This is the official What’s Your Issue blog — written by members of the WYI Team and Jury.
Visit the FYI Voices Blog — An open community blog where WYI-FYI members and past winners can blog about their social entrepreneurship projects and issue-based initiatives.
What can we say? The banner story on Yoko Ono’s website! (Not to mention our story adjacent to a smiling Yoko delivering a video message!)
Today’s clearly Yoko day for us, because she Twittered about us to her 3/4 million followers, as well.
Story is also very long!
Here’s a link to the site, and a screenshot, below – http://imaginepeace.com/
Here’s where you can read the full story:
Yoko is one of our judges for 2010. A few years back, she supported HeathCliff’s previous non-profit endeavor,when he had launched Global Vision for Peace, a United Nations NGO. At that time, she was on the Honorary Committee and had donated sheet music of John Lennon’s Imagine.
Here’s her Tweet to her 750K followers about us, below, or at http://twitter.com/yokoono
A side note to her values: amazing, when the Montreal Fine Arts Museum was hosting the touring John and Lennon Peace Exhibit last summer, Yoko insisted that if the museum had the opportunity to host it – then it would have to be free to the public. And the Montreal Fine Arts Museum was forced to open the entire museum to all visitors last summer, during peak time, for public viewing, FOR FREE. Thanks, Yoko!
We’re always saying, Thanks, Yoko, for something!~
Who’s NAMM? NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants) is an international not-for-profit association that represents musical instrument and equipment retailers, manufacturers and distributors. The association has more than 9,000 members and its mission is “to encourage music making for people of all ages.” (www.namm.org)
What’s Your Issue-Film Your Issue is happy to announce a partnership with NAMM, who will reach out to its vast constituency to encourage participation in our new Issue Song Competition.
A song winner, selected by a panel of judges, led by Actor-Musician Jack Black, will perform at the 2010 Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, co-hosted by Sony Pictures, as well as at the Annual NAMM Show in January 2011 – a gathering of more than 85,000 music product industry professionals.
Read more at http://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/namm-joins-what’s-your-issue-foundation-help-teens
FYI Jurist Deepak Chopra has taken the vow for non-violence.
You can follow Deepak on Twitter and learn more about the vow here.
Craig Newmark is founder of Craigslist, the Internet marketplace and social networking site. He’s also one of the amazing judges of Film Your Issue who’s excited to see your idea! For 2010, we are looking for 3-minute “Issue and Solution” videos from young adults ages 14 to 24, expressing your issue and proposing an innovative solution-project. Winning submissions will be presented to Obama administration, winners flown to a VIP reception and Awards Ceremony hosted by Sony Pictures in Los Angeles. Submission deadline is April 19. YouTube is partnering. Upload 3-min video at http://www.youtube.com/filmyourissue
Much of life, online or real, depends on who you trust, how reliable is their information.
We’re used to dealing with partially reliable info, but need some sources of reasonable trustworthy information. I feel this will come from sites which deal with that matter, perhaps the most important of which is Wikipedia. Long term online solutions will reflect real life partial solutions, which include accounability, persistent identity, and reputation.
You can follow Craig on twitter at www.twitter.com/craignewmark.
Tom Brokaw's call to action to all youths (click to read).
This year, Film Your Issue’s VIP jury is headed by Honorary Distinguished Jurist Tom Brokaw, Special Correspondent for NBC News and the former host of The Today Show, NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press. We are proud to have the veteran Emmy and Peabody Awards-winning journalist on our jury again this year. He truly believes in the wide reach of the Internet and the social change that can be created through it. After all, “It will do us little good to wire the world if we short-circuit our souls.”
Think you have an awesome idea for Tom Brokaw? Or know somebody who may? Submit your video to Film Your Issue 2010 by April 19. We can’t wait to watch it.
You can find more about the competition here.
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, has joined Film Your Issue's VIP jury.
Jimmy Wales, co-founder of the free open-content encyclopedia Wikipedia, has joined Film Your Issue’s VIP jury. His role in creating Wikipedia, which has become the world’s largest encyclopedia, prompted Time magazine to name him in its 2006 list of the world’s most influential people. Wales currently serves in an unpaid position on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization which operates Wikipedia.
HeathCliff Rothman
Today we announce the launch of What’s Your Issue-Film Your Issue 2010, a global youth initiative and competition in its 5th year encouraging the next generation of leaders and social entrepreneurs.
We’re up and running.
And as you know with any new website launch, you hold your breath.
And it’s just the beginning. Although we’re 5 years old, we’ve expanded. Hence, Film Your Issue is now part of the larger What’s Your Issue campaign.
We’re now looking for solution project-ideas. And we’re presenting winners to the Obama administration.
We’ve added a song competition. Jack Black has signed on, as first judge.
We’re starting a network and resource for future entrepreneurs.
We’re planning on video tutorials. (We need volunteers!)
We’ll be adding, tweaking, changing, building out, adding information about the categories, the prizes, the blogs.
We want your help, input, suggestions, spare time.
Give us your email. Send us input and ideas. Tell us what we’re doing right – or wrong.
One thing we’ve done right is that we’ve been in conversation for months with senior officials in Washington, and your winning solutions will be seen directly by “influencers.” So we promise you will have a voice, and platform.
Apple has been working us, and they’ve been amazing. They’re helping us get out the word, and providing iPod Touches and a MacBook as prizing, and providing a tile on iTunes, for our uploads.
Best Buy is more than just a brand. They have a beating heart for kids, throughout the company, as you probably have seen, visiting the stores. They’ve plugged us in to their youth network, and will be presenting winners on screens around the planet, next summer.
YouTube also has a conscience, and we’re their premiere non-profit project during the video competition in 2010 as part of their new Video for Change division.
So join us. We’re a team. All of us – including you. We want a better society, innovative ideas to solve problems, songs that touch our hearts as they shine a light on an issue, and new entrepreneur opportunities for young adults in these challenging times.
Our premiere partner in youth leadership and video and music skills
Sponsoring our video competition for solutions from young adults
Hosts the 2010 Awards Ceremony
Partnering to support youth leadership
Partner in reaching 4.5 million college students on 185 campuses
Partner in student outreach
Partnering to support youth leadership
Partnering to encourage youth entrepreneurship and leadership
Inspiring people of all ages to become active music makers
Promoting the principles and practice of democracy in schools with nearly 3 million participants worldwide
