This is Rosmery. She is one of Reading Village's teen reading promoters who receives funding for school in return for her literacy work with children in her community. She's eighteen years old but just started high school this year. Her father, who only completed the first grade, doesn't much value education. So Rosmery had to drop out for a while to help her family. Going back to school was a personal dream and struggle for her. And then her mother died a few months ago and she nearly had to give up that dream. But she has stood strong against her father to continue her studies and remain in our program.   Read more...

Hoping to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality, Ben & Jerry's ice cream has partnered with Freedom to Marry, a leader in the movement to gain nationwide marriage equality, to celebrate gay and lesbian couple's freedom to marry in the state of Vermont, as well as all other states practicing marriage equality. For the month of September the popular Chubby Hubby flavor of ice cream will be renamed Hubby Hubby, and the ice cream makers will be publicly supporting the first gay and lesbian marriages to take place in Vermont.   Read more...

Hands build. Hands heal. Simply stated, an environmental hand print is the good one does for the world. This contrasts with the well-known environmental footprint that signifies the damage one does. The best one can get with a footprint is no impact at all. The potential of a hand print is unlimited.

There are lots of examples of the environmental hand print The science educators of Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors (ECO) teach first through fifth graders about streams and the soil. Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring to raise our awareness of pesticides. Wangari Maathai of Kenya organized the Green Belt Movement which has planted 40 million trees. Our environmental heroes have bold environmental hand prints.   Read more...

"When I was a boy ... I had dreams" are Captain Abu Raed's first words to the group of hopeful children surrounding him on the hill top in Jordan. The dusty dry soccer area circled by Roman columns and the airport become the settings in the award winning film, Captain Abu Raed. The older widower and several children from the village learn life's joy and lessons. It is a tale of truth, dreams, compassion, forgiveness, courage and sacrifice.   Read more...

De eerste lood- en nikkelvrije drinkwaterkraan ter wereld is ontwikkeld door de Nederlandse ondernemers Ronald Kort en Robert Erkelens van Zeromix. Deze innovatie bevat geen schadelijke zware metalen en is daarom goed voor de gezondheid en het milieu. De eerste drie designlijnen van deze loodvrije kraan zijn nu al te bestellen via internet en binnenkort verkrijgbaar bij de sanitairspecialist.

Tot het begin van dit jaar bevatten alle beschikbare drinkwaterkranen de schadelijke metalen lood en nikkel. Dit was noodzakelijk omdat het lood nodig was voor de bewerking van de kraan. Daarnaast kon men in het verchromingsproces niet om de nikkel heen. Zeromix ontdekte vorig jaar een metaallegering die 100% loodvrij is en toch bewerkbaar. Alle loodvrije kranen van Zeromix zijn ook nikkelvrij in de waterweg. Daarnaast ontwikkelden deze ondernemers een loodvrije kraan die ook aan de buitenkant geen nikkel bevat. Zo ontstaat de eerste lood- en nikkelvrije drinkwaterkraan ter wereld. Voor deze innovatie is patent aangevraagd. De kraan is gecertificeerd door de internationale keuringsinstanties TÜV, VA en Sintef.   Read more...

Fantastische relaties, zodra vrouwen de mannen als mannen accepteren

Het begon met paardenfluisteraar Monty Roberts, die het beste uit elk paard naar boven kon halen. Dat kunnen vrouwen ook met mannen bereiken en zo uiteindelijk een power koppel worden. Als coach, schrijfster en spreekster, heeft Gigi Sage zich hierin al 23 jaar gespecialiseerd. Zij komt naar Amsterdam op 3 en 4 oktober en verzorgt twee verschillende seminars.   Read more...

As the saying has it "one man's trash is another's treasure," yet with a little bit of creative thought you can turn your trash into your treasure. That's exactly what has inspired a new wave of sustainability that goes beyond practicality and into decadence.

The idea of artistic living is a growing trend in eco-friendly culture, which has already witnessed a significant growth in consumer interest when it comes to modular living and organic decor. Even non-greenies are getting interested now that being green has brought with it a new level of stylish eccentricity.

And what comes more easily in this economy than an assortment of empty wine bottles after you've just thrown a smashing get-together? With the preference being on sourcing cheap entertaining ideas, most people now see staying at home with a good meal and great wine as a viable alternative to spending money on restaurants and clubs.   Read more...

José Gómez-Márquez, the MIT Technology Review's Humanitarian of the Year, is making innovative medical devices for use in poor countries. Márquez's inspired creativity in the field of medicinal invention is producing tools that medical workers in poor countries can count on. Based on the notion that medical devices are often complicated and expensive to fix, find or replace, he makes simple new creations that are easier to fix than the standard version. Some are designed to be difficult to break in the first place and require no power.   Read more...

9 september 2009 vindt een internationaal evenement plaats genaamd - World Day of Interconnectedness. Op deze dag staat onderlinge verbondenheid centraal. Verbondenheid met jezelf, elkaar, de samenleving en de wereld waarin we leven. Een duurzame samenleving begint namelijk bij het bewustzijn over en het beleven van onderlinge verbondenheid. Vandaar dit evenement met een veelheid aan initiatieven die hiertoe bij dragen.

Activiteiten Graag nodigen we je uit om samen met ons deel te nemen aan één van de activiteiten. Deze zullen wereldwijd plaatsvinden gedurende 24 uur vanaf 9.00 uur. Variërend van zakelijk tot persoonlijk georiënteerde workshops zoals een mini-symposium BeTheChange of een websymposium over verbindend leiderschap tot een danservaring van I-llness naar WE-llness of lachyoga voor kinderen. Maar ook een simpele glimlach of het geven van een welgemeende hand volstaat.   Read more...

Confetti in brilliant colors illuminate the magic of Paris on canvas as only Angelique can create. Opened her 10th show in Paris on August 27 at the Seven Seventy Gallery, 18 rue Dauphine, Paris 75006. Angelique reveals the hidden romance and joy of Parisian life.

With palette knife and bold colors Angelique blocks out the air, roof tops, cobble stone streets and cafe street scenes with ethereal illusions. Each has a notion of mystery and curiosity. To capture the unusual colors and light, Angelique delicately balances a canvas while climbing a drain pipe to the roof. She sets up early in the morning to capture the spring light hitting the bronze roof tops with clay chimney pipes. Often shuttered windows are open offering another breath of life.   Read more...