Harmony Institute

HI Director Featured on UnionDocs Panel

Alex — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:05:39 +0000

On February 12 Deputy Director Debika Shome spoke at UnionDocs, a center for documentary art in Brooklyn. The panel, “Can Documentaries Save the World? Assessing, Funding, and Harnessing the Impact of Nonfiction Film,” prompted discussion among filmmakers, philanthropists, and activists on the role of documentaries in producing social change.

Shome discussed insights from HI evaluations and techniques for measuring social impact. She provided the panel with recent examples of successful documentary projects and outreach strategies.

Johnson and Karlin publish in M/C Journal

Alex — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:02:42 +0000

HI’s 2011 Junior Science Fellow Beth Karlin, along with Executive Director John S. Johnson, co-authored an article published in the December issue of M/C Journal. “Measuring impact: The importance of evaluation for documentary film campaigns” argues for a social science approach to understanding the influence of documentary film campaigns. As emerging technologies change film form and practice, social science evaluations are connecting audiences, funders, and filmmakers.

M/C Journal is a peer-reviewed publication exploring the meeting of media and culture. December’s “Impact” issue investigates how research can influence academic, political, and cultural agendas.

January 2012 Newsletter

Alex — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:59:33 +0000

HI concludes its study of the impact of MTV’s (Dis)connected; HI Data Lab begins research; Deputy Director Debika Shome will speak on an upcoming panel at UnionDocs. Read the full newsletter here.

Director Shome speaks at Third World Newsreel

Alex — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:32:55 +0000

On October 25, Deputy Director Debika Shome spoke at Third World Newsreel, a media arts organization committed to social justice issues.

Her talk, “Analyzing the Impact of Your Film” drew on insights from HI’s Waiting for “Superman” study. The talk provided insights on how low-budget, activist filmmakers can incorporate effective evaluation strategies into their artistic and outreach processes.

Dalai Lama reads CRED guide

Admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:42:37 +0000

This month, one of the world’s foremost spiritual leaders was delivered The Psychology of Climate Change Communication, a guide co-authored in 2009 by Deputy Director Debika Shome, together with HI’s Columbia University research partner, the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED).

CRED Director Elke Weber met with Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso during the Mind and Life Conference, held October 17-21 in Dharamsala, India. Weber presented the guide as part of a larger dialogue between environmental scholars, scientists, and activists.

The 14th Dalai Lama has been outspoken in his commitment to the environment, and the conference examined issues of “ecology, ethics, and interdependence.” New York Times Dot Earth blogger Andrew Revkin reported on the conference, providing additional context and a short video of the event.

October 2011 Newsletter

Admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:58:09 +0000

HI welcomes inaugural Technology Fellow, Clint Beharry; is profiled by entertainment industry expert Peter Broderick, in his summer 2011 bulletin; and highlights upcoming and recent speaking events. Read the full newsletter here.

Inaugural TFI New Media Fund grants awarded

Admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:15:06 +0000

Founder and Executive Director John S. Johnson served on the first ever jury panel for the 2011 inaugural Tribeca Film Institute ‘New Media Fund.’ The fund’s aim is to support non-fiction, social-issue film projects that integrate multiple media platforms, including social networks and mobile applications.

Six grant recipients were announced October 4, each receiving up to $100,000 to bolster their projects. Among this year’s grantees are 18 Days in Egypt, a “crowd-sourced interactive documentary” on the Egyptian revolution, and The Interrupters, a documentary and web campaign on Chicago’s “violence interrupters … who protect their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.”

For a full list of the 2011 recipients, click here.

HI mentioned in NY Times ‘Arts Beat’

Admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:50:38 +0000

HI’s Waiting for “Superman” evaluation received attention from the New York Times ‘Arts Beat’ blog on September 13, 2011. Michael Cieply, who covered this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, wrote, “Peter Broderick, the [How Films Can Change the World panel] moderator, said a Harmony Institute study of the education-reform film ‘Waiting for Superman’ identified ‘extensive press coverage’ as having amplified the message of the movie…”

Click here for the full post.

Deputy Director to speak at NCTC

Admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:08:11 +0000

On Wednesday, September 28 at 7p ET, HI Deputy Director Debika Shome will speak on a panel titled, “An Evening of Conversation: Communicating Climate Change Facilitating Audience Connections,” at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, WV.

Sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and NASA, the panel is part of the combined Earth to Sky (ETS) effort to create programs that support scientific literacy. Accompanying Shome on the panel is Connie Roser-Renouf, Principal Investigator for the “Global Warming’s Six Americas” project, and Becky Lacome, acting Training Manager for National Park Service Interpretation and Education.

The panel is free and open to the public.

New partnership with Crimson Hexagon

Admin — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:55:24 +0000

Recently named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies on the Web by Fast Company, Crimson Hexagon has partnered with HI to enhance our ability for understanding the connection between entertainment and social change. Powered by an algorithm developed at Harvard University’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Crimson Hexagon challenges traditional social media monitoring, expanding measures to include a real-time view of online audiences and how they truly think and feel about a brand, campaign, or issue.

“We are thrilled to partner with Harmony Institute and provide them with our leading technology to power their research in the pursuit of drawing connections between entertainment and social change,” said Crimson Hexagon CEO Patricia Gottesman. “We look forward to seeing the interesting findings Harmony Institute will share with the broader entertainment community on its role in activating communities for social change.”

Read the official press release here.