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This summer, Open Youth Networks Marisol Becerra has been serving as an intern at the White House. In her recent Facebook status update, Marisol writes:

Signing a bIrthday card and singing Happy Birthday for the President is one of the most memorable moments I’ve had this summer. VP Biden spending 2 hours with us despite his tight schedule: PRICELESS!

Enjoy some of her photos from bowling in the White House bowling lanes to her first meeting with the Obamas at the July 4th picnic.

We are so proud of you Marisol!

Xavi Macias, Zane Scheuerlein and Mindy Faber of Open Youth Networks are off this week to present two workshops at the Allied Media Conference.

Using Google Maps to Visualize the Network of Youth Organizations at the AMC

will help youth build a national Google map of youth media activists.

The Culture of Video Remix: Tools and Approaches for the Media Educator

participants will learn the various tools, apps and methods for creating video remixes that critically examine mass media messages. Using bit torrent, audio hijack, and video download, conversion and compression tools - they will grab several video files off the web and learn about fair use provisions of copyright law as they apply to the work of educators and student remixers.

Open Youth Networks, an innovative program with a national reputation for providing high quality participatory media and digital education for under-resourced youth, is joining the department of Interactive Arts and Media at Columbia College. Open Youth Networks, designed to help bridge the digital participation gap, educates girls and urban youth to use emerging technologies, games and social media to make a better world for themselves and their communities.

Through IAM at Columbia College, Open Youth Networks will be able to:

• Match students in web-development and digital service learning projects with youth and community groups;
• Offer Saturday workshops for teachers/high school youth in pre-programming skills, new technologies and social media;
• Conduct summits, symposia or conferences on topics such as girls in technology and serious games;
• Partner with CPS schools to consult on curriculum alignment and college preparation for computer programming; and,
• Serve as an incubator for innovations in games, apps and social utility tools used for non-profit, community and social justice use.

Annette Barbier, Chair of the Department of Interactive Arts and Media is thrilled to have Open Youth Networks join Columbia College.

“This partnership will provide real and meaningful opportunities for our students and faculty to connect with urban youth, communities and non-profit groups interested in using new user-driven technologies, games and participatory media for social good.”

The Interactive Arts and Media Department prepares students to create interactive art, media, and games that are innovative and compelling.  Students emerge with strong foundations in aesthetics, theory, technology, cultural understanding, critical thinking, and creative problem solving. The combination of media theory and technology, enlivened by practice, prepares students for diverse and successful careers in interactive arts, multimedia, web design, interaction and interface design, and game design.

OYN Founder, Mindy Faber will continue to oversee the program. 2010 project initiatives include: The 3G Summit: The Future of Girls, Gaming and Gender to take place in August 2010 and The Green Games Institute, to be conducted in collaboration with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency in Planning’s Future Leaders in Planning group.

Open Youth Networks is currently conducting a six week digital residence with the 4th grade team at Washington Elementary. The students are creating OUR GEO MAP OF THE CONTINENTS, adding multimedia content, digital stories, photographs, facts and more to the map.

We just started but check out what we have done so far:

View Larger Map

Our own youth member, Martin Macias, Jr. just published an article called Political Remix Video - The New Activism inspired by his participation in our Fair Use Remix Institute. Read the article here.

Here is an excerpt from his piece:

Remix has always been part of history. Poets, artists, and writers have “recycled” bits and pieces from past history to create new culture.  Remix, when used creatively, can be a very powerful weapon. It can challenge corporate media and break the stereotypical molds that advertisements create for youth. But most importantly, remix is one way to take part, fully, in this democracy. This country can’t function as it was meant to if there are no voices that can speak out against injustices.

Xavi - as we like to call him - also just interviewed William Ayers on video. Look for this video on our blog soon.

On Tuesday, November 11th, Open Youth Networks member and grad of the 2007 YouthLAB Program - Zane Scheuerlein was awarded a Goldman Sachs Youth Prize for Excellence in International Education.

