YouthLAB (Listening Across Borders) is a unique summer institute that brought together 23 young people from Chicago and Barbados in a virtual contact zone to create a collaborative online cinema project on the living legacies of slavery. Mindy Faber is the Director of YouthLAB (www.youthlab.net), Matt Schick is the Web Developer, Mela Berger is the Barbados Facilitator and Mary Trimble is the Evaluator. YouthLAB is a project of Open Youth Networks (www.openyouthnetworks). It is made possible by grants from the McCormick Tribune Foundation and individual contributors.

The Pre-YouthLAB Digital Training Institute took place at the Caribbean Institute for Culture and Healing Arts in Barbados from July 9th-13th . Mindy Faber and Mela Berger were joined by Youth member, Zane Scheuerlein and Dr. Pedro Welch, Professor of History from the University of the West Indies. The catalyst for this youth investigative citizen journalism work is the mark of the 200th anniversary of Britain’s abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. (This event has been marked by a series of events throughout the Caribbean, Britain and parts of the US.)

Participants in YouthLAB explore the question: Do you believe that the legacy of slavery explains the racism, culture or inequalities of today?” They will conduct this investigation in their own communities and contexts and will share their perspectives and research through online citizen journalism and participatory media practices. This opulent mix of new digital communication methods include:(google maps mashups, blogs, podcasts, on line chats, high resolution video streaming through Democracy.tv and a range of new peer-to-peer social networking and digital sharing technologies [Facebook, WordPress, Flickr, Creative Commons])

About Me: I am 17, about to turn 18. I live in Evanston and go to ETHS. I’ve been writing stories since 1st grade and making movies since 8th grade. I’d like to become a director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. I love all types of movies *drama, foreign, comedy, horror, even cheesy b-flicks* and have collected over 700 of them. I love music *new wave, punk, europop, indie, trance, goth, rap, you name it =)*. I spend lots of time having filmfests with friends and playing lots of video games *esp. old school systems like the genesis and Super Nintendo*. I love variety and believe in going beyond the limit. I’m have ambitions, some of which are: bringing aspects of Asian filmmaking to America, making the first good film adaptation of a video game, & the first psychological horror film to win best picture. Checkout my videos please http://youtube.com/user/StrawberryBloodBoy

Hi, My name is Spencer Fitzsimmons and I’m a senior at Evanston Township High School. I like to take photos around the town, riding my skateboard wherever, and manipulating photos in Adobe Photoshop. My favorite genre of music is Hip-Hop and Rap but I do enjoy other genres. I joined YouthLAB to hone in on my media skills and to learn different ways to help my community. And I hope that you guys that are watching us like our work.

Hola!
My name is Marisol but my closest friends call me Mini-sol or Mary. I am 18yrs old and am looking forward to start my freshman year at DePaul University this fall. I am a versatile individual with many interests such as the performing arts (I love to play the violin) and conserving the environment. I have often been compared to Lisa Simpson because of my thirst for knowledge and social action. I have been a volunteer at Little Village Environmental Justice Organization for the past five years and I currently serve on their Board. I decided to join Youthlab because it enables me to use media in order to spread awareness and create a positive social change.

Hello everyone. My name is Andres Quiroz (Also known as Andy or Jason Bourne). I am a Curie Alumni and about to start the College life. I enjoy writing screenplays, filming, editing, and directing short films. I love to analyze mystery thriller films and read books with the same themes. What I like to do is run and create film ideas.
P.S. I would like to thank Seemi for the wonderful picture she took of me with her precise photography. She got my good side Thank you.

Hey, my name is Zane Scheuerlein and I am a 16 year old junior at Evanston Township High School. I’m a simple man with big ambitions. I want to go to a nice college and get a great education, but I’m still not sure what I want do. I love making movies and I want to be a director. I love doing graphic design and I want to be a graphic designer. I also love having an effect on decisions that affect how the world is run and I want to be a politician. In my spare time I play lots of video games such as Gears of War and World of Warcraft. I also play lacrosse during the spring as a midfielder and do volunteer work during the summer. I also love to play poker with my friends from middle school. I have a lot of goals and doing YouthLAB will hopefully help in fulfilling my goals.

YouthLAB Barbados is Mela (Facilitator), Damian, Carlos, Mindy (Facilitator), Alana, Ramona, Eli, Sarah and David.

About Me: I’m 17, Senior, who goes to Curie High School. I’m an aspiring journalist and hope to travel all around the world while covering global events. Love astrology and I plan on being a professional astrologer in my adult years. I love to read and appreciate all forms of art especially photography. Currently I’m with several organizations that fight for LGBT rights in different ways such as About Face Theatre and I was a past member of the GLSEN chapter organization. I also attend YCA (Young Chicago Authors) and am on the Say What Magazine board and during the school year I also do New Expressions Newspaper and a million other things. I’m all for human rights and plan on joining the Peace Corps after college. Sometimes my friends and family worry about my health because I’m way too involved. =^-^=

I’m a funny, joyful 17 year old senior in high school, I’m a student journalist, who plans to go to college to major in Broadcast journalism. I learned about YouthLab when Mindy Faber gave a presentation at the teen Magazine I work for called Say What, and after she showed me the work they had done in the past, I was hooked.

I am an overwhelmingly exuberant individual. Learning about new people and places are two of my greatest interests. I am truly blessed to be a part of this workshop because I have learned skills that go way beyond just technology. The Inner-city Muslim Action Network is the organization I work with and it is because of them that I got this great opportunity. Now, I will take the new techniques I’ve learned and share this great experience with all my fellow colleagues.

I am involved with Young Chicago Authors, Say What Magazine, as well as the Greater Chicago Ron Paul 2008 meet up group. As a hobby, I enjoy going to concerts, as well playing the bodhran, tin whistle, fife, harmonica, fiddle, guitar, piano, banjo, and mandolin. I am a member of Northside College Prep’s swim club, fencing club, and literary magazine. This fall will be my third year studying Chinese; for college I plan to study in the D.C. area and major in international business or international security.

YouthLAB Chicago consists of:

Marisol Becerra
Seemi Choudry
Kevin Eme
Spencer Fitzsimmons
Cortnee Griffith
Melissa Jordan
Erik Lobo
Lori Moody
Ameenah Muhammad
Sadia Nawab
Andy Quiroz
Zane Scheuerlein