A community-led project, providing space to meet and network, all to create a cooperative learning environment and foster outreach, education, fundraising, all in a virtual environment.
This evening I upgraded the site to the latest version of Drupal and cleaned up a number of issues in the site’s files that needed attention–removing old unused modules for example. Please let me know if you see anything that seems out of order by emailing me at matthew [at] dogstar [dot] org.
Thanks!
Matthew/Creech
Written by: Creech
Most of my regular duties for Millions of Us revolve around — one way or another — building communities. I think non-profits involved in Second Life have an opportunity to really engage visitors and successfully evangelize their cause, not only using the platform as a mean to distribute information, but also as a means to form a network of support, raise funds, and provide experiental environments.
One really major question that non-profits should think about is this: What kind of 3D experience can my organization offer Second Life residents? That’s how you’re going to leverage this platform to its best and fullest extent. Providing information should be a part of any non-profit outreach, but it cannot, and should not be the only form of interaction. (To be blunt, “information only” sorts of interaction can be done more easily and quickly using a website by itself.)
So think about how to incorporate the information you want to impart to your visitors — and then brainstorm ways to present that information in a way that engages the shared 3D space of Second Life.
For example, if I were trying to raise awareness about hunger (in real life, obviously – avatars don’t need to eat!) I’d want to do more than just provide statistics in a notecard and offer a selection of informational graphics.
Maybe I’d try to create a HUD which mimics the physiological effect of severe hunger on avatar movement, or I could provide a set of avatar shapes from “normal” to “malnourished” so visitors could see first hand the ravaging effects of not getting enough food to eat on a human body. On a more positive note, I could organize a treasure hunt with canned food objects containing content-based prizes to encourage people to support their local food bank — you could even create a treasure hunt game with a leaderboard of the quickest to complete a course and/or a randomly changing play environment.
Sure, that kind of development takes technical expertise — but there are people inside of Second Life who know how to do all of this stuff. Don’t worry about the HOW of implementation. First, be visionary and think about the WHAT and WHY. Those are the most important questions to answer for your group’s participation inside of Second Life.
Written by: celebrity
This year, Congressman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, decided to avoid the carbon cost of flying and deliver his speech via Virtual Bali. Virtual Bali is the Second Life, carbon-friendly alternative to this year’s UN Climate Summit (COP 13) meeting in Bali December 3-14th.
You can meet Congressman Markey and hear his presentation in-world on the OneClimate islands tomorrow at 8 PM EST, 5PM PST/SL and 1:00 AM in the UK. Or you can watch it on the Web.
In the meantime, today at 12:30 PST/SL come interact with live with journalists and activists from Bali at OneWorld Meetings.
Written by: penguin kuhn
Alazar Fauna
Here’s transcript of remarks:
As it grows, and is ultimately sold to a consumer, this tag, with an anonymously numbered “I was Hugged” tag on it, This can be traced through an online database, so that the two parties, if they wish, can correspond about the tree, where it is planted, how it is doing, what it’s name is etc.
This raises the love and awareness of our precious tree resources and is a social networking active way to further more plantings and raise the conscious of our citizens.
Finally, Solar Energy is abundant and clean. And this is our Solar Fire Project.
Our sun does more than light our days. It provides massive quantities of energy in the form of heat, convertible photovoltaic electricity, photosynthesis, evaporation, transportation and millenia old biomass in the form of petroleum and natural gas. This is an amazing fact ! At any given time, the Sun gives our earth 174,000,000,000,000,000 watts of power. This is 174 petawatts – each and every second!
And this leads us to our latest project.
Our Solar Fire Project is a collaboration of several organizations around the world. Currently we have missions in Mexico, Spain, Latin America, Corsica and soon in Mali.
Our solar cookers and industrial strength solar ovens are built
locally from off the shelf materials.
Alazar Fauna: They can be operated very simply and require about 10 seconds of adjustment every 8 minutes. Pre-empting the need to deforest whole regions, solar power represents the future of renewable energy on small scales for individuals, families, villages and small entrepreneurs.
We have made an exhbit for Second Life concerning the use of Solar Energy.
You can see it behind me…and after this speech I will be glad to answer any questions you might have.
We are currently able to locally build solar cookers, in the poorest nations, for a family of 5 for about 175 USD and large industrial solar ovens for 500 USD. We do not believe in charity per se. Rather we feel that ownership is the key to raising the standards of living for poor entrepeneurs,at the same time as it reduces global warming and deforestation.
We target this for micro-loan programs, as the cost is easily recoverable over the time for gathering or the money required for buying wood. For instance in Mali, which is now 60% denuded of trees, and where the average daily income is $1.50, 70% of this daily wage must be spent on wood for cooking.
We hope to change this with our Solar Fire Project. There are many types of Solar Cookers. Our lead technology is the large scale Helios project. This unit can produce 4000 Watts of energy, and is useful for water purification, massive cooking, and industrial uses such as drying foods or beans, firing ceramics, making dyes and soaps. Built from local materials it has a useful life of 20 years.
