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Volunteering with Refyoume wins in the 'Human rights and equality category' at the Big Syn Film Fest - the world's biggest sustainability film festival.
London, UK – November 12, 2024 – “Volunteering with Refyoume” from RefYouMe, directed by Carl Shanahan, was declared a Winner in the 'Human rights and equality' category at the 2024 Big Syn International Film Festival Awards on Friday 8th Nov, in a gala awards ceremony at Curzon Soho in London.
The Big Syn International Film Festival is the world’s biggest sustainability film festival, reaching over 50 million in 120 countries, inspiring them to act on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and make positive changes for the environment, society and economy.
A Grand Jury comprised of OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY award-winners and leaders from the sustainability, business, media and policy such as Roberta Boscolo (WMO, Climate and Energy Lead, United Nations), Baroness Bennett (House of Lords), Prof. Ioannis Ioannou (London Business School's Sustainability Guru), Christine Choi (Professor, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University), Peggy Rajski (Oscar-winning filmmaker), Elena Andreicheva (OSCAR and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker), Martina Amati (BAFTA award-winning filmmaker), Steve Smith (BAFTA award-winning Director), and Alex Lockwood (BAFTA award-winning filmmaker), selected the winners of the 2024 Big Syn International Film Festival from over 500 films and over 300 charity films received from over 120 countries.
The winners will be publicly announced on Europe's biggest screen, London's iconic Piccadilly Lights on 14th Nov to the roaring support and cheers of scores of onlookers, filmmakers and their supporters.
The founders of the festival, Dr Ragini G Roy and Dr Sourav Roy remarked, "It is humbling to see how the festival has evolved to become a global movement and we as advocates of sustainability, call upon global citizens to be inspired from these films of change and hope, to combat major issues such climate change, inequality, discrimination, poverty and many more, to secure their very own future and those of their loved ones."
The organiser of the festival, Big Syn Institute, is a part of the Centre for Big Synergy, a CSO of the United Nations Department of the Social and Economic Affairs (UN DESA), tasked to create a thriving, capable and responsible future for us and generations to come.
RefYouMe Co-Founder, Emma Naysmith, reacted to the news by saying:
"We know there are so many of you who want to help displaced people and there are so many of you who want to volunteer but dont know how - this is why RefYouMe exists. We are breaking down barriers to volunteering.
Our growing number of volunteers travel with us to Northern France. We introduce them to our amazing charity partners and we offer to help out. Just a few days with us and you conclude how easy it is to volunteer - who to help and where to stay.
We are so pleased to accept this award on behalf of all volunteers and NGOs supporting displaced families surviving on our borders. Thank you to Carl Shanahan and Q content for creating and gifting us this film."
About the Big Syn International Film Festival.
Big Syn International Film Festival is organised by Big Syn Institute, a part of Centre for Big Synergy, a Civil Society Organisation of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
Since 2019, the festival has reached over 50 million in 120 countries to create public awareness about sustainability and the United Nations Global Goals or Sustainable Development Goals, using the power of meaningful cinema.
The festival has been led by celebrated sustainability leaders and OSCAR, BAFTA and EMMY winning celebrities such as Gurinder Chadha, OBE (Bend It Like Beckham), Amma Asante, MBE (Belle), OSCAR winner Kevin Willmott (Blackkklansman), Anna Smith (BBC, SKY), Jemima Khan, Baroness Prashar (House of Lords), President Obama’s US Ambassador (Rtd) Howard Gutman, BBC Dragons’ Den green investor Deborah Meaden, BT Group’s Head of environmental sustainability, Gabrielle Giner; Founder of Freegle, Cat Fletcher; Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility guru from London Business School, Prof. Ioannis Ioannou; OSCAR winner Chris Tashima; BAFTA and Cannes award winning filmmaker, Waad Alkateab, and Tom Szaky (Founder Terracycle), to name a few.
Through the films and dialogue, millions of viewers are getting inspired to do more in their own lives because they see the big-picture and how all our lives are interconnected in this modern world. All films touch upon or cover one or more major issues faced by the planet and the people; around social, economic or environmental sustainability such as climate change, climate action, gender inequality, hunger and poverty, discrimination, education, mental health, disability, LGBTQIA+ and many more. The festival screens features, shorts, animations, documentaries, public service announcement, charity films, social media and music videos from independent filmmakers and established production houses, across the globe. Winners are screened in London and worldwide. OSCAR and BAFTA winning films have screened at the festival and vice-versa.
If you can spare a weekend and the cost of the trip then we will organise everything else to get you to Calais, so you can see for yourself the importance of direct support and giving and the difference you can make.
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