DIONNE WARWICK RECEIVES NBLCA AWARD FROM VIRGINA C. FIELDS AT THE FORUM 3, THEMBALETHU BEADER CAMPAIGN PHOTO SHOOT

On July 9^th Dionne Warwick, former Health Ambassador for the Reagan administration and current US Ambassador of the 46664 Nelson Mandela Foundation received an award from the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc. at the FORUM 3 photo shoot for THE THEMBALETHU BEADER CAMPAIGN in collaboration w/COVER GIRLS FOR CHANGE at 16 Beaver Studio in New York City.

L to R: Richard E. Pelzer II, Tamecca Tillard, Virgina C. Fields, Dionne Warwick, Camille Evans & Phillip A. Hilton
Photos Courtesy of Steven Littles for Swollen Eye Productions

In addition to Ms. Warwick photo participants included President of NBCLA Virginia C. Fields and NBCLA VP for Administration Phillip A. Hilton along with the producers of the campaign Camille Evans, Richard Pelzer and Tamecca Tillard of Forum 3.  Ms. Warwick an ardent fighter of HIV/AIDS and pioneer within the Black community for promoting health reform and awareness of this disease has joined forces with several Celebrity, fashion, and film notables to produce two photo shoots, which will be the catalyst for a global human rights campaign in an effort to bring economic stability, health reform and awareness to women’s rights starting in South Africa which has the highest rate of HIV in the world.

Proceeds from the campaign will benefit the Thembalethu Beaders.  www.thembalethubeaders.org

FORUM 3 is a philanthropic entertainment and media company devoted to producing public good and innovation. FORUM 3 (created by Tamecca Tillard, Richard E. Pelzer II & Camille Evans) leverages every facet of pop culture, celebrity and media relations to spark social movements, to ignite dialogue and debates about pressing policy and to influence and mobilize the masses. When we are not producing campaigns or investing in social ventures, we are helping corporations and organizations embrace, devise, fulfill, measure and evaluate their ethical commitments to people, planet and profit.

Contributing Sponsors: MEGA Management, CME Group, Element 9, 16 Beaver Studio, K&M Rentals, Go Studios, Zephra Magazine,  Steven Littles

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "South African singer/songwriter Selloane"

Ubuntu Tribe member,

South African singer/songwriter

Selloane

-

CD release party September 6th - Joe's Pub @ 9:30pm

Selloane is an emerging artist that has combined her roots and experiences around the world to create her own soulful lyric interpretations. Born in Welkom, South Africa, the purity and power of her voice is her trademark. The CD release party is going to be a good time!

Life has been extremely busy for Selloane this week, however she was able to answer a few AAW + FUTURE favorite questions:

So we know that you are from Welkom, South Africa, but what brought you to the US? While still living in South Africa, I auditioned for the Broadway musical The Lion King through a local South African casting agency. As a result I was hired to be part of the Original Los Angeles company. Tell us about your latest recording project? Being away from home and trying to make it in a foreign country but at the same time staying true to who I really am and not looking self in the process. If I can, I want to briefly share the inspiration behind a few of the songs that touch my heart a great deal: "Gone" is about 10 yrs of my life, being in a bad relationship and coming out of it stronger. Trying to make it and adjust in a foreign country going without loosing oneself "flame" & "goodbye" is about losing a loved one/ my sister,' "lerato" the title track is about being blessed with a beautiful daughter This is a Future Favorite...Name 1 Guilty pleasure. Shoes! Selloane, we know you are own a tight schedule this week so we thank you for taking the time to share with us!!!

Tickets:

http://www.joespub.com/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,40/id,5353

Listen to Selloane's music:

www.selloane.com

Brazil Unveils 2014 World Cup Logo

Though we're sure the tears are still flowing as a result of Brazil's surprising early exit from the World Cup, it hasn't stopped its advertising community from saying oh well, on to 2014. Sao Paulo-based shop Africa (yep, it's confusing at first) unveiled the official emblem for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, with notable countrymen including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Brazil 2014 Organising Committee and FIFA Executive Committee member Ricardo Teixeira, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter as well as former Seleçao players Cafu, Carlos Alberto Torres, Romario and 1994 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira all in the house.

Africa beat out two-dozen other agencies with this rather colorful design, which carries a theme of "inspiration" and was handpicked by judges including Gisele Bundchen. We're not one to argue with her.

