Kate J has been hard at work for the past few months for Fife House on preparing for the launch of HealthyHousing.ca, a National HIV/Housing Portal, which is a space for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs), service providers and researchers to learn more about issues related to HIV/AIDS and housing. The website is the result of a community partnership between Fife House, a supportive housing provider located in downtown Toronto, and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, a collaborative network to promote excellence and innovation in HIV treatment, research and education …

FEATURED EVENT:
FILM FESTIVAL: The 7th annual Toronto Human Rights Watch Film Festival takes place February 24 to March 6, 2010 in Toronto, Canada. All films, excluding the Opening Night Gala screen at Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto.

http://humanrightsfilmfestival.ca/schedule/

Monday, February 22
LECTURE: Financial Crisis And Opportunity Forum on forging a new global order of peace and justice with KAIROS’s John Dillon. 7 pm. Free. Dovercourt Baptist Church, NW corner Bloor and Dufferin. davenport4peace.ca.
Tuesday, February 23
LECTURE: Energy Security in the Asia-Pacific region: beyond the security of supply …

While conducting an HIV/AIDS and gender workshop for a group of women in a rural and predominantly Christian Orthodox community in Ethiopia, I encountered what I call a classic clash between traditionalism and modernism within development work.
After a two day workshop on preventative measures to transmitting HIV, I asked the ladies in the workshop what they thought was the best method to preventing HIV, and whether there was a cure. A response from a young woman sitting in the corner of …

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. …

This World AIDS Day I was stuck at home writing a paper for one of my classes, which meant that I missed out on all the World AIDS Day events happening around the city :(.  At least my paper was an evaluation of meal delivery programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, so it was certainly relevant to the day!
I decided that during my breaks I would try to take action online and in my neighbourhood.  These are the results of my “virtual” World AIDS Day recognition - it worked out …

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 …

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 …

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 described participatory action research is that it changes the shame and shyness around sexual health among teens and calls it knowledge.  The Toronto Teen Survey is a pretty cool example.  Researcher Roxana Salehi talked about female …

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 …