I love books and could read by the time I was 5. My parents and grandparents read to me constantly as a child—I was a professional pesterer. The Penguin Who Hated the Cold, Peter and the Wolf, Three Billy Goats Gruff were all well worn and falling apart before I started school.

Lessons, learned? It’s ok to be different, persistence and stealth are valuable tools, and it’s always good to have a billy goat on your side.

I imagined last night, what it would have been like, had my family not been able to read to me, to share one of the most valuable tools available to humans. The vision was immense. I would not be where I am today. I would not be able to use technology, I would not be able to ask Google, “how do I drain a boiler?” I would not be able to read street signs, medicine instructions, my daughter’s stories.

Education is a core tool. Besides physical needs like food and water, it’s the single most important tool we have. It allows us to move forward, provide for ourselves and others. It’s the very basis of survival. If you can read, you can learn.

My world view is this, if you are on this planet, then you are local. We breathe the same air, drink from the same water, share the same sun and moon. We are all connected. If you plant a tree in Asheville, it’s helping clean the same air our neighbors will be breathing in Africa. If you dump toxins in the French Broad, it pollutes the waters of the Nile.

Twitter is not about breakfast, or brushing your teeth; Twitter is about you and me. It’s about connecting, efficiency, and sometimes, yes it’s about #unicorns. When I first started using Twitter, at the bottom of the page it said “The web’s new wire service.” I’ve loved the telegraph since I was a child, and reading that phrase shaped not only how I view Twitter, but how I use it as well. Be a resource, ask questions, answer questions, be a good neighbor.

Twestival is a global community, working in concert to bring about lasting, spreading change. Twestival supports organizations like charity : water (2009) and Concern Worldwide (2010) because they understand the importance of “teaching someone to fish.”

Tonight, at Club 828, Asheville is putting it’s resources, love and desire to help our community, the global community, to work for Concern Worldwide. Join us for Twestival Global Asheville and help our neighbors in other countries create stronger, healthier communities because #weareallconnected.

Wendy Lou

Twestival Asheville Organizer

@itswendylou

We have a slew of exciting items up for bid on Twestival Global Asheville’s Facebook Fan Page. This silent auction begins now and will end Thursday, March 25 during our event at 10PM. Below are instructions on how to bid. Please read them carefully and visit the album(s) on which you’re bidding frequently to make sure you’ve not been outbid!

Twestival Global Asheville, Silent Auction Instructions

The Twestival Asheville Silent Auction is now live, right here on our fan page!  All proceeds will benefit Concern Worldwide’s work to promote education in third-world countries. Here’s what to do:

1. Peruse the locally donated items up for auction in our photo albums. Each album is one item up for bid.

2. Make your bids! Bid by commenting on the album (not the picture) for the item you want. Opening bids are listed in each album’s description.  You must bid at least $5 more than the most recent bid.  Please do not delete a bid once you have posted it.

3. Keep up! Revisit our page in the time leading up to Twestival (this Thursday, March 25) to make sure you haven’t been out-bid.

4. Find out if you won! Auction closes at 10PM, Thursday. Winners will be announced Friday at http://www.asheville.twestival.com.

Tuesday, March 23rd will be the final organizer meeting for Twestival Global Asheville. The meeting will take place at The Tink Tank 6:30 PM from 8:00 PM. We will be discussing logistics and finalizing details for Thursday’s event at Club 828.

The Twestival Asheville City Crawl will leave from The Tink Tank around 8:15 PM and follow a route through downtown Asheville. We will be asking to post flyers and spreading the word about Concern Worldwide and increasing education in developing nations.

Date: March 25, 2010
Time: 5PM - 11PM
Venue: Club 828
Music: Taylor Martin’s Engine, The Screaming Js, and The Enemy Lovers
… and a various assortment of special guests throughout the evening.
Tickets: $15
Purchase Tickets

The event will kick off with family-friendly fun from 5PM-7PM, including free food, non-alcoholic beverages and surprise guests. As the sun goes down, local bands Taylor Martin’s Engine, The Screaming Js and The Enemy Lovers will tune up and get down for the adult portion of the evening.  In true Asheville style, the party will feature a selection of local craft brews.

Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your coworkers! Let’s raise the roof for education!

See full press release here: http://bit.ly/cu2eIv

Mission Manna has partnered with Twestival Global Asheville 2010 to provide an experience based point of view on why developing nations need our support. This guest post is provided by Todd Kaderabek.

Todd is the chairperson of the Mission Manna board of directors and has been working on and off in Haiti for many years. He produces books by day and magazines by night—and works on solutions for Haiti full time.

Why Do Developing Countries Matter?

I get that question a lot related to my work in Haiti with Mission Manna. Why bother? What’s the point? Why do you work in Haiti?

The answer is simple: because I can. Not that I should but because I can.

For the most part, the world is about choices. I choose to do development work in Haiti; others choose to work elsewhere. Some choose to not help at all. In all cases, these are choices.

