Grassroots media to advocate, educate and encourage adults and youth to think and act differently. Voices of Hope Productions is a creative services and multimedia production company specializing in short and feature length documentaries, social marketing, issue advertising, and media education. We work with nonprofit and government agencies to build campaigns through a wide-range of media and distribution options.

|THE EYE| is published regularly to announce the latest news about Voices of Hope films, programs, workshops, industry events and broadcasts. If your email is text only |THE EYE| can be viewed online.

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| NONPROFIT WATCH |
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Peace is made by people
Founded in 1993, Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence.

Over the last decade, Seeds of Peace has intensified its impact, dramatically increasing the number of participants, represented nations and programs. From 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers in 1993, the organization still focuses on the Middle East but has expanded its programming to include young leaders from South Asia, Cyprus and the Balkans. Its leadership network now encompasses over 2,500 young people from four conflict regions.

The Seeds of Peace internationally recognized program model begins at the International Camp in Maine and continues through follow-up programming at the Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem, international youth conferences, regional workshops, educational and professional opportunities, and an adult educator program. This comprehensive system allows participants to develop empathy, respect, and confidence as well as leadership, communication and negotiation skills -- all critical components that will facilitate peaceful coexistence for the next generation.

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|UPCOMING EVENT|
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The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues – that's a total of more than 1300 performances! FringeNYC generates an atmosphere of extreme excitement, and our energy is contagious! FringeNYC is a production of The Present Company. But it takes more than 200 shows, 800 volunteers, 4,500 artists, and an audience of 70,000 to make it happen! If you'd like to get involved, you can be a volunteer, intern, donor, sponsor, advertiser, or staff person! Through Sunday, August 27th, 2024. Performances are from 2pm to Midnight on weekdays, and Noon to Midnight on weekends.

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| POP CULTURE QUIZ |
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1. The guys in the movie Road Trip set out to retrieve what?
a) The key to a train station locker
b) An incriminating videotape
c) Answers to the SAT
d) A prized baseball autographed by Babe Ruth

2. He directed a 1964 movie in which Peter Sellers said, "You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
a) Robert Altman
b) Stanley Kubrick
c) Steven Spielberg
d) Robert Wise

3. The James Bond screen preview Casino Royale was a live television broadcast that aired in which year?

a) 1956
b) 1955
c) 1954
d) 1953

4. What Beatles song lasted the longest on the charts (at 19 weeks)?
a) Hey Jude
b) I Want to Hold Your Hand
c) Love Me Do
d) Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Answers

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| ETCETERA |
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NEW YORK GIANTS SIGN AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY WALL OF HOPE BANNER
Throughout August, American Cancer Society volunteers from across the country are taking Wall of Hope banners to sporting events, county fairs, religious institutions and elsewhere, gathering signatures. Eli Manning, the New York Giants star quarterback, star running back Tiki Barber and head coach Tom Coughlin are just a few of the nearly 200 people who signed the Wall of Hope banner at the Giants training camp. These thousands of banners with their tens of thousands of signatures will be part of the Wall of Hope monument that is being erected on the National Mall as part of Celebration on the Hill 2024 on September 19 and 20 in Washington, DC.

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Video game retailer GameStop has tapped the power of cause marketing to launch the new MADDEN '07 video game. The GameStoppers
/EB Games Charity Challenge pits two NFL greats in head to head competition on the new game to win money for their selected charities.

"When [video] players go out into the world I think there's a real danger...of failing to understand not just the complexity of the real world, but it's mystery. I'm purposely using 'mystery' as opposed to 'problem' on purpose: problems have solutions, mysteries don't." Thomas, de Zengotita, author, Mediated: The Hidden Effects of Media on People, Places, and Things. *

>>>>IS IT POSSIBLE TO SOLVE SOCIAL PROBLEMS WITH A VIDEO GAME? ACTIVIST GAMERS ARE BETTING ON IT.
Video games have become ever more popular in recent years and have surpassed Hollywood in box office revenues. As the technology matures, a new trend is emerging: harnessing the power of this popular medium to bring about awareness of social issues, with the potential to solve them in a game. Fighting poverty. Fostering leadership skills in inner city youth. Understanding the human rights crisis in Darfur. Seems like a neat idea and package, but will it work? Activist gamers are betting that digital video games will provide a platform that is highly engaging, challenging, empowering and educational by nature.

In late June hundreds of nonprofits, partners in the gaming industry, local and state governments, foundations, and artists convened at the Parsons New School for Design, in New York City, for the third annual Games for Change Conference. Games for Change (G4C) provides support, visibility and shared resources to organizations and individuals using digital games for social change.

