Media Boot Camps

In the summer of 2009, one of the strongest recommendations arising from the "Lets Talk About our Path To Change" project and video compilation, was the need to collaborate and to assist in the creation of more social media opportunities for Poverty's First Voice.

Media Boot Camps are intended to teach people how to use cell phones and lap top computers, (and any other digital recording devices they may have access to) to get and to upload video recordings, Twitter tweets, or FaceBook updates. With a little training and confidence, regular citizens are replacing reporters and Saskatoon's first voice will be ready to take advantage of the open and free internet to generate its own media.

Media Boots Camps will help Saskatoon's First Voice be part of developing new models of media, news, social interaction, and civic presence. And will continue to envision ways to exploit our modern technology, and further build our community presence.

In 2010, the media boot camps took the form of opening the SAPC office to volunteers who for a few hours began helping people to use the lap-top computer, navigate the internet, send and receive emails, read and contribute to blogs and begin familiarizing themselves with popular social media such as Twitter and FaceBook.  In 2011, the Media Boot Camps are targeting a larger number of participants by looking to those most familiar with the technologies (i.e. youth) to be the teachers - and the media boot camps will be hosted at various locations around Saskatoon and at various times of day in order to accommodate a larger variety of potential citizen journalists.

The project isn't flying as the crow flies, we're getting used to a country mile!