The 10th  International Conference on Ecological Informatics 'Facing Global Change by Sharing Data and Models' wil take place on 24‐28 October 2016 in Dubrovnik, Croatia  

 

The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place from 4 to 17 December 2016 - Cancun, Mexico.

More information to follow here: https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=cop-13

 

The third meeting of the BioSyst.EU will be organized by the Swedish Systematics Association, Sweden and will take place in Gothenburg in August 14–18, 2017. More information on the meeting will be published in February-March 2016.

For more infromation visist: http://www.biosyst.eu/

Until Tuesday, abortion rights advocates had prevailed on all seven measures that have appeared on statewide ballots since the fall of Roe.

The post Abortion rights advocates win in 7 states and clear way to overturn Missouri ban but lose in 3 appeared first on Boston.com.

Bianca Betancourt, digital culture editor for Harper's Bazaar, called Cyrus' look the “type of over-the-top camp we love and want from the Grammys.”

The post Victoria Monét, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus stun on the wild-and-wacky Grammys red carpet appeared first on Boston.com.

JOAQUIM Forn was Catalonia’s interior minister until he was arrested for his role in the October 2017 independence referendum. He has been in jail since.

THE NATIONAL

18th December 2018

Exclusive by GREG RUSSELL

Forn has also been on hunger strike for two weeks, one of four prisoners taking this drastic course of action. Here, he talks about his incarceration, the forthcoming trials and Europe.

What is your view of events such as the continuing refusal of European leaders to take up your cases; and the way Spain is lurching further to the right almost every day?

I am worried that Europe turns its back on the situation we are in. What is happening is a clear violation of civil rights and liberties. In Spain, an involution is happening as a consequence of a weak left that is being dragged by the discourse of the PP (People’s Party) and Ciudadanos (Citizens) and also due to the rise of the extreme right with Vox.

Europe should not be unconnected to this regression and should position itself in defence of our liberties.

The political prisoners have a huge amount of support with daily protests outside Lledoners – does that support give you more strength?

Absolutely. Some of us have been for more than a year in pretrial and preventative detention. First in prison in Madrid and now in Catalunya.

These last few months have been very tough and we have been able to overcome them thanks to the support from our families and the societal mobilisation that there is in Catalunya.

From the prison courtyard we can hear the chants and shouts of support. Without this great support, the situation would have been more difficult to bear.

You have been on hunger strike now for two weeks, are you not worried that this protest can damage you?

We have not imposed a time limit upon ourselves. Our hunger strike aims to denounce the inaction of the Constitutional Court (TC), which has not reviewed our appeals. Some of these were submitted a year ago. The court, who should be the guarantor of our rights, is acting subordinate to political interests and is denying us access to European justice.

What we are enduring in Spain should not only worry independence supporters. Any democrat should react to this arbitrariness. We are clearly worried about the possible consequences to our health. The medical services from jail check us daily. We cannot forget that our trial is starting next month and that we should confront it in the best possible condition, both physical and mentally.

The TC judges have said they will hear you appeals next month (and will hear some cases before then) – do you believe that they will stick to that timetable?

From the moment we started the hunger strike, the TC made some moves. This week, it has started to resolve five of almost 30 appeals that all the defendants have presented.

Next week it will continue to resolve other appeals. It is clear that the TC knows it has not acted according to the law and should face our complaint.

How do you view the world’s response to what is happening in Catalonia?

I would like there to be a bigger awareness of what is happening in Spain. The governments of both PP and PSOE (Spanish Socialist Party) have dismissed dialogue, which is the political way, and have ended up imposing criminal law solutions against the political demands of millions of Catalans.

The fact that in Europe, in the 21st century, we are talking about exiled and imprisoned politicians should worry the European states and citizens. The crisis being lived in Catalunya should speak to all democrats. The debate about liberties is very alive in Europe and the world, so we cannot turn our backs as if this debate does not concern us.

How worrying is the prospect of not receiving a fair trial?

Without a doubt, we are very worried. In any case, I see the trial as an opportunity. We are not in the pretrial proceedings any more, so now the accusations need to be argued with proof.

