July: Personal Update

Oh what a month July has been. I remember graduating from undergrad some six years ago, ready to start working in the real world and living the grown-up life. It took me a whole two months that summer before I landed a job. In hind-sight, two months seems like such an insignificant amount of time in waiting to start one's career, but I remember those two months to be excruciatingly painful from my 22year-old perspective.
Now here I am, graduated from graduate school, and I have arrived in that same space of uncertainty. Luckily, as it's my second time around, I'm a little less panicked, a little more trusting that my experiences and polished skills have only made me more employable and that it is just a matter of time. Yet every now and then, a goblin called impatience climbs on my back and annoys the hell out of me. I swat him off, and he disappears for a few days or even a week at time and I enjoy the present moment. However, recently he has been making more frequent calls.

So many things have fallen away and come to be in the past months since I turned in my thesis. The Power of Peace forum to be held at the University of Waterloo has been canceled. My proposal to make a film about the Rotary Peace Fellow's Applied Field Experience this summer was dropped. While obviously, this is something to be sad about, I'm taking things in stride and trusting that there is something more waiting for me.
I have been keeping myself busy. One aspect of my career that I really want to grow is to start a production company that produces videos for non-profit and non-governmental orgs. I am in the process of building a website for this, but I fret a lot over what exactly I want to say. I know this won't be a money making business, but I see it as a much needed service. How can I use my video skills to help organizations make a difference, communicate better, create awareness, promote their cause? by producing videos for them.
So for the past month I have been making two videos. One for the Institute of Culture Affairs Japan and their upcoming conference in November. The other project is for my friend Emilie and her org Parties 4 Peace. While there's still work to do on the video, here's the first cut of what I have assembled.


Now on to my next step. I have been offered a four month gig on a national cable tv drama in the US starting next week. Yes, nothing to do with peace or documentaries but it is something to get my started back into the industry. It's also paying! After the past two years of what seems like a million volunteer jobs, it will be nice to see the dollar amount in my bank account increase instead of its opposite.
But most importantly this is what I have learnt over the past two years: that there is yet so much I have to learn. If I really want to make a difference, if I really want my media to have an impact, create awareness, and reach as many people as possible then I have a lot of work to do. I have for the past several years focused on improving my production value- working as a one woman production team. Each production, I feel I have produced better and better videos, learning from my mistakes and pushing my boundaries. However, production is only half of the equation of using media for impact. Without distribution, without connections, if the video is only seen by a few hundred or thousands of people (and most likely many of those who are already in the "choir") I have not done enough, I have not really been of service. There is so much professional experience and contacts that I need to make in the industry. So much groundwork to lay down, but I know that I am capable of doing it. I also am more committed than ever.
Some how over the years I have turned my nose up at mainstream media (maybe this was a result of not getting hired at a major network straight out of college.) I realize now that this is foolish. These issues, these causes, these solutions must reach level of mainstream media to have the impact, that's at least what I want to see happen. And so here begins the next leg of my journey: straddling the path between the alternative issues and mainstream outlets. I don't know exactly what it will look like, but don't worry, I won't get lost.

Summer plans 2008

Is it possible? Have I completed a 100 page thesis on media and peace? Have I defended my thesis in front a panel of professors? Am I graduating with an MA in peace and conflict studies at the end of June? Is my Rotary World Peace Fellowship coming to an end?


What's next, what's on the horizon, what are you plans? you ask.

Here are some concrete and not so concrete plans for the summer of 2008:

June 7th- Annual Seminar
Each year at the beginning of June, the graduating class of Rotary World Peace Fellows at ICU presents their research over the past two years to the Rotarians. What's exciting about this is 1) for many moons we fellows have all respectively locked ourselves to our computers and have not seen the light of day, so it will be nice to all be together again. 2) While all of us are in the business of peace our interests are far and wide, so I am looking forward to hearing the details of our various research.

June 25- Refusenik, the documentary film I worked on while living in LA, will be making its Japan premier at Refugee Film Festival. I will be speaking at the Q & A after the screening.

