http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/443665 World Voices Project Is A Mosaic of Recordings of people reading the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in their native language.

It is being presented right now in New York City's South Street Seaport but will soon travel to other spots in the world.

If you thought you could only appreciate the concepts found within this declaration, this sound installation might make you change your mind. It is like music.

You can hear it and learn more by visiting the website:http://www.worldvoicesproject.org/

~gNatalie]]> Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:05:00 EDT http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/443665 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/428691
The socially-conscious piece wasn't entirely absent though. Even while MTV is no struggling non-profit, at least a good portion of their work is focused on increasing awareness and action on social issues as well as civic enagement and social responsibility. The presence of Ian Rowe from Think.MTV and Carl Brown, a member of the MTV Street Team '08 added that element of what youth of today are capable of achieving in the realm of civic participation and also how digital media is capable of empowering them to make change. Socialvibe.com was also present, an organization who has created an innovative way of merging consumerism with good causes on an aesthetically-pleasing web platform.

There were a few other panels that I attended which touched on holistic approaches to using media for positive social change as well as the societal implications of participatory media and emerging technologies.

In the panel: "Totally Wired Hip Hop: Reaching Urban Youth", the overall message was that urban youth are often misunderstood and often avoided out of the fear that they are unapproachable. MC Hammer made the point that there are rappers in almost every community who want to give back to the community and are willing to comply with cleaning up their verbiage for young audiences. In discussing why rappers use profanity and harsh language, he pointed out the fact that this is what they are exposed to from an early age. He revealed that the solution for urban angst and relief from conditions of growing up in poverty and surrounded by violence is to address the conditions which the rappers are coming from and to give at-risk youth the tools to make content to share their stories. Great point, but then I had to wonder why smaller non-profits like Bay Area Video Coalition or YouthOutlook, who were present, weren't on the stage to say, "Agreed! That's why we've been doing what we're doing for quite some time now. And here is what we have found..." There was definitely a lack of voices from the experiences of the non-profit world who are focused entirely on the civic participation and positive social change angle.

The conversation in the panel "Are Girls the New Geeks" was a great contribution and a boost to the conference's socially-conscious factor. Nancy Gruver of New Moon Girl Media, a leading figure in the world of empowering girls through media creation mentioned that boys respond more to competition while girls respond more strongly to expressing themselves. While the word "geek" has up-to-date held implications of socially inept indivdual who were more comfortable interacting with code than with real live humans, girls are re-defining this term (along with the advent of all these social media tools). It was stated in this panel that girls are by and large the stronger content creators on the web today. Even as a mini case study, the last contest we ran on ymex.org, 100% of the user-created content that was submitted to the World Population Day Media contest was created by girls, mostly aged 17 to 19. The question posed early on in the panel was, "What is making girls such avid digital media creators?" The answer given was that technology has given girls greater access to sharing the creativity and expression that has always inside them. I am not sure if the case could be made that this is the same for guys because unfortunately there weren't any on the panel. It would have been interesting to have a teen guy present or perhaps even a director from a guy-oriented website like Loop'd. To have a guy perspective on the girl topic would most likely make the girl theories uphold under challenges from the guy perspective. It would have added dynamics to the conversation (and perhaps less male members of the audience would have dropped out).

Lastly the panel on Preventing Cyberbullying inevitably touched on socially-relevant matters. Linda Burch of Common Sense Media raised the all important question to all participants: With most of the mainstream media, the news, [and politicians] emphasizing cattiness and humiliation, how do we flip that around into positively-focused, civically-engaged citizens? Hemanshu Nigam, the Chief Security Officer for MySpace.com raised the point that cyberbullying is simply bullying and that old adage the bullying "is simply a part of growing up" needs to be sorted out. "Is it really a part of growing up?", he asked. The issue of bullying has been brought to light in the digital world but we as a society need to tackle it as an on- and off-line issue, simply as an overall important issue. Denise Restauri of Alleykatzz.com pointed out that bullying happens online stronger because its anonymous. You have to be popular to bully others on the school yard, but online you can bully anyone. Further good advice, words-to-the-wise were "self-reflect before you self-reveal; don't say something online that you wouldn't say in real life".

Despite all my criticism kudos to Anastasia and YPulse for even bringing together such a mixed-up mashup of representatives from many different worlds and creating a space for some really dynamic conversations. The worlds of the private and non-profit sector are wildly different and although we're constantly looking for crossovers and ways to work together, the models and means are quite different and don't always strike a balance. But the attempts should continue in order to find a sustainable future and a balanced environment for the youth of today and tomorrow.
]]> Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:23:00 EDT http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/428691 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/387363 YOUTH QUEST CONTEST!

