We are so proud of our GK filmmakers for their amazing work, creativity, and commitment on this project! Read more about "Discovered" and the Virtual Video Project here.
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Just a reminder that tomorrow, July 1, fifteen New York public high school students will premiere their film Discovered. Discovered is a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. This is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.
Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.
Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students
For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.
The full text of the News Release follows....
]]> Contacts: Sofia Oviedo, Global Kids, 212-226-2116, sofia@globalkids.orgArti Sheth, Global Kids, 212-226-0130, ext. 106, arti@globalkids.org
For Immediate Release:
Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere Animated Film Discovered,
Exposing the Global Tragedy of Child Sex Trafficking
New York, NY, June 29, 2009 – On July 1, 2009, fifteen New York City public high school students will premiere their film Discovered (2009, discoveredmovie.com), a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager.
Discovered is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc. in New York City. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.
The students, ages 15-18, represent a range of high schools from the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, including Hostos-Lincoln Academy, James Baldwin School, University Neighborhood High School, the Academy of American Studies, New York City Museum School, and Bryant High School.
Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students
GK Press Contact: Arti Sheth, 212-226-0130, ext 106, arti@globalkids.org
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls every year are forced into sexual slavery, a crime that happens in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and in communities all around the United States. Discovered is a fictional account, but it is based upon research conducted by the VVP filmmakers with the feedback and input of experts on child sex trafficking from organizations such as ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), and individuals from Mexico.
While the problem is daunting, the Global Kids teen filmmakers wanted to put a human face on the issue, and to leave the viewer energized to do something to help end sex trafficking. The VVP youth led every single stage of film production, from costuming the “avatars,” writing the script, voice acting the various roles, filming the scenes, choosing background music and effects, and editing the footage together. Global Kids and the young filmmakers plan to stream the video in Second Life, disseminate it online, and submit it to numerous film festivals to further expose the work.
The Virtual Video Project is part of Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP) and made possible with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
About the Online Leadership Program
Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP), now in its ninth year, integrates the use of the Internet into GK’s programming. The OLP equips youth with the skills necessary to use the Internet as a tool for research and social change and develops online resources for educators and young people to promote civic engagement and global literacy. Discovered was created in the virtual world of Second Life, a “virtual world” that offers a three-dimensional environment where online participants are represented by avatars. Second Life has millions of users and a growing non-profit community. To access the OLP, please click here: olp.globalkids.org
About Global Kids, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Global Kids' mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Over ninety percent of the high school seniors who participate in Global Kids’ leadership program graduate from high school. To access the Global Kids website, please click here: www.globalkids.org
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]]>Digital Youth Portrait: Nafiza
Edutopia's portrait includes an interview of Nafiza along with short video pieces on her, her work in GK's OLP programs and what it is like to have digital media play a close relationship in her day to day life.
There are also sections, within Edutopia's feature on Nafiza, where other videos spotlight using digital media to learn world affairs and highlight the work Nafiza and other youth leaders put in within the VVP program to produce the 2007 and 2008 program short films "A Child's War" and "Race to Equality".
Learning World Affairs Through Digital Media
To visit Edutopia's full youth profile on Nafiza, click here.
A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor focuses on video games that let you play with topics taken from the news around us. It spotlights Tempest In Crescent City as an example.
Another featured news game, “Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in Crescent City,” developed by Global Kids and Gamepill, focuses on how residents and the government coped after the 2005 storm hit. Players walk through New Orleans after the hurricane, communicating with neighbors and reporters to find a family member.]]>
In the report released by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Game Changer: Investing in digital play to advance children's learning and health, it discusses the impetus of using gaming to help develop educational skills. The report states, "digital games offer a promising and untapped opportunity to leverage children’s enthusiasm and to help transform learning in America." To follow this up, they give recommendations and examples of various games which accomplish this significant task. One example used is GK's Ayiti, which is given as an example of one of the various health and learning games that demonstrates ways to transform learning. Ayiti is described as "a strategy game that asks, “What is it like to live in poverty, struggling every day to stay healthy, keep out of debt, and get educated?” Set in rural Haiti, players must manage the lives of a family of five, struggling with minimal resources to achieve a stable, safe, and healthy environment. The game is very difficult but provides win states and suggests that no problem is unsolvable."
