Mad Pride

The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad?"
Alice: "I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

::: Mad Pride Paris 2015 (30 minutes): WATCH (French)

Atelier de conversation

Once a week, people from all over the world meet at the Atelier de conversation in the Centre Pompidou in Paris to talk to each other, to improve their French. People who would otherwise probably never meet come together at a place where "social and cultural borders dissolve".

Author and director: Bernhard Braunstein Awards: Opening Film, Cinéma du rèel 2017, Paris/France; Documentary Special Jury Prize, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2017, Karlovy Vary/Czech Republic; ARTE Documentary Film Prize, Duisburger Filmwoche 2017, Duisburg/Germany

"The therapy aspect is very important, but there are a lot of other aspects. I think the language is important and there are really people who are struggling and want to learn something and they’re writing down vocabulary. But there are also a lot of people who are coming there to find friends. The people connect and become friends, some help each other to find a flat or even move in together. So, this social part is very important and, of course, they are all going through a difficult experience and they feel that they can talk about it together. This is the therapy part of it."
Bernhard Braunstein

"We need to start to become human, rather than talking about the masses of immigrants that will destroy us, we should see the individuals. I think this is something you can see in my film. You see that these are people, these are humans with a story and not somehow a danger."
Bernhard Braunstein

(via Diversity is Beautiful)

"Black Chicago" Exhibition in Paris

Photograph: Boy blowing bubble gum, Chicago, 1951; taken by Marvin Newman

More photographs of African-American life in Chicago can be seen here: The Guardian
More about the exhibition: More

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photograph via The Guardian

The Babayagas' House

“I’m 84, but what time I have left is going to be happy and fulfilled, I’m sure of that. Old age isn’t about being shipwrecked. It isn’t an illness. It can be beautiful ,and I plan to live it that way, with my friends and colleagues here.”
Babayaga founder Thérèse Clerc

"Aging in place: It’s what 90 percent of seniors say they want for themselves, according to AARP. But even after we’ve retrofitted our homes, do we really want robot “companions” and sensor-powered systems that inform friends or family when we haven’t opened the refrigerator for two days? Isolation might not be a good trade-off for independence — apart from anything else, research shows clearly that it can kill us. What’s the option if you’re not the retirement community type or can’t afford longterm care?"

"Thérèse Clerc was in her mid-60s when she started to think about how women could grow into old age without losing autonomy. An energetic, passionate feminist living in Paris, she knew that her generation of French women had not been able to build up retirement funds to cover at-home care, because they had spent years caring for families. Older women in France, as elsewhere, are among the poorest segment of the population. And Clerc didn’t like what she saw when she visited state-run homes, where life was dull and regimented. Clerc knew that living by someone else’s rules or on their schedule was not in her future. A lifelong activist, she also was interested in demonstrating that old age can be a beautiful time of life.

So Clerc got together with some activist friends and came up with the idea to create an exclusively female, self-governing, environmentally friendly cohousing collective for women who want to live independently into old age — yet within a supportive and fully engaged community. They would call it the Babayagas’ House after a supernatural being in Slavic folkore — a witch who offers guidance to younger women."

"The Babayaga model is an urban one. In Paris, the house is close to shops and the metro. Being centrally located is important for the women’s ease in coming and going, and for encouraging the greater community to come in and participate in what the Babayagas have to offer — and their offerings are significant.

A key feature of the Babayaga model is its 860 square ft. ground floor space that’s dedicated as an open university that anyone from the surrounding community can attend. In this intergenerational center, the Babayagas run courses, offer discussion groups, do creative writing and give concerts. One of the tenets of the Babayaga model is that the residents will be actively engaged with the world politically, socially and culturally.

“Staying intelligent will keep us healthy…. I believe women who are happy, not bored, will live healthier lives.”
Thérèse Clerc

“To live long is a good thing but to age well is better.”
Thérèse Clerc

Excerpts via/More Senior Planet

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Photograph via Senior Planet

Le Carillon. Chacun Pour Tous... When Shops Mark Their Windows for the Homeless in Paris

"Le Carillon est un projet solidaire qui s'appuie sur les particuliers et commerçants d'un quartier afin de soutenir les personnes à la rue."  Le Carillon

Louis-Xavier Leca founded the Le Carillon project in Paris last November. In the meantime, he has partnered with about 70 small businesses in the area to distribute stickers indicating their support of needy Parisians. What this beautiful project is about?

"Each sticker features an icon representing a free service, from a hot meal or glass of water to a haircut or restroom access. At the local market Les poireaux de Marguerite, homeless residents can reheat a dish or make an emergency phone call. And at the tea room/coffee shop Chez toi ou chez moi, they can charge cell phones, use a first aid kit, or send mail for free.

In a city with a skyrocketing homeless population, this act of charity couldn’t come at a better time. By connecting local shops to underserved residents, Le Carillon helps to foster a much-needed sense of community. Before Le Carillon officially began in November, Leca says, many shopkeepers wanted to help their homeless neighbors, but didn’t know how to reach out. While certain establishments were already opening their doors to the homeless by offering free coffee or restrooms, homeless residents had no way to distinguish between a place that would accept or reject them." (CityLab)

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Photograph via Faiseurs du Boite

Café Signes, Paris

"Ordering lunch or a cup of coffee in a country where you don't speak the language can occasionally feel like a daunting task. One restaurant in Paris offers an easy solution because each of their menus has pictures of all the signs needed to communicate an order. If you're thirsty and would like something to drink, simply make a fist with the fingers of your right hand, extend your thumb and raise your hand towards your mouth. But don't be surprised if your waiter responds with rapid hand gestures because Café Signes is operated by a mixture of non-hearing and hearing staff."
(Out and about in Paris)

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Photo via Out and about in Paris

Paris has a good idea

Audrey Hepburn once said that Paris is always a good idea. Paris does not just seem to be a good idea but to have a good idea. About a year ago, the city announced a plan to stop housing displacement in central neighbourhoods and the creation of "ghettos for the rich". The Council of Paris published a list of 257 addresses, i.e. over 8.000 flats, that the city would have the "right of first-refusal" to buy. These flats are located in areas that are gentrified and the city aims to increase subsidised rental options and to ensure that at least some remain affordable to middle-income Parisians, the "great forgotten ones".

"Choosing diversity and solidarity, against exclusion, social determinism and the centrifugal logic of the market. It also aims to reduce inequalities between the east and the west of Paris in particular, developing social supply where it is insufficient." Ian Brossat, mayor's aide

In other words, when a flat on the list comes of for sale it must first be offered to the city at the market price; the price is decided by the city. If the landlord or landlady does not wish to accept the offer, they can appeal to an independent judge in order to have it repriced. The plan is certainly not cheap but worth it as it "is essentially to give Paris the ability to act as a social-mix monitor, steeping in to prevent social segregation in the public interest if they feel it is under threat." No matter if it is going to be a success, it "deserves credit for really trying." (Citylab)

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The posting "Paris has a good idea" first appeared on Diversity is beautiful
photo via Yahoo News