Consilience Public Service Day
Date: October 1, 2008

On Sunday, October 5, from 9am to 2pm, the editorial board members of Consilience, The Journal of Sustainable Development have committed to a "day of public service" around New York City in line with the weekend dedication to national public service. Oct. 4, the day before, is "Be the Change": A National Day of Public Service. Each year, hundreds of individuals participate in community service nationwide to promote civic engagement. As a global journal with an international focus on cross-disciplinary issues, the board recognizes the importance of paying attention to the same cross-disciplinary problems (urban poverty, social welfare) in New York City. Consilience will also be joined by a number of groups on campus: Hillel, Rotaract, American Medical Students Association, The Current, and members of Community Impact. Our schedule for the day follows:

Columbia University's CTICE (Center For Technology, Innovation, & Community Engagement) will sponsor a breakfast for more than 60 students who have registered to commit to a day of service. From 11am-1pm Consilience will be volunteering with Riverside Park Fund, in general park cleanup. Beforehand and afterwards, Consilience will meet with individuals representing work in public health care, social entrepreneurship, and education in the community surrounding Columbia University. We are interested in learning of unique collaborations from groups representing different organizations (public/private, and areas of expertise), for a project goal (such as the Disease Control Unit and a consulting firm), as well as general social or public service work done by private companies in NYC.

We invite all other campus student organizations to join us on this day of service. Please do not hesitate to contact Leigh Huffine, at https://cubmail.cc.columbia.edu/horde/imp/compose.php?to=lah2144%40columbia.edu&thismailbox=INBOX to register your organization to join us, or for any questions.

About Consilience:
Consilience is a global, online journal dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary dialogue on sustainable development.  This journal aims to bring students, researchers, professors, and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and geographical regions in direct conversation with each other through an online, academically rigorous medium, and is targeted to a readership from undergraduate and graduate students. By providing a public platform for discussion, we hope to encourage a global community to think more broadly, thoroughly, and analytically about sustainable development.