In the wake of COVID-19, young people -just like you- are feeling like they’re no longer in control of their futures. From disrupted schooling, to increased anxiety, to the challenges of finding your first job and standing up for a more sustainable planet. It is normal to be uncertain about your next steps in life.
But what if you could tell leaders what you wanted to see change, and help other young people understand and take action? That’s what the UNICEF Youth Mediathon is all about – to help young content creators like you reimagine a better world for every child!
Watch our masterclasses, learn with top creators and storytelling professionals, and submit your own content.
ABOUT THE MEDIATHON
The UNICEF Youth Mediathon is an online skill building event that gives you the opportunity to improve your skills as a content creator and develop content about the issues affecting young people today.
Watch our masterclasses, hosted by top professionals in leading creative firms, like Vidcon, Wikimedia Foundation, Vayner Media and more. And apply those learnings to create and submit your own content! Check our 'Learn' and 'Create' sections below.
110 lucky applicants also won the chance to participate in our group sessions (Oct 24) and meet and learn storytelling skills from top content creators, receive mentorship from experienced professionals in creative fields, and connect with other creatives.
The Voices of Youth team selected a group of 110 young creators from the nearly 4,000 that applied to our first Youth Mediathon! Check some of their projects below (more coming soon!).
LEARN
Watch our masterclasses and learn new skills with other resources we have prepared for you.
MASTERCLASS 1: ‘How to do social good on social media’ with CALLE AND POCHÉ.
Want to impact your community and reimagine a better world for every child? Check out this masterclass with Colombian content creators Calle and Poché and learn how to use your influence to do social good.
MASTERCLASS 2: ‘How to share your content in Wikimedia projects’, with wikimedia foundation
Sharing your content and bringing free educational content to the world is easier than you think. Check out this masterclass and learn all the tips and tricks with Edna Medina (Wikimedia Foundation) and Hannah Rothmann (University of Edinburgh). You can use Wikimedia as a platform to share with the world the original work you create in this #youthmediathon.
MASTERCLASS 3: ‘Creating engaging visual content,' with Alexsey Reyes
Passionate about climate action? Want to reimagine the world of wellbeing and mental health?
Whatever your cause is, this masterclass by content creator Alexsey Reyes (@alxesey on Instagram) will help you boost your social media and grow your community!
MASTERCLASS 4: ‘How to design innovative campaigns’, with VAYNERMEDIA
Turn your ideas and motivation into useful and impactful campaigns! Learn the step by step to create an innovative strategy with DuBose Cole, Head of Strategy of VaynerMedia London, that helped develop the 'Reimagine the world like a gamer' campaign with UNICEF.
‘Standing out on social media.’ Presentation created by UNICEF and Voices of Youth social media teams.
This presentation will look at how you can frame your message to stand out on social media, with some practical examples of how UNICEF engages with audiences online.
Want to learn more? Here are other helpful existing resources if you want to start creating content or become a youth advocate:
Blogging 101 - A Voices Of Youth Beginners Guide To Blogging
Blogging 201 - A Voices of Youth Guide to Advanced Blogging
How to write about disability rights
Writing in a gender-inclusive way (pdf via UN Women)
How to strengthen your message with data
Planning a virtual conference? Checklist for accessible online video conferences.
Engaged and heard! Guidelines on Adolescent Participation and Civic Engagement
YOUR PROJECTS
The art of mental health
"Art. We see it, we feel it, we are touched by it in many diverse ways, sometimes unconsciously. And what we might not be aware of is its effect on our mental health."
Check out the poems, illustrations, interviews, videos and short stories developed by Takudzwanashe Charlene Ndangana, Hala Alcoutlabi, Kamsi Muoka, Oluwayomi Zeblon, Dominique Ogreanu, Vatsal Mehta and Oluwayomi Zeblon, under the mentorship of Kavervir Sidhu and DuBose Cole.
Sustainability and I
This group of young content creators from Nigeria, India, Romania, Australia, USA and the Philippines were challenged to reimagine a greener planet for every child. Watch this video, developed by Vandita Sariya, Alex Draghia, Nour Rajha, Lachlan Akhtarkhavari, Sophia Paez, Adamu Abubakar, Vani Joshi, Loyd Doron, with the support of their mentors, Becky McOwen-Banks and Sam Waterton.
The school we want
Every child has the right to learn. More children and adolescents today are enrolled in pre-primary, primary and secondary education than ever before. Yet, for many of them, schooling does not lead to learning. Anne Usang and David Joseph from Nigeria, gathered quotes from young people around the world, who shared their views on what needs to be changed in order to make school a better place for every child.
