Empowering Youth Journalists in Hebron and Around The Globe
Journalists for Change is hoping to expand globally by digitally connecting the world to its successful local programs in Hebron
About You
About You
First Name
Mahmoud
Last Name
Jabari
Twitter URL
https://twitter.com/#!/mahmoudjabari
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Journalists For Change (initiative of Lens For Change)
Organization Website
Organization Country
Palestinian Territory
Country where this project is creating social impact
Palestinian Territory
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
Innovation
Entry Form title
Empowering Youth Journalists in Hebron and Around The Globe
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
THE NEED: Describe the need for your solution and the size/dynamic of the community (ies) you will engage
The mission of Journalists For Change is to create a suitable space for students to discuss and write about their issues and then advocate for them. By introducing them to media tools like filmmaking, writing and blogging, Journalists For Change creates student ambassadors who reflect the voice of students in front of local officials and on the international stage. Journalists For Change has already enjoyed success fulfilling this mission by leading workshops and running summer programs in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. However, Journalists For Change is looking to develop its work by becoming a global collective and including youth beyond Hebron.
THE SOLUTION: Please explain what your solution offers and how it is innovative. How will you put your solution into the hands of users or beneficiaries? Be specific!
Lens For Change will film future Journalists For Change initiatives in Hebron (and possibly other areas of the West Bank). This footage will be edited into short video tutorials featuring both instruction from professional journalists as well as examples of the youth going through the learning process and creating media of their own. The tutorials will be uploaded onto a newly redesigned Lens For Change website in a way that will allow youth around the globe to view them and learn alongside their peers in Hebron. With each tutorial there will be the opportunity for youth to submit the work that they have created with the skills and knowledge imparted by the tutorial. Pieces that meet journalistic standards will be published on the Lens For Change website and those pieces that don’t make the cut will receive feedback on how to improve. Students who have gone through live Journalists For Change programs will similarly have this opportunity to be published on the Lens For Change website.
THE MODEL: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference through use of information technology and media
On the local level, Journalists for Change continues to have an impact on youth in Hebron by training and empowering them with journalistic tools. On a global level, youth around the world will be able to share and learn from these experiences, while embarking on a learning process of their own. Young journalists around the world will have the opportunity to learn and also to have their work published, while Lens for Change will constantly be growing its learning resources through that very same work.
THE MARKETPLACE: Who are your peers and competitors? What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Lens for Change prefers to see other organizations working to develop youth journalists not as competitors but as peers and allies. For example, it has received significant help from the International Education and Resources Network, which has its own World Youth News program. Lens for Change will continue to attempt to search out these partnerships as it grows into the future.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
FOUNDING STORY: We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
I was seven years old when I first thought of becoming a journalist one day. My mother told me about a cameraman named Mazen Dana and his bravery and excellence in covering news in tense areas. In 2003, when I was 12, Mazen was killed in Baghdad, while covering the war for Reuters. As I said goodbye to Mazen, I made a promise to Mazen's quiet spirit to continue the mission he had performed over fifteen years and to keep his spirit alive forever.
In May 2006, a group of 15 dedicated teenagers met in the city of Hebron, in the West Bank to create an official group for young people who were involved—or interested in becoming involved—in the media. Their main goal was to set purposeful and clear methods for youth within the media, and to encourage the establishment of new activists in Hebron. These budding enthusiasts could then congregate to raise their problems with the city, reflect their issues, and defend and advocate for their rights. The group called this new union the "Young Journalists Team.” One year later, with journalism programs expanding to include more students, there was a need to create a focused program. Thus, Journalists for Change was born.
Specify both the depth and scale of your solution’s social impact to date
“I know it was a pretty short workshop that lasted for three days only,” said 16-year-old Jana Tahboub after participating in a Journalists for Change workshop, “but, of course its effect lasts forever... A strong personality, passion to learn and give, hard work, the ability to speak out loudly, and being effective is what you guys will have after attending the ‘Journalists for Change’ program.”
Journalists for Change has had an impact in a variety of ways from giving students productive activities in a city like Hebron, which does not offer teenagers many opportunities, to helping students become aware of issues through independent research and empowering them to communicate about them. Another great aspect of Journalists for Change is that its effects are self-perpetuating. Upon completion of the program, youth return as mentors for new participants and Jana now has her own blog on the Lens For Change website.
What is your projected impact within the next 1-5 years? Is your idea replicable? If so, how?
Over the next five years, Lens for Change is hoping to globalize the Journalists for Change mission through the creation of video tutorials and the opening up of its website to international contributors.
The Journalists for Change model is replicable as evidenced by the Active Deaf Community Through Online Activity, which as part of a Lens for Change partnership built on learnings from the Journalists for Change program to help provide deaf youths in the Palestinian community with an opportunity to better express themselves.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and mark growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Preparing to Globalize Journalists For Change
Six-Month Tasks
Task 1
Complete a successful complete set of workshops in Hebron—or possibly other cities in the West Bank.
Task 2
Film all these sessions as well as the workshop participants in action editing the footage into short video tutorials.
Task 3
Have the website ready to receive submissions.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Globalizing Journalists For Change
12-Month Tasks
Task 1
Have 75% of the participants in the West Bank workshops report positive effects in the exit survey.
Task 2
Have at least 1000 views on each video tutorial.
Task 3
Have at least 10 submissions per video tutorial.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
101 - 1,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
1001‐10,000
Sustainability
Explain how your company, program, service or product is structured
Non-profit
What barriers have hindered the success of your project to date? How do you plan to overcome these and other challenges as you grow your solution?
In the past, we have made the mistake of proceeding before we have enough funding to complete a project. We have since learned that it makes much more sense to work within a budget based on our available funds.
How do you see the information-technology and media sectors shifting over the next decade? How will your solution adapt to and/or drive that changing environment?
As news-media shifts more and more towards an online presence and the importance of citizen reporting increases, Lens For Change is already ahead of the curve. As we continue to expand we will play a part in changing the environment rather than being a victim of it.
Failure is not always an option. If your solution fails to gain traction in the next two years, what other applications of the idea could you explore?
Should the initiative to expand globally fail, we have already proven that we can and will continue to make an impact locally. In addition, we will have created a new set of resources in the video tutorials, which we can utilize in other capacities should this attempt not succeed.
Expand on your selections, explaining how you will sustain funding
Since our current staff is completely volunteer; once we complete the initial start-up of this new program, it will require minimal to no funding.
Tell us about your partnerships
In running Journalists for Change, Lens For Change has partnered in various capacities with the We Are Family Foundation (through Three Dot Dash), the International Education and Resources Network, the Education Department in Hebron and Students Promoting International Improvement Now.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section?
Currently Lens For Change is run completely by volunteers; however, with funding, it could increase its capacity by hiring staff to help film Journalists for Change activities as well as helping with upgrading the website.
Changemakers is a collaborative and supportive space. Please specify any community resources you would need to grow and sustain your initiative. Select all that apply
Investment, Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Collaboration or networking, Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Specify any resources you might offer to support other initiatives. Select all that apply
Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Collaboration or networking.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren’t specified within the list
Summary
Define your company, program, service or product in 1-2 short sentences
Through journalism, Journalists for Change creates student ambassadors, who reflect the voice of students locally and globally.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences
Journalists for Change is hoping to expand globally by digitally connecting the world to its successful local programs in Hebron
 | 87 weeks ago Mahmoud Jabari updated this Competition Entry. |
| 87 weeks ago Mahmoud Jabari submitted this idea. |
