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Looking back at 2015 I’m amazed at everything we were able to accomplish together. From groundbreaking research into emotional health to critical conversations about wellbeing, we continued to make the world a kinder and braver place. Here’s a look at 10 of my favorite moments from 2015:
10. We launched this blog!
While we’ve been sharing our thoughts – and hearing yours – on Twitter, Facebook, and Little Monsters for a while, we wanted to build a place for us to share our more in-depth thoughts on making the world a braver place. And we love sharing our ideas, research, and hopes and dreams for the future here.
9. We partnered with Tony Bennett’s foundation, Exploring The Arts.
We understand that we can’t do this work alone, and that’s why this year we grew our relationships with those who shared our goals, like Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto. Alongside the Exploring the Arts foundation, we highlighted the work of exceptional local youth-oriented non-profits at Cheek to Cheek tour stops across the country.
8. We celebrated great progress in making the United States a more equal place.
When the Supreme Court ruled to uphold gay marriage, we joined you all in celebrating. Although there’s a lot more work that needs to happen to make this a kinder, braver world – we were so excited to see this progress.
7. We heard from Dr. Sue about being brave when it comes to taking care of your mental health.
We’ve been lucky to have the wonderful Dr. Sue Swearer share her thoughts on our blog all year long, but in September (National Suicide Prevention Month), she shared some helpful tips for how to protect your mental health.
6. We shared Emma’s story.
Our friend Emma has an inspiring story, and she reminds us every day that we all have something to live for – and that it really does get better.
5. We welcomed a new advisory board.
In 2015, Born This Way Foundation welcomed its 2nd Youth Advisory Board. These nine diverse young people come from around the country, representing a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. They are essential to guiding our mission and our strategy.
4. We saw you start a new school year.
This year we spent a lot of time working to support strategies to make your life better while you’re at school. So at the start of the new year, we shared 5 tips for making your schools a kinder, braver, space.
3. We had an important conversation on ending assault.
When my daughter, and Born This Way Foundation co-founder, released the song ‘Til It Happens To You, we joined the very important and ongoing conversation on ending campus sexual assault.
2. We had an amazing Emotion Revolution Summit.
In October, I had the chance to meet hundreds of you as you joined us in Connecticut for the Emotion Revolution Summit. The conversations and friendships we formed there were so meaningful and inspiring.
1. We heard from you.
Whether it was through sharing your feelings through the #IAmNotJust hashtag or sharing your story with us, you showed us that emotions matter – you made this year special.
From the bottom of my heart I want to THANK YOU for making 2015 so special. I can’t wait to grow more with you next year.
Cynthia
This post first appeared on the Huff Post Impact blog.
Co-authored by Marc Brackett, Ph.D, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
On a Saturday in late October, the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and Born This Way Foundation had the immense pleasure of welcoming almost 200 high school students to the Yale University campus for the Emotion Revolution Summit.
The Emotion Revolution was launched on the basic belief – supported by a growing body of scientific research – that emotions are fundamental to a young person’s decision making, academic achievement, and overall well-being. It was also grounded in a commitment to make young people a part of the conversation about how to better integrate tools and tactics to support emotional wellness into their schools and communities.
That’s why – before the Summit began – we conducted an unprecedented online survey of teens nationwide. Drawing responses from approximately 22,000 high schoolers, we collected data on how young people currently feel and how they want to feel in school, and the possible reasons for these emotions. This research is straightforward but crucial to strengthening our understanding of current school climates and the factors that affect those environments.
The results were clear. When asked how they currently feel in school, approximately 75% of the words the students used were negative. Just 23% were positive. Furthermore, the top three emotions the students reported were tired (used by 39% of the respondents), stressed (29%), and bored (26%). In contrast, the top three emotions students said they want to feel in school are happy, excited, and energized.
We also asked the students about their experiences in school, revealing several notable correlations. For instance, students who said their peers had been mean or cruel to them were more likely to feel negative emotions such as loneliness, fear, and hopelessness. Meanwhile, respondents who said that what they were learning is relevant and meaningful were more likely to feel positive emotions such as interest, respect, and happiness. Similarly, students who reported that their teachers delivered engaging lessons experienced less boredom and greater respect and happiness.
These results clearly demonstrate the need to close the gap between what students are currently feeling in school and how they want to be feeling. We must start by empowering the young people themselves by giving them tangible support, practical tools and tactics, and a voice in the conversation.
