Proposal for Next Phase of
Burnt Islands Sharing Our Future
Community Media

Sharing Our Future Community Media Project

1. SOF 2005 is the result of five years of evolution. It is one of the only, if not the only community media youth project in Newfoundland and Labrador. The community has learned a lot about how to develop such projects. The objective of the next two phases of this project is to preserve their learnings and to share with other interested communities and groups in Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada. We will also continue to develop the community theatre component.

SOF learnings include recruiting youth from level one rather than focusing on high school students. The 2005 structure of the project works very well. It is three tiered Ð an experienced coordinator directing two younger interns (one of whom is a "graduate" of the earlier program) who work directly with the youth.

The second focus of this phase of the Sharing Our Future Community Media is to continue to develop a sustainable program of community theatre. We will continue our liaison with Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.

2. The community media focus will be on learning desktop publishing to prepare for a second phase in which a manual is developed which will allow other communities interested in community media and youth to learn from the Burnt Islands experience.

3. It is important to retain the same structure in the new project so it can be used as a model of community media to share.

4. The current work with the youth and program development will continue through the project.

5. Sharing Our Future Community Media will also continue to work on revenue generating projects. One potential development could be to investigate how the program fits into the "social economy" of Newfoundland and Labrador.

6. Ryakuga will design the educational component; continue ongoing online support; and provide participatory research and desktop publishing community workshops. Collaboration will be sought both with the College of the North Atlantic and Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.

7. The project includes purchase of desktop publishing software and a wide format printer. It is of note that desktop publishing to produce promotional brochures and newsletters is an identified need in the community. It will add a cost effective capacity and enhance potential for income generation.

8. Community workshops:

(a) Participatory research.

(b) Collecting stories for community theatre.

(c) Desktop publishing (introduction).

(d) Theatre workshop at Grenfell.

(e) Desktop publishing (newsletter production).

(f) Theatre workshop in Burnt Islands.

9. The workshops are typically facilitated over two days. However, each workshop requires preparation and follow up activity, both by the community group and the facilitator. It is expected that each workshop will include a community media event.