A Year
of
Living Generously
by
F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren
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 Okay, it's
a 15 year old reference to a Mel Gibson movie, but I think it works.
A Year of Living Dangerously is the Peter Wier directed story of
Guy Hamilton (Gibson) in his first job as an international correspondent.
Sigourney Weaver
is Gibson's co-star and the story paints international journalism
in a very romantic light. I suppose having Sigourney Weaver on your
next shoot would even paint the "ladies of the D.A.R. potluck" assignment
in a romantic light, but that's the subject of anther column.
Billy Kwan, the
photojournalist in the story (played by Linda Hunt) tells Hamilton,
"We'll make a great team, old man. You for the words, me for the
pictures. I can be your eyes."
And they set out
to tell an important story. One they hope will change the world
in 1965 Indonesia. It's a romantic notion, using your skills to
make a difference. Photojournalists often hope that something they
do with make a difference. The Year of Living Dangerously is the
stuff war stories are made of. Our own site, the Digital Journalist
is filled with some pretty intense stories - both of the subjects
shot by the talented people here, but also the behind the scenes
stories of what it took to get the photos. The "dangerous" makes
the story seem even more important.
But if you read
the title of this piece - and have been patient enough with me to
read this far, you can change your focus from dangerous to generous.
 2001
is going to be a year of living generously for some producers and
photojournalists I know. They are giving back to people in need
by working with a non profit organization called "New Media for
Non Profits" http://www.nmnp.org/.
New Media for Non Profits grew out of some conversations with a
number of people - and much of it connects to the columns I write
here. The interesting thing about a non profit like NMNP is that
no one "owns" it. It's a collaboration of talents that has a board
of directors who govern it, but the work produced is directed by
need rather than profit, commercial appeal, or shareholder greed.
(Don't get me wrong, profit, commercial appeal and greed are all
good in their right time and place, NMNP just isn't one of them.)
So living generously
this year is a way of saying these producers and photojournalists
are giving back, working to make a difference with the images, words,
and stories they tell.
Donald Winslow
is my fellow producer and co founder of NMNP. Both of us have been
extremely fortunate in our careers and by coincidence were in a
position to devote some time and energy to getting this non profit
started. In his words, its time to help other non profits do a better
job of telling the world who they are, "This is why we founded NMNP.org,
to better help the people and non-profit organizations of the world
who work hard to make life better for those who can't help themselves
when they need help the most, and to help those organization's whose
goal it is to improve our society, our culture, and the environment."
 NMNP will be securing grant money, foundation support,
and other funds to make it possible to fund new media and traditional
story telling profits on behalf of charities in the world. Charities
that need to tell their story and producers and photojournalists
that are looking to tell stories are coming to the group. NMNP will
be the place that helps bring the two together, and find reasonable
budgets to fund quality work.
People who are
able to give their time and talents are donating some of the work
being done. Some of the work is paid work at fair rates. But it's
through the generosity of producers and photojournalists like you
that the real work will be done. Generosity in the form of a donated
print, generosity in the form of bringing a creative mind to a project,
and generosity in the form of taking the time away from vacations
to shoot a project that makes a difference in someone's life.
2001 is my year
of living generously. I hope that by the 2002, we can all look back
at something we've done this year and seen that we have made a difference.
Learn your skills.
Find your passion. Make a difference.
PS: There are
literally hundreds of people who have been instrumental in getting
this rolling. I can't thank each of you here, but if you're reading
this, you know who you are and thank you.
Fritz Nordengren
nordengren@digitalstoryteller.com
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