The Emotion Revolution Summit was a first step in that process, bringing together young people with teachers and education leaders such as Yale University President Dr. Peter Salovey and New York City Department of Education Chancellor Carmen Fariña, passionate speakers including journalist Soledad O’Brien, Life is Good Co-Founder Bert Jacobs, and poet Azure Antoinette, and advocates like Lady Gaga.
At the Summit, our partner Facebook unveiled InspirED, a set of online resources for teachers and teens focused on building emotional intelligence in schools. It aims to connect high school students and educators across the country with tools and inspiration in social and emotional learning, so they can work together to create more positive learning environments and lead healthier, more fulfilled lives.
The day was also an opportunity to hear from students directly. We were blown away by their bravery in sharing their stories and honesty in discussing the role emotions play in their lives. Here are just a few of their reflections we think are worth remembering:
1. If you are struggling with anxiety, depression, self-doubt, or other negative emotions, it is difficult to be a positive force for change in the world. So before you can help anyone else, you need to be able to help yourself.
2. Regardless of background and personal history, everyone struggles at times with their emotions. Speaking up honestly about those experiences can helps the person doing the sharing but it can also serve as a comfort and inspiration to others navigating their own obstacles.
3. Risking judgement for expressing emotions is far outweighed by the dangers of concealing emotions. Don’t keep everything bottled inside – and be supportive of others who are brave enough to speak up.
4. In order for real change to take place, conversations like this need to have everyone involved – from students and parents to educators and policy makers. Everyone needs to be able to voice their opinions freely so that we can work together to come up with meaningful solutions.
5. Talking about emotional wellness is crucial, but real change will take empowering young people with practical tools and real change. Whether it’s changing policies that affect school climate or online resources like InspirED, building kinder and braver schools will take more than just words.
The Emotion Revolution Summit was the beginning of an important conversation. Now it’s time for everyone to take the lessons from that day and start a dialogue in their own communities. As organization leaders, educators, and parents, we need to give young people – and the adults in their lives – the support they need to create environments where emotions matter.
The Emotion Revolution Summit was hosted in partnership with Facebook and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and was made possible by the generous support of Microsoft, Mattel, Monster High, Life is Good, HopeLab, WWE, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Flawless Foundation, and The Faas Foundation.
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Cynthia Germanotta is the co-founder and president of Born This Way Foundation, which she founded with her daughter, Lady Gaga, to “empower youth” and “inspire bravery.”
Marc Brackett, Ph.D. is Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and is on the research advisory board of Born This Way Foundation. He is also a senior research scientist in psychology and faculty fellow in the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. He co-created RULER, and evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning.
A message from Cynthia:
Tomorrow, nearly 200 youth from around the country will converge on Yale University’s campus for the Emotion Revolution Summit to discuss how to make schools and communities into places where all young people are supported and equipped with the tools they need to flourish. I’m so proud of these young leaders for their bravery in joining such an important conversation, but the truth is they can’t do it alone. Unfortunately, our laws still fail to defend some individuals against the discrimination they face just for being who they are. As long as these protections continue to fall short, the young people left out will never be able to thrive.
That is why I was so honored to attend last night’s Empire State Pride Agenda’s Fall Dinner to introduce Governor Andrew Cuomo. Not only was it a wonderful celebration for an organization that has done so much for the LGBT community, it was a historic night as the Governor announced that transgender New Yorkers will finally be protected from discrimination. My daughter would have loved to be there on such an important occasion, but since she wasn’t able to be there in person, she wanted to share a brief message of support:
The LGBT community has made incredible strides in the fight for equality over the past few years – but there is still so much more to be done, especially for the transgender community. Every day, transgender people are faced with bullying, harassment and discriminatory policies just for being honest about who they are. It’s time for that to change.
By taking action to ban discrimination and harassment against transgender people, Governor Cuomo is helping to make that change a reality. Standing up for the trans community will take more than just promises. It will take all of us – elected officials and advocates, transgender people and allies – changing laws, reforming policies, and transforming our culture.
Tolerance and acceptance make every community stronger. Young people understand that and so should our politicians. It’s time that all transgender people are welcomed and protected. It’s time lawmakers nationwide follow Governor Cuomo’s example and make our country a kinder and braver place for everyone.
