Regent Park Focus Blog

20 + years of Regent Park Focus

2011-11-09T16:11:00.009-05:00

Over 20 Years of Regent Park Focus. Isn’t it hard to believe?! Our anniversary celebrations may be over. However, making meaningful media productions with youth in Regent Park is continuing.
If anyone does not already know who we are, Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre - commonly known as Focus - is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 as part of a provincial government initiative to promote healthy communities. Now entering its 21st year, Focus has just moved into a new facility as part of the Regent Park revitalization project, and despite provincial and city funding cutbacks, it continues to provide young people with the space, equipment and training needed to use radio, photography, print, video, and music to bring their voices into the community.

To honor its involvement in Regent Park, Focus invited the public to several community events that happened this past weekend.

On Thursday, October 27, Focus welcomed Miskitu journalist Margarita Antonio who spoke on the topic of ‘Sharing Lives and Cultures: Community Media on Nicaragua´s Caribbean Coast’. Antonio helped develop BilwiVision, a youth-run community television program, and is a partner in the VIVA! Project, a Community Arts and Popular Education initiative in Central America. The evening of shared experiences and dialogue on community activism and media took place at the Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre, 38 Regent Street (lower level). This event was co-sponsored by Community Arts Practice (CAP @ York U), CERLAC and Digital Storytelling Toronto.

On Friday, October 28 Focus officially kicked off the anniversary celebration with a public party at 246 Sackville Avenue where we honoured the organization’s many partners, sponsors, donors, volunteers, alumni, and other distinguished guests. The event also featured an awards ceremony acknowledging the involvement of those whose contributions to Focus over the years have helped it to thrive and grow into the successful organization that it is today.

Myself and staff member Jerry Z were the M.C’s for the night. We even had a DJ, who was spinning the whole night. Festivities included refreshments, speeches and performances by the Regent Park Focus House Band, who were amazing as usual. Prizes were given away in raffle draws. A special thanks to 20th Century Fox and Rainbow Cinemas for the prizes. We would also like to thank Freshco for their support in prizes and yummy cakes. There was also a speakers corner where guests can go speak their mind about Regent Park Focus. Then, there was some spoken word done by Yusra Ali, who is a youth and young woman from the Regent Park community. Yusra’s spoken word is very powerful and she really brings deep emotions and thought provoking lyrics into her words. We continued on the spoken word theme by bringing on stage to have 2 young participants from our Diva Girls program to read a poem about what Diva Girls means to them.
Mahra and Nafsia were really shy but as their program facilitator, I encouraged them to have the strength as a Diva Girl to express themselves, show their talent and inform everyone on what it means to be a Diva Girl. Not only did they perform but they also spoke to CBC news in an interview! I will discuss more about CBC’s impact shortly. However, I must talk more about the performances and the rest of the fun night. Next, Jerry and I brought to the stage Solitair who is a hip-hop producer and rapper. Solitair has worked with many artists and even wrote songs for them. Solitair introduced hip-hop performer Dan-E-O who brought some old school hip-hop flavor to the evening. The crowd was waving and dancing to his music. We also had some young dancers who performed in groups including South Side Swagg and a South Asian cultural dance group. Finally, we had the Snooky Times Family band bring some rhythm and SOUL to our event when they played some powerful funk music for the crowd. The crowd was jiving to the extemporaneous moves and music. Special guests included Susan Pigott, a CAMH VP, Minister Glenn Murray who gave a speech to how he is honored to be part of a community where youth are making an impacting difference. Another special guest was CBC anchor and reporter Dwight Drummond. Dwight was thrilled and excited to meet the families and support the youth in Regent Park. Dwight recognized Regent Park Focus does many exciting things for the youth in a community labelled “at risk” by society. It was very appreciative to have Dwight take time out of his busy schedule and be a great role model in the media for the youth who look up to him as inspiration. Overall, the night was jam packed with exciting moments.

