Posts tagged education
Sustainable Philanthropy for Afghanistan Education and Women Empowerment… and Batman
“I am a firm believer that, in life, it’s important to embrace philanthropic projects to bring people happiness, and that the help of super heroes like Batman, Robin, Sooraya Qadir and Lara Croft can be of a great help to also bring a smile and further motivation.”
Online Films Premieres, Women’s Empowerment With Films, Theater and John Kerry - Film Annex Newsletter
What’s new on Film Annex? Two films premiering on our platform and one more to come, and our work to empower women in Afghanistan and Central-South Asia through film and education.
Read the full newsletter here.
Women’s Empowerment and Girls Education at Social Media Week in NYC
Eren Gulfidan, Film Annex’s Creative Director, attended Social Media Week and a panel on women’s empowerment and social networks. You can read her review below.
This morning, I woke up earlier than usual to meet with my colleague Fereshteh Forough, one of the co-founders of Women’s Annex, to attend Girls Education and Women’s Empowerment in Real World Social Networks, a Social Media Week panel that focused on female empowerment in developing countries.
The panel was introduced and moderated by Scott MacMillan, the Communications Manager of BRAC USA, a non-profit organization that empowers people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. MacMillan opened the session with a 40-year old anecdote to explain the power structure in developing countries, particularly in Bangladesh, which is where BRAC was founded back in 1972. Though slightly long and complex, the intro achieved to shed light on the power struggles, corruption, and injustice, especially towards women, that is still prevalent throughout the globe.
The panel started getting interesting for me when the female leaders of the three featured non-profit organizations began to share their stories. Christen Brandt, the Director of International Operations at She’s the First was the first speaker, and she talked about how her organization is helping girls in poor countries realize their full potential and continue with their education. With the Starfish Mentorship Program, She’s the First, assigns mentors to young women to break the cycle of early marriage, giving birth at a young age, and lack of education, things that their mothers had to go through. Starfish not only educates, but also empowers young women with knowledge and skills in areas like reproductive education, financial literacy, health, and critical, independent thinking.
Up next was Farzana Kashfi, the former Senior Manager of the Education Program at BRAC Bangladesh. She’s currently getting her Master’s Degree at Columbia University. Kashfi spoke extensively about education outside the classroom and safe spaces for young girls. She also talked about financial empowerment for women in Afghanistan and encouraging girls to sit in shops to learn unconventional trades. I liked this idea immediately, as I thought this would a) push young women out of their comfort zones and encourage them to be braver, and b) show the men in that particular society that women can work outside of their homes and be expert at any type of trade without feeling any sense of gender discrimination. Kashfi added that it was important for women to work so that they could support their own education. “You have to create awareness from bottoms up to tops down,” she finally stated.
The final speaker at the panel was Lynne Patterson, the co-founder of Pro Mujer, an organization that delivers a holistic package of services like financial opportunities, business empowerment, and healthcare, to underprivileged women in poor and developing countries.
One of the last questions at the Q&A following the discussion amongst the panelists was about social media. An audience member asked how these organizations were integrating social media strategies into their platforms. To my surprise, the answers from the panelists and the moderator was unsatisfactory. In fact, only Christen Brandt from She’s the First spoke about the positive effects of social media use on her organization’s efforts and outreach. This is where Fereshteh and I came in. It was the perfect opportunity to introduce Women’s Annex and how we’re building schools in Afghanistan, opening Internet classrooms for middle and high school students, creating a social media and filmmaking curriculum for Afghan girls and boys.
The response we received from the panelists was extremely positive, and we can’t wait to collaborate with them on this project. I was thrilled to learn about all of the organizations I mentioned in this blog today, and I really think that we are filling the missing puzzle pieces with Women’s Annex.
More soon…
Opening of the 6th Internet classroom at Mahjoobe Heravi High School, Herat, Afghanistan
Film Annex, in collaboration with Afghan Citadel Software Company, has completed the construction of the Internet classroom at Mahjoobe Heravi High School. This is the 6th classroom Film Annex built as part of the Afghan Development Initiative. This video shows the official opening of the classroom hosted by the school’s faculty, administration, and students.
