GLOBAL VIDEO LETTERS

Practicum in International Affairs

Nadia Claudi Pedersen Christoffer Næss Ximena Maroto Flannery Miller Hanna Farzin Sean Thomas Ayelet Vardi Scott Miller

The New School, GPIA - 2010

INTRODUCTION

• Visual and social

inclusion projects

The youth from Nova Holanda, Rio de Janeiro Photos: Christoffer Næss and J. Alejandro Alvarez

FROM IDEA TO ACTION

•Rio IFP

Our first of many meetings. Photo: Christoffer

Næss

Our PIA and an organization takes shape

SOUTH BRONX TEASER TRAILER

PIA GOAL

To empower youth to create international relationships using film as a means to express, self advocate and promote human rights and human inclusion.

• Objectives

o Engage youth o Create partnerships o Seek Funds

• Deliverables

o Video Letter o Video Letter Portal o Curriculum

The after-school workshop at MS-325 in the South Bronx; viewing the video letter sent from the kids in Rio de Janeiro. photo: Scott Miller

South Bronx Workshops

• Location: Urban Science Academy, MS-325

• Duration: February 25th - June 2nd 2010

• Frequency: Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:30-5:30pm

• # of students: 10

• # of Facilitators: 2-4 GPIA Students

Classroom and field instruction in the South Bronx. photos: Scott Miller

VIDEO LETTER CONCEPT

• A letter written with sound and images. • Originally used as a means of advocacy

from a community to a governing institution.

• Most often made by people coming from the outside such as human rights

workers or media workers.

Moises working on his storyboard assignment at MS-325. photo: Scott Miller

GLOBAL VIDEO LETTER CONCEPT Participatory media, visual inclusion positive

peace and transformative education. Youth and children Communication without borders

From the video letter came the:

Students making an interview with a doorman while on a field-trip in Manhattan. photo: Scott Miller

All people have the rights to: • Freedom of speech

• Computers,

cyber stations, broadband access and other tools that are essential for human rights advocacy today

• Education and training to be able to make use of these tools.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

THREE MAIN STRENGTHS OF THE GLOBAL VIDEO LETTER:

1. SELF EXPRESSION Inspires youth to reflect on themselves, their neighborhood and their world, and to become leaders in their communities.

Students interviewing each other in the South Bronx. photo: Scott Miller

2. CITIZEN MEDIA & ADVOCACY Provide the youth with tools to raise awareness about their communities and cultural identity as an alternative to mainstream media.

Building on:

• Visual Inclusion • Participatory journalism

• Taking back the power of representation and visualization

On assignment making interviews in the community near MS-325. photos: Scott Miller

3. COMMUNICATION & BRIDGING

• Opens up communication and understanding where physical

dialogue is difficult.

• Helps youth gain a better understanding and empathy for people beyond the communities they live in.

• Recognition of one’s self and others' rights and responsibilities.

Students filming in Rio de Janeiro (above) and the South Bronx. photos: Chris Naess and Scott Miller

RIO-SOUTH BRONX COMMUNICATION

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

www.globalvideoletters.org

Hosts a finalized video letter from Nova-Holanda, Rio de Janeiro and will host the final video letter from the South

Bronx, NYC

AUDIENCE

Without an audience self-representation is powerless

• Youth

• Blogging and communicating online • Self-representation

• Facilitators/educators, Schools, NGOs

• access to workshops/lesson plans Why a web portal?

• Sustainability in spite of geographical distances • Bridging communities • Transparency

LESSON PLANS VIDEO LETTER FACILITATOR’S GUIDE Introduction to Lesson 1 Topic: Theme: How it Relates to Human Rights: Evaluation:

Time Lesson/Activity Teacher Style

5 min Opening Circle: Introduction Chris Lecture

10 min Ice Breaker: Name Game Scott Activity

30 min Activity 1: Post Card Interviews Nadia Activity

5 min Lesson 1: Re-introduce concept of Video Letter

Chris Lecture

1 hr Activity 2: Show Video Letter Chris Presentation

10 min Closing Circle: Video Letter Flan Discussion

Learning Objectives:

L1

Classroom instruction at MS-325. photo: Scott Miller

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

• Human rights Based Education • Technical and creative film skills • Developing Leadership and Advocacy

Pedagogy based on the theories of: Ethics of Care : Curriculum structured in a network of relationships around circles of care. Human Rights: Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Paulo Freire: Knowing one’s self in order to express, define, and inform.

BLOG

Successes & Challenges Community

Population: 1st and 2nd Generation Languages: Spanish, English, Wale

Urban Public Schools in the United States

Under-resourced Multiple schools in the same facilities

Punitive disciplinary systems: "School-to-Prison Pipeline"

Project Working within a school

Teaching

CHALLENGES-FIGHT CASE

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Self-documentation in progress during the story-boarding class at MS-325. photos: Scott Miller

1. peer-peer interviews 2. ongoing self-documentation 3. post-class log of facilitator reflections

MONITORING AND EVALUATION 4. We monitor whether the kids' work is following our primary theoretical guide: Ethics of Care

International: global warming

Community: the corner store

National: identity - DR / NYC

Family: cousin, grandmother

Self: prayer

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

5. skill retention checklist 6. post-workshop interviews with kids, teacher and school administration 7. community survey 8. Online usage counter

Jeffrey filming a shot with a "creative frame", part of his skill retention checklist assignment. photo: Scott

Miller

Timeline

COLLABORATIONS

Urban Science Academy, MS-325 School in the South Bronx facilitating our workshops and providing a supervising teacher, and cameras

Luta Pela Paz

NGO in Rio de Janeiro facilitating our workshops

UNICEF, Child Participation Unit

Child Participation Specialist Ravi Karkara provides strategy and contacts as we move forward

Clinton Global Initiative University

Invited us to present our work at annual conference. Grant application pending

At the Clinton Global Initiative University conference.

COLLABORATIONS

Hairou Commission

Will support our work in Haiti with logistics and other resources

IIDAC International NGO is Brasilia, in conversation about a future collaboration

Brooklyn Arts Council

Provides guidance on management and fundraising

Cite Soliel Our NGO partner in Haiti providing strategic, logistical and staff support

Pure Digital and Apple Computers

we plan to apply for equipment sponsorship

Moving Forward • Creating a 501c3 - non-profit organization - which will legitimize us as well as give donors tax-deductible advantages. • Our next project to work with youth in Cite Soleil in Port au Prince in partnership with the youth arts educational non-profit Haiti Soleil.

This project will be a self-reflective process allowing children to document and honor their people and communities after the earthquake.

Future Workshops

Supervised Online Workshops

We will have a resource package including teaching materials available for communities and groups that are interested in creating youth media

workshops. We will work with workshops leaders to customize our pedagogical “recipe” to their unique local circumstances.

Global Video Letter- Emergency Team Workshops

The team will follow the world international affairs arena and will identify places where there are people who need their voices to be heard. We will prioritize

specific areas with urgent needs such as:

•Conflict •Human rights violations •Natural disaster emergency •Harsh Economic Conditions

THANK YOU KIDS!

Six of our students: Ivy, Shakira, Isaac, Jeffrey, Moises and Tequan. photo: Scott Miller