For the past four weeks, representatives of five nonprofits supported by the MacArthur Foundation have been going through the "Virtual World Capacity Building Program" an intensive training on nonprofit applications of virtual worlds.  These organizations have explored several major virtual platforms, examined some of the leading examples of nonprofit actions in the metaverse, and thought about how they might best use these tools to further their respective missions.

This Thursday, August 27, these five groups will be presenting on MacArthur Island in Second Life their initial impressions of virtual worlds, outstanding questions, and possible next steps.  It's a very diverse group of nonprofits, including:

• The Adler Planetarium of Chicago
• Archi-treasures
• The Justice Policy Institute
  
• The National Writing Project
• and the Vera Institute of Justice

Come hear what they have to say on Thursday, from 12-1:30pm PST on MacArthur Island in Second Life (teleport link). Afterwards, there will be an open discussion about the applications of virtual worlds for various public good purposes.  And we'll close the event with a casual mixer / dance party!

This Thursday, August 6, at 6:30am PST / 9:30am EST, there will be a Second Life simulcast of an FCC Workshop on the subject of "E-Gov/Civic Engagement." The goal of this workshop is to evaluate how broadband can improve the performance of government specifically in terms of transparency and citizen participation and more generally in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. The workshop will consider various ways all levels of government, as well as governments in other countries, have used broadband to improve its performance in these ways and how those lessons might apply for purposes of developing the national broadband plan. The workshop will also consider the potential benefits of universal broadband in enabling various government operations to move to a digital platform in terms of improved performance, cost savings, and strategic benefits to the communications infrastructure.

Hosted on MacArthur Island in Second Life ( click here to teleport ), this video simulcast of the workshop is open to the general public to attend. Key constituents of particular interest to the FCC include service providers, equipment providers, applications providers, community groups, and other groups that have a stake in the future of broadband. Virtual event hosting, moderation and technical support provided by Global Kids.

Please join a Second Life simulcast, from the Markle Foundation, of Beth Simone Noveck, now the deputy Chief Technology Officer at the White House responsible for Open Government, presenting her new book, WIKI GOVERNMENT: How Technology Can Make Government Better, Democracy Stronger, and Citizens More Powerful. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A, in which participants from both Second Life and in person can ask questions of the author.

In the digital age our lives are constantly being transformed by the way in which we connect and collaborate with one another, affecting the way we make decisions - on a personal level, an institutional level, and a national level. Drawing on her expertise, and more directly her experience in creating Peer-to-Patent, the federal government's first social networking initiative, Ms. Noveck's Wiki Government insightfully demonstrates how technology, along with citizen participation, can help the government become more open and effective at solving the complex social and economic problems we face today.

The event will begin at 12:00pm EST/9:00am PST on Monday, July 20, 2009 and will take place in Second Life on MacArthur Island (click here to teleport http://slurl.com/secondlife/Foundations/109/231/34).

Tomorrow, March 20, Global Kids will be streaming from (and participating in) the National Service-Learning Conference in Nashville, TN for the third straight year. The conference is an inspiring gathering of over 2,700 students, teachers, youth-workers and volunteers focused on service learning. For more info on the conference, please see the conference website.

For those who can't make it to Nashville, Global Kids will be streaming several sessions from the NSLC live to the Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater (click here to teleport ). The complete schedule is as follows:

7 - 8:30am PST: Plenary Session
Exciting entertainment and inspiring keynote speeches from Dame Elisabeth Hoodless, the Executive Director of Community Service Volunteers, the UK’s largest volunteering and training charity and Dr. James Hildreth, Director of the Center for AIDS Health Disparities, Meharry Medical College

11:45am - 1:15pm PST: Global Kids Workshop: Virtual Worlds for Real World Service Learning - Intro for Educators
Learn about service-learning projects in virtual worlds such as Second Life and Habbo Hotel. You will gain a deeper understanding how virtual worlds can create more meaningful learning and service in your community.

1:30 - 3pm PST: Global Kids Workshop: Global Kids Workshop: Online Tools for Offline Action - How Generation MySpace Can Change The World
Join Global Kids to check out a variety of cool tools for your service-learning projects both online and offline. Discover how you can use Facebook, MySpace, Youtube, and others to make a positive difference locally and globally.

Both of the workshops will have interactive activities for the avatars to participate in. See you all there!

On Monday, November 17, from 3-5PM PST, come to the first virtual conference sponsored by RezEd.org, the social network for virtual world educators, taking place in the Justice Center (click here to teleport). The event will feature a panel discussion of leading educators and researchers working in virtual world education, a "birds of a feather" breakout session, and social mixer for letting our virtual hair down!