Developing Online Tools for Civic Outreach and Mobilization
The DOTCOM program, "Developing Online Tools for Civic Outreach and Mobilization," engages youth from Armenian, Azerbaijan and the U.S. in examining the power of media and participatory web tools to foster civil society. Through this program, participants will gain an understanding of the role that mass media plays in the lives of individuals and their cultures, and the role that individuals can play in building social networks and their own media. The first phase of the program will commence in October 2008 when 90 high school students, 30 students per country, will be selected through a merit-based, open competition. These youth will begin their online collaboration in January 2009 using the ANGEL platform hosted by Champlain College in Burlington, VT. They will engage in media literacy classes, develop outreach strategies and garner local private support for community-based service and training activities.
In May, the second phase of the project will begin. Based on their level of effectiveness in the first phase, 30 students (10 per country) will be selected as program finalists to meet their American counterparts when they travel to the U.S. in July 2009. The three groups will spend 5 days in Washington D.C. and two and a half weeks with host families in Vermont. Here the finalists will be meeting with community based organizations and businesses to discover how they use new technologies to engage the public and promote advocacy. The students will also meet with local and state governments and participate in local community service projects.
In March 2010, 10 American high school students will meet their Azerbaijani and Armenian peers in Tbilisi for a two-day retreat and then travel to Azerbaijan and Armenia to meet with representatives from mass media and social action groups, engage in cultural tours, media lab time, and community service projects.
A small grants program will allow the semi-finalists and finalists to compete for funds to support community projects.