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EU BON WP3/WP4 kick-off meeting, Solsona, Spain

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 16:37:00 +0200

A joint EU BON WP3-WP4 meeting took place on 25-27 November 2013 in Solsona, Spain. The main aim of the meeting was to officially kick off WP3 and provide forum for discussion of the planned work. The two work packages were presented with their main aims, scope and objectives. The place of the two work packages in the broader framework of EU BON, and the cross-links between the two, were also discussed.

In the following interview Hannu Saarenmaa and Klaus Henle share insights from the meeting:

 

1) WP3 ‘Improving tools and methods for data analysis and interface’ and WP 4 ‘Link environment to biodiversity: analyses of patterns, processes and trends’ are two of the core work packages in EU BON that are expected to accumulate a lot of genuine data and develop new tools for data analysis and interface. Can you explain in short what will your main activities involve?

HS: I can contribute to the project and these WPs a large-scale modelling technology from the BioVeL project that can process hundreds of species. This would be an engine to compute the first real Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV).

KH: Our main activities will involve an analysis how available effort is best allocated in time and space to optimize results from monitoring. We will further assess how different sources of uncertainty influence conclusions derived from the analysis of monitroing data

2) What were the main results of the meeting in terms of the planned work and WP management?

HS: It was proposed to set up an EBV Task Force across the EU BON project.  If we can do that, it would really give a thrust for the project. If we could pick up the Database of Monitoring Schemes from the EUMON project, as discussed, that would give us access to some large datasets.

KH: One main result was the identification of the concrete responsibilities (e.g. data provision, data analysis for terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity) within the workpackage and to identify explicitly links to other workpackages.

3) What novelty will the work in these two work packages bring and what will the major results be?

HS: If they can create a new Ecological Niche Modelling algorithm that can also deal with spatial patterns, that would be interesting.  Such a model actually exists in MigClim, but it is not yet widely used.

KH: We will get recommendations how monitoring can be optimized and a more comprehensive understanding of changes in biodiversity and their underlying causes

4) What are the immediate planned activities and when can the first results be expected?

KH: The most immediate planned activities it the screening of potentially available data needed for the analysis

5) How will the WP3/4 interact with GEO BON?

HS: The proposed EBV Task Force would need to interface very closely with GEO BON.

KH: We are engaged directly with key members of GEO-BON; e.g. we have regular meetings with Henrique Perreira.



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Spain: 2 Catalan Separatists Start Hunger Strike in Prison

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Sun, 02 Dec 2018 21:45:00 +0100

NYT
By The Associated Press
Dec. 1, 2018
                 
 
BARCELONA, Spain — Two leaders of Catalonia's separatist movement who have spent the last year in prison started a hunger strike on Saturday to protest what they claim is the unfair treatment by Spanish courts.

Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, regional lawmakers in northeastern Catalonia, said in a statement distributed by the Catalan government that "we will never give up on our right to a fair trial."

Spain's government responded by saying that they and other separatist leaders will be treated just like any other citizens brought before the law.

The government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement that "like all citizens who are subject to and protected by the rule of law, the separatist leaders will receive a fair trial."
 
Sanchez and Turull are two of nine separatist leaders who are in pre-trial custody for their role in an illegal secession attempt by Catalonia's leaders last year. Spain's state prosecutors will pursue charges of rebellion against both, asking for sentences of 17 years for Sanchez and 16 years for Turull.

Sanchez and Turull are being held in a prison near Barcelona, the largest city in the Catalonia region.
 
They have been kept behind bars with authorities saying they pose a risk of continuing to push for secession and fleeing Spain like other separatist leaders, including former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.

The trial is expected to start in the coming months.

Catalonia's current separatist leaders insist they won't desist in their effort to break away from the rest of Spain.

