#Intergenerational Learning Circle for Community Service

[waitmyturtles]

Jumping into the Cooking Crush familial fray...

I've lately been a bit behind on all my dramas, but I did see percolating over the weekend a great conversation among drama friends and fiends about interpretations of Asian parenting tactics, family values, interfamily communication, and intergenerational trauma regarding Cooking Crush.

This past weekend's episode 11 seemed to bring up a lot. I feel like one of my Reasons for Being on Tumblr is to share thoughts on Asian family dynamics, structures, and tensions regarding our beloved Asian dramas, so I am simply going to add a few extra thoughts to @neuroticbookworm's absolutely FANTASTIC post here that meditates on the ongoing conflict between Ten and his father.

Before I jump into NBW's amazing post, I want to linky-poo some previous writing that I've done on Asian cultural touchpoints in other shows:

Poor Bad Buddy got the Asian analytical treatment here and here

Only Friends and Mew's lesbian moms being Asian moms first, here

A meditation specifically on BBS's Dissaya and saving face, here (which, in regards to her conflict with Ming, we should note, directly led to her literally sending her son physically away from her to continue the family feud)

When I watch our beloved Asian shows, as an Asian-American, I am clicking unconsciously into certain assumptions about how Asian parents and children WILL behave when parents are called for in a show (I emphasized this specifically in my OF piece about Mew's moms). I expect there to be either filial piety present, or struggles with it. I expect to see elder hierarchy and/or issues with elder respect. I expect to see issues regarding saving face. I expect to see issues regarding conditional love, and how a child should act so a parent may boast and/or save face with their external social circles. I expect to see issues regarding independence and parental control over... just about everything in a child's life, from their education to their partners. (Think of King's parents in Bed Friend, and how his parents were ready to arrange a marriage for him; Tian's parents sending him to America in A Tale of Thousand Stars, etc.)

Shows that DON'T deal with these issues -- shows that have wonderfully understanding parents, like Thun's mom in He's Coming To Me, and Pete's dad in Dark Blue Kiss, are also realistic, because of course, nothing is universal, and there are understanding and unconditionally loving parents in every culture.

But most of the Asian shows that we watch have themes like filial piety and elder respect/control present, and it's up to the show's writers to figure out how these elements play into the plots that they're writing.

Through @neuroticbookworm's post, I see that some in the Cooking Crush fandom are calling for Ten's dad to apologize for his hypocrisy in calling Ten out for hitting Chang Ma, while we have seen Ten's dad slapping Ten.

I want to get into how Ten engages with his father in a second, because it's pretty rare in Asian shows to see a child so directly combative, so consistently, with a parent figure. But before that, NBW makes an excellent point with the following:

But, I understand it when my friends, and Asian characters in TV shows, don’t want to force things out in the open if it can be swept under the rug for the time being, because peace of mind in Asian households is fleeting and you would be wise to take what you get.

This is a very important point that those of us in the social services are hammered with -- in other words, how do individuals, as they are growing up, adjust their behaviors to keep the stability of their family bonds either strong, or at least not weak enough to break? How does a child learn to adapt and/or cope for the sake of the other older individuals in their families who DEMAND compliance with their own emotional needs?

Ten has a combative relationship with his father -- but he's still done everything his father has asked for, save for staying away from Prem. As @respectthepetty previously noted, Fire becomes submissive around pressure and high-tension individuals and situations -- because that's how he's learn to cope vis à vis his mother and his upbringing.

This framing -- these specific, generational, tension-informed family dynamics that we see ad nauseam in Asian dramas -- do not lead to an automatic assumption among Asian audiences that apologies would emanate from the parental generation. Especially because the previous generational paradigm is that children have and should go along with the flow of parental control and demands -- as Ten and Fire have so far done.

In Asian collectivist societies and mentalities -- to combat against that flow of control would lead to a breaking of the peace among the family unit, in NBW's words.

I would even go so far as to say that an apology from a parent is as much of a fictional ending fantasy as a perfect romantic ending. And damn, what we have to go through to get an apology. NBW brought up Double Savage, which was so awfully messy -- we got a parental apology only after a not-at-fault child had to unnecessarily apologize first. The show made the children work beyond basic emotional ethics to get that parental apology. That's how rare it is for us Asians to expect a parent to apologize. (And NBW notes so beautifully that even showmakers themselves may not know how to write apologies -- because they themselves may have never received one in real life.)

Considering all these family dynamics and tensions, getting a 180-degree admission of wrongdoing from an Asian parent is rare. And part of the fabric of the lives of us Asians is in sharing stories with our communities about the tensions, the trauma, the misunderstandings that we've faced from our families to be perfect and obedient in all aspects of our lives, as NBW so eloquently says about her country's culture, which includes tremendous control over the sexual lives of children. That's why I go to Asian shows over Western media -- so that I can experience some of that communing over commonalities in fiction.

I want to make one final quick point about Ten's behavior towards his dad, which we see is abrupt and combative. Ten's got some gumption to talk to his father like that, which, me likey, but it's rare to see in Asian shows. Of utmost importance to note is that their history is marked by a severely traumatic event in the death of Ten's mom, which is guaranteed to have had a lifelong impact on the bond between Ten and his dad, and colors their relationship. I know that's obvious by way of the dialogue, but what we see in this outburst is a kind of marked ending to a journey map of his life's experience that got him to the point of the fight. (@neuroticbookworm, I'm stealing your screenshots, thank yew, friend!)

This fight had A LOT IN IT. It was about saving face, about the embarrassment that Ten's dad knows the slapping event will cause on Ten and Ten's friends (and, frankly, Ten's dad himself). It was about Ten's childhood trauma in losing his mother and his anger with his father for his father's actions. It was a revelation that Ten's dad had actually acted, in his own way, and failed at saving Ten's mom. It was about Ten's performance in school, and how Ten says that he has indeed been keeping up with his father's standards. And a whole lot more.

I'm betting money on at least some people -- maybe many people -- in Asian audiences watching this and being critical of Ten for being so combative to his father, his father being Ten's provider for education and money. THIS CRITICISM IS VERY COMMON.

While Western fandoms may celebrate performances of individualism and confrontation, many in Asian audiences will not agree with that. They will see Ten being disrespectful to a parental figure that, in our cultural mores, would arguably automatically demand respect from the start through our notions of elder respect and hierarchy.

This is, in part, because many Asians see going against the flow of familial peace as disruptive. And, anthropologically -- who are we in the West to judge that?

That's why this scene is SO FUCKING HUGE. As an American, I'm like, fuck yeah, read this fucking dad out for filth. As an Asian, I'm like, WHOAAAAAAAAAA. For real.

AND? THE ENDING of this fight -- with Ten's dad making one actually good point about how Ten's punch will affect his friends?

That's collectivism again. That's Ten's dad helping Ten to grow in that moment and recognize that Ten's actions affect other people. That shit is complicated, and I believe it's 100% intended to be complicated.

The dad is still clearly a hypocrite. I do not think that we get that entire fight scene without the show commenting on Ten's dad's hypocrisy that one's actions have impacts on others. Ten's dad is not clicked into his own collectivism, and I believe the show calls him out for it. If that scene only wanted to call out Ten -- we would have only seen that last part about Prem and Prem's friends. We would not have gotten all that other backstory, all the threads in this incredible fight scene.

It was a hell of a well-done scene. And I very much believe that scene is symbolic of this entire show -- marketed as a comedy, friends! -- being insidiously about very complicated family bonds, and depicting the struggles of these bonds just brilliantly.

This show is DIGGING THE HELL into the family backgrounds of characters experiencing tremendous life changes -- including MEDICAL STUDENTS! THE CREAM OF THE CROP FOR ASIAN PARENTS! -- and showing how these pressures can make young adults crumble or resilient.

I didn't mean to write so long, but alas -- y'all talk about Asian families, and I gotta yap. Thank you for letting me throw some coins in the pot, and to offer some thoughts about what us Asians are clicking into in our beloved Asian shows.

Tagging @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @respectthepetty, @heretherebedork, and @williamrikers for enlightening convos this weekend, and many thanks to my dear Asian friendo @neuroticbookworm for one hell of a meditation that I enjoyed and related to deeply.

[xinkaiz]

Xinkai Zhang Blog Post #4 The link between the digital divide and equity

At present, digitalization is deeply affecting people's production mode, life style and governance mode, and realizing digital equity is undoubtedly an important prerequisite and basic guarantee for achieving all-round and equitable economic and social development. With the rapid development and popularization of the new generation of information technology represented by big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, etc., digitalization has penetrated into all areas of economic and social development, and the digital divide, digital inequity and other issues have become increasingly prominent, which has aroused the attention of all circles to digital equity. Digital equity refers to the equity enjoyed by different social subjects in the use of data resources and digital technology. Digital fairness refers to the public's understanding and perception of digital fairness, such as the public's perception of the fairness of digital infrastructure and services, the ability to use digital resources, and digital dividend sharing.

Culture has more and more digital outputs. In cultural digitalization, a very important part is the digitalization of cultural resources. After the digitalization of resources, new interests will emerge, and the distribution of interests needs to be fair, which can promote the development of culture and cultural digitalization and form a virtuous circle. There is no doubt that digital technology and digital platforms, which promote the digitalization of the cultural industry, have an important enabling capacity for the spread of culture and reflect the value of data. But now unfair situations are everywhere. For example, the digital news platform does not produce news, but it gathers a lot of news information, which makes a lot of money; The academic digital platform does not produce academic papers, but also just gathers a large number of electronic papers to make a huge profit. The governance mode, production mode, learning mode, lifestyle, etc. that adapt to digital change are gradually taking shape. The equitable distribution of interests is related to digital civilization, digital equity and digital justice. Digitalization needs to be fair, otherwise it will inevitably affect the development of digitalization. In the field of cultural digital reform, we should actively explore and take the lead.

The digital divide generally refers to the trend of information gap and polarization between rich and poor caused by the difference in ownership, application and innovation ability of information and network technology between different countries, regions, industries, enterprises and communities in the process of global digitalization. With the continuous progress of digital technology, people's understanding of the digital divide has been further subdivided. The difference between the ownership of early information technology and tools is called the first digital divide. Today, the gap reflected in the skills and literacy level of information use is called the second digital divide. The fourth industrial revolution pushed the world into the digital economy era. The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, e-commerce, cloud computing and other new things continue to emerge, highlighting the advanced, efficient and convenient digital economy era. However, another fact that can not be ignored is that the digital divide is widening worldwide. If not properly addressed, it will hinder the sustainable development of the digital economy and cause more social problems. To face the imbalance of digital infrastructure and digital literacy caused by intergenerational differences, income differences, education differences, regional differences, etc., and realize the "digital accessibility" public policies and services that benefit all kinds of people.

Reference

[antonioarchangelo]

Um exemplo de solidariedade intergeracional

Um exemplo de solidariedade intergeracional

Imagem disponível em <https://jornaldesafio.com.br/jovem-larga-tudo-para-cuidar-de-avo-de-105-anos-com-alzheimer-na-zona-rural-de-serra-talhada/> Acesso 24 de junho de 2020.

Europa, taxa de fertilidade e futuro econômico: todos sabemos que essas palavras têm um relacionamento complicado cada vez mais. As maiores dificuldades estão na viabilidade do sistema de pensões, no aumento dos custos com…

[ucflibrary]

The national celebration of African American History was started by Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian and the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and first celebrated as a weeklong event in February of 1926. After a half century of overwhelming popularity, the event was expanded to a full month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

Here at UCF Libraries we believe that knowledge empowers everyone in our community and that recognizing past inequities is the only way to prevent their continuation. This is why our February Featured Bookshelf suggestions range from celebrating outstanding African Americans to works illuminating the effects of systemic racism in our country. We are proud to present our top staff suggested books in honor of Black History Month 2021.

Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the Black History Month titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These books plus many, many more are also on display on the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library near the Research & Information Desk.

 A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross In centering Black women's stories, two award-winning historians seek both to empower African American women and to show their allies that Black women's unique ability to make their own communities while combatting centuries of oppression is an essential component in our continued resistance to systemic racism and sexism. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women's history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing: the incarceration of African American women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill For black American women, the experience of being bound has taken many forms: from the bondage of slavery to the Reconstruction-era criminalization of women; from the brutal constraints of Jim Crow to our own era's prison industrial complex, where between 1980 and 2014, the number of incarcerated women increased by 700%. For those women who lived and died resisting the dehumanization of confinement--physical, social, intellectual--the threat of being bound was real, constant, and lethal. From Harriet Tubman to Assata Shakur, Ida B. Wells to Sandra Bland and Black Lives Matter, black women freedom fighters have braved violence, scorn, despair, and isolation in order to lodge their protests. DaMaris Hill honors their experiences with at times harrowing, at times hopeful responses to her heroes, illustrated with black-and-white photographs throughout. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Be Free or Die: the amazing story of Robert Smalls' escape from slavery to Union hero by Cate Lineberry Cate Lineberry's compelling narrative illuminates Robert Smalls’ amazing journey from slave to Union hero and ultimately United States Congressman. This captivating tale of a valuable figure in American history gives fascinating insight into the country's first efforts to help newly freed slaves while also illustrating the many struggles and achievements of African Americans during the Civil War. Suggested by Dawn Tripp, Research & Information Services

 Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans Fearless, funny, and ultimately tender, Evans's stories offer a bold new perspective on the experience of being young and African-American or mixed-race in modern-day America. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 Black Fatigue: how racism erodes the mind, body, and spirit by Mary-Frances Winters This is the first book to define and explore Black fatigue, the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the physical and psychological health of Black people--and explain why and how society needs to collectively do more to combat its pernicious effects. Suggested by Glen Samuels, Circulation

 Deacon King Kong by James McBride From James McBride comes a wise and witty novel about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting. In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .45 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range. McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the unfinished Black tennis revolution by Cecil Harris Harris chronicles the rise of the Williams sisters, as well as other champions of color, closely examining how African Americans are collectively faring in tennis, on the court and off. Despite the success of the Williams sisters and the election of former pro player Katrina Adams as the U.S. Tennis Association’s first black president, top black players still receive racist messages via social media and sometimes in public. The reality is that while significant progress has been made in the sport, much work remains before anything resembling equality is achieved. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the power of hope by Jon Meacham John Lewis, who at age twenty-five marched in Selma and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, is a visionary and a man of faith. Using intimate interviews with Lewis and his family and deep research into the history of the civil rights movement, Meacham writes of how the activist and leader was inspired by the Bible, his mother's unbreakable spirit, his sharecropper father's tireless ambition, and his teachers in nonviolence, Reverend James Lawson and Martin Luther King, Jr. A believer in hope above all else, Lewis learned from a young age that nonviolence was not only a tactic but a philosophy, a biblical imperative, and a transforming reality. Integral to Lewis's commitment to bettering the nation was his faith in humanity and in God, and an unshakable belief in the power of hope. Meacham calls Lewis as important to the founding of a modern and multiethnic twentieth- and twenty-first century America as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Samuel Adams were to the initial creation of the nation-state in the eighteenth century. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston An outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 Race, Sports, and Education: improving opportunities and outcomes for black male college athletes by John N. Singer Through his analysis of the system and his attention to student views and experiences, Singer crafts a valuable, nuanced account and points in the direction of reforms that would significantly improve the educational opportunities and experiences of these athletes. At a time when collegiate sports have attained unmistakable institutional value and generated unprecedented financial returns-all while largely failing the educational needs of its athletes-this book offers a clear, detailed vision of the current situation and suggestions for a more equitable way forward. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Real Life by Brandon Taylor A novel of rare emotional power that excavates the social intricacies of a late-summer weekend -- and a lifetime of buried pain. Almost everything about Wallace, an introverted African-American transplant from Alabama, is at odds with the lakeside Midwestern university town where he is working toward a biochem degree. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends -- some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with a young straight man, conspire to fracture his defenses, while revealing hidden currents of resentment and desire that threaten the equilibrium of their community. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

 Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. Suggested by Emily Horne, Rosen Library

 The Privileged Poor: how elite colleges are failing disadvantaged students by Abraham Jack College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors--and their coffers--to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to let them in? Anthony Jack reveals that the struggles of less privileged students continue long after they've arrived on campus. In their first weeks they quickly learn that admission does not mean acceptance. In this bracing and necessary book, Jack documents how university policies and cultures can exacerbate preexisting inequalities, and reveals why these policies hit some students harder than others. Jack provides concrete advice to help schools reduce these hidden disadvantages--advice we cannot afford to ignore. Suggested by Peggy Nuhn, UCF Connect Libraries

 The Sun Does Shine: how I found life and freedom on death row by Anthony Ray Hinton, with Lara Love Hardin In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence, full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon, transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty-four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and author Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015. Suggested by Lily Dubach, UCF Connect Libraries

 This is Major: notes on Diana Ross, dark girls, and being dope by Shayla Lawson Shayla Lawson is major. You don't know who she is, yet, but that's okay. She is on a mission to move black girls like herself from best supporting actress to a starring roles in the major narrative. With a unique mix of personal stories, pop culture observations, and insights into politics and history, Lawson sheds light on the many ways black femininity has influenced mainstream culture. Timely, enlightening, and wickedly sharp, Lawson shows how major black women and girls really are. Suggested by Glen Samuels, Circulation

 We Want Our Bodies Back by Jessica Care Moore Over the past two decades, Jessica Care Moore has become a cultural force as a poet, performer, publisher, activist, and critic. Reflecting her transcendent electric voice, this searing poetry collection is filled with moving, original stanzas that speak to both Black women’s creative and intellectual power, and express the pain, sadness, and anger of those who suffer constant scrutiny because of their gender and race. Fierce and passionate, she argues that Black women spend their lives building a physical and emotional shelter to protect themselves from misogyny, criminalization, hatred, stereotypes, sexual assault, objectification, patriarchy, and death threats. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collections

[bean-chaointe]

#'polytheist monasticism' sounds at best completely pointless and at worst like a cult#like monks are supposed to cut themselves off from the rest of the world#as pagans were supposed to build relations in it and with#that's where our gods are#also the rest of this post is important too (via @drekisdottir)

I kinda disagree! I think there are a lot of ways for folks to, hmm, embody their relationship with their gods and express that relationship in the world, and not all of those ways require the participation of other humans.

After all, there's relationship with plants and animals, and the dead (human or not, elevated or earthly, etc), and other non-deity/non-dead entities, and all manner of other beings that may or may not be easily categorized. For folks who feel called to some form of service in the name of their god(s), a monastic lifestyle or discipline might be the best form of behavior for them to manifest whatever that service might be within the embodied world. Especially if that service is centered more on nature, or the dead, or something else that doesn't require as much living human company.

This circles back around to why I think there's no prescription** for what Discipline Must Look Like for contemporary polytheists because that discipline, to be most effective, is necessarily tied into a) the purpose*** for a relationship between human/deity, b) the method or role a person inhabits to best bring forward whatever work they have with a deity, and c) what the living human actually wants and is capable of, since our own needs matter too!

I find the most helpful way to develop routines or disciplines or whatever is instead to ask, "What's the point of the exercise here?" and then build methods of achieving that goal around that understanding + a person's mode of processing, and in dialogue with the relevant deities/spirits. Monasticism might be the best method for some folks! ......Although not when it's a structure imposed from another faith, and not when it doesn't fit a person's brainweirdness or devotional relationship dynamic.

.

**This is referring to polytheisms which are revivals, not continuations, and so they lack that intergenerational transmission of priesthood or different levels of initiation. Basically we're making shit up as we go because we don't have lineage-wide infrastructure for communally validating claims of priesthood and shit.

***That purpose doesn't have to be Profound & Dramatic but might be as simple as a deity being like "this human needs to learn how to fucking Chill because reasons and I'm gonna make that happen" lol.

I've been reflecting on my experiences with Lora O'Brien and the Irish Pagan School and like, I've been wanting to make a more formal post about neurodivergence as a spiritworker, but I just...

If you're ADHD and/or ASD and/or you've got other brainweird stuff like I do, it's not your fault if the way other folks do shit isn't the way that you can or want to do your own shit. Even if those folks are Big Name Pagans. Even if those folks will weaponize their social leverage and/or refuse to do anything about their aggressive followers.

Discipline is important, but what it actually looks like in practice is between you and your gods. One person's discipline is easy routine and not discipline at all for someone else. One person's discipline is torturously ableistic shaming for another.

As long as you're putting in effort in ways that feel rightful for you and which your gods are cool with, your form of discipline isn't any less useful or valuable than the strict, neurotypically-defined routines that I see a lot of pagans espousing as The One & Only Way, especially as it pertains to cultus with na Morrigna.

[perfectirishgifts]

Charlotte Japp Gets Older And Younger Professionals To Network Together

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/charlotte-japp-gets-older-and-younger-professionals-to-network-together/

Charlotte Japp Gets Older And Younger Professionals To Network Together

By Richard Eisenberg, Next Avenue

Charlotte Japp, the 30-year-old founder of the uplifting CIRKEL community platform for intergenerational networking, drew inspiration for it from what happened to her parents.

“Growing up, I saw both of my parents get aged out of their careers and pretty much get forced to pivot and start their own businesses,” she recalls. “So, for me, it seemed normal that after you hit a certain age, you just worked for yourself in this age bubble, or silo, at home.”

That didn’t seem right to Japp, who was recently named one of the nonprofit Encore.org’s 2020 Gen2Gen Innovation Fellows. Through CIRKEL (the Danish word for circle, since workers need to close the intergenerational loop), Japp is helping older and younger people to network with each other, one generation assisting the other.

Next Avenue: What made you get interested in intergenerational mentoring?

Charlotte Japp: It was a personal revelation when I started working for the first time after college [at the media company, Vice]. I saw how age-segregated our world is, but more specifically how age segregated our work lives are.

I said to myself, ‘There’s no one around here who’s more than ten or fifteen years older than me. That’s not just weird because we all look kind of the same, but it’s also weird because there’s no one here to guide me in this really foundational moment in my career.’

So, I thought: Is that really so crazy to have someone in your life who’s older than you, who can give you guidance?

My parents ended up being that for me, they gave me a lot of ideas and a lot of kind of coaching about navigating your first job — my first office experience. And I was giving them a lot of tips and tricks and intel from my life working at this cutting-edge media company as well.

“Ageism is a huge issue and it pushes people out of the workplace before they’re ready to retire or before they want to retire.”

So, for me, it wasn’t just that multigenerational workplaces need to be normalized and that mentorship should be more accessible. But that also mentoring needs to be a two-way street — and my parents needed that support and guidance in their careers, just like my friends and I did.

So, what did you decide to do about this?

I decided that I wanted to put something out there and see if people liked it. And that was the first CIRKEL event, in New York City, in June 2018.

I just wanted more spaces where there were people with different ideas, different experiences — life and work experiences — in a room and have a drink with them and see what happens. And it turned out that a lot of other people wanted those spaces, too.

