Editor's Blog - Gender Power, Platform2 & Snoop Dogg

It's been a while since I did a round-up - blame the hectic world of Ctrl.Alt.Shift (and the ruthless distractions of the World Cup and Wimbledon; of which I lost a bit of pride, and a larger bit of my wallet through various winner-takes-all sweepstake bets).

However, speaking specifically from the CAS editor's hotter than hot seat - I can say it's been nothing short of an exciting and rather blurry first couple of months, with much credit due for the fantastic, ever expanding batch of contributors to the website. With the merely impossible task of listing every bit of content that sent that tingle; here are my recent highlights, in and out of these stuffy CAS walls…

GENDER EMPOWERMENT – as strong as ever on the agenda. The creation of the UN Women body seems solid proof that whilst progress has been made since the days of grave oppression and ‘No vote if you’re a skirt!’ - the job is certainly not done; especially in regions of the world where females remain second-class citizens… still, it’s another step in the right direction, as described here [1] by Adizah Tejani.

Also embodying female voices of inspiration - check out HIV activist Carol Grayson's stunning blogs [2] for us. And keep an eye out for writer Jacqueline Campbell; slightly off the CAS radar (though soon to find a home on our blogroll), she is as outspoken as it gets, hitting hard on gender issue case studies [3], relentless in the fight for the equal rights and justice for women. Stay tuned, her voice is set to rumble our stage…

Activism spans across all global and social issues which passionate people believe are worth fighting for. Queue the Climate9 crew who I’m thrilled to have on board. The climate change activists (from Plane Stupid) are undeterred by arrests and possible prison sentences (occupying Aberdeen airport was worth it!), and now, fresh from their court room drama, they’re set to deliver a grand series of blogs to demonstrate how they get down. Check out their CAS contributions so far, an interview with C9 member Dan Glass [4] and the beauty of civil disobedience by Richard George [5].

All the Postcard From The Edge [6] writers (new and old), offering their diaries from across the world, are still going strong.

As are the mass of Platform2 [7] volunteers who are doing a heap of collaborative actions with CAS, from writing for the site about their ten week experiences in developing countries, to launching a stunning EP called ‘I Am The Change’ [8] , to running events and exhibitions; the next one being the ONE : SIX : EIGHT : ZERO art showcase at Proud’s Strand Gallery in central London on July 23. It’ll be free – it’ll be inspirational – it’ll be emotional and memorable. So come on down for a mingle…

My Video of the Week award goes to the latest Robin Hood Tax [9] campaign viral, featuring Sir Ben Kingsley and old CAS ambassador, actor Noel Clarke. This is how you go street on tax corruption and global poverty:

Finally, celeb gossip always lightens the mood, but unlike Now or OK!, here at CAS we ask the questions that go beyond the glitz and glamour and into the pits of fighting injustice and mentalities towards poverty… the good stuff! – so many thanks to our latest targets, Matisyahu [10], D-12 rap artist Bizarre [11], K’NAAN [12] (and the many more to come) for stepping up for a CAS Q&A grilling.

Note: The legend that is Snoop Dogg would’ve been a nice addition, however my 1-on-1 with the ‘tha Doggfather’ last week was specifically for RWD (which can be read here [13]). Still, one can dream what the hip hop God would’ve responded to other less conventional questions surrounding poverty, climate change, corruption, HIV stigma and the rest. Nevertheless, beyond chatting about fashion and smashing it up at festivals, it was good to hear Snoop talk about the positive influence of music: “I think music brings a positive change in anybody. Look around at some of these artists, and not just rappers - but those who have come from hard backgrounds and tough lifestyles, or some sort of struggle to get to where they’re at; they’re able to create music to make people understand and appreciate.”

From Glastonbury action to CAS action - we hear that Snoop.

Words: Dwain Lucktung. Editor, Ctrl.Alt.Shift.