Is there a human right to water? Can international law protect First Nations from oil and gas development? Could one decriminalize sex work and still protect the human rights of child prostitutes?

These and other questions will be the focus of a human rights workshop at Gulf Islands Secondary School on Jan. 8 and 9. Sixteen graduate students from the University of British Columbia will present their term papers, which are being supervised by Salt Spring resident Michael Byers.

The same event was cancelled due to snowy weather when it was first set for Nov. 20-21.

“The students come from seven different countries,” Byers explained. “They have a passion for social justice and human rights. They bring fresh perspectives and cutting-edge research skills to some of the most difficult issues of our time.”

For Byers, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at UBC, bringing the students to Salt Spring has an important educational purpose. “Most of the students lack real world experience,” he said. “By bringing them to the island, I can introduce them to the most intellectually dynamic, socially progressive community in Canada. The purpose of the workshop is to enable them to engage with — and learn from — some of the incredible people here.”

Each session will begin with a student presenting their research, then move to an open discussion of their work. It will be an opportunity to pose questions, make comments and share perspectives.

“Questions around what constitutes a right, and how rights are enforced, affect us all,” said Byers. “And every perspective is legitimate.”

The workshop runs from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 8, and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 9 in the multipurpose room at GISS. Islanders are encouraged to participate in all sessions, or attend a few of special interest to them. Admission is free and open to all.

Programme
———-

Gulf Islands Secondary School, Multipurpose Room, January 8 & 9, 2011

Saturday, January 8:

2:30-2:45 PM Introduction and Welcomes

2:45-3:45 PM

Matt Robinson (USA) & Tyler Harbottle (Canada): “From Statelessness to Global Citizenship”

3:45-4:45 PM

Calyn Shaw (Canada): “Gay Rights are Human Rights: Canada’s role in the struggle for international LGBT Rights”

Frank Halderman (Canada): “Virtuous Circles? Canadian laws and international human rights”

4:45-5:00 PM Coffee/Tea

5:00-6:00 PM

Hannah van Voorthuysen (New Zealand), “Would the decriminalization of prostitution enhance human rights? A comparative analysis”

Ji-Eun Kim (South Korea): “Child Prostitution and International Law”

6:00-7:00 PM

Chantelle Belle (Canada): “Drug Policy: Is there an International Consensus?”

Sam Eifling (USA): “When Rights Conflict: Do safe-injection sites raise competing human rights concerns?

Sunday, January 9:

9:00-9:30 AM Coffee/Tea/Muffins

9:30-10:30 AM

Marc Levesque (Canada) & Scott Goosenberg (Canada): “Indigenous rights and environment protection: Can international law save the Beaver Lake Cree?”

10:30-10:45 AM Coffee/Tea

10:45-12:15 PM

Joshua Freedman (USA): “Is Water a Human Rights Issue?”

Shannon Dooling (USA): “The Human Right to Water: International Law and the Millennium Development Goals”

Gihan Indraguptha (Sri Lanka): “Water as a Human Right – International dimensions of trans-boundary water”

12:15-1:00 PM Lunch

1:00-2:30 PM

Pablo Antezana Quiroga (Bolivia), “Water, development, and the public-private debate: alternatives for a pro-poor policy”

David Morgan (Canada): “Recognizing the human right to water – A Canadian concern?”

Mo Al Mehairbi (United Arab Emirates): “The Right to Survive: Water Access in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside”

Thank you to Amy Geddes and the Driftwood for running a story our Salt Spring Digital collaboration work. We’re building a movement to position Salt Spring as a destination for technology entrepreneurs who are interested in sustainability, local community and the vibrant, creative lifestyle of our island.

If you are a professional working in the digital economy today consider joining our Facebook group where we’re collaborating, sharing and looking for opportunities to work together right here on Salt Spring. Join here – http://on.fb.me/hRH5rM

Read the full story on the Driftwood – http://bit.ly/fgHT13

From left, Jon Suk, Suzanne Little, Phillip Reece, Margery Moore, Johan Bosman, Christopher Roy and son Magnus in the new Salt Spring Digital Lab space. Photo by Amy Geddes

The guide to everything you ever need to know before moving to the island.

Last night 70+ islanders came out to the Harbour House to take the next step in this ongoing experiment of exploring how digital, marketing, media and knowledge working professionals could collaborate together on this island to help shape a sustainable, local economy for Salt Spring. Thank you to everyone who made it out on a dark December night. Thank you to the Harbour House for donating appetizers for all. Thank you to Margery Moore from I-SEA for helping to co-ordinate everyone from the Green Drinks community and thank to all our Digital Island collaborators who helped co-organize and promote the gathering; Jon Suk, Phillip Reece, Phil McCluskey, Suzanne Little, Johan Bosman, John Bateman and Pravin Pillay.

Our organizing group is going to gather the ideas from last night and will share them back out, along with some suggestions for when our next event will be.

