Creative Visions Foundation's Kathy Eldon with singer/songwriter Aloe Blacc at the 2014 Turn On LA Awards. Photo courtesy of
LuminaryDaily.comVia
Vanichi NowOn the warm Santa Monica evening of October 2, 2014,
Creative Visions Foundation, or CVF, decided to Turn On LA with their second gala to honor pioneering creative activists.
Inspired by the life of Reuters photojournalist Dan Eldon who was stoned to death in 1993 while on assignment in Somalia, CVF supports creative activists around the world. If you're wondering what a creative activist is exactly, it boils down to any individual who utilizes media and the arts to tell stories that need to be told about problems that need to be solved in the modern world. Creative Visions focuses on five critical areas: human rights, women’s empowerment, youth and education, health and the environment.
Founded by Kathy Eldon and her daughter Amy Eldon Turtletaub, CVF supports 50-70 projects around the world at any given moment. The foundation's Turn On LA Awards brought out a beautiful crowd of influencers from entertainment industry leaders to students energized for global change. The award's honorees included: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, recipient of the Dan Eldon Courage in Journalism Award, director Sanjay Rawal, recipient of the Dan Eldon Creative Activist Award, documentarians Chris Temple and Zach Ingraci, recipients of the Dan Eldon Creative Activist Award, director, producer and fine art photographer Lekha Singh, recipient of the Dan Eldon Catalyst Award and education activist Malala Yousafzai, recipient of the Dan Eldon Young Creative Activist Award. Attendees also enjoyed a spoken word performance by poet/philosopher In-Q and music by Aloe Blacc who performed his hit songs, “I Need a Dollar,” “Wake Me Up,” and “The Man.”
Here are 5 amazing moments that came out of Turn On LA:
MORGAN FREEMAN EXPOSED HIMSELF... FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING
The night opened with a video welcome by Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, during which the veteran actor declared, “I am Morgan Freeman and I am a creative activist.” The Academy Award-winner has never hesitated to be vocal and involved in everything from environmental issues and alternative fuels to politics and human rights.
GLOBAL POVERTY GOT PUT INTO PERSPECTIVEIn many nations we continue to see a wide gap – even a widening gap – between wealth and poverty, making it increasingly impossible for many people to even attain their basic human needs to survive.
Documentarians Chris Temple and Zach Ingraci used immersive storytelling to create their documentary “Living on One Dollar” in which the two joined the 1.1 billion people in the world who live on $1 or less a day. The journey is undeniably real and exposes not only the hardships of those enduring extreme financial inequity but also explores the problems of poverty on a larger societal level.
In all, The World Bank estimates that 2.4 billion people are living on less than $2 a day. To help lives get better quicker, the duo has since raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for sustainable poverty alleviation and awareness programs.
MALALA URGED EVERYONE TO GET UP AND STAND UPKnowing first hand the danger many face when they fight for education, youth and education activist Malala Yousafzai accepted her award via a pre-recorded video. She described the epiphany she had when she realized she should start her anonymous blog in 2009. She also spoke of Boko Haram's atrocities and the parents of the young girls kidnapped, raped and abused by the terrorists, stating that these parents simply “want education for their daughters.” Malala urged that when you suffer and witness injustice, make haste, “Stand up for your rights. Don't wait for someone else to do it... Do it together.”
