Provocate
Connecting Global & Local, Culture & Politics
Provoking Thought & Action
What is Provocate?Welcome to ProvocateAny events you think people should know about? Want to be informed about late-breaking events? Contact ProvocateAn Archive of Buzzes Past:Go here for events you may have missed
Groups that Buzz IndyAmbassadors for Children promotes "volun-tourism" American Values Alliance seeks to restore civility to political discourse Arts Council of Indianapolis provides underpinning for the vibrant art scene Big Car Gallery cuts the edge with surrealist inspired art & events ... Drive to Big Car Gallery Butler University hosts some of the most distinguished visitors... Being there at Butler University Center for Faith and Vocation challenges Butler students & the community to rethink service & calling Center on Philanthropy engages in original research about civil society Central Indiana Community Foundation creates great public spaces & embraces ethnic communities Christian Theological Seminary prepares men & women for service in the 21st century... Make it to Christian Theological Seminary Clowes Memorial Hall is the city's premiere arts & culture venue... Parking around Clowes Hall Cultural Tourism Initiative presents Indy's arts to the world Franciscan Center for Global Studies aspires to be the most innovative thinker about international issues GeoPol is a virtual think tank of international relations junkies Hoosier Environmental Council is the state's foremost protector of ecological values Indiana Council on World Affairs celebrates more than half a century of discussion Indiana Film Society shows foreign, independent, and hard-to-find films Indiana Historical Society is "Indiana's Story-teller, Connecting People to the Past"... How to visit the Indiana Historical Society Indianapolis - Marian County Public Library is still one of the finest systems in the country Indianapolis Early Music Festival has presented early music for forty years Indianapolis International Film Festival in four years has emerged as one of the best Indianapolis Jazz Fest restores Indy's place in the jazz firmament Indianapolis Monthly publishes some of the best writing about the city Indianapolis Museum of Art has emerged as one of the cultural and global powerhouses of the Midwest... Get around the IMA Indianapolis Opera performs great music while educating the public Indianapolis Star gives the city its daily news Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra provides world class entertainment Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival just won a NUVO Creative Vision Award Indy Ethnic Food reviews hundreds of obscure delights Intake Weekly is more than Nuvo for soccer moms International Center of Indianapolis opens Indy to the world International Festival celebrates the community's ethnic diversity International Interfaith Initiative supports multiconfessional peace efforts International Violin Competition of Indianapolis makes Indy the center of the music universe every four years IU Kenya Partnership redefines local initiatives to solve global problems IUPUI connects Indianapolis to global research and problem-solving... Find your way around IUPUI Kiwanis International have their HQ in Indy Madam Walker Theatre Center is at the heart of all cultural communities, not only African American Marian College provides first rate education rooted in Franciscan values... Move it to Marian College Nationalities Council of Indiana gathers the city's ethnic and international groups NUVO is Indianapolis's alternative weekly newspaper Polis Center works with communities to apply knowledge to problem solution Rotary Club of Indianapolis is a major global player Sagamore Institute for Policy Research provides serious thinking to solve serious problems Spirit and Place is a civic collaboration celebrating the arts, religion, and the humanities University of Indianapolis is in the top-tier of Midwestern universities... Trek south to University of Indianapolis World Trade Club of Indiana promotes better understanding of globalization | IndyBuzzCentral Indiana's most thought provoking eventsApril 18: Like just about every other election around the world in the last seven years, the results of Mexico’s presidential election were nearly too close to call ... and so right now Mexico has two claimants to the presidential palace. Given this ongoing challenge, can Felipe Calderon successfully reform Mexico’s policies on energy, trade and border security and strengthen relations with the United States? Steve Smith explains. Get the Buzz here.April 18: We hear that conflict in the Middle East is perpetuated through hate-mongering school textbooks. Palestinian Sami Adwan is doing something about it. Get the Buzz here.April 18: In 1971 climatologist Stephen Schneider wrote a paper predicting that pollution will cause a new ice age; today he predicts severe global warming. Who better to ask the question: "Can we define, let alone solve, global warming?" Get the Buzz here.April 18: Think Bangladesh stopped mattering with the Concert? Think again. Today, a Muslim democracy matters more than ever, which means we should worry if Bangladesh falters. Shamim Ashraf explains. Get the Buzz here.April 18: Scott Ritter returns to Indianapolis. My eyes rolled five years ago when he asserted Iraq had no WMD, they'd better not start rolling this time when he says we are going to invade Iran. Get the Buzz here.April 19: Susan Sutton wants to know how to make local universities agents of global change. Good question! Get the Buzz here.April 22: Join a free-ranging International Cafe discussion of global warming and what we Hoosiers can do about it. Get the Buzz here.April 23: What would make me undergo the terrible and traumatic experience of listening to Elton John's "Can you feel the love tonight"? One Night, One Stage, One Reason: HIV/AIDS relief in Central Indiana. Get the Buzz here.April 23: The best of all possible worlds might bring together the cultures of Africa, Arabs, Islam, and the Mediterranean ... which means North Africa. Discuss the cultural practices and beliefs of North Africans at the Cairo Cafe. Get the Buzz here.
