September 2008 E-newsletter

[Peter Kirschmann]

SPNN Youth E-Newsletter September 2008

In this issue:   ¨    Join the Set It Up Crew! ¨    CampTV: Neighborhood Video Camp Update ¨    Youth Intern Program Update ¨    Connections Program Wrap-up ¨    YTV Schedule ¨    Youth Media Opportunities

Join the Set It Up Crew!   We are now accepting applications for Set It Up, which is a teen-produced TV show exploring issues affecting teens in St. Paul. To apply to be a Set It Up crew member, you must be a high school student (9th-12th grade), a resident of St. Paul, and have an interest in community issues and media/television production. Crew members will receive high school credit or a cash stipend for their contributions, as well as a bus pass to get to and from SPNN.     To apply online, click here!   To download and print a PDF version of the application, click here!   For more information contact Peter at 651.361.8147 or email kirsc...@spnn.org

CampTV: Neighborhood Video Camp Update   For the last neighborhood video camp of the summer, SPNN partnered with the Concordia University Hmong Culture and Language Program Summer Camp and Farm in the City.  The focus of the Camp was "to preserve the Hmong culture and language through storytelling, gardening and the arts, "and to encourage partnership and friendship between Hmong and non-Hmong youth. Campers participated in a variety of activities and classes including Hip-Hop dance, traditional Hmong instruments including leaves, and worked together to create a mural.  Youth participants in the SPNN program documented these activities and conducted interviews with campers and staff as part of news show called Camp TV. A segment of Camp TV was screened at the camp's final celebration and will be seen at the SPNN Youth end of the summer screening.

Youth Intern Program Update          The SPNN Youth Intern Program came to an end on Thursday, August 21st.  The final screening was celebrated on Wednesday, August 20th.  Youth, families, and community leaders came together to watch the powerful pieces created by the interns on topics ranging from cultural expectations of young women of color to youth empowerment.  If you missed this event, don’t worry—the pieces created during the intern program will be cablecast soon. STAY TUNED!   ·Cultural Expectations of Girls of Color – Personal stories by three young women and the challenges they have faced.  Featuring interviews with women of color active in the community.   ·Youth Empowerment – How do youth take action in their communities on issues important to them?  What are the opportunities and challenges?  This video looks at local organizing taking place in Saint Paul.   ·Gangs – Exploring the reasons youth join gangs and how communities can come together to support youth.  The video includes interviews with community members working to stop gang violence in Saint Paul.   The SPNN Youth Intern Program (YIP) is a unique, intensive, and highly selective six-week video program.   For four years, YIP has provided St. Paul high school youth with a forum to explore issues in their communities, build hands-on video production skills, and construct creative, informative, and meaningful videos that will be used in the community to create long lasting change.   For questions, please contact Erika Backberg, Youth Intern Program Coordinator @ ebac...@spnn.org or 651.298.8919.

Connections Program Wrap-up            This summer, SPNN Youth held 3 Connections video classes - Real Reality TV, Teen Studio Production, and Digital Storytelling.  All three classes were well attended, loads of fun, and some awesome videos were made.  The Real Reality Class made 3 documentaries.  The topics were "Race and Obama", "Phones - Past and Present" and "Abortion".  The Teen Studio class produced 3 studio shows including a talk show about teen issues, a game show, and a sketch comedy.  The Digital Storytelling Class split up into four groups that each created a narrative video with a different genre - mystery, western, drama, and action.  Thanks to the teachers - Amanda, Peter, Dawn and Sai, and the Peer Mentors - Megan, Fia and James for all their help, and thanks to all the youth who participated for their creativity and hard work!

YTV Schedule   YTV Schedule on Channel 16 September 2008 Monday through Sunday: 7- 8 PM   Monday: 7PM                  SPNN Youth Video: Set It Up St. Paul Places Project & #26 Teens & Drugs 7:30PM             SPNN Youth Video: Digital Storytelling Summer 2007   Tuesday: 7PM                  NYMAP Video Exchange: Because #6 7:30PM             NYMAP Video Exchange: Images & Sound                                     Wednesday: 7PM                  Center for International Education: 100 Eagles  7:30PM           Center for International Education: Reel Time (continued)   Thursday: 7PM                  Listen Up! – Reel Girls: Story Time 7:30PM             Listen Up! – Reel Girls: Story Time (continued)   Friday: 7PM                  Swept Away TV: Rockstar Stories 7:30PM             SPNN Youth Videos: Rezek House Media Projects   Saturday: 7PM                  In Progress: Teen Views 7:30PM             Phillips Community Television: Our Turn   Sunday:                                       7PM                  Center for International Education: Reel Time 7:30PM             Center for International Education: Reel Time (continued)

