The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that produces the Golden Globes, will co-sponsor a series of events with the World Bank to promote the growth of educational entertainment programming.
Called “Global Forums,” these events will feature panels of HFPA and World Bank spokespeople and entertainment representatives discussing the importance of educational programming including issues of poverty, gender inequality and climate change. The forums will utilize United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to discuss issues.
“This partnership seeks to connect Hollywood with the global development community by developing new creative programming with the goal of helping to promote important sustainability goals, which improve the lives of millions of people struggling with healthcare, environmental and other challenges,” Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, said in a statement. “The power of the Golden Globes brand internationally over the past 80 years gives us the unique ability to reach audiences and governments interested in harnessing the power of edutainment.”
These forums are part of World Bank’s “edutainment program,” which focuses on partnering with researchers, development partitioners and media firms to promote innovations in educational entertainment in developing countries.
“High-quality edutainment can positively reshape attitudes and behaviors of millions, from empowering girls to preventing gender-based violence, COVID-19 and HIV. However, its potential remains largely untapped,” said Victor Orozco, World Bank senior economist and “edutainment research” program head. “This series of Forums aims to help catalyze more interest and investment in this sector in the entertainment industry, building on HFPA’s strong commitment to the SDGs and global presence.”
The first HFPA-World Bank global forum will occur on July 27 from 2-4 p.m. PT, and will be publicly and globally available to watch via Zoom. In addition to HFPA and the World Bank, creative advisor Michael Carbajal will help lead the global forums.