June 30th- graduation. I didn't go to my undergraduate and I'm not so keen on making it to my graduate graduation... I don't know why I get so anti- about these sorts of things... My mom still feels guilty about not going to my undergrad, so I may be posting photos from it a month from now.

Month of July- It is still unconfirmed but I am tentatively shooting footage for Rotary International over the summer. The footage will show Rotary World Peace Fellows in action in Geneva, Israel and East Timor. If this happens, this will be an exciting opportunity to further challenge myself as a filmmaker. I never really thought of myself as a camera woman before last year, but I am quickly falling in love with trying to capture the best image possible. Last year, Rotary sent me to Cambodia to film the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia.

August- I intend on attending the Power of Peace Network forum at the University of Waterloo this summer. I blogged about it here.

Regardless if the two last points happen, this summer I plan to keep myself busy by working on my reel, build a website through drupal, and making a short documentary on Article 9. Then by the fall I will most likely be moving back to the US. While looking for work, I hope to volunteer for the democratic national campaign.

Thesis Summary: How new media contributes to peacebuilding

For those of you who have expressed an interest in reading my thesis, instead of making you suffer through 111 pages, I suggest reading this summary:

New Media Technology: The Next Platform in Peacebuildling Dialgoue

ニュ－メディア・テクノロジー：平和構築における次の対話のプラットフォーム

Nishikura, Megumi
西倉めぐみ

In today's modern industrialized world, it is nearly impossible for one to go through the day with out watching television, hearing the radio, or getting an email with latest viral video attached from a friend. Media is pervasive; people today live in a society where they are plugged and receiving information seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. With the development of global news media giants such as CNN over the last twenty years, news reports are up to the minute and can be delivered to your latest mobile device. Since the development of the Internet, more and more people are tuning to it for their sources of information. With the click of a button one has thousands of sources of information on the same topic. The Internet also allows anyone to participate in public discourse on issues and influence policies and political decisions.

Media is ultimately a tool that conveys information. It can be used both for good and for ill. It can fan the flames of the conflict or aid in conflict prevention and resolution. Radio transmitters and television stations have been used to induce conflict. The most famous example of this is the “Hate Radio” in Rwanda in 1994. Radio Mille Collines ignited the Rwanda Genocide- nearly a million people were killed in the span of 100 days. However, media has been used to bring people together instead of dividing them. In the 1980's a new form of communication emerged. It brought people together from across the globe and allowed them to exchange their feelings, concerns and thoughts. This technology was the satellite television exchange called Spacebridges. During the height of the Cold War, Spacebridges brought everyday Americans and Soviets together, bypassing their heads of state, to have a conversation with the "other" side.

Today's technology, the Internet and the increasingly ease of posting videos on-line is allowing for a new break through in communication. The social networking aspect of web 2.0 is allowing more people to interact and dialogue with each other than ever before. Add peacebuilding media that addresses some of humanity's most pressing global issues, and people gain knowledge, begin to question and dialogue—the basis of any significant social change. The growth of Internet has also allowed for alternative media to contribute and increase the diversity and perspectives of information.

Media for conflict resolution and peacebuilding is a relatively new field. Much of the research that has been done thus far has focused on media democracy, information communication technology, peace journalism, and peace-building media in developing nations. The focus of my thesis is a case study on a media organization that is taking advantage of this new media technology to dialogue between people from opposite sides of a conflict.

Chat the Planet, a New York based media organization, has being using media as tool to bring young people from around the world together. The programs Chat the Planet produces connects young people to talk about “everything from politics, prejudices and war to sex, music and life in general” (Chattheplanet.com, 2008). Since its beginning in 2002, Chat has evolved along with new media technology to provide the latest cutting-edge way of communication and dialogue between youth beyond the borders of nations, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. Using satellite and ISDN video link-up technology, Chat the Planet connected groups of young people in studio settings from opposite sides of the world to have conversations with each other.

