11.11.11

By Margriet Ruurs

Since my column was scheduled to be posted on this blog on November 11, I decided to share information on the One Day on Earth Project with you, and post it a bit earlier so that you can participate!
On November 11th, 11.11.11, across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and other inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period, thus contributing their voice to the second annual global day of media creation called One Day on Earth. Together, they aim to create a shared archive as well as a film shedding light on many aspects of life on earth including poverty, education, the environment and many other specific topics.

One Day on Earth's first media creation event occurred on 10.10.10. The collaboration was the first ever simultaneous filming event occurring in every country of the world. This allowed for the creation of a unique archive as well as an upcoming feature film showcasing the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one day around the world.

And you are invited to join this international community of hundreds of schools, and dozens of non-profits, and contribute to this unique global mosaic. One Day on Earth is a community that not only watches, but participates and is supported by such organizations as UNICEF and the World Wildlife Fund.

A recent One Day on Earth's press release states that The United Nations, 60+ NGOs, filmmakers and other inspired media creators from EVERY country in the world plan to share their unique perspective.
To help secure footage from developing nations, and to increase the overall diversity of coverage,ONE DAY ON EARTH has partnered with the United Nations and non-profit
organizations, including the International Red Cross and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The event will bring together filmmakers, students, humanitarian aid workers, and other
inspired people to collaborate worldwide on a single day. Last year, media arrived from regions of the world that are often times difficult to access, including Uzbekistan and North Korea.
"The power of creating and sharing videos as part of a community is inspiring," said Kyle Ruddick, Founder and Director of ONE DAY ON EARTH. "Despite the 3000 hours of footage created by our 2010 collaboration, we know we just scratched the surface for how this type of project can educate and connect local and global conversations on important topics."

Through its website, which is also a social network, the project works closely with its non-profit partners to provide cause-based calls-to-action to film on a variety of topics, including poverty, gender equality, and human rights. The project includes groups of filmmakers collaborating around themes, such as child birth, sports, and music, and also technique, including time-lapse photography and underwater filming.
As a key aspect to the project, participants will share their footage for non-commercial use. If you contribute a minute or more of collaboration on the social network site, you will receive access to final film.

Educators can check out this special site:
www.onedayonearth.org/education
Lesson plans and online classrooms are available to educators to connect their students to the rest of the world.

To learn more, visit: www.OneDayOnEarth.org



Margriet Ruurs is the author of 27 books for children, including My Librarian is a Came and My School in the Rainforest, Boyds Mills Press, a book that shows how children around the world attend school.