ACTIVATE
JOURNALISTS
INSPIRE, EMPOWER CITIZENS & UPGRADE MEDIA CULTURE
Role models shape 80% of human behavior, to a great part subconscious-ly. Also via media.
We live in quite some times, huh?
Journalists and publishers are awakening to re-define themselves. some from inner motivation to be relevant for creating positive changes in our societies … others in response to mounting presse, shijt in their comment sections, and violence. Some need to find ways to stay alive.
How can news media even fulfill their function for upliftment of society? How can we enjoy our profession and fill it with purpose? How can we inspire and involve readers?
Working with 100s of teen and adult changemakers – the darling of every good journalist – especially when one can follow and show their story unfold, like in the case of Greta – we have an enormous lot to offer
- hero*ine stories, many protagonists for unfolding stories
- on favorite global and local causes for everybody
- avantgarde newsmakers around the planet
- ways to activate local hero*ines, as local protagonists
- ways to meet face to face, as human beings, caring citizens
- good ways to ask “how can we serve and help you achieve even greater changes for people and planet?”
worthy of winning awards, and adding hero*ine stories, action opportunities and meaning to “media reaching many”, such as food, family, travel and in-flight magazines, radio and television programs, youtube shows, blogs, celebrity instagram feeds …
It’s simple, but you need
- ace content
- ace spirit and wit
and so far we don’t see that in media. As a journalists, you can scan and take in information quickly. So, browsing this page will be a breeze. Then, use the resources, dig in deeper tonight, and reconnect with your dream.
Gimme a ring tomorrow, or on Monday. I’ll be there. After all, we have a planet to save, and you are in that place to reach millions daily. Geez, I would wield magic in that space. So, stop being boring, start being awesome.
To know the basics about youth leadership, take the Tutorial.
We encourage you to also take the following stages of the Adult Crash Course to experience how inspired readers can turn into users and enjoy benefits in their daily lives and at the workplace.
As you can tell, these are the beautiful stories that the world needs, and caring journalists wish to see and tell.
At YL, we have plenty of them, timeless, evolving (and better than Malala’s story), to help you inspire your citizenry with model solutions for local issues.
What is most important for you, however, are LOCAL HERO*INE PROTAGONISTS – youth that make change-making their “sport”, rocking hard like athletes, scoring big impact that is worthy of reporting, and giving passio-nate testimonials with radiant smiles. Like their world famous hero*ine peers.
Since they do not exist in your region, yet … your role is to take part in activating them. We have tools and tricks to do so, and as things get rolling, you will have opportunity to live your profession in all its dimensions.
As YL Youth and Adult Volunteer Teams evolve, they will share their uplif-ting stories with you, and ask you to team up for the benefit of your people and the region that you are stewards of – as writer, co-producer, coach, modera-tor, and as a caring human.
Did you know?
- Positive solution stories get more clicks, likes and shares than bad news on social media. (link to Huff Post study)
- They are also good for mental health.
- And they activate an active citizenry.
So, if you hate your people, prefer bad governance, violence and demise, don’t tell them.
If you love life on Earth, get your butt up, become more then a minimum standard infobot, study good example approaches, and start implementing them right away, continuously learning on the go and becoming relevant to the well-being of society, all species still alive today and generations to come.
We know genius pioneers in new positive change media culture, and we are happy to share with people in the media field that wish to live their values, and add purpose to their profession, in service to people and planet.
News media are our societies’ macro communication tool, meant to uplift our societies. It is high time to once again wield these powers well.
%
of human behavior is shaped by role models
most of it subconsciously, and also via media. Which role models, values and behavior do you convey in your news medium?
Your Superpowers
YOU MANAGE A COMMUNICATION SPACE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL CITIZENS THAT IS RELEVANT TO REAL LIFE AND BEYOND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ECHO CHAMBERS.
That’s especially true for local town newspapers, free newspapers, and regional news stations.
YOU CAN INFORM THE CITIZENRY
in proper full page format, not just a tweet or brief article on the internet, with photos, interlinked with people and places your audience knows and cares for.
YOU CAN INSPIRE THE CITIZENRY
long-term, through, columns, sections, and repeated reporting on cool activities for people and planet, milestones reached, next steps.
YOU CAN INVOLVE THE CITIZENRY
by calling for contributions to hero*ines initiatives, submission of photos and reports on actions they have taken inspired by your articles and calls.
YOU CAN COLLABORATE WITH CITY, SCHOOLS, ORGANIZATIONS, YOUTH
to report on their campaigns for the good of people and planet in your home region, and young hero*ines’ unfolding adventures, reaching into people’s homes and workplaces … in the form of paper newspapers.
If you think about it, teachers, school papers, the city, organizations, teenage hero*ines’ social media, national magazines … all only reach a small segment of the population, limited to their followers, interest group, age group, which limits reach and impact of their virtuous deeds, offers and uplifting spirit.
Hence you as a (local) mass medium, have a key role.
