The YEPP EmpowerMediaNetwork

The YEPP EmpowerMediaNetwork is an innovative form of transnational cooperation in the field of youth and community media.

Main goals

The main goal of the EmpowerMediaNetwork is to increase youth and community empowerment through active media work in the YEPP Local Programme Sites. This way, the young participants can be supported in developing "critical media literacy". Using active media work, the participating young people gain the capacity of using media for expressing the voice of the young people themselves, sharing their point of view with others, raising public awareness for the assets and the needs of the local communities, and increasing social capital within communities. Furthermore, "critical media literacy" includes developing a critical, independent view of the overwhelming inputs of media products which young people are confronted with in modern societies. 

As a whole, the project contributes to increasing the participating young people's opportunities to participate in public debate in a way that is attractive for many young people.

A European network

The EmpowerMediaNetwork establishes a European youth and community media network within the framework of YEPP by bringing together disadvantaged young people, community and media workers from the YEPP Local Programme Sites and by involving them in a process of capacity building and creating media products.

The network develops at local and transnational levels: At local level, media projects are planned and implemented in all Local Programme Sites within the overall framework of the EmpowerMediaNetwork. These projects involve young people, community workers, and community media experts in a process of creating local media projects, such as videos and newspapers.

At a transnational level, the network links the local actors in capacity building workshops and opportunities for exchanging know-how and expertise. The EmpowerMediaNetwork has held a number of workshops and youth exchanges since its inception in January 2005.

Evaluation

Evaluation is a key component of the programme. Outcomes of workshop evaluations and the results of the internal evaluation are taken into account in the planning on an ongoing basis.

Outcomes

For more information, videos and pictures check out the website

www.empowermedia.tv

To see other videos created by young people from across the world go to

www.youtube.com/user/YEPPcommunity