A friend's sister created this video for the Dalit Freedom Network of Canada, and it is absolutely beautiful and wonderfully done.  Initiatives that support education for those that a society has deemed 'less' or 'worthless' are dear to me, as I believe that education is a basic human right and become upset when I hear of populations such as the Dalit, refugees, First Nations, and special needs children being denied education due to societal discrimination.  There is so much potential in every child, and no one has the right to snuff out that gleam of interest and desire to learn in any one of them.

Today, I want to share an advertisement that I am still puzzling over.  It makes me shake my head and think 'Really?  That's the best you can come up with?'.

Why an organization would feel the need to mail out funds or goods they could be using to help their target population confuses me every time I see it.  I have, on occasion, received quarters, or seed packets in the mail, and it has yet to make me more interested in sending in a donation - instead, as I stated already, it just makes me question the organization's smarts and dedication to their mission.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Race is something that is still a controversial topic, as much as we'd like to believe that we have 'gotten over it', or 'fixed' racism.  It is also something that is both a nebulous concept and clearly defined physical characteristic.  It is, to put it simply, complicated.

Over the past year of school, I have read and heard multiple speakers and authors on race and racism.  Something that they generally agreed upon was that we need to acknowledge race and the connotations that have been ingrained in our society about different races.  We cannot ignore them or pretend that they do not exist, because that perpetuates racism.

The discussion of this topic has made me seriously think about my own perceptions of race.  As a white, rural-raised female, I, although taught that racism is bad, did not have a lot of interaction with people outside of my race.  Coming to university and experiencing a wide range of races in one place was strange.  And I have definitely had to overcome some assumptions and socially perpetuated stereotypes about race that I did not realize I held until they came into direct conflict with the lovely people I was becoming friends with.  I know - I sound so sheltered!  But, it works both ways - my cousins live in the Jane & Finch area of Toronto, are the only white kids in their classes, and my aunt has said that she feels as though she stands out when she comes to visit our small town because she is so used to being the minority.

Anyhow, I wanted to prompt some thinking and evaluating about your own perceptions of race, and I will provide some digital fodder for that as well.  The following videos depict a 'race' experiment that a teacher carried out with her class in the 60s, a more recent racial profiling experiment by ABC, and a current Cheerios commercial that has prompted quite the discussion.

Let me know how your own experiences and perceptions of race have impacted you in the comments.

We are currently heading into the last two weeks of classes for the spring term, and are down to one more INDEVOURS event before we leave on September 9th!

I’d like to cordially invite you to the INDEVOURS Global Gala, to be held on Saturday, July 27th at Bingeman’s Conference Centre in Kitchener.  It will be a semi-formal event that will begin at 5:30 pm with cocktails, followed by dinner at 7:00 pm, and a silent auction later in the evening.  We, the INDEVOURS, will be presenting our story and telling you more about what our aims and plans are for the upcoming placements.  There will be live music and lots of time to mingle and meet all 27 of us.  I’d love to see you there!

Please contact me to purchase tickets, or visit our website www.indevours.wordpress.com and choose the Global Gala tab to find out more information about the event.

Another INDEVOURS highlight is that we were featured in a recent edition of SNAP Kitchener/Waterloo, a local print publication that features photos of events and life in our community.  Check out the pictures of our Battle of the Bands event here.

Thanks for visiting!

Some of my INDEVOURS friends came home with me last night to work on a project together, eat dinner, and go for a swim.  While we were eating dinner, it was surprising to me how many things were from my dad’s garden – the lettuce, grape juice, salsa, pickles, garlic, peas, pretty flowers, and raspberries were all grown in our backyard!  If it had been a little later in the summer, the tomatoes, peppers, and corn would have been from the garden too! 

I love eating locally grown food, and sometimes I forget just how local my family sometimes eats!  I find innovations for urban agriculture such as multi-tier planters, aquaculture gardens, and guerrilla planting/grafting fascinating, and think that becoming more sustainable and local in food supply is a growing movement.  Anyhow, last night’s dinner reminded me of a few articles I read recently, and I thought I’d share them with you.

I am so excited about this first article.  It makes me ecstatic!  The man featured in the article has set up an urban farm using just a few acres and greenhouses, and is producing huge amounts of food sustainably, is teaching the people in the surrounding low-income neighbourhood how to farm, and also providing them with fresh and organic food.  He has made his small space a high-density growing space, using aquaculture and multiple tiers to maximize the potential of his few acres.  I would love to see this replicated in other cities around the world, as I think it is a fantastic way to learn about food systems, farming, and get people eating healthier diets.  Read the article here.  If you have a few minutes, watch this YouTube video of the farmer himself giving you a tour of his business.

The second article is about urban foraging, and a man who has set up a website that maps plants of nutritional value to humans that are in public urban areas.  The idea that we should take advantage of and plant such useful trees and other plants in our urban surroundings is an idea that I value and think would be an extremely useful and easy way to reconnect people to their food sources.  Read the full article here.

Oh, and here is a link to a small aquaculture garden that was a recent successfully funded Kickstarter project, in case you would like to start growing some greens for yourself on your kitchen counter!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the INDEVOURS Family Festival yesterday - we had a lot of fun and I hope you did too!

I haven't shared advertisements with you in a while, and have found a few really innovative and unique ones to share.

All three of these are 'active' advertisements, in that I feel they are trying to create a change or make a difference in the way we approach life.

First up is a more humorous ad - one produced by Adobe, promoting their computer program Photoshop.

Funny, huh?  The reactions of the people being pranked are wonderful, and the advocacy for creativity is great!

Next up is a more serious and similarly technologically advanced advertisement.  The Anar Foundation, a foundation combatting child abuse created an ad that looks different to adults than it does to children.  They use this medium to provide children with a phone number to call if they need help, and remind adults of the gravity of the situation.  

I think this is a powerful use of the technology and an excellent advertisement.

And lastly, a functionally creative series of ads by IBM.

What do you think of these ads?  Do you feel that they are effective in building brand recognition and loyalty?  Do they achieve the goals that the companies set out to complete?  Let me know in the comment section!

Today I'd like to share a video with you, made by someone who works in the refugee camp that I will be working in come September, featuring a man by the name of Patron, a resident of Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi.

It is wonderful to see the skills and talents that are present in the camp, and the hope that this man has.  However, it is also difficult to watch, because as Patron says, they are hidden away from the Malawians, and so the market for products produced in Dzaleka is very small.

P.S. Just wanted to remind you of the INDEVOURS Family Festival, which we are hosting in the Uptown Waterloo Square (75 King St.) on this Saturday, July 6th.  We will have booths with information on each of the countries we are going to be placed in, and fun games and activities for the whole family.  There will be a Latin band and a magician performing!   Also, because our rain barrel sale was so successful, we have decided to host another one at the Family Festival.  Come on out between 1pm and 6pm that day for a fun time!