Youth Media Opportunities   TCYMN Youth Media Calendar TCYMN has put together an online calendar. Youth media opportunities offered by our 15 member organizations will be highlighted, and include workshops, screenings, and events. You can link directly with the organization or school offering the activity you are interested in. Our member organizations are diverse, providing a variety of youth media resources in the Twin Cities. The calendar will continue to grow for easy access.  For more information visit TCYMN Calendar.   TCYMN Picks a date for 2008 Showcase! TCYMN's All City Youth Film Showcase 2008 will take place on OCTOBER 25th at the Walker  Art Center.  The submission deadline for youth media is SEPTEMBER 26th.  Stay tuned for more information this summer!           My Minnesota Minute Online Video Contest Hey, Minnesotans, are you feeling inspired by the environment that surrounds you? Have you created your Minnesota Minute yet? Be sure to upload your video soon! Join us as we celebrate 150 years of Minnesota history by taking a look at Minnesota's natural places and asking how we can protect and restore these special places for the next 150 years. This contest accompanies The Bell Museum of Natural History's Minnesota Minute television campaign which can be seen on TV beginning in May or at the Minnesota Minute website.  These one minute videos tell the story of Minnesotans helping to preserve and restore Minnesota's natural places. Now it's your turn! Perhaps you know of a special place that needs help? Maybe you have a solution to share? Is there something you do as an individual or a community that makes a difference for the future of Minnesota's natural places and resources? Tell us what changes you think the next 150 years will bring to Minnesota's environment. Grab a camera and start shooting! HOW? 1) Go to www.minnesotaminute.org to see examples of Minnesota Minutes and to learn more about Minnesota's environment. 2) Pick up a digital camera. 3) Create your own Minnesota Minute video. 4) Keep it short! (under five minutes) 5) Upload your finished video to YouTube. 6) Add the tag: MyMinnesotaMinute     NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTH GET YOUR FILM ON! Here are some great opportunities coming up with Migizi Communications:   1) A 10-week institute for students finishing 10th and 11th grade in cooperation with MCTC's Cinema Division.   2) Part time positions for students interested in working with three and four year olds teaching them technology/media tools and early literacy skills.   3) Recruiting American Indian young people (minimum of high school completion) to participate in the American Indian Summer Institute in Los Angeles in June. The program will also include a week long job shadowing experience in selected departments at Fox 9 here locally prior to going out to LA.   For more information visit http://www.migizi.org     “Why is voting important??  How does it help your communities?” Video Voices   That’s the question the Keith Ellison campaign is posing to Minnesota, and we want to hear your answers in video form!   Keith’s Youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/keithellisondotorg  is launching the project later this month, and we’d like to be able to have some example videos on the site by the time it starts to get promoted. Can you help?   We are asking you to make a short (60 sec.) video expressing the importance of getting out to vote. Upload the video onto www.Youtube.com so it can be added to the www.KeithEllison.org channel.   Make it fun! Creativity is a plus.     Pay It Forward Foundation Grant   The Pay it Forward Foundation offers students the opportunity to identify what they consider to be the challenges of their communities. They tackle such problems as homelessness, pollution, youth violence, literacy issues, the loneliness experienced by long-term hospital and nursing home patients, and the alienation of today's at-risk youth from the community. The Pay It Forward Foundation provides seed money for such worthwhile projects.   Your school, church or community youth group may apply for this $500 mini-grant to fund a one time project with a Pay It Forward focus. Applications will be accepted anytime by email to gra...@payitforwardfoundation.com.   For more information please visit http://payitforwardfoundation.org/educators/grant.html or e-mail in...@payitforwardfoundation.org

See you next month!   Thanks for reading this months e-newsletter.  For more info on SPNN Youth Programs, visit www.spnn.org/youth.  If you have any questions or comments, please contact Nicola Pine at yo...@spnn.org or 651.298.8903.      If you no longer wish to receive these updates, send an email to spnnyouth-...@googlegroups.com.