The 2024 conference showcased state of the art gaming and evaluated outcomes achieved since the conference's inception in 2024. G4C acts as a national and international hub to help organizations network and develop videogame projects beyond their traditional expertise. Read Story

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>>>>ON MEDIA >>>> 5 VOICES

Book: High Tech Trash, by Elizabeth Grosssman is a wake-up call to the importance of the e-waste issue and the health hazards involved. Americans alone own more than two billion pieces of high tech electronics and discard five to seven million tons each year. As a result, electronic waste already makes up more than two-thirds of the heavy metals and 40 percent of the lead found in our landfills. As Grossman notes, "This is a story in which we all play a part, whether we know it or not. If you sit at a desk in an office, talk to friends on your cell phone, watch television, listen to music on headphones, are a child in Guangdong, or a native of the Arctic, you are part of this story."

Music: Rap Coalition, a not-for-profit organization, keeps artists from being unfairly exploited. According to Founder, Wendy Day, "Since rap music has become profitable, many artists are being taken advantage of, portrayed unfairly, and abused by the media, the industry, managers, and record labels." Rap Coalition protects rappers, producers, and DJs, from this hostile environment, and provides artists with a place to turn when they need help or support, at no cost to them. Read Article by Hillary Roberts, philanthropic soul of musicianship for |THE EYE|.

Magazine: The FADER magazine is the definitive voice of emerging music and the lifestyle that surrounds it. Through in-depth reporting and a distinct street sensibility, The FADER aggressively covers the most dynamic breadth of music and style emanating from the fringes of the mainstream to the heart of the underground. The FADER is the authority on what's next. Fader recently announced that it will be distributing it's issues via iTunes. Publisher Andy Cohen says, "This is to supplement print — we see this as a promotional opportunity for both us and our advertisers."

Film: America: Freedom to Fascism Determined to find the law that requires Americans to pay income tax, Aaron Russo sets out on a journey. Neither left- nor right-wing, this startling examination exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America. Through interviews with US Congressmen, a former IRS Commissioner, former IRS and FBI agents, tax attorneys and authors, Russo connects the dots between money creation, federal income tax, voter fraud, the national identity card (becoming law in May 2024) and the implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track citizens.

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>>>>NINTENDO'S BRAIN AGE SETS NEW WORLD RECORD, TRAINING MILLIONS OF BRAINS EACH DAY
Brain Age first took Japan by storm with its edition that includes a series of math and memory puzzles designed to keep the mind agile. Even after selling 3 million copies in the 15 months since launch, Japanese sales are not showing any signs of slowing. The title was launched in the US and Europe this year and maintains a similar trend in sales. Around the world, game players, baby boomers and seniors are intent on keeping their minds sharp by making Brain Age part of their daily routine. For many of them, Brain Age is the first video game they've ever played, showing Nintendo's efforts to expand the audience of players is highly successful. "Brain Age is so easy to pick up and play, regardless of your experience level," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications, whose "Brain Age" has improved to age 20 (the best score you can achieve). "You can play it for 10 minutes or an hour and keep yourself feeling sharp. As a baby boomer, it's like a treadmill for my mind."

	A report from the Children's Partnership, aims to help policy makers understand the importance of high-speed Internet access for delivering educational and personal development opportunities to children. This brief provides an advocacy toolkit and training resources for youth.
Some Stats 71% of households in New Jersey earning less than $15,000 per year do not own a computer compared to 34% of all New Jersey’s households and 38% of all households nationally.	77% of households in New Jersey earning less than $15,000 per year do not use the Internet at home compared to 40% of all New Jersey’s households and 45% of all households nationally.

>>>> SEARCH THE INTERNET AND GIVE BACK TO NONPROFITS
GoodSearch is powered by Yahoo! and raises money for charities using a model similar to paid searches on Yahoo or Google. Advertisers pay a fee whenever Internet users click on a given link. Last year search engines generated almost $6 billion through such searches. The Brian Littrell Healthy Heart Club for Kids raised more than $55 in July, their first month on GoodSearch. A member of the highly successful musical group, the Backstreet Boys, Brian is dedicated to helping children who suffer from heart conditions. The best known search engine, Google has put into place the Google Grants Program which commits a percentage of their profits and equity towards a vision. They look at ways they can make a difference in creative and effective ways. As of late last year, Google Grants has donated more than $33 million in advertising to over 850 nonprofit organizations in 10 countries worldwide.

>>>> 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF TELEVISION'S INVENTOR This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Philo T. Farnsworth, a little-known historical figure who made a huge impact on popular culture: On Sept. 7, 1927, he carried out the first successful demonstration of electronic television.

>>>> DON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PAPERS.
THE UNTRUSTWORTHINESS OF NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
(Slate) The latest in photojournalism's long line of mini-scandals, this one involving a Lebanese freelancer named Adnan Hajj who was working in Beirut. Hajj altered at least two photographs: In one he cloned a plume of smoke rising from buildings that Israeli planes had bombed; in another he altered the image of an Israeli F-16 to make it look like it was dropping more ordnance than it was. Both pictures were bought by Reuters, which sent them out on its photo service. When the forgeries were pointed out, the agency pulled the pictures, dismissed the photographer, and issued a statement asserting that such fakery had no place in the news business. Read Story

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* Quoted from the September issue of Harpers Magazine on the article, Grand Theft Education, literacy in the age of video games.

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