Their latest project, Hometown Baghdad is a documentary web-series which follows the lives of three 20-some-year-old Iraqis, capturing their every day lives intimately as they live under the US occupation in Baghdad, Iraq. Originally, Chat the Planet aimed to have the Hometown Baghdad air as a television program and approached the major networks for funding and distribution. However, they were turned down time and time again. The networks reasoned that the American public was over-saturated with news from Iraq and that audiences would find the show boring. With limited budget and time constraints, Chat the Planet began uploading the documentary videos to YouTube on the fourth anniversary of the War on Iraq.

Hometown Baghdad succeeded in building bridges between youth of the opposite sides of the US- Iraq war by providing a virtual space where they could dialogue, debate and build friendships with each other. Chat the Planet choose upper-middle class English speaking non-devout Muslims to resonate with US viewers. The participants selected for Hometown Baghdad were Adel, an aspiring rock star, Ausama, a 20 year old medical student, and Saif, a 23 year old recent college graduate in dentistry. The stories of these three young men were told through webisodes-short vignettes of about two to three minutes.

Chat the Planet's objectives for Hometown Baghdad were to: Humanize the people of Iraq for a global young adult audience ages 18-34, thereby changing attitudes and stereotypes of negativity and fear; educate through storytelling of what young people are all about in Iraq; demonstrate through storytelling that we all have far more in common than different; leverage media and technology to foster dialogue amongst young adults around the world, showcasing the topic of everyday life in a war zone. The videos were uploaded three times a week to Youtube.com and various other video-sharing sites. Chat discovered that by creating weekly compelling video content they were able to build a dedicated viewership. The video-sharing websites provided a count the number of views. The comments function of Youtube allowed the audience to give feedback on the content of the show and provided qualitative data of the show's impact. The results show that the Hometown Baghdad videos have been viewed about 3 Million times and hundreds of comments left on the Hometown Baghdad blog and various websites.

Through the 38 episodes, Hometown Baghdad addressed hard topics such as US troops, safety and security, and democracy and liberation. The day to day challenges such as lack of electricity, garbage disposal, and transportation were also shown. Chat the Planet, knowing how to best reach young people, also covered issues such as dating, student life, and smoking shisha. The two to three minute length of each webisode played a key role in getting viewers to leave comments and participate in dialogue with the cast as viewers are more likely to leave comments after watching a two to three minute video than getting bored watching a longer video and moving on to something else.

Through analyzing the comments left on hometownbaghdad.com, I found that Chat the Planet was able to reach its objectives. It generated conversations in the mainstream media as well as in the blogosphere. Viewers began to dialogue with each other on the blog by writing comments and asking questions. The three cast members, Adel, Ausama and Saif and other Iraqi participants responded to their inquiries. As a result, friendships, new understanding, and changes in attitudes occurred. The success Chat the Planet received both quantitatively and qualitatively resulted in television networks knocking on their door. After distributing their content online for free, they successfully sold a one-hour version of Hometown Baghdad to the Sundance Channel and National Geographic Channel. Hometown Baghdad has also recently won three Webby Awards- the Academy Awards equivalent of the Internet awards. Chat is planning to continue this dialogue and distribution model in upcoming productions of Hometown Tehran and Hometown Jerusalem.

So how does new media technology contribute to peacebuilding? Through the tools of new media- blogging, streaming-video, and social networking- people are connecting around common interests regardless of geographic location. When applied to the context of people from opposite sides of conflict, several things occur. First, alternative perspective and new information unavailable in mainstream media is presented. Second, previously held stereotypes are broken down and the parties are humanized. Thirdly, transformation in attitudes can occur. Fourthly, in some cases apologies and condolences are offered- a vital step in reconciliation of conflict. And finally, through ongoing conversations between the two sides friendships are formed.