And the first event was a hit. People wouldn’t leave at the end of the night, they couldn’t stop talking. And it was really refreshing. You know, it was just such a simple concept.

Tell me more about that first event. How did you do it? Who showed up? How did you find them?

I wanted to feature a woman that I looked up to who already had a successful career, but a career that evolved with the times. I thought that was really helpful to both younger professionals and older professionals. So, I tapped my best friend’s mom, Diane di Costanzo, who is in her late fifties.

She’s an editorial director at Meredith Corp. MDP [a media giant that publishes magazines and websites] and has become way more digital. She talked about how the industry had changed and how she had to evolve with it. And so, she gave a presentation to a multigenerational audience from age twenty-one to late seventies.

People wanted to know what was next. They were like, sign me up for your newsletter and I didn’t even have a newsletter. So I did more events from there.

What happened next with CIRKEL and where are you with it today?

For the next year, I continued to put on these events, each one focused on a different industry. We’ve done everything from tech to fashion. And I brought on a co-founder who had more of a finance brain. And we started working together on a problem — kind of a good problem — that we were seeing at the events. People of all ages and professional backgrounds turned up and they wanted to find the right people in the crowd to talk to.

So, we developed what is now CIRKEL Up, our member platform, to help people find relevant connections, people who are relevant to your next step, who can teach you that skill that you’re missing out on or if you want to make a pivot into a new industry.

It was just in New York a year ago. People were getting matched over email; some people would meet up for coffee or a cocktail and have these one-on-one conversations that were so eye opening.

We’ve had CIRKEL Up going for a year and we’re continuing to grow. And we went virtual with Covid. The blessing to that was we’ve been able to open up to global members. So, we have members in fifteen countries and all over the U. S. and it allows us to really find those overlaps, those kinds of people all over the world that you wouldn’t normally cross paths with, across generations, that we think you need to connect with.

The meetups were only in person for about a little over six months. I miss those times, having a glass of wine with someone who has so much wisdom and great stories to share. Now, people say things like: ‘Okay, well when we’re back to normal, we’re getting a drink in person if we’re both in New York.’

I can understand how this is all really helpful for younger people. What’s in it for the older people?

Ageism is a huge issue and it pushes people out of the workplace before they’re ready to retire or before they want to retire. We’re living longer and we need to work longer to fund that longer life. So, we’re seeing a lot of people in midlife who are seeking a paycheck because they need to continue to work, but they’re also looking for purpose. And sometimes the thing that they need is some mentoring of their own.

And it’s amazing how someone who’s younger than them can actually fill in any gaps that are needed for them to take on that next step in their career.

I really love how we’re empowering longer careers, whether that’s helping you set your foundation when you’re younger or continuing to power your career as you’re taking on a new stage in life later.

“Everyone has something that they can teach.”

So, you’re finding the mentoring is really helping the younger people and the older people in different ways.

Exactly.

We just had a multigenerational future of work conference and Chip Conley [a former Next Avenue Influencer in Aging] was one of our speakers. He’s the perfect example of how we need to stay curious, to have that growth mindset and to be a mentor.

He started his own hospitality company at twenty-six and in his fifties started working with Airbnb’s founders in the early days. He found that he was also an intern, because there were so many things that he had to learn about working in the tech world. So, he was teaching about hospitality and running a business and at the same time he was learning about how to ship new products. So, he’s become a real figurehead for two-way mentoring. He wrote the book ‘Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder.’

Now you’ve also started an online learning service, Learn With CIRKEL. Tell me about that.

With Covid, this crazy time has opened up a lot of questions about what’s next. If you got laid off, how are you going to equip yourself with the tools you need for the next job application? What is the game plan moving forward? And so, we noticed that a lot of our members want resources. They want inspiration.

And Learn With CIRKEL is a program where our members who are all very experienced in different ways, whether they’re twenty-five or seventy-five, they all have skills they’ve accumulated over time.

And this is the platform for them to share that knowledge in a very short lesson.

So it’s a virtual lesson where anyone anywhere in the world who’s a member can experience it. Everyone has something that they can teach and the audience of other CIRKEL members can learn something.

What are they teaching?

The first lesson was about drawing, from one of our artist members.

Some lessons are more technical. I taught one about Squarespace [a website building and hosting company]. A lot of people use websites as a business card basically. So, if you want to sell a product or a service, you really need to have that online real estate.

We had one about Google Analytics, which can be very intimidating. We had one about personal branding, which I think was a big hit. That’s pretty big these days.

What would you say you’ve learned about intergenerational mentoring since starting CIRKEL?

Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes it’s a miss; mostly it’s a hit thankfully. But sometimes, the younger person feels like they have to take a back seat and just listen and learn. And I actually have to remind people you’re here for a reason; everyone has something that they could be learning or improving.

And sometimes you need to listen as much as you’re speaking. That seems simple, but you have to say it over and over again to remind people how to approach a simple meeting when you’re talking to someone from a different generation. So, we often encourage people to ask the question: ‘How can I help you?’ What are you dealing with right now that I could potentially offer some advice on?’

And what are you finding that older people are getting from younger people?

A lot of times, people who are over fifty work for themselves or as consultants or freelancers, and so they can sometimes feel a little out of the loop. These little tips and tricks that help people feel like any disadvantage that would be caused by their age can be smoothed over.

Any final thoughts?

Our lives are enriched by diversity, and that’s a big topic right now. And age needs to be included in it.

Research shows that multigenerational teams perform better and are happier and more productive. But are all these generations doing their best work if they’re not talking to each other, connecting and trusting each other? At CIRKEL, we’re starting to talk to businesses, trying to bring all the magic that we’ve created to work world.

Two Questions for Our Influencers

If you could change one thing about aging in America, what would it be?

I would like to see an America where the more life and professional experience you have directly correlates to more career opportunities, not fewer. Unfortunately, over half of Americans over fifty years old get pushed out of their jobs before they choose to retire. If we’re going to change that paradigm, we need to create more ways for older and younger professionals to connect and exchange their different, but equally valuable, knowledge. 

How has the Covid-19 pandemic changed your perspective on aging?

Covid-19 has not only been a public health crisis, but it has also been a period of immense racial and political tension. At a time when people of all ages had to self-isolate, it was also a time when people so deeply needed to come together. While I’ve always believed in the power of intergenerational connection, I was reminded how much networking can address so much more than just career development — it’s good for our mental health and overall well-being for all ages. During the pandemic, I’ve connected with people ages eighteen to eighty-four and it’s been clear that we all share so many vulnerabilities and fears that can be addressed when we have open, cross-generational conversations.

More from Retirement in Perfectirishgifts

[berkeleyjobsite]

Philanthropy Associate

POSITION: Philanthropy Associate REPORTS TO: Director of Philanthropy, East Bay ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (the Federation) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties is a philanthropic catalyst, connecting Bay Area Jews – of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives – to the power we have as a community to improve the world.

We partner with donors, organizations, and foundations to address the pressing issues facing our community and develop innovative strategies that result in deep and lasting impact.

Our vision is a vibrant, connected, and enduring Jewish community that is a force for good locally, in Israel, and around the world.

Our work is guided by the timeless Jewish values of kehilla (community), tzedakah (giving with just intention), and tikkun olam (repairing the world).

The Federation seeks highly motivated individuals with a variety of skill sets to build the next generation of Federation engagement.

We are especially interested in forward-thinking, collaborative, and open-minded candidates who are willing to take risks, possess a high level of integrity, and model a positive attitude that inspires confidence.

FEDERATION PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Federation helps donors make their philanthropy more effective.

Through the generosity of about 1,000 donors, the Federation grants over $200 million a year, both locally and globally, to a variety of secular and Jewish causes.

Federation Philanthropy Partners works with these clients, who all have unique situations and varying degrees of need for our guidance.

Our aim is to be a trusted advisor, and to inform, educate, inspire, and challenge philanthropy driven by Jewish values, and the philanthropists in our communities.

POSITION OVERVIEW The Philanthropy Associate will support the activities of the Federation Philanthropy Partners’ East Bay office through donor service, event planning, research, and administration.

Working closely with the East Bay Director of Philanthropy and the East Bay Philanthropy Advisor, the Philanthropy Associate will provide support in terms of service and relationship development, developing their own relationships with a wide variety of donors, prospects, advisors, and others along the way.

This person will apply great attention to detail and a service orientation to ensure that donors receive caring, proactive, and competent service.

They will help develop, manage, and execute programs that provide meaningful opportunities for donors and others to learn and connect, helping them become more empowered, grounded, and strategic in their involvement with philanthropy.

The Philanthropy Associate will participate in key projects to help make the Federation’s philanthropy advisory practice pre-eminent in the Jewish world and a pacesetter in philanthropy.

Projects will be assigned based on areas of expertise and need and may involve the development of donor-centric service models, new programs and services, enhancing the donor experience, and participating in due diligence on new products, platforms, and services.

The growth of the advisory practice will provide opportunities for professional growth, development, and potential advancement in the organization over time.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION Act as local coordinator and point person for Bay Area-wide Federation programs and initiatives such as intergenerational philanthropy programs, donor education, giving circles, donor appreciation efforts, and programming for legal and financial professionals Plan, manage, and execute events, providing scheduling, logistics, staffing, outreach, attendee recruitment, and coordination with colleagues in San Francisco and Palo Alto offices Support donor cultivation, development, and stewardship efforts by coordinating and providing logistical support for meetings, compiling and sending materials, generating reports, maintaining records, and doing research on donor backgrounds and estimated giving capacity Provide meeting follow-up, including documenting meeting outcomes and project managing follow-up from fellow staff members Respond with professionalism to requests for information, reports, and services from individual donors, agencies, synagogues, and volunteer leaders, coordinating with San Francisco office-based donor service and accounting teams as needed Support special donor grantmaking efforts through research, correspondence, collecting reports from grantees, developing subject matter expertise in areas of donor interest, and compiling reports for staff and donors Provide general administrative support for the East Bay Director of Philanthropy, Philanthropy Advisor, and Major Gift Officer, providing logistical support, putting together mailings, and maintaining records in databases and other systems Representing Federation as a member of the larger team, drawing upon knowledge about Federation’s priorities and funding areas Additional responsibilities may include: Providing support for selected non-East Bay philanthropic advisory projects, collaborating with Philanthropy Advisors and Philanthropy Associates in San Francisco and Palo Alto offices Serving as relationship manager for a portfolio of key donors at varying levels Assisting colleagues in setting agendas for donors’ key philanthropy concerns and issues across the year Supporting the development of the East Bay office of the Federation’s Philanthropy Advisory Practice, helping build out of a “center of gravity” for Jewish philanthropy in the East Bay, and participating in special projects designed to further develop and advance the business Helping to develop and manage a community catalogue of Jewish giving opportunities for internal and external programs, programmatic content, collaborative funding opportunities, and educational events This position will require occasional attendance/participation at events in the evening or on weekends.

This position will require occasional attendance/participation at events in the evening or on weekends.

EDUCATION OR TRAINING EQUIVALENT Bachelor’s Degree required QUALIFICATIONS (SKILLS, ABILITIES, LICENSES) 3-5 years of direct donor or client service experience in a multifaceted, complex environment such as a community foundation, non-profit development office, financial advisory firm, wealth management firm, travel agency or similar setting Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail Intrapreneurial or entrepreneurial mindset and interest Knowledge of and appreciation for the Jewish community, its customs and practices Proven ability to work collaboratively with coworkers Comfort level with working with a broad range of individuals of different backgrounds, preferences, and personality types Strong interpersonal skills and team approach Excellent written and verbal communication skills A positive attitude that inspires confidence and action Demonstrated ability to establish and meet objectives and performance standards Proficiency in MS Office Suite, esp.

