[opirgyork] Weekly Digest - March 22nd 2011
OPIRG York
opirg at yorku.ca
Tue Mar 22 16:00:08 PDT 2011
Hey everyone!
Hope you are all surviving and making it through exam season!
Make sure to take a break with us! Visit us in the OPIRG Office RM. 449C
in the student centre.
We have snacks and great conversation to get your mind off the stress!
We also have our annual PrOPIRGanda newsletter OUT And ready to be READ!!!
COME BY AND GRAB A COPY!!!!!
Check out the amazing events happening this week!
-------------------------------------------------
***OPIRG York EVENTS this week!***
1) Film Screening: Cultures of Resistance
2) Racism in the Media: York U Talks Back!
-------------------------------------------------
1)
Film Screening: Cultures of Resistance
Wednesday March 23
230pm to 530pm
302 Stong College York University
* CONGO RESEARCH GROUP presents a film screening of CULTURES OF RESISTANCE*
speaker: Kambale Musavuli from Friends of the Congo (FOTC) via Skype.
FOTC is one of the examples of
creative resistance featured in the documentary.
Film Synopsis
Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be
weapons of peace? In 2003, on the
eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better
understand a world increasingly
embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction.
After several years, travelling
over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who
committed their lives to promoting
change. This is their story. From IRAN, where graffiti and rap became
tools in fighting government
repression, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take
on a dictatorship, moving
on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns
into guitars, and ending in
PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film
have given a voice to those
rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can
be ammunition in the battle
for peace and justice.
Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger
Delta militants, Iranian
graffiti artists, women’s movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanon’s refugee
filmmakers, U.S. political
pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli
dissidents, hip-hop artists
from Palestine, and many more...
Event hosted by: Congo Research Group @ YorkU
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_172203516137298
Event sponsored by: OPIRG-York and professor Abubacar Fafona from
Harriet Tubman Institute of African Studies
LINKS-
* Cultures of Resistance Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nptGxlSFxY4
* More on Cultures of Resistance:
http://films.culturesofresistance.org/about
* Congo Research Group @ York U:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_172203516137298
* Kambale Musavuli from Friends of the Congo:
http://www.facebook.com/kambalemusavuli
* Imperialist Canada book:
http://arbeiterring.com/books/detail/imperialist-canada/
----------------------------------------------
2)
Racism in the Media: York U Talks Back!
Thursday March 24th
430pm to 630pm
Curtis Lecture Hall B
4700 Keele Street
The Youth Coalition Against Maclean's (YCAM), The Ontario Public
Interest Research Group (OPIRG) York,
York Federation of Students (YFS) and the Centre for Human Rights Present:
A York University Teach-In on how the media has perpetrated negative
portrayals of racialized people in Canada, using the
Maclean's "Too Asian" article as a referring point of discussion.
Were you offended by the Maclean's "Too Asian" article? How was it
problematic?
How does the "Too Asian" article impact not only the Asian Canadian
community but other racialized groups? Where are the intersections?
What can we do to challenge mainstream media in these instances? How
does the article and other examples of
racism in the media affect the experiences of students on campus?
The Teach-In will offer an opportunity to gain insight from a panel of
speakers on racism within the media,
a historical analysis of anti-Asian racism and the experiences of
racialized students on York campus.
Following the presentations will be an open discussion for the York
community to voice concerns on this
topic and how perhaps we can work to challenge racial discourse
perpetrated by the media and within our own university campuses.
Speakers:
Karen Sun - Canadian Coalition of Community Partners to Eliminate
anti-Asian racism
Sharmeen Khan - Editor, Upping the Anti: A Journal of Theory and Action
Professor Wilburn Hayden - Social Work, York University
Vanessa Hunt - VP Campus Life, York Federation of Students (YFS)
Light refreshments will be available
---------------------------------------------------
***EVENTS outside and in York this week!***
1) Histories, Their-stories, Our-stories: First Workshop of the Season!
2) International Symposium on Migration, Sex Work and Trafficking:
Master Narrative and Critical Perspectives
3) The Women Behind the Grassy Narrows Blockade Speak
4) NYC's Movement for Justice in El Barrio: El Barrio is Not for Sale,
It is to be Loved & Defended
5) 4TH Annual Decolonizing the Spirit Conference
6) GLOBAL BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS DAY OF ACTION RALLY and MARCH
7) How much do you know about the Democratic Republic of Congo? Conference
8) THIS IS OUR Zine making party # 2!
9) Zines make life better: A Hands-On Workshop with Teresa Chun-Wen Cheng
10) Hear Our V.O.I.C.E Initiative Launches a Youth-Created Website and
Publication
11) Kinnie Starr in concert
12) Love Letters To Japan: Cabaret Fundraiser for Earthquake Relief in Japan
13) Up Against the Temp Shop: May Day Assembly on Immigrant Rights
14) Lines of Resistance: Prison Art from the Middle East
15) 6th Annual May Day of Action for Status for All
Call outs and Resources:
1) Launch Campus Divestment Campaign
2) Toronto Anarchist Bookfair Callout Updates!
