Shaping Youth BETA BLOG

Aug 2, 2010 As I opened my Facebook to check messages from GWLN’s Global Leaders for Justice organizers who I’ll be working with tomorrow and Thursday at SCU mentoring inspiring projects from all over the world, I scanned the ‘birthdays’ sidebar.

Keeping with the global theme, I was alerted to change agent Dylan Mahalingam’s 15th birthday today…I KNEW I had to give a huge shout out to the universe to pay heed to this extraordinary New Hampshire native, CEO of Lil’ MDG’s and TEDxTeen.

Dylan, your voice has dropped an octave or two and you no longer look like the doe-eyed nine year old founder of ‘Lil’ MDGs energizing humanity to meet the Millenium Development Goals of 2015 for proof positive that Kids Are Heroes…

As a handsome young gent of 15, he’s already accomplished more in the name of justice, diversity, human rights, gender equality, championing access to education and medical care ad a role model for the ‘very best in youth’ and it  makes my heart sing to know that he’s just gettin’ this party started. Yep, Dylan, you represent a generation of ‘Lil’ MDGs eager to rock the planet to uplift rather than tear down, and use media messaging in the ultimate positive way. (more…)

July 27, 2010 “Why aren’t you posting on Shaping Youth every day like you used to, Amy? Are you on summer hiatus like the networks?” Um, I guess that’s what you’d call it.

Frankly, it never occurred to me that I needed to ‘inform’ people that I was trying to eke out some ‘white space’ and life balance in the name of healthy media consumption, because it seemed like an obvious extension of our Shaping Youth nonprofit philosophy: “Don’t let media define you.”

True, there’s plenty of exciting media action that will impact youth, educators and ALL consumers of media, from mixes, music, mashups and mobile with the new Fair Use and DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) rulings.

Today’s  online privacy hearings in D.C. with Q&A of industry media pros from Facebook, Google, Apple and all the media giants are watchworthy for anyone and everyone. (especially those of us with high school teens quoting 1984 and freshly minted mind games after seeing Christopher Nolan’s Inception last week planting the seed for me pondering where privacy starts and stops in the ol’ noggin!)

Truth be told, if I kept on top of every single way that media and marketing is impacting kids 24/7, my office white board would like a subway map and my to-do list would be circular ‘To infinity and beyond!’ (more…)

July 3, 2010 With the TEDxOilspill recap of innovative solutions airing on pbs last night (complete with faux BPGlobalPR masked man Leroy Stick) Oil, and WorldWildlife Fund Free e-cards reminding that almost a quarter of the world’s mammals face extinction within 30 years, Independence Day is taking on a bit of an oily sheen to me.

Seems “patriotic duty” is veering toward using media’s might to turn red, white and blue celebrations “green” with awareness, education, and “independence” from oil, in a nonpartisan, nonprofit call to action for the future of the planet’s beings…

So while NBC blitzes Broadway with Bieber and the Macys parade fireworks fandango, I’m going to spark some red white and blue ideas for greener living which I think our founding fathers would give a nod toward, to enhance sustainability and protecting our seas.

There are tons of July 4 patriot games and new media apps for US Presidents perfect for picnic play, but I’m opting for basic beach clean up after our July4th annual BBQ on the island here, to ‘make some waves’ with youth and remind that America the Beautiful literally needs to be “from sea to shining sea.” Enjoy the 4th everyone! (more…)

June 16, 2010 Personal post today to welcome (in over 325 languages) Shaping Youth advisory board member Dr. Robyn Silverman’s new son into the world of global digital citizenship.

Born: Mr. Noah Stone Silverman today at 8:25am – 7lbs 4oz. – 19” already making his premiere on Facebook, Twitter and Shaping Youth!

What does this have to do with media and marketing’s impact on kids? Plenty. For starters, the very way we communicate has uncorked new conversations in digital connectivity.

