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P.O.V. Presents the Fifth Annual Youth Views Institute

Oct 20 2006

P.O.V., public television's pre-eminent showcase for independent social-issue documentary film, will host the fifth annual Youth Views Institute (YVI) Friday-Tuesday, November 3-7, 2006. Young leaders (ages 16-20) representing schools and nonprofit organizations from the New York area and across the country will convene in New York City for a weekend of intensive media training and workshops with media professionals, award-winning filmmakers, and community organizers. The Institute promotes the use of independent media as a tool for social change. Over the course of the weekend, youth leaders will learn how independent documentary films can be used to engage, inform and connect citizens to ideas, services and each other — particularly at the grassroots level and in the classroom. A one-day teacher training program will take place on Tuesday, November 7 at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York.

P.O.V.'s partners for the 2006 Institute are Project Reach, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival High School Program, and the Museum of Television and Radio.

Over the last 19 years, P.O.V. has pioneered models for civic engagement using independent documentary films by some of the most recognized storytellers of our time. Through YVI, P.O.V. shares its expertise and resources among a dynamic group of future leaders eager explore the potential of independent media in public life. "The Youth Views Institute gives young leaders an opportunity to explore the power of documentary storytelling, and incorporate independent media into their community work," says Simon Kilmurry, Executive Director, American Documentary | P.O.V. "We look forward to exchanging ideas and strategies with this year's partners and participants."

The Institute will kick off on Friday, November 3 at the Abrons Arts Center in Manhattan's Lower East Side with a reception and performance by Alice Tan Ridley, the electrifying vocalist featured in the hit film RIZE by David LaChapelle. The training programs will take place on Saturday, November 4 and Sunday, November 5 at Project Reach in Chinatown. The weekend programs will encompass a variety of topics, including: Behind the Lens: Media Literacy; The Ethics of Filmmaking; Organizing and Community Building through the Web; Lens: A Historical Look at Movements for Social Justice; and Trust Building with a Camera.

In 2004 P.O.V. expanded the Institute to include an educational component in partnership with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival High School Program. The program offers educators strategies and resources to use social issue media to inspire learning in the classroom.

"The goal of P.O.V.'s Youth Views is to support youth development by providing organizations and educators, working at both the local and national levels, with media resources and training to assist their efforts to effectively engage young people around important issues," says Irene Villaseñor, P.O.V. Youth Views Manager. "Many of these organizations are working on the ground to address such concerns as economic justice, foster care, civil rights, and violence prevention."

P.O.V.'s youth training curriculum was developed with Youth Views consultant Michael Marinez, an award-winning Chicano artist-activist from San Antonio, and Project Reach, a community-based organization that has served Chinatown for over three decades. Don Kao, Director of Project Reach, says, "I am particularly excited about the Youth Views Institute because independent media has proven successful for bringing diverse groups together as a great resource for social change."

YVI applicants were nominated by their program directors to represent their organizations. Successful participants were selected on criteria determined by a combined assessment of their personal qualities, and have a demonstrated commitment to serve their communities as a youth organizer.

Youth Views Institute 2006 Presenters
Independent filmmakers Kelly Anderson, P.O.V.'s Every Mother's Son; Thomas Allen Harris, P.O.V.'s Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela; Hima B., Magnetic Attraction; Kristin Macleod Ball, WITNESS; Prudence Browne, Center for Urban School Improvement at the University of Chicago; Don Kao, Project Reach; and YV consultant, Michael Marinez.

The Youth Views Institute is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts and the FAR Fund at the Fund for Social Change, which provided scholarships to five grantees to participate in the Institute.

Youth Views Institute Background
P.O.V.'s Youth Views began as a pilot project in 2000 to support youth educators and youth-serving community-based organizations interested in using nonfiction media to engage young people in dialogue and action around contemporary social issues. Youth Views is an extension of P.O.V.'s Community Engagement and Education activities, offering independent media resources and technical support free-of-charge to support classroom curricula and community-based programs across the country. In 2006 alone, P.O.V. has received over 5,000 requests for support materials including 1,500 educators, 20 public television stations, 155 community-based organizations and 127 educational institutions to present over 300 events in 143 cities and 41 states and Puerto Rico, reaching an estimated 15,000 people directly. For information on becoming a screening partner or to access P.O.V.'s companion materials, please visit www.pbs.org/pov/outreach.

