No Word On One Billion Rising Event

 

For several years, February 14 in Second Life not only had numerous Valentine's Day events, but also had the One Billion Rising event, part of a worldwide demonstration in support of women's rights across the globe. There were numerous music events, and many displays by artists. 

Last year however, the event was called off due to a number of the people being "overwhelmed by real life and other commitments." Checking the blog and the group, there was no information about any event for 2024. 

It's likely the event will revive some time in the future. But it seems for now One Billion Rising is closed. 

Bixyl Shuftan

No "One Billion Rising" Event In Second Life This Year

 

For the past several years, there has been a "One Billion Rising" event here in Second Life, part of a worldwide demonstration in support of women's rights around the planet. This year however, the virtual world won't be part of it, at least not to the extent it's been. Checking the blog, Saffia Widdershins announced she was cancelling for 2023.

Although some of the team are very willing and able to stage the event this year, others of us have been overwhelmed by real life and other commitments. In view of this, it seemed best to cancel OBR 2023, and instead look ahead to a magnificent return in 2024.

I apologise to people who may have started preparations – the delay in informing people about this news is entirely my fault, and not anyone else’s.

For me personally, after ten years, the time has come to step back from an organisational role – although I do hope I will be able to attend and enjoy the event in 2024 and beyond.

 

It's possible someone is planning a much smaller event in support of OBR, but if so the Newser doesn't know about it yet. In the meantime,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

One Billion Rising

 

For the tenth year in a row, One Billion Rising is taking place in Second Life. Part of a global demonstration in support of women's rights, "men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Rise, Resist and Unite as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change." As one of the volunteers, Gemma Cleanslate has been getting a look behind the scenes of this huge event that takes place tomorrow, Monday February 14 (Valentine's Day).

Read Gemma's story in Extra.
 

SL Video: "Break The Chain | Tena Clark - One Billion Rising 2022 by Guerilla Burlesque"

 

(Click here if the video does not play)

By Tristan Lyonesse on February 9, "A Second Life Dance Video for One Billion Rising 2022 , 'Break the Chain' | Tena Clark and Tim Heintz "
 

A Look At One Billion Rising

 

There were a number of events over the weekend, notably many Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras themed ones. One of the bigger ones, while having moments of fun, was a bit more serious: the One Billion Rising. This was a demonstration in support of women's rights. Gemma Cleanslate was there, and wrote some about the exhibits there and what took place.

Read Gemma's story in Events.

One Billion Rising Event Today

 

Friday I was lucky enough to visit the One Billion Rising regions since I was there to train as a greeter for the event. I have been doing this since 2013 on Valentine Day. It is a one day event so very  busy . The builds there are in recognition of the reason for this day all over the world.

"ONE BILLION RISING began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS.

Every February, we rise – in hundreds of countries across the world – to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face.  We rise through dance to express joy and community and and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable. And we here in Second Life can be part of this global movement."

Builders were working furiously to get their installations in place. I stopped at one that was nearly finished to talk to one of the builders , my friend , Mrs. Mia Wallace (Mia Quinote). She and Herbie Haven were representing the " Burners Without Borders Second Life (BWBSL) a grassroots, volunteer-driven, virtual community group. We participate with non-profit initiatives in the virtual world to help make a difference! eg: RelayForLife, and OBR." with a thoughtful installation of a family in crisis  called Moments in Time. The other side of the installation though, show the possible future. after Covid.  She gave me permission to use the photos to show an example of the theme of the day. 

There will be parties on the main stage and poetry readings and live performers and four beautiful regions to explore so don' t miss it. There are four  entries where all Kiosks will give you so much more information . It begins at Midnight Sunday and closes at midnight that day. Builds will remain in case you run out of time. 

Here are two entry points in case one region is filled .

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/OBR%20Unite/77/77/24

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/OBR%20Rise/181/181/24

Gemma Cleanslate

"One Billion Rising" Taking Place Sunday February 14

 
For the past several years, the "One Billion Rising, an event to promote the rights of women worldwide, has taken place in Second Life. On Sunday February 14, it will take place once again on a four-sim area.