A
lso solar distillers hold great promise to purify seawater, polluted water, brackish water and any water source that must be made drinkable. The Helios can purify 70 liters of water per hour. Enough in one day for an entire village with some left over to sell. All this from the free power of the sun!
So in conclusion, it takes all of us, in both large, and small ways, to push for the reduction of global warming.
Written by: kanter
1. What is your rl/sl name? Can you point to RL photo?
My RL name is Jacques Macaire / and in SL jacmacaire Humby.. Our office #14 is the Non Profit Commons Island
2. What organization are your representing? What is your role?
Our Non Profit association is called HUMANBE. As a headlight which shows the way, HUMANBE, seeks to create a place of reflection, information and education about the Sustainable Development, of which the priority of the
actions are:
– informative in the field of the climate change, the control of energy, transport, as well as natural and industrial risks
– educational as regards Sustainable Development, in order to contribute to an evolution of the behaviors.
– and participatory knowledge development in proven in the evolution of the climatic changes.
But in front of the extent of work, and in order to federate the
assistance necessary, we created 2 entities:
– HUMANBE
intended to put the man at the center of our concerns and to make it change in its behaviors
– HUMANWORLDCITY
intended for all those which wish to defend a more human vision of our world
3. Why is your organization doing work in Second Life? What do you hope to accomplish?
According to the research, roughly 80% of the Net surfers, like the 500 most important companies in the world, will have a second virtual life on the Web from here at 2011, and we would be wrong to deny the advantages related to this new fashion of navigation, which is at the bottom much more normal. We remain on average 11 minutes in a virtual place, against one to two minutes on a Web page.
HUMANBE wishes to give to human the possibility of applying and supporting the Sustainable Development in the true life, by trying it in SECOND LIFE, and by becoming a place of reflexion, information and education concerning the Sustainable Development. Thanks to SECOND LIFE, HUMANBE has the possibility, today, of treating the questions of the Sustainable
Development in a different way.
All the keys and the solutions are thus there, between the true life and the virtual worlds to pass in sustainable development mode and to make SECOND LIFE becomes this formidable tool for diffusion of the ideas.
4. What activities have you implemented so far? What has been the result?
It is not a long time that we are in Second Life, but thanks to the Anshe Chung Studios ( which generously donated the Non Profit Commons), TechSoup and a group of volunteer residents, we had the possibility of lowering the barrier of access to Second Life.and thanks to SECOND LIFE, we especially found the possibility of being able to explore new ideas, and finally the means of launching many project like an Eco Postive House which the objective is to produce a self-sufficing building in energy, a
Network of Humanbe Centers to carry out true places of escape, of calms, and peace, where we can relax, and discover all the richness of our human world, an Eco Label to sensitize the consumer as regards Sustainable Dévelopment, etc..
Many ideas and others projects are in preparation, and only wait for financial supports to be realized.. and it will be necessary to act quickly now to change the behaviors and to organize a world ecological governorship.
5. What advice would you offer to other nonprofifts?
If it is true that Humanbe lack assistance, and we still pain to find the funds necessary to advance, and by the same to set up certain essential projects for our activity.
In order to create positive synergies, we have the idea to simply give the possibility to other non profit to share actions together, by creating thematics maps or objects (like the Peace Monument) which gives a kind of virtual union in Second Life.
By an other way, we try also to bring our European feeling…
Written by: kanter
Want to participate in the annual international conference of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) without the virtual cost of flying? This year you can with OneWorld‘s OneClimate.net‘s Virtual Bali Conference.
OneClimate.net is a OneWorld’s social networking site dedicated to finding solutions for climate change. OneClimate.net links directly to the OneWorld’s OneClimate Island in Second Life. When this year’s UN Climate Summit (COP 13) meets in Bali December 3-14th, OneWorld Island will offer an alternative for people to participate virtually. Participants from around the world can attend through the OneWorld Island in Second Life from their own computers and interact with live video feeds from the Bali conference. There will be communications between real-world and in-world Second Life attendees via voice and text chat. A live videocast will be streamed from the OneClimate.net site to reach a larger Internet audience. The virtual conference will include a daily interactive press conference and interview, and culminate with virtual ceremony giving out a Climate Justice award.
Through the virtual Bali conference, OneClimate Island hopes to increase global participation and awareness of climate change and engage individuals in the UNFCCC process. In addition, this conference will serve as a pilot for the potential of virtual worlds to provide low-carbon ways of working and meeting with others.
Find out more about the conference at OneClimate.net or teleport directly to OneClimate Island.
Written by: penguin kuhn
My friend Veri Oddfellow passes along the news about a Second Life fundraiser party for a neat cause called Great Strides. Great Strides is a Maryland-based therapeutic center that employs horses to help people with mental disorders. On Sunday, December 16, from 11am-2pm PST, DJ Nexeus Fatale will be the featured entertainment during the Great Strides charity dance party at AMO Island in Second Life (click here to teleport).
Nexeus always spins a great set, and it sounds like a really cool center. So drop on by and drop a few lindens in the donation box. The full announcement after the jump…
Dance Party to Benefit Great Strides in Second Life
Who: YOU and your fave dance partners!
