Category: Events

The annual Social Impact Media Awards (SIMA Awards) celebrate outstanding achievements in social impact storytelling, honoring the most cutting edge filmmaking from around the world that inspires activism, compassion and social transformation. Each year, projects are selected from over 140 countries, competing for awards, cash prizes, media features, and entry into SIMA’s distribution programs that bring selected works to communities and classrooms worldwide.

Films must be completed between October 2024 and September 2025 to be eligible for entry. Each title is permitted to enter once to SIMA. Titles that have entered in the past are not permitted to enter into the competition in subsequent years. Each entry may be submitted by only one individual or organization. If the film is a co-production, the entrant assumes full responsibility for notifying the other co-production partners of the entry. In the event of multiple entries for the same film, copyright ownership will determine which entry is accepted. The entrant is responsible for securing and clearing all rights.

For more information click here.

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This administration is promoting the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution as a time to celebrate “a new era of American greatness.”

U.S. history textbooks and standards are plastered with the country’s founding documents, so-called “Charters of Freedom”: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It is important that young people study these texts so they can better understand and act upon the system of government they have inherited. In most cases, however, the curricular charge accompanying these documents discourages critical thinking. Instead, they and their authors must be celebrated, if not worshipped. 

In the face of the racial justice uprisings of 2020, the Trump administration doubled down on this approach with a glaringly whitewashed “1776 Commission.”

And state lawmakers have flooded legislatures with bills that outlaw teaching the history of racism or sexism, while insisting upon the “study” of founding documents. These measures demand that teachers and students never question the ruling class that founded this country — nor the one at the helm today.

That is why we have compiled resources for an honest study of the American Revolution, so that students can learn from history to shape a more just future. We invite your feedback and suggestions of resources to add.

Teaching the American Revolution

OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Join the official Preselection Committee for the 14th Annual SIMA Awards, celebrating the finest in documentary and XR impact storytelling from 140 countries. Our committee brings together filmmakers, editors, producers, curators, journalists, human rights advocates, social justice innovators, and postsecondary students.

As a committee member, you’ll have the exclusive opportunity to screen up to 100 documentary films (features and shorts) submitted to SIMA, using our evaluation tools and metrics to assess each project. This entirely virtual experience runs from September to December, allowing you to participate at your own pace.

By joining, you’ll gain unparalleled insight into groundbreaking independent filmmaking, earning a certificate of completion for your CV, and deepening your perspective on the world through these compelling stories. We’re looking for candidates with a strong passion for human rights, social justice, and social innovation who are studying or working in media, communications, journalism, international development, or human rights.

Learn more and Apply here!

Applications close on August 9, 2025

OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Join the official Preselection Committee for the 14th Annual SIMA Awards, celebrating the finest in documentary and XR impact storytelling from 140 countries. Our committee brings together filmmakers, editors, producers, curators, journalists, human rights advocates, social justice innovators, and postsecondary students.

As a committee member, you’ll have the exclusive opportunity to screen up to 100 documentary films (features and shorts) submitted to SIMA, using our evaluation tools and metrics to assess each project. This entirely virtual experience runs from September to December, allowing you to participate at your own pace.

By joining, you’ll gain unparalleled insight into groundbreaking independent filmmaking, earning a certificate of completion for your CV, and deepening your perspective on the world through these compelling stories. We’re looking for candidates with a strong passion for human rights, social justice, and social innovation who are studying or working in media, communications, journalism, international development, or human rights.

Learn more and Apply here!

On Monday, August 25, best-selling author Clint Smith will discuss his soon-to-be-released young readers edition of How the Word Is Passed: Remembering Slavery and How It Shaped America, adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul. Smith will be in conversation with Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian and educator and Prentiss Charney Fellow Jessica A. Rucker.

The Summer Institute is the place to fill your mind and your virtual bookshelf with curriculum-boosting teaching practices and instructional resources.

You’ll join Climate Generation, the North American Association for Environmental Education, and 20 regional climate change education leaders with educators from across North America dedicated to teaching climate change as an interdisciplinary issue. More than 30 presenters from across the country will facilitate interactive, hands-on workshops designed to engage and inspire you. At this three-day institute, you will investigate climate change education best practices, interact with climate change curriculum, and gain skills to teach climate change while inspiring hope and efficacy.

July 14 and 15, 2025, plus one regional cohort day on July 16 or 17
Registration $250 | Scholarships Available | Graduate Credit Available | 20 Hours of Continuing Education

>> Learn more

From the sea-nomad shores of the Philippines to the night clubs of Istanbul, the campaign trail of New York City to the creative streets of Johannesburg and more, these 13 powerful stories uplift LGBTQIA+ voices reclaiming space, rewriting narratives, and reshaping communities.

Watch here

Juneteenth — June 19th, also known as Emancipation Day — is one of the commemorations of people seizing their freedom in the United States.

This beautiful tradition of Black freedom should be taught in school.

Yet, if this administration has its way, it will be illegal to teach students about Juneteenth. Most states have passed or proposed legislation to prohibit teaching about structural racism and books are being banned from school libraries in record numbers. The president’s executive orders do the same. Their goal: to outlaw teaching about the founding of this country on slavery and genocide, as well as about the long Black freedom struggle. 

Some laws ban teaching about the structures and systems that led to enslavement and how these practices continue to manifest in policing, redlining, voter suppression laws, and more.

But educators continue to teach truthfully about structural racism. They are doubling down on their commitment to teach young people about institutionalized racism and how to organize for justice.

This month, educators joined the national #TeachTruth campaign to defend the right to teach truthfully about U.S. history, immigration, the climate, Palestine, and more; to protest book bans; to defend LGBTQ+ rights; and to challenge fascism.

There are upcoming Teach Truth displays at Juneteenth festivals, including in Bridgewater, Massachusetts; Vadnais Heights, Minnesota; Potsdam, New York; Painesville, Ohio; and more.

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Teach About Juneteenth Outside the Textbook

We offer articles and lessons to teach outside the textbook about Juneteenth. It Was Not the “News” That Traveled Slowly — It Was “Power” by Christopher Wilson

Long History of Commemorations by Clint Smith

Black Troops Spreading the Word with Every Marching Foot by Greg Carr

A rich collection of global stories that spotlight human resilience and community-driven solution. From reclaiming and preserving heritage to addressing labor injustice, ecological collapse, and gender taboos these films offer powerful, grounded narrative that challenge perspective and inspire action.

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