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TNW Spotlight on Female Founders: Jenny Buccos and ProjectExplorer
The NextWomen are always looking to make female founders and leaders notable and quotable. In our new series – ‘TNW Spotlight on Female Founders’ we look at ventures that are making waves online and the women that are leading them.
Award-winning Children’s Films
ProjectExplorer.org is an award-winning children’s series that provides free, online films and multimedia materials aimed at fostering the next generation of global citizens, helping students discover the common humanity they share with the cultures and histories of the world. Founded by Director and Producer, Jenny Buccos in 2003, ProjectExplorer is a non-profit organisation that aims to open a door on the rest of the world, allowing children to experience different countries and cultures without the expense of leaving their own.
Marketing for Web-based Start-ups Ignited the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Arriving in New York City in 1999, Jenny Buccos began working with Credit Suisse First Boston as a marketing project manager on two web-based startup projects. It is here she gained experience with global media production as part of web-based marketing campaigns where she managed projects in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and New York.
$500,000 in Funding
In 2001, she left the corporate world and in 2003, Buccos founded ProjectExplorer.org: a NYC-based nonprofit organization that has since produced over 160 free films and multimedia materials designed for classrooms and students. In five short years, ProjectExplorer went from a simple idea to a world-class, award-winning program that has raised nearly half a million dollars in personal donations, grants, and sponsorships.
Three Series’ Later and with a Further Two in the Pipeline
After 18 months of fundraising, business development, and research – including educator, student and parent input – she produced and directed ProjectExplorer.org’s first educational program entitled “Shakespeare’s England”. The first time director/producer’s unique vision of learning and student-focused mini-documentaries attracted the support of world-renowned organisations such as The Old Vic Theatre in London, The National Archives, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Film London.
In 2007/2008, Buccos went on to direct and produc ProjectExplorer.org’s South Africa series; working with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dr. John Kani, the Apartheid Museum, Robben Island, The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, photojournalist Greg Marinovich and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. In June 2008, and in recognition of the great work Buccos and ProjectExplorer have achieved, she was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine for her work in South Africa.
Not satisfied with her work in Africa, Buccos went on to direct and produce ProjectExplorer.org’s third series, this time in Jordan, whilst she is planning future series’ in Malaysia and Mexico. ProjectExplorer has placed a huge emphasis on global cross-cultural understanding and has as a result seen Ms. Buccos as the recipient of a GOLD Parent’s Choice Award for Excellence in Educational Programming.
Over 40 Countries and 2.5 Million People
The award-winning series is now used in over 40 countries, by over 2.5 million people – kids in London, Los Angeles, Lusaka, and everywhere in between, have logged on to become more globally aware.
In addition to leading ProjectExplorer,org she is a contributing writer for AWEARNESS: The Kenneth Cole blog focusing on issues in Southern Africa, the environment, and education. Ms. Buccos also serves on the Board of Directors of Artists Striving To End Poverty (ASTEP).
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I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!