It was also recommended to develop models or games, that best tap into community resources. "A number of promising afterschool models are already helping children from underserved communities become “tech savvy” and are developing innovative approaches to parent training that includes digital content such as games that can be used across settings. These models include the Intel-sponsored Computer Clubhouses, the Boys & Girls Club of America’s Club Tech, and locally-based youth-leadership programs such as Global Kids, One Economy, and Computers for Youth. National efforts to bridge school, home, and community uses of game technologies should learn from, improve upon, and scale-up these models."
The report by the Asia Society, Expanding Horizons: Building Global Literacy in Afterschool Programs, also discusses the importance of teaching global literacy within educational settings, to make sure youth of today are ready for what comes when they enter the growing global workforce. The report looks at how to prepare the youth through four different aspects, one of them being "Transforming Learning". In this section, various examples of how to integrate digital media into the classroom setting are given. "For older youth, many international organizations are starting to provide educational events in Teen Second Life. For example, Global Kids implemented the "I Dig Tanzania" summer camp, a program where youth in Chicago and New York followed a palentology excavation in Tanzania led by a team from the Field Museum of Chicago. Participants followed what the real researchers were doing through streaming video, asked questions over satellite phones, and then dug virtual fossils and assembled them together into an exhibit in Teen Second life. "
On page 54, the report discusses how to help youth find active roles, and uses GK's afterschool program structure as a good example of this. The report also mentions the use of various programs Global Kids runs in our afterschool programs including: the Power of Citizenry program, the Annual Youth Conference, Undesirable Elements, which is a youth-led theater program and our Playing for Keeps program, which works to integrate game design into serious issues, creating a serious game such as Ayiti, as examples of how to transform learning within afterschool programs.
Both reports are very interesting and well worth the read, so check them out!
]]>The mastermind behind this whole event is the talented Lucky Figtree, a longtime GK helper and teen activist who has been running TG RFL events for the past three years. She also speaks at conferences both in-world and first life with Global Kids. On the Relay for Life, she said, “With Relay for Life on the Teen Grid, I hope to give teens all the opportunity in the world to make a difference. Too often the teen grid is regarded as a waste of time and space, and I want to change that and show the teens just how much good they can do when they come together. Our plan is to educate and train in hopes that when it’s time for these teens to transfer, they’ll take part in the main grid relay and continue to celebrate, remember and fight back.” Lucky will transfer on August 23rd, 2009.]]>
In Haiti only about half of the children receive an education and only two percent finish high school. Without a proper education, the poor stay poor in Haiti (and many countries like this.) While education is the key to rising out of poverty, many parents are not able to send their kids to school. Why not? Play the game below to find out.]]>
We are so thrilled that this event by an incredible coalition has come together to support youth through NYC in our various after school programs. Global Kids has youth showing their VVP year end videos, youth from the Media Masters program showing their digital transcripts, youth from HRAP at South Shore showing their documentary about their school phasing out, and youth from our Expressions program showing the variety of digital media they created about social and global issues.
In addition, youth from the three NY Public Library sites implementing our Playing 4 Keeps game design program will be competing for the best serious game design and we can't wait to see what the youth have created.
The full press release is after the jump.
Gaming for a Better World: Teens Advance Social Causes Using Digital Media
The (o.o) Festival: First Annual NYC Digital Youth Media & Technology Festival at The New School Saturday, June 27, 2009
A daylong festival will spotlight the growing movement among teenagers in New York and nationally to design video games, films and other digital tools to advance social causes in a youthful and technologically literate language.