That’s even true for the little respected free wednesday / saturday newspapers full of ads distributed in districts and communes. For them super uplifting unfolding year-round stories of local young hero*ines’ fireworks of actions are PURE GOLD.
Play your role well, learn positive news reporting, have an eye for young changemakers, and when they contact you, honor them, listen, collaborate, with a sense of service for youth, people and planet. They are your best content partners for decades to come. Plus, they make you work fun, too! View below.
Let’s activate your superpowers and reconnect with your purpose for The Upliftment Of Society – which is all of us people living in your region, your country, on this planet, people that are okay and when free from fear and trauma have the same aspirations for good.
How could anyone make this virtuous role sink so low to simply inform on basics, to entertain, distract, mislead, manipulate and feed on all these people? Society, the kids, the animals, the planet are hurting so bad. Cleanse, charge and wield your magic wand.
Let’s put on the Magical Spectacles of Youth Leadership
and have a look at how journalists can inspire and support youth leadership in the citizenry.
It is simple, and part of your core purpose and activity anyway, hence takes no effort, is riskless.
It gradually grows and evolves, like a tree. Can you activate each branch of “your tree”? Look at the splendid results!
Results
Results
Results
Results
Results
Results
HERE IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE
A Year's Reporting
on changemaker teams at each school, each running 5-10 actions monthly… adds up to how many uplifting stories?
An enormous lot!
This is how ...
… we can create the necessary knowledge- and spirit-transfer to upgrade the voter population to solution-oriented participative citizens. If your heart is on fire to bring about relevant changes for people and planet, you can now live your dream.
THAT is our aim
… with win-win benefits for many.
So, help us bring about changemaker clubs!
First steps make Youth Leadership spirit present in your medium, with tools, ideas, calls for inter-action. Next, inspired readers raise the vibe. Then, inspired youth teams take action, share stories, creating a whole new ‘GENRE’ of local hero*ine stories. And you create new sections on youth and solutions. And through collab with youth and their allies, you become part of the story. Also to colleagues inter/nationally that read of your work.
Hey, the items above may not look like much, but that’s because most steps of action are taken not on media and by media makers but “in the real world”. Still, you have a very important role to play, and once the world around you changes, this means the behavior of citizens changes, to more remarkable actions for people and planet, you have things to report about. Hence, your work picks up once youth leadership takes off at your region’s schools,
- backed by a global tribe of changemakers … and local allies
- with 400+ high impact activities … and favorite causes for everybody
- vividly self-documented for social and news media … using our positive news tips
- involving many of your local stakeholders
each crew easily generates monthly actions, adding up to dozens per month, that are not only newsworthy, but more peppy than common daily life, and offer new ways of interactive journalism – because it activates youth and adults to better interact!
It can only take off once local youth with a hang and heart for the good of people and planet awaken to their new opportunities of having fun and adventure doing good like their famous hero*ine peers.
Together, as key professionals in schools, media, councils and organizations, we set the nurturing framework – through vivid hero*ine stories that unlock the hero key on their inner piano. Your contribution of seeding hero*ine stories to the general public, inviting and publishing local testimonials, aspirations, goals, activities and achievements from early on play an important role.
ONCE Youth Leadership sparks in your city, the youth who choose to connect with our multi-focus changemaker program Change Generation Rising will
- produce high impact activities worth of reporting
- create vivid imagery, film and testimonials
- be your local hero*ine protagonists
- living unfolding adventures
- in interaction with citizens from all walks of life
for years to come.
The most powerful space for youth leadership are schools, since it is where all youth meet daily, with countless options to evoke positive changes.
Many of their activities take place in public spaces, streets, markets, malls, parks, at events and fests, in public libraries and community centres, in business spaces, national parks, forests, farmlands, coastlines … in collaboration with practitioners making “tangible” impact.
Your role as journalists is to do important “intangible” work accompany these activities, connect them to a public of thousands,
- to inspire contributions
- to enable involvement
... and to go beyond it
- report on inspired actions taken by readers
- create interesting formats like calls for contributions, photo essays, double pages, hero fold-out posters, positive change music and art … year-round
- in collaboration WITH young changemakers, so it gets even better, becomes more alive and ‘action’
- involving aspiring young writers, incl the youth crews’ news teams
- (as moderator) help (co-)organize public panel discussions and round table dialogues on solutions and initiatives, with young changemakers, adult allies, and the interested citizenry. Youth shall be in charge, so it becomes fresh and awesome.
Can you do one of each?
Swift Steps to Start
among colleagues.
Agree on common wishes and steps to cultivate youth leadership
Include Hero*ine Stories
using angles like
- today’s youth
- youth leadership
- learning culture
- UN Theme Days; adding young and adult changemakers leading high impact solutions for this cause! (we serve 50+ days, approx. 1 per week)
Call for Interactions
- feedback from readers
- story tips on solutions
- actions taken by readers, teachers, students, …
As youth leadership evolves
there will be lots of report and respond to.
