by emma | Jan 17, 2009 | Work
… mainly because I’ve been on the road/ enjoying some great company.
I spent the last few days in Swanwick at the CA staff conference – and honestly, I don’t think I’ve been ever prouder that I work for Christian Aid, such a privilege. About a third of our staff were at the conference, during which we went back to the basics of why we’re doing what we’re doing, and how we can do it better. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet a vast array of staff from different countries/ offices/ departments, but mostly it was good to spend some time with my fellow gapper colleagues. I’m constantly inspired by them, and the wider CA staff, by their passion, energy & commitment to ending poverty.
by emma | Jan 13, 2009 | Design, Words
Posters live where things happen. So much culture comes to us through a screen – whether it’s movies, the internet, or video games. But posters live in theaters and clubs and political rallies, places where real people meet other real people. And I believe our need to do so is even stronger now that we’re in such a virtual world.
[Luba Lukova]
by emma | Jan 12, 2009 | Photography
I’ve got a new limited edition framed print, Faith Hope & Love, available for sale…
1 of 25, for £25
P&P extra, cost dependant on location.
[View the images larger here on flickr]
To purchase, drop me an email.
by emma | Jan 11, 2009 | Everything Else
You might have noticed that I redesigned the blog layout recently… how’d you like it? Anything bugging you about it?
I tidied up the links along the right hand column, making it easier for you to find me in my various other online forms (my photography website, twitter, facebook, etc). I’ve also added a couple of quick links, so you can send me an email, and also so you can subscribe. I’ve been using it for the past week or so; I don’t know how many of you would find it useful or not but the options there now! If you click the subscribe link and enter your email address, my blog posts will arrive in your email inbox each day!
I know – you were really looking for more ways to have me in your life…!
by emma | Jan 10, 2009 | Music
[I know, it’s past midnight, technically Saturday, but still…]
I had something else saved for today… but decided against it. So, this is what’s in my head today. How about you?
As she sits in the corner
face to the floor
she dispels smoke from from her lips
and slowly floats away with it
letting go of so much pain
her tears are thick enough to stain
the pavement that slowly becomes
her best friend when she needs to run away
This is your time to weep
This is your time to morn
Not yet time to build up
Just a time to tear down
old walls
Does it help to say I’m sorry
If so than I’m sorry that your so unhappy
This life those lies are starting get you down
Darling don’t let them drag you around
Saying “it’s my fault” doesn’t help repeated
Time love and Jesus seems to beat it
She’ll find out this is harder than
Taking medicine
We’re still waiting for the fire
Seeing smoke and waiting for the fire
[A Time For Yohe – Between The Trees]
by emma | Jan 8, 2009 | Social Justice, Travel, Work
One of the programs I’m involved with through work is Platform2, a fantastic volunteering opportunity. We’re still recruiting, so check out the spiel below, and if you’re interested/know someone who might be, either get in touch or pass the details on!
– – –
Platform2 is fully funded by the Department for International Development and does not cost anything for the volunteers who take part. In short, Platform2 is a 10 week fully paid placement on a project in a developing country. It is specifically directed to 18-25 year olds who would otherwise not be able to afford such an opportunity. Check out our website: www.myplatform2.com for details of the program.
At the moment we are recruiting for the trip leaving on the 17th March ‘09. If someone were to apply now they could be away to Ghana, Peru, India, or South Africa at from mid March (until the end of May)! Applications for this trip must be in by 19th Jan ’09 – less than 100 places left!! There will however be trips leaving regularly over the next 2 years. The next application deadline would be the end of March for trips leaving 26th May ‘09.
Platform2 is a unique opportunity for 18-25 year olds in the UK to volunteer in a developing country for 10 weeks and then come back and creatively express their experience in the UK. Volunteers could be going to countries such as Ghana, South Africa, Peru or India, for a 10 week placement which will make a real difference to the local community – all of the work is locally operated and supervised, and sustainable.
When the volunteers get back, we’ll give them a platform to creatively express their experience – through art, film, photography, blogging – whatever they’re into, they can use it to tell people about their trip and what it’s like to live in a developing country.
