Archive for the ‘World News’ Category
Posted by Gayle Gifford on December 7, 2009 in World News
Wednesday, December 10th, is International Human Rights Day. It commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the articulation of the inherent rights of all people worldwide, by the members of the United Nations.
In honor of this occasion, it is worth repeati
ng the first two Articles of the Universal Declaration.
Article 1. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
Article 2. “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
Unfortunately, our world leaders are examples of the difference between what organizational theorists Chris Argyris and Donald A. Schön described as one’s espoused theory, or what we tell ourselves we believe, and our theory-in-use, or what we actually do.
While the leaders of the world say they believe in the principles of the Universal Declaration, unfortunately, they routinely violate those very principles.
In many organizations, our leaders may sincerely be unaware of how their theory-in-use differs from their espoused theory. In the case of human rights, however, it takes a pretty serious mental pretzle for a leader to believe that extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual assault and imprisonment without charge could possibly uphold the human rights principles set out in the Universal Declaration.
That’s why it is so important for each of us to hold governments worldwide accountable for bringing their practices into agreement with their expressed values.
So Jon and I spent yesterday afternoon writing appeals to governments around the world on behalf of 10 prisoners of conscience during the annual Write-A-Thon for Human Rights. We were joined by over 50 community members, young and old, under the auspices of Group 49, the Providence Chapter of Amnesty International USA.
W are proud to say that AIUSA is one of our longest running memberships.
(By the way, for those nonprofit governance junkies out there, Amnesty International is a very interesting example of a multinational nonprofit that brings together professional staff and a worldwide movement of volunteers who also have a significant say in governing the organization.)
During the late 70s and early 80s, Jon and I were very active in the local chapter, serving as co-coordinators and participating in regional and annual meetings of AIUSA. Jon served for a time as a member of the South Asia Coordination Group, a network of volunteers who acted as resources to US chapters w0rking on behalf of prisoners of conscience or other cases from that region. While the demands of a young and growing family caused our direct service to Group 49 to ebb, our commitment to human rights and our support for Amnesty International has never waivered.
To commemorate Human Rights Day, throughout this week we’ll be sharing the stories of the human rights workers who were highlighted in this year’s write-a-thon.
Please join us and consider how you might act to help protect human rights worldwide. For those of you already active in this area, you have our deepest appreciation.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on October 19, 2009 in 100 Things We've Learned, Big ideas, Nonprofit Highlights, World News
“The Humanities make us RICH.” Or so goes the sentiment on my morning tea mug.
October is once again National Arts and Humanities Month.It just so happens that I’ve been thinking a lot about the value of the humanities over the last few weeks.
What are the humanities?
According to the National Endowment for the Humanities, as described in the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act:
“The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”
The humanities are essential to Cause & Effect Inc.
In an evaluation of our work, we asked a colleague to interview a number of our clients. Our clients told her that one of the things that they appreciated about working with us was that we “got it.”
While clients meant our understanding of their organizational challenges, they also mentioned our ability to appreciate and comprehend the complexity of the societal issues that they faced.
In college, I was a geography major (concentration in urban social) with a strong sociology background. Jon was a history major with literature right behind. You might say we studied the humanities.
And while there are days that I long for more of an engineering or science background, I have always been grateful for the systems perspective that college studies helped me develop. I was constantly challenged to consider the interrelationships between political systems, markets, history, culture, art, climate, habitat, food production and more. To this day, we bring that approach to our work with clients – whether we are writing, facilitating strategic planning, or framing a strong fund development program.
The humanities provide the tools that help us make meaning of our world and our lives.
Just over the last few weeks, it seems that I’ve been especially reminded how the humanities manifest in our daily lives.
Last month, Lizzi Ross, the former director of adult programming at the ICA in Boston, spoke to the students in the class I teach at Brown. In describing how she went about designing programming to enable us to appreciate art that isn’t pretty pictures, Lizzi explained that contemporary art requires us to call on our knowledge of history, contemporary culture, literature, art, science and more.
