Our Partners
The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux
FSC is partnering with The Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) in their effort to drive systemic change in Haiti. Haiti based BAI and its US counterpart, IJDH, help Haitian activists and grassroots groups to enforce their internationally recognized human rights, in Haiti and in the powerful countries where too many decisions about Haitians’ rights are made.
Guided by Haitian voices, BAI and IJDH combine advocacy between Haiti and the international community, and prioritize collaboration and coalition-building to address equity, justice, and rights in Haiti - creating systemic change in and of itself by disrupting traditional power structures that limit the effectiveness of much human rights work.
The partnership is designed to launch a series of webinars featuring conversations between Haitian and non-Haitian advocates about ending interference by the international community that prevents Haitians from transforming the systemic injustice that keeps them poor and vulnerable. The webinars will enhance collaboration among activists, ensure that Haitian grassroots perspectives are integrated into advocacy in powerful countries, and engage a broader community in support of advocacy efforts. Issues addressed in the webinars will include foreign military intervention, gender justice, climate change and the deterioration of Haiti’s justice system.it stand out
AVIARD Inspires
The Foundation for Systemic Change (FSC) is partnering with AVIARD Inspires, a UK based social-enterprise, founded in 2015 by award-winning filmmaker and youth coach, Amani Simpson.
‘AVIARD’ is a compound word – Aviate (to fly) and Hard (not easily broken). We exist to empower young people (aged 16+) to have hope through enrichment activities, digital media and personal development. AVIARD seeks to uplift those who are systemically disadvantaged youth in need of a second chance.
Evidence shows that multiple generations have battled with systemic racism, policies and narratives that have strategically oppressed people of color; causing many to have little to no access, self-love or equity. This has led to an unfortunate trend where young people transitioning into adulthood can feel pressure to seek fast and risky pathways to achieve success but ultimately these usually lead to self-destruction.
The goal is to shift this paradigm by showcasing uplifting stories, positive connections and life-changing resources that empower disadvantaged youth and their networks to thrive that will ultimately result in a global e-learning and edutainment brand that empowers young people to be more employable, confident and connected on a day to day basis.
SIMA Studios
SIMA Studios advances global awareness, social justice, human rights and education by supporting content creators, activists, educators and changemakers on the front-lines of social change, and amplifying the impact of their works to inspire activism, compassion and social transformation. SIMA supports and champions excellence in social impact filmmaking with an annual awards program and global distribution platforms that amplify the power of media to foster a world that is free from prejudice, discrimination and oppression.
Together, SIMA and FSC believe that storytelling through film can shine the light on systemic inequality and injustice while at the same time show that there are systemic solutions to what may appear to be intractable problems.
FSC is partnering with SIMA in the establishment of a “Systemic Change” category of filmmaking to SIMA’s world renowned international media competition honoring achievements in human rights and humanitarian fields. The “Systemic Change Award” will include $2,500 and international exposure for the film that best depicts how structural, sustainable long-term solutions can create positive change.
KangJae "Jerry" Lee
FSC is partnering with KangJae "Jerry" Lee, Assistant Professor of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management at North Carolina State University on a book and video about how historical racism has conceptualized, built, and managed U.S. public parks as "White space." This information aims to shed light on why US national and state parks are used predominantly by White Americans and the role systemic racism has played in shaping US leisure space and how "institutional racism has banished people of color from the great outdoors.” The book and video will specifically describe methods to rectify this ugly history and how we can make America's great outdoors more inclusive and welcoming - strategies for the systemic change FSC endorses. Here is a CNN interview with professor Lee providing a bit more detailed information.
Memria
FSC is partnering with Memria and its Afghan Voices project to strengthen diasporic civil society by using innovative methods to develop communication channels among now-fragmented communities of Afghans living in refugee camps and communities outside of Afghanistan.
Before the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan had experienced measurable gains in the expansion of civil society. The gains were modest and incremental, but they represented tangible and symbolic progress and laid the foundation for deepening human rights and democratic governance in Afghanistan over time. With Afghanistan back under Taliban rule, this progress (most significantly for women) is in danger, both inside the country and in the diaspora. The "system" that is broken is civil society, which is disrupted, fragmented, and siloed and risks further deterioration.
Afghan Voices’ theory of change is that by contributing to solidarity, connectedness, and horizontal communication among those in the diaspora, they can contribute to nurturing a strong civil society (in exile) and the democratic norms necessary for open societies. There is no guarantee that there will be an eventual return to Afghanistan. But either way, Afghan Voices is supporting civil society in the diaspora so it can play a constructive role.