The prosecution wanted to create the narrative of rebellion and sedition, based on the police reports from the Civil Guard and the National Police. The German courts have compellingly ruled out these crimes. The trial will be broadcast live, with the presence of international observers.

I have not lost faith and I truly think that with the criminal code in hand, the only possible sentence is absolution.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

I would like to thank the Scottish people for showing their solidarity and support. We have received hundreds of letters and postcards. We cannot answer them all which is why I want to take this opportunity to thank them for their gesture.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — David Pastrnak scored with 1:47 to play as the Boston Bruins scored three third-period goals to come back for a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. Pastrnak’s shot from the left circle trickled through Jordan Binnington’s pads and slid just over the goal line. Morgan Geekie and […]

The post Pastrnak’s goal completes rally as Bruins come back to stun Blues 3-2 appeared first on Boston.com.

ABINGTON 91 Linda St. One-family ranch, built in 1951, 858 square feet, 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, on 7,014-square-foot lot. $425,000 56 Townsend St. #C23 Condo/Apt, built in 1972, 900 square feet, 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. $280,000 ACTON 21 Grasshopper Lane. One-family Colonial, built in 1968, 3,546 square feet, 9 rooms, 4 […]

The post Recent homes sales in Greater Boston (Nov. 13) appeared first on Boston.com.

Actor Timothée Chalamet made a surprise appearance at his own look-alike contest in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, a well-attended event that drew an order to disperse from police and at least one arrest

The post Actor Timothée Chalamet crashes his own look-alike contest after police shut down crowded event appeared first on Boston.com.

Your guide to some of the best scary movies to watch streaming from your couch.

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“There’s no story quite like the Boston Celtics.”

The post What we know about ‘Celtics City,’ HBO’s documentary from the producers of ‘30 for 30’ appeared first on Boston.com.

Educators in Beverly, Gloucester, and Marblehead are fighting for increased wages and paid parental leave.

The post Live updates: Educators in 3 North Shore districts are on strike appeared first on Boston.com.

Although jurors sided with plaintiff David Meehan in May after a monthlong trial, confusion arose over how much money they could award in damages.

The post Judge moves to slash $38 million verdict in New Hampshire youth center abuse case appeared first on Boston.com.

Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, said the award honored research that made connections between amino acid sequence and protein structure.

The post Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to 3 scientists for work on proteins, building blocks of life appeared first on Boston.com.

“The hiring in some sectors and the layoffs in others is a clear reflection of the ‘feast or famine’ realities occurring with those industries serving consumers."

The post While many file for unemployment, these companies are hiring thousands. Here’s why. appeared first on Boston.com.

Beyoncé leads this year's nods with 11, bringing her career total to 99 nominations.

The post Beyoncé leads the 2025 Grammy noms, becoming the most nominated artist in the show’s history appeared first on Boston.com.

Titled “Beyoncé Makes History: Black Radical Tradition, Culture, Theory & Politics Through Music,” the one-credit class will focus on the period from her 2013 self-titled album through this year's genre-defying “Cowboy Carter.”

The post Queen Bey and Yale: The Ivy League university is set to offer a course on Beyoncé and her legacy appeared first on Boston.com.

When US presidents get on the phone to speak with foreign leaders, staff are on hand to take diligent notes. But is there a set procedure of how calls with foreign dignitaries are handled? Tom Blanford from the National Security Archives in Washington, DC says that Trump’s style has been very different compared with his predecessors.

Also, TikTok, is one of the most popular social media apps in the world but the company that owns it is based in China, and some say that's leading to censorship; When you think about the Soviet Union, you don’t often think about comedy, Michael Idov’s film ‘The Humorist’ delves into the life of a Soviet comic; the power of comedy is something stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi is trying to harness in order to start a more honest conversation between Israelis and Palestinians; and the tale of a Russian ship captain whose message in a bottle was recently discovered on a beach in Alaska.

Image: Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump (Credit: Ukraine Presidential Press Service via EPA)

About 4,000 Liberians could be at risk of deportation after the Trump administration terminated their legal status. Earlier this month, they finally got their day in federal court in Massachusetts. They’re still waiting for a ruling, but in the meantime, many of these Liberian families are stuck in limbo. They’re hanging between the prospect of life going on as usual and a new reality in which they would be forced to return to Liberia.

