Projects
From The 5000 Days Project to the StoryQ method and technology to Prodigy Camp, Rick-founded projects all stem from one core belief:
You own nothing more valuable than your own story.
5000 days and counting…
At the turn of the Millennium, Rick Stevenson ventured forth on a personal mission to try and solve the mysteries of childhood by interviewing kids for 5000 days (time from Kindergarten to grade 12). What began as a documentary project has evolved into an educational initiative dedicated to helping kids discover that they can be the author of their own lives… and as an outcome, raise their emotional-intelligence quotient (EQ).
Often referred to as “THE Project,” The 5000 Days Project is now focused on developing emotional intelligence via video journaling technology (the StoryQ) as a low-cost and easy-to-implement tool in schools and communities, allowing all kids to self-reflect and process in a safe environment.
And while offering guided video journaling solutions to schools and organizations is the core endeavor, the Ambassador program continues to follow hundreds of kids worldwide, documentary style, as Rick has done from day one. Many of these Ambassador stories span long past the original 5000 Days (K-12) and, with the participant’s permission, have been produced into films such as The LISTEN Series, MILLENNIALS, TWO BROTHERS 1&2, and ANGST: It Gets Better (currently available on Indieflix).
Learn more at The5000DaysProject.org→
The 5000 Days Project utilizes StoryQ to create a judgment-free space and an engaging process of inquiry to foster self-discovery on film. Rick’s unique interviewing method (coined the StoryQ Method) has been developed throughout the course of the 5000 Days Project with the help of professionals in counseling psychology and developmental molecular biology.
Ultimately the method is about asking the right questions in the right order and in the right setting to help the interviewee discover the right answers. The StoryQ technology has been designed to offer the method’s elements in a way that is far more scalable than an in-person interviewer… and in fact can be more effective given the zero-judgment nature of the kiosk.
As the technology develops, so does the number of industries and demographics it serves (such as mental health, employee well-being, genealogy centers, and senior living).
Learn more at storyQ.com→
The Prodigy Camp is a week-long intensive camp for the most promising young filmmakers and songwriters in the world. Held just outside Seattle, Washington by Rick and some of the industry’s most esteemed professionals (including Emmy and Oscar winners), the camp creates a space dedicated to helping aspiring young artists explore and develop the art of storytelling through filmmaking and songwriting.
Filmmakers and musicians alike hone in on the fundamentals of their art, absorb hours of mentoring and instruction, and develop new scripts and songs, all the while pushing the boundaries of their own personal journey. At the end of the week, the film students are faced with the challenge of executing all their newly formed and fine tuned skills by shooting their own short film, while the songwriters are given the opportunity to professionally record one of their newly written songs.
With nightly campfire 101 sessions, participants not only leave with the skillset to catapult them into their craft but with a newly developed sense of self and a deeply rooted community.
Learn more at ProdigyCamp.org→
COMING SOON
THE HUMAN LIBRARY INITIATIVE
What if there was a type of Private Media where every human being could record authentic stories without fear of judgment? J.R.R. Tolkien, in one of his lesser known works, metaphorically envisioned all of humanity as a grand choir that only reached sonic perfection when every voice could be heard. Imagine…
In 1977, space probe Voyager began its journey out of the Solar System. In addition to its scientific mission, Voyager was also an ambassador of the Human Race, carrying with it a "Golden LP" of data representing the best that Earth had to offer. If alien life finds that golden disc millenia from now and comes to Earth to investigate, what will they find if we are no longer here? The slime trail left by Social Media and political pundits? Can there be a more golden record of our race? We say, yes. Yes, there can be. There can be the Human Record, a central repository of every living person's story captured privately and securely on digital video and salted away for posterity. No human left behind undocumented. Every birth a miracle, every story a treasure. Every person an eternal interstellar ambassador.
How would such an ambitious goal be pursued? We are on the cusp. But it is clear that we need to establish an international volunteer board of the finest minds to develop a vast, AI-catalogued, nonprofit archive, owned by all. A multi-cultural set of questions would be developed and a plan would be designed to reach the far corners of the world.
