Downeast Diversity Project Launches Monthly Podcast
For Immediate Release Please
Release Date: May 31, 2021
Program Contact: Alyne Cistone, alyne.cistone@healthyacadia.org
Media Contact: Tracey Carlson, tracey@healthyacadia.org or (207) 667-7171 Ext. 112
Downeast Diversity Project Launches Monthly Podcast
Downeast Diversity Project is thrilled to launch a monthly podcast entitled, “Downeast Diversity: Stories of People and Culture.” This is a Maine podcast that seeks to inform, educate and inspire. The platform provides an opportunity for the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Community in Maine to do their own storytelling. This collection of stories will also serve as a record of the BIPOC community’s contributions to Maine Culture for generations to come. Executive Producer Alyne Cistone will be hosting this monthly podcast with a focus on Hancock and Washington counties.
The Downeast Diversity Project was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Maine Justice Foundation to support the launch of the Podcast. Healthy Acadia serves as the 501(c)3 non-profit home of the project. The monthly podcast will be available on the Project’s website, www.downeastdiversity.com, and accessible through www.healthyacadia.org, and is slated to begin in June. Each hour-long episode will include conversations and interviews that explore some of the challenges of minority experience, ways of finding, creating, and preserving community, and ultimately, how the presence and contributions of diverse peoples and cultures strengthen and enrich Maine.
By creating a space for Maine’s BIPOC community to share their stories, Cistone hopes that the podcast will “serve as a document of a moment of Maine culture in transition: from ‘not knowing what we don’t know,’ to understanding that curiosity, empathy, and humility are part of a necessary path for healing and creating inclusive communities. Ultimately, the podcast is about listening and learning, asking questions, and recognizing the beauty of diversity in Maine.”
Through the Project, Cistone will also mentor BIPOC high school students to produce their own podcasts, looking more closely at the student experience and student-led efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within their schools, teams, clubs, and larger communities. Through the project, Cistone will be working with Clara Baker, Community Outreach Consultant, and Luke Labree, Creative Consultant.
The Downeast Diversity Project partners closely with Healthy Acadia, which is serving as the fiscal sponsor and is deeply committed to advancing racial and health equity in our communities. Healthy Acadia is a 501(C)(3) community health organization building vibrant communities and making it easier for all people to lead healthy lives throughout Washington and Hancock counties.
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