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Untapped Opportunities for Climate Action: An Assessment of Food Systems in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

March 22, 2022

A summary report providing a synthesis of the 14 country assessments with recommendations and priority actions.

Lessons from the New York City Cultural Agenda Fund

July 26, 2019

In 2014, The New York Community Trust brought together a small group of funders and advocates to figure out how the arts community could play a role in shaping the City's cultural plan. The New York City Cultural Agenda Fund, a funder collaborative, grew out of the group's recognition that New York City needed a strong and vocal advocacy community with a deep understanding of equity to effect change. Led by The New York Community Trust and Lambent Foundation, the Cultural Agenda Fund's goals were to strengthen advocacy, influence policy, and advance equity by ensuring that small and diverse arts groups were valued.

Technology Transforms Learning: A Report on the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund

March 1, 2018

How is digital technology impacting young people, learning, and youth culture? It makes learners the focus, connects them to one another, and gives them powerful tools to experiment, create, and design.Founded in 2010, the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust supported the use of digital technology to develop a new model for learning. This overview of the Fund examines how it helped young people, teachers, scientists, artists, technologists, and others use digital media and the web to design exciting ways to learn in and out of school.

The National Security Impacts of Climate Change

December 20, 2017

In its 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officially recognized climate change as a factor worthy of consideration in future national security planning. The report stated, "Climate change and energy are two key issues that will play a significant role in shaping the future security environment," noting that "climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked." The report goes on to describe the vast geopolitical impacts of climate change anticipated by the intelligence community, including sea level rise, increasing temperatures, food and water scarcity, the proliferation of disease vectors, and the risk of mass migration by vulnerable populations to escape these impacts. These risks led DOD to declare that "while climate change alone does not cause conflict, it may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world." The department's leaders recognized that the United States' existing role in responding to extreme weather events, delivering humanitarian assistance, and preserving national security would be made all the more difficult by climate change.

Beyond Green: The Arts as a Catalyst for Sustainability

May 8, 2016

The creative sector has played a significant role in efforts to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change and encourage sustainable social, economic, and environmental practices worldwide. Many artists and cultural organizations have embarked on remarkable projects that make us reflect on our behaviors, our carbon footprints, and the claims of infinite growth based on finite resources. Sometimes treading a fine line between arts and advocacy, they have sparked extraordinary collaborations that reveal new ways of living together on a shared planet. The 'art of the possible' will become even more relevant as 2016 dawns - bringing the challenge of how to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and the Climate Change Agreement adopted at the end of 2015. Yet with negotiations overshadowed by scientific controversy, political polemic and geographic polarization, individuals can easily lose faith in their own ability to shape change beyond the hyperlocal level. Against this challenging backdrop, could the arts and creative practice become a particle accelerator - to shift mindsets, embrace new ways of sharing space and resources, and catalyze more creative leadership in the public and private spheres? The goal of this Salzburg Global Seminar session was to build on path-breaking cultural initiatives to advance international and cross-sectoral links between existing arts and sustainability activities around the world, encourage bolder awareness-raising efforts, and recommend strategic approaches for making innovative grassroots to scale for greater, longer-term impact.

Queens Performing Artists & Workspace

June 30, 2014

The Queens Workspace Initiative (QWI) is a project conceived and led by Exploring the Metropolis (EtM) to help ensure that the performing arts offerings in the borough of Queens are the best they can be.The major activities comprise surveying performing artists, cultural facilities and other stakeholders; making recommendations to stakeholders and policymakers; and conducting pilot programs.In 2013-14, Exploring the Metropolis has been assessing workspace needs for performing artists in Queens. We've interviewed key players, sent out surveys, held focus groups and studied ways to help the Queens performing arts community grow and thrive.

The Arts: A Promising Solution to Meeting the Challenges of Today's Military, A Summary Report and Blueprint for Action

November 15, 2012

On November 15, 2012, a group of concerned and dedicated military, government, private sector and nonprofit leaders gathered at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC for the Arts & Health in the Military National Roundtable.The Roundtable represents the second step in the ongoing development of the multi-year National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military. The National Initiative was launched in January, 2012 based upon the groundbreaking success of the first National Summit: Arts in Healing for Warriors, held in October 2011 at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE). The 2011 Summit marked the first time various branches of the military collaborated with civilian agencies to discuss how engaging with the arts provide opportunities to meet the key health issues our military faces -- from pre-deployment to deployment to homecoming. We present this summary report and its recommendations for a "Blueprint for Action" with the intention to open the door for a national conversation and the development of a National Action Plan. What actions and strategies will be necessary over the next several years in order to expand the use of the arts and creative arts therapies across the military continuum: from the military service pre-deployment, deployment, post-deployment to veterans as well as families and caregivers? For the first time, this question is being addressed across military, government, and nonprofit sectors -- and with a sense of urgency that now is the time to get something done.

Green Revolving Funds in Action: California Institute of Technology

July 25, 2011

Presents a case study of the California Institute of Technology's use of green revolving funds to finance energy efficiency upgrades. Outlines the GRF's incorporation into an existing endowment fund, operations, and performance as well as lessons learned.