Platform2 is different to most overseas volunteering opportunities because it’s aimed at people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to do something like this, so it’s free. The scheme is fully-funded by the Department for International Development and run by Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and BUNAC.
If you’re 18 to 25 (at the time of travel), have / are eligible for a UK passport, and want to make a difference to people in the developing world, here’s your chance.
To find out more, please visit www.myplatform2.com or email Craig at cmccreadie@christian-aid.org.
by emma | Jan 7, 2009 | Africa, Social Justice
Yesterday I had two vivid reminders of my time in the DRC. Our trip was an incredible chance to visit this beautiful country, to meet the inspiring people we work with and on behalf of, and also to get to know the other gappers. Yet coming back to the UK foisted us all back into the busyness of work, of meetings, of writing sessions, of deadlines. Today I had that rush interrupted again…
DR Congo rebels ‘oust Gen Nkunda’
This BBC news headline certainly grabbed my attention as I scanned my morning email yesterday. Officers in the CNDP (Congress for the Defence of the People, the main rebel group in eastern DRC) said they had removed their leader, Gen Laurent Nkunda, because of “bad governance”. Gen Nkunda denied this, and today the BBC are running an article stating that rebel commanders in the CNDP have pledged their loyalty to Gen Laurent Nkunda, following those claims. His spokesman said those rebel officials saying he had been ousted had committed “high treason”.
How Corrupt Is Your Country?
That was the other headline that made me pause a little longer than usual. Yesterdays Daily Stat email (from Harvard Business School) took a look at the Corruption Perceptions Index, which compares 180 countries according to the degree of public-sector corruption perceived by business leaders and analysts.
Last year (2008), the DRC came in joint 171st… pretty low down. The UK & Ireland tied for 16th place, and the US tied in 18th place.
As my attention is pulled towards the violence in Gaza, I’m trying not to forget those enduring conflict elsewhere. Though it won’t hit the TV news tonight, remember the Congolese people. Their suffering does not end when the camera crew rolls out.
God of peace, you forget no one.
Be gracious to the people of Congo and bless them.
May we who have been given so much,
strengthen our resolve to work and pray for reconciliation
in all parts of the world bloodied by war.
Give us the grace to watch with those who weep
and the endurance to stand with those who wait for a safe return home.
Work through us to hold all suffering people in the palm of your hand
and to heal your broken world.
So roads scarred by the suffering of your people,
are made into perfected paths to peace.
Amen.
(Christian Aid/Kate Tuckett)
by emma | Jan 6, 2009 | Photography
So, I’m working on a few different things photography-wise. Trying to push my boundaries a little more, and also to raise some funds. They’re not all quite ready yet, and I’ll let you know when they are, but for the sake of keeping you in the loop…
- I shot a photo series to give to a couple of friends at Christmas, and have since decided that I’m going to make it a limited-edition series. “Faith, Hope & Love”, limited to 25 prints, available for £25. View the images on flickr, and I’ll post a framed shot soon.
- I’m creating a book of photography & reflections from my travels in 2008. It’ll be self-published and available for purchase on Blurb within the next few weeks.
- My local coffeeshop, Big Mouth Coffee Co (Dumbarton Rd, Glasgow), is hanging a few of my photographs for sale later this month.
- I’d also like to start doing some (paid) portrait sessions… If you’d like any lifestyle portraits taken, then please drop me an email. I’m offering a one-hour photoshoot and a 12×8 unframed print for £50, or framed for £75.
- And of course, prints are always available for sale… check out www.emmaboyd.co.uk or my flickr.
I’ll post more information as & when it becomes available, but if you’d like to buy a print/ hire me/ purchase a limited-edition ‘Faith Hope & Love’ print, drop me an email.
by emma | Jan 5, 2009 | Everything Else
- Went to Paper Tiger in Edinburgh for the first time on Tuesday. Can’t believe I never knew this place existed before!
- Connor, an incredible friend & photographer, just published his first book on Blurb. Leave Only Footprints is a collection of photographs from around the world. Check it out here.
- “That is morally suspect and morally feeble. It is unfair and irresponsible of the government to put pressure on the public to spend in order to revive the economy.” Anglican Bishops speak out on BBC news.
- Read the most beautiful graphic novel, Blankets by Craig Thompson.
