CityClub is hiring!
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Co-presented Event: Art and Sustainable Cities, discussion hosted by Seattle Art Museum
Submitted by saraneppl on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 9:40amPack your lunch on Thursday and check out this fantastic event hosted by Seattle Art Museum. I can't wait to hear what this outstanding panel has to say! I've never considered myself "in" with the art scene in Seattle (what does that even mean?) but I've been quietly watching the work of the Free Sheep Foundation for awhile, and hearing great things about the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Additionally, from CityClub experience, I know Michael Kinsley is fantastic in these kinds of panel/moderator discussions.
Free and open to the public! RSVP info is below.
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Art and Sustainable Cities: A Dialogue
August 27, 2009
11:30 am–1 pm
Olympic Sculpture Park, PACCAR PavilionIntroduction:
Maryann Jordan, Interim Director, Seattle Art Museum
Moderator:
Michael Kinsley, American political journalist
Panelists:
Randy Engstrom, Founding Director, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
D.K. Pan and NKO, Founders, Free Sheep Foundation
Buster Simpson, Northwest artist
Beth Takekawa, Executive Director, Wing Luke Asian Museum
Closing Remarks:
Gene Duvernoy, President, Cascade Land ConservancySAM and the Cascade Land Conservancy present the next panel discussion exploring the intersection of art, culture and the environment. Can steps be taken to ensure that revitalization and increased density are beneficial for both the arts and artists? How can we avoid artists being pushed out of our cities by rising prices? What roles do diversity and equity play in building vibrant, sustainable cities? Join us as we consider these and other questions.
“Art and Sustainable Cities: A Dialogue” is part of SAM’s Pivotal Perspectives series. Bringing together some of the most compelling thinkers on a given cultural subject, Pivotal Perspectives is a timely and innovative forum that addresses pressing issues in art and society.
Free and open to the public. To reserve your space, please email
boxoffice@seattleartmuseum.org or call the SAM Box Office at 206.654.3121.
Presented with support from the Seattle Office of Arts&Cultural Affairs -
SETI: Social Effects of a Detection
Submitted by saraneppl on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 8:49amThis blogger is off to the Comcast Social Media Conference this afternoon, so today's post will be a quick one, but we really wanted to share this link.
Another CityClub staffer, while poking around SETI's website, found this interesting section discussing potential social effects of a detection. It is very clearly stated by SETI that should they ever "make contact" (so to speak), everyone would know: "Regarding the immediate consequences of success, it's worth pointing out that there will be no hiding of the discovery. If any signal is unambiguously verified as being extraterrestrial, it will be openly announced."
I'm sure, right about now, half a dozen scenes from movies wherein human encounters alien are spinning through your brain. Mass chaos? Silent wonder? What are the criteria for a signal to be "unambiguously verified"? Is the movie you're in Independence Day? War of the Worlds? Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Contact? Perhaps the now-in-theaters District 9? What do you think would happen?
Clicking the link above can lead you to a lot of other interesting places: background science of SETI, fact vs. fiction regarding Contact (which is based on CityClub panelist Dr. Jill Tarter). Check it out, click around - and make sure to join us on August 27 at the Science Fiction Museum for our conversation with Dr. Tarter and Dr. Don Brownlee, "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Is Anything or Anybody Out There?" (Seriously, guys - how can you even think of missing this?) -
Congratulations, PATH!
Submitted by saraneppl on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 9:20amPATH, an amazing organization and a frequent CityClub, co-presenter, has just received a fantastic award! We are thrilled to hear this news, and wanted to congratulate them here in our blog, as well as share the news with all of you. From PATH's email:
We have just learned that PATH will receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize for 2009. This is the world’s largest humanitarian award, presented annually to a nonprofit organization judged to have made exemplary and extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering. We are humbled to be this year’s recipient.
Established by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in 1996, the award honors humanitarian organizations that are addressing the most challenging issues facing the world’s most vulnerable populations. “Bringing new ideas and technologies to the toughest global health challenges and scaling them up at low prices, often hand-in-hand with the private sector, PATH is having a profound impact on the health and quality of life of millions of men, women, and children around the world,” said Steven M. Hilton, president and CEO of the Hilton Foundation.
Previous recipients include Doctors Without Borders and Partners in Health. We’re honored to be in their company and hope the $1.5 million award will be a catalyst for expanding our work around the world and addressing new areas of need.
Click here to read PATH's full press release. Congratulations again, to everyone at PATH! (We also send them best wishes on their big move to South Lake Union from Ballard - we only had a few desks to move, and it was quite an undertaking! I ride the bus past PATH's current building every day and I've many times tried to imagine moving everything that must be in there! It's enough to make a person shudder.)
