A panel discusses how media can drive perceptions and expectations. According to the Communications Industry Forecast, the average American spends more than 8 hours a day using media, including, TV, music, and print media. For young people, this means that they are often spending more time listening to media than they are to parents, teachers, or even peers. There can be no doubt, then, that media has a huge impact on how young people see themselves and the world around them. Youth in the city face increased pressure to succeed in school as well as a tense political and economic climate in the world around them. We all need the tools to understand how media impacts their lives and their community. Youth need the opportunity to voice their perceptions in dialogue with the adults and media that represent them. Teens need a platform to create their media as well as a place to share how they can positively represent themselves. A summit for the youth of Boston on issues of media and culture provides such an opportunity. The best way to share information with youth is through other youth. Youth Voice Collaborative (YVC) brings together young people from many of the youth serving agencies doing media production and social justice work in the city. In keeping with the YVC model, trained youth work together with staff to plan and implement the conference. Through speakers, dialogue, and activity, youth share the work they do, and network in order to find new ways to be heard.
