Slums, townships, shantytowns. Living at the edge of society but being in the centre of resourceful entrepreneurship and coulorful life amid dire circumstance. This isn’t always the common association made with slum life (except of course, the simplistic glamorization of shantytown life thanks to Slumdog Millionaire and the like), but it’s well captured in this Foreign Policy Photo Essay. The photos from slums in Venezuela, India, Kenya and Indonesia resonate with a sense of ethereal beauty over anguish.

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A Sorry State :: “Canada is becoming a world leader in official apologies. Do they benefit anyone but the people offering them up?”

The Walrus - December 2009 :: Read the entire story here

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
How do you get there?

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to Twenty years on, the celebrations commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall are in full swing. It seems everyone who was old enough to remember the crumbling wall has some poignant memory associated with the event. Here’s a pick of some memorable commemorative stories surrounding the anniversary.

Aruna Boodram - My audio documentary project is intended to show the pluralities of women that Islam has affected, whether they be practicing Muslims or not… I wanted to know how they understood Islam, how they understood feminism, and determining what the combination of the two would mean for them as Muslim women or those in solidarity with Muslim women. I also wanted to know how Islam has provided the vehicle in which these women have understood and managed realms of empowerment, strength and resistance to globalization, Western discourses and every day problems.
Listen here for the full audio documentary…

The International Diaspora Film Festival (IDFF) provides Toronto audiences with an opportunity to experience the cultural mosaic of the present world through the medium of cinema.

We will regularly be presenting a featured artist, writer or performer who is exploring questions of identity and personal narrative through their medium of expression.

The map is your representation. No rigid lines, no defined routes. You direct it on your own account.

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

Facing the Kool-Aid Recovery with Columbia U. Prof. Dorian Warren [VIDEO]
RaceWire, The Colorlines Blog :: Watch the Video here

We trawl the news media so you don’t have to.

The Globe & Mail, Focus - Friday October 16th 2009 :: Nazem Kadri: Canada’s new game face

TORONTO - “The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is an international festival that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples on the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio, and new media.” Check out: ‘Tungijuq’ & ‘Reel Injun’