participatory media foryouth and community development

danielle martincyberscholars

01/28/09

bangalorelawrence

mit@lawrence

abstract

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facilitation_methods “the outsider” curriculaparticipatory_media youth_development new_media_skills

civic_engagement marginalized_populations

main ideas:• intersection of new media creation tools and a breed of facilitators who understand their

unique organizing capacity.• next steps to transform voice, theory and practice.thesis• case studies involving ethnographic action research in Bangalore, India and Lawrence, MA

with “unserved” youth in alternative education programs.• analytical framework = program logic model, manifesting three practical facilitation

methodsmit@lawrence research• m@l story• information, asset building, and the immigrant city (dusp practicum 11.423)

context: two cities

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lawrenc e bangalore

a k a “forgotten city” india’s new silicon val l ey

total populati o n 72,043 (2000) 69,942 (2006)

4,301,326 (2001) 5,180,533 (est 2008) third most populous city in india

population growth increase of 76.1 percent in the immigrant population since 1990, which compared with a 7.5 percent increase in the native-born population (which includes children born to immigrants) over the same period—immigration accounted for 42.9 percent of the metro area's population increase

4 million over last 30 years—total number of migrants to bangalore doubled during the 3 decades from about 6 lakhs during 1971-81 to 12.6 lakhs during 1991-2001 predictions: 31 villagers will continue to show up in an indian city every minute over the next 43 years — 700 million people in all .

reasons for migration agricultural and manufacturing sector jobs it jobs (mostly young males) but also an accompanying rural-to-urban influx for informal / support sectors

who’s a “native”?

irish/italian vs latino (mike sullivan as mayor) kannada vs telugu, tamil and hindi

literacy/education public high school dropout rate is 60% 74 percent literate (urban)

housing for low income 25% live below the poverty level

10% live in slums

employment 60% of population over age of 16 in labor force

during 1971-2001, work participation rate of bangalore ua increased (30 to 36) in formal economy

Census of India, U.S. Census Bureau, Federation for American Immigration Reform, NY Times, India Telegraph

two programs

youthbuild lawrence drishya, bangalore

- personal growth, career development, and academic

advancement (GED)

- leadership roles (AmeriCorps)

- civic engagement and community service

- asset building

- addresses fundamental inequities

- school as set of spaces simultaneously inside of and outside

of the community.

- knowledge and understanding created at many levels –

physical, emotional, cognitive and psychological,

- regular “unschool” programming and focused month long

“camp” activities

18-24 year olds

20-30 members per year

Lunch, and AmeriCorps stipend provided

8-16 year olds

50 members, over multiple years

Food, uniforms, and healthcare provided

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new media + “outsider” = opportunity

the role of the outside facilitator:

• Freire » teacher and learner in mutually transformative process » working with,not for people

• translator, mediator, ambassador• what is knowledge? Sillitoe’s knowledge continuum (2002):

OUTSIDERS OUTSIDER-INSIDER INSIDERS

social scientists ethnographers natural scientists school educated local people

problems:

INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERCULTURAL INTERCOMMUNITY

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framework : PDC

where can newmedia tools andmethods beadapted toempowerparticipatorydevelopmentcommunicationprocesses?

gary bessette 2006

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program logic model

outcomesassumptions activities outputs

inputs

impacts

participatorydevelopment

processes

produsagephilosophy activities & tools

kellog foundation 2004

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process, not product

facilitation methods youthbuild lawrence drishya, bangalore

succ

esse

s multi-prong awareness and engagement

approach, both in-person and using various

media tools – specifically, commercial embedded

as one of several tools (along with petition and

photomap) for organizing campaign

software in kannada (bahara, ning, scratch)

internet concept lessons using physical

exercises; photostory project as incremental

summarization;

