Youth Reporters on the Ground

Youth Reporters on the Ground (YROG) was a training project by StreetNet International which took place online from June-December 2021, idealized as a way to improve the communication of both StreetNet and its affiliated organizations, and also for capacity-building and empowerment of young members. The general objetive of the project is to create a global network of young communicators of StreetNet International, in order to bridge the information gap between StreetNet and its affiliates by investing in the capacity-building of young members to improve the communication of their organization and to mobilize young activists in their respective regions.

The specific objectives of the training were:

• Provide personalized trainings on communication and media to young members of StreetNet affiliates which can contribute to their own professional skills but also to enhance the communication of their own organizations;
• Gather data, stories and information from affiliates in each of StreetNet’s regions;
• Produce participatory communication materials (written articles, podcasts, videos, photo galleries) with the active engagement of young members of StreetNet affiliates and organizations of their respective regions;
• Create a cohesive group of Youth Reporters from different regions to foster solidarity and collaboration between young members of StreetNet affiliates.
• Contribute to the involvement and empowerment of StreetNet young members.

It involved 7 young women and 3 young men men. Most participants (5) were from Southern and Eastern Africa region, 3 participants were from West and Central Africa, two were from the Americas region and one from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The project consisted in a six-month training program (June, July, August, September, October and November). During this time, Youth Reporters should participate in a monthly sessions to learn about communication tools and concepts. They should complete one assignment per month and participate in a a follow-up session to develop more technical skills and/or express doubts and comments about the assignment. The Youth Reporters would receive feedback on the assignment both in the next training session and also more detailed individualized feedback via a Google Doc. The final assignment of the course was for Youth Reporters to develop a communication plan for their respective organizations. By delivering this assignment, Youth Reporters would have the chance to graduate from the course.

The tools used during the project were: Zoom, for the training and follow-up sessions; Google Drive and Docs to store the assignments of Youth Reporters and provide individual feedback; email, to reach leadership of Youth Reporter organizations and also Youth Reporters themselves; and WhatsApp for both group interaction (via WhatsApp group) and individual interaction.
The topics of the sessions included: how to take pictures; how to conduct an interview; how to report on informal economy workers; how to draft social media posts; defining key messages and target audiences; how to create a communication plan, as well as more technical sessions devoted to video and image editing.

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