IKAN is a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt organization committed to promoting literacy, education and advocacy for kids around the world through interactive programs and educational materials. One main goal of IKAN is to help kids understand that regardless of where people live… everyone is connected, more alike than different and share the same planet earth.
Chef Keith Famie had the idea for IKAN in 1998 on a flight back from Vietnam where he had just completed the filming of a documentary. He was very moved by his experience there and the thousands of children he came in contact with. He set a goal to create an organization to help link kids around the world, one that would promote activities to help break down the walls that often exist between cultures.
In March 2000, Keith Famie joined forces with retired teacher Edna Stephens and her company EDCO Publishing. EDCO, an educational multi-media company, created the award-winning Michigan DNR L.A.P.’s™ Program, a fourth grade history and natural resources curriculum.
Together, Keith, Visionalist Entertainment Productions, Edna and EDCO Publishing hosted two international “IKAN Chat” sessions.
The first session in 1999 used the Internet as a learning tool to connect a school in Guadalajara, Mexico with a fifth grade class in Detroit, Michigan.
In 2000, a second “IKAN Chat” was completed:
“Zoos to Zoos… Kids to Kids.” This session linked kids with Keith Famie at Sydney, Australia’s Toronga Zoo with a hundred Kids and their teachers from several Southeast Michigan schools at the Detroit Zoo. Before the session, these students used IKAN educational materials in their classrooms to learn about Australia and its people.
In both sessions, the children were able to take full advantage of modern technology to connect with other students around the world. These kids had fun as they learned that even though they lived thousands of miles apart, they were more alike than different.