The National Arts Program for the encouragement and development of artistic talent in conjunction with the Events Committee will hold its 3rd Annual Exhibit and Awards for National Press Club members, employees, and their families. It will be held this year in the lobby from November 9 - 20 each day the club is open. Prizes will be awarded for the three adult classifications of amateur, intermediate, and professional as well as the two youth/teen classifications of youth under 12 and teen 13-18. The cash prizes for each classification range from $300 for adult first place to $100 for third place, and comparatively $75 for first and $25 for third in the youth/teen classifications. Applications can be picked up at the front desk, at the Reliable Source, or online by visiting the online calendar on the date November 9th at www.press.org. Registration deadline for participants is October 30th by the close of business. Artwork is to be submitted on November 6th at the front desk from 8am until 9pm or on Saturday, November 7th from 10am and 1pm. Rules and regulations can be found on the application or at www.nationalartsprogram.org. Completed applications can be hand delivered to the front desk at the National Press Club or mailed using the integrated mailer on the application. The program was brought to the club in 2007 by Silver Owl and founder of the National Arts Program Leonard Andrews. Mr. Andrews passed away in 2008 and the club is pleased to continue his legacy through the participation in the National Arts Program. Click HERE to see the registration form and rules

American Center for School Choice

DIGGING THROUGH CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURES, Nov. 9 - FREE FOR MEMBERS 

Join Bob Biersack, coordinator of the Federal Election Commission's website improvement initiative, at 9 a.m.   on Monday, Nov. 9   in the  NPC Bloomberg Training Center for a data diving session on how to navigate new formats for downloading data files from the FEC website. He will also demonstrate how to use their new Disclosure Data Blog, which was created to increase the exchange of information between the site's managers and users. The session, sponsored by the NPC Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library's Professional Development Committee ,  is free for NPC members, $10 for non-members.  Contact Nicole Nottingham at nnottingham@press.org  o r (202) 662-7523 to reserve a space. 

Jonathan Moreno and Andrew Light to speak about controversies in biomedical and environmental science and policy at the National Press Club November 09, 2009

On Monday, November 9, the Appignani Bioethics Center, a project of the American Humanist Association (AHA), will hold a panel titled The Age of Bio(in)security: Science, Citizens and the Future. The panel will examine controversies in biomedical and environmental science and policy, including stem cell research, brain and cognition and climate change technologies. Distinguished speakers, including Jonathan Moreno, who served on President Barack Obama's transition team for the Department of Health and Human Services, will lead the discussion.

WHEN:
Monday, November 9, 2009
Press conference: 9:30 - 10:00 AM
Panel: 10:00 - 11:30 AM

WHO:
Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D., senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, David and Lyn Silfen University professor of ethics, professor of medical ethics and of history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania and formerly a member of President Barack Obama's transition team for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Andrew Light, Ph.D., senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and director of the Center for Global Ethics at George Mason University.
Ana Lita, Ph.D., director of the Appignani Bioethics Center at the United Nations in New York City, will moderate.

WHY:
Ethics has always been a major consideration in the sciences. As our knowledge and technology have progressed, humans have become capable of influencing more and more. Climate change, medical innovations such as pharmaceuticals and stem cell therapies and new understandings of free will all have the potential to change everything. At this event two prominent ethicists will weigh in on what they think the future of science will hold for all humanity.

This event is free and open to the media. Contact Karen Frantz at kfrantz@americanhumanist.org to RSVP.

# # #

The Appignani Bioethics Center (http://www.humanistbioethics.org/), a project of the American Humanist Association, is a think tank providing timely research and analysis of bioethical challenges facing the national and international community. The Center helps inform local, state, national and international policy debates on global issues in medical and biotechnological sciences through collaboration with non-governmental organizations and United Nations departments, bodies and agencies.

The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., its work is extended through more than 100 local chapters and affiliates across America.

Zimbabwe Instability, Injustice: Award-Winning Women’s Rights Leaders

Contact:

Mark Schoeff Jr., chair, NPC Newsmakers Committee (202-662-7218,mschoeff@workforce.com)

Jeffrey Buchanan, RFK Center (202-463-7575 ext 241, buchanan@rfkmemorial.org)

Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams, leaders of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and recipients of the 2009 RFK Human Rights Award, will discuss Zimbabwe’s growing instability and social problems at a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 2 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, in the Zenger Room, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th St., N.W.

WOZA is a grassroots movement of more than 60,000 Zimbabweans, empowering women from diverse communities to take non-violent action against injustice on a range of issues, including political rights and freedoms, rape, domestic violence, and the rights to health, food and education.

Williams and Mahlangu will outline what they call the worsening economic, social and political conditions in Zimbabwe due to the recent breakdown of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), as well as the country's ongoing violence against human rights defenders and dissidents. They also will detail their experiences leading more than 100 nonviolent marches in support of democratic reform and women's empowerment, and the brutality of the government's response.

Mahlangu and Williams will be joined by Monika Kalra Varma, director of the RFK Center for Human Rights (RFK Center). The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award honors human rights defenders throughout the world who stand up against injustice, often at great personal risk. The annual award includes on-going legal, advocacy and technical support through a partnership with the RFK Center.

Briggs Bomba, director of campaigns at Africa Action, also will participate, discussing the implications of the continuing boycott of Zimbabwe’s unity government by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his faction of the government, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T).

Smithsonian Journeys: Politics and the Media

U. S. Senate Historian Don Ritchie will conduct a very special presentation next Monday, November 9, on carrying out good oral history interviews.  The session will begin a 6 PM in the Bloomberg Library Classroom on the 13th Floor.

This is a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the oral history art form from an expert on the subject.  Mr. Ritchie is the author of Doing Oral History and has spoken on the subject on numerous occasions.  He was inducted into the Order of the Owl in 2005.

For his presentation at the National Press Club he will emphasize the difference between oral history interviews and the kinds of interviews conducted by most reporters in preparing news stories.
Please reserve a space by emailing or calling archives@press.org or 202-662-7598.  Space is limited.
 
Mr. Ritchie's presentation is coming just as the History Committee is ramping up its oral history project and is a excellent opportunity for members to learn how to maximize the value of the interviews we plan to conduct coming months.

Come join members, guests, and their families in celebrating the 3rd Annual National Arts Program contest.  Winners will be announced and refreshments served.