Contesting the idea that this generation is uniquely self-centered, Netsquared shared information on this project “Millennials Changing America“.  It’s “a research tour that seeks to paint a portrait of millennial activism as it exists today by traveling throughout the United States talking with millennials of all backgrounds, ideals, upbringing, and political persuasions.” Check it out!

Aquifer Media created the above videos in collaboration with Homies Unidos and other family advocacy groups in support of the “Child Citizen Protection Act“. I set out to to facilitate a process where these teens helped conceptualize, write and perform in the video (I did the editing with lots of help from my friend Joe). They’re designed to be paired with an action alert on a specific legislative bill. We have Spanish narration versions in the works.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to encourage on-line progressive participation and collaboration and translating it into real-world action. While tools like blogs, etc.  have been useful, I’m wondering what other digital media is also conducive to get new folks involved, like video.

Rather than leaving video to the purview of filmmakers and journalists, websites such as YouTube and tools such as the Flip Camera  have demonstrated that digital video is a compelling medium that anyone can easily create. Allowing community members to hold the camera (both literally and figuratively) can build their leadership and teach new skills. Through the exercise of creating video content, participants learn about collaboration, negotiation and teamwork. Advocates can assist in this process by teaching effective messaging and basic technological skills. Such collaboration between advocates and constituents can seed wildfire participation in the immigration reform debate and ultimately lead to greater civic engagement.

You can put these videos to work right away!

• Call the House of Representatives to support “The Child Citizen Protection Act” (H.R. 1176) *

Only FORTY-ONE YEARS ago today, the U.S. Supreme court overturned bans on interracial marriage in the case Loving vs. Virginia: http://www.lovingday.org/

(I find this amazing since it was only 3 years before I was born…).

La Luta Continua!

For the past few months, I’ve been attending the Moth StorySlams in Los Angeles. Even though it’s a contest for the best story that’s told on a theme, I love the sense of community that’s emerging from the open mike event. I’ve even told a few stories myself. This month I also attended a similar event The Spark in Santa Monica and it was great!

As a writer, I’m curious about what makes a good story. As an advocate, I wonder how we can harness the power of story telling to change our world.

In my quest to answer these questions, I was excited to recently learn about a new book, “Telling Stories to Change the World” that was co-authored by a new friend of mine Kayhan Irani. This is exactly the sort of thing I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: how we can use new media to raise the voices and build the leadership of communities that have been affected by injustice. I don’t have a copy yet but plan to buy one! I’ll be sure to tell you more about it once I’ve read it!

On June 20 in New York, there’s a launch party for the book.

I also recently learned about The Center for Digital Storytelling and hope to attend one of their seminars in the near future. I’m sure you’ve also heard of StoryCorps which seeks to celebrate one another’s lives through listening.

With all this storytelling swirling around me, I’ve been wondering how we could use emerging video technology (see earlier post) and combine it will effective storytelling to change the world. I’m working on some ideas and plan to share them with you soon.