Project Partner Spotlight
CUSLAR leads local groups hosting human rights dialogues with leader from Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement
Local organizations will host dialogue and study on the issues of education, food justice and global social movements with Judite Stronzake of Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) this fall.
Organized under the auspices of the Paulo Freire Engaged Practitioners Program of the Committee on U.S.-Latin American Relations (CUSLAR), Ms. Stronzake's visit will connect with rural, urban and student audiences in Central New York and along the East Coast for a month beginning September 20.
Stronzake is a member of the MST national coordinating body that provides a structure for the  organization's two million members. She is education coordinator for Latin America for the international peasant organization, Via Campesina. She has been part of the MST since its founding in 1984 and has extensive experience in pedagogy, rural education and issues of agrarian reform and food sovereignty.
CUSLAR Coordinator Tim Shenk is excited to engage a variety of populations during the fall visit. "The Freire Program is designed to promote understanding about global human rights issues that affect us here," he said. "Hosting a leader of the caliber of Ms. Stronzake will be a fabulous chance to learn about how regular people have made fundamental changes in the world and built a model for a society based on human rights principles."
Stronzake will be a keynote speaker at a Latin American Congress on Democracy and Dictatorship at Cornell University on September 28. The event, put on by La Vision Latinoamericana, CUSLAR and Cornell student groups, is open to the public.
Stronzake will be based in Ithaca from September 20 to October 10. As more dates for her talks are confirmed, the information will be available on CUSLAR's website.
In addition to coordinating several public presentations, CUSLAR will host a study group that will meet several times to discuss texts relevant to the MST and global human rights issues.
"This group will allow for deep engagement on key issues of global and local importance, as we develop our own leadership and that of those we work with toward the goal of ending structural racism and poverty in our area," Shenk said. "The MST is one of the strongest voices for justice for the poor in our hemisphere, and we're committed to studying what they've figured out to apply it here."
For more information about the study group or public events related to Stronzake's visit, contact cuslar@cornell.edu.
Local partners supporting the visit include: CUSLAR, Cornell Engaged Learning + Research, Cornell Latin American Studies Program, Center for Transformative Action, Burtt House Friends Center, Cornell Department of Development Sociology, Ithaca College Latin American Studies Program, Wells College and Groundswell.
Beyond Central New York, the Poverty Scholars Program of the New York City-based Poverty Initiative will convene a series of events with Stronzake in New York City and Philadelphia October 10-20.
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Using Fiction for Social Change:
Ithaca City of Asylum Voices of Freedom
Venezuelan political critic and renowned author Israel Centeno will read in English from his novel La Torre Invertida, (translated as The Tower Overturned) as the highlight of I thaca City of Asylum's Voices of Freedom 2013. The novel is about the unraveling of a city where dystopia becomes it's citizens' harsh reality. Centeno's talk begins at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 29, in the Tompkins County Public Library's BorgWarner Community Meeting Room.  | | Israel Centeno |
"In Venezuela," Centeno says, "the independent journalist is constantly threatened with prison, demands, and the so-called 'ire of the people.'" In such a world, fiction is an alternative for the expression of social criticism and a call for change. A theme in The Tower Overturned is how rats and "man-rats," are signs of corruption in society. "The rats are mutants," Centeno continues. "We have a crowd. Half are some kind of gothic homeless and half are rat-men. They play a game between the towers, symbols of modernity. The game is a sort of Maya ball game that ends in sacrifice. The fight begins to turn against the corrupt bureaucrats and the powerful leaders themselves." Centeno is the author of poetry, short stories, and novels and is regarded as one of the most important Venezuelan literary figures of the past fifty years. He has won numerous awards, including the Federico Garcia Lorca Award in Spain and the National Council of Culture Award in Venezuela in 1991. Born in 1958 in Caracas, Venezuela, he is currently living in the United States as an exile from his native country. Centeno has been the writer-in-residence at the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh since 2011. Displaced under the presidency of Hugo Chavez, he has just published his tenth book, Bamboo City (Wild Age Press, 2012), his first in English. Unlike magical realism of Latin American novels of the 20th century, Centeno describes his work as "distorted realism about a distorted realm," drawing from popular forms such as vampire novels, Gothic fiction, and absurdism. As part of the program, Ithaca City of Asylum's resident writer, Sonali Samarasinghe, exiled from Sri Lanka and presently an international visiting scholar at Ithaca College, will read a brief excerpt from her memoir-in-progress. Pablo Cohen, head of the classical guitar program and a faculty member in the Latin American Studies program at Ithaca College, will perform regional music. "Voices of Freedom" is an annual event of Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA) and is presented this year in partnership with the Tompkins County Public Library as part of Banned Books/Freedom to Read Week. This event is made possible with grant support from the Community Arts Partnership. Additional funding is provided by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Co-sponsors include Amnesty International group 73 Ithaca, and Cornell University's Carl L. Becker House, Department of Romance Studies, Latin American Studies Program, Rose Goldsen Lecture Series Fund, and the Society for the Humanities. ICOA is part of a worldwide network of cities of asylum, supporting writers whose works are suppressed, whose lives are threatened, whose cultures are vanishing, and whose languages are endangered. For more information please contact Bridget Meeds, ICOA board chair: 607-220-7984 or at bridget.meeds@gmail.com.
