Tis the Season for giving, wanting and buying. Although this  year may be exceptionally hard for many people who are out of work or who live in other countries and are fighting every day to just stay alive.

So I thought I would put this space to good use today and share with you 3 things that you can do to empower women. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half The Sky argue that the key to economic progress in the world lies in unleashing women’s potential.

Want to know what you can do besides nod your head and say “that’s horrible”?

Make girls smarter. Many pregnant women living in poverty don’t get enough iodine, so their fetuses’ brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose ten to 15 IQ points—particularly the girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solution: Iodize salt, at the cost of a couple of pennies per person per year. To contribute, go to Helen Keller International (HKI.org).

Support a woman’s business. With a microloan of $50, a woman can start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school. To make a loan, go to Mercy Corps (MercyCorps.org) or BRAC (BRACUSA.org), two groups helping women around the world.

Keep a girl in school. A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money, and be able to help her younger siblings. One excellent support program operates in Cambodia, where uneducated girls are at great risk of being trafficked into brothels. For $10 a month, you can keep a girl in school through American Assistance for Cambodia (CambodiaSchools.com), or for $13,000, you can build an entire school that will revolutionize life in a village forever.

For more information visit Half The Sky Movement

Although the New York Times just announced another round of lay-offs, a round of applause is in order for their video department for producing these little gems. When No One’s Looking Part 1 and Part 2 is an amazing portrait of runway kids and survival. AMAZING!

These pieces have a very This American Life feel to them BUT I would love to see some of them go the extra step to full feature documentary. Especially this piece: great characters, interesting stories and the ability to reach out to young kids who may be having a hard time in life. I want to work on more projects like this!!!! More projects like this need to be seen!!!

Dear Lisa Iaboni, Amy OLearys, Let’s talk! I do documentary work too! Your work is inspiring! More people need to see this!!!!

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!

*update after a little research I see that the producers (at least one of them has done work for This American Life”. I just sent them my first fan mail ever!

Last night was the first night of a 4 part film series that I curated for Oval Film Center (located in Stuyvesant Town, NYC). Here is some more information about the event. If you are interested in attending and are not a resident of Stuyvesant Town let me know, I can add you to my guest list. 

In staying with the theme of my Green Series, I’ll be sure to include “Green” events and links on my  blog for the length of the film series. 

Oval Film - Green Film Festival: Environmentally Conscious Films 

Starts August 10, 2009 7:30pm - 10pm

Oval Film brings members a series of engaging and award-winning films from independent filmmakers focused on the worldwide push to “go green.” Presented as both fiction and non-fiction, comedic and serious, learn about the issues on everyones lips, from local concerns to the global issues that threaten the future of our planet.

I have been doing some prep work for my next side project which is going be a recycling collective art project of sorts. Which as soon as I finalize the title, I will finish the visual and upload the project to KICKSTARTER.COM. 

In my research I came across this documentary series called WASTE? A series of webisodes that features people redefining waste: from canners scouring the streets for redeemables, engineers powering their breweries with waste water, architects constructing homes out of tires, and more.

This series features spirited individuals that survive or create using waste. Their stories will educate and motivate attitudinal and behavioral change. Waste? explores what motivates people to reuse waste through conversations with garbage anthropologists, yardists, artists and companies. The intent is for viewers to reflect on their relationship with waste, recycling habits, consumption patterns, and to take relevant action.

For more information and to help support their efforts check click here

I’m starting off the week highlighting an initiative called THE UNIFORM PROJECT, which is a wonderful example of sustainable fashion and social responsibility.

The Idea

Starting May 2009, Sheena Matheiken pledges to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day she will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for slum children in India.