Global Citizenshift 2.0

"There is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls" - former UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan.

Social innovation is all about the spirit of collaboration. Government, business leaders, individuals, families and communities all have some of the answers and insights to make our society better. Put them together, unleash their creativity and desire to contribute, and you can get an amazing amplification.

Egyptian riot police attacked the tent-camp set up in Tahrir Square for a sit-in that was started by many activists and protesters after yesterday's demonstration. Tear gas, rubber bullets and bird shots were used, injuring scores of people.

"It's difficult not to come up with the conclusion that greenhouse gases must have something to do with this," added Zdanowicz, one of the co-authors of the report in Nature. "We cannot account for this decline by processes that are 'natural.'"

The rules of the hackathon were pretty simple: Come up with some product that will help Free the Children get kids engaged in positive actions. In response, Hack for a Cause turned out Facebook apps to help log and share volunteerism, a mobile app that accepts and displays donation pledges, an interactive map that allows users to see local philanthropic meet ups, educational mobile games and more.

But increasingly, schools are offering students more ambitious options, such as participating in an international field placement, a university-organized volunteer opportunity, or a course with a community service learning (CSL) component. CSL is a special form of experiential education that connects course material to real-life experience. During the course, students either work in small groups or individually with an organization-often a not-for-profit agency-toward a specific solution or a goal that is mutually beneficial. As part of their grade, students are required to reflect on how their community outreach experience is explicitly linked to what they've learned in the classroom

Posterity is a limited edition series of posters for good. Designed by The Mill's creative staff and its extended network of artist friends, this poster series has been created as a part of the 50/50 initiative to aid the famine relief efforts in East Africa.

I think we should look into introducing TEDxIB or better still TEDxYouth to Mulgrave as a new platform for the Cypress Student Summit.

o yes, it's sad that it's over. But Occupy had already become the political movement with the most impact our generation has ever seen. Despite proudly proclaiming they had no goal, they actually achieved it. For much of 2011, politics revolved around "austerity" but today the watchword is "inequality." This is no small feat.

So how do we teach "caring" or empathy skills effectively? Has Mulgrave ever looked into using the Roots of Empathy programme for primary years?

I like the argument that we should teach things that they don't necessarily care about. Similar to exposure vs. mandated vs. optional service. I don't think we ever have looked into Roots of Empathy, but it could be a viable option. Especially now that so many of our JS faculty have/are having little ones. Salmon eggs are (obviously!) quite different from watching a baby's development and growth, but we are beginning a salmon egg raising program this year - felt we needed a stronger connection to the environment as most of our connections are to local/global social programs. Think exposure to all areas of service is important, as different students will care and empathize about different causes/issues.

Let kids identify the need! Start where the student is...

This is great - I like the message about starting small and local. Too often the Grade Three and Four service club members focus on compound global issues or 'creating an organisation' when they don't truly understand the complexities of the situation. Thanks for posting.

It is no longer considered gauche to give to someone in the developing world with the expectation that the money be returned. Nearly everywhere you look "social entrepreneurship" is being used in lieu of "philanthropy" and "charitable giving."

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that came from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991.  It runs from November 25, the International Day Against Violence Against Women to December 10 which is International Human Rights Day.  These dates were chosen to symbolically link violence against women with human rights violations.  The 16 day period also includes other significant dates such as November 29, International Women Human Rights Defender Day; December 1, World AIDS Day, December 3, International Day of Disabled Persons and December 6, the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. Visit official 16 Days website to learn more.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in 1991. Participants chose the dates November 25- International Day Against Violence Against Women- and December 10- International Human Rights Day- in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

Sounds like a cool project: Capturing the world on One Day on Earth 11/11/11: "We hope to enlighten, teach and benefit humanity through global collaboration and inspired media creation. We seek to find a deeper understanding of life on this planet." Sponore

First there was the largesse of the industrial barons, then the big international agencies of the postwar years. Now comes Philanthropy 3.0: On one side are the billions wielded by '1 percenters' like Bill Gates and power brokers like Bill Clinton. On the other are countless social enterprises, micro-charities and campaigns via social media. Traditional charities are squeezed in the middle. It's a dramatic change, but can it really improve humanity's dismal record in making the world any less desperate, diseased, dangerous and unfair? Is this the end of the traditional charity archetype? Are we moving into an era of predominately micro-action, social enterprise, and philanthro=capitalist catalytic giving? Will big third sector charities become a new appendage of governments that try to download debt causing progranmming?

Point taken, Tony. No question that inequities exist. But lest we get caught up in modern morbidities, let's remember that over time the general condition of humans has improved and continues to improve. Throughout time, the trend has been to the good. We must remember this and guard against pessimism. Moderns know of good, Chesterton said, only because they have a withering knowledge of evil.

I take a page from Antonio Gramsci... and engage with the world with pessimism of the intellect and optimist of the will. I believe very much in 3.0, the Globe writer is more of a skeptic rapt in the morbidities... and I hope its decentralised, citizens' or grassroots model, especially, will be transformative more than the catalytic philanthropy of fly-by-night benevolent billionaire capitalists like Gates and Clinton.. I do hope this new social action like Occupy will take us on a broader step towards a more humane world for all