Lady Gaga
This post first appeared on the Huff Post Impact blog.
Co-authored by Susan Benedetto, Co-Founder of Exploring the Arts
As the co-founders of two organizations dedicated to helping young people, we have had the pleasure of working with like-minded partners throughout the country. This has allowed us a view into the tremendous efforts of nonprofits of all types and shown us that good work truly comes in all sizes. While national, big-name groups can have a tremendous reach, organizations that provide programming and resources on the ground – no matter how small – are a vital component of the nonprofit ecosystem.
Born This Way Foundation and Exploring the Arts understand the importance of meeting youth where they are. Born This Way Foundation has engaged with thousands of young people around the country through initiatives such as the Born Brave Bus Tour, which connected teens with resources and services in their areas. Exploring the Arts addresses the staggering reductions in arts education in our nation’s schools by working collaboratively with high need public high schools to restore and create rigorous and sustainable arts programs that impact over 16,000 students annually.
This shared commitment to interacting directly with young people inspired us to use the Cheek to Cheek tour – headlined by our co-founders, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga – as a way to shine a light on like-minded groups throughout the country. We felt it was important to acknowledge these nonprofits who work tirelessly and with such heart to uplift our young people.
In cities throughout the country, we featured organizations who demonstrated excellence in empowering youth to become compassionate, creative, and bold. And although the tour has come to a close, the local organizations highlighted along the way continue to invest in the young people they are dedicated to supporting.
Take, for example, the Los Angeles-based groups Venice Arts – which offers high-impact arts education for low-income youth – and TEEN LINE which provides a confidential teen-to-teen hotline that receives more than 10,000 calls, texts and emails each year. In the Bay Area, the Community Youth Center offers sports programs that coach more than 1,800 youth and academic tutoring centers that help over 200 kids daily, from all over the community and every walk of life.
Green Star Movement, a nonprofit in Chicago, has worked with more than 5,000 youth to transform over 50 public spaces, including schools, parks, and community centers, with beautiful murals. Houston’s Kids in a New Groove provides private music lessons and instruments to children in the Texas foster care system, seeking to change the grim statistics on youth aging out of foster care, while Workshop Houstonhas provided hands-on creative learning resources for under-served youth for over a decade. CHRIS Kids, an organization in Atlanta, offers behavioral health services and support systems for children, youth, and families to help them overcome trauma and increase self-sufficiency.
Finally, in New York, we partnered with four organizations that do great work throughout the five boroughs. Eye to Eye – which also has chapters throughout the U.S. – is the only national mentoring movement that pairs kids labeled as “learning disabled” or with ADHD diagnoses with similarly labeled college students as mentors with an art-based curriculum. Little Kids Rock partners with school districts to train educators to teach popular music and provides new instruments to students in public schools. Girl Be Heard provides a safe space for girls to write, direct, and perform theater productions under the guidance of professional directors, playwrights, actors, activists and intellectuals. Scenarios USA sponsors a youth writing contest where winning stories are translated into powerful short films.
We believe in the power of bravery, creativity, and self-expression to empower young people and are honored to have worked with groups that are promoting these values locally. During the past four months, we have been inspired by the power of local organizations to fulfill this mission. Each Cheek to Cheek tour date was an opportunity to highlight a group that is doing excellent work in neighborhoods around the country.
While large national and international organizations often dominate press coverage, it is important to remember the work that smaller organizations are uniquely equipped to accomplish – tackling the distinct issues that affect local geographies. It is such groups that are able to reach specific audiences that require special attention in order to achieve real change. Working together, we can help ensure these organizations – and in turn the young people they serve – receive the recognition and resources needed to keep going.
Cynthia Germanotta is the co-founder and president of Born This Way Foundation, which she founded with her daughter, Lady Gaga, to “empower youth” and “inspire bravery.”
Susan Benedetto is the co-founder and Board President of Exploring the Arts, an organization she founded with her husband Tony Bennett. A certified and licensed New York state teacher, she began her Social Studies teaching career at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts, a prestigious public high school in Manhattan. Susan next worked as a Social Studies Teacher and then as Assistant Principal at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school in Astoria, Queens that she co-founded with her husband. Before entering the field of education, Susan was the owner of Creative Artists Management in New York, where she advised artists in the management of their careers, along with coordinating publicity, bookings and recording projects.