On Saturday, October 29, Focus invited the public to its Open House featuring guided tours of its new home at 38 Regent Street. Video screenings showcased youth videos, with radio and music recording workshops to demonstrate the studio facilities. From 3:00 to 4:30 pm, Focus hosted a panel which featured Tracy Chen who a fourth-year Ryerson journalism, whose interest in journalism started when she volunteered at the Catch da Flava magazine. She believes the Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre has been integral to marginalized youth in her neighbourhood in finding their voice in the mainstream media. Her experience from volunteering at the Centre has encouraged her to continue to work with other youth in her community as she currently is a volunteer with the Pathways to Education Group Mentoring program. Another panel speaker was Ian Esquivel who is a board member at Regent Park Focus. Ian is an experienced and dedicated educator who has worked with a wide range of students, from at-risk to university-bound to adult, including teachers and teacher-candidates. His teaching foregrounds social justice and youth-centered pedagogy. Ian has a long involvement in the area of media literacy. From 1996 to 2006, he was an executive member of the Association for Media Literacy. Ian also has worked with local filmmakers and publishers to develop curriculum to support media literacy initiatives. Currently, Ian is the Coordinator of the Enriched/Gifted Program and an English/Media Teacher at Western Technical-Commercial School. Dr. Kwame McKenzie was the third person to sit on the panel. Dr. McKenzie is a Senior Scientist within the Social Equity and Health Research section, the Deputy Director of Continuing & Community Care in the Schizophrenia Program. Finally, we had Damian who is a DJ and studio producer. Damian teaches youth how to DJ and conduct radio shows.

The panel discussed the importance of alternative media in empowering marginalized communities and their young people. In essence, a lot of the mainstream media might miss out on issues that pertain to youth in Regent Park. Alternative media also promotes entrepreneurship which motivates youth to start their very own blogs and webisodes. Therefore, they are allowed to do whatever they want to do within the media landscape. Alternative media takes a chance on the youth in high priority communities and it enables them to break down any stereotypes which are created by the mainstream media. They also discussed mental health, self-esteem and healthy living. Following the debate, Focus held its Annual General Meeting for members. It was great to see many youth who showed up for the voting process. The AGM also marked the launch of the Regent Park Focus Fundraising Campaign, which was very exciting.

As I mentioned above, CBC was there to cover a story about our event. Thank you CBC for covering our event. It means a lot to us when the media recognizes the work Regent Park Focus does and views of the Regent Park community in a positive portrayal. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUHtfniB-ZI&feature=channel_video_title

Photography Week 6

2011-08-30T11:27:00.006-04:00

For our final Photography workshop of the summer of 2011 we had participants write up artist
statements regarding their work.

Although some editing has been completed by the students themselves, the final selections and slideshows and prints will be done by the workshop instructor.

A final photo session was held outdoors across the street from Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre where we photographed some of the demolition of old buildings.

Students and the instructor were also interviewed for a documentary filmed by another Focus youth. Finally students were photographed with the Centre's Project Coordinator Adonis Huggins by Sway Magazine for an article about Adonis and Focus.

Photos by Nick Kozak.

Nathan Phillips Square

2011-08-25T07:53:00.003-04:00

Wednesdays show was about the outpouring of love for Jack Layton from our city.

We then switched gears and talked about how technology, "e-literacy" more specifically, is changing the way we write, speak and communicate with each other. Are we destroying the English language or advancing it?

*photo courtesy of everdaygenius

Radio: RIP Jack Layton

2011-08-24T14:05:00.004-04:00

We were all affected by Jack Layton's passing, and we all highlighted what he stood for, and expressed our sorrow. What will happen to Canada now?

Our half hour on Tuesday is not going to be enough, so we are continuing it on tonight's show as well.

Video Week 7

2011-08-23T15:47:00.004-04:00

This week we completed shooting our video. We had some problems setting up the green screen and the lights to finish shooting our scenes. In total we shot 3 scenes on the green screen. Despite the technical difficulties we completed our video and now all that’s left is the editing stage.

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week six

2011-08-18T16:49:00.004-04:00

This week was officially the first week of shooting and we’ve got about 3 scenes done. Everyone got a chance to direct the scenes. Also everyone got a chance to operate the camera and be the sound person. Next week we are ready to finish off shooting the video including the green screen scenes.

-Abdul

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week five

2011-08-18T16:48:00.007-04:00

This week is the first week of shooting but unfortunately our cast was not ready therefore we were not able to shoot. Nonetheless we decided to use green screen for one of our scene and the group was not very knowledgeable in that so we took the time to learn about green screening and found pictures that we will be using in the scene as backgrounds.

