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Here all of our resources are collected together. Find a resource based on a geography, issue, cultural practice, or impact by using the map and menus below.
Our working definition, principles, and framework for cultural organizing.
Arts & Democracy offers cultural organizing workshops and learning exchanges ranging from a one-hour conversation in the midst of a conference, to a weekend long workshop. Workshops are designed with local cosponsors to support ongoing local organizing.
Some of the most powerful change happens in the intersections of generations, cultures, sectors, and geographies. Collected here are stories about these intersections and the people who make them. They are strategic artists and creative organizers, activist anthropologists, poetic politicians, and loving family members. All are engaged in the deeply creative act of believing that something else is possible.
Arts & Democracy's ongoing collaboration with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) including artists residencies resulting in presentations at SEIU's 2012 convention in Denver, Colorado and culural organizing that supported the minimum wage campaign in Minnesota with SEIU Local 26 and young member leadership development in Detroit, Michigan with Healthcare Michigan.
Arts & Democracy was the co-organizer of the roundtable which stimulated the creation of NOCD-NY, a citywide alliance. NOCD-NY came together in response to the vision, sustained needs, and creative resilience of our communities. It recognizes the power of neighborhood-based arts and culture as an integral part of an equitable and culturally vital city. NOCD-NY is a frequent partner when Arts & Democracy works in NYC.
New York City is experiencing a new kind of democracy. Through Participatory Budgeting, residents are directly deciding how to spend public money. Community members are exchanging ideas, working together to turn ideas into project proposals, and voting to decide what proposals get funded. Arts & Democracy is involved throughout the process as a cultural resource.
It's an important step to state our beliefs in racial and cultural equity in these fraught times. It's a bigger one to change what we do to make those beliefs a reality. The webinar, cosponsored with NOCD-NY and PolicyLink illustrates community-based and public sector approaches to putting equity values into practice. It features Libertad O. Guerra, Loisaida Center; Kathy Hsieh, Seattle Office of Arts and Culture; and Keryl McCord, Equity Quotient.
This annual Brooklyn-based learning exchange, cosponsored with Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY), brought together organizers, artists, media makers, and policy makers to learn effective ways to deepen our work and engage our creativity in organizing for community change. The day included a cultural organizing framework, hands on skill building workshops, case studies, networking, and resources. It began at Littlefield, and afternoon breakouts took place at nearby Gowanus community organizations including Fifth Avenue Committee, Gowanus Neighborhood Convervancy, Interference Archive, and Theater Mitu.
Creative Placemaking from the Community Up brought together a national cohort of groups–Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY, Arts & Democracy, LA Commons, Kentucky Cultural Organizing Alliance, and the Oakland Cultural Affairs Office– whose creative placemaking is grounded in communities. Project activities over the 22-month project included experiential learning through cross sector collaborations, peer exchanges and skill building workshops, participatory planning and cultural mapping, thematic convenings, and presentations at local and national conferences. The project also developed and disseminated toolkits, webinars, reflective essays, case studies, cultural plans, and other resources.
Adding arts throughout the participatory budgeting process can make it more fun, meaningful, and powerful. This brochure shares examples for incorporating arts as you brainstorm ideas, develop proposals, get out the vote, and fund winning projects.
On this free walk, we learned more about PB, visited projects that our community chose to invest in, & spoke with City Councilmember Brad Lander, who helped bring PB to NY.
This annual Brooklyn-based workshop, cosponsored with Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY), brought together organizers, artists, media makers, and policy makers to learn effective ways to deepen our work and engage our creativity in organizing for community change. The day included a cultural organizing framework, hands on skill building workshops, case studies, networking, and resources. The workshop took place at 540 President Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, at Groundswell, Reel Works, and Spaceworks.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change took place in Gowanus, Brooklyn on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from 9:30am - 6:00pm. The day-long learning exchange included a cultural organizing framework, skill building workshops, a neighborhood tour, a visual arts installation, discussion of the NYC cultural plan, networking, and resource sharing.
Creative Housing Activism and Engagement focused on how artists and other creative activists are addressing the need for truly affordable housing and the impacts of displacement in our communities through creative alliances, cross sector partnerships, artmaking, and oral history. The call was coponsored with Naturally Occurrng Cultural Districts NY.
AddaArt project (Adda + Art) engaged Bangladeshi women and girls in oral history and artmaking in Kensington, Brooklyn. Led by Monica Jahan Bose, AddaArt included the sharing of stories, painting on saris, the creation and exhibition of kathas (quilts), a public performance, and a video.
The Social Media Workshop took place March 6. The first half, led by Carlos Pareja, was about shooting a video with your camera phone. In the second half, led by Daniel LaTorre, participants developed a social media strategy.
Following up on the powerful Building Connections gathering in West CLT with a story circle about the right to belong as part of the Peoples State of the Union. Hosted by Arts & Democracy, QC Family Tree, The Tribe, and Power Up NC with US Department of Arts and Culture.
Internet + Social Change, Building Culturally, Polically, and Technologically Connected Communities interactive workshop. National sponsors were Arts & Democracy and Media Democracy Fund. Local partners included Behailu Academy, PowerUp NC, QC Family Tree, and The Tribe. Special guests included Center for Media Justice, Color of Change, Coworker.org, and Media Mobilizing Project.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change took place Sunday, November 22 from 9:30-6pm in Gowanus Brooklyn. Organizers, artists, media makers, and policy makers came together to learn effective ways to deepen their work and engage their creativity in organizing.
• Build and strengthened relationships amongst participants.
With a focus on racial inclusion the KY Cultural Organizing Learning Exchange brought together artists, activists, advocates, & educators from across Kentucky at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bowling Green on June 19, 2015. The Learning Exchange was presented by Arts & Democracy, Kentucky Foundation for Women and Alternate ROOTS.
This call featured: Envisioning Development by the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP); Making Waves by The Culture Group; and the People's Creative Toolkit/Herramientas Populares, Arts & Democracy's soon-to-launch collaboration with SEIU Local 26, Rogue Citizen, and Line Break Media.
Organizers, artists, media makers, educators, and policymakers came together to learn effective ways to deepen our work and engage our creativity in organizing for community change. The day included a cultural organizing framework, hands-on skill building workshops, case studies, resources, and networking opportunities.
Over thirty artists, activists, neighborhood leaders & youth from Charlotte gathered for a Cultural Organizing workshop, produced by Arts & Democracy in collaboration with the UNCC’s College of Art + Architecture and the Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP).
The Animating PB with Arts & Culture workshop took place at the 2014 Participatory Budgeting Conference in Oakland, CA. It included a mini workshop with artist/planner James Rojas, presentations by Caron Atlas and Valter Ferreira, and group brainstorming about how arts, culture, and grassroots media can animate PB and other participatory proccesses.
This call featured presentations on creative projects leading up to the People's Climate March and beyond. It was cosponsored by the People's Climate March Arts Team.
In the face of growing economic inequity, people around the country are coming together to reimagine and rebuild their economies and communities based on the values of equity, democracy, cooperation, self-determination and sustainability. This New York City focused call featured the POINT, Solidarity NYC, Trade School, Our Goods, and The Rockefeller Foundation's support of the area of work. The call was cosponored by NOCD-NY.
Two dozen artists and activists from the New Orleans area gathered for the 4th annual Cultural Organizing workshop, produced by Arts & Democracy in collaboration with Junebug Productions.
In the face of growing economic inequity, people around the country are coming together to reimagine and rebuild their economies and communities based on the values of equity, democracy, cooperation, self-determination and sustainability. This nationally focused call highlighted examples from Jackson Mississippi, Eastern Kentucky, and from Native communities across the country.
Municipalities, arts councils, and community-based organizations around the country engage in cultural planning in order to better engage their communities, identify and build on resources, and integrate the arts and culture into larger community development strategies. This call featured presentations from two veterans of cultural planning: Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Co-Director, Animating Democracy, and Tom Borrup, Principal, Creative Community Builders.
Over 40 artists, organizers, activists and policy advocates from across Kentucky and beyond came together to participate in this day long workshop focused on Cultural Organizing for Social Change in Kentucky. While the group was quite diverse, they shared a belief in the power of art & culture to advance social justice for all Kentuckians. The purpose of the workshop was to connect individuals, organizations and resources to create and sustain cultural organizing as a statewide strategy.
This experiential mini-course investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and building an equitable and sustainable Atlanta. Through site visits, tours, cultural events, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers representing multiple perspectives, we explored the intersection between arts and culture and participatory planning.
This call featured of panel of people with deep experience in rural engagement: Ben Strand, University of Wisconsin Foundation, former development director for Young Auditorium in Whitewater, WI; Maria De Leon; Executive Director of National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and NEA Council member; Bob Gates, folklorist, formerly of KY and LA Arts Councils, and winner of a lifetime achievement prize from the American Folklife Society; and Frumie Selchen, Executive Director, Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire, and 2013 Governor's Award honoree for Arts Leadership. NOTE: the beginning of this call was dropped due to technical difficulties. The first speaker is Maria De Leon.
This call brought together Khmer Girls in Action (KGA), Save Ethnic Studies / Xican@ Institute for Teaching & Organizing, and Project HIP-HOP (Highways Into the Past, History, Organizing, and Power), all supporting liberatory educational practices through engagement with culture and the arts. They explored the possibilities and challenges of practicing — and fighting for — culturally relevant, creative, liberating education.
Judi Jennings, Kentucky Foundation for Women and Savannah Barrett, Art of the Rural discuss Feminist Art: Advancing Social Change in Rural Kentucky, an innovative digital mapping project documenting the powerful and transformative work taking place across rural Kentucky.
Congratulations! We, leaders from across sectors, write to share how arts and culture can and should play a vital role in achieving the inspirational One City Rising platform.
This policy brief by Arts & Democracy, Groundswell, and Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York (NOCD-NY) recommends maximizing the role of arts and culture to advance a transition agenda for a just and equitable New York City. Art and culture can provide the inspiration, tools, and capacity needed to unify New York City into one city for all.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change provided a space where artists, media makers, organizers and policy makers could learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen their capacity to connect creativity, culture, and organizing for community change.