For the eighth year, on February 14, 2021, men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Rise, Resist and Unite as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change.

1 in 3 women across the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. That’s ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. Every February, we rise – in countries across the world – to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face. We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable.

To see the announcement in full, check out the OBR blog Here.

One Billion Rising

Today, the One Billion Rising in Second Life takes place. This isn't just an inworld event, but part of a global demonstration in support of the rights of women. Gemma Cleanslate took a look at the exhibits of the sims, and talked to some of the women involved.

Read Gemma's article in Events.

One Billion Rising, Hug A Linden, Today

Today is Valentines Day, and the day two events take place in Second Life. The bigger one is the One Billion Rising demonstration inworld in support of women's rights worldwide. The event takes place until Midnight tonight at four sims, OBR Dance, OBR Rise, OBR Resist, and OBR Unite.



(Click here if the video fails to play)


On February 14th, men and women in Second Life will join people across the world to Rise to protest violence against women, as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change. The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can come together to dance, surrounded by an area of art installations, an arena for poetry, a stage for dance performances, informational exhibits and free gifts. For more information, visit onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com.

Strawberry Linden will be doing her "Lab Gab" show from the four sims of the event, touring them with Kess Crystal.

Join our host, Strawberry Linden, as she tours One Billion Rising with Kess Crystal. On February 14th, men and women in Second Life will join people across the world and Rise to protest violence against women, as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change. The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can come together to dance, surrounded by an area of art installations, an arena for poetry, a stage for dance performances, informational exhibits and free gifts. Kess Crystal will be giving Strawberry a tour of the four regions. 

The show starts at 8AM SL time, and can be viewed on Youtube.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/OBR%20Dance/77/176/24/

Also going on is the "Hug a Linden" Linden event at the Isle of View

Party with us at the Isle of View on February 14th from 12pm to 2pm (Pacific). Meet your Valentine, enjoy music, and don’t miss the Dunk-a-Linden and Hug-a-Linden booths! 

Head to the Isle of View via Portal Park or head to http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20View%202/84/79/107

Update: the event with the Lindens takes place from 12 to 2 PM SL time

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Video: "Join us for One Billion Rising in Second Life 2019!"

(Click here if the video does not play)

By Saffia Widdershins on Feb 2, "ONE BILLION RISING began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. One Billion Rising in Second Life 2019 For the 7th year, on February 14, 2019, men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Rise, Resist and Unite as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change."

Scenes from One Billion Rising

Last week, the One Billion Rising event took place in places around the world, Second Life being one of them. The event is an annual demonstration in support of women's rights and against violence on women, and the virtual world has been a part of it from the first. Gemma Cleanslate and Bixyl Shuftan were both there, and took a number of pictures.

Read the story in Events.

One Billion Rising

By Gemma Cleanslate

Heads up to the returning One Billion Rising in second life  that will make its reappearance on February 14 . Read about the history and plans for this year on the website. Get involved if you can or plan on attending activities .

https://onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com/2018/01/19/join-us-for-one-billion-rising-in-second-life-2018/


I went over to view the sims where preparations are going on .

I found one of the leads of the event, Judi Newell , fixing up the Poetry Stage site . “The events will be at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm SLT and will include booked performers followed by open mic, so people are invited to come along and join in. All forms of writing are welcome with a limit of 5 or 10 minutes depending on the number of people participating each hour. The event is in voice ."

Stevie Basevi, another lead , was working on one of the four gardens that grace the four outer corners of the four sims. She did not take the easy way of creating one garden and dropping it in each corner ... each one is very different so make your way around the outer roadway not only to visit the gardens but to enjoy the works of art the creators have dropped there . The exhibits are always in keeping with the theme of the day but lovely each in its own way. Every one of the leads has been working very hard to prepare for this event that has so much meaning to survivors and deserve a big thanks.

