The series of webinars—most of them on topics related to COVID-19—was a collaboration between Hollywood, Health & Society and the Writers Guild of America.
Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S), in partnership with the Writers Guild of America, presented a timely series of online conversations on topics related to the pandemic, bringing together storytellers and experts. The popular series of evening webinars, held every Tuesday, covered topics in the age of COVID-19 such as addiction, Black maternal health, criminal justice, older adults and caregiving, mental health, reproductive rights, and lupus and hydroxychloroquine.
A May 19 discussion on whether our democracy can survive the pandemic, which had more than 500 audience members, featured guest speakers Stacey Abrams, chair of Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy organization; Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania; and Norman Lear, a TV/film producer, philanthropist, and World War II veteran who flew more than 50 combat missions. The webinar event on racism and maternal health—how the pandemic is deepening the childbirth crisis for Black women—drew 600 RSVPs. The series concluded July 28, 2020 with a look at TV and film production.
As part of a project in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Public Health, HH&S is providing Covid-19 messaging guidelines for PSAs and TV content that builds on the successful “designated protector” behavior storylines. Find out more on our Tip Sheets page.
