My day started with a very cool Event which happened right in my living room! I watched people from over 124 countries participate by giving their voice to fight HIV/AIDS with Starbucks. Singing “All you need is love” and submitting a video to the Starbucks Love website. Starbucks (Red) Campaign is contributing money to the global fight against AIDS using various marketing campaigns, drink donations and in store purchases.
Events This Week:
Monday, December 7:
50 Comics In 60 Minutes (Toronto Food Bank):
Comedians perform. 9 pm. $5. Dominion on Queen, 500 Queen E. …

WORLD AIDS DAY 2009 EVENTS:

BENEFIT: Voices Of Hope (Casey House) World AIDS Day concert with Dr Draw, Julie Michaels and others. 7 pm. Free (donations appreciated). Metropolitan United Church, Queen and Church. caseyhouse.com.
LECTURE: Climate Change And Food Security Panel discussion on how climate change will undermine global food production. 7 pm. Free. OISE, rm 3311, 252 Bloor W. climatechangeiscomingtotown.net.
2009 World AIDS Day Event: HIV, Housing and Health. Join the a series of presentations on HIV, Housing and Health on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 from 2 - 3:30 pm in the …

FEATURED EVENT OF THE WEEK:
EVENT: Empower: Youth, Arts And Activism
World AIDS Day launch of an HIV/AIDS activism manual for youth with drag shows, visual art and more. Thursday, November 26. 6:00-9:00 pm. Free. William Doo Auditorium, 5 Willcocks. cuhi.admin@utoronto.ca.
CONFERENCE: Ivey Global Health Innovation Conference
Tuesday, November 24, 2009. 7:30 am -5:00 pm. The Fairmont Royal York. 100 Front St. W. Toronto. www.ivey.ca/ichil
SEMINAR: Research 2 Receptor Series - BioMass and Green Energy
Tuesday, November 24. 11:30 am - 6:00 pm. University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. Guelph Ontario. www.research2receptor.com/ridgetown.html
SUMMIT: Cultural Knowledge and the …

Before Hot Docs came to an end last week, I was able to squeeze in one final film about global issues.  This one featured a Dutch artist travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo and trying to convince impoverished people that they should, as the name of the film suggests, Enjoy Poverty.  Martens’ main point is that we are profiting from others’ (in this case, Congolese) poverty and that those in poverty should try to reclaim ownership over it and start to exploit it as a natural resource.
The controversial film …

Three hot docs so far: Fig Trees, Sergio and Reporter.  All three take on global issues, HIV/AIDS, humanitarianism, and compassion fatigue, respectively.  It turns out that they don’t really focus on these issues, but rather on 4 individuals that are trying to do something about them: two activists, a humanitarian and a New York Times reporter.
The avant garde Fig Trees (it’s all done in opera) tells the stories of AIDS activists Zackie Achmat (South Africa) and Tim McCaskell (Toronto).  Inspired by Samantha Power’s book Chasing The Flame, Sergio weaves the …

The other day I had the chance to catch a sneak peak of the upcoming exhibit What Has Architecture Done for You Lately?, curated by my good friend Zahra Ebrahim and archiTEXT.  The exhibit, opening on April 15, is trying to break down the conventional wisdom that architecture is for architects.  Instead, it suggests that in order for architecture to be a vehicle for social and environmental change, everyone must be an active part of design.
It asks “If a 5 year old were to design a refugee camp, what would …

It’s the 2009 LG Fashion Week this week and it goes without saying that fashionistas, publicists, industry representatives and observers have flocked to Toronto to catch a look at the glitter and glam that is strutting the runways. This years theme was Show Love. What I’m more interested in is what is happening off the runway. Toronto hosts a yearly Alternative Fashion Week, which happens later on in April in the Distillery District (55 Mill Street). This year’s theme is one that captivated me.

From April 21st to the 24th, 2009 …

I’m not very deep.
When I go to art exhibits, I need to read the explanations.
So last week, when I headed to the Canadian Art Reel Artists Film Festival screening of Art AIDS and the Fin de Siecle, I was very excited when it began to uncover the world of so-called “AIDS Artists.”
The movie focused on Toronto-based arts collective General Idea who worked together through the 70s and 80s before two of the three members died of AIDS in the early 90s.  GI’s portfolio includes an Aids Era where they took …

This week’s a busy week with lots of diverse events, including some dealing with technology and volunteerism, media for social change, art and AIDS, just to name a few.
Volunteer Toronto is hosting a film evening on Thursday with a new British film that asks questions about how Web 2.0 technology can change democracy and civic participation.  Us Now is about “the power of mass collaboration, government and the internet.”   I’ll see you there.

Film: Us Now (internet and volunteerism)
Thursday, February 26 - 7:00pm
Bloor Cinema - 506 Bloor Street West at Bathurst
On …

My top picks for Toronto’s charity events this week are targeting two specific demographics: geeks and singles. On Thursday, a world-wide Twestival for Charity: Water will take place at Toronto’s Circa nightclub. The party will be facilitated by Twitter, a micro-blogging site that allows you to post status updates like you would on Facebook. According to TwestivalTO,
“Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact. …