Youth, who live and work in the World Heritage site, Bridgetown and its Garrison will share their views on heritage and assess the impact of the World Heritage site designation on youth. Participants will advocate for an improvement in the way that youth as a stakeholder group are engaged by policymakers and how young people can benefit from living and working in the WHS Area. Using social media and free online publication tools such as Facebook, Flickr and Instagram participants will photoblog their discoveries and curate an online exhibition which shares their findings with the community.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Bridgetown
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
The specific target population for this project are youth between the ages of 12 and 19 who live or work in the Bridgetown and its Garrison World Heritage Site in Barbados. The site was inscribed in 2012 and little has been done to engage this age group and to make sure that youth in the area benefit from the inscription. As a teacher for more that 20 years in the area I have been concerned by the disconnect between the youth and policymakers on the topic. Specific stakeholder meetings have not been designed to be youth friendly. The population is computer literate but tends to use the internet for games and chatting.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Brian Parris – Teacher/Webdeveloper and Social Media consultant -www.berians.com
David Yearwood – Photography Tutor / Fine Art and Event Photographer –
Advisors – Barbados Association of Drama Educators http://www.barbadosdrama.org/
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Our vision for content is photoblogs of the process of investigation and discussion,
online features in local digital media and an online exhibition via Facebook
Participants will explore the possibliity of online interviews via youtube.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
The organisation will or has established links with the Barbados Museum and the Barbados Association of Drama Educators as well as local youth organisations.
Project organizers will establish an official like with the Garrison Consortium, a non profit development company which operates in the World Heritage Site.
http://barbadosgarrison.org/about.html
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
Twenty-five participants will be selected from schools and youthgroups in the area through links already established by the organizer.Parental permission will be sought from the parents of interested participants. Participants and their parents will sign a commitment contract to ensure completion of the project.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
Cheryl Williams, the Project Facilitator is a developer of after school and photo activities for children and youth. She is an educator and has devised Public Relations plans for locial NGOs. She liaises with Government and Non-governmental entities for a number of organisations
Brian Paris is social media expert and teacher. Mr Parris is experienced in designing websites and online marketing
David Yearwood isa tutor of children and adults in photography He is a nationally known fine arts and event photographer.
The Barbados Association of Drama Educators is a national organisation of Drama and Theatre Arts teachers. They are specialists in the use of Theatre -in Education techniques and promote the use of these techniques to encourage youth expression and develop.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The project will be held in a number of sites:
1. A modern computer lab with 25 laptops, screens and lcd projectors
2, A Drama and workshop space
3. Field Trips to various areas of the city will also be conducted
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I have been and educator and after school facilitator in this community for more than 20 years. Through my work with youth I have made connections with groups and non-governmental organisations in the area.
This project is hopefully the beginning of a series of long term activities which will continue to engage youth, particulary those who are unemployed, to see the benefits of World Heritage Site Inscription and to develop small businesses which take advantage of this.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Funding is a major challenge. We have received some pledges for in kind donations which allow us to maximize the use of funds from this grant.
We will be executing this project between May and July. This will fall during the rainy season. We have blocked off additional time in our project plan to allow for any stoppages because of weather.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
The project will be evaluated by
(a) participant questionnaires
(b) end of project report
(c) evaluation of online comments
Success is determined by
(a) Seventy percent attendance to workshops and other organised activities
(b) Creation of three photoblogs
(c) Creation of online exhibition
(d) Response from policy makers either in the media or directly through contact with participants.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
Timeline for Project
May 17- 24 – Selection of Participants
May 24-31 – introductory Workshop – Setting up of Blogs
June 1-7 – Photography Workshops
June 8-14 – Photography Workshops
June 15 – June 28 – Break for School Examinations
June 29 – July 12 – Photo field trips./ Curating of exhibition / Student led Press Conference and launch of the Exhibition.
July – 14-15 Evaluation
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Budget
Facilitators – $1000
Transportation- – $200
Lunches $ 500
Equipment (purchase/rental $500
Co-ordinator expenses $ 200
Location costs $100
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Assistance with promotion of the online exhibition to a global audience. We have the resources to market itself locally and regionally but for a global reach, additional advise would be welcom.e
Contact name
Cheryl Williams
Organization
FilmGarrison
