Metropolitan Mediation Services is offering three 36-hour mediator training courses in the first half of 2012. There will be offerings in Jan- Feb, April-May, and June (dates below).

On the tenth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1958, Eleanor Roosevelt famously laid out her vision for that document's future and significance:

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

HONK! is returning to Somerville for the sixth time in just a few weeks!
http://openmediaboston.org/node/1928

This Memorial Day weekend - May 28-30 - the Association for India’s Development will be hosting its annual conference at the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA. This conference is an annual effort by AID’s volunteers to share ideas, learn from past experiences and plan strategies for future sustainable development efforts with the most marginalized communities in India. This year, the conference holds a special relevance, as 2011 is the 20th year of AID.

Please join us at a hearing on Thursday, May 5, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, State House Gardner Auditorium, Boston.

This presentation will explore the rising tide of white anxiety since the election of President Obama, and explore the roots of white racial resentment, currently being stoked by the Tea Party, among

The video says it all.

Jane Fulton, owner of Fenway Bark, has always had a soft spot for animals and has rescued eight animals, making them a part of her family throughout her life, and encourages others to do the same.

Quincy, Mass. - The Prison Book Program is a non-profit, all volunteer organization based in Quincy that distributes paper back books to people in prisons in Massachusetts and throughout the United States.

The most sought after types of books by prisoners include dictionaries and history texts. On Saturday, November 6, 2010, at the Non-Profit Center near South Station in Boston, the group is holding its fourth annual “Great American Book Drive” to collect donated books for the program.

Springfield, MA - The headlines are familiar: The economy is fragile, Economists meeting in Denver share gloom as they consider next step, unemployment is high: one in 10 Americans is unemployed - not counting the people whose unemployment benefits ran out - and in communities of color, the unemployment rate is higher. We turn on the TV and see images of fear and anger that fan the politics of division.

We at the Alliance to Develop Power, however, also see a different story, one where solutions are being shaped by the people most affected by policies created to benefit the minority of wealthy institutions and people. Where respect, dignity and shared prosperity are valued. Where everyday people are coming together to build vibrant sustainable communities. Where all people are valued and participating fully in our democracy. This version of the story may not make it into the headlines at FOX news, but it will be front and center at our ADP Convention 2010 on Oct. 16.