Do my stories really evoke relevant tangible changes?
How can I make sure they do?
Telling teen hero*ine stories in their authentic inspirational form …
activates teachers to share them, and youth to follow their example.
As a consequence, school kids have contributed to 500,000 books raised by Emma and Julia for aboriginal kids. Teachers and youth at 16,000 schools have followed Craig’s example; they combine classroom learning with charitable activities supporting sustai-nable development projects with partners all over the planet.
These are just two of hundreds of universally embraced examples, while you (esp. Europeans) may only have heard of teens addressing govern-ment, like the 21 youth sueing the U.S. Gvt., Emma Gonzalez criticizing lack of action on school shootings, and Greta Thunberg calling for implementation of international agreements. Those “national politics related” examples are less than 1% of the vast spectrum of transformational youth leadership. There are many others, which are even more meaningful for many members of your community, as they facilitate instant tangible changes, are fit for all age groups, for use at school, and no one opposes.
So, just get started
telling your choice of our lot of timeless hero*ine solution stories. Feel entirely free to follow your passion, ideas and current occasions to select hero*ines working on specific causes. Have no expectations. Just seed, and trust that the receptive %age of your audience will act on it.
Keep casually evolving
by following our tips for connecting with audience and other stakeholders.
There’s enough caring citizens in town for sure. They just have to awaken to the NEW fascinating phenomenon of youth leadership and how to make it part of their young people’s lives at school and beyond for the benefit of all – as illustrated in our brochures.
Activate Yourself
Educate yourself on youth leadership through many hero*ines examples, some expert knowhow, on high impact student clubs, and how adult allies can support. Make swift contributions and stay in the loop. Only this combination means you are truly and professionally informed and part of this “sport”.
If you’re not part of this “sport”, you lack the passion, insights, eye-level, heart-to-heart identification with the practitioners, the athletes. You are unqualified to interview and convey the spirit to the audience. See? This is for caring journalists on fire to be part of positive change. Your passion and being part equal training and research.
Positive Change Media Culture
has key guidelines, including
empower your audience through
- links “for more”
- resources
- instant action opportunities
- access to consultation
- encouraging action; such as tell a teacher, donate online, implement it locally
- e.g. when reporting on local teen hero*ines : mention that schools can book them as speaker, that people can donate or team up, once or form a district chapter; your best research for this part is asking the hero*ine : “how can we help? how can readers, youth, teachers, families, business, organizations, funders, the mayor help?”
- why not add a personal note of your ideas, and what you would have loved at school back then when you were a student, would love to see happen, now, and are willing to contribute if someone takes it on; turn from author-robot to human-writer
- and telling you about it, so you can report as part of your reporting on citizen action for the community, people and planet
UPCOMING. Inspirational views on the role of news media, and guidelines for enabling an able, active, caring citizenry, for forming a sustainable society.
POSITIVE CHANGE MEDIA CULTURE
Good teachers – who educate kids on basic stuff like latin grammar, the alphabet or as quickly as possible running in circles – are also academics, with curious minds and a higher public sense of purpose. They enjoy taking on a new perspective of nurturing badass changemakers, and enabling their students to shape a truly good future for themselves, loved ones and society.
Caring journalists – we assume, care for more than routine reporting. They are interested in the big picture, in social sciences, so to say. So, see, we intentionally dream up ways to make life for our folks in schools more rewarding, blissful really! Likewise, we want to do for our folks in media.
This page already shows key steps. You will discover more as you browse the Online Exhibit, and walk through the Crash Course.
Our views on the PURPOSE OF MASS MEDIA will even add to that.
Stay tuned.
We love this graphic. It explains people’s tricky situation in these troubled times. We offer professionals ways to add mission and vocation to their lives. (click to enlarge)
So, if I was a journalist, this is the kind of stuff I’d enjoy seeing, writing about and being part of!
See, superb journalists like George Monbiot tell us about ills and general ideas, but transforming society happens through hands-on actions en masse, some swift, some complex – and that is what people now need to see, to feel, through role models in action, to comprehend the steps to success, to gain resources, action opportunity, support and community. That’s new high-end journalism. It’s not complicated. You just develop the same passion and knowledge as for other “sports”, like football.
I know that not everybody shares my awareness and idealism, but I know I am not the only one.
There exist GOOD TEACHERS at every school, and they love having Gryffindore crews at their school, to upgrade learning culture, and enjoy life at work!
There exist JOURNALISTS that wish to do good, and if we’re lucky, in every town, at every news medium and station.
And I am super inspired to help those live their personal and professional dreams to the fullest.
So study our resources, wield our tools, tell us how it works for you, what you need, your ideas, your achievements with us, to share with the world.
Don’t hesitate to give us a call for a video-meeting, and turn your ideas into action.
Your personal crash course
is free, online, self-paced, and highly entertaining.
It provides insights, ideas, and experience what students and citizens experience.
It helps you detect potentials, inspire folks, connect with partners and collaborate in good spirit.
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