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.

BUDDHISM, BHUTAN AND ME is an official selection for the 38th Annual Chicago International Children’s Film Festival running November 5-14, 2021. Congratulations to the team that brought this amazing film to the world.

Rinzin Jurmey chose to join a monastery and dedicate his life to Buddhism at the age of 11, loving its rituals and traditions. Now 18, he moves harmoniously between mountain village and city, embracing tradition and pop culture, religion and hip-hop, prayer and video games. WATCH TRAILER

The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, started in 1984, is the oldest and one of only two Academy Award qualifying children’s film festivals in the world, setting an exceptional standard in media for kids and teens. 

BYkids is selected as one of the most impactful and scalable innovations in the world by global education non-profit HundrED.

HundrED, a Finnish education non-profit, chose BYkids is part of the 2022 Global Collection that highlights 100 leading global innovations in K-12 education.

Chosen from 2,657 submissions that were reviewed by 120 education experts, we are thrilled to be recognized for our impact and scalability. One voter says, “One of the best examples of BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. A initiative which empowers the kids to be agents of change rather than millions of others who consider themselves as victims of the system.”

Check out the full report to learn more about the top 100 innovations creating positive change in education around the world! READ REPORT

BYkids attends to Story Movements conference in DC at the Planet Word Museum organized by the Center for Media and Social Impact at American University and lead by Caty Borum Chattoo and her team.

Story Movements examines platforms and genres of civic media storytelling through the lens of social justice and social inequality. From documentary film to comedy to the entertainment industry to creative storytelling activism and beyond, the convening examines and captures the current and future-looking moment in story-led demands for social change.

It was an engaging two days discussing “Leveraging Culture and Storytelling to Create Spaces for Human Connection and Solidarity”, “Harnessing Creativity, Culture, and Narrative in Contemporary Social Justice Movements”, “Changing the Cultural Mirror in Hollywood” and “Expanding the Lens in the Future of Entertainment Storytelling” with many leaders in the field.

The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) is a creative innovation lab and research center that focuses on media for equity and social justice. Our work bridges boundaries between scholars, media producers, social justice organizations, and communication practitioners.

BYkids partners with TheaterWorksUSA to create a music video for an original song by songwriter Rotana Tarbzouni that captures the power of Faiza Almontaser’s BYkids film, POET AGAINST PREJUDICE, about being a Muslim immigrant in New York and her courageous and inspiring journey from victim to activist. WATCH HERE

TheaterWorksUSA creates transformative theatrical experiences that are accessible to young and family audiences in diverse communities. BYkids was honored to partner on this project to elevate the voice of talented young people about pressing global issues to use as catalysts for empathy, connection and change.