What started as an idea to engage youth in creative skill-building and local journalism turned into an eight-week journey for 15 young participants, thanks to a collaboration between NACTV, the Neepawa Settlement’s SWIS program, and a grant from the Beautiful Plains Community Foundation. The pilot youth training program provided not only technical skills but also a voice and platform for participants to share their perspectives.
For many, it was their first experience behind a camera or editing footage. They learned to craft stories, conduct interviews, and write like journalists. Sessions were led by mentors: NACTV staff shared expertise in video production, Don Walmsley guided students in interviewing, and writers from the Neepawa Banner introduced the basics of article writing.
Support from the community made the program possible. The Beautiful Plains Community Foundation funded cameras, microphones, and facilitator honoraria. The Neepawa Settlement provided a welcoming space, snacks, and encouragement to ensure every participant felt supported.
By the end, 12 of the 15 youth completed the program. Many asked if it would return next year and expressed interest in volunteering with NACTV in the meantime.
The program not only taught media skills but also empowered youth to share their own stories. The Neepawa community can be proud of this achievement and excited about what’s possible when we continue investing in local youth.
Add new comment
About LJI
LJI Impact is the section of commediaportal.ca where the journalists and their organizations participating in CACTUS' Local Journalism Initiative can share their greatest successes.
Through the written stories, photos and videos you see in the LJI Impact section, you'll be able to read first hand accounts about how the presence of a community journalist is making a difference in communities across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative and the Community Media Portal.
The Community Media Portal is a gateway to the audio-visual media created by community media centres across Canada. These include traditional community TV and radio stations, as well as online and new media production centres.
Community media are not-for-profit production hubs owned and operated by the communities they serve, established both to provide local content and reflection for their communities, as well as media training and access for ordinary citizens to the latest tools of media production, whether traditional TV and radio, social and online media, virtual reality, augmented reality or video games.
The Community Media Portal has been funded by the Local Journalism Initiative (the LJI) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) in association with the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération). Under the LJI, over 100 journalists have been placed in underserved communities and asked to produce civic content that underpins Canadian democratic life.