New media does not offer a panacea to conflict. Once again it is merely a tool that can be use for good or for ill. It also is not with out its limitations- this particular case can not replace face to face mediated dialogue between two parties and is only beneficiary to those who speak English and have a fast internet connection. However, it is incredibly encouraging to see the potential that it holds. It is my hope that Hometown Baghdad will serve as model for future opportunities to connect people around the world in the name of peace.

Interviewed by iGenius

I was recently interviewed by iGenius, the social networking site for social entrepreneurs, about my peace work. Here's a snipit, to read more click here.

Editor: When did you first become interested in peace-making projects?

Megumi: I was senior at New York University when September 11th happened. Though I was not in New York City at the time, it deeply affected me. I had previously considered a career as a music video director but after 9-11, I felt I had to do all that was in my power to prevent something like that from ever happening again. However, it was not until I got involved in the anti-Iraq war movement in 2003 that I found my calling to use media as a tool for peace. Now, I am about two months away from finishing a masters in peace and conflict studies on the Rotary World Peace Fellowship.

Editor: How long have you been working with Images of Peace?

Megumi: Images of Peace will officially launch later this year but the idea for it germinated in 2005. I had just completed a short film called Peace Begins with Me and You, when I realized that from there on out I would be collecting stories or “images” of peace. I believe people are working for peace in both small and big ways every day. This is what I would like to document through Images of Peace.

Editor: What inspires you the most?

Megumi: Peace: Whenever people gather together in the name of peace I am inspired. The first anti-Iraq war protest I participated in was on February 15th, 2003. This was the Day the World Said No to War. Even in 20 F degree weather, there were half a million people on the streets of New York standing for what they believed in. It was among these people that I began to ask myself: What more can I do ?
The campaign to establish a US Department of Peace and Nonviolence and all the activists who work on it also inspire me daily. US Congressmen Dennis Kucinich inspires me.

Filmmakers: I have to say that more than any big name director, the filmmakers that I have worked with and under have been an inspiration to me. I have learnt so much about filmmaking through them and as result they have influenced my work.

Rotary International Peace Park and Hiroshima film

On April 17 and 18th, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Rotary International will be inaugurating the Upstate Rotary International Peace Park. Kola Badejo, the senior adviser on Africa in the United Nations Global Compact Office, will be the keynote speaker at a Peace Symposium as well as two Rotary World Peace Fellow alumni Carla Fantini and Jenny Favinger. My documentary film on Hiroshima will be screened on the 18th. To find more about this event click here.

Applying for grants and fellowships

Hello~! I am back in Tokyo and have been working diligently on my thesis. I feel very positive about the progress that I am making and believe that the less than two months I have left will prove to be a smooth experience. Otherwise, I am also in the process of applying for grants and fellowships.

It is my belief that there is an abundance of money in this world- money that people put aside to do good with- and money that is channeled through the form of grants and fellowships, and money that will support me in my endeavors to use the power of media for peace, human rights and development.
Here are some of the ones that I am looking at:

International Reporting Fellowship- Due April 1, 2008- "The International Reporting Project will offer up to four IRP Fellowships to U.S. journalists to carry out a project reporting from any country in the world outside of the United States. One of these Fellowships will be the “IRP/FRONTLINE World Fellowship” for video journalists, which will offer additional support through the PBS program FRONTLINE/World and a chance for the Fellow’s story to appear on that program’s web site and broadcast."

New Media Women Entrepreneurs- Due May 1, 2008- "NMWE is a unique initiative addressing opportunity and innovation, recruitment and retention for women in journalism by spotlighting their ingenuity and entrepreneurial abilities. Pilot projects will show what can be done. Research will tell us what more to do. And an awards program and summit will showcase women’s creative ideas. NMWE is supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation."

Film: Rotary Peace & Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia

Here is the completed version of the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia 2007 video.

Rotary Peace & Conflict Studies Field Study Trip to Cambodia
Uploaded by imagesofpeace

I'm very happy with the outcome of this video in which I spent the last several months editing. May this film open doors and lead to future opportunities in which I can use my skills to create awareness about great organization, people, and programs making a difference in this world.

