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Clowns Without Borders
- theGeatZhopa 4y ago[flagged]
- o_m 4y agoRead the first paragraph on the guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- theGeatZhopa 4y ago[flagged]
- piva00 4y agoKeep reading the guidelines, you will get to this point: > Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate. If a story is spam or off-topic, flag it. Don't feed egregious comments by replying; flag them instead. If you flag, please don't also comment that you did.
- piva00 4y agoI personally know some people involved with them and donating their time to help out with shows in very risky areas of the world. After hearing some of their stories I got a deep appreciation for the work they do, it might sound silly or borderline stupid to some people but to me it's such a beautiful social experience, to go into conflict areas, extremely poor regions of the world afflicted by disease and bring something that is pure joy to an audience that doesn't have access to that. There are some extremely beautiful souls volunteering for CWB, knowing their work won't solve any parts of their audiences' social situation but trying to give them inspiration to keep dreaming, I definitely feel something deep inside my soul was touched after meeting some of them.
- theGeatZhopa 4y agoSo nice
- EveYoung 4y agoDo you know if they adapt the shows to the countries they're in? I'm wondering how universally understood clowns are.
- gambiting 4y agoLooking at some of the videos and pictures, it seems they aren't always wearing what I'd call "stereotypical" clown outfits - just maybe some light makeup and clothes that clearly stand out, while they do "funny things". Juggling bowling pins and dropping them is probably universally understood, even if you have no idea what bowling is.
- libraryatnight 4y agoPhysical comedy translates well :)
- piva00 4y agoClowning in modern/new circus is much more related to physical comedy than to "traditional" clown as we expect. There are still some of the traditional roles like the whiteclown, the auguste, the character but they are reinvented/remixed with more outlandish comedy and acts like acrobatics and body tricks (one of the best clowns I've seen has some amazing ping-pong balls juggling with very physical acrobatics in them). The people I know who worked in CWB have very different styles of clowning, they all work to adapt their acts to the local culture, it's really important for CWB volunteers to understand and cater to the local culture, they do research to avoid anything that could be remotely offensive, etc. Just to source this a bit: my girlfriend is a circus artist here in Sweden so I have some insider view into it, it's actually a very fascinating part of the performing arts.
- movedx 4y ago
- notresidenter 4y agoI'm waiting for someone to mention how buying bed nets would be better but, in the mean time: their work is emotionally impactful and it's a great project.
- dgb23 4y agoMy thought is that clowns are very good at making people laugh and perhaps less at installing healthcare infrastructure. Also spreading joy can be just as important as material needs. It's an orthogonal dimension.
- yboris 4y agoFor those unsure of the reference, bednets are arguably one of the most cost-effective ways to make a positive impact in people's lives: https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities <-- see Against Malaria Foundation
- aaron695 4y ago[dead]
- neilv 4y agoNeat. I've heard of celebrities doing USO performances for troops during wartime, but don't recall any organized effort to entertain people, say, facing disasters.
- spunker540 4y agoAnother similar concept I’m aware of is magicians without borders
- nofreelunch 4y agoProbably less triggering at scale, but similarly to a lot of comments posted here, my mother is deathly afraid of magicians. I have seen the blood drain from her face as she grips the arms of her chair and looks around in a panic at the mention of magicians. I have witnessed full out panic attacks on encounters with real life magicians, and discomfort that one would only typically associate with watching "torture porn" or a particularly squirm-inducing Dr Pimple Popper when magicians appear on TV. Revulsion when learning that the actor Ricky Jay was more known for his work as a magician. Conversely my mother had regular conversations with a woman who worked as a clown at a local restaurant, which caused her no displeasure.
- jollyllama 4y agoInteresting. So it's not even a specific aesthetic, just the concept of magicians? I.e. The tuxedo and mustache guy with a top hat and a wand is just as scary as Criss Angel and/or David Blaine?
- nofreelunch 4y ago[random guy on street] tuxedo top hat guy = actual tuxedo top hat magician = david blaine. Any type of magician or perception thereof or association with the idea. Edit: she is not particularly religious or superstitious either. Her relation to this fear is similar to that of anyone who is extremely uncomfortable/scared of clowns, just a different elememt of the circus.
- pineaux 4y agoSo clownworld is real?
- sramam 4y agoI just donated a small amount via paypal - their successful payment UX is just delightful. Feels unfair to call it a donation! :)
- boredumb 4y agoWeren't these guys just in Davos?
- cushychicken 4y agoAs someone afraid of clowns, this is a catastrophic failure of clown containment.
- loloquwowndueo 4y agoCoulrophobes of the world, unite !
- rightbyte 4y agoI always wonder what triggers that. Were you like scared by a mean clown as a child? Or was it just like that without any stimuli? I mean many children are scared of Santa due to it being a stranger in their house but I see no adults say they are scared of Santa.
- kej 4y agoReminds me of Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey from Saturday Night Live: To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kind of scary. I’ve wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus, and a clown killed my dad.
- cushychicken 4y agoDunno for sure, I've always found them creepy and repulsive. I do recall flipping through the channels as a child and coming across one of the scarier scenes from It. That might have some bearing on this.
- blowski 4y agoWhat causes fear of clowns? Probably the prevalence of both evil clowns (John Wayne Gacy, Stephen King's It, the recent Evil Clown meme). That, and the prevalence of the fear of clowns.
- sdwr 4y agoFor me, it's a "man behind the mask" thing. Clowns play big, with exaggerated expressions and responses. The incongruence between the acting and the person behind the acting wigs me out.
