Friday, November 12, 2010

OPIRG BROCK WEEKLY EVENTS NEWSLETTER

OPIRG BROCK
WEEKLY EVENTS NEWSLETTER
November 15-21
 
People from all walks of life are invited to participate in the research, education, and action facilitated through OPIRG Brock – including not only students but interested community members.  All events listed occur in St. Catharines unless indicated otherwise.  For a map of the Brock Campus please see:  http://www.brocku.ca/parking-services/campus-map.  To learn more about OPIRG Brock please see our website at: www.opirgbrock.org. 
 
Volunteer Opportunities!
 
Reminder: Call for Submissions for Niagara Social Justice Forum 2011:  We Honour People’s Struggles, We Celebrate People’s Victories
Deadline: Friday November 19

INVITATION TO ORGANIZE ACTIVITIES Hosted by the Social Justice and Equity Studies Graduate Program at Brock University, the 5th annual Niagara Social Justice Forum includes a day-long programme of concurrent activities including workshops, performances, exhibits and information tables in a fair-like atmosphere. Last year’s event attracted over 150 people from both campus and the community and explored a wide range of issues.
Examples of workshops from past programmes are:
“Native Woman – Endangered Species”
“Faculty for Palestine”
“Nothing About Us Without Us! ‘Photovoice’ as Research and Community
Development Method”
“The Other Side of Consciousness: Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered
Queer Films”
“Conflict, Violence and Reconciliation: Lessons to be drawn from
Colombia”
“Food Sovereignty in the Global South: A Development and Peace Appeal”
The main goal of this event is to build relationships between student
groups, activists and community organizations working on social
justice issues in the Niagara region. The purpose of this ‘call’ is to
invite individuals and groups with an activist orientation to submit a
proposal to host a workshop, performance, exhibit or information
table. The themes should have strong local relevance. We encourage
activities including art, music, drama or non-traditional modes of
interaction.
PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
•       In one page or less provide a title and brief description of proposed activity. Workshop slots are 90 minutes in duration. Exhibits, information tables and performances can vary in duration.
•       Make clear its relevance to the event.
•       Suggest what groups may participate.
•       Identify who is proposing and will organize the activity. Include
contact information.
We will accommodate as many proposals as possible, while aiming for a diversity of issues and kinds of activities. Those proposing activities are responsible for mobilizing the necessary resources to amount the activity. Forum organizers will co-ordinate the event, provide food, space, childcare and technological support, as well as outreach and promotion of the Forum’s activities. The event is free, accessible and open to the public.
For more information and to submit proposals contact the Niagara Social Justice Forum committee at socialjustice.nf@gmail.com or 9056885550, ext 5591. For questions and/or to submit a request for an information table contact Mary Breunig at mbreunig@brocku.ca or 9056885550, ext 5387.
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010.
The Niagara Social Justice Forum will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
For more information about the Niagara Social Justice Forum visit the website: http://www.niagarasocialjusticeforum.wordpress.com
 
Events!
 
Free! Documentary Screening: War/Dance
Tuesday November 16, 8 pm, OPIRG Brock InfoShop, 10 Summer St.
 
Come down to the InfoShop for riveting film and delicious popcorn and refreshments.  Film to be followed by discussion.
 
To coincide with International Education Week, we've selected a film with an international theme.  This film centers on three children - Rose, a 13-year-old choir singer; Nancy, a 14-year-old dancer; and Dominic, a 14-year-old xylophone player. They are members of the Acholi ethnic group, living in the remote northern Uganda refugee camp of Patongo, which is under military protection from the Lord's Resistance Army, a terrorist group that has been rebelling against the government for the past two decades. In 2005, the camp's primary school won its regional music competition and headed to Kampala to participate in the annual National Music Competition. War/Dance focuses on three of the eight categories: Western choral performance, instrumental music, and traditional dance, where the students perform the Bwola, the dance of the Acholi. Over the course of three months, the film's creative team observes the three youngsters as they prepare for the event and gain their confidence enough to have them discuss the horrors they have experienced and express their individual fears, hopes, and dreams.
 
 
Disturbing Account Of Abuses At G20 Summit To Be Focus Of Niagara Amnesty International Meeting
Tuesday November 16, 7:30 pm, at the parish hall of St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 41 Byron St., Niagara-On-The-Lake
 
On the morning of June 26, 2010, the Pruyn family of Thorold could not have imagined, as they boarded a Toronto-bound bus chartered by the Council of Canadians, that their lives would be changed forever by their decision to attend a G20 protest.
John Pruyn, a 57-year-old Revenue Canada employee, would never have dreamed that he would be assaulted by police. And that he and his daughter, Sarah, a university student, would both be arrested, held incommunicado in a mass lockup, and finally released without charges.
Susan Pruyn would never have dreamed that she would spend an agonizing 27 hours searching for her missing husband and daughter.
John and Susan Pruyn will share their story Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 at the parish hall of  St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 41 Byron St., Niagara-On- The-Lake (see map at http://tinyurl.com/St-Marks-NOTL) at the November meeting of Amnesty International Group 137.
Think it can’t happen here? Come hear an ordinary Niagara family’s shocking account of human rights abuses right here in our beloved Canada. 
Contact: James and/or Pamela Wilson at amnesty.international.group.137@gmail.com
 
Visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater binational Niagara region.
Brock Diversity Workshop Series: Love Your Body Workshop
Wednesday November 17, 4-6 pm, Community Meeting Place, Decew 208
 
Young women are invited to come out to this fun and interactive workshop on developing a strong, positive and confident body image. Facilitators will help you challenge all the stereotypes, myths and outright lies that the media in industry and society tell us in the daily images and messages we receive.  Register by email at humanrights@brocku.ca to reserve a spot.
 
Our Word is Our Weapon, Part Dos
Wednesdays 5pm-6pm, OPIRG Brock CFBU Radio Show, 103.7 FM
 
OPIRG Brock’s very own Ryan Donnelly and Andrew Barclay host a roundtable discussion – around a table that is not round - of the week’s most controversial news stories on social justice and environmental issues.  The focus for this week will be International Education Week.
 
Other Newsworthy Notes!
 
The Issue: New University of Windsor Web-Based Publication about International Socio-Political Issues at Universities in Ontario
 
The Issue is a collegiate web-based publication established by students at The University of Windsor. The premise behind The Issue is an initiative to improve awareness and active participation surrounding international socio-political issues at universities in Ontario.  The introductory issue highlights the rationale behind such a webzine. The Issue is non-profit, and student operated.  Please find links to for this publication below.
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