Also, we hear from an unauthorized immigrant who is suing the Trump administration for the right to stay in the US; Facebook is looking to set up a supreme court like system to moderate content; French chef Marc Veyrat is taking Michelin to court after losing a coveted star; and there’s a new kind of trainer that supposedly makes you faster, but some competitive runners think it offers an unfair advantage.

(A group of Liberian DED holders and their allies protest in Worcester, Massachusetts prior to a court hearing. Credit: Tania Karas/The World)

Approximately every 30 seconds, a United States citizen of Latin American descent, reaches the voting age of 18. This year, 32 million Latinos are projected to be eligible to vote. Latinos are one of the largest demographic groups in the US. We’ll learn about the history of the ‘Latino vote’ in the US, we’ll meet young Latino voters, and we’ll look into how both major US political parties are trying to gain young Latino support in the lead-up to the election.

(From left, Kathleen Hilibish, 68, and Judi Longacre, 79, volunteer at the voter registration booth at the Perry Township Oktoberfest at Hartwick Park in Canton, Ohio. Credit: Dustin Franz/Getty Images)

The homicide of George Floyd, an unarmed man, while he was in police custody has sparked demonstrations and protests in the US and across the globe. From London and Berlin to Australia and the Netherlands, thousands marched in solidarity after a video showed a white police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes before he died. The incident touched off outrage in the United States, amid a polarizing presidential campaign and the coronavirus pandemic that has thrown millions out of work. Darnella Wade, an organizer for Black Lives Matter in St. Paul, Minnesota, hopes that this becomes a galvanizing moment for lasting change.

Also, black Americans once largely fought alone against police brutality, but as Somali American kids grew up in the same environment, they began to join Black Lives Matter; Dr. Michelle Morse, a professor of medicine at Harvard University explains why the racism in public health is so harmful in the age of Covid-19; America's adversaries are using global attention on the George Floyd protests as anti-US propaganda; and America’s foreign adversaries are also using social media to deepen division in the US.

One is in Massachusetts.

The post 3 of the best places to visit in December are in New England, according to Good Housekeeping appeared first on Boston.com.

A new ranking by HomeToGo highlights affordable skiing slopes in New England.

The post New England has 3 of the country’s most affordable ski resorts appeared first on Boston.com.

Meet Flavio Sala! Flavio is a remarkably well-rounded Italian guitarist from Bojano, currently living in the United States. Throughout his career Flavio has been captivating all kinds ... Read more

The post 3 Questions with Flavio Sala, Italian Guitarist appeared first on CMUSE.

Meet Anna Leonova! Anna Leonova is an Ukrainian composer of contemporary classical music, pianist, composition teacher, piano and music theory teacher, currently living in Qatar. At an ... Read more

The post 3 Questions with Anna Leonova, Ukrainian Composer appeared first on CMUSE.

Back in 2011, Belgian harpist Anneleen Lenaerts, now a soloist at the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded an album containing harp arrangements of Chopin’s and Liszt’s most ... Read more

The post 3 Questions with Anneleen Lenaerts, Principal Harpist of the Vienna Philharmonic appeared first on CMUSE.

The 2018 AFC U-23 Championship will be the third edition of the AFC U-23 Championship, the biennial international age-restricted football championship organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's under-23 national teams of Asia. A total of 16 teams will compete in the tournament. It is scheduled to take place 9–27 January 2018. China has been recommended as the hosts by the AFC Competitions Committee.

Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 42 teams entered the competition. They are divided into two zones

• West: 22 teams, to be drawn into five groups: two groups of five teams and three groups of four teams.
• East: 20 teams, to be drawn into four groups: five groups of four teams.

The final tournament hosts China will participate in qualification despite having automatically qualified for the final tournament.

The draw will be held on 17 March 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The teams are seeded according to their performance in the previous season in 2016.

Qualifiers to be played from July 15-23 July, 2017.