1. focus on process not product

misse

d o

pport

uniti

es at initial issue decision stage, too focused on

campaign as a product and didn’t brainstorm

possible outcomes with youth

too many tools attempted meant breadth but

not depth of technology skills

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constructingphoto map

explaining concept of messaging online

iterative curricular design

facilitation methods youthbuild lawrence drishya, bangalore

succ

esse

s periodic re-planning discussions

weekly journals; plush/deltas at end of each

session; incorporated petition in neighborhood

association cleanup

curriculum designed in “real-time”

collaborative meetings both in and out of

workshop time

2. iterative curricular design

misse

d

opport

uniti

es

when member takes photos to local radio

station announcer and photos are mentioned at

local town meeting, no re-design of campaign

and message distribution strategy

use of ning social network to document story

development and build internet skills, but lost

influence when didn’t fit well into regular

instruction

re-planning discussions

ning social networking site documents process

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horizontal teaching

facilitation methods youthbuild lawrence drishya, bangalore

succ

esse

s sub-task leaders elected and video production

led by members

sessions led by local drishya facilitators (aided

by experts and outside facilitator) and

students work in overlapping pairs and teams

reflected in ning social network site

3. horizontal teaching

miss e

d

opport

unit i

e s

facilitator assigned final hand-off tasks, but didn’t

ensure real ownership of project (not local staff

buy-in or accountability)

no youth involved with final drishya facilitator

scratch skills training and brainstorming for

future use of too l s

youth led actions

local staff led & peer mentoring

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analytical framework

values as inputs activities outcomes

produsage facilitation methods PDC processes

user-led content production

collaborative engagement

unfinished artifacts

1. focus on process not

product, then choosing

from a menu of media

technology tools and lower-

tech solutions

c reating knowledge :

tapping indigenous knowledge

sharing knowledge

palimpsestic, iterative, and

evolutionary development

2. iterative curricular

design ,

bu il di ng commu nitie s :

forging partnerships

enabling transparency in

decision making

fluid roles

heterarchical, permeable

community structur e s

3. horizontal teaching

(mentorship/train-the-trainer)

e na bling ac tion :

nurturing sense of

guardianship of the commons

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mit@lawrence• action-oriented scholarship

through university-communityengagement for the purpose ofcontributing to an equitable andsustainable future in the City ofLawrence

• a self-sustaining network forreciprocal knowledge transfer andinnovation

• program areas:– affordable housing– community asset-building– youth pathways to career and

education– green building development and

job creation

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m@l story

• reflective practice exercise that aims todocument and reflect on the progression of m@las a university community partnership

• multi-layered approach to capture the story– one-on-one interviews– panel discussions– student reflections

• conversation starter and discussion space– short video documentary– interactive and multi-themed timeline– in-person summit of M@L stakeholders and

friends

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practicum 2009

• Lawrence CommunityWorks (LCW), a community development corporation invigorated by 4 MITalumna

• Union Crossing (UC) project – an innovative mixed-use mill redevelopment project that aims tobe a completely "green" building, both in design, building and implementation as a communityinvolvement center

• historical "threads”:– energy and technical innovation, most recently "green" public and private-sector initiatives– organizing and mobilizing people for change, from the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912 to

LCW's nationally renowned "network organizing" model• participatory action-research using ICT to develop specific strategies and prototypes to incorporate

participatory historical narratives and oral histories both physically and virtually into the new space• interpretive history data gathering through youth-led

oral history interviews with factory employees, architects, real estate developers, and themselves!

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conclusions: what’s next?• transform voice

– 1st vs. 3rd worlds mindset– lessons from indigenous traditions– local oral tradition in new media

lexicons• transform theory

– temper idealism with reality• transform practice

– levels of “genuine participation”– local sustainability through new tactics

and youth facilitation roger hart 1997

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about

danielle martinmaster of city planning candidate

massachusetts institute of technology

dept of urban studies & planning

research: mitatlawrence.netpersonal blog: verdesmoke.comdigital storytelling: storiesforchange.net

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