23 Young People Awarded at New York’s Paley Center for Media
Young media makers from Malaysia, UK, Italy, Canada, Israel, USA, Germany and China, among other countries, gathered at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on November 10th for the UNAOC’s PLURAL+ 2011 Awards Ceremony.
Responding to PLURAL+’s call for participation in the festival, young people from around the world produced short videos addressing the challenges of migration, diversity and social inclusion, as well as denouncing injustices while proposing their own original and creative solutions to develop more peaceful multicultural societies.
The goal of PLURAL+ Video Festival is to ensure youth engagement on these issues at both a local and global level by disseminating their videos through a variety of platforms and distribution networks including broadcast, the Internet, festivals, conferences, and events around the world.
In its third year, PLURAL+ 2011 received 146 videos from 54 countries representing diverse ideas advocating for a better world. A prestigious international jury selected four videos, one for each of the 13-17 and 18-25 yr old categories, and two, with a tie, in the 9-12 yr old category.
Nyasha Laing, PLURAL+ 2011 International Jury Member, presented an award to Anna Torazza and Mariagrazia Destefanis of Laboratorio Immagine from Torino, Italy in the 9-12 yr old category award for their video The Moving of Rosa Dao. 12-year old Jordan Somani, a Canadian, also received an award for his video We are all Different. Walden Davis of the United States, received the award in the 13-17 yr old category for his video Out of Many, One.
From Malaysia, Pang Jia Wei, video maker, and Ryan Tan Chuan Min, producer, accepted the 18-25 age category International Jury Award for their video Gift. Watch all the videos here.
The Master of Ceremonies of the PLURAL+ 2011 Awards Ceremony was the Hon. George “Rithm” Martinez, U.S. State Department Cultural Envoy/Hip Hop Ambassador and Founder of the Global Block Foundation. Others in attendance included Diane Lewis, Vice President, Public Affairs and Programs, The Paley Center for Media; Stéphane Dujarric, Director, United Nations Department of Public Information, News and Media Division; Marc Scheuer, Director, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations; Michele Klein-Solomon, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, International Organization for Migration; and Jordi Torrent, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, PLURAL+ Project Manager.
GlobalBlock Collective and Mokgethi Thinane from Urban World NYC performed live music and poetry. Feel free to check out the PLURAL+ 2011 Award Program and photos of the event.
Partner organizations also handed out awards to videos from PLURAL+ 2011. The Paley Center for Media Education Award—presented by Rebekah Fisk and Nicole Kempskie—was given to Eli Rezik, Israel, for his video Between Us Two. The SIGNIS Award, presented by Frank Frost, and the COPEAM Award, presented by Feten Fradi, were both given to Tariq Chowdhury of the United Kingdom for his video Faith in London. Chowdhury also received a PLURAL+ 2011 award from BaKaFORUM, the organization that graciously made his trip to New York possible.
Chris Lamontagne of the United Kingdom was awarded the Scalabrini International Migration Network Award, presented by Fr. Leonir Chiarello, for his video Black to Yellow. The Gülen Institute Award, presented by Ali R. Candar, was given to Lea Dienhart for her video Migration. The United Nations Television Award, presented by Stéphane Dujarric, was given to Jia Ni on behalf of Liu Wenfeng, Yi Cunyu and Zhang Nan from China for their video Wish. Mehmet Kilic presented the Turkish Cultural Center of New York’s Friendship Award, which was accepted by Rochelle Roca-Hachem from UNESCO New York, on behalf of Chris Royle, Ronan MacParland and Zoe Gordan of Canada for their video I Believe.
The Wafalme Crew of Kenya received both the UNESCO Igualada Association Award and the Barcelona Forum of Cultures Award for their video Kidz 4 Kidz, accepted on their behalf by Tmnit Nur. The Wafalme Crew also received the Global Block Award for their video Our Hood, accepted on their behalf by Clara Guerrero Martinez.
In total, 23 videos received PLURAL+ 2011 Awards. To see them, click here: PLURAL+ 2011 video page.
The PLURAL+ video festival is a powerful platform to raise awareness on many issues affecting communities worldwide. “Probably the most impressive thing are the stories. I learned a lot from different cultures and social issues in various nations,” said PLURAL+ 2011 international jury member Renzo Devia.
PLURAL+ creates a unique opportunity for young people to express themselves on these important issues. “I think this year’s edition of PLURAL+ clearly shows that young people have something to say about migration and intercultural understanding. We should listen to them,” said Markus Nikel from PLURAL+ partner BakaFORUM added.
PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival on Migration, Diversity and Social Inclusion is a joint project of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNOAC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the support of many partner organizations from around the world, including the Anna Lindh Foundation, BaKaFORUM, CHINH India, Roots & Routes Germany, United Nations TV, Media Education Center Belgrade, UNESCO Audiovisual E-Platform, COPEAM, Turkish Cultural Center of New York, SunChild Festival Armenia, Cine y Salud Spain, SIGNIS, Global Block USA, Red UNIAL Cuba, Without Borders Film Festival, Scalabrini International Migration Network, Royal Film Commission of Jordan, Universal Forum of Cultures Foundation, NEXOSAlianza Spain, ictQatar, MTS Travel, Gülen Institute, and the Paley Center for Media.
Please visit the PLURAL+ for additional information:
www.unaoc.org/pluralplus
Winning videos can be viewed here: PLURAL+ 2011 video page
Pictures from the event can be found here: PLURAL+ 2011 Photos
To see the PLURAL+ 2011 program: PLURAL+ 2011 Event Program