On September 19 and 20, 2013 Arts & Democracy Project offered a two-part Cultural Organizing for Social Justice workshop for member / leaders at the SEIU Healthcare PA Leadership Assembly in Lancaster, PA. The first part of the workshop introduced participants to "cultural organizing" and various examples of how people use art and culture for social change. The second part of the workshop was a hands-on art making workshop led Eli Weaver, a Lancaster-based visual artist, musician, farmer and organizer. During the workshop participants designed and made posters, puppets and a large banner to use in future actions for healthcare justice.
"Valuing the intersection between arts, culture, and community: An exchange of research and practice" brought together Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY) members and allies with leading researchers to demonstrate the value of arts and culture in communities and for the city. Arts & Democracy joined with NOCD-NY to organize this convening.
Arts & Democracy Project was proud to partner with the AFL-CIO to integrate arts and culture into their 2013 International Convention. We hosted a two hour "Action Session" workshop for delegates to learn the basics of cultural organizing then apply them to creating art for a march later in the day. Nationally recognized Los Angeles artist Ramiro Gomez led the workshop. Gomez creates representative cut-outs primarily of domestic workers and places them in the affluent environments that employee such workers in real life. He led participants through a process of creating their own cut-outs, which were later placed throughout downtown Los Angeles in a convention-wide action.
What Would it Look Like if NYC invested $50 Million in its Communities?
New York City’s recent capital investment of $50 million dollars in the Culture Shed mega project begs the question – how would a $50 million dollar capital investment in the culture and wellbeing of New York City’s diverse neighborhoods look?
This article by Jon Spayde in Public Art Review 48 (Spring/Summer 2013) "The Art of Healing" describes how artists have been helping communities heal after recent disasters. It features features the Park Slope Armory Evacuation Center Wellness Center, Sandy Storyline, and other examples that were part of Arts & Democracy Projects "Relief and Recovery, the Transformative Power of Arts and Culture" briefing call post Hurricane Sandy.
What's a progressive agenda for arts and culture in New York City? Caron Atlas offers her answer to this question in her contribution to Toward A 21st Century City for All, which offers an inclusive vision for city policy to help achieve a more just, equal and prosperous New York City.
As Working Films says, "we know that stories lead to action." From Media to Action: Creative Engagement and Organizing Strategies featured: Fruitvale Station, Herman's House, Land of Opportunity, and 13 in the Hole. The newsletter includes additional strategies for creative community engagement and campaigns for social change that move people to action.
Creative Recovery and Cultural Resiliency is an article by Caron Atlas in the Summer 2013 Grantmakers in the Arts Reader about the ways arts and culture played an integral role in relief and recovery after Hurricane Sandy in New York City. The article features the Wellness Center at the Park Slope Armory Evacuation Shelter, the work of Dance Theatre Etcetera in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the Sandy Storyline, and a summary of a conversation between New York and New Orleans cultural leaders about cultural work following disaster.
Emotions conveyed and evoked by art and culture can open hearts and minds, heal and transform, build community across difference, and promote peace, equality and justice, advancing positive social change. In Forced to Flee, we heard from refugee artists, artists forced into exile, cultural organizers and their allies, as they spoke about how they are using the power of art and culture to amplify the voices and visions of those forced to flee their countries of origin.
Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York's From the Nieghborhood Up Citywide Forum on Culture and Community convened people from across New York City on May 30, 2013 to create a vision for the City grounded in the cultural vitality and social networks that make its communities strong.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change (Frankfort, KY) provided a space where artists, activists, cultural workers, organizers and educators from across Kentucky came together to strengthen their relationships, and deepen their capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination, and culture for social justice organizing. This participatory workshop featured case studies, tools, strategies, networking and relationship building.
This experiential mini-course for Pratt Institute's Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and building an equitable and sustainable Chicago. Through site visits, tours, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers we explored the intersection between arts, culture, media and participatory planning.
This blog is the introduction to a longer essay inspired by the Network of Ensemble Theater's Appalachian MicroFest. I learned in Appalachia what it looks like when culture, place, identity, and community come together in the struggle for social justice. I witnessed how mountaintop removal causes great pain, and experienced music as an integral part of organizing. I became aware of the long record of misrepresentation of Appalachian people and their history by the media and how this misrepresentation has been used to justify the exploitation of the region’s resources.
Cultural practice and artistic expression breathe life into communities.They create opportunities for individuals and institutions to transform their sense of self and relationships with one another, and share their local traditions and ways of being.
This conference call looks at the power of place-based culture to create community narratives, advance racial and economic equity, promote participatory democracy, and foster self-determination and inclusion in rural communities. We will hear from five presenters about culturally-based work in a diverse range of contexts addressing themes that include traditional practice, opportunities for young people as emerging leaders, cultural economies, ecological and cultural stewardship and cross-sector partnerships.
This workshop provided a space where artists, activists and organizers learned effective ways to deepen their work and increase their impact by activating the tools of creativity and imagination. By using a combination of local and national resources, the workshops also promoted networking and collaboration.
We hear a lot about creative placemaking these days. Some like the term and others don't. On this conference call, presenters discussed what sorts of creative placemaking practices strengthen self-determination and belonging within a community. The call illustrated the power of place-based arts and culture as an integral part of equitable, democratic, and culturally vital communities and explored placemaking in the digital sphere.
Asian Americans United Executive Director, Ellen Somekawa, writes about cultural organizing in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. She effectively communicates the life of a Chinatown resident, stressing the importance of valuing local cultures with a unified message and a sense of humor via the arts.
We know the power of arts and culture to heal and transform, connect people and build community. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, artists and cultural organizers stepped up to use their creativity to rebuild the city and rebuild community. They are helping people tell their stories and sing together, offering cultural and wellness activities in evacuation shelters, organizing benefits, and providing leadership to recovery efforts. They've helped to restore dignity, build community, make connections, and heal.
Arts & Democray Project director Caron Atlas describes how people came together to create a Wellness Center at the Park Slope Armory evacuation center following Hurricane Sandy and experienced the power of arts and culture to restore respect and dignity in a disaster.
This call highlighted the great work that is happening in civic participation, arts and culture. It addressed elections as well as the ongoing work to strengthen our democracy. The call featured presenters from across the country who are working to protect voting rights and make sure that those who have been historically disconnected from decisionmaking have opportunities to participate.
Caron Atlas reflects on democracy in the thick of the election season and the anniversaries of 9/11 and Occupy Wall Street.
This essay by Roberto Bedoya raises thoughtful questions about the increasingly popular practice of Creative Placmaking and we have reposted it here with the hopes of stimulating dialogue. Writes Bedoya, "I embrace Creative Placemaking and its aspiration as is manifests in a variety of methods —from city planning to art practices with a goal of advancing humanity. But I am bothered by what I consider a significant blind spot – a blind love of sorts – in the Creative Placemaking discourse and practices. I am referring to a lack of awareness about the politics of belonging and dis-belonging that operate in civil society.The essay was originally posted on Arts in a Changing America.
Cultural Organizing for Community Change provided a space where artists, media makers, organizers and policy makers could learn effective ways to deepen their work and strengthen their capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination and organizing for community change. The workshop included cultural organizing framework, skill building workshops, networking opportunities, and an intergenerational conversation with cultural organizers.
Arts, culture, and media were integrated into Participatory Budgeting in New York City (PBNYC) in its 2011-2012 inaugural year. This list of creative resources, compiled by Arts & Democracy Project with the Arts and Culture Committee of the PBNYC Citywide Steering Committee, is intended as an inspiration for year 2.
On August 15 Arts & Democracy Project joined Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts NY (NOCD-NY) and Urban Bush Women to cosponsor Spacing Out: Innovative Cultural Uses of Urban Space. The forum took place at the South Oxford Space, 138 S. Oxford, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Cultural organizing is a core practice of the Arts & Democracy Project that exists at the intersection of arts, culture and activism. Cultural organizing integrates arts and culture into organizing strategies. It is also about organizing from a particular tradition, cultural identity, and community of place or worldview to advance social and economic justice. This call will focus on four different approaches to to this practice.
Center for Media Justice Executive Director Malkia Cyril recently wrote a piece for Organizing Upgrade on communications strategies for building a national narrative for progressive social change. She argues for a comprehensive strategy for progressive social change that impacts both heart and mind. We've reposted the Blog here.
Arts & Democracy co-hosted a book party to celebrate the publication of "Helen Matthews Lewis, Living Social Justice in Appalachia." The Brooklyn event featured Helen in a rare New York City appearence along with book co-editor Judi Jennings and special guest Marie Cirillo. The presentation shared Helen's lifelong commitment to activism and included her writings on environmental justice, moral economy, global solidarity, and powerful women taking a stand.
The convention felt like a family reunion, with members addressing one another as “Sister” or “Brother,” and receiving warm greetings and rousing affirmations from SEIU president Mary Kay Henry. The Colorado Convention Center had become the largest organizing hub I have ever seen; think of a kitchen or a black church and then magnify times 10,000!
Arts & Democracy Project and SEIU (Service Employees International Union) are partnering on artist residencies in six SEIU locals in Miami, Florida; Central CA; Las Vegas, NV; Minneapolis, MN; Toronto, ON; San Juan, Puerto Rico. Each of the residencies will create an artwork to be presented at the SEIU convention in Denver in May 2012.
We are at the Service Employees International Union convention in Denver and are thrilled to see the results of the artists residencies that we cosponsored with the union. Here's a preview of the artwork and performances from locals in Florida; California; Minnesota; Ontario, Canada; and Puerto Rico.
Arts & Democracy is a proud member of the NOCD-NY coalition whose members testified at a joint hearing of the NYC City Council's Arts and Small Business committees. As a result of NOCD-NY's organizing and presence at the May 11 hearing much of it focused on naturally occurring cultural districts. We presented a series of recommendations for how the city could support NOCDs and neighborhood based cultural economies and illustrated the recommendations though our member's testimony.
