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CELEBRATE THE BEAUTY OF CHARACTER NOW

CHARACTER DAY

Who are you? Who do you want to be? Who do you value? Character defines your answers. It is the most beautiful part of what makes us human. Today, September 18, 2015, we are celebrating the 2nd annual Character Day.

Conceived and established last year, by award-winning filmmaker Tiffany Shlain, Character Day launched globally, with over 1,500 schools and organizations, including US embassies, centered around Shlain’s film, The Science of Character.

“Your character strengths are like super powers... and focusing your attention on them makes them stronger,” Shlain explains.

The film presented 24 character strengths, such as Gratitude, Perseverance, and Love of Learning, as identified and defined by scientist Martin Seligman and the VIA Institute for Character.

The Science of Character, is one of a series of Cloud Films, produced by Shlain’s non profit film company, Let It Ripple: Mobile Films for Global Change, which invites people from all over the world, both professional and amateur, to send in short videos which will be woven together to create collaborative story.

This year, for Character Day, over 4,500 participating groups signed up, with the premier of two new Let It Ripple Cloud Films, The Adaptable Mind and The Making of a Mensch, at the center of focus.

The Adaptable Mind explores new research on the skills we need to flourish in the 21st Century, such as the “Appreciation of Beauty.”

Shlain began by conducting Global Cloud Filmmaking workshops in Egypt and Lebanon, in which people learned how to create their short film clips. These were then gathered and edited together to make the 8-minute Cloud Film.

The Making of a Mensch takes the science explored in The Science of Character and reframes it through the lens of the ancient Mussar, a Jewish ethical movement which promotes character development, with teachings that date back to the 10th century that are still applicable today.

The query for the collaborative filmmakers: "What's your definition of a mensch?"

Regardless of definition, character is a result of growth. And growth is stimulated by both internal and external forces.

“A Growth Mindset is something that can be practiced and encouraged by reinforcement from people around us.”

Character Day is intentionally scheduled during the Jewish High Holidays, a period of reflection on personal identity and character. Rabbis and educators around the country are already incorporating Character Day and The Making of a Mensch into their High Holidays plans.

This year, for Character Day, people in more than 3,000 cities, in over 120 countries, are engaging in learning and conversation about the makings of character and how character can be strengthened. Participation is simple and free, thanks to support from foundations, such as PBS Learning Media, NBC News Education Nation, and the JCC Association of North America.

Experts in character education from Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, and more, will lead conversations on a virtual global Q&A.

“There are seven billion of us on the planet - and each one of us has a unique character.”

Check out the Let It Ripple: Mobile Films for Global Change site, where you will find discussion materials, an in-depth research hub, and a robust global conversation, which you can join, around "character" from different perspectives -- science, education, philosophy, and more.

And, if you are in the San Francisco Bay area, check out the special live premiere screening at The SFJCC Arts & Ideas tonight, (09.18.15) at 7:30pm, where Shlain will be interviewed.

Learn more about the Science of Character in our Nature Science BN Daily Fix: Character Could Be Our Most Beautiful Element Yet.

Read more about Beautiful Character, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including The Beauty of Character Now, Character Could be Our Most Beautiful Element Yet… , The Beautiful Character of Gin Now and Art & the Character of Neighborhoods. And be sure to check out Character Day on 09.18.15. #CharacterDay.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

Image: by Aaron Bauer. Rime 2.
Image: by José María Pérez Nuñez. SuperHero.
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. Gratitude. Character Day.
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. Character Day.
Image: Courtesy of The Moxie Institute. The Adaptable Mind.
Image: by Michael Matti. Wahclella Falls in the Columbia River Gorge View from Above.
Image: Courtesy of The Moxie Institute. Tiffany Shlain, Founder of The Moxie Institute.
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. The Making of a Mensch.
Image: by Ashley Jordan Gordon. Facing Yugen... Perseid Meteor Shower | Mt Tamalpais, Northern California.
Image: by Haphazard Traveler. Reflections.... Straight ahead, Antarctica.
Image: by Stu Rosner. Courtesy of Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism. Cellist at Tanglewood, Lenox.
Image: by Christopher Gaston. Splash Of Humanity.
Image: by Reto Stöckli and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA Blue Marble 2007 West.
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. Character Day.
Image: by Aisha Faquir, for World Bank Photo Collection. Teacher watches as her student points to the letter "D."
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. Character Day.
Image: by BN App - Download now!
Image: Courtesy of Let It Ripple. Character Day.