PANEL: THE POWER OF ONLINE STORYTELLING
February 5, The New School, N.Y.

The Harmony Institute reaches target audiences through persuasive storytelling and recognizes that one of the fastest growing venues for this type of communication is online. In February, The Harmony Institute will team with the Screenwriters Colony and the Producers Guild of America to bring together innovators in this field for a provocative discussion on this new and evolving genre.

"The Power of Online Storytelling: A conversation among innovative writers and industry professionals working today on the Web” will take place on Thursday, February 5th at 6:30pm. The discussion will be held at The New School, Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th Street, 5th floor (enter at 66 West 12th Street). Come hear new media makers discuss how they've successfully utilized the internet to tell compelling stories. Participants will include: Dinosaur Diorama (creators of The Burg and The All-For-Nots), Mary Feuer (writer for Lonelygirl15 and creator of With the Angels), and Jeff Gomez (Starlight Runner Entertainment). To view the panel invite, click here.

We expect this event to sell out and are setting aside a limited number of seats for members of the Harmony Network. If you'd like to reserve a seat, please email rsvp@pacificfoundation.org by Monday, January 26th.

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MEET DEBIKA SHOME
Harmony Institute's Deputy Director

In January 2009, Debika Shome joined the Harmony Institute full-time as Deputy Director. Debika comes to HI from Columbia University's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) where she served as Assistant Director since 2005. In addition to her work conducting and coordinating research at the center, Debika led CRED's outreach and public policy initiatives. Debika's research focuses on the relationship between environment and society with an emphasis on public perception of climate change and climate change communication.

In addition, Debika has over a decade of experience that includes work in the public, private, government, and non-profit sectors. She has consulted on issues including environmental best practices, social responsibility and sustainability. She has worked for varied organizations including: B Corporation, the US Geologic Survey, the Gallup World Poll and Environmental Defense Fund.

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HARMONY'S 2008-2009 FELLOW
Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD
Yale Project on Climate Change, Yale University

Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz is the recipient of the inaugural Harmony Institute Fellowship for his "US Target Audiences Project". Funding will be used to construct a large, nationally representative, on-line survey panel of up to 12,000 American adults and 3,000 of their teenage children.

The panel aims to:

1. Conduct an in-depth assessment of public climate change knowledge, policy preferences, consumer and political behaviors, as well as underlying values, political and religious orientations, trusted sources and channels of information about climate change;
2. Identify key target audiences within the US public and the barriers preventing further engagement with the issue;
3. Test the effectiveness of different climate change messages and messengers.

In the coming year, the Harmony Institute will be working with the US Target Audience Project to gain a better understanding of US audiences and to test messages on effective social media messaging.

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NEW! WEB AND OFFICE SPACE
Visit us in Manhattan or Online

The Harmony Institute is happy to announce our move to a new home in Manhattan. In October 2008, Harmony staffers moved into a workspace that considers its environmental impact and ability to generate open communication and collaboration. The Institute's office is now located at 40 Elizabeth Street in New York City's Chinatown.

The Harmony Institute website was also launched in October 2008. Information on the Institute's mission and goals, programs, research, advisory committee, and staff can now be found at www.harmony-institute.org.

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