Arts & Democracy Project and ArtHome (Brooklyn, NY) recently hosted a FREE: Artist Homeownership Workshop, which created a working dialogue for participants who were looking to purchase a home. The event took place at Groundswell Community Mural Project, where there were student paintings still drying on the walls and was further made possible by the co-sponsorship of City Council Members Brad Lander and Steve Levin and the Brooklyn Arts Council.
This experiential course, created for Pratt Institute's Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and building an equitable and sustainable Los Angeles. Through site visits, tours, cultural events, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers representing multiple perspectives, we explored the intersection between arts and culture and participatory planning.
Animating Democracy Has a New Web Site!
Animating Democracy's new web site is inspirational, informative, and promotes and connects arts and culture as potent contributors to community, civic, and social change. Animating Democracy co-director Pam Korza takes us on a tour of this great new resource.
What does your neighborhood need? An improved park? Safer streets? A community cultural space? After six months of participatory budgeting in New York the polls are opening and its time to vote!
The conference call focused on creative engagement through civic dialogue, cultural asset mapping, and participatory budgeting.
We’re so happy to have this attractive new online home. We think this site is better able to explain our work, share resources, and highlight some of the exciting work our partners and allies are doing in the field.
Arts & Democracy has jumped into the new year with a workshop in New Orleans, a new collaboration with Service Workers Union International, collaborations in New York City, and a national briefing call about environmental justice.
On March 6, Super Tuesday at 8:14 am an unemployment line with thousands of people holding pink slips over their heads will stretch through Manhattan from the Wall Street bull to Union Square. Join this powerful collaboration between artists and labor.
This weekend-long workshop in New Orleans provided a space where artists and organizers learned effective ways to deepen their work and strengthened their capacity to use creativity, imagination and organizing in community building.
Artismyoccupation.org (AMO) offers direct support to artists and cultural workers dedicated to advancing the stories, struggles and ideas of the 99%. Got an idea for a project? Apply for a grant! The artists’ support program is now online and ready to receive your applications.
This conference call focused on how people and organizations across the country are bringing the power of arts and culture to bear on the environmental devastation that is disproportionately affecting poor communities and communities of color.
This paper explores the power of cultural organizing with examples of groups and individuals placing art and culture at the center of organizing strategies: organizing from a particular cultural identity, community of place, or worldview. It highlights the work of Third World Majority, Raices, M.U.G.A.B.E.E. and Ricardo Levins Morales.
When the Arts & Democracy Project began in 2005, we spoke with artists and activists from across the country who are exemplars at connecting arts, culture, media, and civic participation. We wanted to know more about the work they did. What made it succeed? What challenges did they face? What did they need to increase the impact of their work? We commissioned a series of profiles to document these conversations; some were updated in 2011-2012. "Insights from Arts and Civic Engagement: 13 Profiles" an essay by Lena Richardson, identifies key themes and insights.
Jeremy Liu and Gayle Isa talk about the spaces ‘in between’.
This conference call focused on how arts, culture and creative actions are being used as part of the 99% movement across the country.
Dee Davis and Michelle Miller discuss the art of strategic communications.
Alaka Wali and R. Lena Richardson on drumming circles, sustainable conservation, and valuing difference.
A conversation about the powerfully transformative and at times, painfully fragmented practice of philanthropy.
Arts & Democracy Project held a day-long cultural organizing workshop for women activist artists at the Kentucky Foundation for Women's Hopscotch House retreat just outside of Louisville.
At the recent Policy Link Conference in Detroit, at a session called “Holding Ground,” presenters spoke about maintaining equity in a time of cutbacks. At the end of the session, one of the younger audience members asked where in all this talk of holding ground were the progressive ideas, the vision for the future. His question significantly shifted the room.
Isao Fujimoto and Tim Marema on the power of ‘edgewalking’.
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. We have a responsibility to those who will come after us.
These simple yet powerful concepts have been echoing in my head the past few days in New Mexico where I participated in a roundtable discussion held at the Institute of American Indian Arts sponsored by the Open Society Foundations, First People’s Fund, and Arts & Democracy Project. The people I met and the stories I heard reinforced the power of the arts – and more importantly culture – in transforming our communities.
Report from a day-long meeting in New York involving musicians, artists, filmmakers, photographers, theater groups, festival producers, chefs and others working to raise public awareness about the threat of climate change and the promise of clean energy. Sponsored by the Chorus Foundation, the gathering was organized and facilitated by Farhad Ebrahimi, Betsy Taylor, Cuong Hoang, and Lauren Nutter. Arts & Democracy presented on arts and social justice organizing.
Maribel Alvarez and Jason Bulluck on paying attention to the ‘little stuff', engaging in critical discourse, and understanding how power can be shaken up.
Building Collaborative Capacity is a series of workshops, gatherings, and partnerships that help build the connective tissue necessary to deepen collaborative work so it can be truly effective.
Harriet Barlow and Kathy Engel talk about the Commons and crossing borders.
This report by Holly Sidford for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) describes how the distribution of arts grantmaking does not reflect the country's evolving cultural landscape and changing demographics, and considers how to address this inbalance.
The summary findings for a series of roundtable discussions convened in several cities across the United States between 2009 and 2011 to better understand the growth of “naturally occurring cultural districts”—grassroots, culturally based efforts that are bringing about significant changes within a variety of communities—and to learn from their successes and challenges.
On August 18, 2010 NOCD-NY, the Naturally Occurring Cultural District Working Group joined with cultural and community leaders and elected officials to launch a citywide alliance to revitalize New York City from the neighborhood up. Arts & Democracy is proud to be part of this coalition.
Arts & Democracy Project hosted a People's Potluck in Brooklyn. The potluck was part of a series of artist-led conversations and meals focused on interdependence taking place in the summer of 2011 created by MAPP International Productions in collaboration with Samita Sinha and Create Collective.
In June and July I was fortunate to attend ROOTS Fest National Learning Exchange in West Baltimore, the Rural Cultural Roundtable in St Paul, and the freeDimensional retreat on Wasan Island in Canada. While diverse in focus, the three events were all grounded in the power of place, culture and creative agency. Collectively they made me reflect on how we can take active roles in creating communities that reflect our values.
This conference call focused on the 10 Year Anniversary of 9/11 and the programs, cultural convenings and artwork that have helped to heal, facilitate dialogue, build community and move us forward.
This conference call focused on the power of radio in fostering art, culture and community. It provided informattion about an exciting upcoming opportunity for community groups to start their own radio stations.
This session at the 2011 National Rural Assembly in St Paul, MN was a conversation about cultural organizing and collaborating across sectors and the role these approaches play in rural development and social change. Participants shared their own experiences and best practices, and reflected on the recommendations from the Rural Cultural Roundtable that proceeded the Rural Assembly.
This nation-wide conference call was focused on the role of the arts, culture and media in economic justice organizing and movement building in communities across the U.S.
Two separate, yet related–events made me think about music and memory, and the healing properties they offer together.
February 2011 was the busiest month of my life. I participated in a revolution that toppled a corrupt regime after 30 years of dictatorship.
Focusing on events in Egypt and the extraordinary pro-democracy movements sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East, this conference call highlights how artists, art spaces and cultural organizers in the region and in the U.S. are participating and responding, and how more cultural workers can engage in positive ways.
A report and reflection on the Community Organizing for Cultural Recovery workshop held in New Orleans February 18-20, at the McKenna Museum for African American Art. Its goal was to strengthen capacity to use the tools of creativity, imagination, and organizing in community building.
Looking back on 2010, I am inspired by the grace and power of the imagination in the midst of challenging times.
This conference call focuses on the arts and equitable development work that is being conducted in Brooklyn, NY; Harlan County, KY; Skid Row, Los Angeles; and beyond.
When I first met Grace Lee Boggs in 2003 she transformed me, along with everyone else. Boggs embodies the US Social Forum concept of "another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary," and she celebrated her 95 birthday at the Detroit Social Forum in 2010, looking to the future.
This newsletter offers nonpartisan resources, opportunities, and events that join creativity and civic participation - during the election cycle - and beyond.
From July 10-15 the Creative Resistance retreat brought together leaders from human rights sector, arts networks, and organizations focused on the mobility of culture workers. Sponsored by freeDimensional and hosted at the Breuninger Foundation's Wasan Island center near Toronto, Canada, the retreat provided space for a critical dialogue on the role of arts networks in strengthening the social justice movement globally.
This rural panel, cosponsored with the Center for Rural Strategies, took place as part of Double Edge Theater's Art and Place Gathering held in Ashfield, MA, August 8, 2010.
Cross-posted from his e-newsletter, reflections from artist Ricardo Levins Morales on his time at the U.S. Social Forum.
On June 22-26, 2010 the 2nd US Social Forum took place in Detroit, MI, and brought together thousands of people from around the country (and beyond) to participate in a movement-building process that distinguishes itself by focusing on creating space "to come up with peoples' solutions to the economic and ecological crisis" we face in the world today.
As ongoing immigration battles are waged in our own backyards, this resource newsletter shares information and cultural organizing resources that are related to migrant and immigrant justice.
Modeled after the World Social Forum process that began in Porto Alegre Brazil in 2005, the US Social Forum is grounded in a belief that social, political and economic transformation are not only possible but necessary, and that they must be embodied by a "multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational, diverse, internationalist movement." Arts & Democracy Project sponsored two workshops at the Social Forum in Detroit in July, 2010, and with several colleagues organized a Creatvity Lab.
A free and open Internet has become a necessity, not a luxury, for all aspects of art and democracy. As laws tighten and access is further limited, this newsletter offers resources that assist in understanding issues and offer opportunities to take action.
This experiential mini-course, offered to Pratt Institute urban planning graduate students, investigated arts and culture, broadly defined, as a critical part of envisioning and rebuilding an equitable and sustainable New Orleans. Through site visits, tours, cultural events, and conversations with practitioners and policymakers representing multiple perspectives, the class explored the intersection between arts and culture and participatory planning.
Bringing together a wide range of networks and groups--including Alternate ROOTS, Animating Democracy, Art is Change, Arts & Democracy Project, Arts & Social Justice Working Group, California Alliance of Traditional Arts and Cultures, First Peoples Fund, Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media, Grantmakers in the Arts, League of Young Voters, MAG-Net, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, National Performance Network, Opportunity Agenda, and many more--in Brooklyn, NY, October 2009.
