KIDS FIRST! News

Anash Interactive is a free, no-advertising award-winning website where kids create comics, build stories, play games & puzzles, watch webisodes, download podcasts, find out more about the Tlingit people of Canada and read stories & comics created by other online users.  It’s for kids aged 8-13.This site is a new online project from Reel Girls Media, who also worked on the KIDS FIRST! title, WildFiles.TV.

The mission at Listen Up! is to help youth be heard in the mass media, contributing to a culture of free speech and social responsibility. Listen Up! is a national Youth Media Network that helps youth producers and their adult mentors exchange work, share ideas and learn from one another.What do youth fear? How do they build security in their lives? Check out their Peabody Award-winning short documentaries by youth filmmakers worldwide — Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet. http://listenup.org/beyondborders In this interview with Austin Haeberle, Creative Director at Listen Up!, tells us how his work with Listen Up! affects his own life.

CP: Could you please give me an overview of how your organization works and a sample of a typical day for you?

AH: At the Listen Up! Youth Media Network, we provide technical, organizational and financial support to over 100 organizations that help young people tell important stories through media production. Our mission is to help young video producers and their allies connect to resources, support, and projects to achieve an authentic youth voice in the mass media. While most days seem humdrum in meetings & sending emails, it can be pretty exciting stuff.

I’m producing a worldwide project with 14 youth production teams in nine countries, showing how they interact with the environment and what youth are doing to solve environmental problems.  We’ve had a little luck in the past with similar projects, landing broadcast homes on PBS, the Independent Film Channel and Current TV.  Our last project, “Beyond Borders:  Personal Stories from a Small Planet,” even netted us a George Foster Peabody Award which many consider the highest honor in American Television.  

So, while most days I’m behind a computer screen, helping groups make connections, other days find me working with groups in different parts of the United States or other countries.

CP: Some of the kids’ films I saw dealt with some pretty heavy topics. Do you have counselors on staff that help the kids work through their issues while filming?
AH: You don’t ask easy questions, do you?  Youth filmmaking has a history of dealing with really heavy topics:  suicide, war, homelessness, sexuality, abuse, AIDS & HIV, environmental destruction, etc.  For many youth filmmakers, their films are attempts to work their way through issues that have dogged them from very early ages.  They’re also reaching out and touching other young people who may be experiencing the same types of issues. 

AH: In order for youth to be able to honestly reflect on their own experiences and communicate those experiences in a manner that others will understand, empathize and learn, it takes great mentorship that balances youth development skills and filmmaking talents.  So, while many youth media organizations don’t have counselors for traumatic issues on hand by default, youth media experts are adept at finding resources on the fly — getting help when they need it.  It’s one of the great skills that come with filmmaking — you are very quick at accessing resources that you don’t immediately have at your fingertips. 

CP: Please give me an anecdote of a student whose life has been significantly affected in a positive way through Listen Up!

AH: Meet Mohamed Sidibay, a 15 year-old soccer player going to high school in an affluent New Jersey suburban town. Listen Up! has had a lot of influence on him, but we’re only a part of caring network of individuals worldwide who have made the security and health Mohamed their business.  

He was born to a good family in Sierra Leone, but like so many tragedies there, he was swept into an unthinkable situation.  By the time he was 5 years old his parents and family were killed and he was forcibly recruited into a rebel army to carry weapons and kill.  We met him when he was 10, demobilized only two years prior, and learning computer skills with the iEarn center in Freetown.  Mohamed and his team made a film with us about his life — a film that has been broadcast on TV here in the States, on CNN International and in film festivals worldwide, earning awards along the way.

Mohamed joined us in New York last June to receive the George Foster Peabody Award.  Long story short, he never went back and now has beautiful host family in New Jersey and is doing what he has always wanted to do:  play soccer & go to school.

CP: Please give me an anecdote about a student who changed you and your way of thinking through film.

