Let us celebrate May East!

When May told me of her award as a Woman of the Decade in Sustainability and Leadership, I thought Gaia Education should commemorate May’s achievements over the last decade.

The idea for a film emerged.  I drew up a list of interviewees who have worked with May over the years. As many of them lived far away in Bangladesh, Brazil, Majorca, etc., several self-filmed, others wrote answers and some I filmed.  Most clips were filmed on smartphones. It was moving to go through the heartfelt content and learning about May’s unique impact on their lives and projects.  I combined clips from the interviews together with footage from the awards ceremony and pictures from the Gaia Education archives. We found some clips of Boniface and the project in Bangladesh.

For a long time now I have had a dream to find a way to honour and celebrate remarkable women I have met in my life as a social activist.  Having recently studied film-making with a view of sharing stories of sustainable and resilient change, it was great to begin with this project.  I hope it captures the essence of May’s work and her contribution and gives you a flavour of some of the diverse activities and locations Gaia Education is working in.

Enjoy!

Written by Jane Rasbash