Recognize any of the movie and/or documentary titles above? Did you know there's a specific call to action for each one? Well... some of the "call to action" messages are not as gripping than others, but essentially the answer is yes and the common thread is Participant Media.
You may know Jeff Skoll as the first President of eBay or if you are even slightly versed in social entrepreneurship, you may be familiar with the Skoll Foundation which provides grants for up and coming social entrepreneurs. To add to his already overflowing repertoire, Jeff Skoll formed Participant Productions in 2004 to create entertainment that inspires and accelerates social change.
So what exactly does Participant Media do? They are essentially a production company with a purpose other than profit. Participant produces documentaries, films, etc. to a) tell a great story, b) change how the viewer looks at the world, c) create awareness of different social issues that impact or affect or lives in anyway and d) invite audiences to participate in some sort of call to action to make a difference.
What I appreciate about this company is that there is no overt preaching to "do this" or "do that." The level of involvement or participation is completely up to the viewer. The messages in the films sell themselves and in the end, viewers can choose to look up more information or not. To guide those that do seek to participate in whatever cause, Participant creates specific social action campaigns for each film and documentary. These campaigns are designed to provide more awareness and information about issues that resonate in the films. Going a step further, Participant teams up with organizations in both the profit and nonprofit sector who can provide interested viewers different ways to get involved. These include action kits, screening programs, educational curriculums and classes, house parties, seminars, panels and other activities and these are usually ongoing projects that extend past the releases of the films. From its website, Participant "has developed active, working relationships with 600 non-profits which collectively have the potential of reaching over 75 million people."
I want to share an example of a campaign for the documentary The Cove. From the Participant website,
More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as whale meat. The majority of the world is not aware this is happening as the Taiji cove is blocked off from the public. It's critical that we get the word out in Japan. It's critical that we get the word out—everywhere.This powerful documentary was released in 2009 and won an Oscar for Best Documentary. You can find their action campaign both on the Participant website and on takepart.com and even get updates on what's been going on since. All the different features on the Participant Media website share similar social action campaigns for those who really want to make a difference.
