[van-announce] Community Events Digest

[SFPIRG]

Community Events Digest
    ==Social justice events happening around town==

1)  Meeting to Plan Public Mobilization of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies (Nov 5)
2)  SFU Students United for Disability Support Meeting (Nov 6)
3)  Fair Trade and Land Reform in Guatemala (Nov 6)
4)  Media Democracy Day 2009 (Nov 6-7)
5)  1929-1939: From Crash To Catastrophe: Teach In On What Happened And Its Lessons Today (Nov 7-8, 11) 
6)  An Evening With S. Bear Bergman (Nov 9, UBC)
7)  Peer Support Workshop (Nov 9, SFU)
8)  Ancient Forests for the Climate Rally at Gordon Campbell's office (Nov 12)
9)  Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival (Nov 12-15)
10) Free Community Movie Night: Darwin’s Nightmare (Nov 13)
11) Malalai Joya Book launch and forum (Nov 14)
12) Personal Stories of Women in War (Nov 16)
13) The Dhamma Brothers Film: Meditation in Prison (Nov 16)
14) Gender wHAT?!? A Gender Workshop (Nov 17, SFU)
15) Launch of The Dominion's Olympics Issue (Nov 19)
16) Libraries Across Borders Soiree (Nov 20)
17) GET INVOLVED: Seeking folks at SFU interested in organizing on Animal Rights issues


**compiled by SFPIRG, SFU's student-based social justice resource centre.
http://www.sfpirg.ca. To have your event included in the next digest, send a
text-based email announcement to sfpirg (at) sfu.ca. **




1)
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Meeting to Plan Public Mobilization of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies

Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 - 9pm
SFU - Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St., room 2245
Vancouver BC - Coast Salish Territory

The Olympic Resistance Network, StopWar.ca, Vancouver Status of Women, Anti-Poverty Committee, No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Work Less Party, Social Justice Centre - UBC, Pink Resistance, Student Christian Movement -UBC, and Streams of Justice have endorsed the 2010 Welcoming Committee and a mass demonstration to coincide with the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the arrival of the Olympic torch from its RBC sponsored cross-country relay.

The 2010 Welcoming Committee invites you/your group to join in organizing this event. Other than the date and general location (Feb. 12 and close to the opening ceremonies at BC Place Stadium), the messaging, event plan, and specifics are up to those who choose to participate in the planning. The goal is to include a wide range of activist, Indigenous, social justice, environmental, anti-poverty, labour, civil libertarian, anti globalization, community, anti-war, women's and other groups and individuals to build a broad and accessible protest presence.  This group is united by a social justice critique of the 2010 Olympics.

As the Winter Olympics begin, we need to show the world that there is opposition and to articulate the negative impact it has on our communities and environment. The very act of demonstrating and marching in the downtown core has become a defiant act as many of the streets and sites have been specially purposed for the Games with bylaws that restrict speech, protest, mobility, and assembly.

Contact:  2010welcoming at resist.ca



2)
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SFU Students United for Disability Support Meeting

Students United for Disability Support (SUDS) General Meeting
followed by a social (with free food!) 
Fri Nov. 6th, 3 to 6 p.m.
3-4pm Meeting
4-6pm Social
Maggie Benston room 2290, SFU Burnaby

We urge you to come to the general meeting because it will update you on what’s happening in SUDS and give you a chance to participate in planning SUDS projects. 

Quorum is also needed to nominate and elect people to the following executive positions:
-Secretary
-Treasurer
-SFSS Forum Representative

The Executive Committee can answer any questions you have about these positions and their duties. There are many benefits to getting involved in the Executive Committee: volunteer experience, networking, making new friends, collaborating with SFSS and other groups on campus and much more!

If you plan to attend and need disability support for either the meeting or the social, please let us know ASAP and we will arrange it to the best of our abilities!

suds-execs at sfu.ca



3)
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Fair Trade and Land Reform in Guatemala: Film Debut: “Madre Tierra” 

by Clif Prowse & the CCDA
 
How one organization, the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) is making a difference in the struggle for land rights and survival for Guatemalan campesino families.

Friday, November 6th, 7:00 pm
$5 (suggested donation) 
Rhizome Café—317 East Broadway (north side of Broadway across from the Kingsgate Mall)       

With Special Guests:   
 
Lesbia Morales Sicán: Member of the National Executive of the CCDA,, women’s economic development coordinator, & responsible for production/marketing of Café Justicia, the fair trade coffee produced by CCDA farmers & exported to Canadian consumers.
 
Herlindo Hernandez Pu: Coordinator of the CCDA’s southern region of Guatemala, and active in the CCDA’s Commission for Production, Transformation, & Commercialization. He has a background in alternative development and sustainable agriculture.
 
