Lest you think that Aeon and I are just completely “goofing off” these days, when I have energy, I’m in-world traveling about to art galleries and various sims to see what’s going on in the metaverse. We’ve attended a few concerts and do plan to attend more before we start gearing up with more going on at Ce Soir Arts.

Today, I wisely invested some time at Virtual Ability, attending a programme on stress reduction. It was an excellent program and one well-managed by Gentle Heron, President of Virtual Ability, and presented by Anya Ibor, leader of Fearless Nation. These two women and the groups they represent have been actively working in SL for some time now, and successfully so. If you don’t know about their work, here are some resources you must check to learn about both Virtual Ability (a set of sims and a group of people dedicated to assisting and encouraging people of all abilities to come into Second Life® and enjoy its benefits) and Fearless Nation (a group focused on serving the needs of people with post-traumatic stress and related concerns, as well as friends and family members). Both groups offer top-notch, professional, scientifically-based and supported information that can be extremely helpful. In fact, I believe that we all need to know about these groups and offer whatever support we can for their efforts.

It just so happens that something big is coming our way here in SL that is related to both these groups and their programmes. The third annual International Disability Rights Affirmation Conference will be held Friday September 27th and Saturday September 28th 2013, in Second Life®.  The theme of this year’s conference is “Let Me In.” The 2013 event will examine various perspectives about access that are of interest to persons with disabilities. Panels of citizens from around the world will provide background as conference participants explore both the policy and implementation aspects of providing full accessibility to everyone – regardless ability. This sounds like an important event to me and I think we should support it or even attend. Visit the Virtual Ability Blog for more information.

If you’ve not been to these places, please go! The mission of Healthinfo Island is to provide timely, accurate, and accessible information on topics of physical, emotional, and mental health. This is done through interactive displays, links to outside resources, group events, and personalized assistance. The Consumer Health Library at HealthInfo Island helps SL residents with health information needs. I explored there today and I found their information accurate, current, and well-presented in a lovely environment.