NET NEUTRALITY PROJECT
The framework of openness and nondiscrimination that has dictated the success of Google, Facebook, Ebay, and other recognizable web pages and applications, is termed network neutrality. It is a principle that ensures all online users equal access to information available over the Internet without regard to content, source, or destination.
Today however, corporations seeking to unfairly capitalize off its capacity for information exchange, commerce, and civic engagement are challenging the future of the Internet. Although the open Internet is vital to enabling ideas like Facebook and Ebay to flourish, without federal regulation, the Internet is vulnerable to discriminatory practices and corporate gate keeping that will dramatically alter its role in public life. As the web continues to permeate society, the issue of'net' neutrality has become integral to the preservation of the country’s most basic liberties.
HI is currently invested in a two-phase project to address this pressing media justice issue.
PARTNERS:
Free Press
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, the organization promotes diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, quality journalism, and universal access to communications.
PROJECT GOALS:
Phase 1: The Institute is in the process of publishing an Entertainment and Messaging Guide to Net Neutrality, due out Spring 2010. Using net neutrality as a case-study, Harmony will introduce a proven methodology for embedding social issues into media productions. The guide is written for policy makers, advocacy workers, media creators, and local organizations that seek a comprehensive framework for embracing entertainment as an effective advocacy tool.
Phase 2: The second phase of this project will employ the messaging recommendations outlined in the Entertainment and Messaging Guide to Net Neutrality in a six-part animated web show that informs and persuades online audiences of the need to support net neutrality. By consulting with the show's writing and production team, HI has helped embed issue statements and calls to action within the show's narrative to further inform the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of the audience. The end goal is to persuade individuals to take quantifiable steps to positively impact the cause. Each episode is between three-to-ten minutes long, and will be released once a week, over the course of six weeks beginning early 2010.
RELEVENT LINKS:
Freepress.net
Savetheinternet.com
Openinternet.gov
If you are interested in learning more about ways to provide support for the Net Neutrality Project, please contact
eleanor@harmony-insitute.org
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THE STREETS: PITTSBURGH
Targeting at-risk youth, Specific Pictures and the Harmony Institute have developed a unique online gaming concept, The Streets: Pittsburgh, based on the story and characters of the 2009 award-winning documentary New Muslim Cool (NMC). This innovative gaming concept will allow players to experience both the risks and opportunities that exist for a young person living in the inner city.
PARTNERS:
Specific Pictures
Specific Pictures was founded by Producer/Director Jennifer Maytorena Taylor. Her credits include the documentaries Ramadan Primetime, Special Circumstances, Paulina, Home Front and Immigration Calculations, and many short films and television segments. Her work has won numerous festival awards and two Emmys. Based in San Francisco, she has held several arts and journalism fellowships — most recently with New Muslim Cool at the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Edit and Story Lab.
PROJECT GOALS:
Piloted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the central shooting location for NMC, The Streets uses a simulated, entertaining and safe platform to encourage player exploration of issues facing urban youth including:
• Juvenile justice and incarceration rates and their implications on community health and stability
• Personal responsibility and its role in the choices one makes
• Civic engagement and fulfilling a commitment to making one’s community a better place
RELEVENT LINKS:
If you are interested in learning more about ways to provide support for The Streets, please contact debika@harmony-insitute.org