-Abdul

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week four

2011-08-18T16:48:00.004-04:00

This week we polished up all the scenes we need, our shooting spots and roles. We learned about storyboards and how to use them. With our storyboards we drew scene by scene and the type of shots we will be using to film the scenes. This was done to confirm that everyone in the group knows the full story and the shots. This will also enable everyone to direct the scenes.

-Abdul

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week three

2011-08-18T16:48:00.002-04:00

This week we voted on one story and started to develop it more so we can come up with a script. By developing the story line and sharing ideas our video changed completely from being a short drama film to a poetry video. We took our original idea of teens committing suicide and turned the story into poetry. We decided that the video would be a poem with visuals that we will shoot. As a group we worked on the poem.

-Abdul

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week two

2011-08-18T16:47:00.003-04:00

This week we learned about the different types of video, drama, documentaries, etc. Then as a group we decided to make a short film on issues that relate to us the most. A video always starts with an idea so we took out pens and papers and begun to innovate ideas for a video. Later we shared our ideas and voted on the one that will become the “product” of this workshop. As a group we decided to produce a video relating to teens committing suicide. Now that we have an idea, we can come up with possible story lines and plots that will be used to give out our message, there are always more options. We were given time to come up with possible stories and then everyone was sent home to think and develop their stories with a proper beginning, middle, and an end.

-Abdul

Video Production (MONDAY) workshop week one

2011-08-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

Regent Park Focus kicks of the summer programs, beginning with the video production workshops. First we go to know each other in to workshop, we learned about the types of videos we enjoy watching. Then we continued the workshop with some old Regent Park Focus videos. This helped us frame what type of videos we will be producing through this workshop. Later Isa, the workshop coordinator gave us an introduction to video production, “A video is a story without the papers” he says. We learnt that every video must have a purpose; a video without a purpose is basically useless. A video is often obliged to direct a message to the audiences.

-Abdul

The Power of Social Media

2011-08-17T22:18:00.005-04:00

On tonight's show, we first talked about Fan Expo and their "speed dating" service. We tried to imagine ourselves being there in full cosplay trying to quickly chat up potential suitors with three facts about ourselves!

We then spoke about the two youth who were sentenced to 4 years in prison for organizing the riots in the UK--by setting up "events" on FACEBOOK. We came to the conclusion that social media (ie. facebook, google etc.) is not only a powerful communication tool, but also a place where your every move is tracked and filed!

There is so much of ourselves that we have put online that we must be responsible for what we put on line, because "big brother" is always watching! Already, social media is taking in our personalities and selling it to corporations who in turn will pepper us with ads while we are emailing, facebooking etc. Pretty creepy.

Fan Expo and Cosplay

2011-08-16T22:28:00.008-04:00

That's right, tonight's show was about the upcoming Fan Expo next Thursday. Our lively discussion veered into personal opinions of which staff member could be a character from Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings, or Buffy. I learned a new term, "cosplay" which is not only dressing up as your favorite superhero/character from a movie/comic but to also go so far as to mimic the exact skin colour! This made us question the appropriateness of stereotypes in some tv shows and movies. All in all, we were quite passionate about how we felt about these characters and shows.

Listen Here!

Ramadan and Comic Book Adaptations

2011-08-16T22:18:00.007-04:00

Last Tuesday's show, we spoke about what we were looking forward to Eid at the end of Ramadan. We explained for listeners who were not familiar with Ramadan its meaning and purpose. Many of our youth, volunteers, and staff observe Ramadan.

We also introduced Wednesday's topic of movies, specifically ones that the youth can't stop discussing: comic book adaptations. William was pretty excited and fist-pumped the air! I wish I had gotten a photo of that! It was interesting to discuss how the printed word and illustration can still outshine their motion picture interpretation.

Listen Here!

Photography Week 5

2011-08-16T12:04:00.007-04:00

We're nearing the end of our Summer Photography Workshop at Focus and this week was spent
mainly on editing.

Initially students were shown work by famous photographer Dianne Arbus and current young photographer Rafal Gerszak who is based in Vancouver and is part of the Boreal Collective based in Toronto.

