Empowering youth voices: MESS connects teens with media

Kids from ages 13 -20 are invited to come to Carnegie Mellon University tomorrow and make a MESS.

The Media Empowerment Student Summit 2015 (MESS) is a day of workshops, idea-sharing, and problem-solving to help young people in Pittsburgh learn how make their voices heard in the media.

“Our mission is to make sure that in our region, people see the value in listening to youth voices,” said Jessica Pachuta, project director at Hear Me, a youth empowerment and media initiative at Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab. Hear Me is hosting the summit, which is sponsored by the Hive Learning Network of Pittsburgh and Three Rivers Community Foundation “There are a lot of disconnected groups in media working in this space, and we need to make sure we’re removing the  barriers keeping students from getting involved.”

In the workshops, students will learn varied media skills such as podcasting, basic HTML and CSS for building web pages, and will explore issues like institutional racism, and accessibility in media.

The event is free and lunch will be provided along with the chance to connect with professionals in the media industry. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m., and the sessions will be held at Carnegie Mellon University’s  Newell-Simon Hall. Participants can come and stay for the entire day of programming, or just the sessions that appeal to them.

Check out the event website and full program descriptions here:  http://www.messpgh.com/

Featured image courtesy MESS.