Cool: Puma Ditches Boxes for 'Clever Little Bag'

By Kiran Aditham

It took 21 months, 2000 ideas and 40-plus packaging prototypes to pore over, but Puma along with designer Yves Behar and his team at Fuseproject have come up with a new sustainable packaging system for Puma sneakers: Clever Little Bag. The product, which will begin rolling out next year, marks the next phase of the brand's social and green-themed initiative PumaVision.

While Puma chief exec Jochen Zeitz said that the brand would not necessarily save money with the new packaging, he adds, "Sustainability is not only absolutely necessary considering the situation our planet is in, we as companies are also overdue to take responsibility. We can't wait for governments. Companies have to lead the way and we want to be among the leaders." Behar meanwhile offers his two cents about the project to Fast Company, which also posts Puma's estimates on Clever Little Bag's impact.

The actor prepares... for one of the coolest benefit parties ever!

Hey guys! My notes this week are all about Rock the Bowl to benefit Ubuntu Education Fund. We have been working on this event for some time and the entire Future Forward family is hosting! 

If you read my original interview on The Future site by Cornelius Jones Jr., you know that I am that party girl so I know a good party when I see one!

The food, courtesy of Blue Ribbon Restaurants, is going to be AH-MAZING, the entertainment RI-DICULOUS and the sheer volume of fantastic people in the room will make for an unforgettable event. 

This week I would like to share some of our benefit related media with you. I hope that it will inspire you all to get up and out and support Ubuntu!


The official promo video:



Ubuntu  President and Founder Jacob Lief featured on ABC News:

 A moment with Jacob and Stephanie, our Event Manager, and Dwight and Nathan. Good Times!



And finally, Check our bands!!!!

GrindCity

Lion of Ido

Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew

Mamarazzi

Tahj Mowry 

More to come my friends! Thanks for reading! See you at Rock the Bowl!

xo,

T-

"Journey of Football" is Puma's LOVE=FOOTBALL campaign

A celebration of true football, For Africa, For Football. For the insane love of the game we possess that unites us beyond borders. Bringing Football back to its roots, because love is football.

"Journey of Football" is the latest in Puma's LOVE=FOOTBALL campaign leading up to the World Cup in South Africa. The spot pays tribute to the soul of the game of football. Fans paint their faces with country colors; kids and teenagers play football in the streets; players and fans erupt with country pride and team happiness when a goal is scored. Set to the tune of "Going On" by Gnarls Barkley, the spot features PUMA players Samuel Eto'o, Gervinho, Emmanuel Eboue and Mohammed Zidan.

For more information, head to www.pumafootball.com

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Torya and her Notes on Ubuntu"

More Than a Check Mark

by

Jonathan Lang

of

Ubuntu Education Fund

Bongie and Xolelwa knock gently on a rusty, tin door. A young girl, Aviwe, opens the door sheepishly and

greets her counselor with a reluctant smile. She runs her hand through her hair and escorts her counselor’s into the small, single room. She offers her counselor a seat in an old, wooden chair; the only furniture in her house barring a wire-bed that Aviwe shares with her younger sister. Bongie begins the conversation, while Xolelwa moves throughout the space with her clipboard making notations, each mark potentially changing the life of this child.

Aviwe has begun seeking counseling at Ubuntu after her mother has recently passed-away from HIV complications. While talking about her recent tragedy is part of healing, it will not fully give her the tools

she needs for academic success. The Home Assessment is the first part of ensuring the child’s physical well-being after they have left the safety of Ubuntu’s facilities. The visit by Ubuntu’s highly-trained counselors is one of Aviwe’s first interactions with Ubuntu; the impression made will be indelible.

Xolelwa moves throughout the room, double-checks the lock on the front door, pulls aside a moldy curtain concealing a spider-web of cracks on the single window in the house. She ticks a mark on her clipboard. Though Aviwe is a serious student, she lacks a proper desk and lamp; tools even the brightest children require to do the homework. Another check-mark is made.

In the corner of the room there is a bag of corn-meal on the floor. Xolelwa notices a tear in the corner of the bag. Bongie smiles at Aviwe, “do you always keep this on the ground?” Their conversation is peppered with questions, but far more conversational than interrogative. Bongie picks up the bag and places it on top of some shelving. “This will help keep the critters away,” she says through a warm smile.

