community

So I'm in my last three months here as a VISTA, things are really winding down. It's a lot different being on my own, the other VISTA Kevin ended his VISTAship 2 months ago but he had been working here pro-bono until he found a job (he just got one as of last week as a community development planner for the Human Services Alliance). …read more

Hey Guys, those of you are working with youth users of community technology centers, -- Microsoft is offering a free computer summer camp for girls in grades 10-12. Unfortunately, it's not being held in Miami, Florida (where I am) but the camps are being held in: Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Fargo, ND Las Colinas, TX …read more

Here are a few GREAT resources for developing communities online and connecting and organizing constituents to each other. For a small monthly fee, you can set up an online community that regularly meets offline for all sorts of topics and interests. This is an invaluable solution for capacity building at your project. Benefits include: shared filing system …read more

Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education hosted the 2007 Youth Entrepreneurship Conference from May 3 -5, 2007 at the Lincolnshire Marriot Resort.  Youth throughout the Midwest attended this grand event to showcase their businesses and to compete for monies to promote and expand their companies.  Opportunities were also granted for youth to sell products or services in the Expo. The innovation of young minds was evident with businesses ranging from custom auto parts to Caribbean Cuisine. IIEE provided youth the chance to show everyone what they got in accordance with the event’s theme. …read more

You're invited to a unique opportunity to combine hands-on multimedia training and community program capacity building. The program is called Spreading the Stories (sponsored by MassIMPACT) and it's a 3 full day hands-on workshop where you'll create a digital story and discuss how to implement it in your own organizations. The workshop will be held at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center on May 1, 8, & 9th from 9-5pm (with an orientation on Friday April 27th from 10-12noon). …read more

I can across an application that allows for community built apps.  I'm considering its appropriateness for some of the mapping functionality for CUWiN.  http://communitymapbuilder.org/display/MAP/Home 

Just How Smart IS Your Rural Community? Creating People-Centered Community Knowledge Networks http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm To survive in a world of accelerating change, all communities must quickly learn how to effectively create community learning programs to keep as many citizens as possible up-to-date on that new knowledge which creates new opportunities - on an ongoing basis. Community learning programs can start with something as simple as "live" online presentations of the best replicable innovations from other communities. As more new knowledge is put online for convenient access by the community, common sense use of appropriate knowledge sharing tools can have a dramatic impact by providing a means for everyone to contribute to keeping the whole community informed. In the knowledge age, fueled by an innovation economy, the quality of our community knowledge networks will determine the adaptability and survivability of our rural communities. …read more

This the space to share resources, upload materials/documents or post useful knowledge about setting up, maintaining, and expanding community media labs.

Globally, we’re seeing the simultaneous realization that opportunities exist for sharing best practices regarding motivating and training citizens in the use of Internet collaborative tools and their most efficient applications. Producing self-directed Internet learners with employability skills to reduce poverty is our challenge, as well as promoting effective global citizenship. The broadest definition of the term ”community networking” refers to a dedicated group of people working together for a defined purpose, people working together online to realize a shared cause. …read more

The recent (2006) announcement that the Nobel Peace prize has been won by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has caught my attention. Part of the prize is shared by a banking system called Grameen bank. The bank is supposedly working on the principles of community effort, mutual trust, accountability, and micro credit. It is designed to offer small loans to poor people in groups of 5, who are otherwise not credit worthy. The primary requirement for loan eligibility seems to be collective accountability of groups to repay. Because there is no requirement to back their loans with collateral, the poor have been able to invest in some trade for their livelihood. The conditions for loan have helped improve social and economic awareness. This system appears to have uplifted and improved the lives of many poor communities in Bangladesh, among whom a big percentage is said to be women. This indeed is a system of community, networking and collective effort that has not only made a success story but also has received a distinguished recognition. Follow the links for more of this story. …read more