- AstixAndBelix 4y agoTo me clowns are just like kindergarden teachers, they make me cringe beyond belief even though I understand their target audience is successfully being taken care of. I am happy for their work but I never want to see one in action again
- everyone 4y agoWhy clowns?? Just setup some nintendos or something. ... The worst / funniest thing about clowns is the dunning kruger effect they all seem to have about their efficaciousness. Like the clown doctor in the 'childrens hospital' adult swim show.
- b3nji 4y agoNice to see the World Economic Forum branching out with new branding.
- kareemm 4y agoFunny to see CWB here. I ran into CWB's founder Moshe Cohen[1] at FOO Camp back in the 2006[2]. His performance there was sweet and funny. I had a coffee with him post-FOO too. IMHO there are few nobler acts than going into high-conflict areas to help people reconnect with the inherent humanity in shared experience and laughter. The work CWB is doing is beautiful. 1- https://moshecohen.net/about-2/ https://moshecohen.net/about-2/ 2- https://www.flickr.com/photos/dionh/226434543/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/dionh/226434543/in/photostream...
- gregsadetsky 4y agoI was at that FOO Camp, just scrolled through photos and found myself & friends. Thank you for the memories :-)
- ankaAr 4y agoI don't like clowns, but this is really nice for that people. great project I'm sharing it and donating something. Anyway, is there somewhere, something like IT without Borders? To donate time or effort, our hands to build infraestructure for places wothout it?
- runarberg 4y agoInteresting question. I don’t know if there is but I presume there isn’t, unlike doctors, artists, or journalists, engineers usually need a lot of thing to come together to perform our specialized skills, which means we probably need local and financial support far greater then the previous. It can be argued that the same applied to doctors, and I agree with that, however MSF is such a massive organization, with such high recognition that they are able to perform a lot of good work despite the complexity of logistics and support needed. Perhaps the immediate benefit of even rudimentary medical aid is still highly appreciated even if lacking compared to if there were systems in place to fully support the skill. I think the benefits of skilled engineers are not nearly as universal without support. EDIT: I found this article called A-To-Z Guide of the World’s “without Borders” Groups[1], which included a Technology without Borders group[2]. And I see some of the areas they focus on include water, energy, and waste. I can actually see how rudimentary waste management infrastructure can be of great help for impoverished communities, so perhaps I was wrong to doubt it. 1: https://matadornetwork.com/change/a-to-z-guide-of-the-worlds-without-borders-groups/ https://matadornetwork.com/change/a-to-z-guide-of-the-worlds... 2: https://www.teog.ngo/?lang=en https://www.teog.ngo/?lang=en
- aendruk 4y agoAt one point this existed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geeks_Without_Bounds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geeks_Without_Bounds Their website doesn’t seem to be doing well at the moment though. I originally learned about it from https://seagl.org/archive/2017/open-source-from-standing-rock-to-your-home-community https://seagl.org/archive/2017/open-source-from-standing-roc...
- santoshalper 4y agoBetween DWB and CWD, I feel like there would have been a huge opportunity here for Robin Williams, RIP.
- bigbacaloa 4y agoI figured the title referred to the US government or the board of Meta.
- toomanyrichies 4y agoFWIW, they don't yet have a rating from Charity Navigator (note that this doesn't indicate anything negative, only that the org hasn't yet been evaluated): https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/204102508 https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/204102508 That said, I do hope they get vetted soon, this is such a worthy cause and absolutely warms my heart.
- iskander 4y agoI know someone who's worked with them and it seems like a very legitimate scrappy organization
- toomanyrichies 4y agoGlad to hear that!
- altacc 4y agoThere's quite a few of these circus outreach projects (off the top of my head I know performers without borders and the flying seagull project, but there are lots more) and they all seem to be small, scrappy, run by one or two long term organizers and with projects staffed by volunteers. It's not the type of charity that receives enough money to grow big enough to have the structure and paperwork that can be evaluated against the metrics used to judge larger organisations. I know that they often seek grants from larger charities and that requires a decent level of review & documentation.
- timgilbert 4y agoSee also the Birthday Clown Consortium Price Guide: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-birthday-clown-consortium-price-guide https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-birthday-clown-conso...
- cleerline 4y agothis is so good its not funny.
- lichtenberger 4y agoFriends of mine also went to Nepal with Clowns without Borders. They even did a documentary :-) https://anita.bertolami.net/project.html https://anita.bertolami.net/project.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74qK0n8kA-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74qK0n8kA-w
- outside1234 4y agoThought this was going to be a picture of my executive team. Glad to see it is a much more worthy cause!
- hmmmcurious1 4y agoFinally a place where me and my fellow spring boot developers can call home
- zabzonk 4y agojust so long as it is not mime artists
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Willish42 4y agoThis took a solid ten minutes or so for my cynicism to die down, but I'm glad I took the time to read the comments because it is a deceptively good idea for people without a lot of hope or material benefits coming their way. I wish them luck, this is probably a very difficult thing for volunteers to go and do
- specproc 4y agoI used to work in the humanitarian sector, which is frankly a complete shit-show. I once was drinking with our local EU humanitarian representative, a grizzled veteran of many missions. It's his job to oversee projects running on EU money, which is one of the largest chunks of any response. I really respected the guy, one of the smartest and capable people I met in the business. He'd been in Haiti, which is famously one of the worst of the worst, and I asked him what the best piece of work he saw there was. Without hesitation, he said it was these guys. Refugee camps can be bleak and miserable places, and he said that when CWB were doing their thing, the whole atmosphere lifted. When we think about aid, we think about food and water and shelter, but we're dealing with normal people who've often been severely traumatised. It's hard to understate the value of work like this. Particularly when most of the aid-workers you encounter just wander around doing surveys asking the same questions the last lot did.