On May 12th, 2009, more than 60 artists and creative organizers engaged in civic participation, community development, education, social justice activism, and philanthropy came together for a White House briefing. It was cosponsored by Arts & Democracy Project, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Pratt Center for Community Development, and Arlene Goldbard. This is the report from that briefing.
In April of 2009, 27 participants from the arts, community development, education and other diverse sectors around the country met at California State Monterey Bay as part of the Community Arts Convening and Research Project to discuss “Cross-Sector Partnership and the Role of the Arts in Policy and Systems Change.” This is the report from that session.
The Arts & Democracy Project joined with the Nathan Cummings Foundation to organize a convening of the Foundation's grassroots arts activist grantees and their allies November 19-21, 2008. The convening connected people from across the country to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and exemplary practices of linking arts and activism. This is the summary report from the convening.
In this strategic conversation, cosponsored with the League of Young Voters, Hip Hop artists, presenters, and activists shared their plans for 2008 and how they might collaborate in their work.
This gathering took place as part of the Highlander Center’s 75th Anniversary and followed a one-day institute on cultural organizing that was also part of the celebration. The goal of Highlander was and is to provide education and support to poor and working people fighting economic injustice, poverty, prejudice, and environmental destruction. Presenters at the gathering included: co-facilitators Anasa Trautman, Highlander Center; Caron Atlas and Javiera Benavente, Arts & Democracy Project; Amelia Kirby, Appalshop; Carlton Turner, Alternate Roots; Michelle Miller, SEIU; Mathew Jones, SNCC Freedom Singers; and Baldemar Velazquez, Farm Labor Organizer Committee.
This was a small 1.5 day-long strategic national gathering of cultural organizers cosponsored by the Main Street Project /Raices, Center for Rural Strategies, and the Humboldt Area Foundation in Klamath, CA, April 2007. Also participating were Alternate Roots, Appalshop, Central Valley Partnership for Citizenship, Llano Grande Center, Feral Arts, United Indian Health Services, and Northland Poster Collective.
At the 2005 Grantmakers in the Arts conference a group of activist artists, community organizers and funders began a conversation about the purposeful intersection of art and activism. That session stimulated follow-up e-mail exchanges and writing among the conference participants and a few others. The resulting discussion is reflected in this article, published in the Summer 2006 GIA Reader. Our intention was to make cultural organizing visible by sharing its principles, demonstrating its rigor and creativity, and illustrating its diverse methodologies.
Report on Latino Culture and Traditional Arts in Tennessee by Norma E. Cantú, Ph.D.
Tennessee Arts Commission hired Norma E. Cantú, Ph.D., to carry out a fact finding mission in West, Middle and East Tennessee to meet with representative members of Latino communities and learn about Latino culture and traditional arts in the state. This is the report that resulted from this inquiry.
Since 1972, the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) has supported community building and empowerment for the Arab-American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In May 2005, ACCESS opened the first-ever Arab American National Museum devoted solely to Arab-American history and art, in order to exemplify that art nourishes the spirit and helps to build relationships.
All-Ages Movement Project (AMP) is a member-driven network of community based organizations that connect young people through independent music and art. Founder of AMP, Shannon Stewart speaks of the importance and benefit of fostering democratic culture and leadership through youth-run music and cultural spaces.
Appalshop is a multi-disciplinary arts/education center in the heart of Appalachia that produces original films, video, theater, music and spoken-word recordings, radio, photography, multimedia, and books and provides the tools for documenting local stories. It encourages the questioning of media as an information source while building media literacy.
The Future of Music Coalition (FMC) gathers knowledge, translates and educates in the fields of music, technology, public policy, and law to promote public understanding and discussion about freedom of speech, control of music production and distribution, and public ownership of the airwaves and bandwidth.
The Hip Hop Congress (HHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that uses powerful potential of hip-hop culture to foster social action, civic service, and cultural creativity among young people. HHC works to develop organizing skills and civic engagement among community members, with a human rights and social justice movement building focus.
The Los Angeles Poverty Department, founded in 1985 and rooted in Los Angeles' Skid Row neighborhood, intends to "create performance work that connects lived experience to the social forces that shape the lives and communities of people living in poverty." These performances raise consciousness about social and political issues, while also creating opportunities for people to intervene in policy decisions that affect their lives.
The League of Young Voters is a national organization that supports young people in developing the power to solve problems facing their communities. They work with those "who have been shut out of the political process to make politics fun, engaging, relevant, and meaningful."
Marty Pottenger is a critically acclaimed writer, director, and performer with more than 20 years of experience in creating and directing community-based arts initiatives. She uses art to "reveal the underlying connection between people, and activate people's inherent desire and momentum for justice and equity."
Based in Portland, Oregon, Sojourn Theatre creates community-engaged theatrical productions that have explored a broad array of social issues, ranging from the Oregon school system (Witness Our Schools), the future of Portland as a city (One Day), and the meaning and impact of going to war (The War Project).
Throughout its 23-year history, the Urban Bush Women performance ensemble has spoken of the power of the spiritual tradtions of African American and the African Diaspora community through dance, music and storytelling.
Founded in 2003, We Got Issues! (WGI!) is a women-led movement and performance project which focuses on young women's leadership through the the power of creative expression. WGI! is committed to creating a safe and supportive space for all women across race, class, gender, and socio-political lines.
In my work as a curator, I was excited that 200 people could sit in a dark room, see a film, be moved, and ask, "what can we do?"...So then, Judith Helfand and I began to think about an organization that could deliberately connect the non-fiction stories of struggles with ground-level activists and organizers. -- Robert West.
Paul Chin and Vanessa Whang talk about animating a Latin American idea in the U.S..
Littleglobe and SouthWest Organizing Project talk about finding a relationship between community-engaged arts and organizing.
The second Bridge Conversation between Littleglobe and SouthWest Organizing Project about their ongoing collaboration.
Carol Fennelly and Ayo Ngozi on artmaking with fathers and children in federal and state prisons.
Adam Huttler and Ruby Lerner on entrepreneurial arts service organizations.
Ken Wilson and Caron Atlas talk about cultural context and creative philanthropy.
Paula Allen and R. Lena Richardson talk about traditional arts and culture as resources for Native community health.
Ron Shiffman and Anusha Venkataraman consider the intersections of organizing, creative practice, and community-based development.
A discussion about whether art can be as powerful a vehicle for change as it can be a bastion for maintaining the status quo.
Francisco Guajardo and Edyael Casaperalta on intentionality, consciousness, and creating new opportunities.
Tufara Waller Muhammad and Javiera Benavente talk about arts and culture in Southern organizing and the danger of spotlighting individuals.
Mark Ritchie and Caron Atlas talk about balancing work and life.
Ismael Ahmed and Anan Ameri discuss the extraordinary model of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).
Tia Oros Peters and Vanessa Whang talk about maintaining your vision and integrity in rooms of power.
Brad Lander and Esther Robinson discuss organizing and art, anthropological listening, and whether being holistic is important.
freeDimensional talks with the Belarus Free Theatre.
Who Will Carry the Work Forward?
An intergenerational conversation at the State of the Nation festival and a tribute to Nayo Watkins.
The Art of Regional Change (ARC) brings together scholars, students, artists, and community groups to collaborate on media arts projects that strengthen communities, generate engaged scholarship, and inform regional decision making. Founded by media artist jesikah maria ross, ARC is a joint project of the University of California at Davis Humanities Institute and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change.
A Youth Voices Curriculum Resource and Guidebook developed to help other communities engage in similar projects is planned for spring 2012.
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) Making Policy Public series of foldout posters uses graphic design to explore and explain public policy. Each poster is the result of collaboration between a designer, an advocate, and CUP. To date, CUP has produced eight posters/instructional pamphlets on issues ranging from affordable housing to the rights of domestic workers.
Operation Paydirt/Fundred Dollar Bill Project (Paydirt/Fundred) is a multidisciplinary, artist-driven project addressing the national crisis of lead-contaminated soil. With the self-expression of the young people most affected by lead contamination, these projects propose a solution that incorporates demonstrated scientific procedure. The approach extends across disciplines of art, science, and education and is sensitive to aspects of community development and urban infrastructure.
Not in Our Town (NIOT) is a national organization that creates films and video, and facilitates convenings to help communities working together to stop hate through creative anti-bias programs and responses. Anchored by a social networking website, NIOT documents and shares initiatives, helps link individuals and groups, and provides guidance for positive intergroup responses to hateful actions. Aired on PBS stations on September 21, 2011 (http://www.niot.org/lightinthedarkness), and screened at venues around the country, Light in the Darkness is the latest in a series of films produced by the Working Group of NIOT. In addition to their documentary work, NIOT has produced over 45 videos (http://www.niot.org/videos).
The Llano Grande Center for Research and Development’s vision is to inspire a youth culture that aspires to attend college and engage in community change. Beginning informally in the early 1990s with activities intended to show Edcouch-Elsa High School students in Texas that college was both possible and necessary for them, the Llano Grande Center was formalized in 1997 as a program of the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District (EEISD). The center has trained students, educators, and community development agents locally, nationally, and internationally on how to distinguish, tell, and use their story to achieve community change.
Sojourn Theatre is an ensemble of ten core artists creating new performances in Portland, Oregon, and around the country. Their innovative work shares a goal of bringing together strangers to collectively experience and strategize in arts-based civic dialogue projects. Sojourn’s members are nationally recognized for their innovation as artists and engagement practitioners, and the company’s work is featured regularly at conferences and universities nationwide as a "best practice model" for arts-based civic dialogue projects.
Scribe Video Center came into being in December 1982. It was founded by Louis Massiah as a place where individuals and communities could learn media making and explore the use of video as both an artistic medium and a tool for progressive social change. The center has grown in size from a small rented workshop space to an internationally recognized media arts education center in a 4,000-square-foot loft that has helped thousands of people and over 150 community groups document their passions and concerns in some 200 videos produced with the center’s support.
Our upcoming cultural organizing workshop in Brooklyn will take place Nov 22. We will post the developing agenda for the workshop soon.


