Ronit Avni

Ronit Avni is a Canadian entrepreneur, tech founder, human rights advocate, and Peabody Award-winning film director and producer.

Avni was born and raised in Canada. She graduated with honors with a B.A. in political science from Vassar College.

Avni is the founder and executive director of Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that creates digital media, award-winning films (Naila and the Uprising, Budrus, My Neighborhood, Encounter Point), news analysis and public education campaigns in North America and the Middle East. As Executive Director of Just Vision, Avni raised over $10M, managed a diverse team and her films were seen by tens of millions of viewers on TV and online globally. She was a frequent speaker in think tanks, community, government, international, educational and media settings and is known for creating content that addresses sensitive geopolitical topics.

Avni directed and produced the documentary film, Encounter Point, which received the 2006 San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary and was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Docs, Atlanta Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival and Jerusalem International Film Festival. Encounter Point has screened at the United Nations and in Gaza, Tel Aviv, Jenin and more than 200 cities worldwide and has won 5 international awards. Avni appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2005 and her work was featured on Oprah.com, and on Christiane Amanpour’s show, Amanpour, on CNN. She produced the documentary film Budrus, which received the Berlinale's Panorama Audience Award Second Prize, the Special Jury Mention at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2010. Budrus premiered at the Cultural Bridge Gala at the Dubai International Film Festival in December 2009. It won the Ridenhour Prize and the 2012 PUMA Creative Impact prize. She co-produced Naila and the Uprising, which premiered at DocNYC, IDFA and the Dubai International Film Festival. Her short film My Neighborhood won a Peabody Award.

Avni trained human rights defenders worldwide to incorporate film and digital media into their advocacy campaigns while working for the human rights organization, WITNESS. Avni has trained non-governmental organizations to produce videos as a tool for public education and grassroots mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse and as evidence before courts and tribunals. She co-edited the book Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism,[10] with staff from WITNESS. She now sits on the WITNESS Board, chairing the Program Committee as WITNESS advises activists and technology companies on the ethical uses of video.[11]

Avni is the founder of Localized, a platform that connects college students and aspiring professionals in emerging markets to global professionals who can offer career guidance and expertise in languages they share. Launching in 2018 in Arabic and English, Localized was selected as one of 12 companies to join the NYU Steinhardt Edtech Accelerator, powered by StartEd in collaboration with Rethink Education Fund.[12] She was a finalist for the 2018 Next Billion Prize at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, overseen by TechCrunch Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher.[13] A 2018 World Economic Forum Halcyon Fellow, she has spoken and written about the intersection of technology, workforce readiness, education and migration for the World Economic Forum and The National's Future Forum in Abu Dhabi.[14][15][16][17]

Avni is a Young Global Leader,[18] sponsored by the World Economic Forum, a Term Member[19] at the Council on Foreign Relations[20] and has been recognized with a variety of honors, including the Search for Common Ground's Common Ground Award, the Circles of Change Award, Auburn Seminary's Lives of Commitment Award, the Trailblazer Award from the National Council for Research for Women and the Daughters for Life Award. She sits on the jury of both the MacArthur Foundation’s 100 & Change Competition and the Global Teacher Prize.[21] She has trained hundreds of business leaders, MBA students, nonprofit leaders and civil servants to speak persuasively to the media, on stage and in executive settings with KNP Communications.[22]

In 2006, the film Encounter Point was:

In 2010-11, the film Budrus was:

In 2009-11, Ronit Avni was: