ENTERTAINMENT AS AMBASSADOR

​​MIP is conducting program evaluations of a slate of fascinating projects sponsored by the US State Department designed to share American entertainment expertise with media makers worldwide. Serving  as cultural ambassadors, US media professionals travel to Embassies to teach, screen their work and share; in other components of these programs, mid-career media makers from countries far and wide travel to Los Angeles for intensive study in entertainment-related fields such as writing, producing, marketing, directing, virtual reality and editing. Check out the programs: American Film Showcase, Global Media Makers, and Middle East Media Initiative.  
American Film Showcase
The American Film Showcase (AFS) is the US State Department’s premier American film diplomacy program, organizing screenings and workshops with American filmmakers in more than 35 countries. AFS is a partnership between the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. AFS reached out to the Media Impact Project to serve as program evaluator. In this role, MIP has developed an evaluation protocol for the program and is currently leading the evaluation for the 2019-2020 program.
Global Media Makers
Global Media Makers (GMM) is an international cultural program sponsored by Film Independent in partnership with the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. GMM identifies, connects, trains and supports international media professionals to create compelling multimedia content. The selected media professionals, recognized as Film Independent Fellows, complete a six-week residency which includes filmmaker education, business training and professional networking opportunities. Then, a year of optional mentorship continues remotely as well as international workshops offered to the Fellows’ local filmmaking communities. The Media Impact Project serves as program evaluator, developing an evaluation protocol for the program as well as leading the evaluation for the program.
Middle East Media Initiative
Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) is an innovative professional exchange and partnership program between the U.S. TV industry and counterparts in the Middle East. This 2-year program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and produced by USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in partnership with USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center. Recognizing that television serves as a major influence in entertaining and informing audiences in the Arabic-speaking world, MEMI seeks to support and train the current generation of regional television writers and content creators in telling entertaining, local stories that can spark important conversations and actions around pluralism and mutual understanding.

Read more about our partnership with MEMI here:
Hollywood Reporter. USC Launches Hollywood Boot Camp for Middle Eastern TV Creators (Exclusive)
Variety. USC’s Middle East Media Program Sparks Inclusive Change in TV Industry
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The Norman Lear Center's Media Impact Project researches how entertainment and news influence our thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and actions. We work with researchers, the film and TV industry, nonprofits, and news organizations, and share our research with the public. We are part of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.