Watch the video here.
Mahjoobe Heravi High School was established in 1350 (Islamic calendar). It has 4,000 students and 100 teachers. It is located in the center of Herat, Afghanistan.
Visit the Afghan Development Initiative and the Afghan Development Web TV for more information.
2013, Films, Education, Afghanistan - Central and South Asia, Women’s Empowerment, Fashion
Film Annex Founder/President talks about his 5 topics for 2013:
- Films
- Education
- Afghanistan - Central and South Asia
- Women’s Empowerment
- Fashion
Film Annex Collaborates with U.S. Navy Captain and Author, Edward Zellem, to Promote Afghan Proverbs
New York, NY, December 14, 2012 – Continuing its efforts to improve the education system in Afghanistan, Film Annex recently partnered with Edward Zellem to use his books, Zarbul Masalha: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs in high school curriculums in Afghanistan and soon Central and South Asia. In collaboration with Citadel of New York, Film Annex developed Examer, an Interactive and Educational Social Networking platform with a Micro Scholarship Payment System. Examer allows students to use Social Media platforms such as Facebook, take academic tests, do homework, and publish essays, films, and blogs on Film Annex. Now, part of the essay and multiple question tests will be about the meaning and usage of the Afghan Proverbs. Three exceptional Afghan women, Roya Mahboob, Fereshteh Forough, and Elaha Mahboob developed Examer for the education of Afghan children. Additional development on Examer was architected by Francesco Rulli and was done in collaboration with European and American software engineers.
“Afghan proverbs are uniquely useful for Examer and social media training. They provide an excellent springboard for discussion between students from different languages and cultures, because the messages are universally understood,” said Edward Zellem of the collaboration. “A relevant Afghan proverb can connect students emotionally and intellectually with any educational subject - environmental, women’s issues, health, social media, anti-discrimination, science, math, writing, and language studies, amongst others,” he continued. Francesco Rulli, Film Annex’s Founder/President, added, “With his work on Afghan Proverbs, Captain Edward Zellem is the ideal mentor and educator. He uses his military experience in Central and South Asia to educate the world about wisdom and history. He is an ideal role model for the future generations of American and international military personnel, as well as a powerful point of reference for millions of young people around the world.”
Examer enables students to learn social networking while they are mastering other subjects. Instead of being rewarded for a “Like” or a “Tweet”, Examer students are rewarded for good grades with payments made by Examer mobile payment systems. Better performance means more money that is paid directly to students and their families. Examer’s mobile payment system will help implement USAID’s vision for education in developing countries. The highest achievers will be paid by Citadel of New York and/or win educational scholarships with Citadel partners.
In the New Year, Captain Zellem and Citadel of New York expect to create an Afghan Proverbs Mobile App with the help of Cupcake Digital. In June of 2012, Cupcake Digital was created to build digital apps that would not only make kids smile, but also make parents happy. Cupcake’s first success was Wubbzy’s Pirate Treasure, based on the Emmy Award-winning Nick Jr. ® series, Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! ®. Cupcake Digital has since produced a whole (and growing) series of digital stories and games inspired by Wubbzy and his friends. Currently, Cupcake Digital is partnering with other major entertainment companies to develop story experiences and game apps based on their brands and properties, such as the Discovery Channel’s Animal Planet.
Recognizing the power and potential influence of the Afghan proverbs, Film Annex, Citadel of New York, and Edward Zellem have decided to leverage the books and the concept behind them into a worldwide educational and business use for the global good. With Examer, students will quickly learn about the Afghan proverbs and use them to connect with each other.
About Film Annex
Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 220,000 registered users and over 40 million unique visitors. The company supports content providers financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high-quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com. For corporate information and videos, visit http://capitalpartners.filmannex.com.
About Citadel Software Company
Citadel designs and develops commodity software in an expeditious fashion, using talented in-house designers. The objectives of Citadel are to generate profit, grow at a challenging and manageable rate, and to be good citizens. The keys to success for Citadel is marketing and networking, as well as responsiveness, quality, and having a loyal customer base. The local market for software business in Afghanistan, while not new, is wide open for fresh and expanding consulting firms. Citadel customizes software for the individual needs of each client while providing training and a follow-up service. For more information, visit http://acitasoft.com.
