229 posts categorized "activism"

July 22, 2011

Tonight in Peterborough: Chocolate, Cheese, and Activism

Via OPIRG Peterborough and others

Friday, July 22 · 4:30pm - 6:30pm

Sadleir House
751 George St. N.
Peterborough

The goal of Chocolate, Cheese & Activism is to bring those interested in social justice activism together to explore issues and practices, and following from Part 2 of the series, identify ways to connect, mobilize, and network individuals and groups.

First on the agenda is an introduction to the current work in progress: creating a network/community for all Peterborough activists to be a part of. The idea of the network is sharing of events and information across spectrums. More will be said on this and discussion will be held.

Following this, much like Part 2, issue-based work groups will be formed and hopefully further ideas, practices, etc., results from individual collaboration.

To close the evening... we will keep that a surprise.

After the event is over, everyone is encouraged to gather in a less formal setting to continue conversation, say, at a bar.

Suggested $5-$10 for the wonderful cheese and refreshments, and of course, the chocolate from Naked Chocolate.

Wheel accessible.

Tell your friends; post on your wall.

May 12, 2011

Giving Birth to Your Activist Self: Finding Your Voice as a Mother Activist

Workshop Handout for

 

Giving Birth to Your Activist Self:

Finding Your Voice as a Mother Activist

International Conference on Motherhood Activism, Advocacy, Agency

May 13-15, 2011 - Toronto, Ontario

 

Presented by

Sharon Aschaiek and Ann Douglas

 

  • Awaken. Hear your activist voice.
  • Respond. Know what to do with that call to action.
  • Collaborate. Form meaningful connections with other activists (online and in real life) to reduce isolation and maximize your effectiveness.
  • Communicate. Connect with the public and generate media interest in your cause.
  • Lead. Achieve consensus and inspire your fellow activists to action.
  • Succeed. Learn from successful activists. Discover what takes some movements over the top?
  • Sustain. Avoid activist burnout, which zaps your energy and enthusiasm. Fuel the fire within. Self care, professional development,  and sabbaticals are ways to nurture your activist self.

 

Books

Ansell, Jeff. When the Headline is You: An Insider’s Guide to Handling the Media. Jossey-Bass, 2010.

May, Elizabeth. How to Save the World in Your Spare Time. Key Porter Books, 2007.

Moyer, Bill et al. Doing Democracy. The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements. New Society Publishers, 2001.

Sussman, Amanda. The Art of the Possible: A Handbook for Political Activism. McCelland and Stewart, 2009.

 

Websites

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)’s Media Activist Kit

The Citizen’s Handbook: Practical Assistance for Those Who Want to Make a Difference

Campus Activism.org: Movement Action Plan by Bill Moyer

Campus Activism.org: Event Planning Worksheet

Campus Activism.org: Four Core Elements of Strategy

Campus Activism.org: Organizing: Lessons Learned

 

Useful Social Media Tools and Platforms

Appbistro:  Directory of apps for Facebook Pages.

Bit.ly: URL shortening service (useful for Twitter).

Facebook: Social media platform

Flickr: Photo-sharing community.

Klout: A measure of social media influence.

LinkedIn: Showcase your resume and connect with others.

ManageFlitter: Manage your Twitter followers/following.

Oneforty: A directory of business-oriented apps for Twitter.

Posterous: An easy way to publish to multiple channels.

Storify: Combine content, including chat tweets.

Twitter: Social media platform.

YouTube: Video-sharing.

 

Sharon Ashchaiek

Sharon Aschaiek is a mother to a five-year-old boy with autism, a professional writer and an autism services activist. Sharon leads Autism Resolution Ontario, a grassroots, non-partisan, parent-run advocacy group protesting against Ontario’s severe autism services gaps, and working to achieve appropriate treatment and social justice for kids with autism.

Ann Douglas

Ann Douglas is active in the democracy movement and the women's movement, She volunteers with Citizens Advocating Political Participation and serves on the Board of Directors of YWCA Peterborough Victoria Haliburton. She is an author and mother of four. www.anndouglas.ca and www.onewomanoneblog.com

May 03, 2011

Did Democracy Just Break Your Heart?

If democracy just broke your heart, this post is for you.

Sometimes democracy can do that to a person. And when it happens, it feels like you've just been betrayed by a lover.

