Gaming for Good:
“Online game seeks to empower Africa. Some people think of online gamers and see gaunt loners huddled in dark rooms, the sad blue glow of the computer screen on their faces as their lives pass them by. Game designer Jane McGonigal sees “superheroes” with untapped potential that can be used to fix vexing real-world problems…”
Extreme philanthropy
“Brian Jones has scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, walked across the Sahara Desert and skied to the North Pole, all to raise money for needy groups in Fredericton. But this winter, he simply …

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 …

Last month I attended Case Camp, a social media “unconference” in Toronto. A meet up of social media professionals who heard talks from internet experts and enthusiasts speaking about the internet today and a bit about tomorrow. I’m bringing this up on Blog Action Day on Climate Change because I had a discussion with Trevor from EarthRangers about this blog and I mentioned that neither Kate or I feel that we are experts on environmental issues and so it hasn’t been a focus in a lot of our blog posts. …

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 …

What if you could give money to an organization and actually choose who received that money. Imagine, an online database of people in need. You could go to a profile, see what their need was and choose them based on your personal preference. Kiva, an online database of entrepreneurs seeking microcredit loans does just that. I came across this unique fundraising tool and its innovative person to person lending program allows people to track the person’s progress online. Through Kiva’s partners the lender can transfer money online that goes directly …

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 …

HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is increasingly understood as a disease of poverty, inequality and marginalization.  In this conceptualization, some groups and individuals are more at risk for infection than others as a result of their place in an “environment of risk” that affects vulnerability beyond individual behavior.
This study assesses the impact of grassroots microeconomic development projects on reducing the environment of risk for adolescent orphans living in slum areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It looks at a group of HIV-affected adolescents who inhabit multiple vulnerabilities as a result of …