Until then, if you are a professional working in the digital economy today consider joining our Facebook group where we’re collaborating, sharing and looking for opportunities to work together right here on Salt Spring. Join here – http://on.fb.me/hRH5rM

Thank you again to all,

Christopher Roy
Communications Manager / Co-Founder
The Salt Spring Exchange
http://saltspringexchange.com

Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue is partnering with the SSI Food Bank for a 7 day food drive (Nov.28th – Dec.5th), hoping to reach our goal of 10,000 items from 10,000 islanders! Please spread the word & help us to fill the Christmas Hampers that the Food Bank delivers during the holidays. Stay tuned for more Food Drive news…

Out the window from where I sit is still a deep white from the usual green. Winter landed with a soft bang this weekend and I wanted to send a special thank you to all of the crews with BC Hydro and working for BC Hydro as well as the Shaw and Telus crews for all their hard work this weekend. There were hundreds and hundreds of homes and businesses without power, many still are and the crew work continues. These are vital services. It takes people to make it all work. Thank you for keeping us here at The Salt Spring Exchange going all weekend.

Track all outage updates on at bchydro.com

1. The big news, of course, is that the Local Trust Committee of the Islands Trust has approved the Library Board’s plans for the new building. This was a big hurdle to jump but we did it. We now expect to “break ground” in April, 2011

2. On December 2nd, the LTC will be asked to approve the plans for the temporary facility in down town Ganges that will be the home of the Library for a fifteen month or so period while construction is underway.

3. All this activity and change notwithstanding, the library during 2011 must continue to meet community needs much as it has done in recent years. Each day in 2010, for example, over 350 people will enter the Library and each week some 2,500 items will circulate.

And since the Library will continue to function while construction is underway, we are again asking for Community support of an Annual Giving campaign. Thanks to repeat donors making generous gifts, that campaign is off to a strong start.

However, small gifts as well as large ones are both welcomed and wanted. The number of donors, as well as the number of dollars, matters because that’s another measure of Salt Spring’s continuing support for its library.

These are tough times for many Islanders. If you can’t contribute this year, we will certainly understand. Your library will still be there to meet your needs. But if you feel you could give a gift but haven’t donated because yours could only be a small one, please reconsider. It all adds up.

And where will your money go?. Briefly put, it will be spent on summer and Saturday student help for our volunteers, on expanding the audio book collection, on better meeting the needs of both youngsters and teens, and on purchasing equipment useable both now and in the new building.

Please feel free to either walk your donation over to the library or mail it to SSI Library, 129 McPhillips, Salt Spring Island, V8K 2T6. And for more on the campaign and a PDF donation form you can use, just click on http://bit.ly/cnDigu

Thank you,

Sincerely Stanley J. Shapiro
Fundraising Chair, SSI Library Board
The Library’s 2010
Annual Giving Appeal

Looking for white poppies? You can find home-made ones on the magazine rack at Natureworks. (Many thanks to Natureworks for hosting the display.)

Why? White poppies are also known as “peace poppies”. The tradition of wearing white poppies on Remembrance Day dates back to 1933, when members of the Cooperative Women’s Guild in Britain started making them as a way to show their dismay at how governments and the wider society were building arms, carrying out unjust policies and in other ways making it virtually inevitable that there would continue to be new wars.

Many people, myself included, like to wear both a red and white poppy at this time of year. I want to remember how awful war is, for “our” soldiers but also for all other victims of war, and to rededicate myself to working for peace. For me, the white poppy symbolizes my conviction that we must work to prevent war and injustice through nonviolent means and to stop squandering lives and resources on war and militarism.

To learn more about the white poppy tradition, here are some links:

/www.members.shaw.ca/peacepoppies/ (A Vancouver-based group which is selling manufactured white poppies from Britain)

www.whitepeacedoves.org (A Canadian group which has been distributing manufactured dove symbols for the International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, and for Remembrance Day)

www.ppu.org.uk (The website of Britain’s Peace Pledge Union; it has many resources for students and teachers. I also have a collection of peace education materials which I am happy to share.)

All the best, Jan Slakov (537-5251)

Saltspring Air awarded the Back and Bevin Air Safety Trophy, prestigious award by the BC Aviation Council for operational safety.

Saltspring Air will be honoured at the Silver Wings Awards Banquet held by the BC Aviation Council.

A lot of attention in 2010 has been given to advances and improvements for Seaplane safety, from aircraft maintenance and operation, to passenger briefings and egress. This award recognises efforts in all of these endeavours and shows that Saltspring Air has achieved a leadership role in Seaplane safety.

Saltspring Air operates de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, the workhorse of the West Coast and the seaplane utilised by most commercial operators in B.C. Earlier this year Saltspring Air became the first airline to commit to emergency pop out window safety modification and has subsequently upgraded its fleet with the alternate exit to the main cabin doors in case of an emergency.

Saltspring Air attended the workshop held by Transport Canada in early October and received great support from the industry and encouragement from Transport Canada at every step of the way.

“This Award is very special to us as it comes from our industry peers and recognises the hard work and commitment to safety that the management and staff of Saltspring Air all take very seriously.” said St.Clair McColl, president of Saltspring Air, he added, “The industry has shown a great deal of commitment to working together to ensure the safest possible operations for all, I commend the organisers of the safety association and thank the BCAC for recognising Saltspring Air in this way.”

