Lani Chevat's Friends

sharka

Francisco Pereira's TIGblog
Francisco Pereira's profile

The most common feedback we received from youth during the 2010 program cycle was a request for opportunities to interact with and learn about other youth artists around the world. In an effort to begin to address this, we launched an exciting video exchange project involving youth artists in Argentina and Canada.

We asked each group to create a video as a group to showcase their respective cultures and communities. Once the videos were made, each group sent their finished project to the other group.

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of visiting Río Tercero, Argentina where our local partner Fundación Tierra Vida has been working to deliver the Adobe Youth Voices program. at Colegio Superior de Comercio, a public school in Río Tercero.

Alongside our educators, we facilitated a media workshop with a group of 60 young artists. To start the workshop we screened the video that Toronto-based Friends in Trouble created through the Adobe Youth Voices program. Their video shares their vision, goals, and love for Toronto, and it poses questions to the youth in Argentina about what they community is like.

It was amazing to see the kids reactions after watching the video, I could see how happy they were, they couldn't believe that youth artists from Canada wanted to know more about them and their country. 

As part of the planning for the workshop we had asked every participant to bring an object that represents their culture or something that is important to them. We wanted to generate ideas around the the elements that are unique about their community and what it means to be a youth living in Argentina.  Based on that framework we split the artist into small groups where they could talk about their object and make quick videos snippets, that later would be use to edit a video to send back to the youth artists in Canada.

Bellow you view the videos that we produced as well as some photos from the visit to Argentina.

Friends in Trouble, Toronto:

Friends in Trouble ~ Adobe, Project You(th) from Friends inTrouble on Vimeo.

Kids and teens at 'Friends in Trouble', learning how to use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere to share their visions, goals and love for Toronto, Ontario. F.i.T. is a non-profit organization dedicated to support and empower youngsters living in the area of Jane & Finch. This clip was made to be shared with the Adobe Project youngsters in Argentina.

Fundacion TierraVida, Cordoba:

http://vimeo.com/32932235           

I really want to thank everyone that participated in the project, for all of us that were lucky enough to be a part of it this has been a really enriching experience and my hope is that in the future we will be able to to do more events that offer our program participants opportunities to learn, share and be part of our global network. 

enirukaj

Eni Rukaj's TIGblog
Eni Rukaj's profile

I recently got the position of Chief Returning Officer within the Internal Affairs Commission of my Alma Mater Society at Queen's University. In essence, I am in charge of elections within the AMS next year.  It's a very exciting job for me, but also I anticipate it will be extremely difficult. My role has not officially started, yet I'm already facing issues of apathy and lack of motivation and involvement within my student community. 

As a result of coming face to face with this prevailing issue, I've been thinking back on my days as a teenager (I'm almost 20, and this may not seem like a big deal to some of you who are older, but right now, I'm also mid-mourning for my teenage years).  What I realized was that I was apathetic until a certain age too.  I can't pinpoint what got me interested in getting invovled in my community and my world.  It seems as if one day, I just woke up, realized I had a lot to offer and a lot to gain from the world and started getting more involved in my school and community and investing in myself and the growth of my skills, as a result. 

What is it that holds back a lot of today's youth, then? What was that magical ingredient that gets youth rolling in the right direction?

This blog post is more of a discussion opportunity with the TIG community that I know is incredible, invovled, inspired and extremely motivated; a chance to share your thoughts, opinions and maybe even best practices to get YOUTH motivated, involved and anti-apathetic to the world around them. What is your opinion on apathy? What have you done to combat it? 

sharka

Francisco Pereira's TIGblog
Francisco Pereira's profile

Today we spent the afternoon at Colegio TIC TAC, where we took part in the screening of 3 of the videos that the youth have been working on for the past couple weeks. All the videos that were shown were great, you could tell that all the participants spent time planning them and they really understood what it means to create with purpose. Even though our portuguese is very limited, to say the least, it was easy to understand and relate to the issues that the videos were trying to address. 

There was one video in particular that I was really taken by,  and it was the video that Jaoni and Gustavo made. They told us that they created the video  so that they could tell the world how water pollution is a big problem here in Campo Grande, and how rivers are getting polluted more and more. It was great to see how they told their story in a video, because they introduced humour to the issue, which made their video incredibly funny and witty, so much so that  the entire room bursting in laughter a few times, even though it was very sad to see how much garbage they were able to find in river that they went to. 