3) The National Aboriginal Youth Council on HIV & AIDS offers the
following guidelines
4) Interrogating Apartheid: Campus as a Site of Resistance
5) YU Free Press: Bodies of Identity Issue released TODAY!
---------------------------------------------------
1) Asian Arts Freedom School Cycle 12 Presents:
Histories, Their-stories, Our-stories: First Workshop of the Season!
Wednesday March 23, 2011
167 Augusta Avenue
Kapisanan Centre (in the basement)
FREE!
Get Ready for another round of Asian Arts Freedom School and all things
about radical Asian history we DON’T learn in school!
Many of us are taught to visualize history as a line with a bunch of
dots indicating dates and names, where
the past never influences the present. This cycle of writing and
arts-based workshops is about turning that
idea of history on its head: we’ll explore the links between then and
now, make visible what is often forgotten,
and have the chance to listen, express and create the histories,
herstories and nevertoldstories that are relevant
and important to us. Come to this first workshop to learn and share your
thoughts and participate in writing,
art and storytelling exercises. Let’s expand the possibilities of
history and creativity on our own terms!
AAFS is a drop-in space for self-identified Asian youth and no
registration is required. Come to one workshop,
come to some, come to them all! All levels of writing and creative skill
are welcome. Food and TTC tokens are always available!
------------------------------------------------------------
2) International Symposium on Migration, Sex Work and Trafficking:
Master Narrative and Critical Perspectives
CFR and the Department of Social Science is proud to present an
International Symposium on Migration,
Sex Work, Trafficking: Master Narrative and Critical Perspectives. This
symposium brings together
new research in Europe, North America and Africa. Invited speakers
critically examines key
narratives about the cross-border movement of persons for work in sex
industries, and explores
alternative ways of thinking about “sex trafficking.” To register for
lunch, and to receive
copies of symposium materials, please e-mail tlo_919 at yahoo.ca
CFR International Symposium
*Migration, Sex Work, Trafficking: Master Narratives and Critical
Perspectives*
March 24, 2011
Harry Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson, York University
Convenor: Kamala Kempadoo, Professor, Department of Social Science
*10 am*– *Opening*
*10:15am* - Keynote address: “Sex, Slaves and Citizens: the Politics of
Mobility in Europe”
by Dr. Rutvica Andrijasevic, Open University, UK.
*11:30am – 1pm. Panel 1*
Moderator:**Annie Bunting
*Elya M. Durisin*(Political Science, York University)*.* “To Prevent and
Protect?: Critical Approaches to Anti-Trafficking Discourse in Canada.”
*Synnøve Økland Jahnsen*(Sociology, University of Bergen, Norway/Rutgers
University). “Competing Narratives of Victimhood: Why did Norway Criminalize
the Purchase of Sex?”
*Jessica Yee*(Native Youth Sexual Health Network). On work at NYSHN,
realities
of Indigenous sex workers, and the conflation of trafficking and sex work.
*Lunch*
*1:45 – 3:15 pm. Panel 2*
Moderator: Rutvica Andrijasevic
*Sine Plambech* (Social Anthropology, Danish Institute for International
Studies/Columbia University). “Forced to be voluntarily removed:” Narratives
at the intersection of rescue and deportation.”
*Karlee Sapoznik *(History, York University).*“*The Global Traffic in
Marriage: Canadian Examples and Considerations.”
*Amanda Glasbeek *(Criminology, York University).**“Bodies in Peril,
Nations at Risk: Sex Traffic Discourses and the Impetus to Protection.”
--------------------------------------------------------------
3) The Women Behind the Grassy Narrows Blockade Speak
Come hear from three of the women who have helped initiate and sustain
the Grassy Narrow blockade.
Through their actions they are empowering the youth in their community,
reclaiming control over their
territory, reviving their culture, and defending our earth.
Thursday March 24
Toronto. Friends Meeting House, 60 Lowther Avenue, (off Avenue Road, no
left turn onto Lowther,
parking lot and ramp to rear entrance on the west side of Bedford just
north of Lowther), at 7:30 pm.
Monday March 21
Orangeville. St.Timothy Catholic Church, 42 Dawson Road at Centre
Street, at 7:00 pm.
Tuesday March 22
Guelph. St.James the Apostle Anglican Church Hall, 86 Glasgow Street at
Paisley, at 7:00 pm.
Wednesday March 23
Mississauga. Erin Mills Untited Church, 3010 College Way, corner of
Winston Churcill Boulevard and Bloor, at 7:30 pm.
Friday March 25
Paris. Five Oaks Conference Centre, at 12 noon.
Hamilton. McMaster First Nations Students Association/Indigenous Studies
Program working group with OPIRG,
McMaster University, Gilmour Hall Council Chamber, at 6:00 pm.
Saturday March 26
Hamilton. Closing event at Hamilton Unitarian Church,
170 Dundurn Street South. Speakers: Judy da Silva, Grassy Narrows First
Nation, and Katie Stiel,
Environment Hamilton Good Neighbour Campaign, from 9:00 to 12:30 pm.