Good Morning 2008!

There is nothing like the new year to reset your intentions and get clear about what you really want out of life.

I believe that this is the year that I fully step into my power. There are some big changes to be made this year and at times it may seem daunting but I feel that something truly positive is waiting for me.

For the past several years I feel that I have been "in school" and not just literally, as I have been pursuing my Masters degree in Peace and Conflict Studies, but also in that I have been training myself on many levels and gaining life and work experience so that I may step into what I came here to do and that is to use the power of media to create positive social change.

Over the next six months, it is my intention to finish a well-written thesis on new media's role in peacebuilding, to build a website and game plan for my "career," and finish a few more video projects that will be part of my filmmakers reel. I also intend to make the most of time left in Japan by spending as much time with my friends, many who will disperse far and wide to do good in this world.

I ask the Universe for guidance and strength that will pick me up when I am down, give me strength through challenging times, and open the right doors that allows me to do the work that I came to do. I see my biggest spiritual lessons of 2008 are letting go of control, stepping out my own way, staying in the present moment, and having trust in the universe and my purpose.

May your year be filled with many blessings!
love and peace,
Megumi

Thank you 2007!

I have had an amazing year and I just wanted to say thank YOU and thank the universe for all the fruits it has brought me. Here are some of the highlights:

• This year I had the wonderful opportunity to travel with Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn to Vietnam. There I deepened my understanding of Buddhism: its practices and insights that create both inner and outer peace.
  
• I directed a 12 minute documentary film about my fellowships trip to Hiroshima to learn about the atrocities of the atomic bomb. Which can be viewed here.
  
• I spent my summer in Berlin, German this year to work for the amazing media organization Dropping Knowledge, which uses new media technology to incite dialogue on some of our most pressing social and global issues.
  
• I was invited by Rotary's Peace and Conflict Studies program in Bangkok, Thailand to document their field study trip to Cambodia. You can see the latest version here.
• I am focusing on my thesis on media and peace and every day I'm getting clearer and one step closer to it.
  

I have met some amazing people along my journeys this year and I am truly grateful for their presence in my life. I also look forward to seeing how the fruits of the lessons I've learnt and experiences I've had will continue to blossom in my life. Over the holidays, I will be refocusing and setting my intention for the new year. Until then, have a Happy Holidays!!

love and peace,

Megumi

Cambodia doc- Walking Through the Killing Fields

On our third day of in Cambodia, we visited the Khmere Rouge killing fields at the Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial. Please click on the image below to watch the video or click here.



I have found some resources on the web for creative commons or royalty free music:
http://www.podsafeaudio.com/
http://shockwave-sound.com./
http://stockmusic.net/
http://neosounds.com/
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

Though I haven't found any pieces of music that has jumped out and grabbed me, I'm very hopeful and thankful to these resources. I've also been talking with some composers who either work under the creative commons license or are just starting out and are willing to work for credit. So there's hope, there's hope!

Also this pieces is 5minutes long, which so far of the things that I have cut (including some footage of the slums, which I'm not ready to post) over 12 minutes. For the final 15-20 minute product, I wonder what will get cut?
You can always have you say if you comment below ;).

Cambodia doc- On our way to Cambodia

Waiting to get through check in at Bangkok airport, the Fellows comment on what their expectations are as they head to Cambodia. 1min
FYI. Blogger is distorting my aspect ratio.. not too happy with that...



So, what I desperately looking for is music. Does anyone know any creative common licensed music sites, where I can download different types of instrumental music- upbeat, down-beat, funbeat?
Music is such an important part of filmmaking, and I realize that the music that I select has a tremendous affect on my cutting.

Now, I'm on to the more serious sections of this project: the slums and the killing fields...

Cambodia doc- What Russ takes away from Angkor Wat

This mini movie is about the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program's last day on their trip to Cambodia. After a grueling week of looking at the many difficult issues of post-conflict rebuilding, these fellows take a day to enjoy one of the seven wonders of the world- Angkor Wat. Enjoy!