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Liveblog: The Art of Living Well at Any Age
Submitted by saraneppl on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 9:23amCasual liveblogging - some quotes that don't fit in the Twitter feed! (Short, but sweet. Check back at our website at the end of the week for video from The Seattle Channel.)
"If you do not age deliberately, things aren't going to be as good for you as they could be." (Klein)
"The way we have control is we think about what things that are going to be bumps in the road. There always are." (Fordyce)
"What is important is if they have a plan for their lives about what to do in any of those situations with any disability including dementias, and they share that plan with their families and friends, when those crises happen they are able to bounce back from them to the extent that they can." (Fordyce)
-- Fordyce points out that in some circumstances it is significantly cheaper for someone over 75 to take a cab every single day than to pay for a car and insurance. (Based on distance, of course)
"I don't take taxis I have a driver, and the drivers on I-5 said thank god!" (Smart)
Schorr asking about "an operating system" for aging. Klein: "For me, personally, I'm a planner. But I can't adequately prepare for everything that can happen to me, so I have to do a little more work on my attitude of openness to whatever it is that's going to happen."
"The people are saying they look in the mirror and feel no different than they did when they were 20 - they aren't in touch with the ways they have changed." (Klein)
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Save the date for this great event we're co-presenting!
Submitted by saraneppl on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 2:11pm
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Bonus Blog: Tenant Improvements!
Submitted by saraneppl on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 11:56amThis morning when staff arrived at the office, we were greeted with a little note:
Although maybe not entirely accurate, it's a victory cry for a huge improvement in our public space: the removal of former dressing rooms (from when our space was a clothing store!):
Click here to see what it used to look like! It can still use some work (the walls look a little bare, don't you think?) but it's much more clean and functional now. It's only a matter of time before we're ready to host 50-person events in there! -
"How Social Media is Changing Change"
Submitted by saraneppl on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 10:55amYesterday, this little nugget popped up in our Twitter feed:
@socialactions: "How Social Media is Changing Change" #SoCap09 LIVE Twitter Chat http://bit.ly/3q2Lyz
As a bit of a translation for those who perhaps aren't yet fluent in Twitter-speak: "@socialactions" indicates the Twitter user who posted this message; #SoCap09 is a "hash tag", which allows users to mark their tweets as part of the converation and allows for searching; and the link is a shortened version of a longer link. The longer link lead to the webpage of an upcoming conference, SOCAP09, hosted by Social Capital Markets.
Social Capital Markets had a moderator and a designated hash tag - and lots of people willing to join the conversation. A live Twitter chat is a challenging thing to follow - the very nature of Twitter being the speed at which a short message is shared with a large amount of people. (Websites like Twitterfall can help.)
Curious, I started following the conversation. Here are a few tweets that kept reappearing (i.e. being "retweeted"):- Awareness is now paid for with personal capital, relevant voices. These budgets don't dry up, they build up.
- Social media eliminates the line between change supporter and change activist.
- Social capital = where money meets meaning. Room for all. Game changes. New people at the table. Listen.
- Focus on how to turn awareness via social media into tangible change on the ground, therein lies real value.
- Mix of grassroots social media w/institutional big dogs is important but not easy.
- Social Media is forum for people communicating a new perception of value more broadly&being affirmed in that difference.
- 'Affirmation' an important word - relates to sense of connection, community - lubricant to action.
- A savvy social media practitioner can convert their time into the purchasing power of money, re: attention, interests, awareness.
- Social media can add legitimacy (for social capital investors) to a change-maker's efforts by helping build a core audience of constituents.
- Re-evaluation about collaboration vs. competition is important to figure how a social economy can be profitable&meaningful.
- Marketers will spend less time on promotion and more money on product, executions, directly adding value for consumer, donors, etc.
More questions came up as part of the conversation:
- For people to get behind a cause, its value must be tangible. Does social media create tangible value or allow people to access it?
- Should markets embrace social media, or will social media invent whole new markets? How?
You can sift through all of the conversation by clicking here. Although CityClub didn't participate (we were happy to sit back and watch Twitterfall bring the responses to us) but we're happy the conversation took place. It illustrates a lot of things: great questions being asked, and great conversations happening that are made more accessible by having them on Twitter, where anyone can watch, and anyone with an account can participate.
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Follow-up to Food Sustainability: Seattle gets $300,000 for community food projects
Submitted by saraneppl on Mon, 08/10/2009 - 4:44pmDuring last week's program "Local? Sustainable? Equitable? Having Your Values and Eating Them Too!", there was mention and brief discussion of the Local Food Action Intiative (our Twitter feed linked to info about the initiative on City Councilmember Richard Conlin's webpage). On Friday, Councilmember Conlin sent out this update! We wanted to share it as a great follow-up to our recent discussion.