---------------------------------------------------------
4) NYC's Movement for Justice in El Barrio: El Barrio is Not for Sale,
It is to be Loved & Defended
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=205252452820407
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/581
Come hear Juan Haro and Maria Mercado from Movimiento por Justicia del
Barrio, or Movement for
Justice in El Barrio, in East Harlem, NYC, as they share stories of
their struggle, build
connections, and raise funds. Movement for Justice in El Barrio is an
organization composed
mainly of immigrant tenants in El Barrio, New York City that fights for
human dignity and against
community displacement. They fight for the liberation of every
marginalized group, including
immigrants, people of color, women, gays, lesbians, transgender
communities, and all the poor of
the world. Movement for Justice in the Barrio is part of The Other
Campaign, initiated by the
Zapatista Army of National Liberation.
Movimiento’s members, at over 600 strong, have never taken on a battle
they have not won. In
addition to taking on and defeating greedy landlords and multi-national
corporations, they
also target the city institutions and politicians who facilitate
gentrification and displacement.
Of the many organizing tactics and strategies members utilize to build
solidarity with other
organizations and advance their struggle, include Zapatista-inspired
community consultations
(consultas) and gatherings (Encuentros).
Talks and Film Screening
Gentrification and Resistance
24 March 2011, 4pm – 6pm
Sidney Smith Hall Rm. 5017B, 100 St. George
El Barrio is Not for Sale, It is to be Loved & Defended with speakers
from OCAP and NOII-TO
25 March 2011, 6pm – 8pm (incl. Community dinner)
St Lukes United Church, 353 Sherbourne Ave
El Barrio is Not for Sale & The Other Campaign with speakers from Barrio
Nuevo
26 March 2011, 4pm – 6pm
Accents Bookstore, 1790 Eglinton West
Videos from their actions:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TCNngd7auM
Inspired by these amazing talk take to the street on On April 1 to Raise
the Rates!http://ocap.ca/node/944
& on May 1, March for Status for
All!http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay
Organized by: No One Is Illegal-Toronto, Ontario Coalition Against
Poverty, Graduate Geography Studies Union,
Barrio Nuevo, CUPE 3902, Jane Finch Action Against Poverty, South Asian
Womens' Rights Organization
----------------------------------------------------------
5) 4TH Annual Decolonizing the Spirit Conference
Friday March 25th to March 26th
9am to 5pm
OISE
252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6 CANADA
SPIRITUALITY CONFERENCE
March 25 & 26 2011
4 Annual Decolonizing the Spirit Conference:
Land, Citizenship, belonging, and the Place of the Spirit
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education-University of Toronto
Conference Program
Day 1: Friday, March 25th, 2011
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Introductory Remarks : Dr. Erica Neeganagwedgin
Opening and Libation: Dr. Eileen Antone & Kai ner Maa Pitanta
Overview of Conference : Dr. Erica Neeganagwedgin & Min Kaur
9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Panel 1: Land as Sacred Space, Land as Teacher
Chair: Energy Manyimo
1) Michael Anthony Hart
2) Kazi Abdur Rouf
3) Andrew Snowball
4) Asma Maryam Ali
5) Ahnungoonhs/Brent Debassige
11: 15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Panel 2: Spiritual Conversation
Chair :Dr. Njoki Wane
1) Ahmed Ilmi 5) Akena Adyanga
2) Kirk Mark 6) Yumiko Kawano
3) Safia Gahayr
4) Min Kaur
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Panel 3: Decolonizing and Mental Health
Chair: Harriet Akanmori
1) Dr. Eileen Antone
2) Julie Kang
1:15p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. - 3:00p.m. Panel 4 : Tobacco as a Research Methodology
Chair: Marcie Snyder
1) Dr. Jean-Paul Restoule
2) Debby Denard
3:00 p.m. – 4:15p.m. Panel 5: Trauma and Healing
Chair: Rita Ville
1) Athena Madan
2) Helen Pearman Ziral
3) Erick Fabris
4) Zahra Murad
4:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Break
4:30 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. Spirituality Through Music : Neville Panthaki
5:00p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Chair: Safia Gahayr
Keynote : Dr. George Dei
6:00 p.m. - 6:15 .p.m. Chair: Ahmed Ilmi
Closing Remarks : Devi Mucina
Day 2: Saturday, March 26th, 2011
8:30 a.m. – 9:35 a.m. Registration/Breakfast
9:35a.m.- 9:45 a.m. Recapture : Akena Adyanga
9:45 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Chair: Ahmed Ahmed
Opening: Dr. Arnold Itwaru
10:30 a.m.- 11:45 a.m. Panel 1: De-centering Colonization
Chair: Jennifer Jagiire
1) Rosemary Sadlier
2) Alyson Mccready
3) Anna L. Flaminio
4) Ella Karia
11:45a.m. – 12:45 a.m. Panel 2: Narratives : Spoken word
Chair: Melissa Wilson
1) Chandni Desai
2) Mr. Wright
3) Sein Kipusi
12:45 p.m. - 1:30p.m. Lunch
1:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. Panel 3A : Community Panel
Chair: Min Kaur
1) Shandra Spears Bombay
2) Percy Lezard
3) deb singh
4) Nadine Sookermany
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Panel 3B : Displacement & Relocation
Chair: Chandi Desai
1) Donna Kakonge
2) Mary McCarthy
3) Sarah Stefana Smith
4) Alberta O. Akrong
2: 45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Panel 4: Spirituality as a Discourse
Chair: Aman Sium
1) Harriet Akanmori
2) Krystal Summers
3) Michael O. Nwalutu
4) Michelle Mae Sutherland
Women Wolf Singers
4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. Chair: Dr. Erica Neeganagwedgin
Keynote : Dr. Paula Sherman
5:00 p.m. Chair: Dr. Njoki Wane
Closing : Kai ner Maa Pitanta
This conference is organized by the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education at the University of Toronto: Centre for Integrative
Anti-Racism Studies.