Progressing forward on my journey of editing this film- I am editing out of order at this point, this section will probably be the second to last as part of the greater whole, but in a way it has excited me about the over all project, as I hope it is exciting you as well. I already have a sense that in the final production, I will be re-editing some aspects of it, but this is definitely serving it's purpose for now.

So far this project has been a great lesson in how much more my camera work needs to improve. Of course, I think better equipment will help a little and thus my wish list is growing... anyone want to help out on that?

Rotary's Positive Peace Place

Each year the International Christian University holds an annual festival in which the university's club and associations participate in by setting up booths to sell snacks and other such goods. The local community is invited to visit the campus and partake in festivities which often include wadaiko (Japanese traditional drumming) and various musical dance performances.

This year, the sixth year of the Rotary Internationals' partnership with ICU in the Rotary World Peace Fellowship, we RWPFs decided to have our own booth in which we sold nachos and held a flea market to raise funds for the Burmese NGO called Back Pack Health Worker Team.

BPHWT provides "primary health care in ethnic armed conflict areas and rural areas where access to healthcare is otherwise unavailable. The BPHWT provides a range of medical care, community health education and prevention, and maternal and child healthcare services to internally displaced persons in Burma."

Anyways, I have to say that I think that our booth was quite a success. We did have to give away some items for close to nothing towards the end of the second day (but that's to be expected when you try to sell off things that you don't even want.) I believe we made our two main goals: raising a reasonable amount of funds for a good cause and having a more visible presence on campus. I hope this is the beginning of a Rotary tradition.

Getting started on the Cambodia doc

I have begun to edit the Cambodian documentary project that I shot for the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program in August. For my own motivational purpose, I will be posting stills from the footage.

The following images are from our first day in Phenom Phen, in which we visited two slum areas. First, we visited a highly-valued commercial property that is being occupied by both the original land -dwellers as well as encroachers. The government and their corporate partnerships are evicting these residents and relocating them. Unfortunately, the re-location land that my group visited (the other group had quite a different experience) paled in comparison to the eviction site. We met with entire families that lived in 4x6 shacks, they lacked adequate water and many of the children looked as if they were suffering malnutrition.

Well, not to paint you a too grim picture of the situation there.. here are some still images... as always the spirit of children to find happiness in any circumstance never ceases to amaze me...







From the re-location site:

Headed to Cambodia

Cambodia! Wow, what an incredible gift from the universe. I have been invited by the Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict in Thailand, to make a promotional documentary about their program.

When I was in Vietnam earlier this year, I thought of taking a few days to go to Cambodia since I wanted to learn more about the Killing Fields and visit Angkor Wat but now I am blessed with a full ten days packed with meeting NGOs, visiting museums, and seeing how Cambodians have dealt with restoring peace to their country. I find educational tours far more interesting then any tourist trip.

I am leaving Berlin on August 8th and will return on the 21st. I will be bringing my video camera only, so no slide show upon my return but hopefully with a month or two I will have a film to show you. I'm excited for the opportunity to make a film in such a beautiful country and to push my skills even further.

love,
Megu

Utah!

Woo ha! We're (and by that I mean the Rotary World Peace Fellows at ICU) are headed to Salt Lake City, Utah this Thursday to attend the three-day Rotary World Peace Symposium!

I don't believe I ever been to Utah before (even though I always wanted to make it to Sundance) so I'm excited to check out Mormon Country.

The symposium is from the 14th to the 16th, and many of the RWPF alumni will be giving presentations on their research and their post-RWPF experience. It's going to be a major peace networking bonanza. Here's the tenative schedule. Woo hoo!!

Unfortunately, they won't be showing my film about ICU RWPF's trip to Hiroshima due to scheduling issues but I plan on brining many copies to pass out. Perhaps, I can set up a make shift screening in one of our hotel rooms. I hope so.

Okay, I've got a few papers left to crunch out! Yay, Utah!