Consumers as Producers of Knowledge: Youth Media for Community Development

In a world where —according to tech-guru Richard Graves— “mobile phones are king,” how do practitioners engage youth in the social, economic, and political development necessary for lasting reform? Last week at the “Youth and Media: Capturing Youth Perspectives” panel, four journalists challenged the international development community to find their answer in media.

New media generates personal stories, and storytelling captures complexity and humanity in the texture of everyday life. Each person, be it blogger or “tweeter,” draws from individual relationships to build a greater patchwork of ideas that reflect how youth, and the community, feel about themselves. New and social media has the potential to empower the consumers of knowledge to become its producers.

Anecdotes from America Abroad Media journalist, Sean Carberry, portrayed a growing media activism that suggests a reconfiguration of the political and cultural climate to focus on the individual, or the actions, of everyday life. Narrative, as he posited, thus becomes an effective means to explore daily realities from Syria to Sydney. Youth must be included in the exchange of ideas and information that reflect their successes, and their sufferings.

Current economic hurdles lie in the midst of shared suffering, as discussed in the context of the Arab world: in her recent National Public Radio report on the youth bulge in Syria, NPR Foreign Correspondent Deborah Amos highlighted the salience of work that builds basic soft skills like critical thinking and teamwork to allow students to learn to apply knowledge. Creative expression is the means to this end. When youth engage with materials in a way that resonates with their personal goals and interests, via performance art or social media, they organically seek knowledge and commit to critical thinking—tools central to promote sustainable development.

Creativity and innovation is critical to foster, and spread, dialogue. As such, IREX continues to respond to the changing global atmosphere with a new program that will use social media to engage youth and increase civic participation in the Arab world. The panelists recognized the importance of youth perspectives and involvement and by introducing digital tools, social networking platforms, and mobile phone applications youth can further engage in the policies that govern their lives.

Although solutions remain opaque, one thing is clear: the tides are changing. Youth generated media provides a space for self-expression whereby collective, and individual, identities can develop over the shared space of the media. Through new and social media techniques, youth worldwide engage in the civic participation necessary for effective, sustainable development. This conversation encourages the development community to ask an important question: how can we harness the potential of youthful commonsense and creative thought for the benefit of our global communities?