RISE Stronger is thrilled to announce and share with you the first in a series of animated PSAs aimed at educating and engaging the American people on current issues. We have partnered with Our Next 4 Years, a group of award winning animators, to use our policy expertise and their incredible creative talent to make complicated issues easy to understand, and provide you with ways to take action. The first PSA, released today, focuses on the Affordable Care Act in just under a minute and a half. At the end, we direct you to three actions you can take now to help save our healthcare. This is just the first PSA in what we expect to be a great partnership. Please watch the video: https://www.ournext4years.org/videos/psa001 and like us on Facebook: RISE Stronger, Our Next 4 Years.
Over 200 Oscar and Emmy Winning Animators Change the Discussion With Animated Public Service Announcements
Los Angeles, CA, February 16, 2017 - Our Next 4 Years, a new volunteer-run organization comprised of over 200 concerned animation professionals formed in the wake of the election, releases its first animated PSA today. This funny and informative spot -- Share in the Care: Defend the Affordable Care Act -- illustrates the problems with repealing the Affordable Care Act and sets a deliberate, non-partisan -- yet entertaining -- tone for the many PSAs Our Next 4 Years is producing. Future PSAs in production include topics such as immigration, climate change, privacy protection and other constitutional issues.
While not affiliated with any particular company, the group's members have worked at Disney, DreamWorks, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and pretty much every other studio, big and small. The group's members include Oscar, Emmy, Annie and Humanitas award winners and nominees. Eager to use the skills of its members to communicate the concerns of a population both worried and energized by the recent election, Our Next 4 Years is passionate about showcasing outstanding animation with the goal of fostering informed discussion.
While the PSAs will vary in style, the group's approach will be to remain positive, stick with the facts and move people to action. It's a mission that is personal to group co-founder, Mike Blum: "I've never been a particularly political person. In fact, until last fall, the most political thing I'd ever done was vote. But the election really changed my mindset and I realized I needed to do something to help. But it was only after reading an impassioned Facebook post by my animation supervisor, Ramiro Olmos, about the role animation could play in creating change, that I knew I needed to use my organizational and professional skills to counter what I fear could be a rollback of seventy years of progressive gains."
Critical to the mission of Our Next 4 Years is partnering with organizations that can help the group set priorities, focus its messaging, stay current on facts, and work to distribute the PSAs as widely as possible. Currently, the group is affiliated with Action Group Network - brainchild of House of Cards Creator Beau Willimon - a nationwide network of action groups dedicated to moving the country progressively forward in the wake of a divisive election, and RISE Stronger, which engages, educates, and empowers citizens to become active participants in democracy by marrying policy expertise with grassroots energy.
According to RISE Stronger founder and former White House Iraq Director at the National Security Council, Andy Kim, "RISE Stronger's partnership with Our Next 4 Years brings together a wide network of policy experts with talented animators and storytellers to find new ways to educate, inform, and mobilize the American people on pressing issues facing our nation. This is the exact type of innovative and cross-cutting initiative that is needed to foster dialogue and action during this time of political uncertainty and concern. We hope people across this country will watch these videos, share them, and be inspired to act."
About Our Next 4 Years:
Our Next 4 Years is a new organization staffed by over 200 volunteer animation professionals who have banded together to create animated PSAs countering the current administration's regressive agenda. For more information visit: ournext4years.org, Facebook at facebook.com/ournext4years/, Twitter at twitter.com/OurNext4Years and YouTube.
About Rise Stronger:
RISE Stronger engages, educates, and empowers citizens to become active participants in democracy by marrying policy expertise with grassroots energy. RISE aims to create a movement of politically engaged citizens that can ensure the existence of a responsible, transparent, and accountable government that serves the interests of the American people. Visit www.risestronger.org, Facebook at www.facebook.com/risestronger.org and Twitter at www.twitter.com/rise_stronger.
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