National Geographic's All Roads Blog

All Roads Featured at National Geographic Geography Action! Event...

All Roads Film Project Director Francene Blythe was on hand at the National Geographic Society's annual Geography Action! event to deliver the keynote address and present a selection of films. Attended by teachers from across the U.S., the focus of this gathering was "Mapping the America's." The goal, to address the challenges facing educators of geography, from student apathy to restrictive state regulations. Geography Action! is National Geographic's tool to bring geographic knowledge to teachers, students and families throughout the U.S. Through her keynote address, Blythe demonstrated how works by minority and indigenous storytellers from across the globe, can serve as an effective tool set in the educator's arsenal.

All Roads Photographer Lands Cover Assignment for NGM!!!

2006 All Roads Photography Program awardee Newsha Tavakolian has landed a great "gig" with National Geographic Magazine. She is the principal photographer in the magazine's upcoming August 2008 Cover story, "Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran." Newsha is the first All Roads Photography Program awardee to garner such a distinguished assignment from NGM. Check out a sneak preview her images at NGM Online.

China Considering the Establishment of a "Cultural Protection Region" after Devastating Earthquake...

The Chinese Cabinet is considering the creation of a "cultural protection region" for the Qiang, an ethnic minority whose region was deeply affected by the massive earthquake in May. According to state-run reports, the Qiang, lost about %10 of their population in the devastation. For a community who has its own language, no written text and relies on elders to hand down ancient traditions, such losses may portend catastrophic consequences to the fabric of its entire culture. Only a few dozen of the shamen, or holy men, who are the gatekeepers of the Qiang's ancient traditions remain throughout the region. Known colloquially as the "people in the clouds", the Qiang live in the mountains of the Sichuan province with a history dating back 3,000 years. The government's move to extend this level of support at the cultural level provides a stark contrast to recent violent clashes with the Tibetans and the Ulghur ethnic minorities, who widely resent Chinese rule.

Recognition for Japan's Ethnic Minority

It has certainly been a landmark year for the national recognition of minority and indigenous communities across the globe. Japan, broadly regarded as uniquely homogenous, recently recognized the aboriginal Ainu as a "people in their own right" through a resolution passed through parliament. The first piece of legislation about the Ainu was passed in 1899, where they were defined as "aborigines in need of assimilation." Until this law was repealed in 1997, Japan officially denied having any ethnic minorities. Today only 24,000 call themselves Ainu, while only ten known native speakers are known to remain.

Reel Native Video Workshops

PBS' American Experience and Comanche College are collaborating on an exciting new initiative that will provide training for emerging multi-media artists while culminating as the centerpiece of a new series by the broadcaster titled, We Shall Remain. Training will commence under the banner of Reel Native Video Workshops, a cutting story-telling initiative through video production, on July 26 & 27, 2008 at Comanche Nation College. The workshops are intended to train and support Native people interested in creating short videos from their own lives and experiences.

For applications and more information please the attached document.
Deadline for Entry is July 7, 2008

Application Download ShallRemain.doc

All Roads at SilverDocs!

All Roads Film Project Director, Francene Blythe was on hand at SilverDocs 2008 as moderator for a conference session entitled: Public Broadcasting: Your Source for Independent Opportunity - The National Minority Consortia: Serving Critical Communities Included on the panel were organizations consisting of developers, producers, and distributors of radio and television programming appealing to diverse audiences and harnessing the creative talents of minority communities. On the cutting edge of new media innovation, Consortia members are a key source of grant funding to producers for program production, training, exhibition, and outreach activities that fulfill the PBS mission.

TODAY: All Roads Student Event at the Lensic...

All Roads is collaborating with the Lensic Performing Arts Center for the presentation of the All Roads/Lensic Film & Photography Project. This pilot project was launched in 2007 with Santa-Fe area high schools to encourage students to document their communities through film and photography. Today's event will showcase one film and 5 images from each participating school. Resources and materials were distributed to the schools in the Fall of 2007 to help students create and produce their projects. During December's Santa Fe Film Festival, students were invited to attend a workshop and screening with All Roads Filmmakers. The images will remain on display through May 2.