Students were taught how to use Adobe Lightroom. They individually edited their batches of photos on the Focus Macs. Participants learned the importance of selecting the strongest photos and how to select photos for a photo essay. The editing process will continue next week.

Meanwhile...across the street, Regent Park continues to go through redevelopment.

Photos by Nick Kozak.

Photography Week 4

2011-08-11T15:34:00.009-04:00

After a long weekend break the Summer Photography Workshop was back at it. We finally took some time to view samples of students' work that was shot both outside of workshop hours and during our first few sessions.

New participants were taken on a quick photo tour of Regent Park by our wonderful volunteer assistant Abdul Wahid AL-basith who has been very successful taking on the task of photographing strangers in the area with our workshop students.

The remaining students who had already shot photos of their own for the workshop were introduced to the process of editing their photos and pick out the strongest and most powerful images from their collections.

They learned to use the program Adobe Bridge to do their own editing on the new Mac computers at Focus.

Diva's Go To The AGO!

2011-08-11T15:23:00.001-04:00

Last week we went on a field trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario also known as AGO. We saw different types of cool art. The art that I liked were the pop culture. We really enjoyed our trip and it was fun. We saw many creative art works, all different from each other. The art was unique and interesting. We even created our own art by using building wooden blocks. We saw paintings from different artists including the famous Group of Seven. The painting had a story in the background.

-Diva Girls participant

Map of Our Community

2011-08-11T15:17:00.000-04:00

In today’s Diva Girls workshop,

The girls did a project, which helped them learn more about the community that they are from. The art project was a community map created by the girls and how they see themselves in their community. The girls talked about all the communities that they are from including, religious communities, school, community centres, cultural centre and even Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre. The girls felt that the Regent Park community is a great place to live in. They made many friends and they have supportive community members.

This week in Focus, we made maps of Regent Park. We showed where we most often go. I go to the mosque, Focus, the green park, the library, and the book bank. This tells us Regent Park is our home.This map of our community shows us how we fit in. The people in Regent Park are nice and the environment is nice.

Video Week 3

2011-08-04T14:12:00.003-04:00

We went over the treatment and other notes we had previously made and started to work on the dialogue for the script. After some improvements we workshopped the scenes and came up with all of the script. Next week we will begin shooting.


-Rani

Video Week 2

2011-08-04T14:10:00.003-04:00

We decided on the story to use. Then we brainstormed the possible story line and what will happen, what order, etc. We wrote out a rough outline. We also made a list of characters and crew and assigned roles to everyone in the group. Then we made a list of locations, costumes and other props we will need for the shoot and tried to figure out how to arrange for those.

- Rani

VIDEO Week 1

2011-08-04T14:09:00.001-04:00

We got to know each other, and then we discussed movies, genres, what
everyone likes about different kinds of films, documentaries, etc.
Then we all brainstormed a list of possible themes for our movie. We
decided it should be a drama about "Chasing your dreams" - and the
obstacles and solutions that hinder and help people achieve those
dreams. We also came up with a couple possible story lines and plot
ideas. Everyone was sent home to think about it for next week.

Rani

Our Week 2 In Diva Girls

2011-08-04T13:48:00.002-04:00

This week in diva girls, we learned how the media shows girls and women how to act, think, and look. We made collages that show that they have to be like a certain way. From our perspective, the aspects are to be you and unique in your own way. We should not be judged by others, we all have equal rights. Our questions in our art piece was, how would it be like if the world was all the same? Our statement for our art piece was, 'You don’t have to be perfect'. If the world was all the same it would be boring and no excitements would happen. Also you should know that you do not always have to be perfect. This is shown in magazines, television, books and all sorts of things that you have to be like this. This week taught us a lesson about how the media portrays girls. We had fun and learned a lot! We had a great experience!

Mahmuda

Diva Girls

2011-08-04T13:28:00.000-04:00

The Summer Workshop session for the Diva Girls has begun.

We are going to learn a lot of fun activities during the summer. The first week we talked about our plans for the summer.

The girls also drew a picture of what summer means to them. Than, the girls wrote poems of their summer experience.

The Diva girls program is an opportunity to bring young girls together and we are even more excited that our summer workshops

will not only bring youth from the Regent Park community but from all over the GTA.

The girls explored different topics of interest and we plan to do our best to make this summer Diva workshop a successful one.