Sponsored by BCCASA/Café Justicia



4)
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Media Democracy Day 2009

Includes Interactive Panels, Workshops, and Media Fair

Saturday November 7th 2009 from 11 am to 6 pm
Vancouver Public Library
350 West Georgia Street
Admission is by donation and open to everyone.

Full details:
http://www.mediademocracyday.org/vancouver

Another MDD event:

Remixing Pop Culture: Media Democracy Day Kick-Off Screening and Panel! 
Fri November 6th 7:00pm 
Alma VanDusen Room, Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia. 

A public screening of Rip: A Remix Manifesto, a documentary film about copyright and remix media culture. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion led by Steve Anderson (SaveOurNet.ca, OpenMedia.ca), Larry Kuehn (Director, Research and Technology, BCTF) and Paul Whitney (City Librarian, VPL). 



5)
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1929-1939- From Crash To Catastrophe
A Teach In On What Happened And Its Lessons Today

NOV. 7, 8 & 11
MARITIME LABOUR CENTRE
1880 Triumph Street

Full program: http://www.peaceforumteachin.org/ 

The Great' Depression, the rise of fascism, the debates that shook 
the workers' movement, the Spanish Civil War, the transformation from 
coal to oil, the rise of the American Empire, the origins of mass 
media, the birth of mass industrial unions, youth, anti-war and 
solidarity movements and much more- the 'thirties' were a decade that 
had a huge impact on the world we live in today and the tasks that 
face activists. Following the success of the first World Peace Forum 
Teach In in 2008 which looked at the impact of World War I this 
gathering of academics, artists and activists will discuss and debate 
the decade between the great 'crash' of October 1929 and the official 
beginning of the Second World War in September of 1939.

With the goal of supporting peace, economic and social justice and 
ecological sustainability, the World Peace Forum is creating a 
program featuring speakers from across North America who will shed 
light on the roots of the present in the past. In plenary sessions 
and smaller workshops the lessons of history and the tasks of today 
will be discussed and debated. On Remembrance Day- November 11- there 
will be a special series of panels for young people- the generation 
who will decide what the future of humanity will look like and 
whether there will be one.

The Wednesday, Nov. 11 program is an afternoon entirely created for 
young people. We are trying to build this aspect of the Teach In and 
reclaim Remembrance Day as an anti-war day

Full program:    http://www.peaceforumteachin.org/ or  http://www.worldpeaceforumbc.ca

To get involved email info(at)worldpeaceforumbc.ca



6)
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An Evening With S. Bear Bergman

Join us for a reading from
The Nearest Exit May be Behind You 
(Arsenal Pulp Press. Fall 2009)
followed by a discussion with the author
 
Monday November 9, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm, 
Lillooet Room (301), Chapman Learning Commons, UBC
 
S. Bear Bergman is known as a writer, a theatre artist, an instigator, and a gender-jammer. Ze is the is the author of Butch is a Noun (Suspect Thoughts Press, 2006) and three award-winning solo performances. 

For more information about the author please visit http://www.sbearbergman.com
 
Co –sponsored by Access and Diversity, Critical Studies in Sexuality, The Equity Ambassadors, UBC Pride and UBC Gender Performances Project
 


7)
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Peer Support Workshop

The objectives of this 2 hour workshop are to learn how to effectively support your peers. We will be focusing on listening skills, incorporating the use of empathy and questioning.  We will also discuss appropriate boundary setting and self-care.  Finally, we will review how you can provide support to someone in acute distress and assess and refer those who may be at risk of suicide.  The session will combine lecture and hands on practice. 

When: Monday, November 9th, 2009
Time: 2-4pm
Location: MBC 2290, SFU Burnaby
Organized by Out on Campus
Please RSVP to ooc (at) sfss.ca



8)
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Ancient Forests for the Climate Rally at Gordon Campbell's office

Thursday Nov 12th, 12 noon 
Gordon Campbell's office, W 4th and Alma

Witness the unveiling of the giant green 'elephant in the room' that the government has been conveniently ignoring in the climate change debate!

For more information email ancientforests(at)sfpirg.ca or go to http://www.sfpirg.ca



9)
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Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival

November 12 to 15
Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour Street (at Davie) 

For more information: http://www.amnestyfilmfest.ca/vancouver09.html



10)
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Free Community Movie Night: Darwin’s Nightmare
 
Join us for a movie, snacks, discussion, and great company! 

Friday November 13 @ 7:00 – 9:00
Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice
672 East Broadway @ Fraser
 
Darwin's Nightmare
A film by Hubert Sauper
http://www.darwinsnightmare.com/
“Darwin's Nightmare is a tale about humans between the North and the South, about globalization, and about fish.” 

