Betterverse: Nonprofits in the Virtual World

Announcing My Departure as Community Manager of the Nonprofit Commons in SL

A little over a year ago, I gratefully accepted the position of Community Manager of the Nonprofit Commons, a community which I have long viewed as one of the best examples of how virtual worlds can benefit real lives and the real world we live in. As a longtime member, volunteer, organizer and friend of the NPC, being paid to support this unique space was an enormous privilege.

So it is with a heavy heart that I inform you all that this is my last week as Community Manager of the Nonprofit Commons.

As many of you know, I have a number of hats that I wear: virtual producer for Global Kids, founder and editor of this virtual worlds blog Betterverse.org, and digital learning educator at the California Academy of Sciences. My work responsibilities at my other positions are going to be ramping up very quickly in the next months, making my ability to effectively serve as NPC community manager impossible. So rather than short-change this community that I love, I am passing on the reins to others who can carry the mandate forward.

Avatar Charitable Trust in Second Life To Dissolve

Sad news from Lillie Radek: the Avatar Charitable Trust, which we wrote about late last year, has dissolved effective immediately. From Lillie via group notice:

It is with a very heavy heart that I announce the dissolution of the Avatar Charitable Trust (ACT).  With the May 7th resignation from ACT and departure from SL of my beloved partner, and our Executive Director, Chuk Edman, the remaining Trustees on May 20, 2012, voted unanimously to dissolve the Trust.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your incredible generosity, support of our vision, and your treasured friendships.

The ACT had some very laudable goals:

1. raise funds to be used to financially promote charitable endeavors for the arts, humanitarianism, education, and the general welfare of avatars in Second Life and people in real life, 
2. promote goodwill, personal fulfillment, and enjoyment among those in the Second Life community, 
3. promote non political, non sectarian, non discriminatory, and non violent causes for the good of us all, and 
4. improve the standard of our lives in the virtual world of Second Life.

At least they are going out with a nice gesture. The Trustees voted to make a "very large" final donation of all remaining funds to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life in SL.  That's a classy exit.

Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds Streaming Free in 4 Virtual Worlds May 16-18

Starting tomorrow May 16 through May 18 is the annual Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds (FCVW) in Washington, DC at the National Defense University.  Much of the event will be streamed online for free in Second Life, Vastpark, Protosphere, Web.Alive, and 3DEvents hosting the stream on their website. Questions will be taken for presenters during the main conference via twitter hashtag #fcvw12. Workshops and government project poster sessions will not be streamed.

Among the highlights:

• Jesse Schell, Carnegie Mellon and Schell Games will discuss “The Future of Virtual Characters”;
• James Blascovich, UCSB, connects the “Mind, Brain and Virtual Reality”;
• Charles Wankel, Rotterdam School of Management, will lead a panel on “Developing and Deploying Learning in Virtual Worlds”;
• Michelle Fox, Department of Energy, will offer the opportunities in the “National Training Education Resource (NTER): A virtual worlds integration framework to spark real change in enterprise and government learning.”
• a military panel led by Douglas Maxwell, Army Research Lab, The Military Open Simulator Enterprise Strategy: Rationale and Use Cases”;
• a health panel facilitated by Kevin Hollway, Army Telemedicine and Technology, “The Future of Health Applications in Virtual Worlds: Challenges, Solutions, and Convergence”;
• a cyber security panel led by Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, University of Washington, “Security in Virtual Worlds: Can I trust on your Avatar?”

Looks like a packed and very interesting conference for those interested in virtual worlds for education, collaboration and simulation.