1. My School-My Community EXPANDS
on air Fall 2012
FOR 2012-2013 SCHOOL YEAR
Thanks to a grant from the W.K. in the decision-making process
Kellogg Foundation, Media Impact and builds the capacity of youth
expanded its nascent My School- to engage peers, administrators,
My Community program into a teachers and parents in building a
total of 11 schools for the 2012- positive school community.
2013 academic year. The program
serves some of New York City’s most Currently, students and teachers in
vulnerable students, addressing key all partner schools are in the research
barriers to success, and providing process to identify critical social
students with core self-efficacy and issues to be addressed throughout
citizen engagement tools. In this the academic year. Students
program expansion, Media Impact are partaking in pre-surveys that
will leverage the student-produced will provide vital information to
materials to facilitate discussion Media Impact’s evaluation team
and policy change among education in measuring program impacts.
stakeholders. Students are in the beginning
phases of experimenting with the
Students use ‘Comic Life’ to produce
Launched in 2010 in two Urban technology available to them at a digital comic book to support an
Assembly Schools (UA School of their schools such as camcorders, episode of their serial drama dealing
Business for Young Women and flip cameras, iMovie, Windows with the issue of bullying and respect
UA Academy of Civic Engagement Movie Maker, and Garageband. My for others.
middle school), the My School- School-My Community Program
My Community program brings Officers are conducting regular
the proven methodology of mentoring visits to guide teachers in
Entertainment-Education (E-E) framing the program.
directly into the school environment.
This program deepens students’ Participating schools:
ability to execute successful behavior • The Urban Assembly Academy of Civic
change, media and community Engagement
• The Urban Assembly School for the
action service campaigns, following Performing Arts
a curriculum that differentiates for a • The Urban Assembly Academy of
variety of student learning styles. Government and Law
• The Urban Assembly Unison School
My School-My Community allows • The Student Voice Collaborative
• Landmark High School Teachers display student produced
students to take ownership of their video dramas on Smart Boards.
• Bronx Community High School
school and address issues such • Eagle Academy Bronx Following the screening, students
as violence, gossip, bullying and • Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School discuss the social issues addressed
teenage pregnancy. The program • Claremont International School in the episode.
provides a platform for student voices • Bronx International School

2. our presence in Africa, where we are
New Faces, New Places now working in 10 countries.
NEW FACES:
We are excited to welcome four new STEWARD
people to our team
We are ready to start one of
Stevan Buxt, who joined Media Impact as the
our most ambitious sustainable
Stevan Buxt
STEWARD E-E Coordinator in August, is an
experienced team leader and multi-media development programs yet.
producer with more than 17 years professional STEWARD (Sustainable and
development experience, having led a number
of Social and Behavior Change Communication
Thriving Environments for West
projects. Stevan has lived in South Africa, the Africa Regional Development) is a
United States, Mongolia, Indonesia, Nepal, forest conservation and sustainable
Zimbabwe and France. Born in South Africa, E-E Workshop field trip in Sierra
Stevan holds a BA Honors in Development livelihoods program that focuses on
Economics as well as a Certificate in conserving trans-boundary “priority Leone for the My Chimpanzee-My
Management Advancement from the University Community Program.
of Witwatersrand in South Africa.
zones” in the Upper Guinean Forest
Ecosystem of Guinea, Ivory Coast,
Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Media
Impact has partnered with USAID Building Capacity for Communications
Alex Cottin joined Media Impact in May 2012 as
and United States Forest Service to for Development in GABON
Alex Cottin
Program and Communications Manager. Prior to
Media Impact, Alex served as Regional Director realize this three-year project.
for Merlin USA, an international medical relief
organization, where he led the Communications
One of Africa’s two major lowland In August, Executive Director Sean
and Development team. He is a dual citizen
of France and the United States and has lived, rain forest regions, the Upper Southey and Communications
studied and worked in the States, Europe, Guinean Forest covers an area Manager Alex Cottin traveled to
Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
of 420,000 square kilometers and Gabon to teach a ‘Communications
He holds a BA from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill (in International Studies represents one of the world’s top for Development’ workshop in
and Economics) and an MA in International
biodiversity “hotspots” – regions with French to a team of nine Congolese
Development from Sciences-Po, Paris.
substantial reserves of biodiversity, and Gabonese graduate students.