West Asia :

Pot 1 - Iraq, Qatar, UAE, Iran & Jordan.
Pot 2 - Uzbekistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait & Oman.'
Pot 3 - Tajikistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Bahrain & India.
Pot 4 - Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka.
Pot 5 - Nepal & Turkmenistan

East Asia :

Pot 1 - Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia & Thailand.
Pot 2 - China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar & Laos.
Pot 3 - Malaysia, Cambodia, Timor-Leste , Chinese Taipei & Singapore.
Pot 4 - Mongolia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Brunei & Macau.
Pot 5 - Guam 

Player Eligibility :
Players born on or after 1 January 1995 are eligible to compete in the tournament.

Asia’s rising stars discovered their opponents following the conclusion of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 Qualifiers Draw in Tashkent. The Qualifiers are scheduled for October 23 to 31, 2021. Out of 47 AFC Member Associations, a total of 42 teams entered the competition and were drawn into nine groups of four teams and two groups of three team. The 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams will seal their qualification to the Finals, along with Uzbekistan who have already confirmed their place as hosts. The Finals will be held between 1-19 June 2022. Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament.



India is hoping to qualify to the Finals of the tournament for the first time since its inception and was drawn in Group E alongside Kyrgyz Republic, Oman and UAE, who will host the group. 

India's Fixture
MD1: 27 October 2021 - India vs Oman
MD2: 29 October 2021 - India vs UAE
MD3: 31 October 2021 - India vs Kyrgyz Republic

Over the last few months we’ve tackled the topic of TEAM BUILDING.  As much as I would love to feel as if we have this one nailed, we don’t.  TEAM BUILDING is a muscle that every leader needs to continue to develop.  It’s easy to let this one slip away from us! Just when we start to feel like we are getting on top of this, something changes.  A vital team member leaves.  A leader needs to take on the responsibility of a different area.  Your best guitar player gets hired as the worship pastor at another church.  These are all real-life situations that happen in even the best teams.  They will happen to yours as well.

In our “Month One” blog on team building we presented the IDEA of developing a Leadership Pipeline within your worship ministry.  This IDEA helped support that idea that building an EMPOWERED TEAM is a powerful Kingdom tool.  “Who’s responsible for who?” and “Who’s responsible for what?” are two of the most important questions that needs to be answered in any team environment.  When you lead a team with clarity and spread out the responsibility for others to own your team, you ignite growth opportunities that might have went unnoticed. 

In “Month Two” we presented the idea of “Making Recruitment and Assimilation a Normal for Everyone”.  So many times, I bump into Worship Leaders and Pastors that feel the very unfair burden of building ALONE.  With this IDEA, we present the notion that every team can build better and faster when the team members who are on the teams are your best recruiters.  Make this a normal practice.  At my church, we practice asking new team members to “bring one” with you.  We have found that by making this a standard practice at ground level, we never have to ask for participation from the 10,000-foot level.  Whatever is visible is what replicates.  Empower your best leaders to build.

So here we are. Month Three.

Idea #3. Clearly Identify and Communicate Simple On-Ramps.

I love my city.  I live in Lincoln, Ne.  Home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  I love the youthful spirit and progressive nature of our city.  I have even grown to love and cherish the special college football atmosphere that engulfs our city on game day.  It’s addictive to say the least.  But one thing that I am not a big fan of is traffic on game day.  There is one primary road that leads into Lincoln and over 90,000 fans make the trek to our city on game day.  There are probable more if you include tailgaters.  THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM: The roads infrastructure needs to be able to support the traffic flow to the desired destination.  If there are too many confusing pieces of communication, it would put our city into emergency mode and have catastrophic effects.  I mean, the world might come to an end if people missed a Cornhusker Football Game! (No, but seriously) ;)

Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Every month I host a worship leaders round table in Omaha Ne.  At this round table, Worship leaders from multiple different denominations gather for friendship and peer coaching.  These leaders have become family and they are amazing.  We discuss a wide range of worship ministry issues.  One topic that comes up regularly is “attracting the right volunteers”.  If a leader starts to pour their heart out to me about how they can’t get enough volunteers, I always ask one question to start the conversation.  “Can you tell me about your on-ramp?” This might sound overly simplistic, but what I have found is that sometimes we make it more complicated than it needs to be or we haven’t identified the answer to the most important question at all.  Every leader on your team, in unity, needs to be able to answer this question with clarity and simplicity.

 THIS IS THE QUESTION

“Where do I go and What do I do?”

