The Youth-Led Media Network Event @ BFI (March 16)

When I was a Pot Noodle-eating, Snake Bite-drinking, insomniac undergraduate at the Uni of Central Lancs, among the many many life lessons and melodramas rushing to my head each semester, was the everlasting journalism problem of where to gain my journo medals of experience... hard and harsh lessons they were (and still are).

I constantly aimed for the big names, the mainstream media - aim high was my motto. But two factors always played a tragic part of that equation; being a student made it less than easy to break into the established news rooms, and once there, I was hardly trusted and thus left to the medial tasks of coffee runs, transcipting, orange-peeling and (quite naughtily) checking emails and watching weird s**t on YouTube to kill the hours.

Fast forward a couple of years and I'm tip-toeing in and out of the mainstream waters, from The Guardian to the BBC. Hard work, persistency, grasping onto any slice of opportunity, and a severe cut down in online faffing about does pay off... but I do wish there was a more accessible route to those (at times) illusive portfolio pages.

And so, queue the Youth-Led Media Network - something I'm currently working on (alongside Global Ethics UK and a bunch of inspirational young individuals) that may just change the standard procedure for millions of hustling aspiring headline-makers in the UK. Imagine a national online directory with links to every single youth focusing media organisation (anything from Live magazine to Ctrl.Alt.Shift) offering channels to jobs, internships, training and mentoring. It may not be the mainstream, but it would mean guaranteed valuable and invaluable experience and stepping stones.

At the moment, the Network is just a glorious hypothetical, but following the mass interest at the Youth-Led Media Summit last December (2009), and our collective hunt and hopes for funding and endorsements (which we will pitch for at the Youth-Led Media Network event at the BFI on March 16), such an idea may just come to fruition... watch this space. Here's all the details regarding the March 16 event in my preview for Ctrl.Alt.Shift:

Youth-Led Media Network Event @ BFI

The time has come, spring is here, and we're set to put those wintery inspirational talks and thoughts into action...



If you have any interest, query or general wonderment about getting involved in the manic world of the media, then you didn't want to miss out on last December's Youth-Led Media Summit. All set up by The Institute for Global Ethics UK Trust and a team of media freelancers (with members from Youthcomm Radio, Catch 22 youth initiative, Ceasefire magazine, Headliners news agency, Visualisemedia.com, the Leap Anywhere project, Muslim Youth Helpline and Ctrl.Alt.Shift), the conference, consisting of talks, workshops and panel discussions, was a chance for young media enthusiasts - “the next media generation” as Dazed and Confused editor Rod Stanley called them - to come together to discuss how young people could play their part in the industry and engage with youth stereotypes in the media.

It was a hectic day of ifs, buts, whys, and how's. Natty provided some musical relief; to balance out the table-tennis paced debate that erupted from the main panel session - something I felt privileged to be asked to sit on and represent my peoples. I locked horns with the media's big players; including Rod Stanley, Sir Al Aynsley Green (Children's Commissioner for England, 11 Million), Matt Locke (Channel 4's Commissioning Editor for Education), Bob Satchwell (Society of Editors' Executive Director) and Rajini Vaidyanathan (BBC news reporter)...

Here's the full review of the summit.

Despite the fact we may have had conflicting opinions of how the future of youth-led media should work and what it would look like, there was one general consensus; the youth media are strong, and combined forces could lead to an endless realm of prospects, possibilities and opportunities. That was clearly evident from the summit, with the bustling audience consisting of over 150 representatives from various youth-led media organisations (with a combined readership of over two million).



And so came about the proposal and concept of the Youth-Led Media Network... 'What's that?' I hear you say.

Think of it as a grand directory for ALL youth-led media organisations, providing links to mentoring, internships, jobs, youth media news, and loads more. The summit was a chance to brainstorm the idea, gather support, interest, opinions etc. Three months later, and Global Ethics UK alongside the steering group for the Network, will be celebrating the outcomes of the winter summit, showcasing what the Network has the potential to be, discussing funding, and reviewing the next steps... hopefully with you on board! With hopes of becoming an independent youth-led social enterprise, endorsements, collaborations and funding funding funding will be key topics of discussion...

This event will take place on March 16 at Southbank Centre's BFI in London. Although it is by invitation only, all media enthusiasts are welcome. Just RSVP asap as spaces are limted - all details are here.

Ever found it hard, and de-motivating in the grinding quest to break into the media...? Come down and ensure that the power of the press lays in your hands.

For more information about the Network and the upcoming event, please visit www.youthledmedia.org.uk

Note: At the event, there will also be the first screening of the Youth-Led Media Summit 2009 film, created by Beacon School and Red bag Pictures.