especially endemic species, which The five-day workshop was
are under constant and severe part of a Masters’ Program in
threat from human development. sustainable development. The
Brooke Gassel
Brooke Gassel taught the My School-My
Community program in New York City schools for The World Wide Fund for Nature students comprised the MENTOR
two years, and joined Media Impact as program
(WWF) has designated the Upper (Mentoring for Environmental
officer of the project in August. Brooke completed
the New York City Teaching Fellows program and Guinean forest as one of its Global Training in Outreach and Resource
spent six years teaching English as a Second 200 critical regions for conservation, conservation) FOREST team. Prior
Language (ESL) in public schools in the Bronx to the workshop, these students had
and Manhattan. Originally from Philadelphia, as an alarming portion has been
Brooke holds a BA in International Politics from deforested. Less than 25 percent of spent four months together studying
New York University and a Master’s of Education
the original forest-cover remains. biology, ecology, economics,
in TESOL from Lehman College in the Bronx.
statistics, tropical diseases and
STEWARD represents Media extractive industries, among other
Impact’s largest program to subjects. As the future leaders
Lorena Rodriguez joined Media Impact in August date. We will provide the overall of Central Africa’s conservation
Lorena Rodríguez
as the Bolivia Program Assistant. Lorena is a communications capability for movement, the students were eager
specialist in communications for development, to gain the necessary tools to become
and has experience with various artistic and STEWARD, centering on a
cultural productions in Bolivia. She is an expert in 52-episode radio drama that will be skilled professional communicators
marketing, customer service, client management
broadcast in five languages across at the local and global level.
and human resources. She has worked on
major film productions such as “La Iluvia de Iciar the Guinean Forests’ four countries.
The following is an excerpt from Alex Cottin’s
bollain” (a Spanish and Mexican co-production It is a major step in our efforts to build
from Mateo Gil Black Thorn) and produced
events in the performing arts.
Please join us in welcoming them to For more information about these programs, please visit our
our team! website (www.mediaimpact.org).

3. blog, documenting his experience teaching
the workshop:
“La Caldera” is a small border town where
many different paths, realities, people,
languages and colors have become
Briefs:
[The symbiotic nature and organic intertwined as they experience tender, raw, My Island-My Community receives an
connection between teachers and students] and violent moments each and every day. award: Our My Island – My Community
is precisely what made the week magical. program in the Caribbean received the “Best
We taught them a thing or two about Among La Caldera’s residents is Canela, a Monitoring and Evaluation Methodology”
communication and they taught us tons lonely, yet brave teenager who has many award in July 2012, by the Rainforest
about this beautiful part of the world and dreams for her life. Simon is an innocent Alliance’s Eco-Index. Eco-Index provides
their expertise as a way to preserve it. We boy living in another neighborhood of information on conservation projects
often say that communications is a two way La Caldera who comes from a wealthy across the Neotropics as a way to connect
tool and that its power and impact lie in the family in the countryside. He works as practioners throughout the region.
ability to balance speaking and listening. I a household servant and prefers living a
can’t overemphasize just how important this reclusive, rather anonymous life. Another First Lady of Chiapas visits Media Impact:
is and my experience with the MENTOR key resident of La Caldera is the mysterious The First Lady of Chiapas, Mexico, Isabel
fellows this past week has really validated Senor X who observes all happenings from Aguilera de Sabines, met with Media Impact
it. I don’t know many teachers who can walk the shadows. Senor X has recently arrived staff and Board members in June in our New
away from a class having learned as much in La Caldera after fleeing a dismal job he York offices. The meeting celebrated the
as I did in the process. That’s yet another had for many years that prohibited him from success of the telenovela Mucho Corazón
testament to the power of communication. seeing daylight while he worked. and radio novela Corazón de Mujer, both
of which were made possible by the First
To read more, please go to http://www. Canela, Simon, and Senor X all have a Lady’s efforts, and opened up doors for future
travelblog.org/Africa/Gabon/blog-736129. tragic experience in common: they have collaboration.
html been forced into one of the most horrific,
large-scale human trafficking crime circles Partnership with UNFPA: Media Impact and
at different times in their lives. Will this UNFPA Peru built on its existing relationship
young boy, teenager, and adult man to sign a 5 –year collaborative agreement
succeed in escaping their abusers of the for our work in Peru. Extending this
past and present? Or will they continue partnership will bring capacity building and
living in a life or death situation? Will they Entertainment-Education programming to
learn how to watch out for themselves? even more regions of Peru with an emphasis
on youth participation and development.
The partnership will support UNFPA’s work
to facilitate youth access to sexual health
services and resources set up to prevent
unplanned pregnancies and sexual violence
Group photo after a succesful and STIs – especially HIV and AIDS.
Communications for Development
workshop in Gabon. REDD in Liberia: Sean Southey, Brenda
Campos, and Stevan Buxt traveled to Liberia
in September to launch the My Forest-
My Community program, which aims to
Human Trafficking in fully engage local Liberian communities in
BOLIVIA Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation (REDD) activities.
REDD programs in Liberia offer a powerful
Focus group with members of a mechanism to help make the shift to a
In partnership with the Narcotics house workers’ union about human more sustainable approach to development.