I was really happy to see how youth are learning and sharing their experience with other people in their communities, and by far my favourite of the day was a moment where I could see how proud the Jaoni and Gustavo were to show their video with their peers and parents. 

 

Will post more updates soon!

sharka

Francisco Pereira's TIGblog
Francisco Pereira's profile

sharka

Francisco Pereira's TIGblog
Francisco Pereira's profile

We just landed in Campo Grande!  
We are meeting with our wonderful educators today so will keep you posted.

The photo bellow was taken as we were landing. Enjoy!

sharka

Francisco Pereira's TIGblog
Francisco Pereira's profile

Today is our last day in Mexico but it  really feels like we only got here yesterday. 
Meeting our partners in Mexicali was a great experience and as Vivian mention before it really has been a very enriching experience for us. The work that we did last saturday during the workshop was really fun and i really enjoyed meeting and spending time all the kids that we part of the program. 

I have to run now, as we are boarding for our flights to Brazil soon, but I will keep everyone posted as we get there tomorrow morning.

 

enirukaj

Eni Rukaj's TIGblog
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I came across this video a while ago. It's a simple short film concept, showcasing everyday life moments set to a beautiful song, but I found it very mesmerizing and powerful.

It speaks. And it speaks to me, directly, but also to all human beings on this earth.

To me, the video is inspiration, distilled. And it's also life, at its most beautiful, at its saddest, at its most philosophical and its most everyday, mundane and yet, breathtakingly special.

Just watch the video. And then write words. Speak what it makes you feel. Share.

iremkhan

iKhan's TIGblog
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The 2010 CIVICUS Youth Assembly kicked off on August 18th at Concordia University, Montreal, with an opening plenary on ‘Bridging Across Generations: How Can Youth Be Part of the Solution?’. The theme for this year’s assembly was economic and climate justice, and development effectiveness. CIVICUS is an international alliance formed with a mandate to strengthen citizen action at all levels of governance. The Youth Assembly gathered two days before the World Assembly to share knowledge and information in preparation for the events in the World Assembly. The assembly provided a transition for youth to become active in bringing out their passions and engaging them with meaningful dialogues. One emerging train of thought brought out by the panel, including Ingrid Srianth, the CIVICUS Secretary General, and Jennifer Corriero, co-founder of TakingITGlobal was that this generation of youth has access to a fluid identity. Your physical location and where you are born does not define you wholly or does not form your identity to the same extent as it may have in past generations. Jennifer Correiro also commented on the critical point of youth transitioning and re-defining their identities. This plays a large part to the feeling of belonging and being able to express themselves in creative ways. Samar Mezghanni, the Youth Assembly Chair, also commented on youth needing to take the next step and being disruptive to create the change they desire. She referred to this disruption as “soft-violence” to create waves of difference. Rajiv Joshi, Outreach Coordinator for GCAP, also brought up some amazing examples of youth capacity when left to their own resourcefulness, with the ‘Hole in the Wall’ project in India. Finally, Deborah Kaddu-Serwadda, the Founding President of Empower Children and Communities against Abuse in Uganda, brought in her youth engagement perspectives through her experience with setting up her agency. She gave messages of advocacy and offered hope for youth. “Perceptions may exist in society but as long as you’re true to your vision and have a critical mass of people believing in what you’re doing, you should never give up”. The CIVICUS Youth Assembly carried on these messages of inter-generational talks, with focused workshops on Economic Justice, Development Effectiveness and Climate Change. Each group delved into the youth’s perspective on how to make action more effective from the ground up. Kumi Naidoo’s talk on ‘The Impact of Climate Change’ earlier that morning also touched on the youth’s role on activism. One of the important messages we were left with was “We must act now, we must act together and we must act differently”. One engaging video Naidoo showed the delegation was a spin-off to e-Harmony’s ads, called Polluter Harmony. Overall, the Youth Assembly brought strong messages of action, the youth want to engage, they want to push past the talking and be active. I believe this change can happen within the constructs of the assembly itself, by seeing more active positions and representation of youth within the World Assembly. I commend the words of motivation delivered to the youth delegates, but I also hope to see those words actualized into action by youth. Check out videos from the Youth and World Assembly here.

