Media Contact: Michael Dabney, (858) 822-3432

UCSD SPONSORS MULTI-MEDIA TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM THIS SUMMER FOR NATIVE AMERICAN YOUTHS

Applications are being accepted for a six-week multi-media technology program being sponsored this summer by the University of California, San Diego for area high school students, especially those of Native American heritage. 

The Young Native Scholars Summer Program, to be held June 18 through July 30, will focus on teaching students the basics of film production, radio and television broadcasting, web page design, music theory, and history of local indigenous cultures in an effort to begin preparing a team of youths to establish a cultural multi-media center at their respective reservations or in their communities.

Students will earn three units of college credit for their participation, and must have at least a 2.5 grade point average to apply.  Deadline for registration is June 10.

“More and more there is a need for students to be technologically competent and comfortable in expressing themselves in various multi-media forms – from email and web design to other written, audio and visual mediums,” says Marc Chavez, coordinator of the program in UCSD’s Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP).

Knowledge gained in the course will help the 12 to 15 student participants gain expertise to establish multi-media initiatives at their own reservations, including the capability to broadcast community or reservation news live over the web or via antenna.

EAOP’s American Indian Outreach Initiative is conducting the summer’s events with the Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Youth Center; Balboa Park’s World Beat Center; The Bridge Indian Training Trust Fund, Kumeyaay.com, and San Diego’s Teen Producer’s Program.

Classes will be held at UCSD and the World Beat Center two days a week, and will feature instruction from top local experts in multi-media communication and history of indigenous people, including classes by UCSD graduate faculty, and Larry Benegas, founder and chief executive officer of Kumeyaay.com.

“Our aim is to expose Native American youth to a university atmosphere as they learn the rudiments of multi-media technology, in addition to encouraging students to pursue their communication interests at the college level, and preparing them to be part of a core multi-media team that will be used later to help establish cultural communication efforts in their own areas in order to document current and past Native American experiences,” says Chavez.

The Young Native Scholars Summer Program includes:

·        30 hours of film production, including hands-on camera work, film editing, script writing, and digital film production.

·        9 hours of radio and television broadcasting, and music theory instruction, including on-air production, major concert reviews, and production of community calendar announcement. Working in teams, students will produce and present their own full radio program.

·        9 hours of indigenous history instruction.  Students will be introduced to the skills needed to research, design and re-create their own cultural exhibits and web sites. 

·        The program also includes beach activities, camping, cultural site visits, and field trips to the University of California at Davis, Berkeley and San Francisco.

To obtain registration forms for the program, contact Marc Chavez at UCSD at (858) 775-7073; mchavez@ucsd.edu, or Shonta Chalouz at the Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Youth Center, (760) 751-7676, ext. 101.