You trusted democracy to safeguard something sacred, only to discover too late that the sweet-nothings that were being whispered between democracy and other voters were nothing like the sweet-nothings that were being shared between the two of you.

So what do you do the day after your heart has been broken?

Allow yourself to grieve. Your dream of a better Canada has been ripped away. You invested in that dream with every action you took during and leading up to Election Day.

Don't indulge in "if onlys." We can't turn back the clock. We can only move forward.  Honour the passion for democracy that erupted in you by vowing to continue to work for a Canada that reflects the hopes and dreams of the true majority of Canadians.

Understand you're not alone. Because of the way our voting system works, there are more people feeling sad than celebratory today: 60 percent versus 40 percent, in fact. If misery loves company, there's no better way to find company than by voting in a first-past-the-post election.

Find strength in your community -- the community of Canadians who are not satisfied with the outcome of last night's election and who will not be satisfied until Canada finds its way back to its more progressive, socially conscious, democratic roots. We have four years to map out that journey. For today, just commit to supporting your fellow travellers.

April 27, 2011

You Were Asking? About Volunteer Work and Citizen Smear Campaigns

I've never had so many people express so much interest in my volunteer work as they have in recent days -- and I've been an active and committed volunteer for many years.

In the letter of complaint I filed with Elections Canada on Monday morning, I thought it was important to state my involvement with all local political campaigns. (I try to err on the side of transparency wherever possible.)

This is what I wrote:

"I have not contributed financially to any candidate's election campaign since 2008. I am not affiliated with any candidate's campaign, locally or nationally. I did offer to participate in a national event [as a volunteer] for the Liberal Party of Canada, but there was a scheduling conflict so I was unable to participate. I do intend to volunteer with the local Liberal campaign on May 2nd . I have had Liberal lawn signs at my home and office since the election was called. My office lawn sign was vandalized between Thursday afternoon and Sunday morning."

I should have also stated that I do not hold a membership in any political party. That has been the case since approximately December 2009, when the membership I held in the Liberal Party of Canada expired.

* * *

It is my hope that Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro will eventually see fit to moderate his message board and remove the libelous attack posts directed at me. Shortly after CHEX-TV interviewed me on Monday night, Del Mastro removed the attack posts that had been directed at me until that time. I expressed my appreciation to him immediately. Unfortunately, the attack posts resumed immediately and, 48 hours later, the new round of attack posts remains. The attacks have also spilled over to a number of related websites. I know things get nasty during political campaigns (and I hate that), but typically the attacks go from politician from politician. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned and I haven't caught up with the latest trends in our rapidly evolving political culture: the citizen smear campaign.

April 20, 2011

How Stephen Harper Changed My Life -- And How Ursula Franklin Spoke to My Heart

I never intended to become politically active. But after Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, Canada didn't feel like Canada anymore and I felt compelled to start taking action.

For a long time, I blogged here on a regular basis. During the 2008 election, I blogged many times per day in the rather naive hope that if I blogged often enough -- if I worked hard enough -- I'd be able to help convince my fellow Canadians that we needed a government that was progressive in its thinking (as opposed to the Reform Party of Canada rebranded).

It bothers me that approximately one-third of Canadians are willing to make trade-offs in order to keep Stephen Harper in power, because what they are trading off for lower taxes are rights and freedoms and the checks and balances that make for a healthy democracy.

 
I had no idea how much my life would change when I started speaking out -- how good it would feel to speak the truth about what I was witnessing and to form alliances with other Canadians who are just as disturbed by what has been happening to our country. At the same time, I also could not have predicted that I would be interrogated in my MP's office as a result of becoming politically aware and politically outspoken.

* * *211166_213410702017653_528485_n

During an unforgettable interview on the CBC radio show The Current last May, respected scientist and pacifist Ursula Franklin spoke about her time in a Nazi labour camp and the warning signs of democracy in peril. She sees some of those very same signs in Canada today and she is urging Canadians to be vigilant -- not to sleepwalk as many people do while their freedoms slip away. If you only watch one video (the interview is actually available on video) during this election campaign, I urge you to watch this one. It is powerful and unforgettable. You can find it here. (The interview starts at around the 27:00 minute mark in the video.)