There are, however, certain fundamentals to our being that are not choices, primary of which is where we are born. We have no choice in that matter. Neither do Haitians. My advantage over Haitians (and it may truly be the only one) is that I get to come home when my work in Haiti is done, to three meals a day, shelter over my head and clean water. Most Haitians don’t have that option. They don’t have that choice.

Keeping things in context can be an important factor when thinking of the developing world. If you take the Haiti experience head-on, you’ll be overwhelmed. If you take it piece by piece, you’ll succeed.

I was speaking with some kids about this recently. Did you eat breakfast today? Yes. Lunch? Yes. Dinner? Yes. Great, nothing wrong with any of that. But what if you hadn’t had a meal today? Or this week? What if you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from or when it would arrive? What if these “what if’s” were not “if’s” but a constant reality? Pretty daunting.

So how do we help developing countries? We roll up our sleeves and put on our thinking caps and we get involved. In this case, these kids are making art to sell as a benefit for Mission Manna and Haiti. They’re utilizing what they know how to do to help people less fortunate than themselves.

What do you know how to do? What do you choose to do…?

Todd Kaderabek
Mission Manna
www.missionmanna.org

A word from Ray Noland, our logo designer winner, on why we he supports Twestival Global 2010.

Today, technology enables the individual to connect and reach out to the world like no other time in history. The world is flat. What effects the U.S. effects the rest of the world and what effects the world effects us here at home. Natural disasters, war and disease know no border. Ultimately, the battle being waged is between rich vs. poor, corporations vs. people. Between corporations that want to CONTROL and people who just want to be free to LIVE - whether in Haiti, Africa or right here at home in America. This country will be a much stronger society as soon as ‘we the people’ realize regardless of race, gender or sexuality we have more in common with each other than we do with the powers that be. In the end… I side with people.

Ray Noland
Creative Rescue Organization
@Mr_CRO

Twestival Global meeting this Wednesday, February 24th at Asheville Pizza on Coxe Ave at 6:30 PM. Discussion will include venue selection, pre-event fundraising, and online auction items.

View Asheville Pizza & Brewing

The contest for Twestival Global Asheville has ended and there will be no voting! We had one submission that followed guidelines, made the deadline and is brilliant! A huge thank you to Ray Noland of Creative Rescue. You can follow him at @Mr_Cro.

Check out our new look! http://twitter.com/avltwestival

Asheville Twestival is calling for submissions from area designers for a Twestival Global Asheville 2010 Twitter avatar and Twitter background. The avatar will also be used for our Facebook Fan Page & other social media outlets such as Vimeo and YouTube. The winning design will be chosen through an online voting campaign. All submissions are due by Saturday, February 20th, 5:00 PM.

Below are the contest details. If you have questions please feel free to email us at avltwestival@gmail.com.

For examples of how other cities have branded their Twestival campaigns check out:
Twestival Charleston
Twestival Paris

Contest Timeline

• Saturday, February 20, 10:00 PM: All submissions must be delivered by this time.
• Sunday, February 21, 2:00 PM: Online voting will open.
• Tuesday, February 23, 10:00 PM: Online voting will end.
• Wednesday, February 24: Winner will be announced through paperless press release, via Twitter, Facebook, & post at http://asheville.twestival.com.

Benefits of Participation

• All submissions will receive honorable mention on our Twitter feed, Facebook page, and blog.

Winning Design Benefits

• Your design will aid in promoting fundraising efforts for Concern Worldwide, a worthy cause benefiting those less fortunate.
• A blogpost all your own about why you support Twestival Global 2010 efforts for Concern Worldwide & why others should do the same.
• Your name & logo will be added to our list of growing sponsors and will link to your site.

How to Submit

All submissions must follow the “Brand Guidelines | Twestival Global 2010″ PDF included in the Design Pack | Twestival Global 2010. Submissions not following the guidelines will be not be accepted. Submissions are limited to one entry per individual.

All submissions must be emailed to avltwestival@gmail.com by no later than Saturday, February 20th, 5:00 PM EST.

Email Submission Details

The Subject line of the email should include the following:
“Twestival Global Asheville 2010 Logo Submission”

Include the following information in the body of your email.

First & Last Name:
Company:
Twitter URL: example http://twitter.com/yourtwitterusername
Attached files: format JPEG

Suggested Dimensions:

There’s more than one way to skin a profile. Below are the suggested dimensions. For more information, here’s a link to a great tutorial from Blog.SpoonGraphics on creating Twitter background images.

• Twitter Avatar: 500 x 500 pixels, 72 DPI
• Twitter wallpaper background: 1600 x 640 pixels, 72 DPI

Twestival Global meeting this Tuesday, February 16th at Asheville Pizza on Coxe Ave at 6:30 PM. Discussion will include event planning, pre-event fundraising, and online auction items.

View Asheville Pizza & Brewing