We are thrilled to be part of SXSW EDU 2020! Discussion between our panelists and clips from BYkids’ PBS documentary, OUT OF ALEPPO, will demonstrate the power of giving agency to those who have been displaced by violence via the storytelling of Mohammad Shasho, a young man from Aleppo, Syria. We learn how he became empowered to overcome hardships and obstacles. The voice and experience of a peer will allow teachers and their students to delve into discussions about borders and immigration and moreover; teach empathy against xenophobia. Panel description here

BYkids is lucky to spend a week with social impact leaders from over 50 countries at the Opportunity Collaboration 2019. This global network of leaders dedicated to building solutions to injustice helped BYkids learn, leverage and laugh! Thanks to the IF Hummingbird Foundation and the support of Hearts on Fire.

Congratulations to Mike Martin and his mentor, Hollis Meminger. The Nashville Film Festival audience loved I COULD TELL YOU ‘BOUT MY LIFE and we had a blast here celebrating Mike’s 21st birthday! We missed you Chiemi Karasawa, Mike’s other incredible mentor on this film.

The new BYkids Junior Board is hard at work strategizing ways to support our work through Events, Social Media, Fundraising, Partnerships and Education. Watch for much more from this dynamic and committed group.

We are hard at work on four new films on disability, antisemitism, Native American culture and globalization in Bhutan. Here is mentor Evan Mascagni working with Daunnette Moniz-Reyome on her reservation in Nebraska.

In WALK ON MY OWN, a 16-year-old filmmaker documents the history of Keur Simbara — one of the first villages in Senegal to abandon female genital cutting and child marriage, read the article about this BYkids film by Omolara Uthman at Assembly with the support of Malala. Read article here

BYkids is featured in Education Week’s blog, Opinion: Global Learning, in an article titled “Teaching Empathy Through Documentary Films.” Written by Holly Carter, (founder and executive director of BYkids) and Zoë Barnstone-Clark (summer 2019 BYkids intern), this article highlights how film empowers kids to not only share their stories, but also connect to audiences in a manner that promotes both compassion and activism. Read the article here

Thank you to the United Nations Association of New York for hosting a screening of OUT OF ALEPPO at the Dolby Screening Room. The screening was followed by a panel with Holly Carter (founder and executive director of BYkids) George Batah (co-founder of Syrian Youth Empowerment), Firas Kayal (senior policy advisor at UNHCR), and Marlene Spoerri (UN representative at Independent Diplomat). The screening and panel helped to not only tell the story of Mohammad Sasho and his family as they journeyed from Syria to Berlin, but also shed light on the refugee experience through the perspectives of loss, art and hope. “The BYkids screening was one of the most striking accounts of the Syrian refugee crisis. The way the documentarian spoke about his story, and invited other refugees to do the same, was lighthearted but poignant. BYkids has such an incredible way of showing the viewer all sides of a human. The insightful panel afterwords topped off a wonderful story, and invited us all to keep the dialogue going, beyond the film,” says Emmy Heyman, Colorado College 2018.

OUT OF ALEPPO is screened at the 2019 Roadmaps Festival at Lincoln Center, followed by the panel “Innovations in Education as Response to Conflict,” moderated by critically-acclaimed journalist Ali Velshi. The panelists include Holly Carter (founder and executive director of BYkids), Scott Cameron (executive producer of International Social Impact at Sesame Workshop), George Batah (founder of Syrian Youth Empowerment), and Lina Attar (founder and CEO of Karam Foundation). It is an honor to take part in an evening full of visionary leaders who are designing new ways to both educate and accelerate the future generations of social change.

POET AGAINST PREJUDICE is screened as a part of the WNET Youth Collective Summit 2019 at the Paley Center for Media. In this short film, Faiza Almontaser (age 17) shares her trying experience of immigrating to New York from a small farming town in Yemen. With the help of the award-winning filmmaker Albert Maysles, Faiza armors herself with words and language to challenge misconceptions about Islamic culture and bring attention to social integration in a post 9/11 world.