About 100 teens will kick off The (o.o) Festival,* the first annual NYC Digital Youth Media & Technology Festival, a citywide dialogue about the role of new media and technology in their lives, and how they can use it to advance causes they care about. Teens from The New York Public Library will showcase their designs and conceptualizations for serious video games about subjects like celebrity drug use, media consolidation and genocide. Youth from the Global Kids Virtual Video Project will premiere their animated short film about child sex trafficking into the United States. Students from MOUSE will discuss their efforts to advance technology in New York City public schools by developing open source labs, advocating for the One Laptop Per Child campaign and other efforts. The daylong event is being held at Parsons The New School for Design. Attendance is by invitation.
“It’s one thing for youth to reach an audience of thousands through a site like YouTube,” said Barry Joseph, Global Kids’ online leadership director and festival co-founder. “But it’s another thing to watch with their own eyes how an audience of one’s peers respond to their work. It’s a transformative experience.”
A youth project fair will feature a wide variety of digital media, including digital comics, serious game designs, animated movies, assistive technology projects, and do-it-yourself tech support. A design charrette, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, will explore how learning institutions can collaborate through digital media to serve young people. Other events include a game design competition and a college and career fair featuring 15 professionals from the fields of design, games and gaming, software, film and video, and more.
"Gaming is a great educational medium for teens to explore the issues that are happening around them and the world,” said H. Jack Martin, Assistant Director for Young Adult Programs at The New York Public Library. “The (o.o) Festival gives tech-curious teens an opportunity to come together and showcase their work and their ideas."
“The collaboration among these organizations marks an unprecedented commitment to the support of young people as leaders of the digital age,” said festival co-founder Marc Lesser, Education Director of MOUSE. “We hope that this festival is the first of many!”
The festival is sponsored by MOUSE, Global Kids, The New York Public Library, Parsons Academy and PetLab, with support from the New School University and the Social Science Research Council, with additional promotional support generously provided by the Nathan Cummings Foundation and Microsoft Corporations US Partners in Learning.
*(o.o) is the emoticon for “curious.”
About Global Kids
Founded in 1989, Global Kids’ mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Over 95% percent of the high school seniors who participate in GK’s leadership program graduate from high school.
About MOUSE
MOUSE empowers students to succeed in today’s information society. An innovative youth development program, MOUSE Squad prepares and supports students in establishing and managing leading edge technical support help desks in their schools. MOUSE Squad improves a school’s ability to use technology to enhance learning, while also providing a powerful, hands-on 21st century learning experience for students. The MOUSE Squad program extends learning beyond the help desk, providing technical certification, collaborative website and online case tracking. MOUSE offers two additional programs in support of its mission: MOUSE Corps, a career readiness program for high school students, providing professional internships, mentoring and skills building workshops, and MOUSE TechSource, which focuses on research, evaluation and continuous program improvement. Founded in 1997, MOUSE has a visible and positive impact in more than 200 locations in the United States, including New York City, Chicago, California, Texas and Connecticut. In partnership with Microsoft, the MOUSE Help Desk curriculum is accessible in more than 58 countries worldwide.
About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. Its renowned research collections are located in the The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem; and the Science, Industry and Business Library at 34th Street and Madison Avenue. Eighty-seven branch libraries provide access to circulating collections and a wide range of other services in neighborhoods throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English for speakers of other languages. The New York Public Library serves more than 17 million patrons who come through its doors annually; the Library’s website, www.nypl.org, receives 25 million visits annually from users in more than 200 countries.
About PETlab
PETlab is a joint project of Games for Change and Parsons The New School for Design in New York City. It is a place for testing prototyping methods and the process of collaborative design with organizations interested in using games as a form of public interest engagement. Through our work, we connect with scholars and designers in the field of digital media, practitioners working in the spheres of education and social issues, and people of all ages at play. In the first year, we are working on a number of gaming platforms including Flash, Xbox XNA, and mobile phones. We are also working with a wide range of partners such as MTV, Microsoft, Boys and Girls Clubs, and New York Public Library. Support for PETLab comes from the John D. Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning initiative.
