An award winning, globally sourced and vetted collection of short documentaries to inspire a more just and sustainable world

BECOME A MONTHLY OR ANNUAL MEMBER

SIMA Academy provides educators and changemakers access to over 200 films and lesson plans that have been jury-curated and assembled not just with a focus on quality, but also with a discerning eye for educational value and relevance—providing every academic discipline with the most essential current affairs videos for their focus or field of study.

Enrich pre-existing curriculum. Stimulate and reinforce in-class lectures or introduce new topics. Encourage open discussion on key issues.  Diversify your syllabus. And so much more…

EDUCATORS
0 +
INSTITUTIONS
0 +
STUDENTS
0 +

Subscription Plans

$4/month —OR— $39/year

For Group/Institution access, please contact us to learn more.

Your Subscription Includes

Social Impact Films

Get exclusive access to our growing global content libraries and collections of award-winning short documentaries, 360 videos and bonus lessons. New titles are added automatically and you will be notified of all recent additions.

Lesson Plans, Filmmaker Q&As + 2030 Challenge

Inspire service learning and community engagement opportunities with action-based and participatory teaching resources created in partnership with education and social justice experts.

Over 220 Collections

Access conveniently themed and searchable collections to kick-off discussions and activations on any chosen topic, including: the SDGs, Gender Equality, Climate Change, Racial Justice, Tech for Good and more cross-cutting topics.

What Sets SIMA Academy Apart

Immersive and engaging_

Breadth and Depth

Jury-curated from over 140 countries and featuring over 40 languages, SIMA Academy provides educators and organizations with unprecedented access to authentic global perspectives and a constantly vetted and refreshed selection of international productions each year.

Great for blended learning_

Current and Trending

Our acquisition efforts are ongoing, and we are consistently adding more vetted and award-winning short documentaries by filmmakers from around the world to our library. Through this lens, educators are granted a unique opportunity to engage and connect today’s learners with the content that’s relevant to their lives, spotlighting the issues they care about most.

Fast, accessible and secure streaming_

Intuitive, High-interest and Curriculum-Synergistic

Working with an advisory board of education professionals, our content staff maintains a subject-matter taxonomy of 25 distinct areas of study within more than 40 core thematic playlists designed to complement new and existing academic curriculum. In addition, members can sample between featured playlists that are curated monthly to reflect timely world themes and events.

Time-tested and loved_

Performance

Our platform features an advanced technical infrastructure custom designed by Vimeo, one of the world’s leading streaming platforms; a fully responsive and mobile-friendly interface and app; and a powerful search engine and browse functions, making it fast and easy to use 24/7 on any internet-enabled device. Users can also download films while on the Android or iOS App to access without internet.

“SIMA has been an invaluable resource in all my classes. The videos are brief, engaging, and of very high-quality, and they explore a wide variety of topics including technology, poverty, environmental justice, equity, and inequality, just to name a few. SIMA videos enrich my course content…students thoroughly enjoy the videos also because they know that they are giving back to those who produce them! Easy to navigate and rich in content. I can’t imagine my classes without SIMA in them!”

— Timea Varga, Educator, Lynn University

The Gold Standard in Education

Educators use SIMA Academy to:

As a future-oriented educational lens and interdisciplinary framework, Global Citizenship Education (GCED) creates opportunities and space for students to develop knowledge and awareness of issues significant to local and global contexts.

“It is not enough for education to produce individuals who can read, write and count. Education must fully assume it’s central role in helping people to forge more just, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive societies…. Global citizenship education provides the understanding, skills and values students need to cooperate in resolving the interconnected challenges of the 21st century, including climate change, conflict, poverty, hunger, and issues of equity and sustainability. These same educational outcomes prepare students to be successful in the 21st century workplace” United Nation’s Global Education First Initiative  

Teaching with authentic media engages students, aids student retention of knowledge, motivates interest in the subject matter, and illustrates the relevance of complex themes, such as global sustainability and human rights.

MIL allows learners to effectively access, analyze, critically evaluate, interpret, use, create and disseminate information. In our oversaturated digital media age it becomes imperative to combat dis-information. SIMA Academy’s vetted, authentic storytelling resources are crucial assets in building MIL skills that empower learners to critically engage with media, be “wise consumers of media, managers of information and responsible producers of ideas using the powerful multimedia tools of a global media culture.”  Center For Media Literacy.

Our award winning films reflect our world’s diversity in terms of raceethnicitygenderclassageabilityreligionplaceimmigration status or LGBT identity. They are inclusive of both stories and content creators from all walks of life providing a vital and felt level of authenticity. By representing “lived experiences” of groups and individuals through first person narratives or through the film teams themselves being local members of the communities they spotlight, the power of our content stems from the multicultural and diverse prism of perspectives, the level of intimacy and access of film crews, and their ethics of representation which put the dignity of the people and communities their stories capture at the forefront.

Global competency equips individuals to move from learning about the world to making a difference in it. With SIMA Academy students get inspired to:

Investigate the World
Globally competent students are aware, curious, and interested in learning about the world and how it works.

Recognize Perspectives
Globally competent students recognize that they have a particular perspective, and that others may or may not share it.

Communicate Ideas
Globally competent students can effectively communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with diverse audiences.

Take Action
Globally competent students have the skills and knowledge to not just learn about the world, but also to make a difference in the world.

SIMA  Academy gives learners the building blocks to advance:

Global Literacy The capacity to read, interpret, respond, and contextualize messages from a global perspective

Technology Literacy The ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance

Visual Literacy The ability to understand and communicate through visual images

Information Literacy The ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information.

Digital Literacy The ability to communicate with an ever- expanding community to discuss issues, gather information, and seek help

Learner Benefits

Students surveyed just one semester after using SIMA Academy have shown the following characteristics:

Subscribe Today!

SIMA Academy is LOVED and TRUSTED by over 1,000 institutions and 2,400+ educators across 108 countries since 2015. Join us and inspire the next generation of global citizens!