- Listening to a lot of Brooke Fraser right now. She’s not afraid to tackle hard subjects.
- “I often find myself thinking complaints about life, about business or politics or relationships. Anymore, though, when I complain, I am starting to realize that, in part, every ounce of nothingness in life is my fault, because I always have the ability to speak something into it, to create a different reality. A theory that life is meaningless is just an excuse not to try. It’s safe. It’s risk free. It may end in ruin, but it is a ruin we can control, and we know with certainty what will happen. We will be bored. Or worse.” [Don Miller, via Julie]
by emma | Jan 4, 2009 | Design, Faith, Social Justice
CONSPIRE!: Plotting Goodness is a quarterly publication that shares stories of community, revolutionary love, and creative new visions. Conspire! stubbornly insists that small, daily acts of faith, conviction, and integrity can change the world.
I found out about CONSPIRE! through Ryan, who’s part of the team crafting it. They’re looking for submissions for the first issue, I’ve just sent a few off! The deadline is soon (Jan 9), but if you’re keen you could make it! The official call for entries is below, check it out…
Call for visions and voices in our premier issue.
Spring 2009 (March) : Resurrection Stories
At the core of all Christian belief is this bizarre, astonishing, and absurd claim: That someone who was executed and killed came back to life three days later. Most of the time it seems that church folks allow that belief to be a safe, abstract spiritual idea without really grappling with its claim on their lives.
Does the resurrection of Jesus actually have an impact on our lives, personally and communally? Have we felt resurrection in our own experience? Has the resurrection story transformed the way we lived into certain situations or utterly changed the way we looked at our options? How?
Have we gone through real deaths – losing someone we loved, bathing and embalming
the loved one’s body marked by brutal violence, or feeling our hopes and possibilities crushed – only to come out at the other end, more alive and on fire with hope?
Or is resurrection the ultimate Christian mind-game–a story so hardwired into us that we are programmed to find resurrection whether or not it is actually there. Are our resurrection stories a placebo to cover up meaningless suffering and loss? Do we call things resurrection when what we actually mean is that we have gotten over some death and moved on?
This inaugural issue of Conspire! will launch around Easter, 2009. In it, we invite you to share your musings on resurrection. Your stories may come from your personal life, or from the life of your community, or from the world around you. How have you experienced world-shattering hope, good news that turns you upside down and changes your life – and is more than a spiritual cliché? Maybe resurrection happens in sly, subtle ways (after all, only a handful of people saw the risen Jesus!). Maybe resurrections are there all the time – but we finally learn to open our eyes to see them.
We are looking for various kinds of materials:
Articles: Articles can range from 200 to 1,500 words. We are looking for material that is personal, engaged, provocative, challenging – not scholarly, not too heady, but neither too simplistic or pious. Most articles should relate to the specific theme of the issue, though we will occasionally consider others as well.
Artwork and Photography: Do you have an eye for the visual image that compels our attention, draws forth deep resonance in our spirit, unveils the unseen beauty around us – or maybe is just cool? Let’s see what you have –maybe it fits in our pages.
Poetry: Do you weave words that yield the shock of beauty, the jolt of insight, the opening of new awareness? Send something our way – no long epics, please, no piety set to verse.
Short Fiction: Are you a spinner of yarns that probe the human condition, that navigate the interstices of meaning and mystery in our experience? Maximum of 1,500 words.
Reviews: Are there some great books, films, art, blogs, or other media out there that can spark our imagination, challenge our paradigms, empower us in our subversive revolution of love? Let us know – in under 500 words. (Note: Reviews do not have to tie into the theme of the issue.)
The deadline for submissions is January 9, 2009.
Send manuscripts, queries, ideas to: editors@conspiremagazine.com
No large image files, please. Small, low-res jpegs, or links to online galleries.
WHO WE ARE:
Conspire! is a quarterly publication that shares stories of community, revolutionary love, and creative new visions. Conspire! stubbornly insists that small, daily acts of faith, conviction, and integrity can change the world.
Since Conspire! is just starting, we are not able to offer compensation for articles at this point – but we certainly will provide you with a subscription!
www.conspiremagazine.com
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