Mississippi Youth Media Project
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Mississippi Youth Media Project

  The Mississippi Youth Media Project trains primarily underserved teenagers, ages 14 to 18, using digital technology to produce equitable, high-quality multimedia projects to share their own stories and report on their communities with rigorous solutions journalism. Through creative community engagement, students construct narratives that shift the perceptions of young people, actively creating new possibilities for upcoming generations of young Mississippians. Key goals of YMP are to reduce school dropouts, inspire more first-generation college students, and bridge the workforce skills gap by preparing teenagers for an evolving work environment with 21st-century jobs. YMP enhances the creativity of young people and connects with students through innovative school partnerships, after-school education programs, and an intensive summer newsroom laboratory. YMP is a project of Jackson 2000 Inc. Read what students think about the project here.
LEARN MORE
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Narrative Change

YMP students use digital technology to drive high-quality multimedia storytelling, sharing their own stories and reporting on their communities with rigorous journalism. Students create solutions-based content about relevant community issues. Through creative community engagement, students construct narratives that shift the perception of young people and their families in central Mississippi. 
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Career/Workforce Development

YMP inspires more first-generation college students and bridges the workforce skills gap by preparing students for an evolving work environment with 21st century jobs that haven’t been created yet. YMP students learn career technical skills in audio/video technology and communications. YMP focuses on the arts and media and highlights careers in the tech industry.
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Dropout Prevention

YMP incorporates mentorship to re-engage students in their own learning and motivation to graduate. Programs like YMP decrease drug use and juvenile delinquency, improve self-esteem, increase positive interactions and connections with peers and adults, and significantly reduce the rate of high school dropout.  YMP works primarily with under-served teens most at risk of high-school dropout.

YMP Photo Gallery

YMP students lined up to sign the wall in the new offices in Capital Towers in downtown Jackson.
YMP student Kenytta Brown (front left) laughs with the new mayor of Jackson, Chokwe Lumumba (right), as JPS School Board member Jed Oppenheim (center) looks on at YMP.
Wingfield High School student Shakira Porter displays her "diploma" from YMP when the spring 2017 session ended.
Wingfield High students started a youth-crime cause-solution analysis in spring 2017 that students following them are continuing.
On day 1 of summer 2017 session, students crowded in the newsroom to brainstorm possible film ideas.
A panel of students from 2016 and 2017 questioned Jackson mayoral candidates at a forum they organized in April 2017.
Shakira Porter interviewed "Mr. Callaway" after the 2017 Youth Mayoral Forum. The Wingfield student was on the media panel that questioned candidates.
Summer 2017 students discuss draft their shared values manifesto for the project the first week of the session.
On the first day, YMP students started with team-building exercises.
YMP student journalist Joshua Wright quickly settled into a corner in what they call the "video grave."
Kelsee Ford displays her new YMP t-shirt after leading the effort to pay for the shirts for summer 2016 students.
Student journalist Maggie Jefferis gravitated quickly to the video team.
The YMP video/photo team follows Donna Ladd to City Hall to meet Mayor Tony Yarber. Photo by Zaccheus White
From left: Mentor photographer Imani Khayyam helped Eli Bettiga, Kelsey Ford, Joshua Right and Zaccheus White during a ride-along with Mayor Tony Yarber.
Students Tionna Anderson (left) and Zeani Fudge are in the podcasting team training with Beau York of The Podastery.
August Harp, a YMP student journalist, is in the writers' house.

Major Sponsors and Supporters of YMP

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Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) is a leader in informational broadcasting. MPB has exhibited a commitment to educating and informing Mississippians. MPB has partnered with YMP to lend tech equipment and provide youth engagement and media specialists to train students. 
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E3, a project of Parents of Public Schools of Jackson (now Ask for More), supported YMP in summers 2016 and 2017 with stipends for students, and other  resources.
The Community Foundation of Greater Jackson (now The Community Foundation of Mississippi) is the
​fiscal sponsor for E3.
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Podastery Studios in downtown Jackson offers a network of locally produced podcasts. Beau York, founder of Podastery, has generously donated his time to train YMP students in podcasting skills and allowed Youth Media Project students to borrow professional podcasting equipment to learn
​production skills.
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Dialogue Jackson, formerly Jackson 2000 Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to fostering understanding and building harmony between people of different races, ethnicities and backgrounds. The group became YMP's fiscal sponsor in 2017 and hosts youth dialogues for teens.. 

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Choice Printing in downtown Jackson is an in-kind sponsor of YMP offering YMP copying and printing services from its Capitol Towers location.

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Good Design & Code >>

Good Design & Co offers high-end UI/UX, web development, app development and branding services. Principal J.C. Hiatt is helping YMP students publish their own website for stories, video, podcasts and more.
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Jackson-based Workplace Solutions by Barefield is a Steelcase authorized dealer offering high-end office furniture and technology solutions. Workplace Solutions has loaned chairs, mobile desks and mobile whiteboards to create a collaborative office for YMP participants.

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Jackson-based Fuse.cloud (formerly Broadband Voice) offers Voice-over-IP phone systems, fiber Internet connections and technical services. Fuse.cloud has sponsored phones, VoIP phone service and technical assistance for YMP.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DR. GEORGE SCHIMMEL and NATALIE IRBY FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS OF PRODUCTION IMACS FOR THE YOUTH MEDIA PROJECT.
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO YMP.
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