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Detect and localize radiation sources generated by manmade devices such as nuclear weapons, improvised nuclear devices (INDs) or radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) with the Thermo Scientific™ RadEye™ PRD Personal Radiation Detector. The RadEye PRD detector provides border guards, customs agents, special forces and counter terrorism teams with high-performance detection for any scenario. The Thermo Scientific™ RadEye™ PRD-ER Personal Radiation Detector with extended range, is ideal for both interdiction and response.
The RadEye PRD Detector is a high sensitivity gamma radiation detection and dose rate measurement tool for security forces, steel and recycling industry, and first responders seeling to detect and locate orphaned sources or problematic NORM related sources in scrap yards, border crossings and other public locations.
5000 to 10,000 times more sensitive than a typical electronic dosimeter; incorporates highly sensitive NaI(TI) scintillation detector with miniature photomultiplier for detection of very low radiation levels (emphasis on gamma emissions below 400KeV).
Patented Natural Background Rejection (NBR) technology provides high sensitivity with high selectivity; eliminates nuisance alarming due to naturally recurring radiation sources (such as granite).
Can be used as a search and survey tool.
Can be used in a belt-loop holster for hands-free operation.
Menu-driven with an intuitive, easy-to-use format.
Low-power-technology components and fully automated self-checks result in minimum maintenance.
Includes removable rubber sleeve for extra protection.
Compliance: Designed to meet ANSI™ 42.33/1, 42.32 and IEC 62401.
No mutual shielding of neighbored detectors.
No transition range with annyong hysteresis effects.
No high-activity source for function test of high dose rate detector required.
Equipped with large clear graphic display and audible/visible/vibrating alarms; earphone-output for silent alarming.
Detectors NaI(Tl)-detector with high-quality microphotomultiplier; software switch for R or Sv energy response and calibration.
Energy Range 60keV to 1.3 MeV, excellent detection from 30keV.
Count Rate For Cs-137 (662 kev): 1.5 cps/µR/h (150 cps/µSv/h); For Am-241 (60 kev): 30 cps/µR/h (3000 cps/nSv/h).
Units cps, Sv/h, rem/h, R/h.
Dimensions L x W x H: 1.25 x 2.4 x 3.78 in. (3.1 x 6.1 x 9.6cm).

