

To find out more about refugees nationwide and how you could help, check out the Office of Refugee Resettlement as a start.
posted by Alexandra at 5/15/2008 11:21:00 AM

Echoing Green is a neat organization that "invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions." They offer a two-year fellowship program to help a group of "visionaries develop new solutions to society's most difficult problems."

This year's slate of finalists promise some great problem-solving and good to be done. A few that caught my eye:

The Op-Ed Project: Targeting, training and channeling women experts to the op-ed pages of top newspapers, online sites, and other key forums of public debate to project new diverse voices into national conversation.

GreenMango: Bringing the power of online marketing technologies to poor business owners in developing countries to enable them to grow their businesses and increase their income.

Hot Bread Kitchen: Creating well-paid careers for immigrant women while preserving baking traditions, harnessing lost human capital, and building esteem for immigrant communities.

Sustainable Health Enterprises: Unleashing girls' and women's economic potential by starting up female-run franchises that manufacture and distribute low priced, high-quality, and environmentally friendly sanitary towels for domestic and international markets.

Green Coast Enterprises: Building environmentally sound structures that can withstand the rigors of hurricanes, termites, heat, and humidity at a price that is within the reach of average people.

Check out the entire list (about 30 projects) here.
posted by Alexandra at 4/29/2008 12:15:00 PM

Upon the fortieth anniversary of the May '68 student protests in the streets of Paris, Patrice de Beer, former London and Washington correspondent for Le Monde, explores France's politics of memory and finds the French caught between remembrance and forgetting.

An interesting point with particular resonance:

"Julie Coudry, the (possibly departing) president of the Confederation Etudiante, has made the point that in 1968, students (and striking workers) opposed to the ordre etabli sought new forms of participation and communication; while in 2008, people are fearful of all-powerful globalisation yet also anxious to play their part in the reform of an (again) blocked society where a new generation of young people (again) has little say."

Read the entire article here.
posted by Alexandra at 4/28/2008 05:16:00 PM

It's Earth Day's 38th birthday...so get out there and celebrate, or at least consider doing one thing to benefit the environment on April 22. Here's Identity Theory's Top Ten things to do on Earth Day:

1. Shake Some Action. Find out what you can do in your own city, town or neighborhood. Visit Earth Day Network, EarthDay.gov or the EPA's web site to browse volunteer opportunities.

2. Start At Home. Somebody famous said, "the revolution starts at home" (I think). There are so many simple, energy-smart things you can do around the house. In addition to recycling, consider switching out the six bulbs you use the most to CFLs. Then, get these to show-off to all your friends.

3. Compare Notes. Energy policy will clearly be on the top of the deck for the next president of the United States. Find our where John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stand now.

4. Make the Call. Got something to say to your representative or senator about climate change legislation or environmental policy? Get on the horn.

5. Travel More. Volunteer with Earthwatch Institute and travel alongside scientists and researchers to preserve coral reefs and save endangered species.

6. Go Back to School. A bunch of colleges and universities now offer "green" academic programs. University of Texas-Austin offers a masters degree in sustainable design and other school are following suite. Already working in the green sector? Get together for Green Drinks, an organization that schedules meet-ups.

7. Eat Up! Sprig.com lists seven foods you should add to your grocery list, from Stonyfield Yogurt to Carbon Neutral Wineries. These companies are carbon-offsetting so these foods don't contribute to climate change.

8. Make An Eco-Resolution. Use a green calculator to figure out how small changes in your everyday life could positively impact the environment. Then, pick one action and stick with it for the year.

9. Get in the Sack. Yes, there are a plethora of ways to green your sex life, and Treehugger has got an exhaustive list of what you can do between your bamboo bed sheets.

10. Look Beyond This List. For more ideas, check out the New York Times Magazine's Green Issue.
posted by Alexandra at 4/21/2008 10:21:00 AM

"For years now, I've grimaced when I see polls showing the persistent downward slope of public trust in the American news media. This Wednesday night, I could hardly blame that public."
-Jerry Lanson, Professor of Journalism-

Emerson College professor Jerry Lanson reacts to Wednesday night's presidential debate in "A Pathetic Round of 'Gotcha' Questioning," and wonders:

"Someone might just as well have asked: 'Senator, are you or were you ever a member of the Communist Party? A sympathizer, perhaps? Because the tenor of the questions at times seemed vaguely reminiscent of the '50s, the early '50s when Joseph McCarthy took his communist witch hunt from the State Department to Hollywood."

Meanwhile, FactCheck.org puts what both candidates said to the test. Read it all here.
posted by Alexandra at 4/18/2008 10:18:00 AM