I have been involved since the first year as a greeter and a dancer in the videos and enjoy it very much and always learn from the activity. There is a rose hunt this year on the sims. This is a 24 hour event with djs on the center stage at varied hours and live  performances planned during the day and night . Keep an eye on the website for more information on artists appearing and when. There is a lot going on all over the grid this day but make time to get there!

The four sims have names that suit the day so well, Rise, Dance, Unite, Resist!


OBR - One Billion Rising in Second Life 2016.


https://vimeo.com/155103784  2016's video!!

Gemma Cleanslate

Press Release: Join Us for One Billion Rising in Second Life 2018!

For the fifth year, on February 14, 2018, men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Rise, Resist and Unite as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change.

One Billion Rising first began in 2013 with the fierce struggle against sexual and physical violence – taking on the advocacy against rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sex trafficking that V-Day campaigns over 18 years have been at the forefront of. Over the last five years, as One Billion Rising has grown and the local campaigns deepened, it has also brought in economic violence and the violence of poverty, racial violence, gender violence, violence caused by corruption, occupation and aggression, violence caused by environmental disasters, climate change and environmental plunder, violence impacting women in the context of state sponsored wars, militarization, and the worsening internal and international displacement of millions of people, and violence created by corporate greed, among so many others.

RISE! RESIST! UNITE!

This year, One Billion Rising Revolution is giving sharper focus and visibility to the exploitation of women, and to harnessing even stronger global solidarity to demand an end to violence in all forms.
The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can come together to dance, surrounded by an area of art installations, an arena for poetry and dramatic productions, and informational exhibits. A variety of performers will play over the 24-hour period and poetry and dramatic events will be held at different times, enabling people all over the world to attend this virtual event no matter their timezone. The regions will have a General maturity rating to allow all residents an opportunity to participate. Pictures are welcome on the event’s Flickr group.

If you would like to volunteer to support the event, go here to find out how you can join in.

If you would like to report on the event as a member of the press, go here.

The objective of the event is to raise awareness, not to raise funds; however, information about real-world organisations will be available for those wishing to donate.

We will be announcing the sponsors for One Billion Rising shortly. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, go here (please note, as we are not a fundraising event, we have a limited number of sponsorship spaces to cover costs of the 4 regions used for the 24 hours of music, dance, poetry, literature, art installations and shows).

Additional links:
Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-Rising/493344827375934
Our Second Life Group: One Billion Rising
Our Twitter Stream: https://twitter.com/OBRinSL
Our Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2169739@N23/
Main One Billion Rising page: www.onebillionrising.org/

Scenes From One Billion Rising

On Tuesday February 14, many residents were at the Isle of View's "Hug a Linden/Dunk a Linden" or other Valentines Day themed happenings. But the event that most likely got the largest attendance was not a romance-themed one, but one that was part of a worldwide demonstration against violence on women and in support of women's rights globally: the One Billion Rising. Gemma Cleanslate was one of the volunteers for the event. Bixyl Shuftan dropped by briefly and took a few pictures of his own.

See the pictures in Events.

One Billion Rising in Second Life

A wonderful place to be on Valentines Day in Second Life is at the One Billion Rising Event. This is the 5th year of the event in our virtual world which coincides with the real-life event held all over the world on that day. “The Rising continues as a demand to end ALL forms of exploitation of women and girls.”

 

To read about the event check the Second Life website  https://onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com/  and see the explanation of the statement above. This is not just a women’s event. All men who recognize the issues are definitely invited. 

“The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can come together to dance, surrounded by an area of art installations, an arena for poetry and dramatic productions, and informational exhibits. A variety of performers will play over the 24-hour period and poetry and dramatic events will be held at different times, enabling people all over the world to attend this virtual event no matter their timezone. The regions will have a General maturity rating to allow all residents an opportunity to participate. Pictures are welcome on the event’s Flickr group.”

 

The artists who exhibit always do a wonderful job with their installations and I am looking forward to seeing them and to the great parties on the stages. 

 

I stopped over at the offices of the OBR to pick up my t shirt. 

Saturday I hope to participate in the filming of the new "Break the Chain video. It will be my third film working with all the other dancers .  I will be greeting again this year so will see you there.