industry_corpus2: Power & Energy


text:
1. They ______ not go to school.
2. She _____ not work in the store.
3. Tammy _____ not like her teacher.
4. He _____ not eat dinner.
5. We _____ not live in New York.
6. My husband _____ not like football.
7. They ______ not drive to university.
8. My sister _____ not watch many movies.

industry_corpus2: Others


text:
I called my friend Mel and invited her to bring her kids and join us for fireside fun. She was keen.
(School holidays on your own with three kids - say no more).
Then I discovered that security-conscious daddy had padlocked the brazier to the foozeball table before he left (I guess so any fun-loving burglars could steal neither of them???!) - never dreaming that I might attempt a fire night without him and his firelighting skills.
What to do????! I had promised Mel and the kids a fire - and marshmallows - and I had to deliver.
Kiwi ingenuity to the rescue.
Some bricks, a galvanised drinks tub (I have two) and a metal grate from the brazier would do the trick nicely.
Mel found me choking and coughing while trying to get the too-big lumps of wood to light.
Seems I don't have the fire-lighting touch I thought I had, but no matter - Mel does!
Before long she had the fire roaring, and we got the sausages sizzling (hardly any smoke). Yay for Mel!
As you can see, it was fab - fire, friends, fun, Marshmallows and all.
Ah yes, winter or summer, there's nothing better than a fire night.
Especially with friends (and marshmallows).
(Taught to us by my brother and Spanish sis-in-law, many moons ago and now shared with every person who sits around our fire).
In a bowl put folded slips of paper, one for each person, marked with either a circle or a triangle.
The triangles are the "baddies"; the circles are the "goodies"
Each person picks out a slip of paper which they must look at but not show anyone.
The aim is to figure out who are the triangles by observing body language, facial expressions and behaviour. Guilty or suspicious behaviour may earn you an accusation, then see you voted off the game.
Everyone opens their eyes and the fun begins.
Who looks suspicious? Who is acting guilty? Make a nomination, convince people to vote with you.
If a majority votes against someone, that person must reveal whether they are in fact a circle or triangle by showing their slip of paper. Then they are "dead" and cannot vote or comment or make accusations.
Keep going until there are only two people left OR all the triangles are revealed.
If EVEN ONE triangle is left in the game at the end, the triangles win.
If all the triangles are discovered, the circles win.
This game is a fascinating (and hilariously revealing) study of human nature! Minimum numbers for a decent game would be 7 (with two triangles). We played with nine (three triangles) and that was perfect. There's no maximum and no age limit. Scrag started playing this when he was four, and learned very quickly how to divert suspicion and play smart.


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Passover is one of the most important celebrations on the Jewish calendar. This issue explores the holiday’s traditions as well as its fulfillment in the Messiah.
Visit Our Blog, Tell Us What You Think!


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The Master of History covers three distinct areas: discipline knowledge, a choice of area studies, and writing history. This degree suits students coming to the study of history for the first time, as well as those who want to extend their knowledge in particular areas or upgrade their professional qualifications.
Subjects cover both Ancient and Modern History, including Ancient Greece and Rome, the ancient near East, Early Modern and Medieval History, American History, Australian History, Asian History, European History and Public History.
The course progresses from exploring the nature of history, through to specialised studies of historical periods and problems, and concludes with the opportunity to undertake substantial historical research projects.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text: LAB :Driver Education Lab meets on non‐theory days and consists of 12+ hours of driving simulators; 3+ hours of behind‐the‐wheel training in a standard passenger vehicle. Enrollment in driver education lab and successful completion of both the simulator and behind‐the‐wheel components is required for Illinois licensing of teens 16 and 17 years of age. Driver Education lab is not required for graduation.


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Nice Beatles influenced friendly melodic rock with happy uplifting feel and guitar work reminiscent of John Frusciante of Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Happy, fresh melody with glockenspiel and ukulele. Think children playing on the beach.
A happy and funny track with big band, pizzicato strings and background vocals in the style of 1940s - 1950s musicals. Short choral introduction before main tune with tempo and melody changes throughout.
Affectionate and refreshing 1920s jazz for nine-piece combo. Light-hearted and easy going with sax and trumpet solos, piano and drums.
Super quirky vocals and uplifting piano melody combine in this unique track.
A very playful, bluesy llight jazz diddy. Carefree and fun with a dash of offbeat quirkiness. Features evocative acoustic piano and cymbals.
Upbeast, farce and comedic with a modern orchestra under a whistling melody.
Very light, laid back and playful. Easygoing, relaxed and fun with a slightly quirky, jazz feel.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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PATHEIN — Irrawaddy Division police officers have arrested 14 ethnic Rohingya alongside 12 other people suspected of bringing them from a relief camp in the Arakan State capital of Sittwe to Thabaung Township.
Police alleged that the group of 14 and two minders were preparing to travel to Rangoon by river from Thaebyu village when they were arrested on May 4. Further investigations led to the arrest of 10 more suspects alleged to be involved in the group’s passage. Three children are among those detained, according to Zaw Win, head of the township police force.
“Brokers in Sittwe asked [one of the suspects] to transport the group for one million kyats (US$921) each,” he said.
Most of the group of 14 can speak Burmese and were able to relate the names of their parents and their addresses in Rakhine State. At the time of the arrest, they were unable to furnish police with either their national identity cards or white cards.
The Thabaung Township Immigration Department head has filed a complaint against the detainees and the police station has charged all 26 under the Immigration Act.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


