The I Live Here Projects
Encyclopedia
The I Live Here Foundation, also commonly referred to as the I Live Here Projects, is a United States
501(c)(3) non profit organization dedicated to telling the stories of silenced and unheard people around the world through a series of books and other media projects.
The I Live Here foundation was founded in 2005 by Canadian-born actress Mia Kirshner
along with J.B. Mackinnon
, Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons. Kirshner is currently the director of the organization.
I Live Here started out as a book documentary about the stories of refugees and displaced women and children in Burma, Juarez
, Chechnya
, and Malawi
. The I Live here book has provided opportunities for women and children to tell their stories in their own words through a combination of writing, sketches, and self portraits.
The grassroots establishment of the I Live Here foundation began following the realization that more needed to be done in addition to the book project.
ETINA, an umbrella organization for several activist and environmental groups, serves as I Live Here's charitable sponsor.
The I Live Here program's goal is to empower those who are unheard and whose voices have disseminated. I Live Here also works with local material which in turn provides participants with a sustainable future. Coming full circle, the stories gathered are then shared through books and other media projects designed to encourage the global community to learn, be inspired, and take action.
, the capital city of Malawi. The original purpose for travel was to gather materials for the I Live Here book. Kirshner and MacKinnon met the reality of a widespread AIDS
epidemic and found the imprisoned existing in unbearable conditions. Many of the incarcerated children could not read or write.
The goal of I Live Here was then changed, leading to the establishment of the I Live Here foundation. Much of the work that was done at the juvenile prison was based on a system of permaculture
.
younger sister, Lauren Kirshner
, a creative writer, was also involved in the writing of the I Live Here Projects. Lauren Kirshner contributed twenty poems for Claudia, a narrative based on family photos, notes by friends, and missing person posters related to one of the hundreds of murdered women in Ciudad Juarez
, Chihuahua, Mexico
. The book was published by Pantheon Books
, a subsidiary of Random House
. The book's tagline is "There are too many untold stories."
In addition to the collaboration of Kirshner, MacKinnon, Shoebridge, and Simons, the book also includes a curriculum developed by novelist Chris Abani
, as well as contributions by Joe Sacco
, Ann-Marie MacDonald
, Phoebe Gloeckner
, and many others. I Live Here was logistically supported by Amnesty International
, which also received proceeds from the book. Since 2008, the book has been used as study material for rhetorical courses in the Communication Studies Department at Loyola Marymount University
, Los Angeles
. MIT has asked Mia Kirshner to teach a course centered on this book. The book is continually being used as a teaching material at Los Angeles Hebrew High.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
501(c)(3) non profit organization dedicated to telling the stories of silenced and unheard people around the world through a series of books and other media projects.
The I Live Here foundation was founded in 2005 by Canadian-born actress Mia Kirshner
Mia Kirshner
Mia Kirshner is a Canadian actress and social activist who works in movies and television series. She is best known for her portrayal of Jenny Schecter on The L Word and for her role in the 2006 crime film The Black Dahlia as Elizabeth Short.- Early life :Kirshner was born in Toronto, Ontario,...
along with J.B. Mackinnon
J.B. MacKinnon
James Bernard MacKinnon, commonly cited as J.B. MacKinnon, is a Canadian independent journalist, contributing editor and book author. Mackinnon is best known for co-authoring with Alisa Smith the bestselling book The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating, encouraging readers to focus on local...
, Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons. Kirshner is currently the director of the organization.
I Live Here started out as a book documentary about the stories of refugees and displaced women and children in Burma, Juarez
Juárez
Juárez may refer to a number of places and things, most of which are named after Benito Juárez, President of Mexico on several occasions during the 19th century.Mexican cities and towns...
, Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, and Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
. The I Live here book has provided opportunities for women and children to tell their stories in their own words through a combination of writing, sketches, and self portraits.
The grassroots establishment of the I Live Here foundation began following the realization that more needed to be done in addition to the book project.