Excel Qualitative research experience in an academic setting or with industry or issue areas Database and/or customer relationship management systems (e.g., Salesforce) experience Preferred: Familiarity with accounting Experience participating in the management of philanthropic grant programs Experience producing de novo reports TO APPLY Please send a copy of your resume with a cover letter .

Salary commensurate with experience.

Excellent benefits — medical, dental, vision, vacation, sick pay, holidays (including Jewish), and retirement plan.

The Federation is an equal opportunity employer.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

from Berkeley Job Site https://ift.tt/2GgsfZW via IFTTT

[nwkrp-blog]

                                  ⋆ — WELCOME HOME, TRAVELER.

THE SHORES HAVE GIFTED US A NEW RESIDENT. born on NOVEMBER 14TH, 1994, JUNG SOOJUNG has been on the island for 4 MONTHS and is currently an ARCHITECT. you can always find them at PARADISE SHARE HOUSE, 301.

                                          ONWARD !

                                           ⋆ EVERY STORY HAS A REASON

soojung chose to head towards mido to gain experience, putting her skills to test in a new front for the family business after graduating with accolades from her architecture program in yonsei university.

that’s what her parents are saying, at least. it sounds compelling in their voice, a well-rounded explanation straight out of a public relations advisor’s mouth to avoid further questions. it’s what anyone asking really wants to hear, satisfactory and straight to the point. it’s not a narrative soojung feels in any way compelled to uphold, but she’s not given any chances to dispel the illusion, sent off on the first ferry to the island to be locked away in her personalized purgatory experience.

she doesn’t care, not at this point. she conforms, like she has all her life, because it’s what ultimately serves her best interests.

stuck out of professional brochures, reality is less polished, but no less commonplace – the usual routine for people in her status, as she has learned from experience.

mido was not a choice, it was a desperate measure.

her intergenerational family business was successful enough to put her parents in a position where image was nearly as valuable as wealth, and soojung was a heiress of their riches as well as their responsibilities. that implied there was concern in the jung household when the family’s youngest turned a little too taken to social media modelling and the nightlife scene during her time in pursuing a degree. though soojung wasn’t the appointed successor for the head of the business, a role singled out for her older brother since birth, the family was very much interested in seeing the intellect and leadership embedded into her genes put to the company’s service, rather than wasted on instagram snaps or celebrity affairs.

as soon as they could, they ship her off to mido a project supervisor for the newest branch set in the island. she was to assume a more modest lifestyle, less gangnam lofts and rose wine for happy hour and more small town hardworking, and conquer something for herself. her parents want to take a life lesson out of that, or at least sell their relatives a convincing story.

when her options boiled down to that or risking being cut out of the family’s bank accounts, she’s packing her bags for mido. she thinks herself to be more adaptable than her appearance lets on.

then again, there’s always truth to the whispers running behind her back spelling out her self-obsessed nature.

                                          ⋆ EVERY STORY HAS ITS ROOTS

before she is soojung, she is the jung heiress. her family name is written under a trademark in her genetic makeup, alive in the wake of her presence. tens of small towns across the country have been lifted off the ground under her name, they’re lions in the jungle of concrete, untouchable in the offices and apartments they designed from scratch.

her family is more business than it is moral support. they’re picture perfect and spoiled rotten, riches inherited down from four generations ahead of her parents – they’re not about that nouveaux riches bullshit, anyone who is worth your time in the stock market will spell it out for you they’re the real deal. when her parents got married, officializing the union of a construction empire on her mother’s side with her father’s real estate gravitas, their children would inevitably be raised into the labor.

that is how soojung never had a chance at personhood, rather being raised to be an idea. she’s a recipe that’s been passed from mother to daughter from the moment of conception.

step one, she is made out of copious wealth and a severe reliance on appearances. step two, she was raised outside of the good korean morals and confucian ethics, sheltered in the beverly hills villa with her grandparents to indulge in materialistic hedonism and have her mind molded into the power-starved leader. step three, she has it all so very easy that her only worry is not to let on just how boring it all is.

her brother has it harder – if she’s the pretty-faced back-up plan, he’s the cub trained to become an alpha, staying behind in seoul to familiarize himself with the ropes of the business. they see each other on winter and summer breaks, often in their seasonal house in jejudo, and he looks more and more like the heir her parents were expecting to bear.

she’s bleached clean of most discernible traces of a personality, growing up to be more focused on upholding her image and being fruitful in business. she doesn’t experience need or struggle or frustration, nothing in any meaningful way, beyond the tantrums the monsters in her head orchestrate. the barebones of her persona find other ways to channel themselves into expression: her natural inquisitiveness growing into a tendency to become argumentative, her communication dexterity coming across as manipulative cattiness, her passion and intensity making her obsessed with the only tangible concept accessible in the life she leads – herself.

cult of personality becomes the core of soojung’s emotional axis, her life more of a brand than physical existence.

she moves back to korea for her graduation, rejects the acceptance letters from brown and princeton to take footing in yonsei. she would have prefered staying in the states because she likes calling the country her home, likes searching for herself in that culture solidified in an empire state, but her parents had made clear it would be much more valuable to then if she attended university in korean territory than it would be for her to stay. there’s no threats, really – they simply ask and she has no real reason to say no. she loves them, she wants to think, and it would be appropriate to give them that.

making a new life is not hard for her. she wants to say the shift in culture and the barriers of language are definitely more of a challenge than anything she had previously experienced, but she had become accustomed to both when growing up. it’s different, but not new. it’s a lot more stifling, and she finds her focus to rely less on the classes and more on the attention everyone is so willing to grant her. she is not unlike a celebrity on campus, following on social media growing massive within her first months of arrival, and there’s opportunities to be made when all eyes seem to follow you everywhere.

though initially her parents were satisfied to employ her as a spokesmodel for their construction company in the earlier years of graduation, their exhilaration slowly turned less optimistic as their daughter strayed further from their design. less of the role model academic to impress social circles at dinner parties, but rather an instagram model with a taste for the fine and scandalous, more invested in the nightlife the city had to offer than her rightful position in their projections.

and that’s where mido comes into the picture, and soojung has the slightest inkling telling her maybe, just maybe, bending on her back for the sake of image just might become a colossal pain in the ass one day.

[patrickkk-blog1]

The Case Against “Ally Week”

Every April, New York University celebrates what it calls “Ally Week,” a week to celebrate "allyship,” or “an active and consistent practice of unlearning and re-evaluating beliefs and actions, in which a person seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized individual or group of people.” That is to say, a week for people to stand in solidarity with marginalised groups, primarily LGBTQ+ folks, in this instance. The university defines Ally Week as an opportunity “to deepen [our] understanding of the experiences of others, and raise awareness of the individual and collective injustices that confront many in our society.” This includes events such as a day of action for “Sustaining the Resistance,” dialogues on the changing nature of activism, and “Safe Zone,” an event which aims to visibly highlight faculty and staff who “support the LBGTQ population, understand some of the issues facing LGBTQ individuals, and are aware of the various LGBTQ resources.”

Now let me tell you why this is complete bullshit.

Ally Week, at its base, probably had a good intention. You can see it when you read the definition they give of allyship: the goal is to make people reevaluate beliefs and actions that are problematic for whatever reason and “unlearn” them, as well as to make non-marginalised people stand in solidarity with and fight for people who are marginalised. However, what it has become today is a complete and utter farce. Being an “ally” has gone from a way to stand with and fight for people who face discrimination to a special label for basic human decency. It’s great that there are members of our faculty and staff who support the LGBTQ+ population, but, excuse me, that’s not a requirement?

It’s silly in this day and age that being supportive of LGBTQ+ issues isn’t the default, the expectation. This manufactured Ally Week has become all about celebrating one’s allyship, and celebrating what great people allies are. It’s just like “White History Month”—celebrating something that is already unnecessarily celebrated all the time. Non-queer people supporting LGBTQ+ issues don’t need a week-long pat on the back and  congratulations; they’re just doing their basic duty as a decent person.

The other major problem with Ally Week is slacktivism—that is, “solidarity actions” which don’t actually have any effect. Ally Week actively promotes and encourages slacktivism, with little emphasis on real action. Let’s take a look at two Ally Week events through this lens:

The marquee event for Ally Week 2017 is called “Activism Through Time and Space: An Intergenerational Dialogue.” NYU describes this as a dialogue about the “change nature of activism over time” that hopes to “spark our imagination around what liberation can look like.” Now, there is, of course, nothing wrong with educating yourself on history or on past activism. There is nothing wrong with thinking about the ideal of liberation. That being said, it’s not enough. It is, in my opinion, a joke that the feature event of the week is about sitting around and thinking, as opposed to actually going out and doing things. It’s not hard to open up Google and look up the history of liberation movements; anyone can do that and read up on whatever movement interests them ad nauseam. The marquee event reportedly will help us “learn from those who came before us,” but again, that information is readily accessible at any time. Plenty is happening in the world around us today that we can actually act on to effect change. LGBTQ+ workers’ protections were recently stripped; sexuality and gender identity will not be included in the 2020 census; trans bathroom bills continue spreading around the country; suicide rates among LGBTQ+ individuals remain sky-high as children and teens are booted from their homes; and so on and so forth. Why is the marquee event a conversation circle as opposed to a large-scale protest against the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ+ actions? Why isn’t it a session to call and write to Congressmen and women, Senators, state representatives, etc.? Why isn’t it volunteering or donation drives for places such as Trinity Place Shelter, a shelter for disowned LGBTQ+ youth? We all know what the problems are, and solutions are discoverable online with a quick Google search; why are we sitting around talking about the problems instead of fixing them?

The second event I’ll discuss is “Day of Action: Sustaining the Resistance.” This event actually piqued my interest; a day of real action where we go out and do something about the problems we talk about for a cumulative 20 hours. However, as I looked into the event, I was again disappointed. The event includes “engaging with the arts” and “connecting with the community” through workshops offering “skill building [...] around writing, media literacy, social media activism, accessibility of practice, sustainable action and self-care,” etc. This, right here, is peak slacktivism. Being an ally isn’t just putting the damned rainbow filter over your profile picture or writing an op-ed for The Odyssey Online. The event description even ends with “#SustaintheResistance.” Yes, hashtags can make for good online rallying cries. But for Christ’s sake, your #THERESISTANCE tweet, your Change.org petition signature, and your profile picture filter never did, never do, and never will have any salient effect on society at large. I invite you to do such things, as they are indicators of allyship, however they are not allyship actions. If Ally Week wanted to make the first part of the week dedicated to workshops such as these, that’s great; but the second part should be focused on putting what you’ve learned into practice.

Long story short: Ally Week is a good idea, but what it has become is nothing more than a week-long session of congratulating yourself for slacktivism and other non-action. If it wants to be taken seriously, it should reevaluate and refocus, dedicating less time to dialogues and talks and more time to activism and work. Being a good ally means more than talking about being an ally, taking group photos, and watching movies.

So what should you do to be a good ally? There are plenty of things you can do. First, you can call your representatives. This takes a minute or less and is free, so everyone can do this. If you call 202-224-3121, you’ll be connected to the Capitol switchboard, where you can ask to speak to the office of your representative or one of your Senators. Don’t know who those people are? Click here to put in your zip code and it’ll tell you who your representative in the House is, or here to find your Senators. If you go to one of those sites, you’ll also have access to the address where you can send mail and the number where you can send faxes to your representatives. Don’t know what to say? You don’t have to say much; just introduce yourself as a constituent and tell them how you feel about an issue, and express your hope that your representative represents his constituents accordingly. Have a little money to give? Make a donation to The Trevor Project, an organisation that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth, or to Immigration Equality, an organisation that provides pro bono legal services to LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive immigrants, or to GLAAD, an organisation that has been fighting for LGBTQ+ rights for decades, or to any of countless other LGBTQ+ organisations. Have some free time? Volunteer for a local LGBTQ+ youth center, such as the Trinity Place Shelter in New York City.

