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Images and Voices of Hope 2005 Global Summit
This year's Images and Voices of Hope World Summit, held Thursday,
September 29 through Sunday, October 2, at Peace Village Learning and Retreat
Center in New York's Catskill Mountains, was truly extraordinary. The quality
and caliber of those present was very high. From the United States, there
were journalists, reporters, filmmakers and producers, including from ABC,
NBC, CBS, Hollywood and public television as well as independent filmmakers;
writers, a playwright and a magazine publisher; professionals and consultants
closely connected with the media. Also attending were senior members from
academia: the Dean of Faculty at the Poynter Institute,
two professors from Tufts University, and a professor from Columbia College.
Many joined us from abroad: the founder of a new cable channell from Tel
Aviv; a prominent freelance journalist from Oxford; the producer of Chile's
top rated investigative program in Santiago; a producer and independent film
director from Singapore; from Brazil, a radio broadcaster and a journalism
student from Sao Paulo; and a journalist from Brasilia. Their presence was a
constant reminder that the world media community is linked in thousands of
ways.
This year's theme, "Media as an Agent of World Benefit", also focused on "Resilient Media" and the recognition that the true power of the media is the
power to create hope and resilience in the societies we serve. Our own "inner
media," our inner state, affects the "outer media" we create - the stories we
tell that impact our society. We in the media are not machines, or cool
observers who always see events in the crystal clarity of unswerving truth.
Over the weekend, we all realized how important it is to be in tune with our
own inner media and accept that our own personal feelings, experiences,
viewpoints do affect our interpretation of events. It is by being in touch
with our humanness, rather than denying that part of ourselves in our work
and stories, and by coming from a place of inner cleanliness that we can
touch others' hearts in a way that is needed today.
Each part of our time together elevated the conversation to a new level.
On Friday, we began with paired interviews. The questions, based on
Appreciative Inquiry, helped us to focus on a high point in our own work; a
story in the media that created a sense of possibility and resilience within
us; and our aspirations for our own work looking toward the future. We then
moved into small groups to share our responses and stories, exploring common
themes. This was followed by a rich, collective conversation about the role
of the media in creating a future world of peace, beauty, integrity, and
harmony.
On Saturday, Keith Woods, Dean of Faculty at the Poynter Institute, a
school for journalists, gave a moving and thought provoking presentation on
the lessons of Katrina which surpassed our already high expectations, leaving
us with lots to reflect on, both personally and professionally. On the heels
of that was an interactive panel, which held a balance between the practical
and the inspirational. Perhaps most important was the chance to screen and
hear about each other's work - about the networks, channels, programs, and
educational experiments underway all over the world. Throughout the weekend
there were guided meditations as well as Tai chi classes.
Images and Voices of Hope has a newly formed strategy group who met
briefly after the Summit to create an agenda for the next year. We took
inspiration from the questions evoked and the messages conveyed by
participants - that in order for the world to find its humanity, journalists
(and media professionals) have to let go of the "us" and "them" mentality and
embrace that we are all "us"; we are reminded not to identify ourselves in
terms of what we are against. The strategy group will meet in April, and we
will start by clarifying the dimensions that describe the kind of media we
mean when we talk about "images and voices of hope." We will begin work
immediately on a communication architecture including resources, links, blogs,
spaces for collaboration, and an index or virtual library to guide people to
the growing body of work we and our colleagues are creating.
Our goal with Images and Voices of Hope has always been to support those
in media as they work to benefit the world by providing a chance for
committed journalists, media professionals, and artists to be in conversation
together, to reflect in silence, and to support one another's work. As Sister Mohini reminded us, broad creativity and the
"language of generosity" will
flow from us naturally when we remember to support and nurture ourselves
first, giving ourselves time to go inside and to be in deep inner silence.
The next Images and Voices of Hope World Summit is planned for Thursday,
October 5 - Sunday, October 8, 2006.
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