WITC 2008 Continued...

The pre-conference Maori cultural experience set the context for what was to become a rich, expansive gathering of amazing individuals, knowledge, ideas and networks. The conference opened Day 1 with a traditional Maori welcome (Powhiri) where the chosen leader of our delegation accepted our host's offer of welcome into their community. After a refreshing morning tea, we were treated to a scintillating performance by Moana & The Tribe.
The delightfully engaging Julian Wilcox, one of Maori Television's most familiar faces, set an upbeat and charming tone as the Master of Ceremonies, individually welcoming the delegation in the official languages of each of the represented countries. When he came to the United States, he veered into the political arena stating, "Obama 2008." Inspirational Maori civil rights advocate Dr. Huirangi Waikerepuru provided the Patron's welcome address making a call to the importance of language preservation and education. Dr. Waikerepuru's tireless efforts have had a tremendous impact towards the positive developments of the revitalization of Maori culture in New Zealand. It is interesting to note that following every keynote address, the recognized conference elders who were seated onstage in a special dedicated section, honored each speaker by leading the delegation in a traditional song. A few other interesting tidbits gathered from the morning's speakers which also included Gary Muriwai, Chairman, Maori Television and the Hon. Dr. Michael Cullen, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand: There are over 370 million recognized indigenous peoples across the globe spread over 70 countries; the genesis of Maori Television is a result of government support in recognition of the dangerous 20th century decline of Maori language and culture; revitalization efforts are making a direct impact as there are currently more speakers of Maori today than 200 years ago; government support is also based on the protection and promotion of Indigenous culture to showcase the uniqueness of New Zealand as a nation. Following in this theme, Chief Judge Joseph Williams delivered a stimulating and metaphorically beautiful keynote address making the call of "Reclaiming the Future." He also stated how Maori language and culture are traditions not just for the Maori, but for all of New Zealand. Speaking directly to the broadcasters, he noted how it is through these mediums, that allows for the conversation of cultural identities to exist on a broad scale.

More to come...

All Roads Set to Open and Close Inaugural Global Green Indigenous Film Festival...

The Inaugural Global Green Indigenous Film Festival is set to kick off this week on April 18, in Santa Fe, NM. The festival will showcase over 40 films from across the globe, each addressing the relationship between indigenous communities and the environmental/social challenges facing our planet. All Roads will open and close the festival with screenings of Arctic Sun (Andrew Walton) and Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (Lu Chuan), respectively. Both films will be screened at the Santa Fe Film Center at Cinema Cafe. In addition to the films, the festival will also host a youth film workshop as well as panels addressing such topics as "Green Filmmaking", "Exploring Indigenous Languages in Film", and "Going Green with Wind and Sun."

For more information visit: http://www.ggiff.com/ or call: 505-242-2175
April 18-20, 2008

WITBC 2008: 1st World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference

From the moment of our arrival in Auckland, New Zealand for the 1st World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference (WITBC 2008), we were immersed into an unforgettable experience of shared cultural brotherhood with all of the indigenous communities represented across the globe as orchestrated by our gracious hosts at Maori TV.

In what was an extraordinary global affair, All Roads delegates, including board member Frank Blythe were the only professional attendees on hand from the continental U.S. out of 400 registered delegates, from over 32 countries. To set the context, early arriving attendees were treated to a journey into the world of the Maori for a cultural experience that included a visit to a Marae as well as a breath-taking excursion deep into the ngahere. In what was a moving gesture of hospitality, local students from the Marae's kura kaupapa (primary school), and whare kura (secondary school) actually came in to welcome us with beautiful renderings of traditional songs and powerful hakas, on what was their Easter holiday.

More to come...