North America

A report which aims to provide a practical resource for community organisations, communication professionals and social-change activists working in development projects that they can use to assess the progress and the effects of their programs.

This new initiative envisions a website full of creative responses for healing and reconciliation. It is a project of Herm Weaver and John Paul Lederach. Herm is a roofer, a psychology professor, and always a singer/songwriter. John Paul is a mediator, a professor, and always a storyteller. Both work on the question of reconciliation and healing, and believe there is great potential for nurturing these processes through songs and stories. The site features the Dream the Light CD, a song and story in response to September 11, books, videos and other resources.

In addition to their website, they publish two weekly Beats ranging from 40 to 100 pages plus an eight page Beat Monthly. The Beat Within is a publication of the writings and art from Juvenile Halls and beyond, published by Pacific News Service, a San Francisco non-profit organization. The first publication of The Beat Within came out in late September of 1996. In addition, the back pages of The Beat Within contain The Beat Without. These important contributions come from people from all over the United States, most of whom are in the system, from death row to county jail to various youth facilities, as well as some of who are now in the free world. Beat contributors are in a unique position to express themselves and realize that they are not alone; through their writings and art, they discover that they are a part of a larger community. Furthermore, their voices, through The Beat Within publication, reach, touch, and hopefully influence the lives of judges, probation officers, families, community workers, youth, and many others. The purpose is to educate themselves as well as readers inside and outside of the system, and writers are encouraged to think as teachers as they reflect on their pasts and look ahead.

Peace Troupe International publish a quarterly newsletter called The Cultural Animator, subscriptions available.

In educational contexts language is the most important means of communication. This base is not very often questioned. But language does have dramatic effects on how you work with a group. This became obvious in the multilingual setting of the International Network Education for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance. The insight underlined the experiences of the 10 Network members in Brazil, Chile, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa and the USA. This is why the Network decided to develop, compile and test activities that can be used by facilitators to make people aware of the impact of language. The activities show how closely related language is to such fundamental questions as culture, identity and power structure. By tracing these links, facilitators can make the essential connection between language and human rights, tolerance and democracy. The manual also presents insights into the situation of language and power in the institutions of the member countries and suggests sample workshops for using the material. (also available in Dutch)

The Newsletter of Headlines Theatre, with news and updates about their work with communities struggling with social issues, including First Nations groups, unions, women's centres, alcohol and drug programs, and school districts.