Affairs Section (NAS) of the U.S. trafficking in Bolivia. This Fauna and Flora International (FFI)
partnership with Media Impact will focus on
Embassy, Media Impact is producing
expanding the capacity of FFI and its local
its first human trafficking radio partners to effectively use networking, public
drama. Our team is working closely awareness and creative communications to
with the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, shift behaviors regarding sustainable forestry.
its partners and consultants on
Media Impact joins IUCN: On September
human trafficking to develop the 5, the International Union for Conservation
initial scripts of a radio drama that of Nature (IUCN) council welcomed
will support their efforts in preventing Media Impact as an official member. The
human trafficking, including labor announcement was made at the IUCN’s
79th meeting, held in Jeju, South Korea,
and sexual exploitation. Here is a
The First Lady of Chiapas with our during the World Conservation Congress.
glimpse of the plot line: Board Chair, Fred Cohen, and Vice IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global
Chair, Rita Fredricks Salzman. environmental organization.

4. Inspiring Change One Story at a Time:
A farewell from team member Lindsey Wahlstrom
After three wonderful years working full time for Media Impact, Lindsey
Wahlstrom, our previous Communications Manager, has gone on to pursue
a Master’s degree at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. While
at school, Lindsey will continue to support Media Impact’s work by managing
the Mentor (internship) Program. We are thrilled that Lindsey will continue
to be onboard and wish her all the best in this new endeavor. Here’s an
excerpt from a personal essay written by Lindsey about her experience with
Media Impact: Lindsey Wahlstrom reflects on the power and
impact of communication.
“Parents should give their children roots and wings. But I’m worried
we only gave you wings.” But You Made the Front Page!
The words of my father have often echoed in my head as I meandered Sonny Fox, who served as PCI-Media Impact’s
Chairman from January 1993 to December 1995,
through verdant hills and lazy rivers of sleepy villages in countries far
from my own. Over the years, my trips have taken me farther off the then as Vice President of US Programs from
beaten track and for the past decade, all winding paths seemed to January 1996 to December 2005, is publishing a
lead to hidden hamlets inhabited by communities living in harmony memoir entitled, But You Made the Front Page!
with nature. Unlike the diagnosis my father offered for my seeming “From the joys and torments of a too-accelerated
inability to sit still, the communities I visited were rooted to place,Brooklyn Jewish childhood and the horrors of be-
tethered by thousands of years of history. Most had no interest in the ing a German prisoner in World War II, through a
“wings” part of his equation. thrilling and bumpy career in every aspect of tel-
evision imaginable, private and public, Sonny Fox
There is a special symbiosis that happens when a community stew- shares intimate stories of a man who often suc-
ards one piece of land for thousands of years. In Meghalaya, India, ceeded yet learned how to fail without ever being
it takes the shape of living bridges made from the roots of trees that a failure — and has felt grateful for every bit of it.”
offer safe passage to their custodians. In the Amazon, this partner-
Here is an excerpt from the Memoir:
ship restores forests plundered for natural resources. Unfortunately,
pressures from a quickly increasing global population and even faster Trying to change behavior is tough, and that’s the business
growing patterns of consumption constantly threaten this delicate PCI was in. It was relatively easy to raise the profile of a
problem. The difficult part was to pierce the decades—or
balance. In recent travels, I have witnessed mountains disappear as
centuries—of custom and make a difference. In St. Lu-
people search for gold; bubbling brooks turn stagnant and toxic from cia, the job was made even more difficult when the writers
sludge seeping in from nearby oil wells; and deforested hills crumble were told they could not use the word ‘condom’ due to the
in landslides after the seasonal rains were made worse by climate sensitivity of the church. Our writers decided to use the word
change. ‘catapult’ each time condom would have occurred. The per-
son would ask, “Are you getting a lubricated catapult?” Or
a woman would say, “Not without using a catapult.” As the
For the past three-and-a-half years, I have been honored to be a series continued, listeners started to use the term ‘catapult’
part of Media Impact’s important work, first directly supporting the to show they were ‘in the know’. Eventually, an organization
development and implementation of programs, and later overseeing on the island decided to market condoms using the brand
Media Impact’s external communications. After seeing the catharsis name “Catapult.” It soon became the biggest selling brand in
St. Lucia. In the ad business, this is known as a tracer—the
a young-man felt after portraying himself in a drama about abuse,
thread one can follow from its origin on the program into
and hearing the haunting sobs of relief that escape listeners who call society. This would have to go down as a unique tracer in
in to say “this happened to me too,” there is no doubt in my mind that the annals of research!
stories have the ability to change lives and, quite possibly, the world.
If you’re interested in the book or would like more informa-
tion, please contact Alex Cottin – Communications Manager.
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