April 24: Mosaic International Conversation Cafes are based on the sound idea that there's no better place to discuss "Materialism and Compassion" than over the fine vegetarian cuisine of Udupi. Get the Buzz here.April 24: Oscar-winning filmmaker, character on Futurama, funniest host in years for Saturday Night Live, self-educated climatologist ... wasn't Al Gore a politician once? Get the Buzz here.April 24: Not a day goes by when we do not read or see something about a turn back to the left for a few Central and South American countries. And, all of them are “doing so for the poor.” John Ritchie explains the positive and negatives of the change and how it will affect the U.S. Get the Buzz here.April 25-May 4: Every year the Indianapolis International Film Festival doubles in number of films and numbers of attendees. Scientists estimate that at this rate of growth, in two decades it will cover the entire planet. That's a good idea! Get the Buzz here.April 25: Global migration is more than undocumented Guatemalans cooking your dinner ... a lot more. Susan Erickson explains why mass migration may be the most important feature of the 21st century. Get the Buzz here.April 26: "So a psychologist, a rabbi, and a poet got together to talk about a Cuban painter." Sound like the beginning of an off-beat shaggy dog joke? Nope, it's a conversation about Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. Get the Buzz here.April 26: The Urban Drum Ensemble lets us experience the Cuban music that seems to infuse the art scene in Indy these days. Get the Buzz here.April 27: Find out why Martin Espada has been called “the Pablo Neruda of North American authors.” Get the Buzz here.April 27: We expected to hear Kurt Vonnegut, we hear his son saying what his dad would have said. So it goes. Get info about his year here.April 28: You might want to tak a break from the Indianapolis International Film Festival to go to IMA for three films that inspired Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. Get the Buzz here.April 29: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on religion April 29: Diversity ... how can we tell when we don't have enough, and when we have too much? How to balance pluribus with unum? Get the Buzz here.April 30: How much are we required to spend in treasure and blood for the sake of poor and persecuted people on the other side of the globe? Discuss this and other issues at Mosaic's "International Cafe." Get the Buzz here.May 1: Preoccupation with India's booming economy lead many to forget that the Indian subcontinent is home to nearly as much spiritual innovation (and conflict) as the Middle East. A great topic for an International Cafe Conversation. Get the Buzz here.
