Rural Coalition Winter Forum, which will be held Thursday and Friday, January 19th and 20th, 2023

 

Greetings Rural Coalition Members, Allies, and Friends,   We are excited to announce this year’s Rural Coalition Winter Forum, which will be held Thursday and Friday, January 19th and 20th, 2023 at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle NW, Washington DC, 20005)!   Please join us as we gather to share the critical work our communities are doing, hear community concerns, share reflections, celebrate victories, and remember those who are no longer with us. We will also shape our strategy and build a platform for the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill. Meetings will be held all day Thursday and Friday, so we encourage you to make arrangements to arrive in Washington D.C. ahead of time.   ·    Register for the Winter Forum! Please let us know if you’ll participate and who will be in your delegation.    ·    Please make hotel reservations for your delegation as soon as possible to help assure we have enough rooms! The deadline to book your rooms under the Rural Coalition block is December 27. (Your room will not be charged until you arrive. If your plans change, please cancel rooms no later than 3:00 pm, 72 hours before your arrival date or you will be charged for the first night). Please reach out to an RC team member if you need additional assistance or have any questions.   ·    Sponsorships Welcome - Your sponsorship support for our Forum and our Anniversary dinner help us keep our costs lower, and to support full participation from our member communities. Please contact elliot@ruralco.org for details.     Special Events on Weds, Jan 18 (all at the Washington Plaza Hotel) - Please let us know by completing the registration form if you are interested in joining us for some special events the day before the Winter Forum.   ·    Workshop for Prospective Crop Insurance Agents or Adjustors (1:00pm - 5:00pm ET) - Interested in becoming a Crop Insurance Agent or Adjustor? Come learn from the Risk Management Agency and our partners about the process and the benefits. Encourage community members in your area (including already licensed insurance agents) to learn how to earn income while assisting producers to manage their risk with new more flexible crop insurance products.    ·    Training Meeting for the Food and Farm Worker Relief Project Partners, (12:00pm - 6:00pm ET) Co-Sponsored with Alianza Campesinas - Alianza Nacional de Campesinas has won an important USDA award to reimburse pandemic costs to farm and food workers across the nation. (For Project Partners only, this training focuses on the detail of the process to make payments to workers)   ·    Growing our Future” Workshop (10:00am - 5:00pm ET) - Growing our Future, led by Forum for the Future, is a unique collaboration that is bringing together representatives from across the US agriculture system (including farmers, BIPOC farm communities, agribusinesses, food service, food retailers, manufacturers and investors) to accelerate the transition to a just and regenerative agriculture system. Workshop discussions will focus on financing the transition to regenerative agriculture, social outcomes and accountability, shifting policy, and opening up pathways to accessing regenerative markets. This in-person workshop also aims to deepen relationships across the community and continue to equip stakeholders to understand their role in supporting a just and regenerative agriculture system. Please contact elliot@ruralco.org if you would like to participate in this workshop.   Need help with costs? We have asked our member groups to include travel and registration for the Winter Forum in their organization budgets, and we ask all who can cover costs to please do so. We understand not all members are able to do that, and we want to be sure we include everyone who wants to participate. Please let us know if you need assistance as soon as possible and no later than Dec. 15. But first, please complete the registration for your delegation for the Winter Forum and reserve the rooms you will need as soon as you are able.     Again, we hope you will be able to join us in person. We appeal to everyone to book rooms for your delegation here as soon as possible so we can reserve more rooms if necessary. For those who cannot join us in person this year we hope you will join us virtually!   In Cooperation, Rural Coalition         Estimados socios, aliados y amigos de RuralCo,   ¡Nos complace anunciar el Foro de Invierno de la Coalición Rural, que se celebrará el jueves y viernes, 19 y 20 de enero de 2023 en el Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle NW, Washington DC, 20005)!   