VIDEO: Liam Neeson Launches New Educational Fundraising Campaign

Related: Journeys in Film, Liam Neeson

Today Journeys in Film, in partnership with acclaimed actor and Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson, launches a new fundraising endeavor to educate American students about the world and its rich, diverse cultures. Below, watch Liam Neeson, a driving spirit behind Journeys in Film, speak about his belief in this program, the knowledge gap among U.S. students, the urgent needs in our schools and the simple but powerful idea behind JiF.

Journeys in Film (JiF) combines the power of foreign films with high-quality standards-based lesson plans, provided to teachers for free, in order to inspire and engage students in global learning. To date, more than 800,000 students worldwide have been taught with JiF. In addition to the free film-based lesson plans, JiF offers teacher training and support.

Liam Neeson has served as Founding Spokesperson for Journeys in Film since the organization began in 2002.

Why Liam Neeson Supports Journeys in Film:

"Because I believe learning about our world is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.
It is vitally important for us to educate the next generation with an increased awareness and appreciation of people who are different from us. Journeys in Film is such a simple idea with profound effects. I think we can all remember the films that we identified with as children, and that made an impact on our lives. It's time to pay attention to the fact that we are teaching to the most visually literate generation in history."

Fundraising Campaign:

For every $25,000 raised, Journeys in Film can add a new country and film to its curricula offerings, which currently include lesson plans for films from China, India, Iran, Tibet, South Korea, Maori culture and South Africa. Our next education targets are Latin American countries and conflict regions in the Middle East.

Please donate today to help Journeys in Film reach even more students and schools.

"You get your kids ready for school; Journeys in Film gets them ready for the world!" -- Liam Neeson

Journeys in Film is a project of the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center. To learn more about Journeys in Film, please visit www.journeysinfilm.org.