Celebrated One Billion Rising in Second Life 2019

https://youtu.be/ErlQFsxdcSI

SL10B: Meet The Community - Saffia Widdershins meets the Non-Profits

Just had to share this videoclip featuring my first  Second Life 10th Birthday celebration (SL10B) event...

  On Wednesday June 19th, I participated on a "Meet the Community" panel with several members of the NonProfit Commons in Second Life (NPC) community as part of the Second Life 10th Birthday celebration (SL10B). The discussion was hosted by Saffia Widdershins. Her guests included Gentle Heron (Virtual Ability), Rhiannon Chatnoir (Joyce Bettencourt) and me, SarVana Haalan aka Sally S. Cherry. It was great to see Zinnia Zauber, Oronoque Westland, and other community members in the audience. 

The SL10B event was a virtual milestone for me... It was my  first voice panel discussion within a virtual world community. It was indeed a bit tricky in the beginning but thanks to Rhiannon's technical assistance, I had a good sound check.

Please note: The videoclip is raw and unedited. The start of the video was not captured due to an overlap of broadcasting sessions.

Experiencing NPC's Mentors Central as a Presenter

"Real to Virtual": SarVana and Sally

What a week in real life and in-world! Since I am totally a "virtual being", I will let my "human ego", Sally S. Cherry tell you about the real life stuff. As the in-world "consultant", I am pleased to share virtual-based programs, activities, and information maintained or supported by Cherry Consulting Network. Our primary program, "Real to Virtual; Virtual to Real" focuses on marketing; networking; training; and capacity building through social media and virtual worlds. 

Entrance to Plush NPC Amphitheater

So, it was indeed a pleasure to be the Mentors Central presenter at the January 18th meeting of Nonprofit Commons in Second Life (NPC) sponsored by TechSoup Global. Mentors Central is a regular agenda feature of the weekly meetings. During Mentors Central, the Mentors present various relevant topics to share with the community; announce upcoming collaborative opportunities; or discuss requests for assistance. This network weaving avatar (that's me, SarVana) is honored to be part of the Mentors Central team. What an amazing, collaborative group of virtual-focused professionals!

Visualization of Collaborative Spirit

If you are not familiar with this virtual-based community, you may ask... "What is Nonprofit Commons?" "What's Second Life?" No problem... those are questions regularly asked of Sally about our virtual-based communities and activities. Please allow me explain a bit later while I continue with my comments about the recent NPC meeting and Mentors Central. I must stay focused... The excitement and awesome learning points of the meeting still have me flying high. Oh, yes... flying but flying is no big deal in Second Life nor in OpenSim virtual worlds. Flying is an alternate mode of in-world transport and the preferred mode of transport for this little "walking-challenged" avatar. You just have to watch out for tall structures, flying objects, and any other flying residents. Thanks to the help of several NPC Mentors including Buffy Bye (Bridges for Women) and Gentle Heron (Virtual Ability), my "walking" skills are much improved but are still need a bit of "fine-tuning" (smiles). Hence, the main reason for my excitement... the opportunity to learn and share information within this collaborative community of practice as well as its Mentors Central is indeed a capacity building experience for any virtual-focused professional even a computer-generated professional!   

Before Mentors Central meeting

As a member of the NPC community, I always welcome an opportunity to exchange information with my virtual-based friends and colleagues. That is why I need Sally in real life and why Sally needs her little avatar(s) in-world. Just knowing that behind each avatar is an human being with an fascinating inventory of real life experiences, skills, talents, and ideas heightens the excitement of  learning and sharing. At this week's meeting, I presented information about another Second Life/OpenSim grid client for Android smartphones and tablets... the Lumiya Viewer. The review of 3-D viewers and other related tools is essential to the ongoing learning process. Since most NPC in-world presentations are delivered via text, being a "Mentors Central Presenter" definitely enhances the virtual learning experience.

Fleep Tuque presents at NPC Meeting

Speaking of experience, the highlight of this week's NPC meeting was the information-packed presentation, 'Moving Beyond Second Life: Opportunities for Education, NonProfits and Healthcare in the Wider Metaverse' delivered by the featured speaker, Fleep Tuque (RL: Chris Collins). Woot, woot! What a real life and in-world highlight! 

It is my understanding that Chris started in Second Life during the beta period in 2003 and her avatar, Fleep Tuque was not even born until around 2005. Fascinating... Fleep was exploring the Metaverse even before Sally created me in the 2D virtual world of Metaplace and definitely before my migration into Second Life. I applaud Chris and Fleep for their use of virtual worlds, social media, and augmented reality in higher education. After many challenges while educating others about 3-D virtual worlds, the presentation and group discussion were indeed affirmations that 3-D virtual worlds are major collaborative workspaces for education, healthcare, and nonprofits. Our virtual-based research and projects will continue in Second Life and/or OpenSim grids such as Kitely and JokaydiaGRID. As I reflect on the meeting, an article from Maria Korolov' s Hypergrid Business comes to the forefront...  "Second Life is Not a game".

The level of learning and sharing within this 3-D collaborative community of practice for nonprofits  is definitely Not a game even though there is much fun to be enjoyed when the time is appropriate.  Kudos to Susan Tenby for the vision of Nonprofit Commons inSecond Life. Susan is TechSoup's Online Community and Social Media Director. She founded and manages Nonprofit Commons in Second Life. What an awesome vision!

National Health Blog Post Month: 30 Days; 30 Posts 03 – “Don’t Know but I would like to Know"

Yes, I am still a bit behind schedule but I wanted to share that… “I don’t know a lot about how people with disabilities are using virtual worlds but I would like to know.”

Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting

  Although I still have much to learn about the benefits of virtual worlds for people with disabilities, there is one thing that I have learned as a Second Life (SL) community member.  I know that one of the most active, hard-working, and productive residents is Gentle Heron, president and one of the co-founders of Virtual Ability, Inc. 

I believe that it was in 2009 when I met Gentle Heron at a weekly meeting of Nonprofit Commons in Second Life (NPSL), a virtual community of practice for nonprofits.  NPSL is managed by a community of volunteers under the leadership of TechSoup Global. Although NPSL community members are located worldwide, we meet and interact in real-time within a computer-generated 3-D environment known as a virtual world. While working at my computer in the east coast state of Maryland, it was in this “virtual world” where I met and interacted with the leadership of Virtual Ability, Inc. based in Colorado, USA. Technology is so amazing!

Virtual Ability, Inc. (Display by Zinnia)

  Over the years, Gentle Heron and other NPSL community members have graciously shared helpful information and valuable time as I learned about the diverse applications of 3-D virtual worlds. It has become quite evident that virtual worlds serve as alternate platforms for networking, information-sharing, training, and providing support regardless of physical location or physical abilities. 

In Second Life, Virtual Ability, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation is known as the “leading organization dealing with the support of people with real life disabilities”. Virtual Ability’s mission is to enable people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in online virtual worlds. The Virtual Ability team has definitely established a supporting environment for real life people within a virtual world community.

Virtual Ability: In-World Tour

   During a recent visit to Virtual Ability’s HealthInfo Island, I walked the Path of Support which depicts the wide range of peer support groups in Second Life. The Path of Support provides information about the different health/disability peer support organizations and the various types of assistance available to disabled persons in Second Life. According to Gentle Heron, Virtual Ability has identified over 120 different peer support Second Life groups for various disabling conditions and chronic illnesses. Some support groups are big like the ones operated by American Cancer Society for survivors and for caregivers. Some groups are affiliated with real life national organizations such as the Autism Society of America and the AA weekly meeting groups. Others groups are small, mainly friendship support groups around a topic of common interest, and exist only in Second Life.  A few support groups in other languages than English have even identified.

Virtual Ability: Path of Support

Virtual Ability: Path of Support

   








As my learning continues, I applaud the entire Virtual Ability team. From the beginning, the three co-founders… Sodapop Heron, Superquiet Heron, and Gentle Heron focused on setting up a support community for real life people with real life disabilities. As many of our virtual world colleagues, the three visionaries never thought of themselves as “players in a game”. I share the same opinion of many virtual world users… “Virtual worlds such as Second Life are Not games”. 

 Virtual worlds are serious business; even life-changing business! That is why I would like to know about… how people with disabilities are using 3-D virtual worlds.

National Health Blog Post Month: 30 Days; 30 Posts 02 - “Quoted Inspiration”

  On November 2^nd, I started Day 2’s Post for National Health Blog Post Month but real life interfered with my writing. Although it is a bit late, I wanted to share my “Inspirational Quotation” with you.

The issue of “injustice in health care” has been the “call to action” that inspires much of my community outreach and professional work. With each community activity, I try to do my part in helping to eliminate the “injustice in health care” that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about at the

1966 Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, IL.

The African American Museum of Philadelphia

  Over the years, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have inspired many people to action including me (and my alter-ego). Although virtual worlds did not exist during Dr. King’s life, his words still inspired many colleagues working within virtual world communities as in real life. When we were asked to find an inspirational quote for Day 2 of National Health Blog Post Month, Dr. King words about “injustice in health care” again echoed in my ears.  When I sought out Dr. King’s exact quotation, I found an excellent article in The Charlotte Observer written by Dr. Jessica Schorr Saxe. Being a Charlotte physician and a board member of the Health Care for All North Carolina, it is apparent that Dr. Saxe was also inspired by the words of Dr. King. At the 1966 Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, IL (USA), the words of Dr. King rang out…

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

  As I read Dr. Saxe’s article entitled, “Next civil rights frontier? It surely has to be health care”, I found myself thinking of the 12 year old African-American boy who died of a toothache several years ago. Yes, you read right… a toothache! Apparently the boy’s family had lost its health insurance which happens so often after the loss of a job; a medical bankruptcy, or another life challenge. As in many cases, the young boy’s family had no health insurance and could not afford the expense of a dentist for… a toothache.

University of Maryland Dental School in Second Life

  Many people may not realize that an untreated toothache can lead to intense pain, gum swelling, and even death. In the case of the young boy, a toothache did indeed lead to death. His untreated toothache lead to his admission to the hospital but too much time had passed. Apparently an infection from a dental abscess had spread to his brain which resulted in his death. Yes, a toothache!

This young boy was just one of many victims of the “injustice in healthcare” which still exist 46 years after Dr. King spoke on “injustice in health care”. So, I definitely agree with Dr. Saxe’s statement… “Dr. King would find the next civil rights frontier in health care, with nearly 50 million uninsured, almost 45,000 deaths annually due to lack of insurance, and more than half of all personal bankruptcies linked to illness and medical bills.”

 Thus, my inspiration for community outreach, collaborations, and related activities. With still much work to be done in our cities,  the words of Dr. King are  indeed our "call to action"…

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

        Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966)

 

Related Health Links

Maryland Health Care for All!
2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report (AHRQ)

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