Election results and polls show that the 7.5 million resident of the wealthy Catalonia region are roughly equally divided by the secession issue.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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IADL calls for release of Catalan political prisoners

By www.collectiuemma.cat
Published On :: Wed, 05 Dec 2018 04:15:00 +0100

IADL
3 Dec 2018
 

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) rejects and condemns the repressive action undertaken by the Spanish government against some pro-independence figures in Catalonia.
IADL calls for the immediate release of Catalan political prisoners, who have been held in pre-trial detention since October 2017 and demands the revocation of the arrest warrants issued against other personalities, who have at this time been forced into exile.
IADL requests both the Spanish government and the pro-independence parties to resume talks and revive a fruitful dialogue in order to achieve a peaceful solution of the Catalan issue, in the framework of existing current national, European and international law.
 
 


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Streamlining European biodiversity indicators 2020: Building a future on lessons learnt from the SEBI 2010 process

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:32:32 +0200


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Gone with the wind: Seasonal trends in foraging movement directions for a central-place forager

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:57:43 +0300



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Long-term monitoring data meet freshwater species distributionmodels: Lessons from an LTER-site

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 16:50:09 +0200


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Long-term monitoring data meet freshwater species distribution models: Lessons from an LTER-site

By www.eubon.eu
Published On :: Tue, 09 May 2017 15:23:55 +0300


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Eggnog before Thanksgiving? Shoppers eager for a new season scramble retail calendars

By www.boston.com
Published On :: Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:56:00 +0000

In response to growing customer demand, stores of all stripes are bringing out their festive collections weeks before the Nov. 1 start of the holiday shopping season.

The post Eggnog before Thanksgiving? Shoppers eager for a new season scramble retail calendars appeared first on Boston.com.


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Dance Lessons

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 09 Dec 2017 01:00:00 +0000

It’s the beat that drives the bugaloo and mambo. Ayana Contreras travels to Cuba to understand the clave.

Plus, we go beneath a motorway flyover in Rio de Janeiro, where US hip-hop from the 1990s gets re-imagined every Saturday night; we meet a 9-year-old boy who is preserving his family’s Cambodian history through dance; South African superstar Johnny Clegg tells us how he helped form an interracial dance troupe during apartheid; and we remember Johnny Hallyday, “the French Elvis Presley”.

(Image: Dancers at the weekly Saturday night charme dance in Madureira, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's North Zone. Credit: Catherine Osborn)


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How to watch the 'The Voice' Season 26 premiere tonight: Start time, new judges and more

By www.yahoo.com
Published On :: 2024-09-23T11:00:13Z


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Spring 2017 Kingdom Songs Retreat Recap

By www.allaboutworship.com
Published On :: Wed, 12 Apr 2017 14:03:27 -0500

April sixth through eighth of this year marked the beginning and bitter-sweet ending of yet another All About Worship “Kingdom Songs” retreat. Another group of talented writers passionately chasing their calling filed in and out of life-giving workshops with seasoned “pro-writers” like James Tealy (songwriting professor at Belmont University and writer of “Light of the World” recorded by Kari Jobe), co-writes with peers and pros like Krissy Nordhoff (writer of “Your Great Name” recorded by Natalie Grant) and Michael Farren (lead singer of Pocket Full of Rocks, writer of “Let It Rain” recorded by Michael W. Smith and number #1 Lauren Daigle cut “Trust In You”), worship sessions, Q&As, song critiques, and so many more activities featured in the packed schedule of education and encouragement.

Writers come from every corner of the country, the world even, to spend a weekend equipping themselves with tools and knowledge to cultivate their calling to write what the body of Christ needs to hear, to better capture the heart of God through song. The end of every conference is genuinely a bitter-sweet moment, traditionally marked with a prayer by the staff over the writers to strengthen, encourage, and protect them as they set out to pursue their gifts. The bitterness is found in having to say goodbye to newfound friends, fellow writers who share your struggles, your triumphs, your worries, and your unique joys. But the sweet is in knowing that right now, there are empowered songwriters with renewed confidence, sharpened skills, and rejuvenated spirits conquering fears and fighting for songs that will change this world and bring about the kingdom of God. The desire of All About Worship in putting on this event is fulfilled in writers taking what they gain from this conference and bringing new life into their homes and congregations (some even literally, congratulations Rezwana!). Dustin Smith (staff writer at Integrity Music, author of “Miracles” recorded by Jesus Culture) has been known to say on more than one occasion that, in writing songs for the Kingdom, we “put words on the lips of the most powerful force on earth - the church”, and as they settle back into their homes with new contacts, revitalized hearts, Skype co-writes brewing, and minds creating, they pick up their weapons and prepare to do just that.