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News and Events
Second Annual Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute
Save the Date, November 15-17 in downtown Ithaca and at CornellIn the face of economic downturn, worsening social inequities, on-going political polarization, and persistent ecological stress, people in communities across the country are joining together to build a movement that relies on inclusive, community-driven solutions to solve seemingly intractable problems. Sara Horowitz, of the Freelancers Union, recently observed that, "at the core of this new movement is a culture of interdependence, mutual support, and affinity with building sustainability, rather than maximizing short-term profit." The Finger Lakes Social Entrepreneurship Institute is conceived to support this movement in our region and beyond. The purposes of this Institute are to exchange ideas, provide tools, and help grow the social support system that allows each participant to contribute to the transformation of our economy so that it is socially just, ecologically sound, resilient, and has equity as the driver for growth.    
2012 FLSEI Photos by David Makar Upon completion of this Institute, participants will be able to: - Apply and evaluate one of two leading models pivotal to the success of social ventures: the Business Model Generation Canvas and the Program Profitability and Social Impact Model.
- Know and incorporate elements of creating a collaborative, inclusive local economy into their social ventures or areas of work, with specific focus on the value chain.
- Integrate the insights and know-how of experienced social entrepreneurs and consultants.
- Contribute to creating a new local infrastructure that supports social entrepreneurs and values driven businesses.
- Develop relationships that continue beyond the institute with a diverse group of social entrepreneurs and people in the key sectors of education, research, business, finance, policy, and community organizing.
Registration will begin soon! As details are finalized, the full Institute schedule will be found at CTA's website.
Parenting from the Heart
Our children are so important to us, yet sometimes we struggle to parent in ways we feel truly good about. Participating in this parenting class series, you will explore how to: - Understand the needs behind your children's behavior.
- Parent effectively without relying on the threat of
- punishments or promise of rewards.
- Transform power struggles into opportunities for building connection and trust.
- Discover a quality of connection that will sustain your family through life's challenges.
- Contribute to peace by raising children who can make peace.
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Dates: Eight Wednesdays, Sept. 30th-Dec. 2nd
Time: 7-9:00 pm OR 9:30-11:30 am
Cost: $190- $275(Sliding Scale) Includes booklet
Registration by: Sept. 20th
Limited to 10 parents
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Judy Burrill has completed the Center for Nonviolent Communication's Parent Peer Leadership Program, a part of the Peaceful Families, Peaceful World Project. She has also completed hundreds of hours of NVC workshop trainings and has led numerous classes, and has been a mediator for seven years.
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For more information contact: JudyBurrill@gmail.com CUSLAR September events Harvest of Empire: The Untold Story of Latinos in America
Documentary Film Screening followed by conversation with Eduardo López, Co-Director and Producer
Screenings and discussion with director: - Monday, September 16, 7 PM Willard Straight Theatre, Cornell University
- Tuesday, September 17, 4 PM Elmira College, Elmira, NY
- Wednesday, September 18, 7 PM Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY
- Thursday, September 19, 7 PM St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY
Latin American Congress on Democracy and Dictatorship
Cornell University, September 27-28
Keynote addresses:
Estela Barnes de Carlotto Abuelas de la Plaza de Mayo, Argentina Sept. 27, 5 PM, place TBA Judite Stronzake Landless Workers' Movement, Brazil Sept. 28, time and place TBA
Latin American Studies Seminar Series
September 30, 12:15 PM
Uris Hall 202, Cornell University
"Development, change and protest in Brazil: A social movement perspective"
Judite Stronzake
Landless Workers' Movement, Brazil
Paulo Freire human rights study group
Thursday, September 5, 12, 26 and October 3
5:00-6:30 PM, place TBA
The group will discuss texts relative to Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement and global human rights issues before Judite Stronzake's arrival and engage with her during her visit. For more information, contact cuslar@cornell.edu.
Third Root Education Exchange
Healer's Economic Forum
September 21, 3:30-6pm Third Root Community Health CenterCalling all healers! Let's talk about money, how 'bout? How do you ask for payment in a capitalist economy? How does your practice embody accessibility and also your own sustenance? Let's get together, as healers in New York City, and talk about money! Some of us had educations that included business skills, some did not. Some healers have a savvy business sense, some do not. Some of us prioritize our clients, and some of us prioritize our own sustainability in this work. This is a Forum in which we can learn from one another. This workshop will encompass a large-scale view and get down to minute detail of financial transactions and economic conversations with clients. In this Forum, we will discuss different models of economic accessibility (sliding scales, non-profit structures, free clinics, by donation, worker-owned cooperatives, etc.), and reflect on what is and isn't working financially in our own healing practices. We will also workshop the moment of negotiating payment with clients and examine how our own particular relationship with money influences that moment, and how in that moment we are both provider and educator on capitalism. Come to learn, to share your skills and wisdom, and to create healing community in New York. Email jacoby@thirdroot.org to register.
Vitamin L Project
You are invited to hear Vitamin L sing locally on Saturday Sept. 14 from 10:45 - 11:15a.m. at Cass Park Pavilion (near the Childrens' Garden) for the for the Tompkins/Cortland Suicide Prevention - Out of the Darkness Walk. Later on the same day, Vitamin L performs at the International Peace Festival at St. Catherine's Church from 4:15 - 5:00p.m.
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 The Center for Transformative Action (CTA) helps to create communities that work for everyone. We do this by providing fiscal sponsorship to innovative social change agents in New York State, as well as financial, human resources, and grants management services. CTA is an educational non-profit organization affiliated with Cornell University.
Our Vision
We envision change makers everywhere engaging and strengthening the power of the heart to remake the world.
Our Mission
We are an alliance of individuals and organizations inspired by principles of nonviolence and committed to bold action for justice, sustainability, and peace. CTA supports change makers with the tools to build thriving, inclusive communities that work for everyone. We serve our projects, the public, and Cornell University by offering educational programs and strategic organizational resources.
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