* * *

We need to send a message to Ottawa through whichever candidate is elected in each of our ridings. We want voting reform now. Proportional representation would encourage the parties to work together as opposed to treating one another as combatants.

A Prime Minister who doesn't have respect for the basic rules of government -- who doesn't choose to acknowledge that the Prime Minister is accountable to the people of Canada through the House of Commons (not vice versa) -- should not be entrusted with the privilege of governing this country for one more day, let alone a period of months or years.

This election marks a turning point in the life of our country. We are at a crossroads. One arrow points toward a more progressive future -- the Canada we used to be. The other points to a future with Stephen Harper in control. It doesn't take much to figure out what kind of Canada that would be. I'm hoping enough Canadians will wake up from the nightmare of the past five years to put us back on the path to where we belong.

 

Note: I am participating in Mom the Vote -- an effort to encourage Canadian moms to think about the issues in this election and to vote. I will be voting in Peterborough Riding.

 

June 28, 2010

G20 Video and Blog Package I Prepared for Indie Media Site PtboCanada.com

  The-real-thugs-G20-protester


PTBOCANADA: Peterborough Activists Insist The Media is Missing the Message with the G8/G20 Protests

is a G20 blog and video package I prepared for indie media outlet PtboCanada.com yesterday afternoon. There are a dozen videos (accessible on YouTube via a link in the article) plus a blog post with many embedded links. You'll find eye-witness accounts from activists who were in Toronto on Saturday, analysis of G20 issues - including media coverage of the protests - from Peterborough-area activists, protests songs and a whole lot more.

June 11, 2010

Was It Something I Said?

My letter about proposed changes to the copyright act triggered this rather bizarre response from a member of Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro's staff:

From: [email protected]
Date: June 9, 2010 9:59:03 PM GMT-04:00
To: Ann Douglas
Subject: Re: Copyright - Bill C-32

Please confirm and advise it has been passed on to Dean.
Even though she is not respectful we will be.
Alan.

***

From: Ann Douglas
To: Del Mastro, Dean - Assistant 1
Sent: Thu Jun 10 09:50:19 2010
Subject: Fwd: Copyright - Bill C-32

Alan -
I think you intended your note for someone other than me.
Best regards,
- Ann Douglas

***

On 10-Jun-10, at 9:54 AM, [email protected] wrote:

Simply: whether a constituent constantly attacks the member or not we will serve and accept input from all.
Alan. 

***

From: Ann Douglas
Subject: Re: Copyright - Bill C-32
Date: June 10, 2010 10:07:50 AM GMT-04:00
To: [email protected]

I am pleased to hear that you welcome feedback from all constituents. That is what I would expect from my Member of Parliament and his staff.

Best regards,
Ann Douglas

I hope I never have to ask my MP to assist with an urgent matter affecting the well-being of my family. I have a feeling that the experience would be uncomfortable to say the least.

Related:

My Visit to MP Dean Del Mastro's Office - And What I Learned

June 09, 2010

I Write Letters: On Democracy, The Copyright Bill, and The Gun Registry

I've been in letter-writing mode over the past few days. On Saturday, I fired off this letter to the editor of The Peterborough Examiner, which appeared today:

Re: How well do you know your politicians? (Fri. June 4)

Thank you for taking the time to survey local citizens to find out how many knew the name of our MP, Mayor, Prime Minister, MPP, Premier, Federal Opposition Leader, and Provincial Opposition Leader. (The survey revealed that local citizens are far more likely to know the name of our current MP than any other local politician.)

Citizens can't make informed choices at the ballot box on election day unless they have the opportunity to get to know all candidates on the ballot. For that reason, I would like to encourage The Peterborough Examiner to challenge itself to look for new and innovative ways to extend editorial coverage to the non-incumbents at all levels of government, so we can discover what they stand for and what they have to offer our community.

I would also like to challenge The Peterborough Examiner to take things one step further by asking area citizens what they want and need from all levels of government. Too often, politicians are allowed to set the agenda and determine what issues get discussed in our media and in our communities.

We are the people. The politicians work for us and are accountable to us. The more information we can obtain about how well our politicians are doing - and what other candidates have to offer - the better choices we will be able to make each time we head to the ballot box.

The media plays such a vital role in a functioning democracy. Thank you again for this important article.