Youth Views Institute Advisory Board
Edwin Herrera, City College of New York
Natalie Jesionka, Amnesty International USA

YVI 2006 Participating Youth Organizations
Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, New York, NY
Combats AIDS-related discrimination through education, advocacy and case management services. www.apicha.org

Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, New York, NY
Protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. www.aaldef.org

Asian Pacific American Youth Alliance at New York University New York, N.Y
A youth leadership and facilitation training program for high school students that examines Asian American history. www.apa.nyu.edu

Casa Atabex Ache, Bronx, NY
Provides holistic and alternative healing techniques for the self-empowerment of women of color. www.casaatabexache.org

Catskills Youth Collective, Catskills, NY
A collective of parents and youth committed to cross-community building through collaborations with youth and organizations from upstate New York, New York City and Texas. catskillyouthcollective (at)hotmail.com

Center for Arts Education, New York, NY
Promotes arts education in New York City public schools through advocacy, parent programs, school partnerships, professional development and a Career Development Program for high school students. www.cae-nyc.org

Dreamland Action Project/Clifton High School, Bronx, NY
A 4-year arts activism program that develops civic skills through challenging artistic projects. www.dreamyardactionproject.com/about_us.html

Each One Teach One Program at the New York Correctional Association, New York, N.Y.
Supports young people affected by juvenile justice policies through community organizing and advocacy. www.correctionalassociation.org/JJP/EOTO/EOTO.htm

Educational Video Center, New York, NY
Social documentary production and media analysis to educators and at-risk youth. www.evc.org

Esperanza Peace & Justice Center Esperanza, San Antonio, TX
Cultural and community organizing center. www.esperanzacenter.org

Generation Q, Astoria, NY
A GLBT youth center focused on skills development, a division of the Forest Hills Community House. myspace.com/generationQrules

Girls Educational and Mentoring Service, New York, NY
Counseling and transitioning services to avert young women from continuing abusive relationships and lifestyles. gems-girls.org

Innervision Youth Productions at Cabrini Connections, Chicago, IL
Multi-media education and production center serving students living in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing project. www.cabriniconnections.net

Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services, Brooklyn, NY
Nonprofit mental health and social service agency. www.jbfcs.org

Make the Road By Walking, Brooklyn, NY
Community Center that provides leadership development, organizing, advocacy and direct services to low income residents in the Bushwick, Brooklyn area. www.maketheroad.org

Princeton Public Library, Princeton, NJ
www.princetonlibrary.org/phrff

Project Reach, New York, NY
An intergenerational youth organizing center in New York City's Chinatown/Lower East Side. www.projectreachnyc.org

Reel Works Teen Filmmaking Inc, Brooklyn, NY
Media organization for youth at the Prospect Park YMCA. www.reelworks.org

Represent Magazine at Youth Communications, New York, NY
A magazine focused on youth impacted by the foster care system. www.youthcomm.org/Publications/FCYU.htm

South Asian Youth Action, New York, NY
Youth center that provides s leadership development, support and academic services to South Asian youth. www.saya.org

Teaching for Change, Washington, DC
Provides teachers and parent's tools to transform schools into centers of justice where students learn to read, write and change the world.
www.teachingforchange.org

The Door's Legal Services Center, New York, NY
A youth development agency providing comprehensive youth development services including health care, legal services, job placement, meals, and the arts. www.door.org

Wide Angle Media, Baltimore, MD
Youth media program that provides training in media literacy and production, and community-based distribution. www.wideanglemedia.org

Youth Rights Media, New Haven, CT
Youth program that engages youth in video media production and community organizing to support change in their communities and Connecticut's juvenile justice system. www.youthrightsmedia.org

Youth Video OUTreach, Columbus, OH
A collaborative video project produced by LGBT youth and their allies about their experiences of being gay in high school that will be distributed to high schools throughout Ohio. www.videooutreach.org

About the FAR Fund
Created in 2001 by an anonymous donor, the FAR Fund is administered by the Fund for Social Change, a public foundation that supports organizations to improve the well-being of disempowered people in New York City, including poor people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, and young people.

About P.O.V.
Produced by American Documentary and celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007, P.O.V. is PBS's award-winning documentary showcase. P.O.V. has brought over 250 of the most important documentary films of our time to millions nationwide, and now has a Webby Award-winning online series, P.O.V.'s Borders. Since 1988, P.O.V. has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today's most pressing social issues. More information about P.O.V is available online at www.pbs.org/pov.

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