Letting teens take the lead on a project can be an act of radical trust, but it’s something we need to be fearless about. How? By not just asking teens for their opinions, but empowering them to implement them.
Three great examples of meaningful participation employing radical trust are the new public service announcements for the Collaborative Library Summer Program’s (CLSP) teen summer reading program, “YNK:You Never Know.” Teens at Imaginon (where else?) in Charlotte, NC adopted the mystery theme and created a video PSA, a radio PSA and a comic style poster in a film noir tone. Teens wrote the script, directed the recordings, edited to a final cut, and even composed the music and designed the lighting. Kudos to librarian Michele Gorman for living the YALSA creed by facilitating not just youth participation, but meaningful participation.
Check it out at http://www.cslpreads.org/2007/PSA/yapsa.htm
Thanks to Stephanie Stokes, Chair of the CSLP Marketing & PR Committee, for promoting this great project on the YAAC email distribution list.
Other libraries have created movies as well. Share your stories!