You are not alone
Adjusting to new ways of learning and working is difficult. But know this: You are not alone. Watch this video created by Alex Haekal Abdurrahman, Alifnur Kasih Aqidah, Vanndasambath Chhuon, Fathia Fairuza, Andrea Eka Putri, Gabby Hattari, Evert Oneil, Ivory Casten and Vinnidhiaty Jees, with the support of their mentors, Vania Santoso and Tahsin Uddin.
Imagining a Future where Youth Mental Health Matters
A group of young content creators from Bulgaria, Canada, Indonesia, Ireland and the United States of America developed this multimedia project about the importance of reimagining the future of mental health and wellbeing.
Credits: Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird (Writer) Joy Xing (Photographer) Anna-Maria Goranova (Interview Outreach) Gracia Angelia (Graphic Designer) Jax Richards (Graphic Designer), with special thanks to their mentor, Georgina Thompson.
The tree of acceptance: reimagining a world without discrimination
Every child deserves to live in a world free of discrimination. Unfortunately, the history of the world has seen too many crimes of hate and racism. Check out the multimedia project that Fitnat Waked, Isaac Mududa, Maria Alexandrova, Fatima Zulfiqar and Muskaan Khanduri developed under the mentorship of Ivaylo Spasov and Khanyi Mpumlwana.
Reimagining a world without discrimination
Why does racial discrimination exist? What does it mean to be an ally? How can we all contribute to a more inclusive world?
Check out the multimedia project that Samuel Amos, Sophia Chew, Andreea Coscai, Hannah Imordi, Jasmine Liu and Holly Raidl developed under the mentorship of Katarzyna Pawelczyk.
Re Dress: a world without discrimination
Every child deserves to live and grow in a world free of discrimination. Check out this video to reimagine a more inclusive world, created by Andy Sermonia, Calita Hin, Khim Magtibay, Maysoon Hussein, Sherlynn Yuwono and Subhanjali Saraswati, with the support of their mentors Suzanne Moody, Courage Nyamhunga and Francis Raphael Solajes.
Self-learners corner: reimagining the future of education
In their #SelfLearnersCorner, Olivina Maskan, Daria Vorobeva, Kenyo Sukma, Rindana Meidianti and Nhial Deng share with you the 5 skills they believe you need in order to be an effective self-learner: being a resourceful self learner, differing good sources from false information and how to fact-check, taking care of your mental health and wellbeing, identifying ways to learn together and enhancing inclusion and being safe in your learning environment.
This group worked under the mentorship of Ahmad Karam Al Shalabi and Ignacio de los Reyes.
Why mental health matters to every child
Adjusting to new ways of learning and working amid the COVID-19 pandemic is hard. But guess what? You are not alone.
This site and all the content in it was developed by participants who were challenged to reimagine mental health and wellbeing for every child: Malek Abidi, Nala Kamel, Njung'e Wanjiru, Amhanosi Anegbe, Emmanuel Adjanor, Oluwadunsin Adesopo, Aisha Animasaun and Arinze Onyisi, under the mentorship of Carolina Lahoud Doumet and Carter Hansen.
Desde Cero: stories of inclusion in Latin America (in Spanish)
This group developed a multimedia portal to reimagine a world where all the people in Latin America, including Afro-Latino and Indigenous communities, can live without discrimination.
Check out this project developed by Tomás Arreche, Stephania Centeno, Milagros Costabel, Julieta Martínez, Blanca Yolanda Quiñónez Chicas y Leomar Ruiz, with the support of Florencia Guastavino and Manuel Moreno González.
Men who cry (In Spanish)
How many times have you heard the phrase 'Men don't cry'? A group of young people from Costa Rica, Mexico and Argentina created a multimedia project to bring light to the issue of masculinities and how this narrative affects mental health.
Eva Lidia Méndez Parra, Salvador Delgado Vargas, Facundo Pérez Ernst and Braian Espinoza Zalazar created this podcast and a series of short videos with the support of their mentors, Daniel Harel and Constanza Solís.
CREATE
You can also put those new skills into practice and create content for your own social media channels, or even share it with us through our Voices of Youth platform. Please read this page on how to join our community and submit your content. Don't forget to read our quality and engagement guidelines before you start creating your content.
These are some of the suggested topics:
- Reimagining the Future of Learning
- Reimagining a Greener and More Sustainable World
- Reimagining the Future of Mental Health and Wellbeing
- Reimagining an Future Without Discrimination
