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Engaging, Exploring and Expanding Youth Media: NAMAC's Youth Media Leadership Institute

Published on August 22, 2005

By Cynthia Carrion, Outreach Coordinator, Manhattan Neighborhood Network's Youth Channel

On April 27th, I joined 19 delegates from across the country at Portland International Airport in Oregon. We came from near and far to begin a five-day retreat as part of NAMAC's Youth Media Leadership Institute (YMLI).

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Cynthia Carron, Outreach Coordinator, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, is one of twenty NAMAC Youth Media Leadership Institute delegates.

As soon as I retrieved my luggage from the conveyer belt I was greeted by the warm smiles of Michelle Shutzer, (NAMAC Assistant Director, Youth Media) and Daniel "Dewey" Schott (NAMAC Program Director), as they gave me a welcoming purple Hawaiian lei.

After an eight-hour flight with a layover in Chicago, I was not sure what I was getting myself into, but as I looked around the information kiosk that YMLI had taken over, I could not help but notice the beautiful colors of not only the leis, but of all the delegates.

Once the last delegate arrived, we were off for an hour and half bus ride to Silver Falls, at the foothills of Oregon's Cascade Mountains for an intensive five days. While a few New York youth media faces were familiar to me, the majority could have passed as strangers, if they did not have on the bright leis. This would soon all change as we began to build community, create and strategize plans for the field of youth media, and form bonds of friendship.

About the Youth Media Leadership Institute

YMLI is part of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture's Youth Media Initiative, which aims to extend and strengthen service to youth media organizations through activities that encourage and support field-building and sustainability. The Initiative is designed to develop a critical mass of support for youth media through activities such as research, planning, leadership development and information exchange. The Youth Media Initiative is funded in part by the Youth Initiatives Program of the Open Society Institute.

The Delegates

The delegation represents emerging and established leaders in the field of youth media from all around the U.S. and from a variety of organizations and programs. Each delegate shares a commitment to advancing the field of youth media. Our participation in the six-month institute includes the 5-day leadership retreat in the spring as well as post-retreat network-building activities (blogs, listservs, etc.) in the summer and fall.

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The NAMAC Youth Media Leadership Institute delegates represent youth media organizations from all around the United States.

Delegates include:

The YMLI facilitators for the retrreat included jesikah maria ross, Paula Manley from The Learning Commons (a nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing public spaces, creativity and community-based leadership).

Knowing that writing about the experience of the YMLI retreat would be challenging for me alone I have asked for support from my fellow YMLI delegates and facilitators, an approach that was encouraged by our facilitators.

Q: What was the most valuable skill/experience you are taking with you from the retreat?

Andrea Isabel Quijada, Director of Educational Programs, New Mexico Media Literacy Project: It is so difficult to have to rate which experience was the most valuable. First off, I have to say that meeting and working with all the fierce and passionate delegates was definitely the highlight of that week. I consider myself very new to this media world, and I experienced so much support from each of the energetic and creative people in the room. We had amazing facilitators, so I gained better facilitation skills from watching them. Also, we were able to spend so much time outside while we did dyads or group work, that I have been inspired to incorporate more "outside" time in my work and in my play time. Another process I enjoyed was watching the Identity Wall take shape, and listening to each other's stories. A tool that I walked away from YMLI with was my leadership plan, which I still refer to in order to keep me on track. Experiencing the "messy middle," and running through the Field of Youth Media will always be some of my favorite memories of YMLI.

jesikah maria ross, YMLI Facilitator: For me one of the most valuable experiences i came away with from YMLI was a deep feeling of inspiration. Being around such smart, talented, and deeply committed youth media folks really rejuvenated my interest and dedication to the field. It was quite amazing to sit back and consider how far youth media, as a field, has really evolved in the past decade. The folks at the Institute represented well-established programs and demonstrated keen insights based on a lot of critical reflection about what we do and how we do it and why. That kind of thinking, coupled with the intention of taking meaningful action to advance the field, was genuinely uplifting. I felt very connected to my peers and more ready than ever to help move forward toward our collective goals.