Bongie and Xolelwa will return to Ubuntu’s offices with this information and make recommendations. From there, the counselor who will ultimately take over Aviwe’s case will formulate an executable action plan.

The plan will take into accounts all of Aviwe’s needs: medical, psycho-social, and educational. Addressing the complexity of Aviwe’s needs is necessary to bring stability to her life that has been absent.

Taking stock of a child’s well-being is a process that transcends strictly material concerns. Issues of hygiene and health, such as if toothpaste or soap is absent from the house, are taken into account. The goal is not to fashion the child’s surroundings into something unfamiliar, but rather to make their existing space as safe as possible.

While the Home Assessment is undoubtedly an intimate process, its thoroughness is demonstrative of the multi-tiered concern that Ubuntu Education Fund has for its clients. A child is far more than a check mark, but such a rigorous evaluation process ensures that each child is given

the highly- individualized care they deserve.

For more info on Ubuntu Education Fund

Please visit: www.ubuntufund.org

FIFA World Cup comes to The USA?

This month is international month at The Future and we look at World Football aka Soccor.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between June 11th and July 11, 2010 in South Africa. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. As such, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations.

This will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa beat Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process. This decision left the Oceania Football Confederation as the only confederation yet to host the FIFA World Cup. Italy is the defending champions. The draw for the finals took place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town.

The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men’s national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not contested because of World War II.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s). The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final.

During the 18 tournaments that have been held, seven nations have won the title. Brazil is the only team to have played in every tournament and have won the World Cup a record five times. Italy is the current champions and has won four titles, and Germany is next with three. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France with one title each.

The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil.

The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups is currently under way. These will be the 21st and 22nd editions of the FIFA World Cup. The bidding procedure to host both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. The executive committee of FIFA will announce their decision on the two editions in December 2010. Candidates have applied for either or both of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, but the 2022 hosts will not be chosen from the same continent as the 2018 hosts.

Nine individual nations registered their intention to bid with FIFA by the February 2009 deadline: Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, Russia, South Korea and the United States. Additionally Belgium and the Netherlands registered to bid together, as have Portugal and Spain.[4] Mexico however later withdrew its bid. FIFA confirmed the list of bidders in March, with Indonesia, South Korea and Qatar bidding for 2022 only.

In October 2007, FIFA ended the continental rotation policy. Instead the last two tournament host confederations are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadia, and their location across candidate nations. Due to the number of bids received by FIFA, this World Cup is expected to be the most hotly contested bid ever, mainly due to the revision in FIFA's rotation policy. As a result, Sepp Blatter has said that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final ceremony.

18 Official cities of the US World Cup Bid
Atlanta, GA
San Diego, CA
Phoenix, AR
Dallas, TX
Seattle, WA
Denver, CO
Tampa, FL
Indianapolis, IN
Baltimore, MD
Nashville, TN
Kansas City, MO & KS
Houston, TX
Miami, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Los Angeles, CA
Washington D.C.
Boston, MA
New York, NY

GO USA!!!

Dear Oprah: Part ONE

Kehinde Wiley | Legends of Unity, “OF THE SAME EARTH”

The MEGA World of Lil Mogul

The Future has gone GLOBAL!!! It is international month so grab your passports and Let’s GO! Art, Music, Fashion and Sports transcend from country to country and with new technology being developed daily the world is getting smaller and smaller. Kehinde Wiley is one of our favorite artist at The Future.

To herald the start of a World Cup year and to celebrate PUMA’s long-standing partnership with African football (the Company sponsors 12 African teams, five of which have qualified for World Cup), PUMA has partnered with Kehinde Wiley, one of the world’s most sought-after artists, and commissioned him to create four original works of art inspired by three of football’s most decorated players. Wiley is best known for using contemporary African American men in poses taken from the annals of art history and for his distinctive use of elaborate, graphic and colorful wallpaper-like backgrounds.



PUMA-sponsored football stars; Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast sat for Wiley as he painted three individual portraits of each player wearing their national team kits. A fourth ‘Unity’ portrait was painted with all three players together, symbolizing the united countries of Africa. The players’ pose was inspired by a pendant Wiley discovered while touring the Continent. In the ‘Unity’ portrait, the players are wearing the PUMA Unity Kit, a limited edition uniform designed to be a third kit shared by all African teams, symbolizing unity. The brown pigment in the kit is a customized pantone PUMA created by mixing actual soil samples from four different African nations-Ghana, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire and Mozambique. The brown to blue color gradient represents the soil to the sky progression. In each portrait, Wiley captures the essence of each player using the rich heritage, customs and people of Africa as inspiration.