Ann Douglas

And tonight, I wrote a letter to Peterborough Riding MP Dean Del Mastro, urging him to send Bill C-32 (the much-talked about copyright bill) to committee for some further work because it doesn't adequately safeguard the work of Canadian writers.

To:  

Dean Del Mastro, MP, Peterborough Riding
Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Heritage James Moore


Dear Dean Del Mastro:

I am writing to you to express my concerns about Bill C-32, which does not adequately protect the rights of Canadian writers or other creators.

The Writers' Union of Canada and the Professional Writers Association of Canada are just two of the writers' organizations which have issued press releases expressing serious concerns about Bill C-32 since it was tabled last Thursday.

I am urging you to vote to send Bill C-32 directly to committee to study, rather than allowing the Bill to proceed to Second Reading first. The Bill will require extra committee time because there are two different departments involved -- both Heritage and Industry -- and the changes being requested by Canadian creators are likely to be considerable.

I am also concerned that Second Reading approval might limit the kinds of amendments that might be possible.

Thank you for hearing my concerns.

I look forward to hearing back from your office to confirm safe receipt of this letter.

Best regards,

Ann Douglas

cc. Deborah Windsor, Executive Director, The Writers' Union of Canada
cc. Sandy Crawley, Executive Director, The Professional Writers Association of Canada
cc. Tanya Gulliver, President, The Professional Writers Association of Canada
cc. Stuart Harrison, Manager, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce
cc. Alan Wilson, Advisor to Dean Del Mastro

I also wrote a letter to a handful of NDP MPs, (on behalf of YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton, where I serve as a member of the Board of Directors) urging these MPs to shift their vote on the gun registry:

Dear Malcolm Allen, Charlie Angus, Nathan Cullen, Claude Gravelle, Carol Hughes, Jack Layton, Jim Maloway, Peter Stoffer and Glenn Thibeault:

Did you know that long guns and rifles are used in over 70% of domestic gun homicides, deaths that have clearly declined since the long gun registry was created?

With the RCMP in charge, the registry now costs $4.1 million annually to run and police search it over 4 million times a year.

It’s time to stand with the RCMP and Canada’s police associations. Time to stand up for vulnerable women and defeat Bill C-391. Your vote can save a life. 

Please search your heart and do the right thing.

Thank you.

Ann Douglas
Board Member
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

Lynn Zimmer
Executive Director
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

Theresa Butler-Porter
President, Board of Directors
YWCA Peterborough Victoria and Haliburton

May 10, 2010

You Have a Date With Democracy: Local Group to Host Day of Discussion About Democracy May 15

Hey, local citizen. You have a Date with Democracy.

The Peterborough Chapter of Canadians Advocating Political Participation (CAPP) invites local citizens to participate in a Date With Democracy from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, May 15, 2010, at Sadleir House (751 George Street North) in Peterborough.


View Larger Map


Peterborough will be one of approximately 30 Canadian cities hosting discussions about democracy on or around May 15th.

"This will be a day when everyone can discuss our democracy: how it works, how it doesn't work, and what each of us can do to be a bigger part of it," explains Victoria Gare, spokesperson for the Peterborough Chapter of CAPP.

Locally, the discussions will focus on three key questions:
  1. Does democracy function in our local government in such a way as to encourage public participation? If so, how? If not, what can we do about it?
  2. What should be the function of the media in a truly democratic society?
  3. How can democracy be strengthened by our vote, vigilance, and action?
Everyone is welcome to attend what is guaranteed to be a lively and thought-provoking day of discussion and action. The event is free of charge and lunch will be provided.

For more information about the Peterborough Chapter of Canadians Advocating Political Participation (CAPP), please visit the Chapter's Facebook Page.

For information about Canadians Advocating Political Participation (the national organization), please see http://canadaparticipates.ca or visit the national group's Facebook Page.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter, too.

April 25, 2010

Sex Ed Curriculum Changes: Three-Part Series

I've been blogging up a storm about the sex ed controversy in Ontario over at one of my other blogs.

I've posted the first two parts of a three-part series:

Part I: No Need to Get Hot and Bothered About the New Sex Ed Curriculum

Part II: Why Sex Education Matters: Interview with the Founder of Scarleteen

More to come....

[Added 5/10]

Part III: The Sex Ed Files - Part III of III in a Series About Sex Education

Sex Education Obsessed: It's All Parents Are Talking About