“God is using music and praise to Him as weapons to tear down strongholds and I am in awe of how He goes about it all. His voice is ringing clear and the air is trembling with His spirit” – Rezwana Derbyshire, Kingdom Songs attendee.

To be able to continue an ancient practice of crafting songs to lift up to the one true God is an awesome, in the truest sense of an underappreciated word, responsibility and privilege. Kingdom Songs and the entire staff and crew are proud and humbled by the opportunity to come alongside songwriters, link arms with them, and walk out this journey together.

From the ancient psalmists, in every language, from edge to edge of this earth, the people of the most high God will praise His name. Because if we do not cry out, the rocks will. 


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Through Psalms, Hymns, And Songs From The Spirit - Interview With Shane Barnard

By www.allaboutworship.com
Published On :: Mon, 08 May 2017 12:10:00 -0500

For thousands of younger Gen Xers and older Millennials who were raised in the church, much of our maturing as worshippers is marked by the poetic lyrics and fluid vocals of the duo known as Shane & Shane. I personally remember having Be Near on repeat during a difficult season of transition in my personal life. And I don’t know about you, but just about every guy in my high school youth group could be found working their double strum on acoustic guitar at any given moment.

But it wasn’t just their original songs that sunk deep into the hearts of their listeners. Barnard and Everett also have this uncanny ability to take songs recorded years earlier or made popular by big names such as Hillsong or Passion and make them fresh and accessible to our generation of worshippers. 

They are capitalizing on this significant gift through their latest ministry effort called The Worship Initiative (TWI). I recently got the chance to talk with Shane Barnard at length and hear more about their journey through ministry, how they juggle it all, and their hopes for the future. Hopefully you’ll find the perspective and insight he offered up as encouraging as I did.

When I asked him to share the story of how the vision of The Worship Initiative came to be, he jumped right into an impassioned explanation. They had been doing the touring, writing, and recording thing for years and gotten to experience worship from and with just about every kind of stage, venue, and demographic. As they got to know hundreds of worship leaders from everywhere you can think of, they began to see a gaping hole . . . that being the understanding of the true weight of the calling of the worship leader.

A scripture that they’d read hundreds of times and even used as a sort of mantra throughout their ministry also played an enormous role in their starting TWI. Colossians 3:16 says,

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

One day a word jumped off their pages in a way that opened their eyes afresh – THROUGH. These times of worship they were leading on a regular basis were not just a means to an end. They actually serve as one of the primary ways the Church conveys the message of Jesus to raise up a generation of Christ followers who can change the world. Yet somehow, this position has gotten watered down to nothing more than a song leader in most church settings. They suddenly felt a whole new level of responsibility.

So the two set out to discover a way to pour into worship leaders around the world, both spiritually and practically. They started by taking a more personal look at their own gifts and bents. Barnard says about Everett, “I can’t think of a better salesman or evangelist . . . He’s just loud, funny, always cutting up, and can win anybody over to do anything . . . and unleashing that in an overseer role and our relational PR person has been awesome to watch. I think God dumped the PR side and evangelist side of Shane so hard into him that I think we still have yet to see what God is going to do in that regard.” Whereas for Barnard, his skill in songwriting and producing contends with just about anyone you could name. Over the last 20 years of ministering together, they’ve learned to “embrace who God has made [them] and not be disappointed in that anymore but just know that this is how God has made [them].” They’ve worked incredibly hard to figure out how to balance all of the overlap between their personal and professional lives, which is inevitable when you’ve worked so closely together for that long. “You would think we would have some kind of system after 20 years, but we are getting better. I would say that a few words come to mind . . . simplifying, strategizing, doing things on purpose. These are the things that have kind of been a banner over our lives the last two or three years.”