 

Gemma Cleanslate

One Billion Rising Events

By Gemma Cleanslate

One Billion Rising certainly was a spectacular event as usual from opening to close. The dj stage was filled for most of the time with numerous DJs donating their time to perform. Some merchants had donated gifts that were available at the stage too. The stage was crowded all day. There were dance performances that included various dancers at both 10am and 10pm. The Shining Starlettes were on stage at 12pm The 2LEI put on quite a party between 12 and 3pm with Tansee putting on her marvelous particle show at their installation site.  If you have never seen her watch for a show somewhere sometime.

At the same time there was a presentation by quite a number of poets presenting in Poets Against Violence. This included a special performance of the play ‘The Lost Pleiads’ by Bhelanna Blaze. It was a busy day on the four sims. People spent time on the walkways visiting the various installations as well as attending activities. I took a picture of most of the installations and have some of them for you. The sims will be there on Monday but the take down day is Tuesday. I am glad to be a part of this event every year and look forward to the next one. Thanks to all of the committees who worked so hard to make it a day to remember. 

Gemma Cleanslate

SL Video: "One Billion Rising"

OBR - Second Life 2016 from nick loz.

One Billion Rising on Sunday, February 14

The committee for the One Billion Rising is to be congratulated for all their hard work preparing for the big Event on the 14^th of February.

The first part I was involved in was dancing to the wonderful music of Break the Chain for a new One Billion Rising video. That was great fun to do. It was a long taping since as usual there were crashes and other interferences but lots of fun. I loved being in the original video and so glad to make this one too! Take a look at the marvelous outcome. https://vimeo.com/155103784

My next preparation was to meet with a group training session with Saffia Widdershins. I have been a greater at the OBR for the past two years and will do it again this year with old friends and new. The OBR has an office at the Non Profit Commons and we met there by the fire to review strategies for making all welcome to the event and guiding them to the stages and activities.

Saturday I took at tour of the area for the paper and visited all the sites where builds were completed.  I ran across some of the builders working and took pictures of some for you to see. Our own DrFran has a lovely build expressing “Violence against women brings nothing to the table.” Giovanna  Cerise was working on her build regarding child brides and imploring “Let her become woman. “ The stage is massive and the center point is at the meeting of  four sims so many visitors can be accommodated at all the events at once.   

Don’t miss it! It is only here for one day, Valentines Day, though I think the sims will be there for a few days so you can go through the wonderful creations the builders have placed there for the mission of the event. Check out the website for information on event times and don’t miss it!! https://onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com/

Gemma Cleanslate

One Billion Rising

Valentine Day is regarded as a day of love all around the world, both in real life and Second Life. My favorite way of celebrating this day is to be involved the One Billion Rising in Second Life. This is the third year for this event in SL and all, regardless of gender are invited to participate.

 For those who do not know the history or meaning of the event it began across the world as global event calling for justice for women in 2012. It came into Second Life in 2013. It is a way of calling to attention the women who are abused or live in a violent situation. We all read about happenings across the world where women suffer and are unable to respond either in personal situations or in countries where they are counted as not full humans. This is a call to rise up in protest and support. By rising in dance and music to call for change.

In 2013 there was a video made of avatars dancing to the music of Break the Chain and it was marvelous. I was part of the dance in several scenes and loved it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AUYdrhoDfE Take a look. 

If you would like to become a part of the event I refer you to the website.  https://onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com/

Regardless, you are all invited to the events that will be held that day . You will find the calendar at the same website soon so keep an eye out and reserve some of your time on February 14 to join the Revolution for Change that day . There will be dancing on multiple stages with some great djs , art exhibits , poetry and much more .  Hope to see you there . 

Gemma Cleanslate

Scenes From One Billion Rising

February 14 was Valentines Day in Second Life. It was also when the "One Billion Rising" event took place. Part of a global demonstration in support of women's rights across the planet, volunteers held smaller events and greeted visitors across four sims of walkways, artistic exhibitions, and a main stage where DJs performed music throughout the event.

See the pictures in Events.