iremkhan

iKhan's TIGblog
iKhan's profile

The Youth Assembly came to a close with a March and flashmob down the downtown streets of Montreal. There were three messages embedded within the March, which were; climate change, leadership powers and decision making, and human rights. The youth cheered and called out for justice to be served in different languages and came to a finish at the Palais des Congres where the World Assembly was to commence. The flashmob scenes focused on Climate Change, which was demonstrated through a group of people representing an iceberg and then slowly parts broke off and dissolved into the ground. The March ended with the message of maternal mortality as a critical issue to human rights. This was demonstrated with the youth blowing up balloons and placing them under their shirt, which represented various stages of pregnancy. They then popped the balloons simultaneously and fell to the ground showing the deaths of mothers as a result of lack of access to services and information. To learn more about this issue visit Amnesty International at http://www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/demand-dignity/issues/maternal-mortality. The energy and importance of the March was a strong ending to an amazing two days at the CIVICUS Youth Assembly. These young leaders have demonstrated an incredible capacity to learn and engage with each other in effort to reach their common goals.

To watch some of the flashmob visit: http://www.youtube.com/takeitglobal#p/u/6/OmDi_leCdz8

iremkhan

iKhan's TIGblog
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On Friday August 20, the BBC Radio programme broadcasted live from the Youth Assembly. The program marked a one-year anniversary since the Lockerbie Bomber had been released from prison in Scotland, on the base of compassionate grounds. Adel Baset Al-Megrahi was released when thought to have only three months to live due to prostate cancer. The question was then posed to the youth; do u waive your rights to compassion? And, what is stopping youth from engaging today? What are your thoughts on these questions?

iremkhan

iKhan's TIGblog
iKhan's profile

Tonight marks the end of the CIVICUS Youth assembly, but it is just the beginning for the World Assembly. Taking part of the youth assembly and the planned activities over these past few days have really brought the message home, that today’s youth are connected to the world and committed to making a change. The third Civicus Youth assembly is being held in Montreal, at Concordia University and has brought over fifty youth together to take part in seminars, workshops and discussions. The Youth Assembly took place two days before the World Assembly in preparing participants to become aware of their power in creating solutions for socio-economic and environmental issues. The theme of the conference this year is, Seeking out Solutions: Economic Justice, with cross cutting themes of development effectiveness and climate justice.

Stay tuned for video interviews and pictures!

enirukaj

Eni Rukaj's TIGblog
Eni Rukaj's profile

It’s 11pm. I have spent the past 6 hours on the internet, acquiring information, reading blogs, essays, book reviews, watching videos, sending emails, checking Facebook, learning how to learn better, checking out Metafilter links, sharing life with the world, virtually. I have spent the entire day in front of a screen, in fact. I have no recollection of the world around me in the past two hours- but I can speak to you on a wide range of topics with fresh perspective, from feminist cultural criticism to my friends’ latest status updates to very interesting and current scientific research as wide-ranging as the application of photons in technology and the implications of dysfunctional endoplasmic reticulum (an organelle present in all eukaryotic cells for the non-science types) on the cell. I’m tired.

And yet, this is a good thing. My body is telling me it’s exhausted, my mind is struggling to remember what I have learned and my eyes are crying out for mercy, yet, thoughts keep on rushing in, inspiration keeps on looking for a spark and THIS IS A GOOD THING is the underlying message throughout it all.

I struggle to grasp this concept. Perhaps it’s because I am truly so exhausted and yet so unable to let myself relax that all I can do is ask “Why?”

Why is it like this?

Our experience with the world has dramatically changed with the introduction of the internet, and in particular with the boom and popularity of Web 2.0 social platforms. It seems as if we feel we will miss out on discussion if we so much as have the decency to sleep.

Recently, I read an article , ironically shared with me through Facebook, about the “FOMO” phenomenon-Fear of Missing Out. At first, I denied it-No, no, that’s not me, I certainly don’t worry about missing out on parties and city events, or any other humorously ridiculous situations the article’s author proposes- but eventually I realized I was afraid of missing out on OPPORTUNITY. Opportunity in education, the job market, personal enrichment, knowledge, social progress, etc, etc.

There is so much to worry about!!! There is so much to wonder about missing out on. The web is growing by exponentials, and thereby, information and knowledge is growing by exponentials. Youtube has more footage than news networks could ever hope to broadcast! Twitter updates happen faster than an earthquake’s seismic waves!.

How do we handle this much this fast? Shorter attention spans? Check. Multitasking that actually slows down progress? Check. Progressive loss of interaction with the real world?...Check.

There just comes a point where we have to back up and think critically about the lives we’re leading. The internet is wonderful. And the internet can be terrible.