AH: Youth filmmakers often give me perspectives that I haven’t been able to articulate or they sometimes outright challenge assumptions that I’ve made about what it means to grow up in times of enormous complexity and change.  Usually, youth don’t mince or filter their words, or as they say, they like “keepin’ it real.”   Salim Muslim’s piece “Losing My Way,” which is featured in the Kids First! film selection, keeps it real by dealing directly with Salim’s own bi-polar disorder, his struggle between the “positive and the negative.”  He fits the part of a disenfranchised black youth growing up in Brooklyn, or does he?  Through movement and sound and word, he helps me grasp the enormity of his disorder and what it means to grow up in troubling times.

CP: What advice would you give producers/educators who want to work with kids in film?

AH: Stick with it and be patient.  If you don’t have a high tolerance for “things not going as planned,” youth filmmaking is probably not for you.  There’s usually an element of drama involved in youth filmmaking, and that drama is not always on screen.   With a lot of patience and good spirit, youth will rise to the occasion and meet the high standard of work that you should demand from them.  It will take longer than you planned, but the impact will be on the faces in the audience as well as the kids behind the camera.
 

CP: Are your daughters involved in this program directly? If so, in what facet?

AH: Don’t get me started with my daughters Anna and Bella who are now nine and six.  Anna and her friend Lily are in pre-production on some sort of docu-drama and have already began to shoot.  At times they ask for input, but most of the time, mum’s the word.  I’m sure I’ll make a fine driver between shoots.  While too young to be a part of Listen Up!, they’re only a few years behind in age and maturity.   

CP: Is there anything you would like to add?

AH: The Listen Up! Youth Media Network is only a small part of a movement that values the ideas, experiences and voices of youth.  The work of organizations like Kids First! and the many venues across our country and around the world that feature youth-made films helps bring our work full circle.  This is valuable work, not just for us, but youth filmmakers and their organizations who are constantly looking to reach new audiences to broaden what it means to be young and live on this planet.

Miss Rosa and Mr. Steve, two new teacher/presenters will join the PBS Kids preschool block, wrapping around shows and segments, on May 19 2008.  Played by Jennifer Pena, Miss Rosa is a teacher who will introduce Spanish-language words and phrases into the preschool-targeted block, while Steve Roslonek (aka SteveSongs) will portray Mr. Steve, a music teacher who will fold-in original songs and music related to each day’s theme. teacher and actress Jennifer Peña will guide kids through curriculum-based activities and introduce Spanish words and phrases as “Miss Rosa,” and musician Steve Roslonek will join as the music teacher, “Mr. Steve,” performing interactive original songs and music related to the day’s curriculum theme.

On May 9, 2008, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center held its first annual Symposium called “Logging Into The Playground: How Digital Media Are Shaping Children’s Learning.” Leaders from across research, communications, education and policy convened to set a new benchmark for the way in which digital media is used to improve children’s literacy, learning and development.Michael Levine, Executive Director for The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, said: “Digital media is driving what is now a multi-billion-dollar business that shapes the learning and entertainment experiences of most school-age children.” He added: “It is our mission to counsel the industry’s movers, shakers and policymakers and provide a needed bridge to what has become traditional education’s fourth and fifth “Rs”, reform and research. Wise and informed investments will harness the growing power and full potential of digital media’s use in educating young children.”Gee’s recommendations include: funding digital research and development to invest in what works; establishing a digital teacher corps for the nation’s lowest performing schools; designing alternative assessments and new standards; creating community-based literacy tech centers across the country; establishing Governor’s digital partnership schools; and finally, modernizing public broadcasting investments in digital platforms for the next generation.The agenda for the day-long symposium also featured child-led demonstrations of new technologies and a hands-on forum promoting two dozen of the best digital media initiatives in the world. Attendees were shown one of the first demonstrations of BOOM BLOX, a new game for Nintendo Wii developed by EA in association with director Steven Spielberg along with promising emerging technologies from exhibitors including: Community Building with Google Earth by Google Earth creator and Google Chief Technology Advocate, Michael T. Jones; Web-based books in English and Spanish by the Center for Applied Special Technology, to help individuals, especially those most at risk, to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for reading; IBM’s Traducelo AHORA! (“Translate Now!”) that uses IBM WebSphere software to translate web sites from English to Spanish for schools, community organizations, as well as parents so they can correspond directly with teachers no matter what language is spoken at home; and an Apple in the Classroom demo by Kathy Shirley, an Apple Distinguished Educator, on using iPods to strengthen reading fluency and comprehension.More details on the reports and Symposium are found on the Joan Ganz Cooney website.