“PUMA is fortunate to have partnered with such a pivotal artist as Kehinde Wiley,” said Antonio Bertone, Chief Marketing Office, PUMA AG. “His keen eye for design, color and composition, brilliantly capture the spirit and passion of Africa – and the players he painted. His style perfectly complements the vibrant culture of modern Africa and the PUMA brand.”

The individual portraits, measuring 5 feet by 6 feet and the ‘Unity’ portrait measuring 9 feet by 12 feet, were unveiled in Berlin on January 20, 2010. The portraits will then travel as an exhibition beginning in February to Paris, London, New York, Beijing and Milan, ending in South Africa in June for the World Cup.



PUMA, best known for the sponsorship of 12 African national football teams, is expanding its reach beyond the pitch by creating African-inspired lifestyle products and artwork that is relevant and understandable to a younger generation in tandem with Wiley. To that end, Kehinde Wiley has also lent some of his unforgettable patterns to the PUMA Spring Summer 2010 PUMA Africa lifestyle collection of apparel, footwear and accessories. The PUMA Africa collection uses seven graphic patterns from Wiley’s existing work and integrates them throughout the bright, bold, color-blocking patterns of the collection. The collaboration between PUMA and Kehinde Wiley is part of a larger Africa-themed campaign PUMA is embarking on in advance of World Cup 2010, which will be held in South Africa in June.

Born in Los Angeles to an African American mother and a Nigerian father, Wiley describes his relationship with Africa as “one of searching and longing.” Kehinde, which means “second born of twins” in Yoruba, grew up without knowing his father and curiosity led him to Nigeria at the age of 20 to retrace his roots. Upon meeting his father, Wiley completed a series of portraits of him, and later, in 2007, returned to Africa to compile a body of work entitled “The World Stage: Africa Lagos-Dakar,” which was exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem. At age 32, he represents the African-American cultural explosion that has gripped the world. With an MFA from the esteemed Yale University School of Art, Kehinde Wiley’s work is sought after in major galleries around the world.

Kehinde Wiley Legends of Unity 2010 World Cup PUMA will be on view in:

New York, Deitch Projects, February 18 – 20, 2010

London, Elms Lesters, February 22, 2010

Tokyo, March 3 – 4, 2010

Beijing, UCCA, March 9 – 24, 2010

Milan, April 13 – 14, 2010

More on Kehinde Wiley at www.kehindewiley.com

K’naan T.I.A.

T.I.A. – This Is Africa!

My brothers and sisters, life is too short for stress. So relax your brain with some of this great great great music.

Introducing K’naan hailing from the war ridden African country of Somalia. This is one of the best “how they got there” stories around.

K’naan growing up was in one of the worst areas during the Somali civil war which started in 1991, the neighborhood was referred to as the River of Blood civilians were dying left and right. K’naan’s father had left to drive taxi cabs in NYC and was wiring the money back to the family in Somalia. As the civil war worsened K’naan’s mother applied for a visa for their family, their visa was approved on the last day the US Embassy was in existence and K’naan and his family left the country on the last commercial flight leaving the country.

K’naan real name Kanaan Warsame

He arrived in Compton and then with his family reunited moved to a Somali sector of Canada in Toronto. Speaking absolutely no English K’naan learned how to rap by listening to artists like Mos Def and Nas copying their lyrical style and phonetic beats. A few years later he dropped out of his high school in Toronto to travel and rap at open mic events. After returning to Toronto he managed to secure a gig speaking in front of the United Nations Commissioner for refugees in whom he rapped about the UN failing to recognize the war in Somalia. His performance was seen by Senegalese Singer Youssou D’Nour who invited him to partake in his new album and travel on his world tour. K’naan obliged and on tour a small Canadian producer was blown away by the rhymes of K’naan and agreed to help the young artist produce his first album Dusty Foot Philosopher in 2005. The album somehow caught fire and K’naan, a Somali refugee who came to North America without knowing any English, worked his way to the top and released his second world recognized album earlier this year. CRAZY…. its amazing how talent finds its way to be recognized.

This is the first album from K’naan, Dusty Foot Philosopher. Some of the tracks are just simply jaw dropping. Enjoy!!!




K’naan also wrote the official song "Waving Flag" used for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.