February 2023 Newsletter
With the 2023 EMA IMPACT Summit, Presented by Toyota Motor North America, only a week away, we wanted to highlight one of our incredible speakers. EMA Activist Board Member Maya Penn is the perfect example of an activist who utilizes media to inspire climate action. The award-winning founder and CEO of eco-fashion brand Maya's Ideas, keynote speaker, sustainability consultant, three-time TED Speaker, artist, global activist, animator, filmmaker, social entrepreneur, coder, and Simon & Schuster author (we could go on), will speak with Kaylon Hunt, VP of Development & Productions, JuVee Productions, about their upcoming Animated Short 'Asali'.
See Maya and Kaylon speak at IMPACT on March 15th!
1.) How did you come into the sustainability space? Did you always see storytelling as part of your journey?
I started as a youth environmental activist in 2008 when I was 8. At that age, I founded my sustainable fashion line, Maya's Ideas. Soon I started my nonprofit Maya's Ideas 4 The Planet in 2011, and I had given 3 TEDTalks featuring my animation on sustainability by the time I was 13 years old. I made history at 16 when the Obama administration commissioned me to create an animated film for the opening of the first-ever digital report presented to the US Congress, which was to get an American museum of Women's History built in Washington. This project was a moment for me that reconfirmed the idea that animation and storytelling can be a tool for real-world change. I'm currently 23 and have been in the space for 15 years now, and as someone who's spoken at schools around the world, written books that educators use as curriculum, and used mediums like art, animation, and eco-fashion to educate and empower people – the power of storytelling has always been a hugely important element of my voice as an activist.
2.) You've succeeded tremendously with your purpose-driven animation studio Upenndo! What would you say is the advantage of telling environmental stories through animation?
Environmental issues are multi-layered and complex. Even though I've been in this space for 15 years, I have never lost sight of how daunting and overwhelming it can be for so many people who are new to the conversation, especially now with the climate crisis front and center. No medium is more engaging and universal for tackling complex subjects than animation. It's perfect for creating more accessibility to these topics for all people. A level of creative freedom and abstraction can help great writing and subject matter shine even brighter.
3.) Why is it so crucial for BIPOC filmmakers to be involved in storytelling about climate change?
Black, brown, and indigenous communities across the global south and global north are most adversely impacted by environmental issues, including climate change. However, many of these communities have protected our people, animals, ecosystems, and planet. There is a lot of lived experience and unique perspectives that must be centered and uplifted in the movement on a larger scale, and film is a powerful way to do just that.
