Emily Keller-O'Donnell, Journalist

Advice on Archives from a Knowledge Manager: A Q&A with Alan S. Divack of the Ford Foundation

    Click here to read an interview with Alan S. Divack, Senior Project Manager for Archives and Knowledge Management at the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program, published on Transparency Talk, a Foundation Center blog. Divack was a guest at the recent Philanthropy New York forum, "How Will Your Foundation's Story Be Told in 100 Years: Why Archives Matter," which was chronicled in a blog post here.

 

Book Review - The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change

     Leonida Wanyama sat at her living room table in her mud-and-sticks house at the base of the Lugulu Hills in western Kenya contemplating her assets. Her fifteen-year-old son Gideon had been sent home from boarding school because she couldn't pay the latest tuition bill. Her four-year-old daughter Dorcas was begging for more food, even though the cupboard was bare. Her husband Peter, weak from malaria, a condition worsened by malnutrition, did what he could to feed his family, but the planting season was just beginning and themaize crop wouldn't be ready to harvest for months. Leonida decided to sell her last goat for a thousand shillings -- enough to convince Gideon's principal to take him back as she struggled to come up with the remaining tuition. Food would have to wait.

    Click here to read the review of The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change by Roger Thurow. The review is published on PhilanTopic, a Foundation Center blog.

Book Review - Changing Business From the Inside Out: A Treehugger's Guide to Working in Corporations

    The most effective way to create change that benefits humans above the bottom line is to combine social change efforts with the profit motive under the umbrella of a multinational corporation.

    So writes Timothy J. Mohin in his new book Changing Business From the Inside Out: A Treehugger's Guide to Working in Corporations. And with an eighteen-year career in the field known as corporate responsibility (CR), he provides a wealth of knowledge to back up his claim.

    Read the full article on Philanthropy News Digest, a Foundation Center blog, by clicking here.

United Nations Celebrates International Day of Persons with Disabilities

    On December 2^nd, the United Nations (UN) celebrated the 19^th annual International Day of Persons with Disabilities, a tradition started by the General Assembly in 1992. The theme of this year’s event was: Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.

     The day included a discussion of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a human rights treaty establishing international legal standards for governments and international governmental organizations to promote equality in the areas of health, education, international cooperation, gender equality and standard of living.

United Nations Holds Fourth Annual Convention Conference

    The United Nations (UN) held its fourth annual conference to discuss the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

    The CRPD is a human rights treaty establishing international legal standards for governments and international governmental organizations to promote equal rights for people with disabilities. The CRPD addresses issues such as health, gender equality, education, international cooperation and standard of living.

International Disability Council Holds Annual Meeting

    The United States International Council on Disability (USICD) had its annual meeting in April. The USICD is a federation of U.S. non-governmental organizations, federal agencies and individuals that addresses international disability rights issues. It is based in Washington, D.C.

    Speakers discussed the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that President Obama signed in 2009, as well as the inclusion of disability issues in the U.S. international development agenda. Congress has not yet ratified the CRPD.

United Nations Holds International Disabilities Day

    The United Nations (UN) celebrated people with disabilities December 3 with an annual celebration of speeches, panel discussions and films.

    Speakers at the International Day of Persons with Disabilities event included Assistant Secretary-General Thomas Stelzer, Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan of the Philippines, Ambassador Ombeni Y. Sefue of Tanzania and Ambassador Yanerit Morg of Mexico.

Lighting the Torch: Winter Paralympics Draws 500 Athletes

    From March 12 to 21, more than 500 athletes with disabilities from all parts of the world took part in the Winter Paralympics Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.

    John Furlong, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for this year's games, said in his speed at the opening ceremony, "Let these games also serve to honor and recognize men and women of sport the world over who have made it their personal mission in life to use sport to build better lives, to inspire children, to bring hope and inspire peace - men and women who have dedicated themselves to helping the remarkable athletes gathered here to achieve their dreams."

    Click here to view the front page. Click here to continue reading about the opening ceremony and here for the results. Click here for the conclusions to the last two stories. Photos by Carter Farmer.

Amputee Organizations Mobilize for Haitians

    National and international organizations that work with amputees are extending their efforts to people in Haiti who were injured in the devastating January earthquake.

    The nonprofit Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) in Tennessee developed a Haiti Relief Action Center (HRAC) to provide information on the relief effort to people who want to help amputees. The organization is raising funds with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to translate limb-loss information such as wound care advice into Creole.

    This article was published in Able News. Click here to read the full article.

Messenger of Peace: U.N. Celebrates International Day of People with Disabilities

    Disability rights groups from all over the world celebrated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations, Dec. 3rd.

    The 2009 theme was the inclusion of people with disabilities in the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals that aim to reduce extreme poverty, child mortality and AIDS by 2015.

    The day’s events included a panel discussion of the theme, a disability film festival and the appointment of musician, singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder as a U.N. Messenger of Peace.

    This article was published in Able News. Click here to read page one. Click here to read page two.