And yes, you can still put a rainbow filter on your profile picture if you want.

[suzannemcappsca]

Welcome To The Future: Showcasing The Next Generation of Mediators Stepping Up And Stepping Out

Rosemary Howell

[Future by Nick Youngson Creative Commons]

The ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition is over and these pages have been full of reflections from a number of bloggers who were there and experienced ‘aha’ moments.

In particular, Greg Bond’s thoughtful post about the Intergenerational RoundTable promoted a lot of discussion about what we should be doing to sponsor and encourage the next generation of mediators. One young participant challenged me (ever so politely) to share what I was doing to make a difference. Greg’s blogpost reports the outcome of the conversation at the table – however the conversation has stayed with me.

I have continued to think about what I could do in these pages to support the next generation and it struck me that telling some success stories would be a great start. I thought about 3 new entrants to mediation who had made a great impact on me and I thought interviewing them might reveal great stories and they might share some lessons other young mediators might find helpful.

I was right.

Introducing my trio

Meet three outstanding members of ‘NextGen’ who are at interesting and different stages of building their mediation careers.

                                                  Zeynep Selcuk

Zeynep is the furthest along in her mediation career of my trio. Her path to mediation has been far from linear. Her initial degree in Business Management was interrupted by the receipt of an offer too good to refuse which took her via television into the film industry and finally the Australian Film Commission (AFC).

Her international experiences sparked her interest in humanitarian work. She joined the famous bicycle ride through the Middle East focussing attention on the suffering of women and children caught in conflict – now immortalised in the documentary ‘Follow the Women’.

Seeking opportunities to contribute to humanitarian causes prompted enrolment in a Masters of Arts (Development) and a departure from the AFC to pursue employment as a humanitarian worker engaged in facilitation and training at Caritas.

A role in the UN was part of her plan which in turn led her to undertake a Juris Doctor and the opportunity to be selected in the UNSW team for the ICC International Mediation Competition and the CDRC Vienna. Her love affair with mediation was ignited and she decided to abandon her UN ambitions for a mediation career.

An offer from a senior mediator, facilitator and trainer led to a role in his practice where, as a result of his generosity and sponsorship, she gained significant experience and began to build her own profile in the ADR field. She now runs her own thriving practice and coaches the CDRC team for UNSW and this year was a judge in the ICC Final in Paris. She supports new entrants through her work at Voluntas, a pro-bono mediation service.

Zeynep’s lessons:

• Finding the right people as mentors is vital • Be opportunistic and look for opportunities everywhere • Be persistent in marketing and reminding people you are there.

What a great story!

                                                    Angela Herberholz

Angela’s path to mediation has been similarly unexpected and non-linear.

Her university studies (Bachelor of Applied Science and a MA in European Cultural Studies) give no hint of the passion she was to develop for mediation.

Beginning her career in Germany as an exhibition organiser, she undertook mediation training with her Bachelors degree. A practical module required her to organise a conference. Choosing a mediation conference she encountered Calliope Sudborough, Deputy Manager at the ICC International Centre for ADR. Calliope immediately saw the potential to combine events organisation with mediation.

A role as Project Manager, Events at the ICC Centre for ADR followed her internship there and experiences included the Mediation Competition and its outstanding student competitors. This enhanced her understanding of mediation and the international community of mediators.

In 2010 Angela also became the co-founder of the Young Mediators’ Initiative (YMI) established under the umbrella of IMI with a charter to:

• connect newly trained mediators and mediation advocates worldwide and create a platform to exchange ideas and experiences, and • facilitate interaction with experienced mediators who can offer experience-generation and learning opportunities

Angela returned to the exhibition industry in 2014 to organise global events ‘but as [part of] a people industry, filled with potential conflict and suitable ground for amicable dispute resolution’. She is now program Manager at the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

Her passion for mediation remains. Following her double interest in both the exhibition industry and mediation, in her day job she deals with education and training while in her free time she supports YMI. She has actively encouraged its mentorship program to deal with the challenge of many young trained mediators who discover significant barriers to entry. It is a ‘vicious circle where you can’t get mediations unless you have experience and you can’t get experience unless you get mediations’.

This year, Angela joined supporters on the stage at the ICC Competition to announce that YMI has partnered with 5 other international mediation bodies to create the Worldwide Mediation Mentorship Program as a global effort to advance the mediation profession and its new entrants.

Angela picked up the award for Best Judge’s Feedback along the way.

In her free time, Angela enjoys teaching ADR and mediating. She encourages other mediators, young in experience, to work on building a portfolio career allowing mediation enough space to grow.

Angela’s lessons:

• be opportunistic • there are many different paths to mediation – ‘the more diverse your day to day experience the more you add value’.

She has certainly proved a valuable addition to our profession.

                                                   Anna Howard

Of my trio, Anna is at the earliest stage of her mediation career. She tells a great story of how it all began …

‘It all started 14 years ago, though I didn’t know it then. I was practising competition law at an international firm in London and was working on …… a highly technical and protracted dispute. After about 1 and a half years, my client called me and said “Anna, we’ve worked things out.” I asked him how and he said “We met for a drink and we decided to split the difference: 50, 50. I came off the call wondering how I might have helped my client to have had that conversation sooner. I felt frustrated that it had taken so long for the parties to have that important conversation. Fast forward to 2014 and I found myself sitting in a mediation training course and one of the phrases used on the website for that course was: “I wish we’d had this conversation earlier…” I joined up the dots.’

Anna is modest about her stellar accomplishments. Like the other members of this trio, mediation was not her career goal. Daughter of a Brazilian mother and English father, it is not surprising that she is a linguist and took modern languages at Oxford. However, earning one of the prized sponsorships from a top tier London law firm encouraged her to pursue law and enter legal practice. A career in anti-trust and trade law followed – but something was missing.

Anna describes this by reference to Susan Cain:

“The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it’s a broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk.”

She knew the law firm ‘lighting’ was not the right lighting and did not deliver the sense of purpose she needed.

Fate intervened.

A family move to Singapore gave her professional freedom to rethink a career and take a risk that perhaps she would not have taken in London.

Applying to teach at Singapore Management University she met Ian Macduff, another contributor to these pages, who talked enthusiastically about mediation.

Then came an unexpected return to the UK – legal practice did not beckon. She followed Ian’s advice, training with John Sturrock, and found herself reflecting that ‘this feels like the right lighting’. Ian also encouraged her to apply for the role of Associate Editor of this Blog.

University teaching beckoned and an opportunity arose at Queen Mary University of London to do a Ph.D. The dots continued to join up as she realised she could combine research and mediation, choosing a subject based on the EU mediation directive.

Now in the last year of her doctorate, Ian Macduff and John Sturrock remain generous mentors who continue to give her opportunities including as a mediation observer and facilitator. Her future combines university teaching in mediation and exploring possibilities to mediate, perhaps in the company of another young mediator. Watch this space!

Anna’s lessons

• the dual themes of simplicity and complexity experienced in mediation are engaging challenges • generous mentors and sponsors make a great difference • the enthusiasm of students for mediation is infectious and encouraging

My learning

We old hands don’t need to worry. We do need to be generous sponsors but we can be confident.

The future is safe.

More from our authors:

EU Mediation Law Handbook: Regulatory Robustness Ratings for Mediation Regimes by Nadja Alexander, Sabine Walsh, Martin Svatos (eds.) € 195 Essays on Mediation: Dealing with Disputes in the 21st Century by Ian Macduff (ed.) € 160.00

from Updates By Suzanne http://mediationblog.kluwerarbitration.com/2019/03/22/welcome-to-the-future-showcasing-the-next-generation-of-mediators-stepping-up-and-stepping-out/

[csrgood]

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and Discovery Education Launch ‘Speak Truth To Power’ In School Initiative to Engage the Next Generation of Human Rights Defenders

 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFK Human Rights) and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced Speak Truth To Power: Raising New Voices In Human Rights – a powerful new initiative to inspire global citizenry in students and teachers who stand ready to help prevent human rights abuses and violations. RFK Human Rights’ collaboration with Discovery Education will bring Speak Truth to Power to classrooms across the country with the goal of sparking a national dialogue about what it means to be a 21st century solution-seeker and human rights defender in our world today.

“Our partnership with Discovery Education will show students that they have a role to play in their classrooms, communities and our country addressing the most urgent issues of the day," said Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “Together we will strengthen the future of global leadership and inspire a new generation of human rights defenders to create a just and peaceful world.”

Speak Truth to Power offers immersive educational experiences and unique, multi-platform online learning tools, including: standards-aligned digital resources, video vignettes, biographies and thought-provoking classroom activities to help students further explore pathways to become champions of justice in their own communities. During the winter of 2018, the program will host RFK Human Rights Day, a virtual viewing event that will facilitate an intergenerational dialogue between human rights defenders at www.speaktruthtopowerinschool.com. This Virtual Field Trip will explore, through pointed conversations with experienced and emerging human rights defenders, the impacts of proven and effective organizing and communications tactics. The exchange will also uncover shared passions, challenges, fears and hopes these committed advocates have in the global struggle to protect and defend human rights.

“Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a just and peaceful world continues to inspire individuals to improve society 50 years after his run for President and bringing together two organizations that are dedicated to equipping young leaders with the necessary tools for life, deepens our impact and inspires a society that advocates for human rights,” said President and CEO of Discovery Education Bill Goodwyn. “Discovery Education is honored to partner with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights to bring educators and students the ‘Speak Truth to Power’ initiative. By leveraging innovative digital tools and one-of-a-kind experiences that breakdown the barriers separating students worldwide, we are helping develop a fearless generation of leaders possessing both the drive and talent to create lasting, positive change around the globe.” 

Speak Truth To Power: Raising New Voices In Human Rights also features The Defenders: An Interactive Map, developed to inspire students to explore the stories of some of the world’s most influential human rights defenders. Current defenders include the following human rights activists and 10 new defenders will be added each year to continue to add depth and breadth to the program:

Sonita Alizadeh (Afghanistan);

Marian Wright Edelman (United States);

Van Jones (United States);

Wangari Maathai (Kenya);

Frank Mugisha (Uganda);

Marina Pisklakova (Russia);

Kailash Satyarthi (India);

Ka Hsaw Wa (Burma);

Elie Wiesel (Romania); and

Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan).

Speak Truth to Power as a will also help to expand the circle of human rights defenders through awareness, discourse and advocacy. “Exposing students to immersive Speak Truth to Power activities by leveraging step-by-step instruction students can follow to take on the causes important to them empowers me to have an open discussion with my students about constructive ways for them to raise their voices in human rights,” said Karen Wells, Midland High School educator, Midland School District, Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. “Today’s world has been transformed by the age of technology and 21st Century skill-building requires our efforts to be equally innovative. This initiative engages and empowers students, helping them to recognize and value their own power in making a difference.”

RFK Human Rights is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that engages with young leaders from around the globe. Founded by activist and attorney Kerry Kennedy, daughter of United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the organization has been a leading source of human rights education for young people worldwide. To date, the organization’s efforts have impacted an estimated 5.2 million students, teachers, community leaders and citizens. Twenty-eighteen marks 50 years since Robert F. Kennedy’s run for President, and this year, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights will host their 50th Anniversary Ripple of Hope Awards Dinner. The event will celebrate Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy and honor leaders from the international business, public service, media, and activist communities who have demonstrated a commitment to social change. This year’s laureates include David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery, 44th President of the United States Barack Obama, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and Bruce D. Broussard, CEO of Humana.

