WQED Launches iQ: smartparent

WQED Announces iQ: smartparent A New Way for Parents to Connect with 21st Century Kids




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 15, 2011

CONTACT:
George Hazimanolis
412-622-1366
ghaziman@wqed.org

WQED Announces iQ: smartparent

A New Way for Parents to Connect with 21st Century Kids

PITTSBURGH – WQED today announced the launch of iQ: smartparent as the newest project of its educational initiative iQ: smartmedia. iQ: smartparent was made possible by a $250,000 signature investment by an anonymous donor.

For a generation of children raised in the digital age and in a time when teachers are being uniquely equipped to help children express themselves through multimedia, what role do parents play? As part of The iQ Network initiative, WQED will launch a companion “university” at WQED for parents, called iQ: smartparent. Over two years, WQED will conduct research and develop eight free in-person workshops that offer parents the best techniques in the ways to empower and protect their kids in the face of today’s omnipresent media environment.

Featuring the region's and nation's best thinkers on children and media, all workshops will air on WQED-TV and be archived online. Handouts, activities, and supporting materials will be provided at each session and also made available online. More than just media literacy for parents, iQ: smartparent will equip parents with new ways to connect with their children – in 21st-century terms – and encourage lifelong learning and critical thinking.

WQED will focus its efforts both on research and outcomes, including conducting core research on the way parents perceive and use media with children. iQ: smartparent workshops will redefine media for a new generation and will engage families in the best ways to consume, create, and curate media. Currently, 44,000 moms watch WQED daily and PBS is the #1 trusted media source for parents.

“A unique niche exists for WQED to define how public media connects on-demand, user-generated social media, creativity, and education," said Jennifer Stancil, Executive Director of Educational Partnerships at WQED.

“WQED is poised to fill this niche while leading the nation’s PBS affiliates in best practices for the use of transformative multimedia and to be a model for serving parents.”

iQ: smartmedia is a six-year comprehensive plan that incorporates research, outreach, creative partnerships, and online engagement. The strategy addresses the need for a strong public media company integrated with Pittsburgh’s technological, creative, and educational assets. iQ: smartmedia allows WQED to create and curate multimedia and corresponding educational opportunities toward a best-practices model for our region, nation, and the world in integration of media and education.

WQED Pittsburgh (www.wqed.org) has a proud history of honors, including 128 National and Mid-Atlantic Emmy® Awards, an Academy Award, and many, many others, including two Emmy® Awards for Station Excellence. WQED was founded in 1954 as the nation’s first community-supported broadcaster. The people of WQED create, produce and distribute quality programs, products and services to engage, inform, educate and entertain the public within their community and around the world. WQED Pittsburgh is one of the first broadcasters in the country to be fully high-definition (HD) in its studio and field production capabilities. It is the parent company of WQED-TV (PBS); WQED: The Neighborhood Channel; WQED: The Create Channel; WQED Showcase; Classical WQED-FM 89.3/Pittsburgh; Classical WQEJ-FM 89.7/Johnstown; local and national television and radio productions; WQED Interactive; and The WQED Education Department.

Hilda Pang Fu Named Dignity and Respect Champion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Melissa Marullo

412.969.2530

412.969.2530

mam@judith-kelly.com

Hilda Pang Fu Recognized as Dignity and Respect Champion for Broadening the Minds of the Community

President and Founder of Luminari Works to Ensure Diverse Creativity in the City

(PITTSBURGH, PA) August 1, 2011– In 2009, Hilda Pang Fu founded the nonprofit organization Luminari to bring a variety of people together and make the region a more prosperous, vibrant, and culturally enriched home to its citizens.

It is right to treat everyone with dignity and respect, but it is also the smart thing to do. The economy is global – we need draw from all of the talents, abilities, and perspectives we have in the region and country regardless of backgrounds, race, sexual orientation, and gender. We can’t afford to not take everyone seriously,” Hilda said.

Nominated by Candi Castleberry-Singleton, chief inclusion and diversity officer, UPMC, Hilda has been chosen as the July Dignity and Respect Champion for her work as the president and founder of Luminari, which was founded to foster activities to broaden minds, inspire innovations, and promote community engagement.

“Hilda Fu’s organization, Luminari, is about changing children’s lives. The innovative I Want to be an Ambassador! camp introduces Pittsburgh students to foreign languages, conflict resolution, and even real foreign service workers during a field trip to Washington, DC!” Candi said.

The seven-day I Want to be an Ambassador! camp is targeted towards rising 8th to 12th grade students with the purpose of bringing their attention to the art and skills of diplomacy and how to apply them immediately to their daily lives.

“With the I Want To Be An Ambassador! camp, Hilda has found an inspiring way to expose students to the art of diplomacy, and to challenge them to become better negotiators by letting them see for themselves that differences are barriers to progress only if we allow them to be,” Candi said.

The camp has proven to inspire, educate, and help the students explore and further their skills.

“One of the purposes of the camp is to inspire our young people to consider different perspectives as they attack an issue. I think this is something we need, but haven’t seen in a while. The participants were excited to be challenged in this way,” Hilda said.

Hilda feels that if everyone treated each other with dignity and respect, the community would be a much more pleasant place to live in.

“It will create more vibrancy to the region. If we lived in a community that only has one set way of doing things, it would be quite boring.”

According to Hilda, treating others with dignity and respect is so obvious that she doesn’t have to give it a thought.

“Dignity and respect are the basis of diplomacy, the foundation of building sustainable working relationships. I think treating others with dignity and respect will help us to not shut the door on different perspectives. Thus, we won’t be missing important ideas and information.”

The Dignity & Respect Campaign is an awareness campaign designed to join individuals, community leaders, community organizations, educational institutions, businesses, and corporations under the common notion that everyone deserves dignity and respect.

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Showcase Noir Exhibition Concludes Pittsburgh JazzLive International

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CONTACT:
Veronica Corpuz
(412) 471-6082
corpuz@pgharts.org

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust hosts

SHOWCASE NOIR

African-American artist and designer exhibition will conclude weekend festivities of Pittsburgh JazzLive International

Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street, Cultural District

Sunday, June 5, 2011, from 12 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

FREE

PITTSBURGH, PA: The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education and Community Engagement Department hosts Showcase Noir, the eighth annual exhibit and sale of artwork by African-American artists and designers, on Sunday, June 5, 2011, from 12 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Byham Theater. This year’s installment of Showcase Noir coincides with the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and the conclusion of the Pittsburgh JazzLive International to showcase, promote and nurture jazz musicians.

Showcase Noir celebrates the works of African American Artists and Designers from the greater Pittsburgh area and beyond. The exhibit showcases paintings, sculptures, photographs, fiber art, jewelry, pottery, and art in various mediums, from some of Pittsburgh’s most talented emerging and established artists. This free event is complemented by live jazz music featuring Alton Merrell Ban and acid jazz and rare funk grooves spun by DJ SMI.

Participating artists in Showcase Noir include: Kyttie Ayiku, Ernest Bey, Cheryl Clayton, Denise P. Clayton, Curtis E. Cureton, Roberta L. Ellis, Joktan J. Faulk, Kendrah Foster, Hope Frasier, Florence Smith, George Hogan, Jeffrey B. Jones, Charlotte Lorraine Ka, LaVerne A. Kemp, Curtis Tina Lockhart, Brenda Marshall, Mary E. Martin, Terry Mitchum, Saihou Njie, Bill Osborne, Tracy L. Smalley, Kenn Thomas and more.

For more information on Showcase Noir please call 412-456-6666. Visit pittsburghjazzlive.com for a detailed schedule of Pittsburgh JazzLive International events.
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