Voting ends Sept 4 -- please click both links below, vote for our panels, and add a positive remark to the comments section! help us spread the word at SXSW!
PANEL #1
TITLE: The iPhone Volunteer -- Can Mobile Devices Save Society?
DESCRIPTION: Mobile is the next great platform for engaging volunteers, and the timing of its arrival is excellent, given the “wicked problems” we face. The enhanced capabilities of today’s mobile devices and the power of inventive applications are creating a new generation of “iPhone volunteers” who may well change the world!
TITLE: Can Double-Clicking Change The World? Slacktivism 101
DESCRIPTION: Sl’ack-Ti-vism. Noun. Taking action for social change without lifting a finger. As the latest technology allows people to “engage” from their computers/phones rather than getting their hands dirty IRL, will this impact the future of volunteerism? A panel of experts will debate the pros & cons of couch potato activism.
voiceofsandiego.org is a nonprofit, independent and insightful online newspaper focused on issues impacting the San Diego region.
Our mission is to consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region. To increase civic participation by giving citizens the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress.
voiceofsandiego.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We are the only professionally staffed, nonprofit online news site in the state focused on local news and issues. We will continue to operate with the support of individuals, foundations and businesses which, like you, recognize the importance of local news from an independent perspective.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
voiceofsandiego.org has called in The Extraordinaries to help them track government waste and abuse of precious water resources during the San Diego water crisis.
Breakthrough aims to “build human rights culture” to foster an
understanding and celebration of our racial and ethnic differences and
to end discrimination and violence.
In current times, in order to have a broader public dialogue around
racial justice, we must look towards the creation of an immigration
policy that upholds due process and human rights.
We produce media, toolkits and events that emphasize the need to build connections across our many concerns and identities.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Breakthrough.tv has called in The Extraordinaries to help tell immigration stories, so that Congress can begin to restore fairness to the system. Has immigration touched your life somehow? Take action now.
Not
so long ago, at a time when Santa Monica Bay
was treated daily as a dump site, a small group
of concerned people took it upon themselves
to heal this troubled part of the world.
They
did it for those who simply wanted to swim,
fish or surf safely in clean water. And they
did it for the marine life that was suffering
from some of the highest levels of contamination
found anywhere along our nation's coastline.
That
small group swelled into an organization and
movement that has done more to recover the
Bay's coastal environment than anyone could
have expected. But in the process, they did
more than that. They showed us that it's not
too late for Southern California, that no agency
is too big to fight and win, that we can heal
our environment and that we can heal our Bay.
The
First Fight
It was 1985, and a handful of people learned
that the City of Los Angeles was dumping barely
treated sewage into Santa Monica Bay. They learned
that the pollution from sewage and storm drains
had led to a decrease in the number and quality
of fish in the Bay, dolphins that had reproductive
problems and were full of tumors, a large patch
of the bottom of the Bay was essentially lifeless,
and people who swam and surfed in the Bay complained
about infections and other illnesses. This handful
of people, led by founding president Dorothy Green, got
angry and they got organized. Heal the Bay was
born.
At
this time, the City of L.A.'s Hyperion Sewage
Treatment Plant was a disaster, breaking the
law on several counts, and dumping barely treated
sewage and sewage sludge into Santa Monica
Bay. Heal the Bay attacked on many fronts.
We signed up members at tables along the coast
and sold t-shirts at Venice Beach. We held
rallies at the beach and got the media to inform
the public of what was happening. We packed
hearing rooms and testified before regulatory
agencies. And we joined the Environmental Protection
Agency lawsuit already pending against the
City of L.A.
The
First Victory
Because of these actions, the City consented
to comply with the Clean Water Act. Plans were
developed to totally rebuild Hyperion to provide
full secondary treatment by December 31, 1998,
and replace a major sewer line that was regularly
causing raw sewage overflows into Ballona Creek.
We were granted Friends of the Court status in
this consent decree and met quarterly with the
City to ensure their compliance with the agreement.
The
Bay is getting better...and with your help,
the goal of a year-round swimmable and
fishable Santa Monica Bay can be a reality!
Since
that 1985 decision, Hyperion has become a world-class
treatment facility. Sludge stopped flowing
into the Bay in November 1987, and Hyperion
met their rebuilding deadline one month ahead
of schedule to provide full secondary treatment.
As a result of improved sewage treatment at
Hyperion, we have been overjoyed to see the
return of plant and animal life to previous "dead" zones
in the Bay.
Our
first big victory taught us a crucial thing:
that a small group of people can change their
world, can literally "fight city hall" and
win. We also learned that most problems can
be solved without bringing them into the courtroom,
and that most agencies respond much better
to offers of help than to threats of lawsuits.
Not
so long ago, the Bay was a different place.
In a short time, Heal the Bay has made it better.