“Ah, the humanities,” I thought.
Last Wednesday, I attended “What Now? 1932 – The Highlander Center Opens Its Doors,” a live taping from Action Speaks Radio. The premise of Action Speaks is to take an “under appreciated day in American History” and look at it through a contemporary lens. That show talked about the popular education approach of the Highlander Research and Education Center, which encourages activists from multiple walks of life to explore their personal experiences and connect them to larger historical and societal issues. “That’s the humanities in action,” I whispered to my neighbor. Rosa Parks, Andrew Young, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are just a few of the “graduates” of Highlander.
A love of the humanities can be demonstrated beyond textbooks and scholarly works.
Tonight I’m heading to the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities’ celebration of the humanities and their contribution to life in RI. I’m especially excited as I sat on the committee that nominated tonight’s awardees. A lifetime achievement award goes to cartoonist Don Bousquet, whose humorous cartoons have been lampooning Rhode Read More >>
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on October 15, 2009 in Big ideas, Nonprofit Highlights, World News
Today is Blog Action Day 2009. The theme is Climate Change.
Bloggers around the world are helping to raise awareness and build support for gover
nment and personal action to significantly reduce greenhouse gasses which threaten the way humans live on this planet.
I decided to add our blog to this action because I care. Maybe it’s because I live in the Ocean State of Rhode Island and care about the impact that rising sea level and warming waters will have on its coastal habitat, wildlife, fisheries, and beaches. Or because so many of our clients are working so hard on this issue. Or because I’ve been environmentally aware most of my adult life. Or just because I consider myself a global citizen, accountable to current and future generations.
Why does climate change matter to you?
I recently wrote about the small ways that our household has tried to lower its environmental footprint. See “Green Musings on a Monday.” Hopefully you’ll try some yourself.
I also want to take this occasion to highlight the amazing work of the clients we’ve had over the last 13 years. These organizations do the hard work needed to restore, protect and preserve the environment.
While it may seem daunting to try to affect climate change at the micro level, every action matters.
While a local land trust or watershed organization may not be able to stop climate change in its tracks, their work creates healthier ecosystems which may prove more resilient to climate change. Resilient ecosystems are better prepared to resist, tolerate or recover from climate change.
I hope that you’ll take seek out and support some of these critical organizations or similar organizations in your own community.
On this day to build awareness of climate change, we’d like to highlight the good work of:
Aquidneck Land Trust
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission
Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save The Sound
Grow Smart RI
Knox Parks Foundation
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Rhode Island Land and Water Partnership
Rhode Island Natural History Survey
Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
Nashua River Watershed Association
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Rhode Island Land Trust Council
Save The Bay
Tiverton Land Trust
Wood Pawcatucket Watershed Association
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
Westerly Land Trust
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on October 9, 2009 in World News
CONGRATULATIONS! President Obama.
May this award of the Nobel Peace Prize keep bright your path to peace and justice.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on June 22, 2009 in Big ideas, Strategic Thinking, World News
Deep cleaning my desk, I unearthed a 1989 booklet on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Had the USA finally ratified this UN Convention? Alas. We join Somalia as the only two countries not ratifying the document in any form. 
The U.S. was one of the authors of the convention and President Bill Clinton signed it in 1995. But with ratification we would signal our intent to bring domestic law into alignment with the Convention.
According to my little 1989 pamphlet produced by Foster Parents Plan International and Defence For Children International, the rights can be understood through three main lenses:
- “The right to survival – through the provision of adequate food, shelter, clean water and primary health care
- “The right to protection – from abuse, neglect and exploitation, including the right to special protection in times of war
- “The right to develop – in a safe environment, through the provision of formal education, constructive play, advanced health care and the opportunity to participate in the social, economic, religious and political life of the culture — free from discrimination.”
I wonder what would happen if all nonprofits that work in the interests of children started referencing the Convention on the Rights of the Child in their values statements, in their planning and in their communications.