For a long time, all the different aspects of their lives were spread out all over the DFW area of Texas. Their studio was far south, much of their steady worship leading opportunities were at a church in the heart of Dallas, and they were living a good jump from either of those. So they are in the process of bringing all of those components closer together so that doing life with the families, church community, and ministry partners is easier. Taking this step has made it easier to grow their efforts with The Worship Initiative more rapidly.

So what is The Worship Initiative and what does it look like for someone to participate or take advantage of these resources?

Basically, an individual can pay a yearly fee and access a list of over 150 (and constantly growing) worship songs that each have multiple tutorial videos and charts accompanying them. These videos break down how to play the songs in different keys, on different instruments, and with varying skill levels. A worship leader on staff at a church can also pay an annual group fee, based on the number of people, for his team to be able to access everything as well. There are also craft training videos for everything from the different instruments and vocals to tech/production and using the number system. If that’s not enough, the site has an entire section dedicated to heart training, where they break down all the different spiritual and practical components for worship leading with the likes of John Piper and Ben Stuart. There are even creative devotionals to accompany every song on the different TWI records. TheWorshipInitiative.com truly is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom for anyone looking to grow as a leader or team member, and there are still exciting things to come. Shane shared a bit about what’s ahead for TWI. “Our next phase of The Worship Initiative is to create what we’re calling learning paths. Some people love to be given a world of information to explore on their own. But most people would really love to be told what to do to get from point A to point B. We will take our existing content and add to it and give them a year long path to stick to and see measurable growth in both skill and leadership.”

Given the length of time and the platform they’ve had over these last two decades, I asked Shane how he feels his perspective of worship both personally and within the Church has evolved over the years.

“I think worship, and even the idea of worship, has come a long way, in a good way. I think we’ve seen a pretty good uptick on understanding the Romans 12:1 life of worship. I often think back to a time when I was leading worship in a basement or college dorm room for several years, and it was always the oddest songs ever.” He recalled singing, with hands lifted, Make It Right by Kenny Marks (and yes, I might’ve gotten a solid 30 second serenade over the phone . . . it’s fine!) and other obscure songs that really had no purpose or meaning to the one worshipping. Yet, what we see all throughout the Psalms is “this gut-wrenching, very honest, it is okay to pour out your heart to the one who cares for you mentality. . . and that language is okay.” He remembered hearing the words to Breathe for the first time, where it says “I’m desperate for you,” and thinking “is this okay to have this kind of language in front of people? But yes, it is okay even in a congregation or corporately to say ‘I am thirsty for You in a dry land where there is no water.’ In fact that can be really helpful to the person sitting next to you. That can be us ‘singing spiritual hymns and songs to one another’, just that opening up of the heart and the embracing of singing those honest songs and using them to allow ‘the message of Christ to dwell among us richly.’”

Learn more about The Worship Initiative, as well as Shane & Shane, at www.theworshipinitiative.com. Here at All About Worship, we believe in what these guys are doing and the ministry they are fostering. We can’t wait to partner with them in the future as God continues opening those doors.


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183 AAW: 'Leading Songs' vs. 'Pastoring People' with Michael Farren

By www.allaboutworship.com
Published On :: Mon, 04 Dec 2017 14:51:46 -0600

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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185 AAW: Artist Edition || Corey Voss Interview & Album Release (Songs of Heaven & Earth)

By www.allaboutworship.com
Published On :: Thu, 25 Jan 2018 22:32:27 -0600

We had the opportunity to sit down with worship leader, songwriter and All About Worship team member, Corey Voss.  Corey has a heart for the local church and currently serves on staff at Gateway Church : Shelbyville as Worship & Creative Arts Pastor.

He gave his life to Jesus at 15 and he quickly developed a hunger for God's Presence when he started playing worship songs at home on the family piano.  From there God led him on a journey, all the way up to today's exciting announcement of...

HIS NEW ALBUM RELEASE!!  It's called "Songs of Heaven & Earth".  Check it out on iTunes and Apple Music Today!

 


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