the jerusalem project: imagine reconnecting the children of israel chat the planet: background the...

The Jerusalem Project:Imagine Reconnecting the Children of Israel

• Chat the Planet: Background

• The Need: Why Now?

• The Jerusalem Project: Goals

• The Jerusalem Project: Specifics

• How It’s Unique

• Your Opportunity

• Appendix: Phase 1, Phase 2, LOIs

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The Jerusalem Project is a global dialogue and learning series designed to help geographically, culturally and religiously disparate members of the global Jewish community learn more about each other, themselves, and their shared history yielding a community closer-knit and more aware

• Global Youth Dialogue Media• Chat the Planet is world renowned for producing high quality, television and

internet media for the youth market promoting tolerance, awareness, and understanding among young people worldwide

• Seamlessly Incorporates Dialogue Into Documentary Programming• Chat the Planet leverages communication technologies to create an entirely

new genre of reality-based media programming that is entertaining, educational, and very effective in communicating its core message

• Chat the Planet inspires young adults to engage in conversation and interaction that crosses geographical borders

Chat the Planet: Background

Contact: Todd Daniel [email protected]: (212) 375-2620 x227

Chat the Planet Has Global ReachOver the past three years Chat the Planet has aired in 18 countries, reaching 290 million households through television sets and countless other viewers through the web

Domestically

• mtvU (MTV’s channel for universities) airs Chat the Planet short-form interstitials regularly on more than 720 universities and college campuses

• MTV aired “Chat the Planet: Baghdad 2-Way” in October 2004

• Link TV (Direct TV/Echostar) airs the “Chat the Planet” series regularly

Internationally• 14 Arabic nations through the Middle Eastern Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)

• South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)

On The Web• Chat the Planet distributes through leading Internet/Broadband channels, including partnerships with You Tube; Joost; mtvU.com; Salon.com and others

• Last summer, Chat the Planet produced its first television show in Israel

• An interactive video program featuring American Jews and Israelis discussing Jewish identity, the land of Israel, and the conflict

• During the Israel-America discussion, a bigger need became apparent

• A need for a deeper global discussion about Jewish values, culture, and experience

The Jerusalem Project: Roots and Inspiration

http://www.chattheplanet.com/

Mission:

To help geographically, culturally and religiously disparate members of the global Jewish community learn more about each other, themselves, and their shared history yielding a community closer-knit and more aware.

Unlike other conventional learning initiatives, The Jerusalem Project inspires deep and meaningful local conversations by using dynamic media programs featuring highly diverse young Jews from around the world along with uniquely tailored and targeted discussion facilitation tools.

The Jerusalem Project plans to…

• Produce eight thematic video programs on issues of relevance to young Jews around the world ranging from Jewish identity to culture to experience.

• Modernize the traditional approaches to media learning by creating programming that it totally engaging to watch and takes the gag order off young people throwing the rules of what they can and can’t talk about out the window.

• Inspire and provoke future dialogue and personal thought; We expect young people to get involved and pursue further dialogue on their own and we will build tools to harness that excitement.

• Distribute this programming to widely diverse and disparate sectors of the Global Jewish Community

The Jerusalem Project: Mission & Goals

• The interactive video dialogues address the problems facing the global Jewish community

• Dialogues provide a window into the diversity of Jewish life, helping to give young Jews a more realistic, modern view of Jewish identity

• Dialogues help eliminate ignorance between and within Jewish communities globally

• Dialogues provide insight into what unites Jews from all corners of the globe

• The learning materials help group leaders, teachers, and community leaders bridge the gap between the media and the learning experience

• Packages include dialogue leadership tools, guides to the issues discussed, thought-provoking dialogue, games, and more

• Learning materials will be developed by our professionals with more than 20 years experience working with young people at street level in conjunction with experts from across the Jewish education field including TCI, PEJE, CAJE, BJENY, JEC, JESNA and more

• Target distribution for productions includes existing Jewish institutions• BBYO, NFTY, USY, NCSY, Jewish Camps, Hebrew Schools, Hillel, YHCAs, JSU, ICCs, JCC’s,

Day Schools, CLYO, KESHER, WJC, UJC, UJA, AJC, JFMD, Schools in Israel, Young Judea, and more

The Jerusalem Project: How and Why It Works

Project Topics & Rollout

▪ Judaism, What Is It? Blood, Culture or Religion

▪ Politics and Judaism: Are Jews Liberal or Conservative?

