03/01 ­ 08/05
March ­ August, the Association of World Citizens will present an Online Regional Meetings Symposium (in 15 countries) on how world citizens and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can convince or pressure governments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) they adopted by consensus in 2000. This project is in preparation for the UN Summit in New York in September. "The decisions to be taken there may determine the whole future of the United Nations." - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The project will conclude at the Association of World Citizens conference "Ending War and Organized Violence - The Failure of Global Empire and the Birth of Global Community" at the University of San Francisco, August 2 ­5, 2005. Contact: www.worldcitizens.org or call (415) 541-9610.

05/01 ­ 10/31
May through October. The 2005 Yerba Buena Gardens Festival will feature more than 150 artistic, cultural and community events in Yerba Buena Gardens, on Mission Street between Third and Fourth Streets in San Francisco. The events are all free to the public and include popular and operatic music series, cultural festivals, dance performances, international music concerts, visual art exhibits, theater, spoken word performances, and family and children's programming in the Rooftop Gardens and Carousel Plaza of Yerba Buena Gardens. Contact Linda Lucero, (415) 543-1718 or visit www.ybgf.org.

05/04
Wednesday, May 4, 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce Street in Monterey. Water for Life: The Health of the World's Oceans and Drinking Water. Speakers will include Vanessa Tobin, Chief of the Water, Sanitation and Environment Division of UNICEF, and Julie Packard, founding director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and member of the Pew Oceans Commission. Hosted by the International Environmental Policy Program of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. A United Nations Association, Monterey Bay Chapter event, to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, as well as the launch of the UN's Decade for Water for Life. Contact www.unamontereybay.org.

05/05­05/30
May 5 through 30, various Bay Area locations ArtSFest 2005: a Bay Area Celebration of the Arts for the World to See!, will present its annual region-wide arts festival celebrating the Bay Area's rich artistic innovations and providing a showcase for over 100 performing and visual arts presenters. Visit ArtSFestsf.org for schedule of events. ArtSFest also works year-round with artists, performers, art patrons, arts organizations, civic agencies and businesses to promote the Bay Area Art Scene and increase its economic potential. Contact www.ArtSFestsf.org or 415-626-6710.

05/07 ­ 06/05
UN60 Birthday Celebrations at the Red Victorian Peace Center, 1665 Haight Street, San Francisco. Public programs include Open Mike, occasional Saturdays, May 14, June 4, 5:00 to 9:00 pm; Breakfast Conversations, occasional Sundays, May 8, June 5, 9:00 to 10:30 am; World Conversations bring together five to eight new acquaintances at each breakfast table every morning. Participants come from anywhere in the world and share approximately an hour and a half in conversations about their personal experiences relating to the topic. Hosted by Sami Sunchild. Free Exhibition of Peace Paintings and posters dedicated to peace on Earth, May 7 to 31; opening reception Saturday, May 7, 5:00 to 8:00 pm, Gallery of Peace Arts at the Red Victorian Peace Center. Contact www.redvic.com or 415-864-1978.

05/07
Saturday, May 7, Dancing Across Cultures at the Yerba Buena Gardens. The Presidio Performing Arts Foundation (PPAF) will sponsor its annual Spring season showcase of Dancing Across Cultures, featuring Presidio Dance Theatre's artistic director Vassilli Mountian, leading the dance company of children and youth, representing a citywide pool of talent, in the performance of their repertoire of dances from forty nations. Contact www.ppaf.org.

05/11
Wednesday, May 11, The Club of Rome and UNESCO will present a World Conference on the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D). A video conference broadcast via the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) will allow people in the San Francisco Bay Area and countries where GDLN hubs are located to engage international leaders involved in ICT4D policy making. During the conference, various youth oriented social enterprise, community building and educational efforts will be explored. Programs encouraging an integrated approach to sustainable development will be an important focus of the conference. Results will be presented to the WSIS conference in Tunis in November, 2005. Contact www.OneVillage.Biz or Jeff Buderer, (408) 813-5135.

05/21
Saturday, May 21, at Old Alvarado/Cesar Chavez Park, 3871 Smith Street, Union City. The twelfth annual Asian-American Heritage Festival. The program includes an awards ceremony, stage performances of ethnic dance, music, songs, martial arts, and ethnic foods, trade booths, and cultural displays representing the diversified cultures in Asia. Over 5,000 people are expected, with the majority being Asian. The Asian American Heritage Festival is produced by the Asian American Federation of California, which was founded over 11 years ago by a group of Asian community leaders. The goal of the organization is to promote Asian Culture and cultural understanding, resulting in increased community peace and understanding. Contact John Hsieh, (510) 784-7341.

05/24
Tuesday, May 24, at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street, San Francisco, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. In honor of the United Nations' 60th Anniversary, the Nonviolent Peaceforce will present a three-hour workshop, introducing nonviolence in general and the Nonviolent Peaceforce in particular. The Nonviolent Peaceforce is the world's first large-scale international force composed of trained, unarmed civilians ready to serve in conflict areas. It is now in the second year of its three-year peacekeeping project in Sri Lanka. It is investigating how it may be of assistance in the Philippines, Uganda, Sudan, Colombia, and Ecuador. Contact (415) 751-0302.

05/28 - 05/29
Saturday and Sunday, May 28­29, Carnaval in San Francisco's Mission District, with food, vendors, and five stages of live entertainment on Harrison Street, from 16th Street to 23rd Street. The Grand Parade kicks off at 10:00 AM on Sunday, May 29th and dances down 24th Street to Mission Street and into the the festival at 17th Street. Baila Conmigo, Dance with Me! is the theme of Carnaval San Francisco, the largest multi-cultural festival on the West Coast. A production of Mission Neighborhood Centers, Inc, Carnaval San Francisco celebrates its twenty-seventh year with thousands of dancers and musicians representing countries and cultures from around the globe-united as one community in a spectacle of peace and harmony, Carnaval San Francisco is a fundraiser for the Carnaval Cultural Arts Education Program and the Excelsior Senior Center. The Parade is covered live on KRON­TV Channel 4. Contact www.carnavalsf.com or Karol An Meier, (415) 920-0122.