As the second film in the Inspire Me series (see www.inspiremefilm.com for the first), Inspire Me! Africa will chronicle the experiences of 20 American middle and high school teachers as they travel to Africa for the first time and will follow them back into their classrooms to explore how these experiences translate into inspiration for their students.

How will this life-changing experience shape, inspire, and motivate these teachers? How will their extraordinary experiences translate into extraordinary experiences for their students? How can close encounters with the African people and the deep power of the natural African environment and our connection to it change a teacher's worldview, and change their students’ lives?

The intent of this film is to address these questions, harness the power and celebrate the art of teaching, and to serve as a rallying call-to-action to do it better, through experiences and inspiration.

The Story:
The film will follow three to five featured teachers among the 20 in a simple three-act structure:

1. Profiles- This portion of the film will document featured teachers before they travel to Africa and set the stage for the events to come. It will include an examination of their lives, attitudes and beliefs pre-Africa, their classroom practices within their specific communities and motivations that drive those practices. Since teachers are passionate professionals, harboring a deep sense of personal purpose in their chosen profession, these profiles will also include a look into their personal everyday lives as an integral part of who they are and how they approach the art of teaching. This act will reveal their underlying motivations and understanding about the challenges of inspiring young people.

2. Africa - We will follow the teachers through their preparation and mountain training and finally their African experiences as they become part of a cadre of fellow educators struggling to make a difference with their students. This act will uncover the revelations teachers encounter through their journeys and will transfer to screen through exciting and dynamic footage of the teachers in throughout their trip.

On Mount Kilimanjaro they will be traveling a vertical cross-section of the Earth's biosphere -- from rainforest to glacial conditions at nearly 20,000 feet -- and encountering life every step of the way. On the Serengeti they will be visiting 11 locations, home to some of the most diverse and remarkable life and landforms on the planet.

They will also be visiting 2 Tanzanian orphanages – home to AIDS orphans whose parents fell victim to the disease. These are places that underscore the severity of the AIDS epidemic and need of the people of the region for healthcare and education.

In contrast, they will also be visiting St. Jude’s school in Arusha, a sponsorship-supported English Medium School in that primarily serves orphaned and vulnerable children from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds. The school blends the best of Western and Tanzanian instructional methods to instill critical thinking and high moral values in students who will later become the leaders and builders of Tanzania. It is a flame of inspiration and progress – evidence of how education makes the difference.

3. Returning to the Classroom- We will feature students. It will focus on how these teachers bring Africa back to their classrooms, how they create extraordinary experiences for their students - reflecting the impact Africa had on them, and how they inspire their students to learn, do, and create positive change in the world around them. They will be charged with generating activities and creating opportunities for activism on behalf of the environment, life, and human dignity. They will be responsible for inspiring other teachers as well and serve as powerful role models for their students to show that one person CAN bring about awareness, hope and change in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles (for which Kilimanjaro and their summating of it will serve as a metaphor).