Again, you can see more on Councilmember Conlin's webpage.
SEATTLE GETS $300,000 FOR COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS
In mid-July the US Department of Agriculture notified Seattle that we had been awarded a $300,000 grant to implement elements of the Local Food Action Initiative. The funds will all go to community-based organizations, with the City providing in-kind match to ensure that the projects will be successful.
The goal of the Seattle Community Farm and Good Food Project is to create a vibrant urban farm that grows food for hungry people, to improve access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods, to provide education on food production and nutrition, and to increase market garden and retail produce opportunities. The project will focus its efforts in the Rainier Valley, central Area, and Delridge neighborhoods.
The Project includes the following components:
- Transforming unused City land for farming by low-income residents, volunteers and project staff, with the produce going to local food banks and community nutrition programs such as community kitchens, night teen programs, and child care programs.
- Creating market opportunities for low-income residents by increasing market capacity for the Clean Greens Farm and Market which grows culturally appropriate produce to sell in low-income communities.
- Providing gardening education for low-income residents at community centers, senior centers, and other locations through the work of the Southeast Seattle Garden Education Initiative.
- Supporting a Healthy Corner Store Initiative that will increase the availability of healthy, locally grown foods by connecting convenience stores with producers, and by providing assistance to the stores in making fresh foods available.
This grant is a powerful affirmation from the federal government of the successful model for community based action around the issues of local food, hunger, and nutrition, which has been developed through the Local Food Action Initiative (Resolution 31019). It is another step in the path towards implementation of this important priority that will improve the health of Seattle’s residents, add value in our local economy, and reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and the generation of greenhouse gases. -
CityClub Needs You! Hosts and Facilitators for Community Dialogues Wanted!
Submitted by saraneppl on Fri, 08/07/2009 - 11:26amEDIT: An online Dialogue Host form is now available online! Click here!
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CityClub's Fall Community Matters Campaign (CMC) begins on September 11. Our forums, candidate debates, community dialogues and calls for action will focus on the themes of education and economic opportunity - two urgent challenges profiled in the recently released The Seattle Foundation's Healthy Community Report. The full schedule of exciting programs is coming soon! But for now, we're seeking volunteers who can be part of the Campaign dialogues as facilitators or hosts. See below for full information and if you have questions, please contact us!About CMC Dialogues: As part of CMC, CityClub will convene 25-30 facilitated conversations-conducted live at diverse community gathering places and times of day. Citizens are invited to weigh in on their personal observations and recommendations for improving education and economic opportunity. Our goal for each dialogue is to move from information to deeper levels of dialogue and action. The 60 minute conversation will address education and economic opportunity. At the end, participants will be encouraged to take action on the topics they’ve discussed by filling out a personal engagement plan and voting on strategies organizations can take to address the challenges and barriers to education and economic opportunity, determining the winners of this year's People's Choice Awards.
Dialogue Facilitators: We are seeking semi-experienced facilitators to help us conduct these conversations. Training on source materials and tips for facilitation will be provided.
Dialogue Hosts: Do you have a meeting with your constituents between September 11 and November 3? Would you like to invite your friends, neighbors and/or colleagues to join you in a conversation over appetizers or your lunch hour at the office? CityClub and its partners will provide a “talk in a box” including a trained facilitator, informational materials, and action pledge cards. Dialogue hosts are asked to provide a location, date and time, up to 20 participants (if you have more than 20, we can send additional facilitators - so just let us know!), and, if desired, refreshments. An application form is attached as a PDF at the bottom of this post. Please fill out and submit to Molly Schachter at mschachter@seattlecityclub.org as soon as possible!
For more information or to sign up to facilitate or host a dialogue, please email Molly Schachter at mschachter@seattlecityclub.org.
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A few more questions: Food Sustainability panelist Nancy Hutto
Submitted by saraneppl on Mon, 08/03/2009 - 12:52pmDo urban people recognize the complexity and severity of issues faced by local farmers trying to farm in a developed or developing landscape? Do [they] recognize the conflict between our progressive environmental regulations and local farming?
These are questions posed by Nancy Hutto, chair of the King County Agriculture Commission. In letters shared by Nancy's office, we see her addressing this issue by advocating for farmers about policy. This is the role of the Commission. From their website: "The Agriculture Commission gives farmers the opportunity to take an active role in land use decisions and in the development and evaluation of policies, regulations and incentives that can affect commercial agriculture in King County."
Check out our other questions from panelists on CityBlog here and here.
Click here to register online.
