Star in Your Own Stories

In 2006/2007, we helped Chee Mamuk launch “Star in Your Own Stories” (SIYOS), a project to educate First Nations youth in BC about HIV/AIDS while creating their own DVD. Now, as this e’Zine goes to virtual print, we have just launched the third film in the series -- “Strong Path,” a film made by Sto:lo youth -- and we are starting to plan the next workshop with Chee Mamuk for the fall.

Says Good Company Communications Creative Director and HelloCoolWorld.com founder Katherine Dodds: “Our approach is to treat youth as the experts of their own experience that they always are, and to reflect them back as leaders to their peers within their communities.”

After it’s first year, the SIYOS workshop was given extremely high marks as a social marketing initiative by an external evaluator and the DVDs are now integral to the youth workshops Chee Mamuk provides. The process of using video combined with interactive learning around the issues really works. As Chee Mamuk Program Manager Melanie Rivers said after the pilot workshop: “This was our most successful youth workshop ever.”

As we launch Strong Path, we are also promoting the DVD release of Inez Jasper. She is a Sto:lo Nation community health nurse and youth leader as well as being an accomplished singer-songwriter. Songs from her new album are featured in Strong Path.

www.inezmusic.ca

“The youth participants enjoyed the experience and learned a lot, not only about HIV/AIDS but also about how to create a DVD-based message. They increased their self-confidence and became an effective team. Community members noticed the behavioural change, as did the youths themselves. The project also had a positive effect on the community, and people who are HIV positive are much better accepted. Family and friends were very proud of what the youth accomplished.

"The impact of this project has gone beyond the community itself. The youth gave a presentation at a conference and a film festival. They have been invited by other communities to come and talk about the experience. There were so many requests that extra copies of the video and other materials had to be made. These young people are now leaders in their community.

"While not all communities can afford a project like this, the important lesson from this project was how successful the creative approach can be. Communities can find a creative project that youth can take ownership of. They can learn about healthy sexuality and then share what they create with the community and online.” (From Wise Practices guide.)

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES

With a relatively small budget and an unusual filmmaking process, how do we ensure we end up with a high quality final product? We have met these challenges by striving to make up for technical shortfalls (shooting improvised scripts without a full film crew) with clever editing, graphics and sound design. We also make sure that we create good project branding which we can spread online (and offline in terms of the “swag” we create). Because we typically rely on a strong graphic direction to tie the films and campaign together, the process of developing this messaging focus has become part of the workshop process. In every workshop the youth create titles for their film and taglines knowing that they will become the project brand. This is very satisfying for the youth as they drink out of their Stand True mugs, wear their Step Up hoodies or Strong Path sweatpants and ID tags! In our last workshop they improvised rap songs with their messaging, and we had a composer compile and re-mix these for the final video.

Out of this project we also launched the YouthHaveThePower.com website (“nested” on HelloCoolWorld.com). Once the DVD was finished and distributed to communities, we launched it again on YouTube and linked to the website. This model was successfully used again with the second SIYOS workshop on Vancouver Island. As we prepared for the second year of the project we expanded the site, and an ongoing online engagement strategy is becoming part of the Star in Your Own Stories workshop process, the website is able to be youth-friendly and adaptable to the changing outreach needs of ongoing campaigns.

The youth are active online on Facebook and continue to network with Good Company’s youth programs coordinator on a regular basis. The website is evolving into a grassroots marketing hub as they can promote their own project through the online tools.

This process of working with youth, supported by their own communities, truly reflects social marketing wise practices. At Good Company, we continue to be excited that our collaborations with Chee Mamuk allow us to work towards our own mandate: Ideas to Audiences, Audiences to Action, Action to Outcome.