I’m asking you, how do you handle the dynamic love-hate relationship with instant connection, instant information and instant gratification? How do you focus on the long-term? How do you disconnect yourself from the Fear of Missing Out?

enirukaj

Eni Rukaj's TIGblog
Eni Rukaj's profile

This Monday was my first experience with a Staff Development Day, and I’m sure it was the same for a lot of the other current TIG interns. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally found it to be an enriching experience.

Going into the session without any expectations meant that I had an infinite amount to gain from it. It was interesting to see more of everyone in the office, not just those I work with closely, and to see what their opinions and views on issues that mattered to the office were.

I’m a firm believer that communication is the key to solving problems-from personal to work-related to bigger and broader world issues- and it was great to see our office taking on the challenge of brainstorming for solutions.

As today and the coming week will be filled with summarizing the iEARN Youth Summit Evaluations (which is, basically a lot of data entry), I will not be having as exciting of a time as I did this Monday-nor one filled with too much communication- so I really value the time spent this Monday enriching our office environment.

Peace out for the weekend!

iremkhan

iKhan's TIGblog
iKhan's profile

The digital world of connections and networking has been made possible with the aid of mediums/platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to broadcast ideas and identities. There is an increasing level of importance placed on people and businesses to integrate social networking in their day-to-day lives. The benefits of social networking have been made clear over and over; it is bridging gaps and bringing people together. It is not necessarily about the social media tools that help us engage, but it is about the connections that are created with people. I recently read an interesting article.

that pointed out that social networking is still about the relationships created; they are the currency to finding jobs in today’s markets. “Only you can make the relationship. Connecting with people still means you can’t be a dinosaur and ignore what is going on around you thinking nothing is changing. Change is constant”. Recently at the 17th annual iEARN conference held in Barrie, social networking was on the forefront. It made global classrooms possible and collaborations could take place across the world. However in learning about the social media, I also began questioning words that were being used to describe the benefits of these tools, such as breaking through “cross-cultural boundaries”. What role does social media play in bridging worlds, and does this bridge lead to a homogenized culture. In engaging children and youth to be active within social media platforms we are also exposing them to information that is increasingly homogenized. I was reading a recent Adbusters.

magazine on a beautiful beach on the lake, connected to nature and my surroundings. I found an article called "Ecology of Ecology".

to particularly resonate with the today’s generation of youth. The Jumpy Brain Syndrome is our endless feed of information being fed to us at all times through our blackberry devices, our netbooks and ipods. “The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that American children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 7½ hours a day using some sort of electronic device.” This did not take me by surprise but I did realize this was probably the first time in a month I was not plugged into technology. I had left all my devices and gadgets at home and I felt exposed and the compulsion to get an update on the world outside. Although I am not saying we should not use the amazing advantages of social media to connect, but we should also be aware of the increasing demands to be integrated into all components of social networks. Youth are buying into this alternative universe faster and easier than ever, given their ability to shape and recreate their individualistic representations. Which is why we need to promote using these mediums and tools of social connections for something of value. TakingITGlobal has always been a forward thinker for introducing social media for social change.

enirukaj

Eni Rukaj's TIGblog
Eni Rukaj's profile

Dedication is harder done than said. Like most other things in life. Take smoking. You would probably club your teenage self in the head for trying that first cigarette…that’s what got you hooked, you think. That’s what made it so hard to dedicate yourself to quitting.

I recently read somewhere (exactly what or where escapes me, but I will post the link if I remember) that because of the instant gratification and delayed negative impact in bad habits, they are harder to kick, and because of the instant pain or negative impact and delayed gratification in good habits, they are harder to pick up.

Blogging, in its own right, is of the delayed-gratification type. As you stare at a blank screen, you will wonder whether what you’re writing is of any importance, whether anyone is listening, whether you really care about what you write, or whether you left the stove on and now have to get out of your comfy bed yet again.

We need to reverse this thinking slowly, step by step. Imagine you were the writer of a blog no one reads…Imagine you decided you had no time, and you saw no point in blogging…Imagine you were about to log on and delete your blog. Hypothetically, of course. Now, say you logged in and saw a little screen that reminded you exactly why you started the blog to begin with and why you had to keep going. Say this happened every day. Say you understood the motives behind your actions.

Wouldn’t it be beautiful? Little by little, the message would seep through. Imagine there was nothing stopping you from implementing beneficial plans, productive activities, useful habits. Imagine.

Wouldn’t it be possible? So, I ask you, what’s stopping you? What's REALLY stopping you from doing what you constantly tell yourself you will one day do?