RYAKUGA GRASSROOTS COMMUNICATIONS
In 1995 Youth for Social Justice teams in Nova Scotian communities performed popular theatre to increase awareness of the need for global change. Ryakuga provided support with the participatory POP VDO portable television studio.
When the G7 brought the dinosaurs of the current dominant nations to Halifax, Canadian non government organizations responded with the P7, or People's Summit. Ryakuga helped facilitate workshops in video, photography and newsletter for the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). J. Curran of St John's made sure there was a video representing the voices of youth.
Israel Bruce speaks from Overland School in the first youth-controlled community radio broadcast in the Caribbean. The National Youth Council of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Ryakuga sponsored the project in the summer of 1995. The youth council now has a licence to carry on community radio permanently - click the photo to get in touch. Or try calling 1-809-456-2323.
The Cajamar Institute (president in 1996 - the late Paulo Freire) of Brazil hosted the 1996 Vidazimut global conference - Media for Citizenship in the Electronic Age: Community Television and New Technologies. Valter File of TV Maxambomba is interviewed by Marci Correa e Castro of Bem TV and Simim Farkhondeh of Deep Dish TV. Videazimut is a global organization of individuals and groups using film, video and television to focus on the democratization of communication. The next conference is in South Africa in the fall of 1998. Click on the photo to email Videazimut.
Youth for Social Justice focused on grassroots communications during their workshops at the Maritime Provinces camp in 1997. Youth for Social Justice is a network of youth stretching around the Maritime Provinces. There is also a Newfoundland YSJ. They both used to hold annual camps to discuss and take action on many social justice issues, such as sexism, racism and homophobia. They also had an ongoing linkage with the National Youth Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Unfortunately, there is no support in Canada for youth-controlled (as opposed to adult-controlled) youth organizations.