ETINA, an umbrella organization for several activist and environmental groups, serves as I Live Here's charitable sponsor.
Mission statement
I Live Here believes in the power of individual expression to transform the lives of people living in the most extreme situations of poverty and isolation. I Live Here works with local organization partners to create an environment of health and safety and in turn sets up schools and permaculture programs, while providing legal assistance, as well as legal rights education.The I Live Here program's goal is to empower those who are unheard and whose voices have disseminated. I Live Here also works with local material which in turn provides participants with a sustainable future. Coming full circle, the stories gathered are then shared through books and other media projects designed to encourage the global community to learn, be inspired, and take action.
Kachere Prison Project
In 2005, Mia Kirshner and J.B. MacKinnon traveled to the Kachere juvenile prison located in LilongweLilongwe
Lilongwe, estimated population 902,388 as of 2009, is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It lies in the country's central region, on the Lilongwe River, near the border of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, and on the main north-south highway of Malawi, the M1.-History:The city started life as a...
, the capital city of Malawi. The original purpose for travel was to gather materials for the I Live Here book. Kirshner and MacKinnon met the reality of a widespread AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic and found the imprisoned existing in unbearable conditions. Many of the incarcerated children could not read or write.
The goal of I Live Here was then changed, leading to the establishment of the I Live Here foundation. Much of the work that was done at the juvenile prison was based on a system of permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
.
Book Documentary
The I Live Here Paper Documentary was released in October 2008. The Book took nine years to compile.. Throughout this time, Kirshner and many contributors traveled to four different parts of the world, including Chechnya, Burma, Mexico and Malawi. The book is composed of four different volumes, each belonging to that part of the world. Mia Kirshner'sMia Kirshner
Mia Kirshner is a Canadian actress and social activist who works in movies and television series. She is best known for her portrayal of Jenny Schecter on The L Word and for her role in the 2006 crime film The Black Dahlia as Elizabeth Short.- Early life :Kirshner was born in Toronto, Ontario,...
younger sister, Lauren Kirshner
Lauren Kirshner
-External links:*...
, a creative writer, was also involved in the writing of the I Live Here Projects. Lauren Kirshner contributed twenty poems for Claudia, a narrative based on family photos, notes by friends, and missing person posters related to one of the hundreds of murdered women in Ciudad Juarez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Chihuahua, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The book was published by Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
, a subsidiary of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. The book's tagline is "There are too many untold stories."
In addition to the collaboration of Kirshner, MacKinnon, Shoebridge, and Simons, the book also includes a curriculum developed by novelist Chris Abani
Chris Abani
Christopher Abani is a Nigerian author. Abani's first novel, Masters of the Board, was about a Neo-Nazi takeover of Nigeria...
, as well as contributions by Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American comics artist and journalist. He achieved international fame through the 1996 American Book Award-winning Palestine, and his graphic novel on the Bosnian War, Safe Area Goražde.- Biography :...
, Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald
Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Canadian playwright, novelist, actor and broadcast journalist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. The daughter of a member of Canada's military, she was born at an air force base near Baden-Baden, West Germany....
, Phoebe Gloeckner
Phoebe Gloeckner
Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist.-Background:Gloeckner was born in 1960 in Philadelphia, and spent most of her later childhood and young adult life in San Francisco, where her family moved in the early 1970s...
, and many others. I Live Here was logistically supported by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, which also received proceeds from the book. Since 2008, the book has been used as study material for rhetorical courses in the Communication Studies Department at Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. MIT has asked Mia Kirshner to teach a course centered on this book. The book is continually being used as a teaching material at Los Angeles Hebrew High.
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1032686/
- http://movies.yahoo.com/news/usmovies.accesshollywood.com/l-word-star-jennifer-beals-raise-awareness-afghan-womens-writing-project
- http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200812/20081216_kirshner.html
- http://www.causecast.org/org/i-live-here
- http://www.amnestyusa.org/shop/more-information-on-i-live-here/page.do?id=1351109
- http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/19/entertainment/ca-miakirshner19/2