qubo®, the TV and online entertainment service for children, announced that it has created nutritional guidelines that will dictate advertising decisions on the qubo Channel, as well as on the qubo broadcast programming blocks that air on NBC, ION Television and Telemundo. The effort highlights qubo’s mission of promoting pro-social values including literacy and healthy living. The announcement was made by Kerry Hughes, senior vice president, advertising sales and partnerships for qubo.qubo’s effort marks the latest step in ION Media Networks’ innovative advertising and media initiative to combat childhood obesity announced last summer. Both qubo and ION Life networks are undertaking a series of programs aimed at improving children’s health and reducing the rates of childhood obesity in the U.S. qubo is a member of the Ad Council’s Coalition on Healthy Children while Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO of ION Media Networks, which is qubo’s majority shareholder, is actively involved in the FCC’s Task Force on Media & Childhood Obesity.To create these nutritional guidelines, qubo enlisted the help of nationally renowned author and expert on childhood obesity, Goutham Rao, MD, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC ( see bio on Dr. Rao below). The guidelines list acceptable nutritional intake limits for meals and snacks broken down by calories, grams of fat, as well as saturated and trans fat, sugar, protein, fiber and sodium.Concerned with the growing trend towards childhood obesity, qubo called for these guidelines to guide on-air and online advertising decisions and to ensure parents that qubo provides a safe environment for children with positive messages about healthy living.“By only accepting advertising from companies that meet this nutritional criteria, we believe that we have set the gold standard for the kids entertainment industry and are helping kids make healthy decisions about what they eat,” said Hughes.”We are committed to combating childhood obesity through all of our networks-analog, digital, on-line and soon, mobile,” said John Lawson, ION Media Networks executive vice president for policy and strategic initiatives. “We hope that qubo’s nutritional guidelines send a strong message to parents, policymakers and our business partners about our dedication to the wellness of America’s kids.”“Reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity will require a major, long-term commitment by parents, teachers, physicians and other health care professionals, political leaders and public policy experts,” said Dr. Rao. “qubo’s guidelines are a great first step in the right direction. Children are bombarded with ads for unhealthy foods. One of the easiest ways to reach the largest number of children and families is to make sure the foods and beverages advertised to children meet basic requirements for good nutrition. It was a privilege to work with qubo in creating these guidelines.”In addition to announcing its new nutritional guidelines, qubo also unveiled this month a series of Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) created in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the Ad Council and the U.S. Olympic Committee designed to promote exercise and healthy eating to children. Featuring several U.S. Olympic hopefuls, as well as qubo’s popular animated characters from VeggieTales, Jane and the Dragon and 3-2-1 Penguins!, the TV spots began airing this month through donated time on the qubo Channel, ION Television and NBC and will be distributed to television stations nationwide by the Ad Council.About qubo:qubo® is a bilingual, multi-platform entertainment destination for children that focuses on literacy, values and healthy lifestyles while celebrating the unlimited possibilities of a child’s imagination. Formed in 2006 by an unprecedented alliance of leading distribution partners and content players in children’s television, including Scholastic, ION Media Networks, NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment and Classic Media, qubo offers dynamic content in multiple environments. Currently broadcast on NBC Saturday mornings, ION TV network Fridays afternoons and Telemundo weekend mornings (check local listings) qubo also includes a 24/7 qubo Channel and website, www.qubo.com.