To learn more about Speak Truth To Power: Raising New Voices In Human Rights visit www.speaktruthtopowerinschool.com. For more information about Discovery Education’s digital content and professional development services, visit discoveryeducation.com. Stay connected with Discovery Education on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @DiscoveryEd.

###

About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Led by human rights activist and lawyer Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has advocated for a more just and peaceful world since 1968. We work alongside local activists to ensure lasting positive change in governments and corporations. Whether in the United States or abroad, our programs have pursued justice through strategic litigation on key human rights issues, educated millions of children in human rights advocacy and fostered a social good approach to business and investment.

About Discovery Education

As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

Contacts

Charmion N. Kinder, Discovery Education

Charmion_Kinder@discovery.com

Max Burnes, RFK Human Rights

burns@rfkhumanrights.org

source: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/41301-Robert-F-Kennedy-Human-Rights-and-Discovery-Education-Launch-Speak-Truth-To-Power-In-School-Initiative-to-Engage-the-Next-Generation-of-Human-Rights-Defenders?tracking_source=rss

[battybat-boss]

Foster Children Turned into Breeders? – CPS Seizes Half of All Babies Born to Teen Moms in Foster Care

Chelsea was still legally in foster care when her baby was born February 26, 2018. He was taken from her at just over 24 hours. He is still not home. See her story here.

by Terri LaPoint Health Impact News

According to a recent study published in June 2018, 1 out of 4 newborns born to mothers who are in foster care themselves are seized by Child Protective Services (CPS) within their first week of life. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, by the time the babies reach 2-years-old, almost half of them, 48.8%, are taken from their mothers.

At Health Impact News, we have seen a clear pattern of CPS involvement with parents who were in foster care themselves, whether their babies were born while they were in foster care or after they aged out.

Many such parents have reported that they feel targeted by CPS. Some have had children taken by the same social workers who took them from their families when they were younger, and some even appear before the same judge as both child and parent.

This is the first study that looks at the numbers of children taken from mothers in foster care, and the results are shocking. They reveal massive failure on the part of the foster care system to help the children with whom it is charged with protecting.

According to the study:

The biggest differences were seen for children taken into care within 7 days. … those in care at the birth of their child (regardless of whether they were in care at conception) had more than 11 times the odds of having their child placed in care.

Foster Children Are Not More Sexually Active than Non-Foster Children

Interestingly, the authors of the study noted that teens in foster care were not engaging in sexual behavior any more than teens who are not in foster care. However, they are twice as likely to become pregnant:

Although adolescents who are in and out of care of child protection services (CPS), such as foster care, have similar patterns of sexual intercourse (ie, age of initiation, number of partners), those in the care of CPS are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or inconsistent contraceptive use. This results in young women in foster care being more than twice as likely to have an adolescent pregnancy.

Thirty percent of the mothers in the study were not in foster care when they became pregnant:

Of the 576 mothers in care at the birth of their child, 403 mothers (70%) were in care at conception, and of the 5,366 mothers not in care at the birth of their child, 83 mothers (1.6%) were in care at conception.

AAP – Two Companion Articles, Vastly Different Conclusions

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) posted a summary of the study on their website, entitled, “Half of Children Born to Mothers in Child Protective Custody Also Taken Into Care by Age 2.”

The summary links to the study entitled, “The Cycle of Child Protection Services Involvement: A Cohort Study of Adolescent Mothers,” which examined data from the Population Data Research Repository at Canada's Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.

At the bottom of the AAP summary, the editor adds that they asked for commentary on the study:

Editor's Note: The solicited commentary, “Understanding the Intergenerational Cycle of ChildProtective Service Involvement,” accompanies this study.

The study lists Elizabeth Wall-Wieler as the first author of the team of authors, who are primarily PhDs involved with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. The conclusions they reach are vastly different from those reached by the authors of the commentary piece solicited by AAP.

Avyonna was taken from her mother, a former foster child, at 2-days-old. Her older brother and sister were born while her mother was in foster care. The system kept them. After a long battle, and public exposure of their story, Avyonna is home. Photo provided by Prince family. See story.

The commentary article is written by the Deputy Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in Pittsburgh, Erin Dalton, as well as two Child Abuse Specialist doctors, Dr. Rachel P. Berger, Director of Child Abuse Research at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Kristine A. Campbell, Child Abuse Specialist at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

The study authors write:

The high rate of children of adolescent mothers in care being taken into care has been attributed to higher surveillance of these mothers and western middle-class values among social workers.

Young mothers who themselves are in care often feel as if they are under constant scrutiny by their social workers and are constantly needing to prove to everyone that they are able to parent.

Receiving expectant parent services from CPS can also lead to more scrutiny; we saw that 42% of adolescents who were in care received these services, compared with 27% of mothers who were not in care.

From many case workers' perspectives, the cycle starts with adolescent motherhood (which is deemed as bad), and the only way to “break” the cycle is to take that child into care. This is different from the view of adolescent mothers who often see the removal of their child as a continuation of the cycle of trauma in their lives.

These statements are consistent with what we have seen at Health Impact News. 

See:

Is Foster Care “In the Best Interest of the Child”?

One mother told us that her social worker told her that CPS would follow up on her daughter when she grows up and has children, even though she was adopted out after CPS medically kidnapped her. The mother grew up in foster care herself, and was devastated to learn that CPS intended to scrutinize her and her family until the end of time.

She saw no hope of any of her children ever getting out from under the strong arm of CPS control.

Her story is certainly not unique, unfortunately.

Tanaieah's mother is a former foster child. Tanaieah was taken from her mother at 6-weeks-old and adopted out to people who wanted a baby girl. The multi-generational cycle continues. Photo provided by the Maney family.

The study authors acknowledge the immense importance of the mother-child bond:

Whenever possible, mothers and children should be placed together. Dual placement provides the opportunity for secure infant attachment; providing parenting supports, such as the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up program or the Circle of Security program, could enhance mother-child bonding.

The study concludes:

Adolescent mothers in the care of CPS are much more likely to have their child taken into CPS care. By separating a quarter of young mothers from their infant within the first week of life, and almost half before the child turns 2, the cycle continues. For adolescents in CPS care who give birth, more and better services are required to support these mothers and to keep mothers and children together wherever possible.

We agree that parents and children need to be kept together as much as possible, but we believe that the extended family, community, and churches should play a much larger role than any government agencies or programs.

Child Abuse Specialists – “Foster Care May Be Best Outcome”

While the authors of the study seem to be coming from a perspective of examining what is good for families overall, the authors of the commentary piece appear to believe that separating parents and children is a desirable outcome, as evidenced by this statement in their article:

The outcome measure selected for this study (placement of the infant into foster care) is not the most important outcome for children and young mothers. Avoiding unnecessary foster care placement is a worthy goal, but placement of an infant, a young child, or an adolescent mother in foster care is not a bad outcome per se.

Here is their conclusion, one which is decidedly at odds with the conclusions of the study, as well as with the views of the families whose stories we cover and supporters of family rights:

Placing the infant of an adolescent mother in foster care into foster care may not be a negative outcome, but rather the best outcome of all: safety and support for the adolescent mother, safety of her child, and an end to the intergenerational cycle of child protective services involvement.

See:

The U.S. Foster Care System: Modern Day Slavery and Child Trafficking

Comment on this article at MedicalKidnap.com.

  Sources: The Cycle of Child Protection Services Involvement: A Cohort Study of Adolescent Mothers Half of Children Born to Mothers in Child Protective Custody Also Taken Into Care by Age 2

See some of the stories we have covered of children taken by CPS from mothers in foster care or formerly in foster care:

Alabama DHR Destroys Another Family: Baby Taken Away Because Young Mom was a Foster Child Kidnapped from Loving Parents

Should Foster Children who Become Parents as Adults Automatically Have Their Children Seized? Alabama Mother Fights to Get Children Back

Baby Seized at Birth from Breast-feeding Alabama Mother to go Home More than 1 Year Later

Alabama Newborn Baby Kidnapped at Hospital with No Warrant, No Court Order, No Emergency Circumstances

Medical Kidnap? Mother Loses 3 Children Because “Daughter is Too Short”

Mad Angel: Former Foster Child Now Parent is Creating an Army of Victims to Fight CPS

CPS Defies Doctors and Police to Take Young Children Away from Mother

Medical Kidnapping in Kentucky: Mother Coerced to Give Up Daughter to Adoption in Order to Keep Son

Medical Kidnapping: A Threat to Every Family in America T-Shirt

100% Pre-shrunk Cotton! Order here!

Medical Kidnapping is REAL!

See: Medical Kidnapping: A Threat to Every Family in America Today

Help spread the awareness of Medical Kidnapping by wearing the Medical Kidnapping t-shirt!

Support the cause of MedicalKidnap.com, which is part of the Health Impact News network.

Order here!

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Support the cause against Medical Kidnapping by purchasing our new book!

If you know people who are skeptical and cannot believe that medical kidnapping happens in the U.S. today, this is the book for them! Backed with solid references and real life examples, they will not be able to deny the plain evidence before them, and will become better educated on this topic that is destroying the American family.

1 Book – 228 pages Retail: $24.99 FREE Shipping Available! Now: $14.99 Order here!

2 Books Retail: $49.98 (for 2 books) FREE Shipping Available! Now: $19.99 (for 2 books) Order here!

Also available as eBook:

eBook – Download Immediately! $9.99

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[lopezdorothy70-blog]

Foster Children Turned into Breeders? – CPS Seizes Half of All Babies Born to Teen Moms in Foster Care

Chelsea was still legally in foster care when her baby was born February 26, 2018. He was taken from her at just over 24 hours. He is still not home. See her story here.

by Terri LaPoint Health Impact News

According to a recent study published in June 2018, 1 out of 4 newborns born to mothers who are in foster care themselves are seized by Child Protective Services (CPS) within their first week of life. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, by the time the babies reach 2-years-old, almost half of them, 48.8%, are taken from their mothers.

At Health Impact News, we have seen a clear pattern of CPS involvement with parents who were in foster care themselves, whether their babies were born while they were in foster care or after they aged out.

Many such parents have reported that they feel targeted by CPS. Some have had children taken by the same social workers who took them from their families when they were younger, and some even appear before the same judge as both child and parent.

This is the first study that looks at the numbers of children taken from mothers in foster care, and the results are shocking. They reveal massive failure on the part of the foster care system to help the children with whom it is charged with protecting.

According to the study:

The biggest differences were seen for children taken into care within 7 days. … those in care at the birth of their child (regardless of whether they were in care at conception) had more than 11 times the odds of having their child placed in care.

Foster Children Are Not More Sexually Active than Non-Foster Children

Interestingly, the authors of the study noted that teens in foster care were not engaging in sexual behavior any more than teens who are not in foster care. However, they are twice as likely to become pregnant:

Although adolescents who are in and out of care of child protection services (CPS), such as foster care, have similar patterns of sexual intercourse (ie, age of initiation, number of partners), those in the care of CPS are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or inconsistent contraceptive use. This results in young women in foster care being more than twice as likely to have an adolescent pregnancy.

Thirty percent of the mothers in the study were not in foster care when they became pregnant:

Of the 576 mothers in care at the birth of their child, 403 mothers (70%) were in care at conception, and of the 5,366 mothers not in care at the birth of their child, 83 mothers (1.6%) were in care at conception.