Ken Ikeda, Executive Director, Youth Sounds: It was great to be in the midst of so many committed pros. As a member of an emerging organization I really appreciated the candor with which everyone shared their challenges and aspirations. I left with a few folks identified as potential mentors and peers with whom I hope to communicate with on a regular basis. It was also reassuring to find others talk about seeking balance in their personal and professional lives and practicing patience under stress. Being "unplugged" for so long made me anxious to begin implementing what I learned. I'm still playing catch up.

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Ken Ikeda, Executive Director, Youth Sounds is one of several delegates from the Bay Area in California.

Q: What were some new ideas for collaboration/ partnerships involving your organization that originated at the YMLI retreat?

Andrea: Since the retreat, my organization partnered with Arts Engine's Media That Matters Film Festival, and we screened one of the films from the festival at the Alliance for Community Media Conference in July, and we will screen it again in August. Overall, I really felt as if I walked into YMLI as an individual and left feeling part of the youth media community. Due to that experience, I know that more collaborations and partnerships will continue to develop. It has been a great feeling to attend media conferences these last few months and know that when anyone from YMLI is there, I can support their work or that I'll have someone to check-in with.

jesika: While I haven't formed any collaborations or partnerships with the groups involved in YMLI, i did feel like i helped to form a peer network that i can tap into at any time for support, advice, materials and inspiration. I think that this kind of network is incredibly important for our field, since we often rub up against similar issues, challenges and opportunities. I now have 20 colleagues that i can reach out to and share ideas, concerns and updates. This kind of social capital is an important investment in both my work and in our field of independent media.

Ken: I'm looking forward to collaborations emerging out of the retreat. As a starting point it was great to just place faces with names and organizations. I definitely see cross-site visits happening because of the time spent together, and on a larger scale, I am hopeful that we can do some shared thinking about how to grow and sustain the field. We still operate in isolation and I hope that we find ways to share our tools and best practices with one another.

Q:Where do you see the field of youth media in 5 years and what do you think are the biggest challenges?

Andrea: In 5 years I see the field of youth media having expanded, with more young people in leadership positions, increased funding for youth media organizations, and an increase in the general community's understanding and support of what youth media is. Our biggest internal challenge is probably the need for a more formalized network. (I know that for organizations who are near each other, small networks are being created, but out here in New Mexico, or Utah, or Texas, I know that we get isolated really fast!) Another internal challenge to consider is that the field of youth media will always shift and change, and as long as we remain open to it, we can enjoy the process. I believe our biggest external challenges are lack of funder education, ageism/adultism and the current federal government.

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The retreat enabled delegates to commune with nature while developing leadership skills and connecting with peers.

jesikah: Forecasting the field is always dicey, since there are a lot of variables involved. My sense is that the field of youth media won't be a "hot" topic or as well-funded as it has been in the last five years, yet i believe it will be more integrated into K-12 curricula and after school programs. And i believe it will continue to be a key element of community media work (through media arts centers, public access stations and community technology centers). In addition, in five years many of the young folks we've worked with over the past fifteen years will themselves be in positions to advance youth media in some way, so that might result in more local support, community programs or educational initiatives. The challenges will likely be the same: documenting and demonstrating the value of our work and showing tangible community development outcomes from the work we do so that we are well funded and resourced.

Ken: I believe that the field needs to focus on two areas: quality of production and distribution. The experience of youth and their stories will not lose relevance or power but the means for reaching audiences is constantly changing. Video cell phones, gigabyte wireless networks, and new mobile production devices will change how we create and distribute our work. While iMovie and cheaper camcorders allowed for affordable storytelling, the youth media field needs to keep pace with the changing technologies.

YMDi.org and MNN Youth Channel The Youth Media Distribution Initiative (YMDi.org) and MNN Youth Channel partnership officially began May 1, 2005. Our partnership includes cross-promotion of our activities, events and special announcements in newsletters and on our websites. Together, we are collaborating on producing a digital distribution toolkit and we are co-moderating the "Talk" and "Media" sections of the YMDi website. This partnership will help us to generate more content from diverse perspectives for both of our websites, and to allow youth media to be shared by a larger audience.

Taking Liberties Many of the YMLI delegates will be participating in NAMAC's "Taking Liberties" National Conference. For more information please visit www.takingliberties2005.org.