Through the power of personal stories and the transformational potential of sharing stories to develop empathy, understanding, and a sense of shared identity among people living in exile, Afghan Voices can contribute to an eventual positive systemic change in Afghanistan ensuring the rights of all Afghans.
At the core of this project is to collect, curate, and share personal stories. Unlike oral histories, which are time-consuming and expensive, Memria and the Afghan Voices seek shorter-form and more digestible stories that focus on shared experience and building communities that are critical to affecting systemic change.
Fred Ross Project
FSC is partnering with longtime activist Fred Ross, Jr. and award-winning documentary filmmaker Ray Telles on the making of a documentary on the life of legendary activist Fred Ross, Sr. to inspire a new generation of activists to organize for systemic change. For more than half a century Fred Ross Sr. was an organizer, educating, agitating, and inspiring future advocates to overcome fear and cynicism. He taught people how to “do away with fear “ by taking collective action to combat racism, bigotry, and greed. As Cesar Chavez once observed, “ Fred did such a good job of explaining how poor people could build power, I could even taste it: it’s like digging a hole - there’s nothing complicated about it .”
Fred’s groundbreaking organizing efforts created positive systemic change – improving the lives and livelihoods of thousands. After World War II, in the face of KKK activity, Fred organized right Civic Unity Leagues in California’s Citrus Belt , bringing Mexican - Americans and African Americans together to battle segregation in schools by building their Voting Power holding elected officials accountable. And, in Orange County, CA he organized parents to fight rampant segregation in the local schools and successfully integrated local school boards across the Citrus Belt through Voter Registration drives and civic engagement.
Perhaps the most dramatic outcome of his early work occurred when Mexican- American parents sued the Orange County school districts and prevailed - laying the foundation for the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown vs Board of Education which finally declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional!
Fred Ross, Sr. learned that to win systemic change requires identifying, recruiting, and developing grassroots leaders who will go on to create local organizations that build enough power to prevail. He mentored leaders like Dolores Huerta , Cesar Chavez , Ed Roybal , Cruz Reynoso , Herman Gallegos, and countless others who went on to change the lives of millions in the U.S. and across the globe.
Ron Haviv and Lauren Walsh
To show how photography can play an integral role in fostering systemic change, FSC is partnering with photographer Ron Haviv and author/academic Lauren Walsh on Biography of a Photo, a feature length documentary film that traces the life stories of two iconic images taken by Haviv—one taken in Panama (1989), the other in Bosnia (1992)—that have led extraordinary existences.
Charting the history of each image, from its initial dissemination in journalism, to its reappearances (as artwork, as propaganda, in cultural kitsch, in social media, at international war crimes trials) as well as its institutionalized disappearances (from history books, from school systems, from codified public memory), Biography of a Photo explores the photos’ changing meanings over time for the broad populations in Panama and Bosnia. Both images have had enormous regional impact. And despite official attempts at suppression, both are among the most widely known images in Latin America and the Balkans, respectively. See trailer here.
For each image, the film follows a specific character who was intimately affected by the events of the day the photo was taken: the brother of the bodyguard who died defending Vice President Guillermo Ford, and the daughter of one of the civilians killed by Serbian paramilitary. Both are using the photo currently to obtain justice for their murdered relative and both demonstrate that the photos’ biographies continue to be written in the present day.
This film is about the value of journalistic output and examining the afterlives of news images that have been powerful enough to make or break justice and to define the course of history, thereby demonstrating the potential power of photography in promoting and protecting sustainable positive change.
In pursuit of systemic change perpetuated by these photos and depicted in the film, Haviv and Walsh will partner with organizations that build educational material both in the US and in the regions of the world where this film focuses: Latin America and the Balkans. Major cultural and educational institutes in both Bosnia and Panama have committed to help with moving this film and its important topics to local and regional audiences. Educational materials – for students and rising professionals alike—will emphasize topics such as: media and visual literacy, journalism and activism, journalistic intent and integrity, and the role of journalism in a democracy.
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Program of Action for Sustainable Development
FSC is partnering with Program of Action for Sustainable Development (PADS) in developing a documentary aimed at promoting equality and justice for women and girls in villages of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The film will include interviews with women and girls who have broken free from cultural behaviors that impose limits on their development. The documentary will be used to encourage dialogue among local communities about treatment of women and girls. These community conversations aim to influence policy makers to address systemic inequality through systemic a change approach.
