You are cordially invited to Global Kids' Winter 2010 Roundtable on Virtual Worlds and Nonprofits on Monday April 12, from 12-1pm PST on MacArthur Island in Second Life (teleport link). Representatives of six nonprofit organizations will give brief presentations on their initial explorations of Second Life and other virtual worlds, and how they are thinking of integrating these virtual tools into their organizations' respective missions. Afterwards, there will be an open discussion about the applications of virtual worlds for various public good purposes.

The event is open to the public, with a special welcome to nonprofits, activists, educators, and developers.

Representatives of the following organizations will be presenting:

• Child Welfare League of America
• Health Consumers Alliance of South Australia
• Hip-Hop Education Center
• Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
• United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland, Inc
• V.O.I.C.E. Community Development Corp

Each of these organizations has just completed the Global Kids' Virtual World Capacity Building Program, a four-week intensive exposure to virtual worlds for public good institutions. The event will be moderated by Global Kids and take place at the MacArthur Island Amphitheater (click here to teleport.) For more information about the Virtual World Capacity Building Program join the program's group on the EdgeProject.org or Contact Amira Fouad at amira@globalkids.org. The VWCBP is supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

On Monday, January 28, there will be a public forum on the topic "Virtual Liberties: Do Avatars Dream of Civil Rights?" featuring Jack Balkin , First Amendment legal expert at Yale Law School, and Robin Linden, head of marketing and business development at Linden Lab. Part of the "MacArthur Series on Philanthropy and Virtual Worlds," the event is co-presented by the USC Institute for Network Culture and Global Kids . This will be a multi-verse event, taking place both in Second Life and Teen Second Life, as well as audio streamed to the web for the VW-impaired.

The complete announcement after the jump....