Únase a nosotros mientras nos reunimos para compartir el trabajo crítico que están haciendo nuestras comunidades, escuchar las preocupaciones de la comunidad, compartir reflexiones, celebrar victorias y recordar a aquellos que ya no están con nosotros. También daremos forma a nuestra estrategia y construiremos una plataforma para la próxima Ley Agrícola de 2023. Las reuniones se llevarán a cabo todo el día el jueves y viernes, por lo que le recomendamos que haga arreglos para llegar a Washington D.C. con anticipación.   ·    ¡Regístrese para el Foro de Invierno! Favor de avisarnos si participará y quién estará en su delegación.   ·    ¡Favor de hacer reservaciones de hotel para su delegación lo antes posible para ayudar a asegurar que tendremos suficientes habitaciones! La fecha límite para reservar sus habitaciones en el bloque de la Coalición Rural es el 27 de diciembre. (Su habitación no se cobrará hasta que llegue. Si sus planes cambian, cancele las habitaciones para las 3:00 p.m., 72 horas antes de la fecha de llegada o se le cobrará la primera noche). Comuníquese con un miembro del equipo de la CR si necesita ayuda adicional o tiene alguna pregunta.   ·    Patrocinios bienvenidos - Su apoyo de patrocinio para nuestro Foro y nuestra cena de aniversario nos ayuda a mantener nuestros costos más bajos y a apoyar la participación total de nuestras comunidades de miembros. Comuníquese con elliot@ruralco.org para más detalles.     Eventos especiales el miércoles 18 de enero (todos en el Washington Plaza Hotel) - Favor de avisarnos si está interesado en unirse a nosotros para algunos eventos especiales antes del Foro de Invierno completando el formulario de inscripción.   ·    Taller para posibles agentes o ajustadores de seguros de cultivos (1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET) - ¿Está interesado en convertirse en un agente o ajustador de seguros de cultivos? Venga a aprender de la Agencia de Gestión de Riesgos y de nuestros socios sobre el proceso y los beneficios. Anime a los miembros de la comunidad en su área (incluidos los agentes de seguros ya autorizados) a aprender cómo obtener ingresos mientras ayuda a los productores a administrar su riesgo con nuevos productos de seguro de cultivos más flexibles.   ·    Reunión de capacitación para los socios del proyecto de ayuda alimentaria y para trabajadores agrícolas, (12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET) copatrocinado con Alianza Campesinas -Alianza Nacional de Campesinas ha ganado un importante premio del USDA para reembolsar los costos de la pandemia a los trabajadores agrícolas y alimentarios de todo el país. (Esta capacitación se enfoca en los detalles del proceso para realizar pagos a los trabajadores y es solo para socios del proyecto.)   ·    Taller "Cultivando nuestro futuro" (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET) - El taller Cultivando nuestro futuro, liderado por Forum for the Future, es una colaboración que junta a representantes a través del sistema agrícola de EE.UU. (incluidos agricultores, comunidades agrícolas BIPOC, agronegocios, servicios de alimentos, minoristas de alimentos, fabricantes e inversores) para acelerar la transición a un sistema agrícola justo y regenerativo. Las discusiones del taller se centrarán en la financiación de la transición a la agricultura regenerativa, los resultados sociales, la rendición de cuentas, el cambio de políticas y la apertura de caminos para acceder a los mercados regenerativos. Este taller presencial también pretende profundizar las relaciones en toda la comunidad y continuar equipando a las partes interesadas para que comprendan su papel en el apoyo de un sistema agrícola justo y regenerativo. Comuníquese con elliot@ruralco.org si quiere participar en este taller.   ¿Necesita ayuda con los costos? Hemos pedido a nuestros grupos de miembros que incluyan los viajes y la inscripción para el Foro de Invierno en sus presupuestos de organización y pedimos a todos los que puedan cubrir los costos que lo hagan. Entendemos que no todos los miembros pueden hacer eso y queremos asegurarnos de incluir a todos los que quieran participar. Favor de avisarnos si necesita ayuda lo antes posible o para el 15 de diciembre. Pero primero, complete el registro de su delegación para el Foro de Invierno y reserve las habitaciones que necesitará tan pronto como pueda.    Una vez más, esperamos que pueda unirse a nosotros en persona. Alentamos a todos para que reserven habitaciones para su delegación aquí lo antes posible para que podamos reservar más habitaciones si es necesario. Para aquellos que no pueden unirse a nosotros en persona este año, esperamos que se unan a nosotros virtualmente.   En Cooperación, Su Coalición Rural       Support our Work / Apoya nuestro trabajo   Become a Member / Hágase miembro         Rural Coalition | 202-628-7160 | E-mail | Website     The Rural Coalition is a 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Univ of West Indies. "Change without sacrifice is an illusion."

