A Version of this article is Published on the Toronto Star Global Voices at TheStar.com The word ’slavery’ is most often heard in history classes these days, rather than in common conversation. However, nearly 150 years after slavery was “abolished”, there are over 27 million slaves around the world today! On September 22, 1862 President [...]

The web is changing. Society is changing. And people are coming together to do something good about it. Net Change Week is full of events that explore how social innovation and social technology are changing our society. The week on “social tech for social change” exists because of this rapid change, and I believe it’s [...]

From rectangle to square – Evolving and ever-changing, Canada’s University of the Imagination, OCAD University, has launched it’s visual identity. After being part of the consultation process and committee, I am definitely excited about the final result. As a proud OCAD University graphic design student, this launch is something I have been looking forward to [...]

There is a lot of discussion about the world of Corporate Social Responsibility today, and the movement is not slowing down. Last month, I wrote about the how some corporations take advantage of socially responsible advertising. This month, I had the opportunity to ask a key corporate contact about the relationship non-profit organizations have with corporations, [...]

This is a response to Judith Schwartz’s article ”Socially Responsible Advertising: Altruism or Exploitation?” Judith Schwartz asks if corporate advertising with a social agenda is altruistic or primarily a profit-making marketing strategy. Today there are many examples of businesses and individuals that are increasing their charitable contributions and committing to making the world, or their community, a [...]

What’s a Charrette? Where’s Lota? You may not know either of those answers, but these lead to a very interesting experience, when I had the opportunity to participate in an international design collaboration with the focus of developing sustainable tourism for the city of Lota, Chile. Over 100 Students from 6 Schools out of 9 Countries formed 9 Teams [...]

Helping young people understand the power they have to effect change in their communities was the focus of Local Democracy Week, hosted at Queen’s Park in Toronto in November 2010. Marc Kielburger and Daniel Francavilla at LDW 2010 Local activist Louroz Mercader, founder of the Institute for Youth Citizenship (IYC) who created the event, recapped [...]