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IMAGES & VOICES OF HOPE HONORS
REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIA PROFESSIONALS AT 2006
WORLD SUMMIT
Innovators initiate positive shifts in society
Peace
Village, NY - Over sixty international journalists, artists, musicians and
media professionals convened for the Images & Voices of Hope 2006 World
Summit at the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization Peace Village
Learning and Retreat Center. The Summit, held October 5-8, focused on how
to creatively transform the "public space" through positive messages in the
media. The weekend of conversation, screenings and presentations was
highlighted by an award ceremony honoring 6 people who continue to affect
positive shifts in society throughout the world.
The
recipients of Images & Voices of Hope's First Annual Awards of
Appreciation are Yvonne Kgame, General Manager of South African
Broadcasting Corporation Content Hub; Susan Koscis, Curator of the Common
Ground Film Festival and the Director of Communications for Search for
Common Ground in Washington, DC; Integrated Health Consultant Eugenie
Francoeur and photographer Nancy Lessard of Montreal; Ryland Fisher, CEO of
Sekunjalo Media Holdings in South Africa; and Nancy Gruver, Duluth,
Minnesota based founder and publisher of New Moon, a magazine for and
by girls.
Yvonne
Kgame from Gauteng, South Africa, made history when she was named as the
General Manager: Content Hub for the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC). Under her leadership, SABC has garnered 95 significant national and
international awards including the Peabody Award for "Talk to Me," a special
on HIV/AIDS.
"This
award is an acknowledgement, affirmation and celebration of our collective
effort in using storytelling to bring hope and resilience not only to the
people of Africa, but to the people of the world, said Kgame. "Africa is
the Cradle of Humanity, and I believe we always go back to where we
started. Our heritage is Afrikaans; our tradition is oral storytelling,
This divine gift and innate treasure is a universal force of communication.
Africa continues to inspire, pioneer and benchmark excellence in the telling
of authentic African stories which contribute to the rebirth of a healthy,
prosperous community, nation and the world."
Susan
Koscis is the Director of Communications for Search for Common Ground, which
seeks to provide the environment for the creation of works that transform
the way the world deals with conflict. The organization collaborates with
local partners to offer culturally appropriate messages through film,
television, radio and print.
"Search
for Common Ground has been working with media for many years, and it is
gratifying and rewarding to receive this recognition -- together with the
other wonderful awardees -- from IVOH," said Koscis. "I am re-energized and
uplifted from my experience at the IVOH Summit."
Among
many other noteworthy projects, honoree Susan Koscis oversees the funding of
soap operas created for Nigerian television through which viewers learn to
appreciate and celebrate the cultural differences among a diverse cast of
characters featured in the ongoing story of a small television station.
Eugenie
Francoeur and Nancy Lessard of Montreal, Canada created and produced the
inspiring "Forever Health - The Okinawa Project," a series of print, radio
and television reports that investigates the secrets of people over the age
of 90 who live healthy, active lifestyles. Francoeur is a writer, producer,
lecturer and former CBC French television and radio reporter. Lessard,
photojournalist on the project, has had her images published in magazines,
catalogs and newspapers throughout the world.
"I am
grateful for the privilege of meeting such amazing people through IVOH,"
said Francoeur, a passionate advocate for healthful living. "This is
confirmation that these stories will be heard around the world. I receive
this award on behalf of the people we met on this project because these are
their stories."
During
a particularly stressful period of racial unrest in Cape Town, South Africa,
Ryland Fisher, then chief editor of the newspaper, Cape Times, created,
solicited the funding, assembled top journalists, edited and published "One
City Many Cultures," an editorial series designed to initiate understanding
among various cultures and promote racial tolerance. The series led to
the creation of the One City Festival, later named the Cape Town Festival,
which continues today. CEO of a multi-media communications company
dedicated to bringing people together in spite of their differences.
Nancy
Gruver is the founder-publisher of New Moon. a "magazine for girls
and their dreams," New Moon has been publishing original fiction,
poetry, articles and artwork for and by girls since 1992. Designed for an
international audience of girls from ages 8 to 14, the magazine is free of
advertising. New Moon seeks to inspire, build confidence and provide
an honest exchange for its writers and readers. The magazine is a six time
winner of a Parents' Choice Gold Award for Best Children's Magazine.
AWARDS
OF APPRECIATION: The mission is to spotlight and showcase stories that lift
the vision of the world; honor and support professionals in the media and
arts who are able to overcome the challenges they face to create stories
that need to be told even if they are not the most popular or sensational;
To encourage media & arts professionals to reflect on their professional
path and the choices they have made and are continuing to make that ignite
and fan the flame of their highest ideals and to recognize works of
resilience which are able to bring positive meaning to situations, no matter
how difficult or tragic.
"In
a time of extraordinary transition, much that is old dies away; new
paradigms begin to form. Media often tends to be riveted on the world that
is unraveling, amplifying the despair that many are feeling. It takes a
certain level of inner quiet and collective consideration to begin to make
out the contours of the world ahead. Images and Voices of Hope provides the
space for media professionals to reflect on their impact on humanity and
consider one of the most important contributions they can make: to
illuminate what gives life and hope to humanity in this emerging world."
- Judy Rodgers, Co-Founder, Images & Voices of Hope
ABOUT IMAGES & VOICES OF HOPE: Images and
Voices of Hope is an international conversation about the impact of images
and stories on people, families, communities, cultures and the world. Our
purpose is to strengthen the role of media as agents of world benefit,
expanding awareness of the choices those in media make that raise public
trust, generate constructive meaning, and amplify human hope, thus enhancing
humanity's capacity for life-promoting action. Images and Voices of Hope is
an initiative convened by the Institute for Advanced Appreciative Inquiry,
the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization and the Visions of a Better
World Foundation.
Begun
in 1999 with a conversation among 200 media professionals in New York City,
Images & Voices of Hope has grown to include conversations among some of the
world's finest journalists, artists, musicians, activists and media
professionals on all five continents.
Attendees and hosts have included many Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Peabody, Edward
R. Murrow, Neiman winners and nominees from lesser known small media
organizations to powerhouses such as ABC, NBC/Universal, Fox, CBC, BBC, SABC,
PBS, newspapers, syndicates, publishing companies and others.
Participants in this year's World Summit arrived from New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Miami, Boston, Washington, DC,, Duluth, San Diego, Sao Paulo,
Montreal, Zurich, Paris, Oxford, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Singapore, Chile,
and Cape Town and other international locations.
For
more information on IVOH, contact:
Contact:
Milana Walter
milana@milanawalter.com
312.846.6277
Carol Green
mamalion@bellsouth.net
305-812-2300 |
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