Raffi Cavoukian

After Sanders' California defeat, what's a grassroots revolutionary to do?

Raffi Cavoukian — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 18:02:18 +0000

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Months ago, Bernie Sanders had me at "Enough is enough!" When he added, "We're going to tell a few billionaires that they can't have it all," I went gaga. "This campaign is not about me, it's not about just electing a president -- it's about a democratic revolution to transform this country." I was hooked.

Corporate media is declaring Hillary Clinton the Democratic nominee. Don't believe it.

Raffi Cavoukian — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 17:48:20 +0000

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The 2016 U.S. presidential nomination race has been one of many surprises, week after week, and probably the first in which the remaining three candidates are often mentioned by their first names(Hillary, Bernie and yes, The Donald).

Virtual children risk losing touch with reality

Raffi Cavoukian — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 17:43:54 +0000

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This is an excerpt from Raffi Cavoukian's forthcoming book, Lightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons to Reform Social Media Before it Reforms Us. To purchase Lightweb Darkweb or for more information, click here.

Excerpt: Light side, dark side: Hiding in the shadows of technology

Kaitlin McNabb — Wed, 29 May 2013 18:45:58 +0000

May 30, 2013

The following is an excerpt from the preface of the new book Lightweb Darkweb: Three Reasons To Reform Social Media Before It Re-Forms Us by acclaimed children's singer Raffi Cavoukian, which is a critical response to the suicide of Vancouver teen Amanda Todd after years of online harassment and calls for the reform of social media in the areas of safety, intelligence and sustainability.

Renowned singer Raffi discusses the need for social media reform especially as a key consideration within childhood development strategies.

Child Honouring is a vision of hope and renewal

Raffi Cavoukian — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 14:40:32 +0000

One morning in late 1996, the phrase "Child Honouring" woke me up from a sound sleep. In that pivotal moment, I realized that all my years of singing and talking with young children, learning all I could about child development -- and then of watching, with growing alarm, the disintegration of communities and the deterioration of our planet -- had been a preparation of sorts, a way of showing me the link between the state of the world and the health of its children.

I knew I had to speak out in a new way on behalf of the world's young. This sparked a dialogue with people in a wide range of disciplines.

Cyber safety by design: Red Hood Project demands action

Raffi Cavoukian — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:07:30 +0000

In October 2012, British Columbia teen Amanda Todd ended her life after suffering intolerable bullying triggered by a sexual predator who found and blackmailed her through Facebook. Millions were outraged. We were too. We are social media enthusiasts who care deeply about protecting vulnerable young users in the cyber woods from the predators out to get them.

The benefits of social media in connecting users worldwide are well known, and we ourselves have cheered the democratization of knowledge and information sharing. However, the proliferations of SM access to an increasingly younger demographic is most worrisome.

My dear Kavna: A whale of a love story

Raffi Cavoukian — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:29:37 +0000

Reflections on an unusual friendship with a beluga mama

My Dear Kavna,

I feel like I've lost a very dear old friend. Yet it's much more than that. Since hearing the news of your death, I have felt the loss of an extended family member -- one who had a profound impact on me. Kavna, meeting you moved me so deeply it changed my life.

The environment is dead: Long live Mother Nature

Raffi Cavoukian — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:23:21 +0000

"Environmentalism has failed" is a statement that deserves attention. It comes from famed environmentalist David Suzuki marking 50 years since Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, widely regarded as having sparked the environmental movement.

Suzuki's May 2 article on the fundamental failure of environmentalism is ominous. The world faces not only environmental calamities such as deforestation, coral reef depletion and freshwater shortages, it is also mired in economic crises and harsh political realities.

Saying thank you to an icon: My visit with Pete Seeger

Raffi Cavoukian — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:50:17 +0000

On a fine spring day with trees in soft green bloom, I left Manhattan for Pete Seeger's place, near Beacon NY, courtesy of his longtime friend and noted videographer Jim Brown. During the drive Jim and I talked non-stop: about my singer-songwriter beginnings, about the early folk music scene, Jim's work with Pete and other folk greats, the Occupy movement, the state of the world. From a local Japanese restaurant we picked up sushi enough for us and Pete, wife Toshi, and daughter Tinya.

What's pro hockey got to do with world peace? Stand on guard for kids and the game we love

Raffi Cavoukian — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:41:26 +0000

You might wonder about pro hockey and world peace -- what's this about, is he nuts? Well, maybe. But considering the NHL hockey violence often in the news, and hockey analyst Don Cherry's repeated tributes to Canada's Afghan war dead within "Coach's Corner" on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada, I could examine the militarization of Cherry's segment and the loss of respect for Canada as a peacemaker in the world. But I won't. I will, however, question the role of violence in Canada's fall-winter-spring passion and what that says about this country. I believe it's a lack of imagination that keeps our beloved game unchangeable in the minds of violence proponents. Canada, we're better than this. We're peacemakers.

No wall too tall to fall: Can OWS evolve?

Raffi Cavoukian — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:47:48 +0000

Lately I've been thinking of Humpty Dumpty; he had a great fall, remember? And this is what's going round in my brain: All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put Wall Street together again. Corporate greed and its vast inequities and abuses have been exposed and can't hide. Busted.

So far, the Occupy Wall Street movement's stunning success has come in forcing a "greed vs. need, 1 vs. 99" dialogue in the U.S. and around the world. OWS has brilliantly changed the public discourse for several weeks. But what's next?

Raffi sings Layton's 'Letter to a Nation'

alex — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Letter_To_A_Nation.mp3

Inspired by Jack Layton's letter to Canadians, Raffi, West Coast singer, song-writer and founder of Centre for Child Honouring, turned it into a song:

"Layton's last words gave Canada a historic moment. His message of love, hope, and optimism transcend politics -- these are enduring values for young and old to embrace."

Listen to the song here and read Beyond Protest, Raffi's blog on rabble.ca.

Beyond protest: Mainstreaming the movement

Raffi Cavoukian — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:48:34 +0000

It's fun to get tweets from my grown-up "beluga grad" fans who are surprised to find that the singer they knew in childhood now cares about the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. They shouldn't be. I've been tracking societal trends and Earth changes for decades. My values have been in my songs, and in the respect I've shown my young audiences. I've not done one commercial endorsement and never marketed to kids. Their innocence does not merit exploitation. They need our love.

Ecologik -- For Egypt and our world

rabble staff — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:09:37 +0000

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

What if the interconnected intelligence of Earthly and human systems became the organizing principle of not only international relations but also for how societies might reorder priorities?

Global warming didn't pause at all during Cairo's recent rebirth. In fact, every month of inaction on Earth's climate emergency makes recovery that much harder and costlier.

A siren song is this Cairo freedom fire

rabble staff — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:36:48 +0000

Raffi on what is happening in the city of his birth.

A siren song is this Cairo freedom fire