Unpacking Development

This week I went to an research event called Urban Youth and the Determinants of Sexual Health put on by the Centre for Urban Health Initiatives and several other partners.  Toronto seems to have a rad group of research that focus on youth, sexual health, participatory action research, and social determinant. One of the presenters [...]

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 [...]

After a brief absence due to Unpacking Development getting hacked last week, we’re back up and ready to go again. This week in Toronto there are a bunch of conferences and speakers around international development, health and politics:

Today I was at the first day of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network’s 2008 Research Conference.  The organization is a big funder of AIDS research in Ontario and it was great to check out what people are doing to learn about the pandemic in my ‘hood. Sometimes I’m amazed at how broad the approach is [...]

In my list of global health and development rock stars (which I should publish here one day), Paul Farmer is pretty close to the top.  Friends and I joke about the celebrity-style worship we direct towards people like him and Stephen Lewis or Alex De Waal, for example.  For some background, Farmer is a maverick [...]

The Student University Network for Social and International Health (SUNSIH) Conference started this Friday with a documentary screening of Angels in the Dust, a film about a group that supports orphans in South Africa.  I’ve seen several heart reandering call-to-action docs over the past few years, but this one stood out because of its focus [...]

Last week I managed to check out two events, the World Press Photo Exhibit and Drawn To Develop, both using photography to highlight global issues. Last Thursday, I headed to the amazing Fermenting Cellar in Toronto’s arts hub, The Distillery District, for the Drawn to Develop event.  The event featured an auction of around 20 [...]