'Cultural Jambalaya' Brings The Worlds' Cultures To Students
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Gail Shore has traveled the world, and has taken pictures at every stop.
"We live in a world that could do a better job of getting along with one another," Shore said. "The places that I go to today and have been to are a lot of places that people know little about, and in some cases they can't find on a map. That's what makes them interesting."
And she is now the woman behind national award-winning educational videos. Her photos give students an intimate look at life in other countries.
"It starts to ignite a positive conversation in the classroom about culture. And we have to do a better job, I think, of addressing these kinds of issues, and there has never been a time more important than right now," Shore said.
She started the nonprofit Cultural Jambalaya in 2005. Four years later, with the help of friends, she started making videos that feature photos of people, places and things in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
"It shatters stereotypes. You know, we have these opinions and impressions of people that are by and large not true," she said.
Teachers can access the videos online for free. They offer an intimate look into life in unfamiliar places, and can help break down cultural barriers.
Shore says when students look closely, they can see similarities to their own lives.
"We older folks have formed a lot biases when we get to our age, we just do. Younger kids haven't developed those biases yet. They might have some opinions, but they haven't developed the biases yet," she said.
Cultural Jambalaya is holding its annual fundraising event Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley.
The money helps pay for the production of the videos, not travel expenses. WCCO's Angela Davis is the emcee.
Click here if you would like to learn more about this nonprofit or make a donation.