May 2: Kelly Campbell, Vice President of Operations of Ambassadors for Children, discusses what is happening in South Africa, and how each of us can make a difference. Get the Buzz here.May 5: Mandaza Kandemwa May 9: The creation of the International Criminal Court has established a new venue for investigating and prosecuting war crimes, despite a lack of U.S. participation. Will the non-participation of the U.S. weaken the power of the ICC? What challenges are faced by the ICC in punishing war criminals? Local legal legend Ed DeLaney explains. Get the Buzz here.May 10: Dissident Zoe Valdes brings a funny and sharp outsider's perspective to her native Cuba and to her new home in the US. Get the Buzz here.May 16: Rich in energy supplies and strategically located, the five countries of Central Asia attract attention from the Middle East, China, Russia and the United States. How will international competition for energy supplies affect each country? What are U.S. interests in the region? John Clark and Nodra Isamiddinova of Uzbekistan explain why we should care a lot more than we do. Get the Buzz here.May 16: Developments on the Korean Peninsula matter to Indiana. They matter a lot. Get the Buzz here when it develops.May 16: Speakers to the Indiana Council on World Affairs will include a representative from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, and the U.S. Department of State, and James Lister, Vice President of Korea Economic Institute. Get the Buzz when it develops.May 17: We have another chance to see the roots of the Santeria beliefs informing Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons through the eyes of a priest of that "religion" at IMA. Get the Buzz here.May 23: Ensuring the safety and proper development of children is the stated goal of the global community, yet in some countries, children are exposed to unsafe labor practices, human trafficking, and participation in combat. What role do private donors, governments and international organizations play in ensuring health care, education and safety for the world’s children? Dr. Chuck Dietzen explains what you can do to help. Get the Buzz here.May 31: French presidential elections with Nidra Poller of Pajamas Media |
ProvocationsUpcoming Conceptual Frames for Buzzing EventsProvocation #1 Crossing Borders: New Lives, Critical Perspectives, Creative Connections. John Clark of Provocate explores the connections between events about global immigration and Mexico, discrimination in Indianapolis and in Sweden, Cuban-Hoosier art, Chinese embroidery and a Puerto Rican poet who has been called "America's true laureate," a brilliant translator of Japanese poetry who doesn't speak Japanese ... and a poignant film about intercultural communication failures confronting newcomers and their doctors. This doesn't even include the soon-to-be announced line-up for the Indianapolis International Film Festival! _______________ Provocation #2 International Movies and HIV/AIDS Only a few of the 191 movies scheduled for the Indianapolis International Film Festival directly address HIV/AIDS. But many of them deal insightfully with many of the other issues that contribute to AIDS being the global scourge it is. Poverty in Haiti, the vulnerability of women and children in conflict, difficulties traditional cultures have talking about sex and strangeness, refugees ... these and other issues are illuminated brilliantly by the films in the festival. Award-winning journalist Rebecca Berfanger previews a dozen films, discusses how they help understand the challenges relating to HIV/AIDS around the world ... and connects them to groups here in Central Indiana that are leading the fight. _______________ Provocation #3 George W. Bush, Adam Smith, and Bono can't save Africa ... But maybe Hoosiers can Most experts agree that the US government should offer more money to poor countries in foreign aid, but they also realize the importance of private aid and partnerships. Indiana is emerging as a vital hub of coalitions between local groups here and local groups around the world. Hoosiers are addressing vital problems such as malaria. Indiana is a global center advocating human rights in Nigeria and assisting the victims of genocide in Sudan (you can voice your concerns about Darfur at the Statehouse April 15 and brainstorm about local solutions the next day). A sign that ordinary people in Indiana are directly engaged in helping the search for solutions in Africa: When the Mid North Shepherd's Center recruits speakers about "South Africa"and "children and conflicts," the speakers are with Ambassadors for Children and the Timmy Foundation. (A Wall Street Journal article, "In Kenya AIDS therapy includes fresh vegetables," highlights for the world what people in Indiana have come to realize: the IU program.) _______________ Provocation #4 Science & Skepticism: The Puzzling Politics of Global Climate Change The puzzling question isn't whether or even why the planet's clamate is changing. It's why climate change remains politically controversial. This spring, Indy is fortunate to be able to hear serious climate scientists from IUPUI and Stanford who work hard to find ways to help the average person understand what is at stake. We can hear from the head of WorldWatch, which connects scientists to the public and policymakers. And coming to town is the King of Climate Communicators, Al Gore. So many smart people, trying so hard to explain such an important issue... why does it seem impossible to get through to people? Rich Stazinski and Rebecca Brown of Citizens for Global Solutions explore. _______________
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