CPGC Blog

When: Thursday and Friday, November 29th and 30th, 2012

Where: Philadelphia, PA

What: This fall, health center leaders, public housing organizations, and community and national decision-makers are invited to Philadelphia, PA for Community Health Partners for Sustainability’s national conference, “Scalable Innovations for Health Centers and Public Housing.” The conference will highlight innovations with the promise to improve safety-net health care nationwide and will highlight leaders from across the country.

Register for the conference here and learn more about the conference through the draft agenda, available here. For more information about Community Health Partners for Sustainability and their work, visit www.chpfs.org.

As part of the conference events, Community Health Partners for Sustainability is hosting the 2012 Innovation Challenge. The Challenge will identify ideas emerging within Public Housing Primary Care Grantees and other health centers that hold the promise to increase access, improve care quality, and control cost. Prizes, including one grand prize of 5,000, will be awarded at the conference.  The winning innovation will be voted on by attendees of the conference.

Applicants must register for the conference and submit their proposals by October 1^st to be eligible. To submit a proposal, click here.

If you have any questions, please contact Casey Alrich at casey@chpfs.org.

How Can You Get Ready for the November 6th  Pennsylvania General Election?

VOLUNTEER: Seventy’s Voter Protection Program will dispatch Election Day volunteers across Philadelphia to assist voters at the polls on November 6. Seventy’s Voter Protection Program volunteers spend Election Day visiting the polls and providing support for voters and election officers. The goal of the Voter Protection Program is to help solve issues that could prevent registered voters from voting and to collect data to improve future elections. It’s a great (nonpartisan) way to be right in the thick of the action.

The ballot in PA will be stocked with close races and the state’s new voter ID law is posing challenges to many people who want to vote. The need for non-partisan volunteers to protect voters’ rights has never been greater at any election in recent memory. To volunteer, go to: www.seventy.org/volunteer

REGISTER TO VOTE: October 9 is the last day to register for PA voters.Click here to verify your registration and the location of your polling place.  Download a PA voter registration form here.

Remember, call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-886-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) if you have a question about registering to vote or the PA voter ID law.

When: Sunday, September 30th, 4PM

Where: Sidwell Friends School Meetinghouse
3825 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC

What: The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) invites you to an inspirational dialogue with Robert Levering, the Quaker behind Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in America.” An author of eight books about the workplace, Levering is co-founder of the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research, training and consulting company that produces Best Workplaces lists in more than 40 countries. Levering’s work promotes the Friends’ testimonies of community and equality as they apply to workplaces. He has conducted thousands of interviews with executives and employees throughout the private sector and will share the compelling results that correlate trust in the workplace with successful companies. FCNL, a Quaker lobby in the public interest, is sponsoring this dialogue as part of our effort to seek a society with equity and justice for all and communities in which every person’s potential may be fulfilled.

This event is free and open to the public! For more information, contact Sandy Robson, sandy@fcnl.org

If you are interested in a career in International Affairs, Conflict Resolution, or related fields, check out this blog post on the Peace and Collaborative Development Network!

When: Saturday, October 6

• 12:30-1:30 Tabling and Networking Reception
• 1:30-3:30 Panel Speakers and Q&A Session

Where: Friend’s Center, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia

What: Speakers will include Professor Jaya Ramji-Nogales from Temple University; Professor Ute Ritz Deutch from SUNY Cortland; and Kathleen Lucas, a member of the AIUSA Immigrants’ Rights Steering Committee. This community education event will help create a better understanding of the current human rights crisis surrounding immigration and migrants rights in the US. The Forum was prompted by the April 2012 report released by Amnesty International USA, In Hostile Terrain, which documented the gross abuse and threats to basic human rights in the American Southwest.

