Fourth Annual Games for Health Conference 2008

May 8-9, 2008
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, Maryland

Web site for registration: www.gamesforhealth.org

The Games for Health Conference offers a rich platform for learning, promotion, networking and business development for organizations interested in the intersection between games and health. Topics to be covered include exergaming, medical simulation, interactive messaging, health behavior change, medical informatics, physical therapy and game development.

More than 300 individuals from 100 organizations—academic institutions, government agencies and foundations—are expected to attend.

Also, a pre-conference event on May 7 will offer two workshops: Games Accessibility and Virtual Worlds & Health.

All conference participants will have the chance to interact and play with these games that are improving society.

Registration is $495.00 for Thursday, May 8 & Friday, May 9 and the pre-conference workshops on Wednesday, May 7 are $99.00-$129.00.

<p>In conjunction with the amazing program of events happening around the region as part of the <a href="http://www.jonahhouse.org/catonsville40/index.htm" target="_blank">40th anniversary commemoration of the Catonsville 9 actions,</a> Red Emma&#39;s/2640 is proud to present &quot;Winter Soldier Baltimore&quot;, an evening program of testimony from local veterans of both the Iraq and Vietnam wars, as well as members of military families.</p><p>Viet Nam vets Pierre Williams and Mike Marceau<br /> Iraq vets Trey Kindlinger and Geoff Millard<br /> Family members Emiko Ortega and Tracy Miller <br />Moderated by Ellen Barfield<br /> Army vet, member of Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out </p>

<p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small">In the US a police officer is more likely to kill a civilian than be killed by one. Between 1996<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>and 2005, 575 officers were killed in the line of duty&mdash;an average of 64 deaths per year. Yet in<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>a recent joint investigation, ColorLines and The Chicago Reporter found that approximately &ldquo;9,500<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>people nationally were killed by police during the years 1980 to 2005.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s 380 civilian deaths<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>per year, roughly six times the amount of police fatalities. The Bureau of Justice reports a steady<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>decline in police fatalities since the early 1970s. The same cannot be said about the rate of deadly<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px">&nbsp;</span>police force, whether deemed &ldquo;justified&rdquo; or &ldquo;wrongful&rdquo; by police standards, against civilians. &nbsp;Don&#39;t miss this special presentation by author Kristian Williams of his latest book <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic">American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination</span>!<br /></span>&nbsp;</p>

Palestinian American peace and justice activist Philip Farah will discuss the historic events of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes (or killed) by Zionist forces as part of the establishment of the 'Jewish state' of Israel in Palestine. He will include his own family's experiences. This event, which will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (Arabic for catastrophe), is sponsored by the Howard County Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

This May, Israel and its supporters will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. Palestinians will instead be remembering the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe.

Philip Farah is a Palestinian American peace and justice activist. Born in Jerusalem in 1952, he emigrated from Palestine to the U.S. in 1978. He has also lived and worked in several Arab countries. He is a founding member of the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace. He has addressed audiences around the U.S. on Middle East peace issues.