Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Witness video training



We got an email today from our partner org Witness about a very cool program aimed at teaching video skills for those using the camera to document and work for social change. We've pasted some of the info below, but go here for more information. Witness is a kick ass group and made up of some very nice people to boot - def check them out!

Video Advocacy Institute
JULY 15 -27, 2007
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 25, 2007

The WITNESS Video Advocacy Institute (VAI), the first of its kind, is an innovative intensive program that will train human rights defenders to successfully integrate video advocacy into their campaigns.

The 2007 VAI will be held in association with Concordia University’s Communications Studies Program and Documentary Centre in Montreal, Canada from July 15 – 27, 2007.

This training will provide an immersive introduction to key skills in video advocacy for a group of 25-30 dedicated human rights advocates from across the globe working on some of the most challenging human rights issues facing our world today. In this highly participatory course participants will learn how to:

* Plan the strategic use of video as a targeted tool for change in a human rights campaign, and
apply this learning to their own work
* Plan and shoot on Mini-DV video cameras, and learn the basics of editing
* Make appropriate decisions on safety, security and consent
* Craft effective advocacy narratives – ‘storytelling for action’
* Distribute their video to key audiences
* Use video as evidence
* Use online video for advocacy

During the VAI each participant will also have time to apply the learning from the sessions to planning for a project that they will be implementing in the follow-up to the Institute.

The approach will be intensive and practical, grounded in WITNESS’ 15 years of experience supporting human rights organizations in over 70 countries to use video in their campaigns. The focus will be on experiential learning which will deepen the participant’s ability to protect human rights by training them to use the power of video to create social change.




Thursday, February 22, 2007

Summer internship posting just went up!

Summer SEEMS like a long way off, but it'll be here before you know it, so we have already posted information about our summer internships on Idealist.org. Every summer, Lokahi takes out about four interns for a crash course in grassroots campaigning and life on the road and on tour. If you are interested in joining us as an intern, click here for info on how and when to apply.

Thanks!

Monday, February 19, 2007

A little direct action to start your week off right...




This isn’t overtly related to our work, but we wanted to kick off this week with quick blog about a gardening movement that has origins going back some 50 years, but has recently seen a resurgence in the UK and is rapidly spreading across the world. (There is even a Wikipedia article about this stuff!) We kept reading about these guys that go by the name Guerrilla Gardeners in gardening and art & culture magazines and finally got around to checking out their website. They are all about 'refurbishing urban blight' - going in and planting abandoned plots of land in urban areas...regardless if permission to do so is granted! Though it might be crossing a few public versus private land issues, we are really scratching our heads to come up with exactly what would be wrong with planting a garden in places that really need one.

Community and gardening are both big with us at Lokahi. I’m (Brande speaking now!) total a plant nerd. I have a little nursery/garden design business in addition to my other work, have been a ‘recreational botanist’ since I was about 15 and have long been involved with school and community gardens. Lokahi as an organization has also, up until the past few years, been involved with public gardens in Southern California, and we are hoping to get back involved with such work in the years ahead. And, we’re also big fans of people that take innovative approaches to fix their communities, one small piece at a time. It’s just cool to see groups coming up with fun, innovative ideas that are focused on making the world a little bit better, and acting out on them. Which is why we wanted to spotlight the Guerrilla Gardeners this week!

Anyway, do take a second to check out their work and the network of gardeners/urban crusaders and activists in their link section , and think about doing some urban guerrilla gardening of your own. If sneaking out into the night under cover with bulbs under arm is a bit much for you, keep in mind all the schools and community centers that always need some green thumbs to lend a hand. Us plant geeks need to unite and act on our ideals that gardening can indeed improve the world!


PS: some myspace links:

http://www.myspace.com/guerrillagardening
http://www.myspace.com/guerrilla_gardening





Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Fighting poverty with the click of a button!


Oxfam MTF Volunteer
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.

Check out what our partners Oxfam America have going on at the
povertyfighters.com website. The website focuses on microfinance credit, and currently is running a campaign where college campuses compete to raise money for this credit, which helps provide development and business opportunities to individuals in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Here’s what the Oxfam myspace blog has to say:

“If you knew you could fight poverty and hunger, conserve the environment,
empower women, and combat AIDS - all with just two clicks a day - would you do it?

The Oxfam America Collegiate Click Drive is a national online
competition to generate funds for micro-credit programs worldwide. Participation is quick and easy - each click generates a $.25 donation. To compete, go to www.PovertyFighters.com. The Click Drive runs February 12th through March 30th, 2007.

The funding provides loans to help start small businesses which help lift families and communities out of poverty.

Help make a difference today! Go to www.PovertyFighters.com today to compete!”





Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Quick updates...


Painting away...
Originally uploaded by Brande Jackson.
Hello everyone…

Sorry about the dismal lack of blog updates. This is our quiet, typically non-touring time of year, so, you know, updates aren’t as exciting. Reading about how we worked on the computer all day just isn’t nearly as interesting as stories from being on the road with Dave Matthews or the Warped Tour, no matter how hard we try…

Anyhow, things have been busy for us – busy planning and getting ready for the year ahead!

We are excited to be taking part in a lot of festivals and events and concerts this year – we’ll have a complete list posted soon. We are also going to be in Austin for the next months South By Southwest music festival – we’ll be set up at various showcases and parties throughout town, and are looking for more places where we can set up and let people know about our work. If you can help us out in this regard, please shoot us an email – info (at) lokahioutreach (dot) org.

We’ve also been in school, as in teaching in the after school programs that Lokahi is involved with. Our students this year are awesome. This session, we are focused on learning about artists and art that used to create social change, and we are hopefully going to be setting up correspondence with students in Africa and Latin America. Again, if you are interested in getting involved with this project, just shoot us an email to the address above.

We’ll have more updates on all of this in the upcoming days, but we wanted to post a quick blog to say, you know, hi.

Hi!

PS: thanks to our friends over at Future Majority for their recent blog about us!