Last call to register for our first 2022 forum, tomorrow, January 11, 9:30am. What effects of the pandemic are experts seeing on children's education, health, well-being? The Collaboration on Early Childhood and Pillars Community Health will present and take our questions. The Kids Are Alright. Or Are They?  Register by clicking this link.

There are a few spots left for the Great Decisions Maze Library group. New group discussions with new 2022 topics will begin in February. This promises to be an exciting series of discussions about international issues exploring 8 issues over 8 sessions. Books have been ordered for this Spring session, so please email Alex Matthews for more information and to reserve your book. The topics will be Outer Space, Climate Change, Russia and the U.S., Myanmar and ASEAN, Quad Alliance, Drug Policy in Latin America, Industrial Policy, and Biden's Agenda.

Remember to mark your calendars for these two virtual trainings from LWV IL in January.

Tuesday, January 11, 10:00-11:00am - the Illinois Voter Guide: Informational Session on this one-stop voter education tool. Register here.

Thursday, January 27, 10:00-11:00am - Moderator Training for candidate forums. Register here.

Are you interested in a sneak preview of the 2022 One Earth Film Fest? Be the first to see select film trailers and hear from special guests, PLUS learn how to claim your early-access tickets to the festival. Contact Jillian Patton for your tickets. The One Earth Film Fest will return March 4-13.

Memes, what are they?? “Memes are, simply put, ideas that catch on”- Eloise L. Kinney, Booklist 1988. Memes predate the internet era, although most of us are familiar with them in the form of viral, online, single-shot, satirical cartoons. The word “meme” was first coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976, who defined meme as “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.” He created the term by combining mimeme (a Greek noun meaning the imitation of something) with the word gene. The original definition includes a range of cultural phenomena: from songs, to fashion, to architectural styles, to Twitter posts. The January 22 Feminist Four Newsletter from LWV Berkeley, New Providence, and Summit, New Jersey, features memes for Suffragist Cartoons, Equal Pay for Equal Work, Combating Internet Sexism, and The Power of a Meme. Click on the pictures or links in the newsletter to see the great cartoons!