Contact: Heidi Singer 212.592.7311 or Heidi_Singer@nypl.org.
The thirty-fifth RezEd monthly podcast, produced by Global Kids.
This episode is a live recording from the first RezEd Conference in conjunction with the Games, Learning, and Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, June 10-12, 2009.
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe to RezEd.org Podcast Series
To subscribe directly through iTunes:
On July 1, 2009, 15 New York City public high school students will premiere their film Discovered --a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager. Discovered is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc in NYC. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.
Come to the premiere of Discovered to meet the youth filmmakers and discover how digital film can be used for global issue awareness and civic engagement.
Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students
For more information, see http://www.DiscoveredMovie.com or please contact Shawna at 212-226-0130 x 143 or email: shawna@globalkids.org.
The full text of the News Release follows....
]]> Contacts: Sofia Oviedo, Global Kids, 212-226-2116, sofia@globalkids.orgArti Sheth, Global Kids, 212-226-0130, ext. 106, arti@globalkids.org
For Immediate Release:
Global Kids Youth Leaders Premiere Animated Film Discovered,
Exposing the Global Tragedy of Child Sex Trafficking
New York, NY, June 29, 2009 – On July 1, 2009, fifteen New York City public high school students will premiere their film Discovered (2009, discoveredmovie.com), a digital "machinima" film produced in Second Life that explores the powerful issue of child sex trafficking through the fictional story of one Mexican teenager.
Discovered is the final product of a year-long, intensive digital filmmaking program called the Virtual Video Project (VVP), an after-school program conducted by Global Kids, Inc. in New York City. The students gathered regularly during the past year to learn about film production, human rights, and virtual worlds, culminating in a serious issue machinima film produced entirely by the youth filmmakers.
The students, ages 15-18, represent a range of high schools from the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, including Hostos-Lincoln Academy, James Baldwin School, University Neighborhood High School, the Academy of American Studies, New York City Museum School, and Bryant High School.
Event Details:
When: Wednesday, July 1st, 6pm-8pm
Where: Sony Wonder Technology Lab [550 Madison Avenue at 56th St.]
What: Meet & Greet Filmmakers, Premiere of Discovered, and Q & A with students
GK Press Contact: Arti Sheth, 212-226-0130, ext 106, arti@globalkids.org
Hundreds of thousands of women and girls every year are forced into sexual slavery, a crime that happens in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and in communities all around the United States. Discovered is a fictional account, but it is based upon research conducted by the VVP filmmakers with the feedback and input of experts on child sex trafficking from organizations such as ECPAT-USA (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), and individuals from Mexico.
While the problem is daunting, the Global Kids teen filmmakers wanted to put a human face on the issue, and to leave the viewer energized to do something to help end sex trafficking. The VVP youth led every single stage of film production, from costuming the “avatars,” writing the script, voice acting the various roles, filming the scenes, choosing background music and effects, and editing the footage together. Global Kids and the young filmmakers plan to stream the video in Second Life, disseminate it online, and submit it to numerous film festivals to further expose the work.
The Virtual Video Project is part of Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP) and made possible with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.
About the Online Leadership Program
Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP), now in its ninth year, integrates the use of the Internet into GK’s programming. The OLP equips youth with the skills necessary to use the Internet as a tool for research and social change and develops online resources for educators and young people to promote civic engagement and global literacy. Discovered was created in the virtual world of Second Life, a “virtual world” that offers a three-dimensional environment where online participants are represented by avatars. Second Life has millions of users and a growing non-profit community. To access the OLP, please click here: olp.globalkids.org
About Global Kids, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Global Kids' mission is to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences. Through its leadership development and academic enrichment programs, Global Kids educates youth about critical international and domestic issues and promotes their engagement in civic life and the democratic process. Through professional development initiatives, Global Kids provides educators with strategies for integrating experiential learning methods and international issues into urban classrooms. Over ninety percent of the high school seniors who participate in Global Kids’ leadership program graduate from high school. To access the Global Kids website, please click here: www.globalkids.org
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