Seeds of Tolerance

By Ilana Panich-Linsman

The Seeds of Tolerance Contest
Current TV started a contest in June and asked contestants to make a video about the issue of tolerance. They’ve narrowed it down to six entries. The winner will receive $100,000 in cash and an additional $15,000 to donate to the charity of his or her choice. Two finalists will also receive $10,000 a piece. The awards will be presented at a film-screening event in Los Angeles in December.

The current video in the lead is "The Making of a Girl" produced by Jillian Buckley. In it, the founder of Girls Education and Mentoring Services or GEMS narrates the hypothetical life a young girl who is seduced into a world of sexual exploitation and abuse. GEMS is a “non-profit organization whose mission is to empower young women, ages 12-21 years, who have experienced sexual exploitation and violence to exit unsafe and abusive lifestyles and to develop their full potential. GEMS provides young women with empathetic, consistent support and viable opportunities for positive change."

Please watch the videos, vote in this contest and help support GEMS in its crucial mission. (The videos "Darfur Rising" and "One Nation Under Guard" are also excellent). You must register to vote, but Current TV is a great website to explore and participate in anyway, so go ahead, register, vote. Do your part in helping to support girls and women who have experienced sexual exploitation and violence.