Our greatest hope is that we will continue
our amazing progress through our second decade
as we continue to fight for workable solutions
to the problems threatening Santa Monica Bay
and all of Southern California's coastal waters.
We
are halfway to healing the Bay, and we don't
intend to stop now!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Heal The Bay has called in The Extraordinaries to help track illegal dump sites and waterway pollution. Let's keep Southern California coasts clean and healthy!
If you suffer from cardiac arrest, help is only a 911 call away.
Paramedics can use defibrillators to shock your heart back to a normal
rhythm. But unfortunately, every minute you spend waiting for their
arrival reduces your chance of survival by 10%. Help may soon be closer
than your local paramedic and it may come from an unlikely source —
someone without medical expertise.
Until recently,
witnesses to someone having a cardiac arrest were limited in the help
they could provide — calling 911 and performing CPR (cardiopulmonary
resuscitation). Now, portable automated defibrillators about the size
of a laptop computer are available. These devices not only deliver a
shock to restore a regular heartbeat, they also determine whether a
shock is really needed, making it possible and safe for people without
medical training to use.
A recent study placed the automated defibrillators in roughly 1,000
public locations in 24 cities, including shopping centers, sports
facilities, office buildings, community centers, factories,
entertainment venues, apartment buildings, and schools*. Volunteers who
worked in these locations were trained to perform CPR or trained to
perform CPR and use the automated defibrillator. After two years and
292 resuscitation attempts, the overall survival rate for the study was
still very low, 15%, but the use of automated defibrillators saved
almost twice as many lives as CPR alone. This shows automated
defibrillators can save lives when used by common people trained to
operate the equipment.
Nearly 250,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest every year. Although
most of these deaths occur in the home, approximately 20% occur in
public. So automated defibrillators in public places could save a
substantial number of lives. The equipment may become commonplace
someday, especially in locations where senior citizens are likely to
spend time, as this population is most at risk for cardiac arrest. In
the future, automated defibrillators may even be found in the homes of
people who have suffered a heart attack.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
First Aid Corp is mapping a global database of AEDs to help people find
the closest one in the event of an emergency. They have called in The Extraordinaries to help them build this database. You never know, this
service might just save someone you love!
I was in my office late one night in 1999 not wanting to be bothered. The phone rang, and I wanted to ignore it . . . but I felt compelled to answer. Before I could start, a child's voice blurted, "Why do you do what you do?"
It was the last thing I had expected to hear.
The kid was simply on assignment from his school teacher to interview someone from a community service agency. He looked in the Yellow Pages and landed on my phone number.
At the time, I worked for a non-profit organization, and I was used to explaining in grand and overly sophisticated terms why the organization that I worked for did what it did -- it's how we go funding. I had become good at talking to funders and writing grants with big theories and detailed plans. Yet, I had lost touch with the simplicity behind an unnecessary amount of complexity.
I found myself at work way too late trying to figure out some way to explain to a 12 year old why I worked for a youth-media organization and why it was important for people to create their own images, video and music (keep in mind that this was in 1998 before all this user-generated content stuff). Meanwhile, I was trying to remember if it was, in fact, important and what else might I be doing instead. Why was I doing this? I came up with something that sounded convincing to me. But, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that it was harder to answer than I expected.
I've thought about that phone call many times, and that question chases me around still. It's a really simple question, yet so much depends on it. Starting in the summer of 2004, Mardie Oakes and I started asking other people this question. People often say they don't have time (or) don't know what to answer (or) give a flip response to make fun of a question that they unknowingly fear. Many times people avoid it altogether. Other times, people's answers inspire us or just make us laugh.
One day, what if thousands of 12 year olds randomly called people and blurted: "Why do you do what you do?"
HOW YOU CAN HELP
It's incredibly powerful to see the true nature of why people have chosen one path over another, and what motivates them to exist. As we begin to understand people's motivations, we discover something beautiful about each other: That we all share a common thread.
We absolutely love this project at The Extraordinaries. In between tagging photos, helping to push for climate change, or hunting down animal abusers, take a moment to write your answer down and photograph it.
"Why Do You Do What You Do" has called in The Extraordinaries to create a collaborative art project that inspires people and makes us think hard about our common thread. Do you accept this mission?
Right now, across the country, scores of organizations, leaders and
everyday citizens are ready to tackle global warming and transition to
a new clean economy. The movement is building at an astonishing
pace—but to bring about the truly revolutionary change that's needed,
we have to come together.
1Sky was created in 2007 to focus the power of millions of concerned
Americans on a single goal: bold federal action by 2010 that can stem
global warming. The 1Sky Solutions are grounded in scientific
necessity—they are the bottom line of what's needed to dramatically
reduce carbon emissions while maximizing energy efficiency, renewable
energy and breakthrough technologies. They also represent significant
economic promise. By pivoting to a clean energy economy, we can relieve
our dependence on foreign oil, unlock the potential of sustainable
industry and usher in a new era of prosperity and green jobs.