Presented by the Alliance for People’s Health
allianceforpeopleshealth at gmail.com
604-215-2775



11)
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Malalai Joya Book launch and forum

Saturday, November 14 
7p.m., St. Andrew's - Wesley Church (1022 Nelson St, at the corner of Burrard)
Suggested Donation: $5-10

Please join us for this special event: the Canadian launch of Malalai Joya's book, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Speak Out, which Kirkus Reviews calls, "A chilling, vital memoir that
reveals hidden truths about Afghanistan and directly addresses the misguided policies of the United States." 

Co-written with StopWar activist and writer Derrick O'Keefe, A Woman Among Warlords is an important and timely book. Malalai Joya's personal story is inspiring, and her political message is an uncompromising appeal for an end to NATO's occupation of Afghanistan and the impunity of the warlords in the Karzai regime. Don't miss this rare chance to hear Malalai Joya in person.

Suggested donation: $5-10. All proceeds will go towards Malalai Joya's humanitarian projects in Afghanistan. 

Organized by StopWar.ca. (http://stopwar.ca)

Sponsors:
Simon & Schuster Canada, the Canadian Peace Alliance, Voice of Women - Canada, rabble.ca, Iranian Centre for Peace, Freedom and Social Justice.



12)
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Personal Stories of Women in War

A Story to Tell and a Place for the Telling 2010 Series: "Women in War"
Mon Nov 16th, 7pm, 
SFU Harbour Centre, Room 1900, 515 West Hastings St, Vancouver. 

Two Afghanistan born women living in Canada will be sharing their personal stories with war in Afghanistan and taking questions from the public. 

presented by The Canadian Red Cross and SFU’s ISSA
Info: 604-709-6653.



13)
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The Dhamma Brothers: Meditation in Prison
 
The Dhamma Brothers is a documentary based on personal transformation in prisons, where eastern philosophy and meditation are not widely practiced. http://www.dhammabrothers.com/

Monday, November 16, 2009
Doors open at 6:30pm - film 7:00pm - panel 8:30pm
Location: Langara College 100 West 49th Avenue – Newberry Hall (Room A130*)

Admission by *donation* BUT *RSVP* to VancouverBPF at yahoo.ca
No one will be turned away due to lack of funds;
all money raised will go to prison support groups;

Film followed by a panel:

*Am Johal *[contact <http://www.2010homelessness.ca/contact.html>] will 
moderate a panel discussion on it with:
*Gabor Maté* – addictions counsellor and author of "In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts"
*Alison Granger Brown* – recreation therapist at the Fraser Valley Institution
*Anila Ann McNeil* – Tibetan Buddhist nun and prison chaplain for Fraser Valley federal prisons
*Bridget MacKenzie* – prison chaplain for Fraser Valley federal prisons

More info:
http://vancouverbpf.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/the-dhamma-brothers-meditation-in-prison/



14)
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Gender wHAT?!? A Gender Workshop

A down to earth look gender construction and [trans]gender identities.

When: Tuesday, November 17th 2009
Time: 12:30-2:30pm
Location: Maggie Benson Centre 2290, SFU, Burnaby
Organized by Out On Campus
Please RSVP to ooc at sfss.ca

   1. Intro
   2. 'Trans' Terms
   3. Binary Gender System & Pyramid of Oppression
   4. Gender Gumby: Where do you fit?
   5. Myths and Stereotypes
   6. Cisgender Privilege
   7. Being an Ally
   8. Conclusion/Wrap up



15)
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Launch of The Dominion's Olympics Issue

Thursday, November 19, 7:00pm
Rhizome Café,
317 E Broadway (at Kingsway) Vancouver
Free

Join us for an evening of critical discussion and debate with local writers and editors to mark the Vancouver launch of The Dominion's special issue on the 2010 Olympics.

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/



16)
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Libraries Across Borders Soiree

Friday, November 20, 7:00pm
Rhizome Café,
317 E Broadway (at Kingsway) Vancouver
Free

Libraries across Borders envisions a world in which library services exist in all communities.  Come celebrate this work, and hear special guest speaker Shirley Giggey speak on various projects to create and sustain libraries in small communities.
$10-$25 suggested donation, proceeds to support library and literacy projects
 


17)
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GET INVOLVED 
Seeking folks at SFU interested in organizing on Animal Rights issues

Are you passionate about animal rights and protection? I am looking for dedicated and passionate individuals who would like to work with me to start an Animal Action Group at SFPIRG. Our goal would be to educate and create awareness. The focus is open to discussion. Interested? Please contact Michelle at mmr5 at sfu.ca