▪ Your Judaism: What Kind of Jew Are You ▪ Jews Only: Public vs. Jewish Education

▪ Jewish Mysticism and Kabala: Holy or Hoo-ha ▪ My Favorite Jew: The Importance of Jewish Role Models

▪ Are You a Zionist? ▪ Cheeseburger Anyone? To Be or Not to Be, Kosher

▪ Israeli Policy: Helping or Hurting? ▪ Seinfeld and Mattisyahu: Jewish Influences on Contemporary Culture

▪ Judaism and Sexuality: Can you do that? ▪ Housewife or Prime Minister : The Role of Jewish Women Today

▪ Jewish Art: From Holocaust Art to Woody Allen ▪ 235 Miles to the Nearest Shul: Jews in the Minority

▪ Mix and Match: The Rise of Intermarriage ▪ Jewish Outreach: How Are You Helping

▪ God vs. Gefilte Fish: Beliefs vs. Traditions ▪ Funny, You Don’t Look Jewish: Life as a Minority Jew

▪ New York ▪ Krakow ▪ Stockholm ▪ Sydney

▪ Bombay ▪ Tehran ▪ London ▪ Barcelona

▪ Johannesburg ▪ Casablanca ▪ Santiago ▪ Buenos Aires

▪ Jerusalem ▪ Los Angeles ▪ Barcelona ▪ Safed

▪ Mexico City ▪ Shanghai ▪ Tel Aviv ▪ Auckland

Possible Locations to Feature:

Possible Themes for Media Programs and Learning Materials :

• Engages a youth audience through well-produced entertainment video content and personal stories - formats they are familiar with and respond to

• Appeals to young peoples’ desire to discover worlds outside their own

• Features and leverages conversations between different and disparate parts of the global Jewish community where misunderstandings and disagreements threaten its cohesiveness

• Serves as a powerful tool to help young Jews reengage with the Jewish community by showcasing its depth and breadth, instead of any one community's sometimes constrained interpretation

• Takes a serious sociological and statistical approach to determining which topics, which themes, and which locations to include

• Will be unusually inclusive in the breath of its distribution

• Has a chance to correct the misperceptions and misinformation about Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which restrict debate, inflame prejudices, and engender mistrust among people

• Promotes a global awareness of the diversity within the Jewish community, challenging the stereotypes often seen in contemporary media and showcasing the many faces of Judaism around the world

Unlike other educational projects, The Jerusalem Project…

• The Jerusalem Project is an opportunity to strengthen the Jewish community worldwide creating one that’s closer-knit and much more aware, and to do it in a way that’s never been done before. Play a part in making this groundbreaking initiative a reality. We are working to raise $150,000 in Pre-Production Funding (Phase 1) and an estimated $2,0000,000 in Production Funding (Phase 2) which would support:

• The production of 8 dialogue based video programs connecting 16 locations from around the world covering 8 topics

• The production of associated learning materials for each of the 8 programs. They’ll guide audiences around the world and help them continue the conversations at a local and interpersonal level

• Recruitment and hiring of talented professionals and experts to expand and enhance our existing team

Bonus: The proceeds from sales of the 8 episodes and learning materials will be channeled towards the production of future episodes 9, 10 etc… with the potential for The Jerusalem Project to self-perpetuate. Your support could have effects that last far into the future

Your Opportunity

• Recruitment for each of the planned-for advisory boards (conceptual chart in appendix)

• Sign a letter of endorsement or commitment for The Jerusalem Project (examples in the appendix)

• Connect us with your personal and professional contacts

• Help identify and secure distribution partners and channels

• Donate or help raise $150,000 in Pre-Production funding to advance the project without delay (Phase 1 - see the appendix)

Other Ways to Get Involved


NextNext Entertainment

NextNext Entertainment is a multiple award-winning television production company

based in New York City. Founded by Laurie Meadoff and Kate Hillis, the company's

expertise is translating its knowledge of youth culture into vibrant television and

compelling interactive media. NextNext's productions have aired on ABC, VH1, HBO

Family, The Disney Channel, MTV, Spike TV, mtvU, Nickelodeon, The N, Link TV,

Australian Broadcast Corporation, Middle East Broadcast, and South African

Broadcast Corporation.

In addition to the critically acclaimed ‘Chat The Planet’, NextNext developed and

produces the highly-rated VH1 series ‘I Married . . .’ and has won three Promax

awards for its Black History Month Public Service Announcements which aired on

Nickelodeon and CBS.

NextNext Entertainment Board & Advisors

• Geraldine Laybourne, CEO of Oxygen Media

• Deepak Chopra, Author, Entrepreneur and Spiritual Leader

• Sheryl Leach, Creator of Barney, and Howard Rosenfeld, at the Shei’rah Foundation

• Ray Chambers, Leading Philanthropist and Founder of the Amelior Foundation

• Joe Rutledge, CEO, Blitzen Ventures, Former Vice President of Corporate Communications at NBC

• Jeff Dunn, President Ubiquity Brands, Former Coca-Cola head of North American Operations

• Rick Little, CEO ImagineNations Group, Founder of the International Youth Foundation

• David Beal, National Geographic Music, Former President Palm Pictures

• Omar Amanat, Founder of Tradescape

• Brian Finn, President of Credit Suisse First Boston

• Michael Jackson of Lehman Brothers

• Jud Traphagen, President of Plough Penny Partners

• Vincent Mai, CEO of AEA Investors

• Joel Berman, Former President of Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution

• Herb Scannell, Former President of Nickelodeon Networks


Appendix:

