This three-channel video, South Africa’s entry in the 2017 Venice Biennale, meditates on slavery’s impact dismemberment of African identity. In Setswana, the experience of life is referred to as a “passage.” The Setswana word for life, botshelo, means “to cross over,” and people are bafeti (voyagers), a recognition that the experience of life is transient; it has a beginning and an end, as with any voyage.

In each of the artwork’s three projections, we are confronted with a character – a woman with a hawk perched on her arm, a young man in a Trilby hat, and a woman wrapped in a Basotho blanket. The arched shape of the boat frames each passenger with their heads pointed towards the prow; each travels with a single possession. As the passengers lie motionless on their backs looking up at the sky, they perform a series of actions that move between gestures of struggle and resignation. A pool of water slowly forms beneath their bodies. The rising water gradually floods the well of the boat, eventually leaving the passengers submerged while the boat slowly sinks and eventually disappears. The ebb and flow of water, as both life giving and deadly, symbolizes the many who have arrived or departed from South Africa in trade, as cargo or as transient bodies belonging to no particular state.

Please bring your smartphone if you have one. What is the hardest nut to crack? Our carbon footprint from CONSUMPTION! Luckily, the state of Oregon & the City of Eugene are leaders when it comes to identifying & making plans to ratchet them down.

This summer, 350 Eugene & close friends are throwing our third Climate Town Hall to take it to the next level - action. Our keynote, Babe O'Sullivan from Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and four expert panelists, will lay it all out.

And... you'll be the first ones to join the launch of an exciting community project to create friendly competition & fun while we learn about and commit to bring our own emissions into line with what the earth can support.

The fun starts at 6:00 with a Thrifting Fashion Show, Guest Chefs, musical guests, and tabling from our fair city's robust sharing economy.

Whose got game?

Join DuckOut for a mixer with University of Oregon LGBTQ+ staff, faculty, grad students, and allies on Friday, July 26th, from 6 to 8 PM at Ninkasi Brewing!

The evening will include $1 off beers, 15% off merchandise, and a tour at 6 PM! Sign up for the tour at http://bit.ly/2Y4H2OE.

DuckOut is hosted by the UO Committee on Sexual Orientation, Attraction, Gender Identity, and Expression, DuckOUT is a social event for UO staff and grad students to network, socialize, and build community. Interested in future events? Sign up for our email list at http://bit.ly/duckOUT

Questions? Contact Sophia at smanthe2@uoregon.edu

The Japanese American Association of Lane County will host their annual Obon and Taiko Festival to share the music and folk dancing traditional to Japanese culture and now observed by Japanese communities around the world.

The main feature of the Obon Festival is the Bon Odori, a community folk dance. Dance movements are simple so dancers of all ages can participate regardless of skill. Taiko drummers will perform traditional music as dancers, some in tradtional dress, form a dance circle. This event is informal and families are welcome to bring picnics and sit on the grass while observing and participating in community dancing.

Integration Network for Immigrants of Lane County will present an evening of readings by local authors about immigrant experience in Oregon hosted by Guadalupe Quinn. Quinn came to the United States with her family from Mexico in 1951 and has worked many years for immigrants’ rights.

Rosie Hernandez will read “A Dream in a Golden World,” a poem that expresses the challenges of migrant people working in the fields. Hernandez says she has “a passion for working with people, helping others, working for social justice and human rights, and writing.”

Kate Gessert is a writer and gardener who has taught adult ESL classes for many years. She will read her short story "The Night Gardener," about a day in the life of Silvia, an immigrant mother whose husband has recently been deported.

Additionally, five immigrants who have come to Eugene from around the world will read their short short stories.

This event is presented in partnership by Eugene Public Library and Integration Network for Immigrants of Lane County.

Come celebrate with us! Enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and mocktails while you meet our honored guests of the evening, all delegates of MIUSA's 9th Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) exchange program. These disabled women activists are traveling to Eugene from the following countries:

Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Romania, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Turkey, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.

So let's get moving! You won't want to miss this high-energy and fun-filled night! Proceeds from ticket purchases, sponsorships, and donations for this event directly support MIUSA's WILD program and other work to advance disability rights and leadership globally. 

Wheelchair Accessible
ASL interpreted

Doors Open at 6:30pm

FFI: 541-343-1284, or aholben@miusa.org

 

 

Friday, August 2nd, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Campbell Community Center, 155 High Street, Eugene, OR 97401

Join us for dinner, kids' activities, connection, and free parking!

All are welcome! Regardless of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, age, veteran status, or abilities.

Our goal is to create a safe space that fosters friendships and networks for people of color, social justice allies, and equity workers in the local area.

We want to celebrate your successes and introduce new folks to our community.
 

Contact for more information: Fabio Andrade 541-682-5277. To sign up for future announcements visit this site: www.lesd.k12.or.us/forms/email- list/first-friday 

70 years ago this August, the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those two bombs killed over 200,000 people. Each year the community gathers to honor the victims and to take action to help ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again.

A commemoration honoring the atomic bomb victims and a celebration of a diverse community coming together to say “Never Again”, will be held at Alton Baker Park's small shelter, near the duck pond and park entrance.

There will be speakers, a call to take action to abolish nuclear weapons, drumming by Eugene Taiko, traditional Japanese Obon dancing, and music. 

The event will close at dusk with the floating of candle lanterns on the duck pond. 
www.calclane.org 

The Pride Celebration is a social venue for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender diverse and sexual minority community. While it is primarily a community event, it also exists for families, friends, allies and guests from all over the Northwest.

The Eugene/Springfield Pride Festival is organized each year by a committee of dedicated and resourceful volunteers. Please contact any of our committee members below for more information about how to get involved.

Date: Saturday, August 10th, 2019
When: 11am to 6pm
Where: Alton Baker Park in Eugene, along the Willamette River
Who: LGBTQ Family, Friends & Allies!

Featuring live entertainment, food, drinks, vendors and much more. Come out and relax at the park with community and celebrate the diverse expression of PRIDE!

The Suicide Prevention Team and the University Counseling Center (UCC) offers this workshop for faculty, staff, and GEs. Partcipant learning objectives are to:

1. Develop skills in identifying and responding to students who may have thoughts of suicide. 

2.  Develop skills in how to engage students in a conversation about your concern and ways to seek help.

3. Develop knowledge of campus and community resources and how to make an appropriate referral.

If a department would like to schedule a suicide prevention workshop, please submit a request form here. 

The Faculty & Staff section of the UCC website includes several additional online resources for helping students in distress.

The Student Suicide Prevention Team also offers a peer-to-peer workshop for students. Request a student workshop here. 

If you are thinking about suicide, call the UCC After-Hours Support and Crisis Line at 541-346-3227 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) now. Or text 'OREGON' to 741-741.