What a week! It was such a pleasure to see so many of you in Chicago for NAMLE 2017. I am in awe of the work our members and partners are doing. It is an honor to know you and call you friends and colleagues. As you might imagine, I'm a little bit tired. House Speaker Paul Ryan was indeed correct when he said "doing big things is hard." This conference was a big thing. It was hard to do but so very worth it. Thank you for what you contributed - whether it was as a presenter, a moderator, a volunteer, or an attendee. Thank you for being there and for being a part of this inspirational and important media literacy community. 

I've been reflecting quite a bit on the few days in Chicago. There were so many moments that inspired me professionally and personally.   As a parent of a 12 and 15 year old, I am often struck with how much my work influences my parenting and how much my parenting influences my work. I want to share some words from our conference chair Tony Streit's opening statement that really stuck out to me.
"I don't need to tell you that these are challenging times to be a parent.  And while my wife and I will do everything we can to train our boys to critique and decode the tidal wave of content coming their way in the next dozen or so years before they head out on their own, it won't be enough. We need our schools to join us in fully educating our boys, both in reading and math and science and in the ways of media and technology.  We need industry to demonstrate a commitment to ethical practices and innovations that better the lives of all.  We need our government to set policies that prevent deception and abuse.  We need a nation embracing and advancing media literacy so that all of us have the education and knowledge we need to fully participate as citizens."

I couldn't agree with him more. Thank you for being a part of this movement.  I look forward to what we do next. 

In the meantime, enjoy a few pictures below from the conference. 

Have a great 4th of July! 
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin's signature Michelle Ciulla Lipkin
Executive Director  [email protected] @ciullalipkin @medialiteracyed
 


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