AAP – Two Companion Articles, Vastly Different Conclusions

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) posted a summary of the study on their website, entitled, “Half of Children Born to Mothers in Child Protective Custody Also Taken Into Care by Age 2.”

The summary links to the study entitled, “The Cycle of Child Protection Services Involvement: A Cohort Study of Adolescent Mothers,” which examined data from the Population Data Research Repository at Canada's Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.

At the bottom of the AAP summary, the editor adds that they asked for commentary on the study:

Editor's Note: The solicited commentary, “Understanding the Intergenerational Cycle of ChildProtective Service Involvement,” accompanies this study.

The study lists Elizabeth Wall-Wieler as the first author of the team of authors, who are primarily PhDs involved with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. The conclusions they reach are vastly different from those reached by the authors of the commentary piece solicited by AAP.

Avyonna was taken from her mother, a former foster child, at 2-days-old. Her older brother and sister were born while her mother was in foster care. The system kept them. After a long battle, and public exposure of their story, Avyonna is home. Photo provided by Prince family. See story.

The commentary article is written by the Deputy Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services in Pittsburgh, Erin Dalton, as well as two Child Abuse Specialist doctors, Dr. Rachel P. Berger, Director of Child Abuse Research at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Kristine A. Campbell, Child Abuse Specialist at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

The study authors write:

The high rate of children of adolescent mothers in care being taken into care has been attributed to higher surveillance of these mothers and western middle-class values among social workers.

Young mothers who themselves are in care often feel as if they are under constant scrutiny by their social workers and are constantly needing to prove to everyone that they are able to parent.

Receiving expectant parent services from CPS can also lead to more scrutiny; we saw that 42% of adolescents who were in care received these services, compared with 27% of mothers who were not in care.

From many case workers' perspectives, the cycle starts with adolescent motherhood (which is deemed as bad), and the only way to “break” the cycle is to take that child into care. This is different from the view of adolescent mothers who often see the removal of their child as a continuation of the cycle of trauma in their lives.

These statements are consistent with what we have seen at Health Impact News. 

See:

Is Foster Care “In the Best Interest of the Child”?

One mother told us that her social worker told her that CPS would follow up on her daughter when she grows up and has children, even though she was adopted out after CPS medically kidnapped her. The mother grew up in foster care herself, and was devastated to learn that CPS intended to scrutinize her and her family until the end of time.

She saw no hope of any of her children ever getting out from under the strong arm of CPS control.

Her story is certainly not unique, unfortunately.

Tanaieah's mother is a former foster child. Tanaieah was taken from her mother at 6-weeks-old and adopted out to people who wanted a baby girl. The multi-generational cycle continues. Photo provided by the Maney family.

The study authors acknowledge the immense importance of the mother-child bond:

Whenever possible, mothers and children should be placed together. Dual placement provides the opportunity for secure infant attachment; providing parenting supports, such as the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up program or the Circle of Security program, could enhance mother-child bonding.

The study concludes:

Adolescent mothers in the care of CPS are much more likely to have their child taken into CPS care. By separating a quarter of young mothers from their infant within the first week of life, and almost half before the child turns 2, the cycle continues. For adolescents in CPS care who give birth, more and better services are required to support these mothers and to keep mothers and children together wherever possible.

We agree that parents and children need to be kept together as much as possible, but we believe that the extended family, community, and churches should play a much larger role than any government agencies or programs.

Child Abuse Specialists – “Foster Care May Be Best Outcome”

While the authors of the study seem to be coming from a perspective of examining what is good for families overall, the authors of the commentary piece appear to believe that separating parents and children is a desirable outcome, as evidenced by this statement in their article:

The outcome measure selected for this study (placement of the infant into foster care) is not the most important outcome for children and young mothers. Avoiding unnecessary foster care placement is a worthy goal, but placement of an infant, a young child, or an adolescent mother in foster care is not a bad outcome per se.

Here is their conclusion, one which is decidedly at odds with the conclusions of the study, as well as with the views of the families whose stories we cover and supporters of family rights:

Placing the infant of an adolescent mother in foster care into foster care may not be a negative outcome, but rather the best outcome of all: safety and support for the adolescent mother, safety of her child, and an end to the intergenerational cycle of child protective services involvement.

See:

The U.S. Foster Care System: Modern Day Slavery and Child Trafficking

Comment on this article at MedicalKidnap.com.

  Sources: The Cycle of Child Protection Services Involvement: A Cohort Study of Adolescent Mothers Half of Children Born to Mothers in Child Protective Custody Also Taken Into Care by Age 2

See some of the stories we have covered of children taken by CPS from mothers in foster care or formerly in foster care:

Alabama DHR Destroys Another Family: Baby Taken Away Because Young Mom was a Foster Child Kidnapped from Loving Parents

Should Foster Children who Become Parents as Adults Automatically Have Their Children Seized? Alabama Mother Fights to Get Children Back

Baby Seized at Birth from Breast-feeding Alabama Mother to go Home More than 1 Year Later

Alabama Newborn Baby Kidnapped at Hospital with No Warrant, No Court Order, No Emergency Circumstances

Medical Kidnap? Mother Loses 3 Children Because “Daughter is Too Short”

Mad Angel: Former Foster Child Now Parent is Creating an Army of Victims to Fight CPS

CPS Defies Doctors and Police to Take Young Children Away from Mother

Medical Kidnapping in Kentucky: Mother Coerced to Give Up Daughter to Adoption in Order to Keep Son

Medical Kidnapping: A Threat to Every Family in America T-Shirt

100% Pre-shrunk Cotton! Order here!

Medical Kidnapping is REAL!

See: Medical Kidnapping: A Threat to Every Family in America Today

Help spread the awareness of Medical Kidnapping by wearing the Medical Kidnapping t-shirt!

Support the cause of MedicalKidnap.com, which is part of the Health Impact News network.

Order here!

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Support the cause against Medical Kidnapping by purchasing our new book!

If you know people who are skeptical and cannot believe that medical kidnapping happens in the U.S. today, this is the book for them! Backed with solid references and real life examples, they will not be able to deny the plain evidence before them, and will become better educated on this topic that is destroying the American family.

1 Book – 228 pages Retail: $24.99 FREE Shipping Available! Now: $14.99 Order here!

2 Books Retail: $49.98 (for 2 books) FREE Shipping Available! Now: $19.99 (for 2 books) Order here!

Also available as eBook:

eBook – Download Immediately! $9.99

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[madamedigitale]

LIVE TW’8 MANIFESTO 2018: AFRICAN WOMEN CALL FOR ACTION DURING FIRST REGIONAL VIRTUAL DIALOGUES SERIES

MANIFESTO OF THE LIVE TW'8: 

“HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, DIGITAL INCLUSION AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN AFRICA,  AFRICAN WOMEN CALL FOR ACTION!”

 Preamble

Today, across social media platforms, women give power to lived experiences, by speaking through their own voices. (Personal) storytelling aims at generating a collective awareness. The traditional citizens’ mobilizations, which mirrored social engagement, are moving from the streets to the digital space. The year 2017 witnessed an unprecedented phenomenon, via social media networks, with profound impact on the real world. It redefined the prism through which gender-related issues, women’s rights and gender equality are dealt with by traditional media, with their critical role at play, as sounding board for online movements.

The LIVE TW'8 virtual dialogues, held on the 8th and 28th of March 2018, targeted 17 African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and the special participation of Sierra Leone, raising the voices of individuals, men and women, committed to finding solutions for a more equitable society where women and girls can reach their full potential in Africa.

 The manifesto presents the following recommendations, articulated around eight (8) strategic orientations:

I | Digital

1. To Eliminate barriers to ICT and Internet access, so that all women/girls benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital revolution;

2. To Promote the emergence of an inclusive and participative digital community, to contribute to greater empowerment of women;

3. To Democratize awareness raising, information and advocacy tools sharing through digital distribution channels;

4. To Disseminate digital innovations to consolidate cooperation, solidarity, and the emergence of women's potential;

5. To widen public debate spaces for women to express themselves, their strengths, talents, leadership, through  greater use of digital channels and platforms.

 II | Youth

1. To Raise awareness and Educate households in making the inner family circle the first space for the ​​fulfillment and realization of the potential of each girl;

2. To Encourage girls to tell their stories, in both private and public spheres;

3. To Promote gender equality among girls and boys from an early age, through educational, social and cultural activities;

4. To Adopt mentoring of girls and sharing of experience by women of all ages, profiles, and socio-professional backgrounds;

5. To Strengthen the intergenerational dialogue between the girl-child and adolescent girls, as well as between women and girls, through dedicated physical & digital platforms and spaces.

 III | Health 

1. To Ensure geographic and financial access to information, reproductive health and family planning, care and health products and services for every woman / girl;

2. To Improve the quality and structural provision of care for women and girls, maternal and child health services, and  public health care;

3. To Develop anonymous and free listening and information devices on sexual and reproductive health;

4. To Ensure human resources training in innovation within the sector of medical technologies;

5. To Fight against the dearth of medical personal in rural and urban areas.

 IV | Human rights, citizenship, governance

1. To Establish quotas for women's representation in institutions and decision-making positions;

2.  To Provide school-based civic education programs focused on the promotion of gender equality;

3. To Train grassroots & community-based groups and platforms to raise awareness of gender issues;

4. To Ensure girls' access to education, in order to increase their chances to access better professional opportunities in the future;

5. To Support the awakening of young girls to civic action and political engagement through their immersion within civic institutions and machineries.

 V | Education, training, employment

1. To Fight & Eliminate discriminatory laws and practices on the division of labor based on gender stereotypes;

2. To Fight against harassment, sexism, and all forms of gender based discrimination in schools and workplaces;

3. To Educate on the need to revisit beliefs and habits about the "traditional" role assigned to girls and women in families and households;

4. To Align the vocational & technical educational training offerings with the needs of the labor market to ensure better competitiveness and professional integration of women;

5. To Fight in all the right places so that gender equality and wage equality become a reality.

 VI | Arts, culture, crafts

1. To Professionalize, formalize, and increase funding for the cultural and creative industries and sectors, particularly in rural areas

2. To Disseminate, through media spaces, success stories and information about women role models particularly in the cultural, arts and crafts industries;

3. To Promote and perpetuate the historical, economic, and social role of art, culture, and craftsmanship;

4. To Increase women’s access to spaces for artistic and cultural expression and knowledge-sharing to encourage learning by practice as therapeutic, cathartic, and inspirational;

5. To Secure and safeguard the transmission and sharing of experiences, knowledge, and know-how in arts and crafts.

 VII | Agriculture, food security, ecology

1. To Provide agricultural tools, equipment, and technologies which are of quality, modern and adapted to women farm-holders;

2. To Adopt gender-sensitive land policies and remove socio-cultural barriers for access to, and control of land for women in agribusiness;

3. To Address the dearth of data on women in the agribusiness in rural, urban and peri-urban areas;

4. To Train women farmers in the use of methods and tools for sustainable agriculture methods, as well as climate and energy resilient strategies;

5. To Invest in agricultural and agribusiness value chains, including export and exploring new markets, as well as promoting local consumption.

