Foundation donates to Shine a Light’s Santa Fe Migrant children’s project
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an important laboratory in migration and politics. First an indigenous community, then a Spanish outpost, and finally a diverse American city, Santa Fe now receives immense numbers of migrants, attracted by good jobs in the building trades, people that speak Spanish, and local laws friendly to undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, their children are not immune from discrimination, prejudice, and struggle. In 2008, Shine a Light will begin a long term project on migration and children, using the same pedagogical and artistic tools that have been so successful with street kids, working children, ex-child soldiers, and other marginalized groups. We plan to begin slowly, aware of the legal and cultural concerns of migrants to Santa Fe, but eventually to create video production groups doing work in both documentaries and fictional film. Eventually, after working through the same process with children from poor neighborhoods from Juárez, México, the children in both cities will use YouTube and other internet tools to cross the digital border, teaching and learning from each other.
It is an issue that Kurt Shaw, the Director of Shine a Light, had talked about extensively with Emily, both in person and on-line.
It definitely would be a project dear to Emily’s heart.
The Foundation extends best wishes to the staff of Shine a Light and the migrant children for their success with this project.