Phase 1:– Goal and Individual Objectives– Concept and Product Planning Expenses

Phase 2:– Goals and Individual Objectives

Planned Advisory Boards and Structure:– Advisory board chart

Letters of Intent and Commitment:– Commitment and comments from the community

Phase 1 – Goal and Individual Objectives

Overall Goal:

To complete the Pre-Production phase of The Jerusalem Project

Finalize Show Themes & LocationsSociological researchFocus group researchPre-Production research on the initial 8 show themesPre-Production research on the initial 8 show locations

Complete Media Pre-Production, Set-Up & SchedulingBased upon locations:Secure International co-production relationshipsDevelop detailed budget for 8 show productions

Develop Curriculum, Test & RefineBased upon focus group & distribution feedback:Design framework for learning curriculumDevelop detailed budget for curriculum developmentTesting of existing dialogue facilitation tools & techniques

Finalize Media Distribution DealsFurther establish distribution relationships (LOI's)Further establish purchasing relationships (LOI's)Predict demandEstablish pricing metricsDetermine functional specifications for website

Project DevelopmentCreate a detailed operational plan for Phase 2Recruitment of phase 2 staffing

Fundraising Raise capital or non-profit funding

Phase 1: Concept and Product Planning ExpensesEXPENSES 143,273$

Department Totals Mo 1 Mo 2 Mo 3 Mo 4 Mo 5 TotalStaffing - 6 contributing team members 17,367$ 23,695$ 24,790$ 26,067$ 23,330$ 115,248$ Development 5,200$ 5,200$ 5,100$ 4,100$ 4,100$ 23,700$ General & Administrative 1,065$ 815$ 815$ 815$ 815$ 4,325$ Total Expenses 23,632$ 29,710$ 30,705$ 30,982$ 28,245$ 143,273$

Expenses by Department

StaffingSalaries 16,367$ 22,695$ 23,790$ 25,067$ 22,330$ 110,248$ Consulting 1,000$ 1,000$ 1,000$ 1,000$ 1,000$ 5,000$

Total Staffing 17,367$ 23,695$ 24,790$ 26,067$ 23,330$ 115,248$

DevelopmentOnline Survey Tools 100$ 100$ -$ -$ -$ 200$ Focus Group Sessions 1,000$ 1,000$ 1,000$ -$ -$ 3,000$ Meals 300$ 300$ 300$ 300$ 300$ 1,500$ Travel & Related Expenses 3,000$ 3,000$ 3,000$ 3,000$ 3,000$ 15,000$ Conferences and Memberships 800$ 800$ 800$ 800$ 800$ 4,000$

Total Development 5,200$ 5,200$ 5,100$ 4,100$ 4,100$ 23,700$

General & AdministrativeOccupancy & Administrative1 -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ -$ Gifts 50$ 50$ 50$ 50$ 50$ 250$ Subscriptions 15$ 15$ 15$ 15$ 15$ 75$ Overseas Telephone 150$ 150$ 150$ 150$ 150$ 750$ Overseas Shipping 600$ 600$ 600$ 600$ 600$ 3,000$ Recruiting 250$ -$ -$ -$ -$ 250$

Total General & Administrative 1,065$ 815$ 815$ 815$ 815$ 4,325$

1 included in Staffing Internal Billing Rates

Phase 2 – Goals and Individual Objectives

Overall Goal:The Jerusalem Project: Production, Distribution, and Reporting

Marketing, Branding and Public RelationsDevelop brand Image and associated materialsCurrent customer/community outreachFuture and secondary customer opportunity developmentPR efforts to leverage research findings exposurePR efforts to find and maximize regular secondary exposure

Show ProductionsCasting processesCasting workshopsProduce episodes 1-8Postproduction and editing operations

Curriculum ImplementationFinalize options for learning materialsCreate materialsDialogue facilitation training programs and opportunitiesTest curriculum & incorporate feedback Set-up customer support function

DistributionDeliver media product and curriculumMonitor customer satisfactionMonitor pricing metricsCreate a detailed business plan for Phase 3Hire full staffEstablish warehousing and shipping operationDesign packaging

WebsiteBuild an interactive web-based capabilityOnline community development and user support

Continuing Sociological ResearchQualitative research monitoringFocus group research monitoringCompilation of regular research reports on findingsMonitoring initiative impact and effectiveness


Board of GovernorsThis board will be comprised of the main financial

supporters of the project as well assenior leaders in the Jewish community

Young Leadership BoardThis board will comprise the next generation of leaders and innovators in the Jewish community ensuring the project stays cutting-edge

Board of Distribution AdvisorsThis board will be comprised of representative from the distribution organizations who are utilizing the project to facilitate direct input and feedback on its use and effectiveness

Board of Sociological AdvisorsThis board will serve to advise the sociological and pre-production process, the collection and processing of the qualitative and quantitative data and the quality of the reporting on the collected information

Board of Better Learning AdvisorsThis board will be comprised of members who specialize in Jewish Learning. Representing a wide range of individuals from existing Jewish education focused organizations and or extensive personal expertise, this board will monitor and advise on The Jerusalem Project learning materials

Planned Advisory Boards and Structure

Letters of Intent and Commitment

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