-----------------------------------------------------------
6) GLOBAL BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS DAY OF ACTION
RALLY and MARCH
Saturday March 26, 2010
12:30 pm
Toronto, MEET AT KING AND BAY
Our universities and pension plans are invested in corporations that
carry out
apartheid, environmental degradation, and the displacement of indigenous
people
worldwide. On the anniversary of Palestinian Land Day and the BDS Global Day
of Action, we march in the financial district to say:
END CANADIAN SUPPORT FOR APARTHEID: DIVEST NOW!
We salute people's uprisings in the Middle East and the struggle for
freedom,
justice, and equality everywhere.
Bring noisemakers and flags!
Organized by the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid www.caiaweb.org
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=207926785886611
A Short History of Land Day and the BDS Day of Action
1976 - Israeli military forces shot and killed six young Palestinian
citizens
of Israel protesting the Israeli government’s expropriation of Palestinian
land to build new Jewish-only colonies and to expand existing ones. Every
March 30, Palestinian Land Day commemorates this loss.
2005 - Palestinian civil society calls for Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions
against Israeli Apartheid.
2009 - First Global BDS Day of Action is launched on Land Day, March 30.
Endorsed by:
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
No One Is Illegal
Toronto New Socialists
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Students Against Israeli Apartheid
Faculty for Palestine
Teachers for Palestine
Labour for Palestine
Toronto-Arab Solidarity Campaign
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
To endorse, please email endapartheid at riseup.net
------------------------------------------------------------
7) How much do you know about the Democratic Republic of Congo? Conference
Saturday March 26th
1pm to 5pm
Junior Common Rm 014- McLaughlin College
York University
The FOURTH York University (Toronto Canada) Annual Congo Conference will
bring together
Congolese and students, academics, business, politicians, international
organizations
and institutions, NGO's, artists and others interested to learn, share,
and act to end
the ongoing crisis in the D.R. Congo.
Where: 014 Junior Common Room Mcglaughlin College York University,
Toronto Canada
Confirmed Speakers:
Claus Molitor Associate Situation Analyst from the International
Criminal Court
Kambale Musavuli from Friends of the Congo
Judith Wanga from BBC Documentary "The most dangerous place to be a woman"
There will also be musical performances, dance and art!
-------------------------------------------------------------
8) THIS IS OUR Zine making party # 2!
Saturday March 26th
6pm to 9pm
this is our zine collective invites you to come get inspired to make
your zine submission with
us over some yummy food and beautiful conversation!!!
Who? Self-identified Indigenous peoples, Black peoples and people of
colour*, mixed race people*
who have something to say about fat/size/hair/body image shit. (I’m
talking about size, hair (both
body and on your head) and anything else that affects your body/self
...love/ability to love others.
What? Submit art, writing, prose, poetry, essays, collages, lyrics,
photos, stuff you’ve created
that can be put in a zine (online) and photocopied to give out in
printed copies.
Why? We need to address size/fat/hair phobia and our bodies,
colonization, histories and provide
resources and support for each other.
How? Please send all submissions to thisisourzine at gmail.com with
SUBMISSION as the subject. If it
can’t be emailed, email us and we will figure out a way to get your work
submitted.
*= it’s important to remember how complex categories of race, sexuality,
gender and identity are,
and when I say self-identified Indigenous people, Black peoples and
people of colour and mixed race
people, I mean that if you identify as a person of colour or Indigenous
person, but may not necessarily
present phenotypically as a person of colour, we want you to submit to
the zine.
Obviously we all have different experiences/understandings of how race,
body image, sexuality, gender,
ability, class, eating disorders, geography, status, etc. etc. come
together and shape how we understand
these issues, which will be an important string throughout this zine.
About me:
You are probably wondering: ‘who is this random person wanting me to
share my work with them?’
Good question. My name is Aruna, I am a 23 year old fat brown woman
identified first generation
settler that is living on the occupied lands of the Mississauga’s of New
Credit. I went to Queen’s
University in Kingston, but am now back living with my parents in
Scarborough; and this is my first
zine ever, and think that this topic is incredibly important and
something that people need to start
talking about with each other. I’m not claiming ownership over this and
want this to be a collective/
loving/healing process with everyone involved. I have a lot of issues
around my weight and in the process
of trying to look for something to comfort and help me work through my
shit, I never found anything useful.
I think a project like this, if done properly will be useful to lots of
people in a similar situation.
I’ve also asked a bunch of awesome people to be part of a collective to
make this zine happen!
