DOTCOM: Inspire Civic Action through Social Media

DOTCOM is a program for media-savvy and civically-engaged youth, designed to offer training and opportunities for young people to create socially conscious media that will impact communities across the U.S. and the Caucasus. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, and supported
by a global network of organizations that include OneWorldTV, Young People’s Media Network and more.

Through DOTCOM, ninety Armenian, American and Azerbaijani students will explore youth issues through the lens of media, ultimately creating their own documentaries, digital stories, short films, public service announcements and other media for distribution internationally. Importantly, the organizations supporting the program will use the media created by youth to advocate for the issues addressed during the program, raising awareness and fostering civic action.

Among the students involved in the program, ten students from each country will participate in advanced media training in Vermont and Washington, DC in the summer of 2009. American students will then travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia for a regional media conference to showcase their work to a global audience. Students not selected for the exchange will remain engaged online through the program forums, as well as vie for mini-grants to implement civic initiatives.

See recent media coverage of the program: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/01/28/armenia-azerbaijan-young-blogge...

Learn more by visiting the website: http://dotcom.ph-int.org/

Contact Elizabeth, DOTCOM Program Director, by email: elizabeth.metraux@ph-int.org