Shelter: connect is the educational outreach initiative behind the Shelter film. Creating a virtual bridge between cultures, Shelter: connect uses the forum of on-campus workshops and video conferencing to help design students in the U.S. connect with communities in the developing world to share ideas for addressing urgent shelter needs. Taking place on-site in U.S. college and university studios, the workshops are led by the Shelter filmmakers, and empower design students with both the storytelling tools and the information-sharing platform they need to join the design-for-good movement and amplify their research and study of humanitarian design.

Directed and edited by Lee Schneider. Cinematography by Richard Neill and Michelle Marrion. Music by David Nyman. Caroline Markowitz is the outreach coordinator of Shelter: connect. Photo credits: Africa Rebel by hdptcar.net, Indonesia earthquake by jenjoaquin, Thailand flooding by Pietro Motta. Creative commons license. Additional photographs by Elizabeth LaFontant and Jonathan Corum.