The Goldman Sachs Foundation and Asia Society partnered to create the Youth Prizes for Excellence in International Education, which are awarded to U.S. high school students, ages 14-18, who demonstrate an in-depth understanding of key issues in international affairs. On November 11, 2008, five U.S. high school students were awarded $10,000 college scholarships for proposing solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges. The ceremony was held at the Waldorf Astoria in NY during the 2008 Annual Gala of the Asia Society. The 2008 competition asked students to create an in-depth written essay or multimedia feature examining a social or economic issue that has relevance to them in a global context.

Over 700 American teens from every state, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, addressed a wide range of political and humanitarian issues, including entries on the environment, peace and conflict, poverty, education, immigration, and many more.

In his video “Border Crossings” about environmental injustice in Chicago and a small border town in Mexico, Zane documented the effects of waste sites and industrial facilities on air pollution, employment, and public health in neighboring communities. Zane is interested in alternative media production, international relations and sociology.

Click here to see Zane’s video, Border Crossings.

Click here to see more photos of the event.

Click here to read a brief article in the Evanston Review.

Click here to read article/see video at Northwestern News Network

Our very own Marisol Becerra was recently awarded one of the prestigious Brower Youth Awards by the Earth Island Institute for her community organizing work with Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO) and the creation of “Our Map of Environmental Justice” through the support of Open Youth Networks.

A huge article appeared in the November 3, 2008 front page section of the Chicago Tribune which you can access here. Also, read Mindy Faber’s response to the article here which unfortunately neglected to mention Open Youth Networks or LVEJO.

The Brower Youth Award website is chocked full of great information too, not only about Marisol but about the other winners as well. Check it out here.

But first watch this video…

As part of its 50 million dollar Digital Media and Learning initiative, The MacArthur Foundation recently concluded its call for submissions to its Young Innovator Awards ($15,000 and $30,000), prizes which go to smaller participatory learning projects that would benefit from mentor expertise in industry or nonprofit institutions. These awards include internships and are for 18-25 year old applicants taking projects from “garage” to “market.” In the end, up to $1.8 million will be awarded to Innovation in Participatory Learning Award winners, and up to eight Young Innovator Award winners will be selected.

YouthLAB members, Ameenah Muhammad, Sadia Nawab and Zane Scheuerlein are now published authors. Their essay, TEN RADICAL THINGS ABOUT YOUTUBE, appears in Issue #5 of the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, a Los Angeles-based publication that aims to link radical aesthetics with political activisms.

Editors Marc Herbst and Christina Ulke approached the three youth after they presented their curated program YOUTUBE-SIZED at the 24/7 DIY Video Summit in Los Angeles, organized by Mimi Ito and Steve Anderson of the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. The editors were struck by the presentation which talked about the multiple and liberating effects of YouTube culture on the lives of youth.

Congratulations Ameenah, Sadia and Zane - not many teenagers can claim to be published in a national art journal.

Zane with Jonathan McIntosh and friend at the DIY Video Summit

FURI [pronounced fury] is a two week digital media workshop for young media activists.

WHEN: July 7th-July 18th 2008 (Monday-Friday 11:00-4:00)
WHERE: CHICAGO FILMMAKERS – 5243 N. Clark, Chicago

IN FURI YOUTH PARTICIPANTS WILL:

• Create several remixes and mashups that are critical or satirical works of art focusing on political, social, and cultural issues, from a youth perspective
• Learn to use both on-line and offline editing and remix tools such as Kaltura, Adobe Premiere, and Final Cut Pro.
• Learn how to download or appropriate media from television and the web, including the Creative Commons and Remix America
• Work with various styles of remix including music video, movie trailer, short film, tv commercial, news and artistic
• Learn how to “quote copyrighted material” as Fair Use in order to reclaim First Amendment and Fee Speech rights
• Learn how to advocate for flexible and fair copyright laws, network neutrality and other public policies that impact your cultural rights
• Meet, converse and collaborate with a diverse group of socially-active youth from all over Chicago
• Reach and impact audiences in the hundreds, if not thousands, including: teachers, students, education administrators, scholars, activists, artists and journalists through conferences, web distributions and speaking tours. Some travel to cities such as DC, NY, LA, Boston and San Francisco may be involved.!