It’s uplifting, heartening, and downright astounding to see how this ‘brave new world’ has transitioned to be  the digital womb for birthing new relationships, familial bonds and lifelong ties that bind.

Whether it’s the ability to find ‘half brothers and half sisters’ via the voluntary Donor Sibling Registry, important medical and research advances for special needs children or the information silo funneling domestic and worldwide open adoptions into the digital sphere for life-changing actions, the terra firma has shifted forevermore. (more…)

June 13, 2010 One week from Father’s Day and media is awash with ubiquitous tie and techie ads for Father’s Day finds. Meh. Better ideas? Experiential fun for memories in the making…

How would YOU fill in the blank, “My Daddy Taught Me To…?”

It’s no secret I’m a water rat and an island girl who spent much of childhood splashing in the surf or sprawled on one of Hawaii’s many beaches…but when I saw the new kids’ book “My Daddy Taught Me To Surf” by surfer-dad Joseph Tomarchio I laughed aloud, since my dad doesn’t remotely share my affinity with water, hails from the Midwest flatlands, and isn’t too comfy even swimming.

That said, as I listened to the roar of the surf on their site and read that a portion of their profits go to The Surfrider Foundation I fell further in love with their mission: “Our goal is to promote the love of surfing, the passage of heritage and the bonds between parents and their children through reading and learning together”

I knew this book would succeed in opening up a larger conversation about parent-child experiential learning…expanding far beyond surfing to unwrap the gifts each of our dads have brought to us. What did your Dad teach YOU? And what will you teach YOUR children? (more…)

June 10, 2010 It’s ironic.

As schools let out for summer and kids in the US fist-pump with glee that they’re OUT, there are young girls in Africa doing the same thing when they find out they’ve gotten IN to school via scholarship or fundraising to pursue an education.

She’s the First.org is all about breaking barriers in developing nations to be ‘the first’ to achieve their goals and triumph over circumstance to rock their dreams…so what better way to fund these girls than to host a Girls Who Rock concert tonight in New York City!

This energy-packed, youth-driven amped up crew of volunteers is bustling around to pull off a mega concert to help send girls to school in Tanzania, where 95% of girls DO NOT graduate high school because it’s not free. In a classic nod to the world changing media message of  The Girl Effect, this is literally girls helping girls in real time, making change tonight, and you can be a part of it!

Live-streamed, in person, via donor dollars or social media, YOU have the opportunity to rock their world…Right here, right now. Here’s 25 year old Ashley Shuyler, founder of AfricAid (video after the jump) with more about her She’s The First partnership to bring education to these worthy girls… (more…)

June 8, 2010 Why do we have to turn summer camp into a marketing opportunity for pink and blue? What’s the matter with plain ol’ grass green and outdoor fun?

Admittedly, I never made it to a ‘traditional camp’ until I was a parent. We moved duty stations during summers, and if we didn’t, we were ‘free range kids,’ amped with self reliance, creative spunk, and behavior tethered by emotional rather than electronic ties to our parents.

Still, I had a media snapshot of what camp would be, part “The Parent Trap” slumber party mischief and MacGyver resourcefulness packed into life lessons that last.

By the time I made it to camp by chaperoning scouts, eco adventures, and teaching wildlife to brownies, the whole camp thing had shifted to a personal “experience” where kids could track their own interests versus the ‘sampler pack’ approach of ‘do it all, see what sticks.’

One peek at a site like KidsCamps.com and you’ll find every specialized niche market imaginable, from sports, special needs, and academics to Microsoft’s DigiGirlz foray into techno prowess and STEM. Kind of limiting though, when societal trends towards specialization apply to kids (e.g. some track into “their sport” early on and show up ‘seasoned’ by second grade; sheesh; what’s the rush?) Why narrowcast  likes and dislikes so early on when kids haven’t even been exposed to a full spectrum of choices?

Seems more like clipping fledgling wings rather than stretching them; especially when it comes to summer camp, the ‘sampler pack’ of activities in all kinds of flavors of fun…

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