About us:
We are a collective of Indigenous people, Black people and people of
colour – but our identities
and humanness are of course much more complex. We came together to eat
and share our stories
through this zine for many reasons: to celebrate the good stuff as a
testimony to our beauty
and intelligence. To be heard, reclaim and take up space, to discuss how
white supremacy and
colonialism play out on our bodies, to continue this work for the next 7
generations, to break
isolation, to talk to each other – not just to whiteness – to show our
mothers and to deal with
our shit and show real fucking solidarity.
Remember! Deadline is March 31st 2011, all submissions and inquiries
about submissions should be relayed to thisisourzine at gmail.com
In your submission, please include:
- Your name (or name you want to be published)
- RELIABLE Contact information (in case we need to talk to you about
your work)
- A brief (50-100 word) bio or description of who you are/what you do,
etc. (if you want to include it)
- Please make sure all attachments are either in PDF, JPEG, Word, RTF,
BMP or any other compatible program.
- Your piece/submission should be in an attachment, not copy/pasted into
the email. (If you have trouble with attachments, email us for help!)
Want to submit? Get involved in the planning/making of the zine?
Wanna start a larger group out of this?
Got concerns, questions, etc?
Email us at thisisourzine at gmail.com to talk and if you’d like to get
involved.
for more info about our zine click below!
https://www.facebook.com/notes/aruna-zehra/deadline-extended-call-for-submissions-zine-dealing-with-bodyhairsizefat-phobia-/10150159276805579
---------------------------------------------------------------
9) Zines make life better: A Hands-On Workshop with Teresa Chun-Wen Cheng
Wednesday March 30th
3pm to 430pm
CWTP York University
Student Centre RM. 322
The Resource Library at the Centre for Women and Trans People at York
present...
Spring forward: a workshop series on art, zine-making and resistance!
Celebrate winter survival as we feature local queer and trans artists
who use their art for
self-expression, organizing and political resistance. Learn about their
creative processes,
as well as gain skills on how you can start your own creative projects.
Open to all women and
trans folk. Non-artists and beginners are strongly encouraged!!!
We all have so much knowledge and wisdom starting right here, with
ourselves!
We know a lot and have so much to share, from radical national histories
to ways
to beat the winter blues to what the heck macroeconomics is. And so, so
much more.
But what are some ways we can translate what we’re thinking about to
other people?
Zines are one effective way to share all that knowledge that you have.
This is a hands-on workshop. We will talk about zines, look at zines
and
make zines!
Teresa will talk about her own art and the ways low-tech, budget-savvy
art can be
powerful in transmitting knowledge. Start thinking about something
(something small!)
you’d like to share through a “flash” zine, all done with just a single
sheet of 8.5x11.
Bring ideas! And even if you can’t think of anything right now, we can
brainstorm together
on the spot. Cuz we want to know about how you deal with anxiety and
what your time
management tips are and what happened in 1948 in Palestine, and, and,
and...!
About the artist:
Teresa Chun-Wen Cheng makes zines and short videos. Her zines include
Dykes & Their Hair,
Upskirt: Dirty (Un)feminist Secrets, and Feeling Words: A Pocket Zine of
Emotions. Her
short video, Good Morning! Good Night!, has been screened at the Inside
Out Toronto LGBT
Film and Video Festival and Reel Asian International Film Festival. She
is currently
pursuing an MA in Women and Gender Studies at the University of Toronto.
These days,
she's thinking about emotions, love, queerness, and different ways to
transmit knowledge.
We are located in room 322 in the Student Centre at York University. Our
space is accessible.
Please be conscious of keeping the space chemical and perfume scent free.
TTC Directions: from Downsview or Sheppard Station, take the 196 bus to
York University. Tokens will be made available!
For any questions call us at (416) 736-2100 x33484
or email us at cwtplibrary at gmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
10) On March 31st, 2011 Hear Our V.O.I.C.E Initiative Launches a
Youth-Created Website and Publication
as a Resource For Toronto's Service Providers!
A gap has been identified, between youth who have been in conflict with
the law and service providers.
In order to bridge this gap, a group of youth have mobilized to develop
an initiative to support service
providers in their work and better meet the needs of the youth they reach.
The youth in Hear Our VOICE (Viable Options Involving Alternate Choices
For Effective Rehabilitation) have
leveraged their experience and have been diligently working for the past
three months. In that time,
they've put together an advisory board to form tools, resources and best
practices that will be housed
on a website and publication accessible to service providers in order to
support them in their work.
We will be hearing from Dr. Carl James, Director at the Centre for
Education and Community at
York University. Dr.James has and continues to conduct research on youth
relations with the
justice system. For more information please see attached document for
his biography.
If you are a service provider with a vested interest in youth who have
been involved with the law,
this event is for you!
Join us on Thursday March 31st, 2011 for a lunch and website launch
facilitated by the young
innovators of the Hear Our V.O.I.C.E initiative.
WHERE: CENTENNIAL LIBRARY, 578 FINCH AVE WEST TORONTO, ON M2R 1N7
TIME: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM (Lunch will be provided)
*Please RSVP as space is limited*
Contact Us:
Email: voiceinitiative at gmail.com
Phone: 416.966.3674
------------------------------------------------------------
11) R3 and NOII Toronto present:
Kinnie Starr in concert
with guests Amai Kuda, Lena Recollet, Mata Danze & dj Nik Red
hosted by Rosina from Lal and Sedina Fiati.
