'Creating Young Heroes for Our World: The MY HERO Project'

The MY HERO Project is delighted to be included in the Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies published by Springer and edited by Scott T. Allison (Editor-in-Chief), James K. Beggan (Editor-in-Chief), and George R. Goethals (Editor-in-Chief).

This is the first encyclopedia in the growing field of heroism studies which covers topics from the social sciences, humanities, behavioural sciences, business and management, and public health.

Background

In March 2022, Jeanne and Abigail were honored to attend and present at an online symposium titled "Media Representations and Changing Frames of Heroism," hosted by the Obama Institute at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. Abigail’s presentation was enriched by the insights of prominent experts in the field of heroism, including Dr. Tasnova Malek, Charles Harper, Elie Wiesel, Edward R. Murrow, and Professor Scott T. Allison*, who also spoke at the symposium.

Following the symposium, Professor Allison approached MY HERO with an invitation to contribute a chapter to his upcoming work, The Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies. Deborah Neff, Ph.D.*, accepted this opportunity on behalf of MY HERO and authored a chapter titled "Creating Young Heroes for Our World: The MY HERO Project."

Summary: The paper discusses how the project-based learning and storytelling platform, The MY HERO Project, is leveraging technology, artistic media, and a focus on heroes to create positive learning outcomes for youth. In the pages that follow, we discuss how the organization solves three key challenges in education today: (1) ignorance, intolerance, and indifference; (2) educational achievement gaps and the youth mental health crisis, and (3) meeting the challenge of globalization, diversity, and the need for cross-cultural literacies. Each of the three sets of challenges highlights the global significance of MY HERO’s work in its academic and practical contexts, and how the small nonprofit learning platform has come to be on the leading edge of best practices in digital learning, global education, and heroism studies. MY HERO’s educational focus crosses K-12, higher ed, and lifelong learning sectors globally, with youth as their major focus. The organization’s work illustrates the potential and practical contributions of using technology and artistic media production to promote heroic ideals and behavior among youth to create future heroes and a more inclusive and sustainable world.

Read the MY HERO chapter here:

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*Scott T. Allison, is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Richmond, renowned for his extensive publications on prosocial behavior, heroism, and heroic leadership.

* Dr Deborah Neff originally trained as a cultural anthropologist, completing two years of research in Kerala and over a decade in the American Southwest. She has worked with many nonprofits, including United Way, Easter Seals, Lutheran Social Services, Common Cause, and The MY HERO Project.