Participant Creates Impact Advisory Council, Names Inaugural Members
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Participant announced on Tuesday the creation of its Impact Advisory Council, which will provide feedback and recommendations on the media company’s social impact strategy around campaigns and strengthen connections to those with shared goals.
The council is comprised of five leaders in the impact and entertainment space, whose expertise in advancing social issues will help guide Participant’s impact work throughout their two-year terms. The members include Ai-jen Poo, president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and director of Caring Across Generations; DeVon Franklin, president and CEO of Franklin Entertainment and AMPAS governor-at-large; Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center; executive producer Juan Devis and Mindy Lubber, president and CEO of sustainability nonprofit Ceres.
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“Participant’s consistent mandate for 18 years is to create work centered on the union of art and activism — high quality, trailblazing, multi-layered content that compels positive social change, which is as important as ever right now,” David Linde, CEO of Participant, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to embark on a new chapter with these incredible leaders who are bringing their unique experiences and perspectives to enhance our work and strengthen our ability to offer audiences a bridge to participation.”
Participant has had a longtime commitment to making entertainment that combines art and activism, including recent projects Judas and the Black Messiah, Flee, Stillwater and My Name is Pauli Murray.
“Now more than ever before there’s a need for Hollywood to make a meaningful impact in the communities it depends on for its success,” said Franklin. “Participant’s commitment to content creation and social impact is unparalleled. As a producer, I’m committed to uplifting the human spirit through entertainment so the opportunity to serve on Participant’s Impact Council is truly an honor. ”
Added Devis, “Through their film, television and digital output, Participant has curated an unparalleled body of work that questions the structures and assumptions we sit upon, in pursuit of policy, programmatic and narrative change. It is therefore my privilege to be working with them to find narrative opportunities and impact frameworks that can articulate a transformative vision, grounded on principles of equity and access, acknowledgement and belonging.”
Courtesy of OTHELLO BANACI, Courtesy of National Domestic Workers Alliance/Courtesy of Ceres
“Participant’s mission and award-winning films have helped bring the much-needed awareness to these great environmental and social challenges and have inspired real action. I am looking forward to partnering with them as they write this next chapter and working together to build a more just and sustainable future,” said Lubber, as Poo commented on the value of changing the perception of domestic workers.
“Through the Impact Advisory Council, we can change how representation is centered in Participant content and take a human-centered approach to storytelling the vital work that domestic workers provide,” she said. “Every day, domestic workers and caregivers provide essential services and life-saving care to communities throughout the country. Their portrayal on-screen must always focus on their experiences in an accurate and meaningful way.”
“The work to further justice in our communities is fueled by our laws and policies being in constant conversation with our culture,” continued Graves. “And in order to make our culture work for all of us, the stories that pervade our society and shape how we understand the human condition must truly be representative of each and every one of us – especially women and girls. Participant’s inclusive filmmaking and social impact strategy is so needed right now to shift how we do this critical work, and I’m proud to be a part of this important group.”