Americans are building support for the 1Sky Solutions in key
Congressional districts on a non-partisan basis, using cutting-edge
communications, Internet and old-fashioned neighbor-to-neighbor
outreach. To get our leaders to take action, the 1Sky community is
bringing together an incredibly diverse range of individuals and
organizations in a collaborative effort. With the help of many leaders
and groups, 1Sky has already gained the support of elected officials,
student and business groups, and faith-based institutions, as well as
organizations focused on health, civil society and the environment—and now we need you.
Together, we can convince our leaders to chart a new direction—away
from the catastrophes of global warming and toward a new era of
economic prosperity. This is your chance to change the course of
history, soget involved today!
HOW YOU CAN HELP In Congressional districts across the country, 1Sky is working to build support, and tell members of Congress why they should care about climate change. 1Sky has called in The Extraordinaries to help tell the American story of why people should care about climate change. Are you ready to accept this mission?
Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to
rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic)
cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing
acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the
public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the
wild.
The sanctuary is home to the most diverse population of exotic
cats in the world, with 14 of the 35 species of wild cat represented among more
than 100 residents. These include tigers, lions, liger, leopards,
cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are
threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild.
The sanctuary began in 1992 when the Founder, Carole Baskin, and
her then husband Don, mistakenly believing that bobcats made good pets, went
looking to buy some kittens. They inadvertently ended up at a “fur farm”
and bought all 56 kittens to keep them from being turned into fur coats.
In the early years, influenced by breeders and pet owners, they
believed that the cats made suitable pets and that breeding and placing the
cats in homes was a way to “preserve the species.” Gradually they saw
increasing evidence that not only was this not the case, but that it was
leading to a consistent pattern of suffering and abuse.
Today the sanctuary is devoted to its Vision of a world where
animals are treated with respect, and its Mission of providing the best
possible home for the animals in our care and trying to stop the flow of
animals needing sanctuary by educating the public about the plight of the
animals and supporting stronger laws to protect them.
The sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) not profit charity. It receives
no government support and relies on its educational activities, such as tours
of the facility, and the generosity of donors for support of the cats.
Donations are tax deductible. Because non program expenses (i.e.
administration and fundraising) are funded from tour income, 100% of donations
go directly to support the cats.
HOW
YOU CAN HELP
For
every lion and tiger in a zoo or a circus, there are 25 in a backyard or a
basement. To keep these beautiful animals in cages is often illegal (not to
mention a terrible life for the animal). Big Cat Rescue has called in The
Extraordinaries, to use the crowd to help identify cases of abuse and illegal
breeding in the United States, and around the world. Will you accept this
mission?
Come join some of the biggest change-makers in the Bay Area for what promises to be a fascinating discussion of how crowdsourcing can be leveraged for the social good! The event is THIS THURSDAY, August 20, from 7-9:30PM in San Francisco, and we can't wait to see you there.
We've all seen what Wikipedia is capable of, and if you've used the Extraordinaries, you know how what the "power of the crowd" is capable of doing to change the world. An impressive collection of panelists has been assembled, representing some of the best in the field of social-oriented technology, who will discuss these concepts, models and more.
The panel, moderated by Robert Chatwani of eBay Inc., features:
Leila Chirayath Janath of SamaSource, which utilizes technology to create jobs for the "next billion" -- the women, youth, and marginalized populations throughout the world living below the poverty line
Jon Bischke of EduFire, which is revolutionizing education through allowing live learning to take place over the internet, irrespective of time or place.
And, the Extraordinaries will be well represented as well by Jacob Colker, the co-founder of our organization.
Come learn all about how crowdsourcing for the social good has the opportunity to change the world, and get a chance to meet other change-makers dedicated to the mission thanks to mixers before and after the panel.
Because of the interactive nature of the event, the number of attendees will be capped at 100, so please RSVP now so that we can make sure all of you "extraordinary" people can join us. Tickets are free, but a suggested donation of $10 will be collected at the event to cover our basic costs. Any extra revenue will be donated to SamaSource, so you can do good while learning all about the social good!
Who: Leila Chirayath Janah, Founder, SamaSource Jacob Colker, Founder, The Extraordinaries Jon Bischke, Founder, eduFire Robert Chatwani, Head of Global Citizenship, eBay Inc. (Moderator)
As a native Chicagoan, Lollapalooza is a big event in the city. This year found 75,000 people packed into Grant Park (the same place that Barack Obama stood and gave his victory speech on November 4, 2008).
Lollapalooza has launched an iPhone app that is pretty darn neat, the best part of which is the interactive crowdsourced light show!
Everyday we discover new ways that iphones are being used to engage the crowd. This is all kinds of coolness.
