Today marks the launch of the 8 BILLION project; an exciting multi-media initiative and online community for shared visions, hopes and beliefs joining forces to defend planet earth. Spanning the next 10 years, the project will bring together faith, arts and science communities to paint an intimate portrait with a series of stories about how humans all over the world celebrate and protect nature.
In this first phase of the project, film makers and storytellers will be invited to upload their films to the platform to join the most interactive and important global conversation to date.
In the summer of 2021, the invitation will be extended to welcome contributions from the wider community, encouraging groups anywhere and everywhere to make a film and share their stories. From Daoist monks in China, Muslims in Iraq, migrants in the USA to astronauts in space, indigenous leaders in the Amazon and community groups in every town and village, 8 BILLION will invite contributors to share their stories and join a global celebration of life.
The intimate, mostly self-shot videos will be curated for the platform to form a vast and iconic ode to planet Earth. The assembly of these stories in one place will deepen our connection with the natural world, and our connection with each other.
8 BILLION has been developed by WaterBear, the free interactive streaming platform dedicated to the future of our planet and Off the Fence Productions, an Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning documentary producer, and the WWF.
CEO and Founder of WaterBear, Ellen Windemuth said, “We are proud to be spearheading this initiative with our partners Off the Fence and the WWF. This initiative will demonstrate how important it is for each of us to tell stories from our own point of view. Together we will create a movement that unites millions of people in a joint effort to preserve natural habitats and biodiversity.”
Allard Stapel, Chief External Affairs, WWF Netherlands said, “For 60 years WWF has strived for a world where people live in harmony with nature. In that time, WWF has often shown examples of this but rarely asked people to tell these stories themselves. With 8 BILLION we hope to provide a platform where communities all over the world can share their stories and can be heard.”
Martin Palmer, Patron of the Faith Long Term Plans and CEO of FaithInvest said “The faiths are the oldest storytellers of the world and they know that it is through stories that the most important aspects of being human; of being part of an even greater story and of finding our place within the wonder of nature can be explored. The major faiths welcome this huge new initiative and the partnerships it will create between faiths, the arts and environment worldwide.”
To tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, we need to work together by telling and sharing stories; and repair humanity’s broken relationship with nature, one story at a time. Join the movement now.
Stories can be uploaded at www.8-Billion.org and the best of the films will be showcased on WaterBear and across other platforms including Earth X TV.
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