April 1, 8pm doors
9pm show start!
A 'transformed' 25 Cecil Street
$10-$25
Juno Nominated artist (2004 – “Sun Again”), Kinnie Starr appears in
concert with Amai Kuda,
Lena Recollet, dance crew Mata Danze and DJ Nik Red at an all ages show
in a completely
transformed one-night only venue at 25 Cecil Street on April 1.
Rosina Kazi from Toronto electronic crew Lal and the amazing theatre
artist Sedina Fiati
will be hosting this fabulous, politically charged, all women and trans
performers event,
where partial proceeds go to Turtle Island and African Reparations Funds
and No One Is Illegal
Tickets available online at:
Online at: http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/SpringUp
Tickets Available at Toronto Womens Bookstore 93 Harbord / Soundscapes
572 College St. ($10 in advance, $1.50 service charge)
we have different stories. of missing and murdered sisters.
of kidnapped children. of languages and cultures stolen.
of lands defiled by mining, by corporations.
we have different stories. of war, poverty and the destruction
of our lands. we came across borders. some as slaves.
some as temporary workers. too often deported.
we have the same stories. of being pushed out of our homes.
of racism. of police violence. of struggle. of resistance.
we are indigenous to Turtle Island. refusing to be colonized.
we are indigenous to other lands. migrants. refusing to be settlers.
our struggles are separate. our struggles are linked.
we are taking back the land. we are building a sanctuary city.
we are fighting. with hope. for justice. for dignity.
for all of us.
On May 1, No One Is Illegal - Toronto and community and labor allies
are organizing the 6th annual May Day demonstration for migrant
justice and status for all. http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay
Artist Websites:
http://kinniestarr.net/
http://www.myspace.com/amaikuda
http://www.myspace.com/lenarecollet
http://matadanze.com/
www.lenarecollet.com
Supported by:
www.r3artists.com
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/
http://www.torontoartscouncil.org/
Seven Directions
Moyo Africa
For more information, contact
r3artistscollective at gmail.com
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/SpringUp
-------------------------------------------------
12) Love Letters To Japan: Cabaret Fundraiser for Earthquake Relief in Japan
As you know, earthquake (8.9 magnitude) hit Japan recently. The quake
was the fifth-largest
in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger than the one
which devastated
Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, said scientists (BBC News).
As a community, we have mobilized together and organized this
fundraising event for Japan.
There's not much we can do, but at least we can support the
organizations that are supporting the
people who are affected by the earthquake.
With much love for Japan, we have decided to call our event 'Love
Letters to Japan' - a night full
of good music, amazing performances, and love from the broader
community. Please join us in
solidarity by coming out for this amazing event with the ultimate goal
to support the earthquake relief in Japan.
Where: Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
Date: Sunday April 3rd
Time: 6:00pm - 10pm
DJ: TBA
Performers: TBA
Cover: $10
We are proud to announce that this is an all ages event, and also
wheelchair accessible!
All the proceeds will be donated to Red Cross Canada!
We would like to thank Buddies in Bad Time Theatre for providing us the
space and Asian
Community AIDS Services for providing meeting space to organize this event.
We would also like to thank all the planning committee members,
volunteers, performers,
and community members who are supporting this event.
If you can't make it, but you still would like to contribute. This is
how you can do it.
(1) Text to Donate.
You can text the word ASIA to 30333 to make a one-time donation of $5.
This is a reliable donation method by Red Cross Canada.
(2) Donate Online
You can donate online at:
https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/startup.aspx?eventid=66175.
(3) Call to Donate
You can call 1-800-418-1111 to donate.
(4) Mail to Donate / Donate in a Bank
You can mail a cheque payable to Red Cross Canada or donate at a
participating bank, such as RBC, CIBC, TD, etc.
---------------------------------------------------
13) Up Against the Temp Shop: May Day Assembly on Immigrant Rights with
Ai-Jen Poo
(National Co-Chair of the Domestic Workers’ Alliance), David McNally &
Farrah Miranda
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187631304606392
April 4, 2011
6:30pm
72 Lib, 350 Victoria Street
Ryerson University
Come join the people's assembly on immigrant rights, undocumented,
temporary and
precarious work and the fight for status in Toronto and beyond!
Migrant Justice organizers in Toronto and across Turtle Island have
fought to create
workplace protections and benefits, access to services, and full status
for undocumented
and precarious status workers. In the face of cutbacks, privatization,
and forced displacement
around the globe, and anti-immigrant policies in Canada, this assembly
is a space to
build a community-labour vision for immigrant rights and justice, and
ensure that the
rights of the most vulnerable and precarious parts of the working class
continue to be
fore-fronted during May Day, and within all struggles for justice.
AI-JEN POO has been organizing immigrant women workers in New York since
1996. She was the
Lead Organizer for Domestic Workers United (DWU), an organization of
nannies, housekeepers
and elderly caregivers in New York organizing for power, respect, fair
labor standards and
to help build a movement to end oppression for all. In July 2010
Domestic Workers United
won the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that guarantees basic work
standards and protections
for nannies, caregivers, and housekeepers. DWU helped to organize the
first national meeting
of domestic workers organizations at the US Social Forum in 2007, which
resulted in the
formation of the National Domestic Workers Alliance of which Ai-Jen is
now National Co-Chair.
