Unpacking Development

FEATURED EVENT OF THE WEEK: ONE WEB DAY SEPTEMBER 22,2009. www.onewebday.org “OneWebDay is an Earth Day for the internet. The idea behind OneWebDay is to focus attention on a key internet value (this year, online participation in democracy), focus attention on local internet concerns (connectivity, censorship, individual skills), and create a global constituency that cares [...]

BENEFIT: Dakota Nights for War Child An Evening with Ron Sexsmith Monday September 14, 2009. The Dakota Tavern, 249 Ossington Avenue (at Dundas). Doors open: 7:00 pm. Show Starts: 8:00 pm. Tickets $35 at www.maplemusic.com. All proceeds to benefit War Child Canada for more information www.dakotatavern.ca. BENEFIT: Hope For Healing (Stephen Lewis Foundation) Performances by [...]

Before travelling to Africa with Belinda Stronach a couple of summers ago, Rick Mercer vowed never to “come back from Africa like one of the arseholes on TV who won’t shut up about Africa”.  After reneging on that promise (which is fine with me!) the two of them started Spread the Net, a charity (obviously) [...]

I’ve just moved from Toronto to Vancouver and am looking for ways to get involved with global issues in my new city.  I thought I would share five strategies that are helping me to get connected with change here on the West Coast. 1) Look for Posters Large charity events usually have lots of advertising.  [...]

This weekend I’ll (Mel) be participating in Oxfam Trailwalker Canada!! Its a 100km Hike through the Ganaraska Forest which is completed in 48 hours. This intense sporting experienxe is a fundraising event for Oxfam, an international NGO and this event aims to raise funds to support sustainable development projects. I’m excited to embark on this [...]

On May 31st, a team of Toronto’s social media geniuses will be participating in the World Partnership Walk-A Social Movement to raise money for the fight against global poverty.  Check out Ms. RedWire and the Dynamic Duo, Mr. Daily Challenge, Super Blogger, and others.  Or to see who’s winning the race to raise the most, visit [...]

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 [...]

Wednesday Night Just Got a Whole Lot Yummier!! Tomorrow night, Wednesday April 29th, 2009 there are ton of great restaurants across the city participating in A Taste for Life. Proceeds of your dinner will go to Fife House, a great organization delivering services to people who suffer from HIV/AIDS. Their range of services help to [...]

Okay, so its a big publicity stunt, but this week Hugh Jackman (of Wolverine fame) has pledged to donate $100,000 to charity through twitter.  Whichever 140 character tweet describing a charity is the most convincing wins the donation.  Checking out twitter this morning, I saw more discussion than charity pitches, though there were some for [...]

Still recovering from TwestivalTO last night.  For those of you who didn’t partake, the Twitter event brought together people in 200 cities around the world for a cause, with people attending parties from LA to Bangalore, as well as right here at Toronto’s CIRCA nightclub. All proceeds went to Charity:Water.  It’s a glossy charity, started [...]