About Edward Zellem
Edward Zellem is a U.S. Navy Captain. He is known for his work embedded with Afghans inside the Presidential Palace of Afghanistan and for authoring two collections of Afghan proverbs, “Zarbul Masalha: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs” and “Afghan Proverbs Illustrated.” Zellem wrote the books to “show how Afghan proverbs demonstrate our common humanity and the humanity of Afghans, and to share the proverbs’ lyricism, richness and deep meanings with the rest of the world”.
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Contact
Eren Gulfidan
Film Annex
Fereshteh Forough, Partner at Citadel Software, and Francesco Rulli, Film Annex’s President were interviewed about the Examer Educational Software.
Click here to see the video.
Examer is an online interactive educational software. Fereshteh explains that it was developed based on the idea to get the students to interact with the computers and do their exam with less paper work. Another goal is also to help the students provide an extra income for their families, especially girls who have less opportunity to study and work. Based on their grades, the students are rewarded with micro scholarships. Francesco adds that Film Annex is also offering the opportunity for bloggers to write for the Annex Press and be rewarded for their work. They are now extending the concept of the Examer to more students and beyond Afghanistan, to Central and South Asia.
To know more about the Examer, visit the Examer Software page.
Film Annex and Citadel just opened the 5th Internet classroom at Amir Ali Sher Nawaie High School in Herat, Afghanistan, as part of the Afghan Development Project.
You can watch the whole process from construction to opening in this video.
Established in 1368 (Islamic year), Amir Ali Sher Nawaie High School was initially co-ed, but became an all-girls school in 1390 (Islamic year). The school now offers 99 classes and has 4,000 students and 155 teachers.
It is located on Qhol Ordo Street, in the north part of Herat, Afghanistan.
Visit the Afghan Development Initiative and the Afghan Development Web TV for more information.
The EXAMER Video Challenge!
Calling all FILMMAKERS!
In the age of social media, filmmakers need all the support they can get. Believe it or not, a student in Afghanistan can be that support! And you, the filmmaker, can make an impact on that student’s life. How?
Film Annex has recently developed a new technology platform called EXAMER, which allows students in Afghanistan to take exams, submit their homework, publish essays and blogs, and most importantly, learn how to use social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Film Annex, amongst others.
Examer is changing the way Afghan students are educated, and there’s something you can do to contribute to this revolution!
Here’s the challenge! Create a short (2-3 minute) video about Examer that introduces the platform to students and audiences around the world in a unique, entertaining way. Pitch us your idea in a blog and send the link to eg@filmannex.com. The filmmakers with selected pitches will receive a budget from Film Annex to work on their projects.
Click on the list of topics below to take a look at the social media questions we prepared for the students.
Citadel of New York was founded to develop and promote Examer, an Interactive and Educational Social Networking platform with a Micro Scholarship Payment System. Examer is “universal” as it is easily tailored to the needs of regional languages and cultures. Examer was developed for the education of Afghan children by three exceptional Afghan women, Roya Mahboob, Fereshteh Forough, and Elaha Mahboob. Additional development on Examer was architected by Francesco Rulli in collaboration with European and American software engineers.
Examer will allow students to use Social Media platforms such as Facebook, take school tests, do homework, and publish essays, films, and blogs on Film Annex. The highest achieving students will be paid by Citadel of New York and/or win educational scholarships from Citadel partners. Instead of being rewarded for a “Like” or a “Tweet”, Examer students are rewarded for their good grades with payments by Examer mobile payment systems. Better performance means more money that can be paid directly to students and their families. Examer’s mobile payment system will help to implement USAID’s vision for education in developing countries.
Citadel of New York next plans to extend Examer to Central Asia.
Last month, Film Annex’s Afghan Development Project and Citadel Software company finished the construction of the 5th Internet classroom at Amir Ali Sher Nawaie High School in Herat, Afghanistan.
