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September 15, 2007: The seed thought-to create a First Night-type celebration of Boston arts focused on the concept of "hope"-was something that popped into mind for Boston IV of Hope member Rosemary Fortin. It found fertile ground in a cadre of students from The Boston Conservatory, who developed the concept as their spring semester entrepreneurship project in a career skills class.Now September 15, from 1 to 9pm, is slated as a day-long "BoCo" artists' consortium called UpLifted: Art Perpetuating Hope. The immense enthusiasm and pooled talents of the students who are creating the event are laying groundwork for what they hope will be an annual happening, and one that catches on with other music and art schools and organizations in Boston's creative scene. Features of this entirely free program will include a gallery exhibit, a fashion show, theater, poetry reading, a panel discussion, a silent auction (of student art, fashion designs, and musical gigs), background music performances, and as the finale a new music concert by the next generation of local composers. Students will be running the show, with Boston IV of Hope members providing PR, fundraising coaching, and print design and The Boston Conservatory providing the venue and guidance for its students to maintain the highest performance standards. BoCo is the oldest conservatory in the U.S., with a close-knit student/teacher community in the mid-hundreds and areas of specialization including not only music but also art, theater, opera, dance, and fashion design. How art influences hope will be an organizing principle of all events. The panel discussion, among students set to pursue a life in the arts, will tackle the social impact of art in its various forms. The call for artists looking to showcase their work asks specifically for work involving social commentary. Says Brian Thacker, one of the student organizers, "It seems that artists of the 20th century have pushed art beyond the grasp of the common audience." The UpLifted mission statement aims to "broaden the demographic that art attracts." The students see their work encouraging a better tomorrow.
IV of Hope Photojournalist Brings Home a Wellness Paradigm
For details on the content of this presentation, from the perspective of an enthusiastic audience member, click here . Anyone with suggestions of thought partners to bring this photodocumentary into the public eye elsewhere, please contact Eugenie through IVOH.
14 June 2001 Last weekend 25 people met in Boston to explore next steps for Images and Voices of Hope. It has been exactly two years since our first opening conversation in New York City (June 8, 1999). The conversation that was introduced there as "a national conversation on the impact of public image making and public story telling" quickly became an international conversation in which hundreds of people in many cities engaged in animated conversations to look at the impact of media on our lives and at how we might make a difference. After two years of "participatory research," Dave Cooperrider, Chairman of SIGMA proposed that we consider a more permanent and cohesive structure to support IV of Hope. The Visions of a Better World Foundation Board, which supports IV of Hope decided to host this meeting in Boston to explore his proposal.
Saturday morning we spent "checking in": what is in your heart as you come into this meeting this morning? "This project has really changed my life." "I am excited about infiltrating other areas besides the media bringing other groups in." "Both Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw have been writing books of positive belief." "How can I become more of an image of hope?" "How do we give each human being an opportunity to have their voices heard?" "I want to catch and capture the richness of these conversations and feed it back to other parts of the world." "This initiative is strategic. People get it right away. It is a challenge because of the violence in the system." "I've seen the lingering effect this has on people. We don't always know the effect." "I will always be in any room where conversations about changing the world take place." "Before we can have a public conversation, we must have a private conversation." "This is about harnessing imagination for the public good. It is about making the invisible visible. This is more about revealing a community than creating it." We watched a video about IV of Hope produced and edited by Eric La Rest of Montreal with footage shot at the Summit and took a look at the foundations of the new Web site, which is being created by Web designer, Judy Cox. After lunch on Saturday Dave Cooperrider walked us through the process followed by the United Religions Initiative to create a global network organization, a process that took five years from first meeting to charter signing. He raised the question whether this group thought the same sort of process would work for IV of Hope. After his talk, we broke into smaller groups of 6-8 to talk about the kind of purpose we saw for the project. We reconvened to talk about purpose. That conversation carried over to dinner back at Judy's house. The range of thinking on purpose was wide: "To provide people with an opportunity to be in a process that allows them to understand that they have choices and can think for themselves." "A competency for love, not violence - an expansion of affirmative competency." "A catalyst for human development through helping focus media attention on dissemination of positive stories." "Raising consciousness about the power of images to create and destroy life." "Expanding the inventory of stories and images with authority in shaping public consciousness to include many more stories of possibility." "A global dream-catcher, dissipates negative images and holds the affirmative ones." "How do we create a culture in which this positivity has authority? - the in-breaking future" "We must be the media we want to see in the world. (individual transformation / collective impact.) "Our purpose is to discover, take responsibility for and co-create a media commons - media as an agent of world benefit." "Our purpose is the development of a communications culture that provides strength and resilience." "It includes the entire media system: those who produce images and stories, those who distribute them, and those who consume them." "Renouncing cynicism in favor of images and voices of hope." "Our purpose is to discover, take responsibility for, and co-create a media commons that in fact reflects the deepest and best in human beings and our communities, making these stories available to all as a precious resource for positive change." -- media as an agent of world benefit. Sunday morning we reconvened for a shorter session. We broke into groups of 3 to look at 3 questions: - What has life and energy for you from yesterday? - What is a next step that has life and energy for you? - Thinking back on local conversations you have been involved with or attended, think of a highpoint moment. What were the patterns that made it special? "Seeing the Web site makes this project feel more real, more connected with the world." "The image of Indra's net." "Thinking of communications as a culture, the connection with democracy, public discourse as a force to renew public life." "Hospitals need hope. Teachers and children need hope." "Keep it simple and uncluttered." "Involve key partners to amplify, leverage and clarify the message." "How do we catalogue the ripple effects?" "How do we maximize the network that is already in place?" "What about developing an e-group to include all the partners from around the world?" "What about using video conferencing to stay in touch during the design process?" "This is an international conversation involving representatives from media and the arts, aimed at highlighting the positive core in the human spirit with a view to discovering a better future." "Other ideas that need to be integrated into a purpose statement: choice, stories and images, public consciousness, hope, awakening, language, communications culture, linking the personal and the public." The patterns that are important to preserve as we go forward: - Attention to the benefits of small scale - Having different sectors represented in each conversation - Meeting for extended periods, going deeper - Sharing our experience as individuals with the collective - The structure should support not constrain the creative process - Use the Web to connect us; Use e-circles - include all languages of those participating in the conversations (currently English, Spanish, and Portuguese.) - "Set the Table" - provide places that provide hospitality and are connected. Finally late on Sunday morning we turned our attention to two final question: (1) "Is there will among this representative group for going forward to engage in a process that would result in a more coherent entity known as Images and Voices of Hope, with a clear purpose, principles, communication architecture, and effective means of making decisions?" and if so, (2) "Who is willing to serve on a design team for four meetings to take place over the next year?" There was will among the group for going forward and a clear understanding that that does not necessary mean the creation of a formal incorporated organization. Many expressed their willingness to help: Rita and Neville to be thinking partners on the process, reviewing drafts, etc., Jane in helping raise money when the time is right, Catherine with outreach, Joan in supporting Danielle. Several people said they wanted to focus on their local conversations: Linda Gerber and Bliss Browne in Chicago, Barry Fishman in San Francisco, Meredith and Karyn in Miami, Rodrigo in Sao Paulo, Martha in Peru. Those who agreed to work on the design team over the next year are:
We closed with a moment of silence and then headed out into the sunshine. Many thanks to all of those who made such an effort to get here and to share your best thinking with the group. We will keep everyone posted on the progress of this design team over the months ahead. With warm regards, Judy Rodgers
Rita Cleary
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