Amnesty International, the host of Hostile Terrain is a Nobel Peace Prize winning organization dedication to the promotion of human rights. Our vision is of a world in which every person – regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity – enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and other internationally recognized human rights standards. Amnesty International USA’s Immigrants’ Rights are Human Rights Campaign works for changes at state and national level to ensure that the human rights of immigrants in the United States are respected, protected and fulfilled. In the coming year, AIUSA will campaign on a range of crucial immigrants’ human rights issues at the state and federal level.
For more information, please email MA1intern@aiusa.org

When: Thursday, September 27 2:00pm to 6:45pm

Where: Michael A. Fitts Auditorium, Golkin Hall, UPenn Law School (3501 Sansom Street)

What: Center for the Advanced Study of India 20th Anniversary Celebration!

CASI was founded in 1992, a year after India launched its historic economic reforms, with a focus on the study of contemporary India. Today, CASI is recognized as a national resource, addressing the urgent need for objective knowledge of India’s rapidly changing economy, politics and society, and the forces and processes behind them. Through its collaborative research initiatives, seminars, conferences, publications and outreach, CASI provides in-depth, policy-relevant analysis of the most pressing issues facing India and the India-U.S. relationship.

CASI’s 20th Anniversary coincides with two decades of major transformation in India’s economic, political and social landscape, and its external relations and global profile. This symposium will both celebrate and reflect on an extraordinary period of change and the unprecedented challenges and opportunities that India faces today. In doing so, the special event will exemplify CASI’s mission – to provide a forum for dialogue among the academic, business, government, civil society and foreign policy communities from India and the United States.

The event is hosted by Professor Devesh Kapur, Director, CASI, Associate Professor of Political Science, and the Madan Lal Sobti Associate Professor of the Study of Contemporary India at Penn.  Senior policymakers, dignitaries, academics, and business leaders from India and the United States will speak.

For more details on the event, please see the symposium agenda.

This event is free and open to the public, but you must register!

STAND is the Student-led division of United to End Genocide. STAND is the only movement created, led, and managed entirely by students for mass atrocity prevention. From its founding in 2004 by students at Georgetown University, STAND has grown into a nationwide movement with chapters at high schools and colleges around the country.

Check out the STAND Newsletter for more information about STAND and how to get involved.

When: Thursday, October 11, 2012 from 12 Noon – 2 P.M.

Where: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
190 North Independence Mall West, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106

What:  Leonardo Vazquez will be discussing issues facing Latino communities in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York metropolitan areas, and discuss his new book, Diálogos: Placemaking in Latino Communities.

Latinos are one of the largest and fastest growing social groups in the United States, and their increased presence is profoundly shaping the character of urban, suburban, and rural places. This is a response to these developments and is the first book written for readers seeking to learn about, engage and plan with Latino communities. It considers how placemaking in marginalized communities sheds light on, and can inform, community-building practices of professionals and place dwellers alike.  Diálogos: Placemaking in Latino Communities will help readers better understand the conflicts and challenges inherent in placemaking, and to make effective and sustainable choices for practice in an increasingly multi-ethnic world. The essays explore three aspects of place: the appropriation and territorialization of the built environment, the claiming of rights through collective action, and a sense of belonging through civic participation. The authors illustrate their ideas through case studies and explain the implications of their work for placemaking practice.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, and the author will also sign all purchased books.

This event is free.  Please RSVP by Monday, October 8. Space is limited!
Jane Meconi | jmeconi@dvrpc.org | 215-238-2871

The United Nations International Day of Peace (Peace Day) is a worldwide day of ceasefire and nonviolence observed annually on September 21. This year’s global theme is “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future.” Peace Day Philly is a volunteer initiative to promote participation in Peace Day across the Philadelphia region and beyond. Over 50 organizations, as well as many schools, numerous Philadelphia Police district offices and dozens of Philadelphia free libraries, plan to participate! For the Peace Day Philly 2012 1 minute overview, CLICK HERE

Get involved in Peace Day Philly! Peace Day activities can involve education, the environment, the arts, intercultural dialogue, spirituality and faith, sports and diverse gatherings, and can happen anytime the week of September 17th. From observing a minute of silence at noon to hosting a community event, from a soccer game played in the spirit of unity to making peace art with kids, participation can reflect your interests as an individual or your mission as an organization. For more information about Peace Day, activity ideas, and public events scheduled for the week of September 17th and beyond, go to: www.peacedayphilly.org