|
|
For anyone in or around Montreal this weekend, be sure to hit-up Concordia’s 5th Annual International Symposium on Hiphop Culture. While hip hop heads will feel at home here, I would particularly urge those of you who are naive about the history and significance of the art form to attend. If you think that hip hop is only about angry gangsters promoting violence, then this is the place for you to be re-educated. With films, performances, discussion panels and lectures given by experts in the field, it promises to be a significant event.
 Canadian Floor Masters. Image/canadianfloormasters.com JoC picks
All of it. Seriously. The lectures and screenings are free! Pack a lunch and make it an all day affair. I tried to pick highlights to list but they were too numerous. But…
If you do anything, make it the keynote speech (Sunday@6).
Entitled “BluePrint for Life: Social Work through Hiphop” the lecture will be given by Stephen Leafloor of the Canadian Floor Masters (Canada’s oldest Bboy crew, and my first introduction to breaking over a decade ago), and will discuss BluePrint for Life, the CFM’s creative consultancy which develops “programs throughout Canada’s north and in Canada’s inner cities specialized in the education, guidance, and development of youth through the positive elements of HipHop.” (Check the news reel below).
Other lectures include: “Youth and ‘Cultural Citizenship’: From Islam to Rap;” “Towards a critical Hiphop Pedagogy: The Challenge of Interpretation;” “The Oral Tradition Trail: from Africa to the Caribbean to Rap,” and “The 6th Element: Hip Hop Cinema.”
Check it out!
Symposium Website
Facebook Event
Now that the High Street sales are in full swing, and the F/W collections are slowly starting to appear on shelves, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the past few months of ethical fashion design news that has been on the JoC radar.
UK Ethical Fashion Initiatives
Do You Remember?
Earlier this year we applauded Defra for its sustainable fashion initiatives which aim to make a difference by attempting to reduce the adverse environmental, social and ethical impacts of the fashion and textile industries.
Updates:
The UK Sustainable Clothing Action Plan continues to produce results as last month, DFID (Department for International Development) launched its RAGS program. Continue reading Watching The Ethical Fashion Movement Grow
 CCTV camera in classroom at Davenant Foundation School (Credit: The Waltham Forest Guardian) Students at The Davenant Foundation School in Loughton, UK recently participated in a series of protests over the installation of CCTV cameras in their classrooms. Some students, after missing three weeks of classes to voice their opposition returned to lectures only after they were promised that the cameras would be turned off. The school defended its actions by claiming that the cameras would only be used to highlight good teaching practices and would not be used to monitor students’ behavior. Nevertheless, upon their return, many students wore scarves or masks to cover their faces, and the UK privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has been notified.
What kind of surveillance society are the kids of the next generation growing into, and being encouraged to accept unquestioningly? There is something very disturbing about an institution treating the children it is meant to educate like criminals. Respect to these kids who stood up for their civil liberties—many adults wouldn’t have had the guts to do the same!
See here for more info…
Cool and Related:
Inspired by these students, this past Friday comment writer Henry Porter launched an essay contest in the Guardian for students entitled: “What Mr Seward doesn’t know about pupils’ rights,” (Mr. Seward is the headmaster of the Davenant Foundation School). First prize is £50; max. length 250 words. Check it out!
[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.806738&w=425&h=350&fv=]
President Barack Obama made history last night by being the first American President to appear on late night television. The visit was part of his trip through California to sell his economic plan directly to the American people. Obama’s platform on Leno highlights the shift in White House attitudes—not like we needed more evidence to convince ourselves of this. Nevertheless, despite critics who said that Obama wouldn’t be able to appear on television and fix the economy, he has proven that he can indeed multi-task. Shocking!
This appearance comes only days after Obama’s appearance on ESPN to pick his NCAA basketball favourites.
I’m not sure how long Obama can sustain these PR publicity stunts; but until he burns out, I’ll be there alongside millions of others eating up everything he does. I’d rather be starstruck by someone with integrity than by Britney. Just saying.
 White House Changes on Versionista
A few weeks ago CBC published an online article about the release of the U.S. stimulus package. Accompanying it was a foreboding image of the White House with a dark and stormy sky in the background. I wasn’t sure what the picture was meant to represent, and similarly someone in the comment section wrote about the misplaced, over-use of that particular image in recent weeks—within minutes, the image had changed to a happier looking White House. This example is an obvious one, but there are countless more subtle examples of online manipulation, and the point remains the same—online news, documents and facts can change after publication; and the public is generally unaware.
The implications of this can be frighting, for as the public strays further away from printed journalism—a medium where facts have to be checked more carefully—what is left are facts that can be changed when they are proved untrue, or undesirable.
Ensuring Web Accountability
Versionista is a great site that helps to keep the Web honest. After creating an account, users can be kept informed of changes made to their chosen websites. This is particularly useful for government-type agencies, and others that really need to be kept accountable for their actions. For example, Slate Magazine used Versionista to pick up the changes made to George W. Bush’s bio on the White House page.
Some of the changes are kind of hilarious, for example the sentence “President Bush also worked to improve healthcare and modernize Medicare, providing the first-ever prescription drug benefit for seniors; increase homeownership, especially among minorities; conserve our environment…” has been removed. Hmm… wonder why?
Check out the rest of the revisions here!
|
|
October 30th, 2009 | 
Tags: 