Cultural behaviors, mostly in villages, are leading to complex forms of discrimination against women and girls that lead to limited accessibility to decent jobs, biased perception of women career choices, stereotypes around girls' choice in education, parent preference for boys than girls in treatment and investment in education, low women's participation in country governance, etc. etc.
A pilot project in villages on the west coast of Lake Edward in Kivu province will bring together community members to watch the film and then engage in a facilitated conversation about systemic approaches toward seeking equality and justice for women and girls. The documentary and accompanying dialogue will also focus on empowerment and the need for the next generation of girls to become agents of change and crucial actors in socio-economic development of their villages and beyond.
VII FOUNDATION
FSC is partnering with the VII Foundation and its project Imagine: Reflections on Peace which opens in Sarajevo at the National Museum in April 2022.
The traveling photo exhibit aims at engaging youth in a regional dialogue about what a healthy post-conflict society should look like. A series of events led by local activists will bring together an ethnically and religiously diverse team of young adults. Together they will tackle critical issues of universal interest to this generation of Bosnians such as corruption, the representation of women in political and civic life, justice, and reconciliation.
In support of long-term positive change, the VII Foundation believes in the power of mentorship and building sustainable relationships with the next generation of thinkers and power brokers. This approach will equip them with the tools and the means to escape from the past without forgetting it.
This initiative will meet BiH youth in their own spaces, in their own language - seeking to build clusters of young activists challenging past ineptitude and inertia.
Michael Tyler
Aimed at confronting systemic racial inequality, FSC is partnering with award-winning author Michael Tyler who believes “In the hearts and minds of all children lies the fertile soil of hope, from which all dreams flower.”
In his children’s book The Skin You Live In, Tyler accurately, forthrightly, and appropriately addresses race and discrimination. Mirror Face, co-authored with Jordan Gillman, delivers the timeless message of self-love that enables children to protect, preserve and promote their own value.
Studies have shown that children can be influenced by racism and sexism as early as age two. As our nation once again struggles with rampant racial inequity there can be no better time to shine a spotlight on resources that explains racial bias in a way that children can grasp and process.
Michael and his colleagues have teamed up with educators and organizations across the nation for greater use of his books and insights, to empower children to create a society free of the systemic restraints of “-isms”. The Skin You Live In is required reading in Los Angeles Public Schools and Portland Public Schools.
Social Documentary Network
SDN is a global community of 8,500 documentary photographers, editors, curators, NGOs, writers, students, journalists and people who believe in the power of visual storytelling to build an understanding of complex global issues related to human rights, racial injustice, poverty, conflict, the environment, LGBTQ+, public health, migration and more. Together, SDN and FSC believe that compelling images, coupled with text, provide awareness and attention to inequities while also shining a light on possible systemic solutions for our common humanity.
SDN’s ZEKE magazine's spring 2022 edition on “Sustainable Solutions to the Climate Crisis,” will contain documentary still photography stories, accompanying text captions, and written articles by climate action activists/experts. In November 2021, SDN announced its Call for Entries for the Systemic Change Prize. In February 2022, an award of $2,500 went to two winners who presented the most compelling visual stories on sustainable solutions to the climate crisis. S
Hope of Family
The Foundation for Systemic Change (FSC) is working with Rwanda’s Hope of Family to reduce family poverty by challenging the traditional model of education funding/investment . By investing holistically in the family as a way of countering persistent issues of school-dropout and other family-related challenges, Hope of Family’s interventions ultimately improve socio-economic capacity of all family members including the ones that are students . With additional private/public partnerships, this community-based, sustainable model, which has been recognized by the University of Rwanda and recommended by the Ministry of Education, can expand nationwide.
Creative Visions
The Foundation for Systemic Change (FSC) partners with Creative Visions’ (CV) in its effort to support, promote and amplify the work of creative activists who ignite positive change through storytelling, impact media, art, education and technology. Creative Vision's powerful network of activists, artists, film makers and advisors along with its signature programs has created positive systemic change for millions in over 35 countries around the world. Creative Visions programs include: CV Impact Media, Planet 911 - a youth focused climate initiative, Fiscal Sponsorship, Rock Your World - a Human rights youth education program, the Women Excel Project, and the Dan Eldon Legacy which celebrates the life and legacy of Dan Eldon.