Youth Media Storytelling in Canada

A Media Storytelling Project Canadian girls & non-binary youth.

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what is the story of this project?

Digital literacy skills, including media storytelling/making, are more important than ever for today's youth.

And, in a time of seemingly endless media content, there continues to be a lack of diversity (including gender inequality) in the media industry... especially in key creative roles.

These two points are what led me to conduct research on Canadian girls & non-binary youth and media storytelling (opportunities and experiences).

My name is Tatyana Terzopoulos and I am a PhD student at York University. I have also had a very long, award-winning career as a producer, writer & director in Canadian media.

My experiences as a female-identifying creative professional, my love of collaborating in teams to create media, and my interest in supporting youth who are interested in media storytelling are my reasons for conducting this research. This research also builds upon my recent Master's research exploring media education curriculum for middle schoolers through making which you can learn more about here. I aim to learn more about the lives and (media-making) interests of Canadian girl-identifying & non-binary youth. For this portion of my research, I am conducting interviews with youth from across the country to better understand their experiences with video-making and media-storytelling. I especially want to hear how video-making has played a role in their lives this year! This info will help me tell the story of their video-making journeys including how they develop their skills and passions, who they make media with, and how they are (or aren't) supported with their interests. This information will help reveal how we (educators and media professionals) can encourage and support (more) girls and non-binary youth in cultivating their interest in video-making and media storytelling!

This project is supported in part by the Government of Canada's Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council.

What happens in this project?