Panelists speak about the culture and resilience of Bhutan and preparing youth for the future in a virtual chat after screening BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME. The BYkids film, by 18-year-old Rinzin Jurmey, documents how he – and his country –strive to preserve ancient practices and tradition under globalization’s pressure to modernize.

Panelists include H.E. Ambassador Doma Tshering (permanent representative of Bhutan to the United Nations), Holly Carter (BYkids founder and executive director) and Cat Papadimitriou (filmmaker and BYkids mentor). BYkids is honored to partner with the United Nations Association of New York in presenting this event.

Thanks to board member Stephanie Apt for dreaming up how to capture the profound impact of our work and our original story. Thanks to Stephanie for engaging the talented editor, Alyce Muhammad, and everyone at her production company, Final Cut, and to Javier Arau for the music.

After two years of Zoom, BYkids was delighted to host a full-house screening of FAITH’S WORLD, the inspiring story by Faith Guilbault about life with cerebral palsy. Following the film was a a lively conversation about building new funding and creative partnerships to boost the sustainability and impact of our work.

On May 29, we look forward to another gathering in the Hamptons to share stories through film that address climate change, advance learning, support racial and social equity, and spur action worldwide. 

BYkids wins TWO Anthem Awards for best non-profit in Education, Art & Culture honoring our long-lasting impact and recognizing the breadth of our social good work around the world.  

The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences chose BYkids as the Silver winner in two categories for non-profits in Education, Art & Culture: Best Strategy and Best Campaign in the inaugural Anthem Awards.  

“BYkids is leading the way in the Impact Industry,” says Jessica Lauretti, Managing Director, The Anthem Awards. “It is our distinct honor to recognize your work for systemic change.”  

BYkids was selected from nearly 2,500 entries from 36 countries by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences by social impact leaders including Daniel Dae Kim (actor and activist), Ashley Judd (actor and social justice humanitarian) and Shayla Tait (director of philanthropy, The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation).  

Presented by The Webby Awards, the Anthem Awards amplify the voices that spark global change and are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities. Founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, Glaad, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF and XQ.  

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BYkids is proud to be invited to the TEDWomen conference, celebrating the power of women and girls to be creators and change-makers. Over three days and six sessions at TEDWomen 2021, more than 40 speakers and performers shared ideas that spanned the globe and drew from across cultures and disciplines to answer the question: What now? For the final session, speakers explored the biggest question of all — What now for the future? — and encouraged us to imagine another world and fight for it.

The BYkids Board in thrilled to announce that we have three new board members to join the other distinguished leaders in journalism, film, television, design, philanthropy and education. FULL BOARD

Ling Li is a fellow at The Stimson Center after 12 years as Program Director for Luce Scholars at the Henry Luce Foundation managing all aspects of this nationally competitive year-long fellowship offering young Americans cultural immersion and professional placement in 19 countries in Asia. Before that, he was Director of Transnational Initiatives for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. After Columbia Law School, he worked as a corporate lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Bill McCarthy is the Head of Preschool and Lower School at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Previously, Bill oversaw academic and social-emotional support for all students at the school. He is an experienced educator and leader who has spent over 20 years working in independent and public schools and organizations. He holds a Master’s degree from New York University in Social Work and another Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Emerson College. He serves as an educational advisor to the Institute for Social-Emotional Learning and to the Thorn Tree Project.

Diane M. Miller started her career as a classroom teacher, segued into curriculum creation, and co-founded Peoples Education, Inc. to publish the first authentic voice African American and Latino histories for children. As a founding member of the Education Committee at the Smithsonian Institution, she worked to enhance their effectiveness in K-12 schools. Diane creates the school curriculum guides for all BYkids films. Her current firm advises educational companies, districts, states and charitable organizations.

In addition to BYkids and Holly Carter winning the Media Arts Educator Award, FAITH’S WORLD wins the People’s Choice Award and First Place for Overcoming Obstacles. AGAINST THE CURRENT wins First Place for Best Trailer. The trailer for BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME wins Second Place for Portrait of an Individual. And the trailer for L’CHAIM wins Third Place in the Human Rights category.

Congratulations to our directors Faith Guilbault, Daunnette Moniz-Reyome, Rinzin Jurmey and Semon Shabaev on these impressive wins at the MY HERO International Film Festival, which is dedicated to highlighting inspirational stories that confront global issues.

The Japan Prize selected FAITH’S WORLD for its International Contest for Educational Media and showcased the film in a special program, “How Is Media Communicating Diversity to Children?” Faith Guilbault and her mom, Karen Stanker Guilbault, did a wonderful interview and it was a thrill to be welcomed by Crown Princess Kiko and this global community. VIEW THE TRAILER

The Japan Prize advances the quality of educational content around the world and contributes to the promotion of better international understanding. This international contest is dedicated solely to educational content. Since 1965, this prestigious prize has supported the power of the media by awarding outstanding works that expand the possibilities of education.

The film will be added to the NHK Japan Prize Library with Japanese subtitles to be used by schools, researchers and producers.