susana

NetSquared in partnership with the UC Berkely Human Rights Center has put out an open challenge, called the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center Mobile Challenge.

The projects under consideration are all listed here and they need your vote! To submit your vote, you need to vote for a minimum of 3 projects, maximum of 5.

The list of projects is truly amazing and choosing 5 is not easy - I do though, want to mention the IJCentral project specifically because I know the team behind it and they are amazing folks completely committed to combating the entrenched culture of impunity for crimes against humanity. Their film documentary (which is in tandem to their IJCentral new media project) is titled "The Reckoning" and currently in the festival circuit, to be broadcast nationally on PBS POV on July 14th).

About the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center Mobile Challenge:

"Recent innovations in science and technology, especially mobile technologies, have provided human rights advocates, journalists, and scientists with new tools to expose war crimes and other serious violations of human rights and disseminate this information in real time throughout the world. Cell phones, combined with GPS, cameras, video, audio, and SMS are transforming the way the world understands and responds to emerging crises. Handheld data collection devices, such as PDAs, provide researchers with new ways of documenting mass violence and attitudes toward peace, justice, and social reconstruction in conflict zones."

Posted by at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense announced yesterday the cancellation of its highly successful and popular “America’s Army” online game and recruitment tool. The program has already been converted into a new game, operated by the State Department, entitled “America’s Diplomat.” State Department spokesperson Donald Demsfold called this “a pretty good step towards nurturing a generation committed to the principles of diplomacy and peaceful negotiation.”

Full article here.

HOWEVER, this should be viewed as well, as alas, it is all a Yes Men vision of a utopian near future, and created to urge President-Elect Obama to keep his campaign promises:

"The paper is dated July 4, 2009, and imagines a liberal utopia of national health care, a rebuilt economy, progressive taxation, a national oil fund to study climate change, and other goals of progressive politics."

Posted by at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An online game we are in the throes of producing has been nominated as one of 15 finalists (out of 243 entries from around the world) for the Changemakers competition (in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). It is the only project that proposes a game as a powerful and viable form for social change! The project is an initiative funded by a non-for-profit organization called METRAC that works to ensure women, youth, and children live free from all forms of violence and the threat or fear of violence.

The Changemakers competition is an initiative of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public that focuses on the rapidly growing world of social innovation. It provides solutions and resources needed to help everyone become a changemaker and presents compelling stories that explore the fundamental principles of successful social innovation around the world.

The top three winners will be selected via online votes. Voting ends April 30th - vote TODAY!! Your vote would be a huge encouragement for us and would surely help us to promote the prevention of gender-based violence within the framing of an important new medium.

Here are the steps to voting - which does take a couple of minutes unfortunately, but please do take a look:

1. Go to http://www.changemakers.net/competition/endabuse
2. Click on the register link and type in your email address
3. Select the three competition entries that you wish to vote for, and submit your vote. You will need to vote for three of the finalists or your vote will be invalid.
4. VOTE FOR: RePlay Positive Video Gaming Project - The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC)

game screenshot #1

game screenshot #2

Posted by at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Numbing statistics from a 2005 UNICEF report on the global state of childhood: "Poverty doesn't come from nowhere; war doesn't emerge from nothing; AIDS doesn't spread by choice of its own. These are our choices." (UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy)

Poverty, conflict and HIV/AIDS are depriving millions of children a fair shot at life. How does this go on under my radar, how come I know so little, how come I am uninformed, how come I think every kid is growing up with a game console or two in their homes? I am trying to do something with my thesis project. It is hard. I am overwhelmed and conflicted and it is very hard to make decisions. I could use help. I am an idealist, not a pragmatist, and it presents unique challenges, especially because I'm involved in a process new to me. I feel like all I do is pitch and at the end of the day it tends to feel quite empty. If anyone is interested in helping, in any way no matter how small, well... it'd be great. I am making a Half Life 2 mod (though I'm of course open to another engine if it's called for - but must say that the graphics and AI of HL2 have me convinced) depicting a very precise slice of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. I've been researching for months and though I know that I've made considerable progress, it still feels like "air". I'm not really making a game, rather, an interactive story influenced by real world events using game technology.

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from UNICEF site:

A new UNICEF report shows that more than half the world's children are suffering extreme deprivations from poverty, war and HIV/AIDS — conditions that effectively deny children a childhood and hinder the development of nations.

The report offers an analysis of seven basic "deprivations" that children feel and that powerfully influence their futures. UNICEF concludes that more than half the children in the developing world are severely deprived of one or more of the necessities essential to childhood:

640 million children do not have adequate shelter
500 million children have no access to sanitation
400 million children do not have access to safe water
300 million children lack access to information
270 million children have no access to health care services
140 million children have never been to school
90 million children are severely food-deprived

Posted by at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

All this current discussion motivated by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers' remarks (claiming that there are "innate differences" between men and women and that these differences partly account for the disparity in the numbers of professional men vs. women in scientific fields) is a very, very good thing! I'm glad it's being discussed openly and publicly. Of course, it's extremely frustrating that such an educated men should say such words (the "innate differences" argument has been repeatedly refuted by numerous research) even if in the context of scholarly debate. I'm just glad that we're talking about this. I'm glad that people are saying to the rest of the world: "you know what -- it's absolutely true, women in science & technology fields (universities, corporate, government) generally suffer much more hostility and discrimination; mothers generally suffer much more difficult choices and negative professional consequences than fathers do..." and so on. Some of this also applies to other under-represented groups besides women. How can we live with the knowledge that so much potential (in fact, research indicates a figure from 50% to 66%) is being untapped, ignored, even discouraged?! One of the projects I'm currently involved with (at the Annenberg IML) incorporates the use of computer graphics to realize LA high school students' literary visions; out of a group of 15 students, only two are girls. When I asked why this was so, I was informed that a boy in the group (I believe this boy is no longer participating) terrorized the girls and thus only two "survived". As if these girls don't have enough disadvantages in their lives already. Since these numbers are certainly reflected in our very own IMD, I was hoping to instigate some thought on the matter.

Posted by at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

yesterday's Frontline: The Jesus Factor was enlightening. it put much about Bush's character and decisions in a particular perspective: all centered around his evangelical faith. some of it was absolutely shocking; i can't believe what people get away with. aired on the same day that both he and Cheney (having the gall to demand that they not be separated) were questioned by the 9/11 commission.

Posted by at 6:38 PM | Permalink