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To help set up the Echo line of smart speakers which will be soon shipping out to the customers this week, Amazon has released its Alexa app in India for the iOS and Android platform. The Amazon Alexa app gives the support for the smart speaker range by Amazon, Echo. Apart from this, the Amazon Alexa app is useful for the users to add new skills, change the settings quickly, create new routines, see what’s been playing and monitor the previously made requests. The app comes as big sigh of relief for the people who like to keep a list of their groceries shopping by talking to a voice assistant.
How will Amazon Alexa help set up the Echo Smart-speakers?
Ahead of the Echo launch, Amazon has partnered with the local companies and brands to provide India-specific experience for the citizens from its Amazon Alexa app. This includes collaborations with companies like NDTV, Ola, Saavn, Syska, Times of India and Sportskeeda amongst various others. This will help you hear about anything that you want, from a mild dosage of news by reading it aloud to your to the cricket match score.
For music, the user will have to choose between Amazon Music, Saavn, and TuneIn. There have been reports of the former app not working due to some glitch but we hope that the Amazon Alexa will soon iron out the bugs that the users are encountering. The app also gives you an option to access local skills if you own Echo device, including the ability to ask the local weather and traffic. With a small setup in the starting where the user can choose any language out of the four available, one needs to bear the accent. One also has to change the residence address to India for the device to work properly.
The Amazon Alexa has also rolled out the feature to set up the Amazon Tap, a technology which has not been yet introduced in India. The services might work with your Echo smart-speakers if you have an imported set of units. To use the feature one need to set it up and have it work smoother. There have been reports that soon Amazon will make the Amazon Tap feature available in India.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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Spokane, WA - November 21, 2011 - Goldrich Mining Company (OTCBB: GRMC) ("Goldrich" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of a private placement for $500,000. The proceeds of the private placement are anticipated to be used for exploration and general operating expenses.
Goldrich closed the sale of 2.675 million units at a price of $0.20 per unit, each unit consisting of one share of the Company's common stock, one half of a Series J warrant and one half of a Series I warrant. Each full Series J warrant is exercisable for a period of five years following the date of issue to purchase one additional share of common stock of the Company at the greater of $0.30 or the closing market price of the Company's stock on the closing date of the private placement, as quoted on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board (the "OTCBB"). Each full Series I warrant is exercisable for a period of five years following the date of issue to purchase one additional common share of the Company at $0.40.
The terms of the private placement include a call option in favor of the Company. In the event that the shares of common stock trade at a weighted volume average price of greater than $0.50 or $0.60, respectively for the J warrants and I warrants, for a period of 20 consecutive trading days at any time following the issuance of the respective warrants, the Company may, at its sole discretion, accelerate the expiration date of the respective warrants by giving written notice to the holders thereof within 10 business days of the occurrence thereof, and in such case, the warrants will expire on the 20th business day after the date on which such notice is given by the Company. The Company intends to grant resale registration rights to such investors as allowable under the rules of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
The private placement was financed by Regent Pacific Group Limited ("Regent"), a diversified mining group listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. As a result of the private placements, Regent's ownership of Goldrich increased from 13.9 to 16.4 percent of the total shares issued and outstanding.

industry_corpus2: Mining


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I just love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
I may have to befriend, Capt Jack Sparrow on principle, and being a BSOD Kernel Dump Expert doesn't hurt. LOL!
You have a profile picture but not an avatar.
You'll find a bunch of posts by Temmu already. When there was a problem with avatars, I was so tempted to make his avatar the old Borg avatar from SNF.
Thanks! Looks like a great board!

industry_corpus2: Gaming


text:
August 20, 2009 (ROBBINS, Ill.) Soldiers from the Crestwood Armory in Robbins returned home without one of their own. Specialist Simone Robinson died earlier this year following an attack involving an improvised explosive device. Robinson and the 130 soldiers returning home to Illinois Thursday provided protection for a military compound in Kabul. Five other soldiers were wounded in the attack that killed specialist Robinson.
The Illinois Army National Guard soldiers spent the last year in Afghanistan taking part in Operation Enduring Freedom. These soldiers left their friends, families and jobs to defend the country and Thursday were recognized as heroes.
And what a heroic welcome they received! The 38 Illinois National Guard soldiers in G Company 634th Brigade Support Battalion arrived at the Crestwood Armory in Robbins cheered on by family members who have been waiting for a year to see them.
Missing from the procession was 21-year-old Sgt. Simone Robinson, who died in January from wounds sustained in Afghanistan.
However, Robinson's father, mother and 2-year-old daughter, Nyzia Wilson, were an important part of the welcome home celebration.
"It's hard because these people came home with fellow soldiers today, but we're proud of her and glad that she served her country," said Regina Byther, Simone's mother.
"It's something that she wanted to do to make a better life for her and her daughter. I'm proud of her. She's not here but she's with me every day," said Charles Robinson, Simone's father.
The room was filled with other family members from the Robinson family and pictures of the single mother decorated the stage area.
Sgt. Raul Hernandez says the welcome home is great, and he is overwhelmed by the reception but sad that Simone did not return with them.
"She was a good friend of mine and when we lost her it was very painful for all of us. We learned to deal with it and move on. She'll always be in our hearts," said Hernandez.
Sgt. First Class Christine "Mama" Kelly, Simone's superior, says although she is glad to be home she is also sad.
"It's very hard on us coming through here. It's just not the same without Simone," said Kelly.
"I just thank God that he brought [Christine] back...I asked him to bring her back and that's what he did," said Leloise Kelly, Christine Kelly's sister.
There were tears of joy when family members and friends got to greet and hug their loved ones and welcome them back home.
"It feels great. I mean, I miss my family, it's hard being gone for 12 months. I love them very much," said Special Sgt. Javier Perez, Illinois National Guard.
"Glad to see them back. It's been a long journey. They're all-Americans," said Rommeal Lear, Christine Kelly's husband.
Simone's mother says she will put together a scrapbook of what her daughter accomplished and present it to her granddaughter someday. The scrapbook will include pictures of Thursday's celebration, her awards and recognition and tributes from Robinson's comrades.
On Saturday the Robinson family will have a welcome home party for the soldiers and another party on Tuesday which would have been Simone's 22nd birthday.


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View Sevastopol - Engineering on the big map.
Browse all Sevastopol city places with category "Engineering". All of them were added by volunteers and locals around the world.

industry_corpus2: Technology & Research


text:
With nearly 20 years of experience representing employers in the private and public sectors, Dorothy co-chairs Hanson Bridgett’s Employment Class Action Practice Group and regularly defends complex class actions for clients. Dorothy also served as Commissioner on the San Francisco Ethics Commission from 2011 to 2013, having been appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in April 2011.
An integral part of Dorothy’s practice involves working with clients to develop practices and policies aimed at averting class, collective, and PAGA actions, and to advise clients effectively on risk management and class action avoidance strategies. She represents employers in a wide variety of industries, including the manufacturing industry, construction and building materials industries, transportation industry, federal defense contractors, education and scientific research communities, hospitality industry, and the healthcare and senior care industries, including medical centers, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing centers. Dorothy’s practice includes defending her clients against background check class actions, meal and rest break class actions, representative actions brought under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) that seek multiple penalties, and wage-and-hour class actions and collective actions involving off-the-clock claims, overtime pay, bonus pay, regular rates of pay, reimbursement claims and misclassification claims brought under California’s Labor Code, PAGA and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
In addition, Dorothy regularly defends employers in single-plaintiff and multi-plaintiff lawsuits against claims of whistleblower retaliation, wrongful discharge, equal pay claims, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, disability accommodation, and discriminatory retaliation. She frequently advises employers on workplace investigations, managing leaves of absence and disability accommodations, handling employee discipline and terminations, and wage and hour compliance under state and federal law. She handles litigation for her clients in state and federal courts throughout California, as well as in arbitration proceedings and before administrative agencies.
Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, Dorothy served for two years as Law Clerk to The Honorable Walter E. Webster, Jr. at the Washington State Court of Appeals.


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Cornish Living Super Kingsize Bed in white with an Oak trim. Unconventional design - a proposal for the followers of the latest trends. The clever mix of scratch resistant white melamine with beautiful high gloss sides and oak melamine trim makes this top quality collection of furniture the ideal destination for the most modern of homes, the massive range that includes many cabinets and wall units fulfils every storage and display option.
Please note that this item includes bed slats, not matress. Matress size for this bed is a European size 180cm x 200cm.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


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The Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) is mandated by the New Mexico Administrative Code to inspect juvenile detention facilities for the purpose of certification. All secure juvenile detention facilities must comply with State Detention Standards that govern the basic operations of juvenile detention centers. Compliance is determined during annual inspections or more frequently when warranted.
This web page was developed to provide information and resources to those working in secure detention facilities. CYFD partners with administrators from New Mexico counties to maintain safe and healthy conditions of confinement, and quality provision of services for juveniles in detention centers.
The information provided is designed to make information immediately accessible to assist Juvenile Detention Center personnel in daily responsibilities specific to the maintaining and monitoring compliance with the State Detention Standards.

