To empower teenage girls to become citizen journalists using new media and the web, Global Girl Media released their new sizzle reel at LA Centers Studios last night at a special Global Social Change Film Festival Event. This exciting project provides training for young women in low income and inner city neighbors. Their citizen journalists covered the World Cup, and will be reporting at the Global Social Change Film Festival April 13-17, 2011, in Bali.
Amie Williams, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Global Girl Media, shared with the filmmakers and fans, “We are bringing together teenage girls to share the power of their stories.” Global Girl Media has trained 30 young women, produced 45 videos, written 70 blogs. Amie Williams added, “We go where the cameras and microphones are not always pointed.” To increase learning and confidence, Global Girl Media pairs up girls from different cities. For the World Cup, they paired teens from Soweto, South Africa with girls from East Los Angeles.
In this inspirational sizzle reel, you’ll see many teenage citizen journalists stating, “My voice is important...because like women before me, I can make change happen.” From the smiles on their faces, you can read their excitement and pride. You’ll also see a teenage girls speaking with Dr Jill Biden (VP Joe Biden’s wife), Danny Glover and Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute (we love him!) Robert Redford shares, "Now is the time. I think a woman's point of view is very important."
Global Girl Media had two citizen journalists from East Los Angeles reporting at the Sundance Film Festival 2011. One of the themes for Sundance this year was celebrating women in film, and I was honored to cover the Miss Representation Panel, which included Geena Davis, Gloria Steinem and Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Director/Producer of this documentary that highlights the need to change the way the media portrays women.
During the Global Social Change Film Festival Event last night, we also had a moment of silence for our friends in Japan and Haiti. We are all watching citizen journalism in Japan as they post reports on Facebook and Twitter, and are grateful for the brave reporters sending us images of this tragedy.
Moving forward, Global Girl Media will cover the Global Change Film Festival 2012 in New Orleans. The organization is working on training programs for teenage women in the Middle East, and will be in Lebanon and Kurdistan, connecting them with women in Atlanta and Detroit. New York and Washington D.C. will also be launched in the next two years. If you want to get involved in this exciting empowerment program, please contact Global Girl Media. We need more teenage reporters giving us an insider’s view saying, “This is our world, and my voice.”
Source: Examiner.com
Find more On >> Citizen Journalism
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