To borrow from the Child Rights Information Network, how would a shift in our thinking from acts based in charity to activism in defense of international law on the rights of children influence the way we approach our work for kids? Could it shift the perspective of our communities?
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on May 17, 2009 in Big ideas, Communicating, Nonprofit Highlights, World News
Today is the anniversary of Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, the landmark, unanimous decision of the US Supreme Court in 1954. In this ruling, the Court, under Chief Justice Earl Warren, decided that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
The lawyer for the plaintiffs was Thurgood Marshall, who in 1975 was the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court. The cases that led to Brown v. were sponsored by the NAACP. (underscoring the critical role of advocacy and justice organizations in sparking systems change).
Sadly, we still have a largely segregated school system today. I witnessed this first hand.
My three children went to public schools in the city of Providence, RI. We live in the city and sent our kids to public schools because we believe that public education can be the great equalizer and because we want our kids to live in an inclusive society.
Out of three schools they attended, only their exam high school, Classical, came close to representing the fairly equally distributed racial and ethnic make-up of our dynamic city. The enrollment of students in the urban core are predominately children of color with large numbers of low income and first generation immigrant children who deserve more support than they are receiving.
Get outside the urban core and it’s much harder to find children of color. We’re not a lot different here than schools in many parts of the country.
I have seen first hand the struggles of schools trying to make do with few resources, too many kids per teacher, widely divergent student needs, uninspired leadership, too much bad or poor teaching and ever changing mandates. At times I’ve been jealous of the countless resources and one-on-one attention that our private school friends have attested to.
Yet I have to say, there is nothing more powerful than showing up at awards night at the high school and looking out on a stage filled with kids of every color and from every side of town. Than standing shoulder to shoulder with parents from many lands for whom the belief in the American dream where education is the path to a brighter future is a powerful to them as it was for me.
I’ve been fortunate to consult with charter schools (and some small independents that serve low income kids) that are trying to remodel urban education. But even they are faced by huge financial and educational struggles. Luckily we are seeing small, but bright experiments across the US. While it will be extremely costly to roll these models out across all schools across the US, it is too costly not to.
Even Senator John McCain has called access to quality education “THE civil rights issue of the 21st century.”
There is much work to be done. If we truly aspire to achieve what we profess, it will require our resolve as a society to not just talk a good game, but to put our money where our ideals are. There is no better investment in our future, whether that is in our health, our wealth or our quality of life, than an educated populace. All kids deserve high quality public education.
Which brings me to the Supreme Court. As we’ve witnessed over the many decades, the court has enormous power to bring forth a more just society, or to allow power to remain entrenched. Who is selected matters. A lot. We hope President Obama chooses wisely.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on May 15, 2009 in World News
“But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre, and security. It is the call of conscience. ” - Lasantha Wickramatunga
A Sri Lanka friend of ours has asked that we add our voices to the outcry against the carnage that is taking place today in Sri Lanka and that we not allow the world to continue to stand by.
According to Amnesty International USA, “the total estimated casualty figures of the conflict since January are more than 7,000 killed and 13,000 injured. There are an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped in the area.”
I want to share with you an excerpt from a speech by the widow of murdered Sri Lankan Journalist Lasantha WICKREMATUNGE on World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd. He husband was posthumously honored as the 2009 UNESCO WORLD PRESS FREEDOM LAUREATE.
“The free Sri Lanka in which I was born no longer exists. Our country has entered a Dark Age characterized by tyranny and state-sponsored terror, where the government publicly, cynically and unapologetically equates democratic dissent to treason….
“… violence against journalists is only the tip of the iceberg. Tens of thousands of ordinary Sri Lankan civilians-men, women, children, and the aged-have been herded into concentration camps where they are held against their will…
… the government itself has plastered the countryside with enormous placards lauding the military with the slogan, in Sinhala, the language of the Sinhalese majority to which I too, belong, stating: “Soldiers, our race salutes you!” Not “the people”, not “the country”, but the race.
“…I make this point because it is urgent and important that the world realizes what is happening in Sri Lanka before it is too late.”
You can read her full speech here.
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