Ai-jen also serves on the Board of New York Jobs with Justice, Social
Justice Leadership,
the Labor Advisory Board at Cornell ILR School and the Coordinating
Committee of Grassroots
Global Justice.
Full details and list of endorsers:
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/576
-----------------------------------------------------
14) Lines of Resistance: Prison Art from the Middle East
An Exhibition of Paintings and Mixed Media Art
Beit Zatoun
612 Markham St.
Toronto, ON
Exhibit runs Saturday, April 9 to Sunday, April 17
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 pm
Lines of Resistance: Prison Art from the Middle East is a mixed media
work produced by former
political prisoners from the Middle East, notably Iran, as well as
artists standing in solidarity
with them. The exhibition is an instance of visualizing atrocities
committed by states in the region including Israel.
Since June 2009, the regime has imprisoned and executed thousands of its
citizens; the crimes
have been surrounded in an official culture of silence and denial.
This exhibition serves as a testament to those who resist oppressive
state policies. It is also an
opportunity for us to stand in solidarity with the Iranian people and
demand the immediate end to
imprisonment, torture and executions.
The project was created by Shahrzad Mojab, a professor of women’s
studies at OISE at the University
of Toronto, as part of her research into the effect of violence and war
on women and learning. Mojab
started using art — from dance and song to painting — four years ago to
help women deal with the trauma of prison.
http://beitzatoun.org/cms/events.aspx
------------------------------------------------------
15) #May1: 6th Annual May Day of Action for Status for All
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131496730256133
May 1, 12noon, Parkdale, Toronto.
On International Workers Day, join the 6th annual May Day of Action for
Status
for All to help push immigration enforcement out of Toronto, ensure full
status
for temporary and undocumented workers, and to join the fight against
cuts to
public services and increased policing and militarization. Together, we
will
march in defense of indigenous sovereignty, against economic and
military wars
and environmental degradation, and to join with workers around the
world, people
of color, women, queer and disabled people, indigenous people, waged or
unwaged,
with or without citizenship status, in the fight to live freely with
justice and dignity.
Full details & what you can do: http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay2011
----------------------------------------------------
Call outs and Resources:
1) Launch Campus Divestment Campaign
Students Against Israeli Apartheid at the University of Toronto and York
University
Sign the SAIA Toronto Divestment Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/divestto/petition.html
On Monday March 7th, the first night of Israeli Apartheid Week 2011,
Students Against Israeli Apartheid, at the
University of Toronto and York University officially launched a campaign
demanding that their respective universities
divest from four companies involved in violations of Palestinian human
rights and Israeli Apartheid. Investments
in BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Hewlett Packard
have been found in the University of Toronto's
Pension Master Trust, Long Term Capital Appreciation Pool, and
Expendable Funds Investment Pool, as well as
in York University's Pension and Endowment Funds. The complicit
companies create military technologies used
in the murder of civilians, the destruction of infrastructure and the
daily humiliation of Palestinians. Just
under two decades ago York University was one of the first to divest
from South African Apartheid; U of T was
shamefully one of the last.
The entire week of IAW events, including guest lectures from Judith
Butler, Ali Abunimah, Judy Rebick and Riham
Barghouti, focussed on institutional complicity and the importance of
the campus as a site of resistance. All
of the week's speakers have signed on to our divestment campaign in the
spirit of holding our universities
accountable to their purported commitment to the “vigilant protection of
human rights".
Join these renowned intellectuals and social justice activists, in
addition to over 100 faculty members
who have already signed on, to demand that our universities do the right
thing and take action to divest now!
Please sign our petition below and encourage your organization, union or
club to stand with us against
our universities' complicity in human right's violations against
Palestinians.
We thank you for your support.
View our Divestment Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtCNTM-o288
View Our Divestment Reports on the SAIA Toronto Website:
http://tinyurl.com/66wkb8p
Sign Our Divestment Petition Here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/divestto/petition.html
For more information, get in touch: toronto.divests at gmail.com
---------------------------------------------------
2) Toronto Anarchist Bookfair Callout Updates!
1. Final Callout for Workshop Proposals
2. ASL-English Interpretation
3. Callout for Bookfair Volunteers
Final Callout for Workshop Proposals
The 2011 Toronto Anarchist Bookfair will host an exciting array of
workshops, skillshares,
discussions and debates on a range of issues related to local
anti-authoritarian organizing,
communities and lifestyles. We are still accepting workshop proposals,
though the formal
deadline is March 18, 2011. We encourage all those interested in
facilitating a discussion,
presenting anarchist-related ideas, or offering skillshares to submit a
proposal to us at
toanarchistbookfair at gmail.com. While we will do our best to create space
for all approved
workshops regardless of submission time, after the workshop schedule is
released it will
be significantly more difficult to do so, so we encourage submissions at
the earliest possible moment.
Some examples of workshops and activities we’d love to host:
* Radical history and past anarchist struggles
* Action skills and demo preparation – eg. scouting, action planning,
demo marshalling, street messaging, etc.