industry_corpus2: Politics & Administration


text:
2nd Forum of Accountants: Role of the accountant in Economic Development.
Our theme is like a loose electron within an atom which represents our environment.
Hence our varied topics being presented today. From the management of Cyber Security, the damage to the profession caused by rogue accountants, the need of adequate Public Financial Managament, Good Governance and the future of the profession.
There is a paradigm shift within financial reporting where disclosure of non – financial or qualitative information contain as much, if not more information than financial information about the outlook of the enterprise.
There is a concern amongst the Profession that our role as Accountants in the Society as number crunchers is likely to decline in the next few years. Society now requires as much non – financial assurance as financial ones. Enterprises’ reputations can take a blow when ignoring qualitative aspects.
Technological advance will render some of the Accountant’s routine work obsolete. Assurance on non – financial information will replace our current approach. I don’t want to sound fatalist, but Accountants will need to make concerted plans to adapt to the changing environment.
In justification of this, IFAC has during its last conference in November 2016 established eight goals for sustainable development for the Accountancy profession. These include such diverse goals such as Gender Equality & Quality Education and will be included in the profession’s curriculum.
These objectives are derived from the Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the UN in 2015 which themselves follow from Millenium goals.
In the Mauritius profession we have one of the highest global concentration of accountants with one professional accountant for less than 500 inhabitants. Most public & private enterprises employ Accountants.
MIPA’s role is to ensure that it has the structure and resources to support members to attain these goals. We have provided MIPA the platform to achieve these as we are now a full IFAC member.
Our strategy now is to ensure that MIPA has adequate resources to fulfil its objectives.
I’ll make a plea to the Minister to entertain our representations made to the Government to pay for the MIPA dues of Government Officers who are MIPA members and who according to the FRA are exempt from MIPA dues.
MIPA will have a training programme such to fulfil membership CPD requirements.
We will require qualifying bodies setting examinations in Mauritius to contribute somehow to MIPA’s resources as their members need MIPA registration. This may be shocking but we estimate that there are more than Rs 300m outflow from Mauritius to overseas PAOs compared to MIPA’s budget of less than Rs 4m.
In the medium term, MIPA plans to set admission papers in Mauritius Tax and Company Law.
With adequate resources MIPA will be an effective, efficient and above all respected regulator of the Accounting profession.
A strong MIPA we will not only play but be seen to play a critical role in the country’s economic development.
I’ve been told in the past that MIPA is a toothless hound, but the hound was just a puppy & it’s growing now.
This Forum has a strong taste of PFM. The Finance Bill has included provisions for Modernisation of Accounting in the Public Sector.
This reform will consist of phasing out the present cash accounting & the implementation of accruals accounting which are contained in IPSAS. This is long overdue if you consider the evolution of accounting standards.
In a nutshell, just look at the consequences of not accounting correctly for Govtexpenditure & debt in Greece. This was fatal to the economy.
MIPA will spearhead the coordination of implementation of the standards between the departments to ensure a harmonious transition.
On this, I wish to congratulate the GAO & MRA for pioneering IPSAS implementation Mauritius.

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


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4. Good Sync is another syncing service that does a ton of stuff and has a lot of customization options. I use it to sync all my files locally to a memory card that I can just pop into a new computer whenever I want. This is a good option because it’s so fast, but it isn’t as convenient as Sugar Sync if you’re wanting to backup to an online server.
Depending on the platform there are many ways and plugins to do that, I suggest you search Google using “how to add social media buttons to xxxxxx” – replace xxxxx with the platform your website is based.
Referral-generated customers are the least expensive and most profitable and loyal source of new business you can get. In fact, these referred customers also tend to buy quicker, negotiate less, buy larger quantities, and refer even more business to you. Plus, today’s advertising rates are not inexpensive… so use referral systems to leverage (increase) the results generated from all of your advertisements and marketing techniques by getting your customers to spread the word about your company to in even more sales.


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AdWords: Exact Match Not Quite So Exact . . . Again Close variants now include word reordering and function words in exact match type keywords.
Could it be true? An Ad-Free Google?
Google rolled out with Google Contributor, a tool that will let its users pay to go ad-free. Yes, AD-FREE on Google.


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FEW restaurants get to open their doors with a pile of great reviews already stacked up but Côte Bistro is one of the lucky ones. This French-style bistro seems to charm diners wherever it pulls up its stripy awning, with the Sunday Times proclaiming it ‘fantastic’, and the Good Food Guide awarding it ‘Best Value Restaurant in the UK’.
Their set menu offers excellent value for money at £9.95 for two courses and £11.90 for three courses.
It opened in December in Liverpool ONE, serving French bistro dishes, cooked to order, from fresh ingredients.
Classic menu options include Moules Marinières, beef Bourguignon and chargrilled corn-fed Breton chicken. There’s a tempting selection of desserts such as house specialties crème caramel and crème brûlée. And they’ve got a great breakfast menu that will almost have you believing you’re starting the day in a Left Bank brasserie; the lovingly-made eggs Benedict has to be experienced.
Côte Bistro’s set menu offers excellent value for money at £9.95 for two courses and £11.90 for three courses, and lends itself well to a quick lunch or relaxed, early evening dining. It’s available 12 noon to 7pm, Monday to Friday. Popular dishes include breadcrumbed calamari with tartare sauce and salmon fishcakes with spinach salad and a wholegrain mustard sauce.
The set menu changes fortnightly, as do their seasonal specials, so you’ll always find something new to try. There’s also an extensive, reasonably priced wine list featuring producers from all over France.
Go and check it out – it’s on Paradise Street in Liverpool ONE.
Learn more about Côte Bistro in Liverpool ONE.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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text: Dave Fearless is Stuntdriver 2 brings back the bravest -- or dumbest -- stunt driver in the world for a second run, only on AddictingGames.com. Crash your car over and over again in this ramplified launch game that pits your health and well-being against gravity and the rapidly approaching pavement. Earn upgrades, unlock achievements and film the most expensive movie in Hollywood history one vehicle at a time. Disclaimer: Many cars were harmed during the making of this game.


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industry_corpus2: Sports


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Christmas is over for another year, and with it all signs of Dasher, Dancer and the rest of the team. There haven’t been any wild reindeer in Britain for around 800 years, but a herd was successfully introduced in the Cairngorms. You might see one roaming in the National Park, but it’s unlikely they will ever become numerous enough to be a nuisance.
In the south-east we may not have reindeer, but we certainly have plenty of deer, and in some places, far too many of them. Not only do they cause thousands of road accidents every year, but they are voracious eaters who don’t confine themselves to the countryside. In 2014 the city of Salisbury faced the dilemma of deer taking up residence in the cemetery beside a busy road on the edge of town. The image of fawns curled up between the gravestones may be endearing, but not for grieving relatives when funeral flowers have been devoured. The authorities were forced to remove all the rose bushes from the Garden of Remembrance as these were decimated by the deer. Debate continued about how to get rid of these stubborn, if photogenic, pests. A deer fence? Impractical at nearly two metres high. A cull? Unpopular. As an official commented: “I don’t want to be on the council that shot Bambi!” Driving past this spot last year, I noticed two deer, unperturbed by the traffic, grazing in the cemetery as if they owned the place.
Less likely to be seen in town is the muntjac, which prefers woodland, farmland and scrub. But it will happily forage in gardens, trample on crops and has even been seen grazing on a traffic island. It’s about the size of a large dog, and is known as ‘the barking deer’ due to the canine sounds it produces. I had forgotten how peculiar they look, until one stepped out in front of my car recently (fortunately it was on a quiet, straight road so I could avoid hitting it). These are stocky creatures, with longer legs at the back than the front, giving them a hunched appearance, and they have short, rather devilish horns, rather than elegant antlers. Unlike other deer, the muntjac prefers to fight like a boar, having canine front teeth which protrude from its mouth as tusks. Looking at those, I can see why muntjacs are blamed for widespread damage to tree trunks.
This one sauntered from thick woodland and stopped in the middle of the road to stare at me. Apart from the ginger face, its coat is brown in winter with white undersides and tail, which it flicks when agitated. Although plentiful in Britain, and increasing steadily, the muntjac is not a native species, having been introduced from China in the early twentieth century. A number escaped or were deliberately released from private estates and feral populations have thrived ever since. One factor in their success may be that, unlike other deer, they have no fixed breeding season and can produce young at any time of year.
The muntjac is certainly a survivor. Fossils date the species to the Miocene period, meaning it was walking the planet as much as 23 million years ago. It’s incredible to consider that this diminutive deer has changed little since the days of the sabre-toothed tiger and the woolly mammoth. It has survived predators and climate change, including an ice age or two. No matter what this winter throws at us, there’s little doubt that the muntjac will take it all in its stride.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries