The Arab American National Museum (AANM) has received a grant from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) for the 2016 cycle of Museums Connect^SM, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State that pairs museums and local communities in the United States and abroad for cross-cultural exchange programs that bring people, especially youth, together.

Beginning in October, AANM will partner with the Palestinian Heritage Museum in Jerusalem for a collaborative project entitled Reel Stories: Empowering Young Women through the Art of Filmmaking, which aims to empower young women by improving their confidence, adding to their accomplishments and encouraging them to document the lives of marginalized girls and young women in both metro Detroit and Jerusalem. This project offers joint programming for a total of 40 young women – 20 in each region – ages 14-17, who lack access to arts instruction and creative experiences. Registration to participate in the program is now available through 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 at http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/reel-stories.

Participants will be introduced to the art of filmmaking, and share their experiences with one another and their counterparts overseas via closed social media outlets, Skype and immersive cultural exchange.  In addition to technical skill-building in film production, sessions will facilitate dialogue on gender and empowerment, identity, culture and civic participation.

The program will culminate in a series of public film screenings at each participating museum. The full collection of student films will screen at AANM in May 2017; the films will also be screened in conjunction with the AANM’s widely attended Arab Film Festival in June 2017.

“This is our second collaboration with Museums Connect^SM and our first program was very successful. Watch Your Waste focused on teaching young people to be environmentally conscious,” says Isra El-beshir, AANM’s Curator of Education and Public Programming. “The theme of this year’s Museums Connect^SMproject is empowerment, focusing on young women and the art of filmmaking. The program aims to empower young women to pursue film as a career option, but also to engage, educate and introduce them to the art of filmmaking.”

Now in its ninth and final year, Museums Connect^SM is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and AAM. As part of the program, AANM received one of six grants involving 12 museum partners for the 2016 cycle of the Museums Connect^SM program, including projects in countries and states new to the program.

The Museums Connect^SM program strengthens connections and cultural understanding between people in the United States and abroad through innovative projects facilitated by museums and executed by their communities. The program’s mission is to build global communities through cross-cultural exchanges while also supporting U.S. foreign policy goals, such as youth empowerment, environmental sustainability and disability rights awareness.

Since its inception, Museums Connect^SM has linked American museums in 30 states and the District of Columbia with partners in 51 countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Honduras, India, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine, among others.

AAM has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 30,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visitwww.aam-us.org.

Reel Stories is a Museums Connect^SM project. Museums Connect^SM is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that is administered by the American Alliance of Museums.

Reel Stories Museums Connect^SM Program

Reel Stories: Empowering Young Women through the Art of Filmmaking

10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays, starting Oct. 15, 2016

Arab American National Museum

13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI 48126

For young women ages 14-17

FREE based on acceptance (spots are limited/competitive)

To participate in the program, register by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3

For program and registration information visit

http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/reel-stories

For more information regarding the Reel Stories collaborative project and Museums Connect^SM visit http://www.aam-us.org/resources/global-partnerships/museumsconnect.

To watch a short video on Museums Connect^SM visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id9LC8jnjc8&rel=0