- 23 April 2010
- 12 April 2010
- 22 February 2010
- 16 February 2010
- 1 February 2010
- 1 December 2009
- 30 November 2009
- 28 April 2009
- 1 December 2007
- 1 January 2007
Project in the Media
Youthworx 2.0
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Youthworx explores how homeless or ‘at-risk’ young people respond to the chance to become co-creators within a youth-run media organization. The project involves an innovative partnership between the Salvation Army, Youth Development Australia, SYN-Media, and CCI. Youthworx tests a vital link in the Australian innovation system: between third sector social services, community media and research. Youth work agencies such as YDA seek to re-engage disadvantaged young people; NGOs such as the Salvation Army can offer resources, experience, authority and access to government-funded training schemes. The challenge is to make such investments sustainable, in terms of social, vocational and educational outcomes. Partnership with community media organisations such as SYN-Media provides real work experience and training and demonstrable links to employment in the creative industries; it also offers access to social networks, norms and the experience of trust. The question explored is whether these connections form sustainable networks of social innovation.
Plans for 2010
A new partnership with Victorian Dept Human Services will extend and expand the YWX initiative, broadening the range of media training provided. The YWX studio accommodation will be extended and intake will increase, drawing on expanded networks in the non-profit sector and on jobs creation funding. Accreditation for training will be extended to Certificate III VCAL level. YWX will evolve into a media-based social enterprise, Youthworx Productions, in which young people create commissioned media content for government and community agencies. We will also seek to develop mobile outreach Youthworx services, providing mobile studio, editing and online facilities to disadvantaged young people in the regions. Research partnerships will be developed with sister youth media social enterprises in Australia, the US and India. Analysis will explore YWX as an instance of innovation in broadening the social base of the creative economy and will highlight different models for intermediate creative labour market creation. We will explore the proposition that creative uses of social and civic infrastructure can also offer new models for how to enable underserved or disengaged communities to distribute and consume media content.
Overview:
Youthworx investigates a new approach to social enterprise, which unites third-sector welfare services with the self-determining, collaborative sphere of community media. CCI researchers are engaged in a longitudinal study of Youthworx, monitoring the challenges encountered by participants as they become media creators and decision-makers. Our research is multi-disciplinary, connecting social, education and media research in order to understand interconnections between creative industries and social development.
The research has been structured into two phases of work over the five years of the project. The first phase addresses youth-run community media, their social and vocational outcomes and their capacity for innovation. The second phase addresses the innovative partnership model under which the Youthworx program will operate and offers an evaluation of the program from the perspectives of both participants and stakeholders.
The project has recently see some personnel changes. Two new Research Fellows, Dr Aneta Podkalicka and Dr Liza Hopkins have been appointed to the project to replace Ellie Rennie. A second PhD candidate, Jon Staley has also been added to the research team. Jon will complete his PhD through the collaborative production of an independent low budget feature film with Youthworx participants.
2009 saw the first cohort of Youthworx participants enrolled in a certificate II in creative industries (media) through the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. The research team plans to follow these young people closely over the next two years, in order to assess the effectiveness of the programme in meeting its aims of engaging young people, preparing them for further study and/or transition to the workplace as well as enhancing personal development and self-esteem. This will be tracked by a series of administered questionnaires to participants before, during and after the course is undertaken, as well as more in-depth one on one semi-structured interviews with the students. The researchers will also be involved at the media studio as participant observers, to facilitate trust and informal observation of the operation of the program.
Research is also being conducted with key stakeholders in the Youthworx project, including Salvation Army, YDA and SYN-Media personnel through the use of one on one semi-structured interviews. Comparative research with similar initiatives both in Australia and overseas is also currently being carried out.
For more information visit the Youthworx website
People
Aneta Podkalicka, Chris Wilson, David MacKenzie, Denise Meredyth, Ellie Rennie, Julian Thomas, (in partnership with the Salvation Army and SYN-FM)Project Presentations
Project News
Asia broadcasting business community consumers copyright creative commons creative industries cultural institutions culture content economics education employment Indigenous innovation internet law leadership multimedia policy social media technology telecommunications youth software screen industries
Project Events
- Submissions due 25 June 2010
- 9.30am – 11.30am Thursday, 6 May 2010
- 27 April 2010
- 23 April 2010
- 28 February - 28 March 2010
- 17 March 2010
- 12 March 2010
- Applications close 22 February 2010
- 18 February 2010
- 17 February 2010
- Deadline 30 December 2009
- 26 - 27 November, 2009
- 29 October 2009
- 21 August 2009
- 21 & 27 July 2009
- 7 July 2009
- 23 - 26 June 2009
- 12 - 14 June 2009
- Posted:27 Apr 2010 - 12:37pm