What: A dance party to benefit Great Strides, whose mission is: To promote emotional healing and growth in partnership with horses. No minimum or maximum donation amount.
When: Sunday, December 16, 2007 – 11 – 2 pm SLT (Second Life Time)
Where: AMO Island in Second Life (click here to teleport).
Why: To support scholarships for mentally ill clients who cannot afford treatment.
==================================================
What we do…
Great Strides is an innovative program that helps people to overcome their mental health issues by partnering treatment staff with equine staff.
Great Strides offers equine facilitated psychotherapy, therapeutic horsemanship and equine facilitated learning. Through specially designed interactive experiences that promote emotional healing, we build confidence, improve social skills, and help clients make positive changes in their lives. Our farm environment provides a unique setting enabling clients to address treatment issues on many different experiential levels that they might not ordinarily access in a therapists office.
For more information on Great Strides, visit: www.GreatStrides.org
or contact Veri Oddfellow (aka Brad Lewis) inworld.
Written by: rikomatic
HIV/AIDS has affected all of us in deep and personal ways, and the race for a cure continues. I am thinking about my friend John, a wonderful artist with the most biting wit, who passed away from AIDS-related health issues about four years ago now.
December 1st is World AIDS Day, and there are a number of events happening in Second Life and well as of course in the real world. HealthInfo Island (click here to teleport) is sponsoring a number of activities around World AIDS Day starting at 9AM PST, including:
In addition, DenmarkCopenhagen sim (click here to teleport) is hosting a fundraiser party from 2PM PST to raise money for the World AIDS Foundation. Their goal is to collect L$ 50,000 in one day, so come on by and drop some lindens in the bucket.
And for you teens out there, there will also be activities on the SL Teen Grid.
World AIDS Day
Please join us at HealthInfo Island for World AIDS Day 2007. Workshop will start 09.00 AM SL Time. There will be several Tours spread over the day, exact times to follow. Please contact us if you want a tour with a special group. Place: Healthinfo Island (79, 111, 23) (click here to teleport)
Be sure to drop by HealthInfo Island for:
Contact: Namro Orman or Carolina Keats
Organised by: the HealthInfo Island Groups: Consumer Health Library, SL Medical Library, Heron Sanctuary & Accessibility Center
Activities on Denmark Copenhagen Sim
December 1st, is the international AIDS day. A day to remember and
honour those we have lost to this terrible decise. But also a day to to
fight back, and try to stop HIV/AIDS in the world. In Denmark
Copenhagen (click here to teleport)
we will mark this day with lost of events, sales and partying. All in
support for the AIDS foundation. The goal is to collect 50.000 L$ in
one day, everything L$ will go to the AIDS foundation. Come and help
us stop AIDS.
There will be donation jars to support the foundation. Party’s will be
held with legal spoilers, where 25% of all polls will go to the
foundation. There will be a yard sale, where everybody can rent a stand
for 100 L$, all will go to the foundation. Huge Party with Live DJ
from 2.00 PM PST in After Dark.
Written by: rikomatic
This morning, the members of the Nonprofit Commons demo’d SL for the US Department of State. Bill May (Serotta Keynes in SL) works in public diplomacy, as the Senior Technology Advisor. He invited the Public Diplomacy’s Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau (the vast majority of their work is conducted through the NGO community) to shoulder-surf while he introduced the members of the Nonprofit Commons to them.
It was pretty exciting to have such a good turn-out of our own members at such short notice. We had about 10-15 avatars from several different countries representing the nonprofit community inworld.
The members of the nonprofits cited the usual benefits that we all seem to appreciate about SL: the incredible International representation, the ability to procure a good group of volunteers, the ability to raise funds (based on work done in SL, not necessarily directly from funds raised within SL), the ease of access to a great network of new colleageus, the range of diverse populations, the ability to do a lot of conferencing without spending money on travel and hotels, and the potential for social marketing.
Penguin Kuhn referenced her blog post about Top Ten Ways SL can benefit Nonprofits
In all the visit was short and sweet, but the audience in the RL room (btw 25-30 people) asked questions of the SL group, seemed engaged, and according to Serotta, No One Left the Room!
I guess that is one measure of success?
Written by: Glitteractica_Cookie
Social Work educators Drs. Bob Vernon from Indiana University (SL: Gabrielli Rossini), Darlene Lynch from Ball State University (SL: Helene Stransky), Paul Freddolino from Michigan State (SL: Raoul Congrejo) Lorrie Gardella (SL: Sunny Bamaisin) from St. Joseph College and Susan Tenby from Techsoup (Glitteractica Cookie) presented a panel discussion on using SL with social work students at the Council on Social Work Education’s conference on October 28th. “Avatar 101” issues were discussed, along with the potentials for using SL to teach diversity, behavior, field, research, ethics, policy, justice and risk, and practice. The basic (no movies) PowerPoint can be viewed at http://hsmedia.biz. Even though the session was in San Francisco on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the room was packed with social work professors from across the country!
Written by: Gabrielli Rossini