* Anti-oppression, accessibility, and movement inclusivity discussions
* Physical &/or outdoor activities
* DIY skills and hands-on activities
ASL-English Interpretation
Due to our financial situation, we will only be able to provide
ASL-English interpretation for a
portion of the bookfair. If you will be using ASL-English interpretation
to participate in
workshops, please get in touch with us at toanarchistbookfair at gmail.com
so that we can schedule
the workshops you are most interested in at times when interpretation is
available.
Callout for Bookfair Volunteers
The bookfair needs your help! In order to make the weekend run
smoothly, we’re seeking volunteers
to help with setup, take-down, tabling, transportation, communication,
etc. There will be many tasks
and one of the best ways to support the ongoing assembly of anarchists
and allies is to pitch in a
little at convergences such as these. If you can spare any time or would
like to help out, please
contact us by e-mail – again, that’s toanarchistbookfair at gmail.com.
Please include “Volunteer” in the subject line.
http://www.torontoanarchistbookfair.wordpress.com
---------------------------------------------------------
YOUTH IN RESEARCH = PART OF THE SOLUTION
3) The National Aboriginal Youth Council on HIV & AIDS offers the
following guidelines :
? Aboriginal Youth want to be actively leading research, not just being
the subjects
? Aboriginal Youth ask that the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN)
offer experiences to
participate in research projects, research committees, and community
based journals
? Aboriginal Youth ask to be involved in International Indigenous HIV
and AIDS initiatives
? CAAN spotlight the experiences of NAYCHA members and projects/research
that they are involved
in (i.e. Invite Aboriginal Youth to speak at plenary sessions at annual
conferences)
? Interact and mentor Aboriginal Youth in a way that lets them draw from
your experience and
arrive at their own conclusions
? Encourage Aboriginal Youth to look around their community, and build
on research supports that
already exist to lead their own HIV and AIDS research
? Share success stories, strategies and wise practices with Aboriginal Youth
? Address the gap in awareness about funding and resources available for
Aboriginal Youth HIV and AIDS research
? Create youth-led sessions for youth
? Provide incentives for Aboriginal Youth to participate in research
(i.e. travel money)
? Involve Elders and parents in education and research about HIV and
AIDS among Aboriginal Youth,
so we can learn together
? Offer your skills and experience to Aboriginal Youth in areas which
they may lack expertise
(i.e. proposal grant writing, research design) while allowing them to
maintain youth leadership on the project
? Acknowledge different ways in which research is already being done by
Aboriginal youth (i.e.
arts based/digital stories, videos, hip-hop, graffiti, surveys,
interviews, and painting)
? Recognize that Aboriginal Youth listen to their peers
? Work with youth to facilitate a Taking Action! workshop in your
community (arts based and
community-based projects where youth talk about and do research on HIV
and AIDS)
? Remember- Youth have inspirational goals, visions, and dreams
Aboriginal Youth
Leading the Future through Research
This direction is a result of “Aboriginal Youth Doing Research” session
at Wise Practices III in Halifax, NS, March 9, 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------
4) Interrogating Apartheid:
Campus as a Site of Resistance
Check out the FREE footage:
http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls94.php
Moderated by Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Chadni Desai.
Presentations by:
* Judy Rebick is a well-known social justice activist, writer,
journalist, educator and speaker.
She was also one of eight Jewish women who occupied the Israeli
consulate in protest of the attack on Gaza in 2009.
* Abigail Bakan is Professor of Political Studies and Chair of
Undergraduate Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
* Shatha al-Husseini is a member of Students Against Israeli
Apartheid-University of Toronto.
Hosted by Students Against Israeli Apartheid UofT – a working group of
OPIRG-Toronto, part of the Israeli Apartheid Week 2011.
-----------------------------------------------------------
5) YU Free Press: Bodies of Identity Issue released TODAY!
Dear YU Free Press supporters,
With great enthusiasm the YU Free Press would like to announce the
official release our ‘Bodies of Identity’ issue, the YUFP’s third and
final installment for the 2010-2011 academic school year. They will be
hitting the stands today!
Our alternative campus newspaper can be found in the following
locations:
- Student Centre, Outside Main Doors
- Vari Hall (2 locations)
- Vari Hall Rotunda
- Ross link
- Central Square (4 locations)
- Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies Building, Front Lobby
- Political Science Department, 6th Floor South Ross
- Winters college
- Founders college
- Stong college
- Bethune college
- School of Women’s Studies (2nd floor Founders college)
- Centre for Women and Trans People, Student Centre Rm 322
- York Federation of Students Main Office, Room 336 Student Centre
- York Federation of Students Members Services Office, Room 106
Student Centre
Also, be sure to look out for this issue on our website www.yufreepress.org.
It is currently available in PDF (page-turning) format, but the text
version should be available hopefully by sometime next week! Feel free
to contact us at info at yufreepress.org if you have any questions,
comments or concerns. Please also stay tuned to upcoming announcements
for distribution volunteer callouts, and other upcoming YU Free Press
things!
Thank you,
YU Free Press Editorial Collective
More information about the Opirgyork
mailing list