Media & Policy Center: Harry Wiland and Dale Bell Elected Ashoka Fellows

SANTA MONICA - "Inform, challenge, and ultimately ENGAGE a responsive citizenry," has earned the founders Harry Wiland and Dale Bell of The Media & Policy Center Foundation election to an international Fellowship of social entrepreneurs.

In 2003, Dale Bell and Harry Wiland launched The Media & Policy Center Foundation to create, organize, and produce innovative film, public television, print, multimedia, and software programming dealing with the emerging issues of social welfare, public policy, education, healthcare, and the environment. Since then, M&PCF has expanded its media model to include national PBS broadcasts, companion books, action guides, web sites, academic curricula, town hall meetings, symposia, and a speaker's bureau.

Bell & Wiland, through their work with PBS, have been leaders of public policy and educational media programming. Working nationally, Wiland & Bell are currently involved with a number of national PBS education and outreach programs including Edens Lost & Found (www.edenslostandfound.org) and And Thou Shalt Honor (www.andthoushalthonor.org). In addition, a number of other projects are in development.

For their innovative approach to public policy and the use of mass media for social advocacy Bell & Wiland have been elected Ashoka Fellows. Once elected to Ashoka, Fellows benefit from being part of the Ashoka Global Fellowship for life. Headquartered in Arlington, Va., Ashoka elects emerging social entrepreneurs to an international fellowship of their peers, providing significant financial support and an array of pro-bono strategic and professional services, primarily through three strategic partnerships: McKinsey & Company, Hill & Knowlton, Inc. and the International Senior Lawyers Project. Additional support is available from Ashoka for Fellow-initiated collaborations and exchange visits.

The Purpose Prize finalists

A global organization, Ashoka supports those who share qualities traditionally associated with leading business entrepreneurs - vision, innovation, determination and long-term commitment - but are committed to systemic social change in their fields. Ashoka Fellows are recognized for their innovative solutions to some of society's most pressing social problems.

The Media & Policy Center is a multiple award-winning media Foundation specializing in the design and implementation of socially relevant projects in an entertaining and enlightening context. And Thou Shalt Honor and Edens Lost & Found have posted impressive results, including:

• Combined audience of 16 million for And Thou Shalt Honor (2002-03)
• 110 million media impressions for And Thou Shalt Honor
• National PBS distribution achieved for both And Thou Shalt Honor and Edens Lost & Found

Harry Wiland and Dale Bell's individual productions have won one Academy Award (Woodstock), five Emmys, one Peabody, two Christophers, two Cine Golden Eagles, four Childrens' Acts, among other awards and nominations. Their collective films for PBS, networks, cable, and cinema represent an array of styles including journalism, documentary, dramatic feature film, performance, and industrial. (National Geographic Specials, Kennedy Center Tonight, The Chemical People, WonderWorks, and Johnny Cash.") They share the executive producer titles for both And Thou Shalt Honor and Edens Lost & Found. They also share the titles of President and CEO of The Media & Policy Center Foundation (www.mediapolicycenter.org).

Ashoka Fellows work in six broad fields: learning/youth development, the environment, health, human rights, economic development and civic participation. Selection criteria include the social impact of the idea, demonstrated creativity in problem solving, the newness of the idea and the entrepreneurial quality of the founder. Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a global association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs; individuals with innovative, large scale ideas for addressing social issues. They address every area of human need - from human rights to the environment, from full economic citizenship to empowering young people.

Since its founding in 1980, Ashoka has launched more than 1,700 leading social entrepreneurs in over 60 countries. Ashoka's modest investments consistently yield extraordinary returns. Five years after their startup launch, between 49 and 60 percent have already changed national policy and around 90 percent have seen independent institutions copy their innovation. Working with these social entrepreneurs, Ashoka builds communities of innovators who work collectively to transform society and design new ways for the social sector to become more productive, entrepreneurial and globally integrated.

Ashoka does not accept government funding. Business entrepreneurs, corporations, individuals, foundations and volunteer chapters finance Ashoka's work. Ashoka's US Program, since its launch in 2000, has elected over 60 Fellows. Using new and innovative approaches, social entrepreneurs in the U.S. are working to solve pressing problems in the fields of education, the environment, health, economic development, civic participation, and other areas of human concern. 80% of the first Fellows elected have replicated programs measurably, and all Fellows in the inaugural class have increased the number of people served by their program by more than 100%.

The Ashoka US program seeks to provide these extraordinary innovators the same financial, professional, and moral support that is readily available to their business entrepreneur counterparts.

The original Ashoka press release is available here.

www.ashoka.org | www.ashoka.org/us-canada | www.changemakers.net
www.mediapolicycenter.org | www.edenslostanfound.org | www.atsh.org