The sheer expanse of the United States can indirectly insulate it's populace from the cultural interchange that is commonplace elsewhere. People in Africa, Europe and Latin America often travel between countries very much as we travel from state to state providing greater potential for insight into the cultural diversity around them. This insight becomes much more vital as technology unites us evermore into a global society. This is particularly true for at-risk youth whose lives are defined by poverty and who may have had fewer opportunities to broaden their understanding of the world. Therefore it becomes increasingly important to develop new methods of communication that provide them with the means and opportunity to overcome distance, language and culture in an effort to gain insight into themselves and others. Critical to the process of developing a sense of belonging to a global society is first establishing an awareness of and a responsibility to one's local and regional environment.
2010 Christel House South Africa
My City, My World was developed to encourage urban youth to look beyond the boundaries of their own neighborhoods to establish a sense of "belonging" to a larger community. To date several hundred participants from three nations have shared elements of their lives, their cultures and their communities through photographic exhibitions and the Internet.
In 2008, with generous support from the Efroymson Family Fund,
My City, My World launched an intercultural initiative with the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This project partnered students in Indianapolis Indiana with their peers over 8300 miles away in Cape Town, South Africa in a collaborative, synergistic program utilizing digital and new media technologies.
Using a model that motivates young people to see beyond their local perspectives to larger social and global implications, students correspond with each other on selected topics as well as “hot topics” of their own choosing. Their reflections on these issues often lead to new understandings of the similarities and distinctions that exist between and within cultural groupings.
By employing a common theme and interacting in an online environment, students connect in a targeted, positive and enlightening manner. Among the goals of this project is to provide an opportunity whereby at-risk students from different cultural backgrounds can have access to new media technologies to share life stories and ideas while benefiting from technology's potential to connect their lives to a broader world.
In 2008, with generous support from the Efroymson Family Fund,
My City, My World launched an intercultural initiative with the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This project partnered students in Indianapolis Indiana with their peers over 8300 miles away in Cape Town, South Africa in a collaborative, synergistic program utilizing digital and new media technologies.
Using a model that motivates young people to see beyond their local perspectives to larger social and global implications, students correspond with each other on selected topics as well as “hot topics” of their own choosing. Their reflections on these issues often lead to new understandings of the similarities and distinctions that exist between and within cultural groupings.
By employing a common theme and interacting in an online environment, students connect in a targeted, positive and enlightening manner. Among the goals of this project is to provide an opportunity whereby at-risk students from different cultural backgrounds can have access to new media technologies to share life stories and ideas while benefiting from technology's potential to connect their lives to a broader world.
2010 Indianapolis
My City, My World programs establish a pattern of regular, positive activities that reinforce a student's appreciation for the uplifting
applications of new media technology. Participants relate through photography, email, social networks and
Internet portals like Flickr, Google Earth as well as the Blog that they create as a platform for their interaction.
Introductory videos of the participants are produced and uploaded to the Blog along with video clips depicting teen culture in the participating communities. These clips may reflect typical social interaction including music, dance, religion and language.
Over the course of the project, participants conduct both real and virtual studies of their communities examining the people, places, customs and celebrations, as well as their challenges. They are assisted in planning field trips where, armed with digital cameras, they document their environment, arrange interviews with community leaders and/or elders and identify a variety of activities reflecting life in their city. They examine the development and growth of their communities; learn of the variety of people and enterprise that make a city work while gaining a new perspective and a heightened appreciation in the process. Participants learn basic photography skills including composition as well as photo editing as they upload data and update the blog. In addition to an increased knowledge of Internet technologies, students learn to conceive, plan and execute a collaborative study and gain information-gathering skills that impacts learning in other areas. Participants can look at life with a more discerning eye with an enhanced ability to view a variety of situations from several perspectives providing the potential for on-going and novel learning experiences.
Introductory videos of the participants are produced and uploaded to the Blog along with video clips depicting teen culture in the participating communities. These clips may reflect typical social interaction including music, dance, religion and language.
Over the course of the project, participants conduct both real and virtual studies of their communities examining the people, places, customs and celebrations, as well as their challenges. They are assisted in planning field trips where, armed with digital cameras, they document their environment, arrange interviews with community leaders and/or elders and identify a variety of activities reflecting life in their city. They examine the development and growth of their communities; learn of the variety of people and enterprise that make a city work while gaining a new perspective and a heightened appreciation in the process. Participants learn basic photography skills including composition as well as photo editing as they upload data and update the blog. In addition to an increased knowledge of Internet technologies, students learn to conceive, plan and execute a collaborative study and gain information-gathering skills that impacts learning in other areas. Participants can look at life with a more discerning eye with an enhanced ability to view a variety of situations from several perspectives providing the potential for on-going and novel learning experiences.