 VIII | Culture of peace, respect for life

1.     To Involve women in facilitation and conflict mediation processes, as well as peacebuilding at the community level

2.     To Initiate committees promoting positive traditional practices and fighting against harmful traditional practices at the local level;

3.     To Make more visible and support women's initiatives dedicated to the promotion of human rights and the maintenance of social cohesion;

4.     To Ensure the respect for the dignity, physical and moral integrity, and privacy of girls and women is a reality;

5.     To Promote Education for a culture of peace at an early age.

[intersectionalfeminismnow]

Missing and Murdered and Often Forgotten: Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Why Non-Indigenous Canadians Need to Do Better

Last year, Canada celebrated 150 years since the birth of our nation in 1867, or, 150 years since Europeans came and stole the land from the Indigenous peoples already living here. Europeans came as colonizers, impacting the lives of Indigenous peoples and trying to do away with their customs and traditions.They accomplished this through major colonial projects, in addition to countless other methods of perpetuating the genocide of Indigenous populations. Settlers forcefully moved Indigenous communities to reservations, which are small, usually undesirable areas of land that are not well-equipped with functional sanitation or water services. Colonizers also sought the destruction of the Indigenous family structure by forcing children into residential schools where they could not speak their own languages and learned white, Christian ideals. Canada has a long history of colonization. The country relies on colonial ideology and this colonialism allows for Indigenous women to continue to face violence, brutality, murder, and sexual abuse. Canada has a huge problem involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and many non-Indigenous Canadians either are unaware of or fail to recognize this problem (Hunt).

The issue of violence against Indigenous women is not a new one, and these women have dealt with the problem for over a century; however, the crisis has only recently garnered non-Indigenous attention following media coverage of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women. In 2014, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (the RCMP) completed a report on Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. As of 2014, there were 1181 cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women recorded. Of these, 1017 are homicide victims and 164 are missing. The RCMP solved the majority of the homicide cases, but ten percent, or approximately 102 of these cases, remain unsolved (RCMP 2014). In addition, the report notes, “Aboriginal women […] are at a higher risk of being victims of violence than non-Aboriginal females” (RCMP 2014). With respect to this fact, the use of the term ‘missing’ to describe these women is a definite misnomer. As Sarah Hunt notes, “the language of ‘the missing women’ masks the brutal reality of how they become ‘missing’. Girls and women don’t simply disappear – they are beaten, murdered, kidnapped, violated, and raped”. 

The RCMP did an update of their data in 2015. This data included ten new missing Indigenous women, bringing the total up to 174 missing women (RCMP 2015). These numbers are almost three years old, and with the ten-case rise in only one year, it is certainly possible that these numbers are even higher now. In fact, in their fact sheet about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls generated from the Sisters in Spirit Report, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) indicates that there are many undocumented cases (NWAC). This issue is clearly a systemic one, as the 2014 RCMP report and the NWAC fact sheet indicate that murdered Indigenous women have certain risk factors in common including unemployment and the use of intoxicants. Canada’s construction as a colonial society clearly influences the use of intoxicants as many Indigenous Canadians turn to alcohol or drugs to help them cope with intergenerational trauma from residential schools and experiences of colonization (IACHR 42-4).

Many Indigenous scholars and writers discuss the damaging effects of colonization on Indigenous culture. In “Another Side of Me”, Lee Maracle, an Indigenous author, constructs culture as a living thing. She says, “[o]ne does not lose culture” (Maracle 154). She believes that colonization damaged the cultural initiative of Indigenous people, resulting in the limitation of many Indigenous people’s pursuit of their own dreams and aspirations (154). It is possible that this cultural limitation drives a lot of the violence and abuse that Indigenous women face daily, as the despair faced by Indigenous populations can place them in a precarious social position with respect to employment, social relations, and living situations. Maracle believes that the best way for Indigenous populations to heal is through spiritualism and returning to the spirit (155-6). She views revolution as a call to turn around. In her opinion, revolution is a circle and Indigenous people create revolutions by moving forward while white people continue to be racist and hierarchical (154).

This notion of making a revolution is clear in the Indigenous response to Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women. One instance of substantive action against this violence is the Annual Women’s Memorial March. This event began in 1992 and was Indigenous women’s response to the murders of other Indigenous women that happen too often in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (“About”). The event runs on February 14th every year and is a remembrance of all of the women who have gone missing or faced violent deaths in the Downtown Eastside since the 1970s. Another Indigenous women’s movement that is speaking out against violence, sexual assault, and cultural disempowerment is the #IdleNoMore movement. This movement seeks to call attention to the power of Indigenous women and their value within society. IdleNoMore also aims to protect the environment from further destruction and to combat settler-colonial misogyny that seeks to encourage hatred of Indigenous women (Nason). These actions disrupt the colonialist narrative that Indigenous women are powerless, unimportant, and easily conquered.

The 2018 Annual Women’s Memorial March. Photo by Travis Lupick.

However, Indigenous women should not be the only ones acting out to remember the missing and murdered Indigenous women. They should not be solely responsible for calling attention to the issue and creating preventative measures to protect these vulnerable women. Non-Indigenous Canadians need to step forward, listen to, and support Indigenous women in their efforts to resolve this horrible problem. While non-Indigenous women may find it a challenge to work outside of the colonial structures they have grown up embedded in, we must listen to Indigenous women and offer them whatever platform we can in order to resolve this issue. This help could take the form of financial donations, using our privilege as non-Indigenous women to provide a speaking platform, or demanding that politicians take this issue seriously and implement changes to protect Indigenous women. While there are no easy solutions, it is important that all Canadian women become aware of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and do all in our power to make Canada a safe place for Indigenous women.

Works Cited

"About." Feb. 14th Annual Women’s March, 2009, womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/about/. Accessed 4 March 2018.

Hunt, Sarah. “More than a Poster Campaign: Redefining Colonial Violence.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 14 Feb. 2013, decolonization.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/more-than-a-poster-campaign-redefining-colonial-violence/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.

IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights). “Chapter 3: Violence and Discrimination Against Indigenous Women in British Columbia.” Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada, Organization of American States, 2014, pp. 37-53, www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/indigenous-women-bc-canada-en.pdf. Accessed 1 March 2018.

Lupick, Travis. “2018 Downtown Eastside Women's Memorial March Draws a Solemn and Powerful Crowd.” The Georgia Straight, 14 Feb. 2018, www.straight.com/news/1033116/photos-2018-downtown-eastside-womens-memorial-march-draws-solemn-and-powerful-crowd. Accessed 4 March 2018.

Maracle, Lee. “Another Side of Me." Concepts of Culture Part 2, edited by Dr. Sarah Brophy, McMaster University, 2018, pp. 153-6.

Nason, Dory. “We Hold Our Hands Up: On Indigenous Women’s Love and Resistance.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 12 Feb. 2013, decolonization.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/we-hold-our-hands-up-on-indigenous-womens-love-and-resistance/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2018.

NWAC (Native Women’s Association of Canada). Fact Sheet: Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls. Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2010, www.nwac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Fact_Sheet_Missing_and_Murdered_Aboriginal_Women_and_Girls.pdf. Accessed 30 March 2018.

RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview. Government of Canada, 2014, www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-national-operational-overview. Accessed 1 March 2018.

RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: 2015 Update to the National Operational Overview. Government of Canada, 2015, www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-2015-update-national-operational-overview#p4. Accessed 1 March 2018.

[info-copa]

#ClaimYourPlace Deb

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, COPA is pleased to honour and celebrate the achievements of our team member, Deb St. Amant. Deb is an Indigenous consultant working with the COPA team. We feel strongly that she should be recognized as a  remarkable, trailblazing woman that has helped to affect important changes in Ontario.

 So #ClaimYourPlace, Deb!

This year, as she did last year, Deb will be visiting different communities in Ontario as part of a COPA project funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education. She will provide information about how to use and share COPA’s unique toolkits: A Circle of Caring and Joining the Circle.

Deb says that working with COPA enables her to do what she loves best: share Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. As she has said, "Ontario schools are places that have not always felt safe for Indigenous students from communities affected by the long-term consequences of residential schools and intergenerational trauma."

Deb feels that these two COPA resources are valuable tools that help heighten awareness of the richness and many strengths of First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures in Ontario. She describes this project as an important step toward the reconciliation component of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation process.

COPA’s project is indeed a timely one, as supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit students and families is recognized to be urgent and crucial. Ensuring that all educators and students are versed in the history and issues of Canada’s Indigenous peoples will increase confidence and sensitivity in educational practices and facilitate the flourishing of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students, embed First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories, languages, cultures and perspectives into all aspects of school and community life, and help create systemic change with and for Indigenous students and families.

Deb celebrating with COPA and her mom the day she won the ETFO award!

In 2016, Deb St. Amant received an Honorary Life Membership Award from the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO). A huge honour for anyone, of particular significance is the fact that Deb was the first person of Indigenous ancestry to have been honoured like this by the ETFO. Deb, who describes herself as a naturally shy person, says that her involvement in the teachers’ union originally gave her the confidence to give voice to strong opinions about equity, social justice, Indigenous rights, and the rights of all marginalized peoples. And thus, alongside a 30-year career in teaching, she has also spent much of the last 15 years raising her voice about these issues, and striving to make change happen within the education system of Ontario.

 Deb was born in Penetanguishene and came from a very close-knit family. Her dad was Métis, and her mom is Ojibwe. She grew up knowing how very fortunate she was not to have suffered the kind of discrimination that her parents had. Her mother remembers being called a ‘’squaw’’ and not wanting to ever reveal her First Nations heritage.

 Deb began her involvement in ETFO in 2001 when Kathleen Loftus in the Equity and Women's Services department of ETFO saw that she had self-identified as Indigenous. Deb was invited to attend a focus group for Aboriginal Women in Education. She says, "I was pretty sure it was going to be a small group -- probably me and my cousins that teach in the Penetang area --  because outside of my family, I hadn't really met any other Indigenous teachers." 

At the meeting Deb was encouraged to become active in Indigenous education and in the union. And so she did, even though she had never really thought of herself as having a place in the federation – because, as an Indigenous woman, she hadn’t seen herself reflected in ETFO’s leadership

 Deb began her involvement by shadowing the Aboriginal Committee, and then gradually became more active at ETFO in general. She organized her local union’s first Race Relations Retreat in 2004, at Hiawatha First Nations. She was the first Indigenous person elected to ETFO’s provincial executive. 

 In addition to her involvement with ETFO, she became a governor at OTF (Ontario Teachers’ Federation) and served on the Canadian Teachers’ Federation’s Aboriginal Issues Committee. And in 2011, Deb represented Canadian Teachers of Aboriginal Ancestry at Education International in Cape Town, South Africa.

Though retired, Deb remains passionate about teaching, as well as her Indigenous ancestry, and so it was natural for her, as a member of the Equity Committee, the Aboriginal Education Standing Committee and the executive of ETFO to begin to speak and inspire awareness in others about Indigenous issues in education.

Deb participated in many conferences, spoke widely about healthy schools, conducted workshops and participated in writing curriculum. She agitated for equity and inclusion both in education and in the governance of ETFO itself, and in general has had a rich and productive career as an activist – and ironical, as she never considered herself to be a ‘political’ person. 

Joining the Circle is a First Nations, Métis and Inuit multimedia toolkit designed for all education staff in schools, boards and communities across Ontario, and emerged out of COPA’s kit A Circle of Caring - a much-praised resource for First Nations, Métis and Inuit families, caregivers and schools. 

Both toolkits include short animated films in several Indigenous languages, along with discussion guides and suggestions of various activities to use in families, communities and classrooms to jumpstart reflection, discussion, dialogue and foster positive action. Topics include cultural pride and identity, understanding bullying, racism and discrimination against First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, helping children succeed, and building and strengthening relationships with Indigenous students and families while nurturing safe and healthy schools and communities.

Order both toolkits from our eBoutique! Or use them online. OR bring us to your community to share this marvelous resource - contact us to arrange it.