I met Tori while she was filming for this project in Mozambique. I love viewing her research on international aid effectiveness. The film is being released in episodes and can be viewed from the site above. Tori's expertise in international aid has developed extensively over the past seven years as she has traveled the globe working with aid organizations on four continents. Her experiences range from large-scale refugee assistance programs in Kenya, Lebanon, and Somalia, to smaller grassroots educational and child development initiatives in Uganda, Egypt, Togo, and China. Tori graduated with honors from Duke University in 2004 with a B.A. in Global Health and Human Development. She also served as a Fulbright Scholar in Egypt and holds a Masters diploma in Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo, as well as a Masters of Education from Harvard University. Tori embarked on a solo trip around the world to shoot the Beyond Good Intentions series which is her first film project.
The Beyond Good Intentions film series follows the round-the-world journey of first-time filmmaker, Tori Hogan, as she investigates how international aid can be more effective. Shot on location in eight different countries, the ten-episode series takes viewers along for the ride as Tori meets with countless aid workers and recipients to uncover more innovative approaches to helping communities in need.
On this journey, viewers travel with Tori through Colombia, Argentina, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa. In each country, Tori investigates a different issue in aid effectiveness, from the role of aid workers and volunteers, to the potential impact of more innovative approaches to aid through social entrepreneurship and market-based endeavors.
The film series was inspired by Tori's own frustrations with international aid after spending several years working and volunteering with aid projects around the world. "I continued to see well-intentioned aid initiatives failing to really make a difference," Tori says, "But these projects were affecting people's lives, and I felt that it was irresponsible to rely on good intentions alone." So she taught herself how to be a filmmaker, packed her backpack, and embarked on a solo journey of a lifetime to uncover what really works in international aid.
The film series is the first of its kind, and is bold enough to ask the questions that many are afraid to ask about the realities of the aid industry. However, the purpose of Beyond Good Intentions is not to focus on past failures, but rather to inspire viewers and to stimulate a movement that will spark greater innovation and effectiveness in future approaches to helping those in need. "For me," Tori says, "the goal of this series is to catalyze a much-needed dialogue about aid effectiveness, and to start a movement towards change."
A new episode in the Beyond Good Intentions series will be released each Wednesday from April 8th to May 27th, 2009. Viewers are encouraged to become part of the on-line dialogue and to join the movement towards encouraging more innovative and effective approaches to international aid worldwide.
Check this out and let me know what you think.
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