MFA Founder Dr. Georgette Bennett Joins Jury for "Film Your Issue" Campaign
Dr. Georgette Bennett Joins Distinguished Jury for Film Your Issue 2018 Global Campaign ~ ages 8 to 22 are welcome to participate ~
Overseer of the International Rescue Committee and Founder of Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees Dr. Georgette Bennett Joins illustrious VIP Jury for relaunched iconic youth civic-engagement initiative Film Your Issue 2018
Dr. Georgette Bennett, founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees, a project of the Tides Center, and Overseer of the International Rescue Committee, has joined the illustrious VIP Jury roster for the relaunching of the iconic youth civic engagement and empowerment initiative Film Your Issue for 2018.
Film Your issue, to be officially launched late fall with a spring submission deadline, encourages youth 8 to 22 to engage in contemporary issues, believe in the power of their voice, and understand that every voice in a democracy can make a difference. Dr. Bennett joins Senator John McCain; Colin L. Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State; Dr. David Skorton, Secretary of The Smithsonian Institution; Washington Post Managing Editor Cameron Barr; Wall Street Journal Publisher and Dow Jones CEO William Lewis; Actor and philanthropist-humanitarian Hugh Jackman; Joanne Lipman, Editor in Chief of USA TODAY and USA TODAY NETWORK, and Chief Content Officer of Gannett; Lynn Taliento, Senior Strategist for the Obama Foundation; Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of The Girl Scouts of the USA; Daniel Domenech, Executive Director of The School Superintendents Association; New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof; Google’s Chief Education Evangelist Jaime Casap; Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of The Anne Frank House, Museum and Educational Organization; Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Chair of the Audrey Hepburn Society at UNICEF; New York Public Library Vice President Michele Mayes; Erik Solheim, Under-Secretary General of the U.N.; and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Executive VP Heather Conway for the new Film Your Issue 2018 VIP Jury. The Film Your Issue youth civic engagement short-video initiative initially ran from 2005 to 2010, headed by Honorary Distinguished Jurist Walter Cronkite. VIP Jurists of the original Film Your Issue included Barack Obama, Tom Brokaw, Anderson Cooper, Ben Bradlee, George Clooney, Nick Kristof, Judy Woodruffand others, and over 5 years was sponsored by YouTube, Microsoft, Yahoo, Toshiba, Best Buy, USA Today and Associated Press. A nominee for the Pulitzer Prize, Dr. Bennett is an active philanthropist, activist and international leader in conflict resolution and intergroup relations. She founded Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in 1992 to combat religious prejudice and the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees in 2013 to mobilize support for alleviating the suffering of Syria's war victims. Dr. Bennett is an overseer for the International Rescue Committee, and served in the U.S. State Department Religion and Foreign Policy initiative’s working group which developed recommendations for the Secretary of State on countering religion-based violence. Film Your Issue is being relaunched amidst the increased interest by the public in political dialogue and activism, and encourages youth to understand the power of their own voice and advocacy, to take action, and to understand that their voice can have power, and make a difference. The focus is non-partisan, transcending political party affiliation. Film Your Issue 2018 will be the leading youth engagement for the global Everyone Matters initiative, which advocates for everyone’s right to dignity and respect, to be who we are without judgment or attack, and to thrive within our own unique individuality. 50 global mayors, 150 schools in the U.S., Canada and globally have participated in the 5 year old initiative, including the signature annual “Everyone Matters Day.” “The surge in grassroots activism inspired us to relaunch Film Your Issue, which was a landmark last decade in encouraging youth to engage in issues, and understand the power of their voice to make a difference, ” says HeathCliff Rothman, President and founder of Everyone Matters and Film Your Issue. “More than ever, we want to encourage youth engagement, advocacy and leadership, and hear what issues are of direct concern to young people today. Issues transcend partisanship, and affect us all as global citizens.” For Submissions and information: Contact: HeathCliff Rothman, President and Founder Everyone Matters & Film Your Issue Global Campaigns Direct - 323 666 6646 Mobile/ Text - 323 899 8999 www.Everyone-Matters.com