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

 Here are a few suggestions when it comes to identifying your onramp into your ministry:

       1.     KEEP IT SIMPLE-

Keep it simple in language and communication.  Your “on-ramp” shouldn’t be riddled with complex forms, interviews and assessments.  Not yet anyways.  Create an “on-ramp’ that just answers the question, “where do I go and what do I do?”.  Worry about next steps later.  But for now, getting a “willing one” to show up is your biggest win. Make it simple for them.

For example, I person asks about playing guitar on the worship team.  Any leader in your department should be able to have the same simple answer. ”I am so glad you are interested!  We host all our new volunteers on Monday Nights at 6:30pm!  Would you be my guest?!”

       2.     USE WHATS ALREADY WORKING AS YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD-

­What is already working in your church?  Do you have a rehearsal process that is spot on?  USE IT!  Is God’s presence so thick in your weekend worship services that lives are being transformed?  USE IT! I’ve made the mistake of overthinking and over programming.  I’ve launched the “extra” visitor’s night or the quarterly worship night with the intentions of attracting new people.  Sometimes those things work.  But the problem is that even though they may be effective, it takes a long time for those events to represent the culture and team that we want people to be attracted to. 

Identify what’s already working and utilize those moments to “on-ramp” your team.

        3.     KEEP IT CONSISTENT-

Nothing can steal the wind out of the sails of progress like a good dose of inconsistency.  If you “welcome” new team members on Monday nights, keep that consistent for a season.  If you “welcome” new people to your choir rehearsal and you celebrate leaders that brought them, don’t change that unless you are communicating change.  Consistency, on this point, allows us the opportunity to get buy in from our team! Consistency builds reliability. Consistency gives our leaders tools to build with.  (Side note:  We will be talking about “embracing change” and reinvention in the upcoming months.)

Consistency tells our teams that we aren’t building a kingdom that only serves us, but we are leading an army that can fight battles when we share the burden.

Identifying your “on-ramps” could be a simple strategy that could help you engage people better.  Below is a sample of an “on-ramps” document that I created for our kid’s ministry at our church.  This idea isn’t just for worship/creative teams, but for everyone.

It is essential that you clearly communicate the “WHERE/HOW” to START whenever you are building teams.  Keep your communication clear and simple.  Try utilizing opportunities that your church is already doing well to interact with potential volunteers.  Lastly, be consistent.  Everyone should know the answer to this question: “Where do I go and What do I do?”.

 Having clear and simple communication about “what to DO next” can make or break your teams culture. 

Jesus, I pray today for the burden and stress that our worship leaders and pastors feel daily. We pray that you would continue to grow our capacity to shepherd well.  Thank you for entrusting us with big things.  We are honored to pastor your people.

Please feel free to use this resource or any that you find at worship.coach. Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions about these three helpful tips.  I am always glad to help. 

Michael King @michaelkingjr
free resources available at www.worship.coach

Our brand new host, Michael King, makes his introduction into the AllAboutWorship Community!  He's spoken at the conferences, but now you'll get to hang out a few times a month on the podcast!

On this episode, you'll hear from a familiar face, Dustin Smith.  You'll hear them chat about the new focus of AAW and some of the vision for the future.  We're majoring on the core values, the power of God's Presence, the power of His People, and the power of a Sound.

We want to continue the practical teaching, new music, artist interviews and worship teaching & coaching moments.  Come along as AAW takes off into a brand new season - it's gonna be great and we are excited to be on this journey with YOU!  We're back!!!! 

 

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Stay connected with us

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podcast[at]allaboutworship.com

We continue the values conversation with Michael King and Dustin Smith.

This week, we recap the power of HIS presence, the power of his people and the power of the sound. We spend a significant amount of time on the POWER OF HIS PRESENCE, because that’s what defines us. We are really excited for you to hear this conversation. And to James, the Uber driver … thank you for the lyric contribution

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Michael King and Michael Farren continue the discussion on the main focus areas for All About Worship - Power of His Presence, Power of His People, and the Power of a Sound.  King catches up with Farren in the middle of the KINGDOM SONGS BOOT CAMP and there are some amazing takeaways.

“Stop leading songs and start pastoring people” - Michael Farren.

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