- YouthWrite – a
camp for kids who love to write, which I coordinate. YouthWrite
runs every July in Bragg Creek, Alberta. We also host
a mini-YouthWrite in February at the Bennett Centre in Edmonton,
Alberta. For information, please visit www.youthwrite.ca
- Music – Having
studied voice for twenty years (yes, I know it’s hard to
believe, given my youth), I sing as a soloist and with other musician
friends. I’ve performed
in a number of classical recitals and in musical theatre. As an Artist
on the Wards, I’ve sung at the bedside to patients, frequently
with Geoff McMaster, who is my partner in our folk duo.
- Theatre
and Dance – Sometimes I get to act, direct or improvise
(I’m a former TheatreSports player), and each summer I am a
member of the WordPlayful Players who nightly present the BEEG SHOW
at YouthWrite. It’s an astounding piece of theatre. Really!
I’m also studying salsa dance and its many variations.
- Teaching – university,
high school or creative writing instruction. I also enjoy presenting
at schools and conferences. Please contact
me at sobina@telusplanet.net if
you’re interested in having
me at your school or event.
- Travel – I lived and taught in Istanbul, Turkey, and I’ve
been lucky enough to travel many places in Canada and the world:
England, Wales, Ireland, USSR, Finland, France, Germany, Italy,
Greece, Portugal, Spain, Nederlands, Cuba, Mexico, and numerous
States. This
past summer I travelled to Winnipeg, Ottawa, Vancouver, the Sunshine
Coast of BC and NYC, New York.
- Rabble.ca – is
an e-zine edited by Judy Rebick and Sharon Fraser. Articles are
written by progressive and independent journalists. It's an excellent
site for non-mainstream news and alternative voices. (www.rabble.ca)
I am committed to issues of social justice, human rights, environmental
conservation and peace.
" Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret
Mead
Some of my favourite links include:
The Council of
Canadians www.canadians.org
Canada's pre-eminent citizens' watchdog organization. Strictly non-partisan,
the Council lobbies Members of Parliament, conducts research, and
runs national campaigns aimed at putting some
of the country's most important issues into the spotlight: social
programs, economic justice, democracy, Canadian sovereignty, alternatives
to corporate-style
free trade, and preserving our environment.
Sweatshop Watch www.maquilasolidarity.org
The anti-sweatshop movement encourages consumers to shop with a conscience
and buy goods made under fair labor conditions. Since 1995, Maquila
Solidarity has supported garment workers' efforts to improve working
conditions in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Canada.
Women in Black www.members.shaw.ca/womeninblack
Women in Black Edmonton holds silent vigils and other events in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada. Women, men and children are invited to join us
for our
vigils. Women are invited to join our collective. We bear silent
witness to the suffering of those silenced in a culture of the deaf
marked by
war and racism.
Amnesty International www.amnesty.ca
A worldwide movement of “ordinary” people who work together
to achieve extraordinary results. Each day AI stands in solidarity
with - and helps protect - individuals and communities around the
world whose human rights are under attack.
World Wildlife
Fund
Canada www.wwf.ca
One of the Canada's leading conservation organizations
working to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment
and to build a future in which humans
live in harmony with nature.
Minister Faust www.ministerfaust.com
A teacher, novelist, community activist, public broadcaster, performance
poet, sketch comedy writer & actor
who helps keep me informed about so many issues and has a finger
on the
pulse of the alternative press.
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