Do you care about global issues? Are you a blogger, photographer, podcaster, gamer, or do you want to be any of the above? Are you under 18? If you are, then participate in our contest on ymex.org!

[18 years of age or older? Share this contest with your students and friends!]

What is it? Quests are an opportunity for you to showcase your media on global issues that matter to you! Pick one of five quests to learn about a global issue and then team up with other teens around the world to make a new media project with a positive impact!

How do I participate? It's easy! All you have to do is log-in to http://www.ymex.org using your TakingITGlobal account and accept the quest that interests you most. You must complete all steps of the quest by the deadline to enter your Quest into the contest.

Why? Score big points, enjoy the fame as you and your media are in the spotlight, make new friends from around the world, and best of all, raise awareness make a difference!

Who? Although anyone of any age can take a ymex.org Quest, you must be under 18 years of age to enter this contest. You can be from any part of the world, just make sure your media is in English language-only.

Deadline: All quests must be completed by 11:59 pm GMT on Friday JUNE 20, 2008. Take action today!

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You may be wondering - What exactly are "Quests"? An innovative new concept in collaboration, found only on ymex.org, a Quest is an adventure into a realm of exploration and creation where an issue such as migration meets a type of digital media like audio. Perhaps a young person in Canada realizes that another young person in India and one in China have similar interests and these members work together to complete each step in the Quest, making a lasting record of their ideas, and picking up some skills along the way. Although they may not know what lies ahead, one step builds upon another until they arrive at their destination!
(Also, quests are a way to score big points on ymex!)

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Other cool new features to check out on ymex.org:

Country Pages:
You can see all the members from any country where ymex members are from. See fellow members from India here. Click on any flag to find members from other countries. Remember to complete your profile and add a profile picture to add more color to your country page, as well as tags from your countries' members. (You can score 25 points by completing it as well!)

Get a ymex badge to share on other websites!:
Check out the About page to get the badge, and notice our content partners on this page as well!

Share Global Gallery submissions on ymex!
All artwork in the Global Gallery can now be shared on ymex.org with the click of a button either by the artist or any viewer. If you see artwork that you think fits on ymex.org or if you are an artist who would like to gain further exposure for your work, go ahead and share it!

]]> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:51:00 EDT http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/387363 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889 http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/345727
I have always felt torn about zoos. I have respect and fascination for the animal kingdom - especially feeling love and amazement for the big cats and monkeys of all kinds, not to mention boggled by the vibrant personalities of meerkats.

But it has always been strange for me to stand in front of a glass wall and stare at the animals in the zoo as they go about their everyday business of eating, procreating, grooming, and sleeping. While I have to admit that I do revel with the other people observers, oohing and aahing over the level of cuteness these animals possess, I all the while feel bad for being allowed to stand and stare at these animals which are confined to cages much smaller than their original habitat.

So this weekend in a visit to the San Diego Zoo which is reputably one of the best in the world, I encountered both the guilty pleasure of staring at a sleeping jaguar for half an hour and deep apology for what my fellow humankind are doing for to animals in the wild. I decide not to take pictures which very quickly felt all too insulting to these amazing creatures – whether they’re aware of it or not, it just felt like humans at their most obnoxious.

Switching gears a bit here, moving outside of the zoo and to the natural habitats that remain on our planet: the light bulb that finally turned on in my brain was that not only are humans destroying each other in fights for what each other believes is right, but also destroying the environment with self-centered, depletist behavior. And alongside all that, we are destroying the livelihoods of these furry and fierce creatures that pre-date our existence for centuries or longer.

Despite my sadness I realized that there numerous and intensive counter efforts to undo what is being done by those with big guns or even the natural course of economic development. Questions remains though – are conservation efforts doing enough? Are human-centric ideals and the spirit of capitalism overshadowing the importance of preserving the animal kingdom? With all the problems the world is facing today, should we really be concerned about the survival of panda bears? Or is it all too interconnected to leave them out of the formula?

Further food-for-thought, this article shares the complexities of the prohibition of trade and saving wildlife:
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10807694
]]> Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:39:00 EDT http://gNatalie.tigblog.org/post/345727 40.7141667 -74.0063889 40.7141667 -74.0063889