misbehaving.net

Oprah's Leadership School For Girls

I was really thrilled to read about this:

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Oprah Winfrey opened a school today for disadvantaged girls, fulfilling a promise she made to former President Nelson Mandela six years ago and giving more than 150 students a chance for a better future.

"I wanted to give this opportunity to girls who had a light so bright that not even poverty could dim that light," Winfrey said at a news conference.

Mandela was among the guests at the opening of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.

"This is a lady that has, despite her own disadvantaged background, become one of the benefactors of the disadvantaged throughout the world," Mandela said in a statement.

Singers Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, actors Sidney Poitier and Chris Tucker and director Spike Lee also were in attendance. Each guest was asked to bring a personally inscribed book for the library.

Winfrey has said that she decided to build her own school because she wanted to feel closer to the people she was trying to help.

The $40 million academy aims to give 152 girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.

conference t-shirts

::laugh:: I just opened Kathy Sierra's blog where she talks about what conference t-shirts say about how the organization feels about its users. It's a funny post but what's funnier is that i happen to be wearing my Webstock t-shirt today. And at Le Web, i rejected multiple vendors' offers of free t-shirts because of size; each told me that i could sleep in it. (Like Kathy, i don't wear anything to sleep and an oversized t-shirt is the last thing i want to wear.) There are a handful of tech t-shirts i wear all the time because they are comfy, stylish, and they fit: Blogger, Odeo, Webstock, Chumby (oh do i love the Chumby ones - i even asked for extras). The sad part is that i think that's it... Anyhow, Kathy's point rocks and should be emphasized so here's my blog post emphasizing it. If you want me to celebrate your brand, make a t-shirt that i want to wear. Cool and stylish is one part; a shirt that fits and is comfortable is also key.

women 2.0 conference, 4-30-06

Just ran across the announcement of "Women 2.0 Conference: The Next Generation of Entrepreneurs." Wish I could go!

Here's the details:

WHEN: Sunday, April 30th, 2006 from 11 am to 2 pm (lunch provided)
WHERE: AOL, 401 Ellis St. in Mountain View

After successfully holding events for young entrepreneurs (“Starting a Startup” conference, Nov.05; Technology Symposium, Jan.06), E27 is now focusing on women entrepreneurs making extraordinary leaps in the technology world. Women 2.0 will showcase top women entrepreneurs. We will connect like-minded, motivated women to swap energy, ideas, and experiences with each other.

Event Format: Break out discussions with successful women who have done it. Topics include the value of (big) corporate experience for entrepreneurship, web presence: personal and professional, getting funding, writing a business plan, working in tech without a tech background, finding the right startup team.

Panelists share their experiences:

• Jessica Hardwick, SwapThing founder
• Elaine Wherry, Meebo co-founder
• Sandy Jen, Meebo co-founder
• Joyce Park, Renkoo founder
• Emily Chang, IdeaCodes co-founder

Blogher call for speakers on sensitive topics

As Elisa wrote, i'm leading a panel at Blogher on blogging about sensitive topics and we're looking for potential panelists who are willing to talk candidly about the most sensitive of topics - depression, addiction, self-injury, eating disorders, illness, suicide attempts, infertility, etc.  We're looking for people who've written about these topics and those who've tried to support loved ones.  We want to talk about the values of writing about sensitive issues, the challenges of being read, the concerns about responding to someone's intense writings.  Especially around issues self-injury, eating disorders and suicide attempts, we'd like to get into how writers feel when they are reported by concerned loved ones.  We know that support happens. But we also know that that there are those who believe that bloggers and online community members can become enablers, or at the very least, get in over their heads. Rather than reaching out to people with a "So, you talk about suicide a lot, wanna talk on a panel?" type question, we wanted to throw it out more broadly and see who might be willing to talk.  So, this is a call for speakers who would be willing to discuss their experiences handling the touchy topics online. And please note: we are open to only identifying you by a a pseudonym in conference materials. If you're interested, feel free to email me or Elisa.

register for Blogher

Blogher 2005 was a complete blast and Blogher 2006 will be even better!  Now two days long, Blogher 2006 will allow women bloggers around the world to gather, commune, socialize and revel in the fact that technology participation is more diverse than people think.  Blogher 2006 will be held in San Jose, in a bigger location (although space is still limited so sign up now).  This year, there will be two days of convening: July 28-29, 2006.  Come one come all!  Above everything else, REGISTER NOW!!!

seattle mind camp, november 5-6

In the grand tradition of bar camp, web 2.01, and other creative, self-organizing tech events comes Seattle's first Mind Camp. It will be held from noon on Saturday, November 5th through noon the following day.

Take a look at the sidebar to see the people already committed to being there--Chris Pirillo & Ponzi Indharasophang,  Julie & Ted Leung, Beth Goza & Phil Torrone, Nancy White, Shelly Farnham...

Notice all the cool women on that list? Wouldn't it be lovely if the number of women at this event was actually an accurate reflection of the number of women working in this field (which isn't 50%, granted, but is far more than the 6% that web 2.0 evidenced)?

Registration is open (and free), but the event is capped at 150--so act fast if you're planning to attend. 

See you there, I hope!

speaker's list

Mary Hodder organized a wiki where women (and men) can list their speaking expertise. It's an opportunity to announce what you're good at so that when conference organizers say that there are no women out there to speak, we can show otherwise. Please add yourself if you feel comfortable talking on stage about a particular topic (or if you're up to the challenge of trying).

Dr Lizbeth Goodman on SafetyNET

Dr Lizbeth Goodman will be speaking at Open Tech 2005 about 'Wireless, Seamless, Discreet' mobile platforms for the SafetyNET Project.

SafetyNet is a global cyber cafe project that uses the power of new technologies to help stop violence against women and children... SafetyNet quietly links women and children to information about domestic violence through online access. In the "safe spaces" of secure, moderated chat rooms, participants communicate with domestic violence specialists, volunteer attorneys, survivors of abuse, and mentors. SafetyNet also provides women with opportunities to develop computer skills and to start e-commerce businesses.

Sponsored by backstage.bbc.co.uk, Open Tech is "an informal, low cost, one-day conference" that's shaping up to be a really interesting, balanced tech event.

Venus Rising at the Dana Centre

The Dana Centre is a purpose-built London venue for public debates about contemporary science, technology and culture. Tomorrow it hosts Venus Rising, a discussion of the question: "Can we shift the cultural image and language of technology towards the feminine?", with speakers including Dr. Lizbeth Goodman (director of The Smartlab Centre at Central Saint Martins College of Art Design).

It's too far from Helsinki for me to go, so if any of you London misbehavers make it along, please post your thoughts/links to your notes in the comments.

BlogHer Conference

The BlogHer Conference has been announced and registration is currently open. I want to see this conference be as diverse as possible - diverse along every axes imaginable. I need your help in organizing women bloggers from around the world with a million perspectives to attend. I'm also interested in adding things to the conference that will meet the needs of different types of women. For me, the goal of this conference is to build social solidarity amongst women. If you have ideas, please let me know.

But please spread the word. The key to success for this event is to get as many different women on board as possible.

There are some scholarships available and i'm hoping that we can find ways to fly women around the world in. Also, if you have any leads to making this possible, please let me know!