Diaspora members in U.S. It may be best the first two years of college to send our youth out of country for the 'enlightenment', and an another introduction to the real world in the Caribbean.

"Change without sacrifice is an illusion."

BEMA International

Food Security. D.C. Food Security Regional Call. Friday, December 2, 2022 1pm-3:15pm ET

 

Metro DC Food Security Regional Call December 2, 2022 2 pm to 3:15 pm Microsoft Teams meeting Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 272 183 627 431 Passcode: JjyApo Download Teams | Join on the web   Or call in (audio only) +1 202-650-0424,,458573570# Phone Conference ID: 458 573 570# 2023 Food Security and Resilience Legislative and Policy Priorities Briefing Ahead of the Maryland and Virginia 2023 legislative sessions, and next District of Columbia Council Period, this year’s meeting will focus on agreed upon and emerging priorities of groups or coalitions working to improve food security and food system resilience at the state-level. In addition to sharing priorities, speakers may also address how they plan to monitor, evaluate, and potentially support, proposed legislation.  Several other topics, including time for local updates, are included in this year’s agenda.  This meeting will be recorded. Agenda WELCOME 2:00 pm: Lindsay Smith, Regional Food Systems Planner, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments • Welcome! Please share your name and affiliation in the chat • Regional context for this year’s briefing   2023 LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY PRIORITIES BRIEFING: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA 2:05 pm: Remarks and discussion with Ona Balkus, DC Food Policy Director on behalf of the DC Food Policy Council  2:20 pm: Eddie Oliver, Executive Director, Federation of Virginia Food Banks on behalf of the Virginia Food Access Coalition  2:35 pm: Brittany Cook, Food Resilience Specialist, Executive Office, Maryland Department of Emergency Management on behalf of the Maryland Food System Resiliency Council 2:50 pm: Additional Discussion and Q & A OTHER UPDATES 3:00 pm: USDA Regional Food Business Centers Application Update Lauren DeSimone, Food System Financing Advisor, Virginia Community Capital Dalila Boclin, Food Works Group Lauren and Dalila will provide an update on the status of the Regional Food Business Centers application for the Chesapeake Region, including how interested organizations can provide letters of support for the proposal.  3:05 pm: Community Announcements Open time for local, state, or regional announcements

MPOX from Monkey Pox. A Name Change does make a difference.

 

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November 29, 2022 Forward Share Tweet

The virus particle that causes mpox is shown in a cut-out view, revealing its inner dumbbell-shaped core containing the virus's DNA. CDC/Image Point FR/BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty A Pox by Any Other Name    The WHO rolled out the new, not-too-creative name for monkeypox yesterday: mpox.   Why did WHO change the name? Soon after this year’s outbreak began spreading globally, “racist and stigmatizing language” began spreading online and in some communities, the WHO said in a statement. The agency then began receiving requests for a name change.   Slow and fast: WHO said mpox is the “preferred term” and will replace monkeypox after a yearlong transition period to avoid confusion during the global outbreak.     Usually a disease name change takes place over years, and WHO acknowledged it accelerated this renaming, according to STAT.   The disease was named in 1970 when it was observed in captive monkeys, though its actual origin isn’t known, CNN reports.   The old name endures: While the disease name is changing to mpox, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses has signaled the virus name will continue to include “monkeypox,” STAT’s Helen Branswell reports. ICTV members are worried about a name change’s impact on “the continuity of the scientific literature.”   The tweet: “A name change while necessary feels like ‘majoring in the minors’, if this is the only change that comes out of the global outbreak,” tweeted Emory infectious diseases physician BT Titanji. “The needle has barely moved for access to vaccines, treatment & diagnostics in LMICs. These matter more!”

Get Involved in the Boston community. Authentic Caribbean Foundation.

 

Members Needed Volunteers Needed