About Saltspring Air
Saltspring Air was established in 1995 and has been flying under its own banner since 2003. The only floatplane company based on Salt Spring Island, Saltspring Air has created a thriving business with a fleet of four planes, seven pilots and twelve dispatchers and support crew. Saltspring Air operates from its head office in Grace Point Square, Ganges, Salt Spring Island, with arrival and departure facilities in Vancouver, YVR, Maple Bay and now Patricia Bay. Saltspring Air is carbon neutral. Follow Saltspring Air on Twitter http://twitter.com/saltspringair. Company info at www.saltspringair.com

About Silver wings award
Silver Wings Awards Banquet – will celebrate accomplishments within the BC Aviation. The awards are made by BCAC is made up of over 160 industry members represents most major aviation companies in the province. The BCAC speaks for members with Governments at all levels, supports education and training. Membership consists of aviation executives, pilots, airport managers, suppliers to the industry, aviation enthusiasts, and students.

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS:
Photos will be posted for download on:

http://www.saltspringair.com/press

Media Contact:
Philip Reece, 250 537 9880 office 250 537 6956 cell, philip@saltspringair.com

Raising Money for Children’s book and CD sets is a 2010 Library Annual Giving Priority. Why is that the case?  How can using a book and CD set help a child improve reading?

Give a young child a book and the child will behave like a reader, hold the  book, turn the pages  and pretend to read.  With a book and CD combination, the child quickly learns to match the pages to the words on that CD.  For a beginning reader, listening while reading helps the child make the connection between the printed words and the sounds of the language.   The audio disks usually provide excellent models of pronunciation,  phrasing and expression.

Reading is a skill which takes practice, lots of practice.  When practicing a skill, it is wise to follow a good model.  The model could be a parent reading aloud, but it could also be an audio disk.  Youth who have difficulty with reading skills can enjoy listening to books on CD that are at their interest level without the frustration of struggling with decoding every word.  Following along with the text will help them increase word recognition.

Help us help SSI students become better readers. Please consider supporting the Library’s 2010 Annual Giving Campaign: For a donation form, just click on http://bit.ly/cnDigu

Thank you,

Sincerely Stanley J. Shapiro
Fundraising Chair, SSI Library Board
The Library’s 2010
Annual Giving Appeal

Calling all Salt Spring social media enthusiasts! If you’re using social media services like Facebook or Twitter for business, pleasure or otherwise on Salt Spring come down to Rock Salt and help us overload their brand new wi-fi service and drink some complimentary refreshments they are providing as sponsors. It’s curry night at Rock Salt too! Always good food at Rock Salt. Meet some of the people in person you may have been connecting with only online. We’ll also share a little about an initiative some of us are working on to create a sustainable, resilient local economy right here on Salt Spring. An economy designed to inspire digital innovation and entrepreneurship which might create better paying work opportunities for our island community.

To get us going and inspired, we have some speakers lined up who will each have a ruthlessly fast, but fun, two minutes to share their story on ‘why they’re using social media’ then we’ll un-conference the rest of the gathering to see who wants to talk about what, maybe break into some groups, get to know each other, then close with some kind of “was I bored to tears and never want to be in a room with these people again?” or “when could we do it again?” kinda of conversation.

We’re hoping to hear from;

@suzannelittle
@jonsuk
@AmyGeddes
@jordanstratford
@saltspringair
@pravin64
@BatemansIssues
@rocksaltcafe
@christopherroy

Where: Rock Salt Restaurant
When: Tuesday, October 26th
Time: 7:30-9:00 PM
Hashtag: #ssitup

Arrange ride sharing by commenting on this post with ‘have a ride to share’ or ‘need a ride to share’.

What’s a Tweetup?

A group of friends on Twitter (social network) that are planning to meet up. A request by a user to meet in person with friends via Twitter.

or my favourite description;

A gathering of nerds attempting social contact, likely for the first time. Usually disintegrates into everyone running to the nearest computer to type one another.

Read more about Twitter;

http://twitter.com/newtwitter

Congratulations Salt Spring! The fine folks at the Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce have awarded The Salt Spring Community List with the Business Ambassadors of the Year Award! The award was sponsored and presented by Salt Spring Air this past week at ArtSpring and was awarded for promoting quality of life on Salt Spring and the Salt Spring Island brand off-island.

So we share this award with you. All of you are Salt Spring ambassadors and without you we would not have grown this site to serve over 12,000 absolute unique visitors per month who now view over 240,000 page views per month.

Special thank you Harry Burton for helping to kick start the original mailing list that turned into our site, Kaz Amaranth who kicked off our nomination, the Salt Spring Chamber, Salt Spring Air, all the other recipients of this year’s awards and to all of you, our supporters and members.

Congratulations again and thank you to all of you for helping to make Salt Spring and this service what it is,

Christopher Roy and Suzanne Little, Co-founders

Suzanne Little, Christopher Roy and Magnus Roy (w/Thumb) - Photo by Natasha Kong