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival (Caribana)

2011-08-02T21:54:00.002-04:00

We spoke about Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival (formally known as Caribana) in tonight's show--focusing on the media's coverage of the shooting leaving 1 man dead and several injured. We questioned why the media jumps onto the violence and does not even mention the positive celebration of Caribana, and the power the media holds in perpetuation stereotypes of certain cultures.

Listen Here!

FREE SUMMER WORKSHOPS @ FOCUS

2011-07-28T17:51:00.001-04:00

Our summer workshops are officially underway! Youth come from all across the city to discover and explore the world of media arts. Here, youth can create their very own original videos, radio shows, and photography projects. Some youth come in for just one workshop a week and others decide to participate in multiple workshops throughout the week. Either way they are always welcome. The best part of all is that these workshops are 100% free.

On Mondays we have digital photography and video. Youth come to learn about the different types of shots/angles and get the chance to create their own original projects. In one class the students went outside and explored the regent park community and took photos of the different building and landscape structures.

On Tuesdays young women who are apart of the Women in Radio program get the opportunity to work on producing their very own radio show. Also on Tuesdays, apprising writers can join the Catch Da Flava Magazine workshop and write for Catch Da Flava magazine. Catch Da Flava also have their own radio workshops on Tuesdays that are welcome to all youth.

Every Wednesday we run a Diva girls program, where young women can get the chance to go on trips, create artwork, and even learn to dance.

Apprising radio hosts can learn all the technicalities and the behind the scene works of radio production on Thursdays during our Youth Radio training workshop. There is also another video production workshop that runs every Thursday where youth can show off their acting and directing skills.

On Fridays youth who are interested in music can come in and learn everything from how to rap to how to produce and create original beats. Also happening on Fridays is the Social Media workshops where youth can create there own blogs and learn about all the ins and outs of the new uprising social media phenomenon.

Finally, on Saturdays is one of our most popular workshops, the DJ training workshop. During this workshop youth can create learn how to DJ and learn interesting facts about this art form.

So whether you are a youth interested in radio, graphic design, or just want a space were you can express yourself, you are more than welcome to come utilize the tools and facilities we have this summer.

It’s not too late to sign up and take advantage of this free opportunity!

Zeinab

Valley High Muslim Prayer Protest

2011-07-27T16:23:00.002-04:00

Wow, the topic for yesterday's show was a hot one. We all felt very strongly about the protest at the Valley High Public School.

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/144877--groups-protest-muslim-prayers-at-toronto-public-school

And although Abdul could not participate in the on-air discussion ( he had to be somewhere), he did direct us to the online petition he started up in protest of their protest! http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/letuspray

new issue update!

2011-07-26T16:26:00.000-04:00

We are currently working on our summer issue and its very exciting. Everything is going great and were all really excited for this upcoming issue. Our writing restrictions are extremely free and open to the youth. Meaning even if you have a poem, short story, article, or any type of work it is highly appreciated. We would love to have any new volunteers so if you are interested please don't hesitate to come by for a meeting. Or if you have not yet seen the environmental issue, we have plenty here. Our meeting during the summer are great because you don't have school stress which allows you to focus on writing. It's awesome and feel free to drop in if any of you guys are interested.

Photography Week 3

2011-07-25T17:44:00.011-04:00

This week we had some new students join the program increasing our number quite a bit but making an even more interesting young group.

The students were shown basic tips on using the Fuji cameras available to them including when and how to use the flash, how to ensure a sharper photo by making sure your hands are steady, and how to conserve battery power to avoid being stuck with no juice.

A set of street portraits by Mike Peters were shown to the class and a short discussion followed regarding photographing strangers in the street and the need to ask for permission when seeking to shoot portraits.

The group was divided up and given a task to go photograph people in the streets around Regent Park. The groups did a great job in approaching individuals to take their photos, especially Abdul's (one of Focus' assistants for the summer) group. Congratulations to everyone.

Focus Photo Workshop Week 2

2011-07-25T17:23:00.007-04:00

After an initial workshop class being run by a supply teacher the participants met Nick Kozak, their workshop instructor for the summer.

After some quick getting to know one another activities the group began to talk about documentary photography and the importance of documenting Regent Park before, during and after the revitalization.Students were shown photo projects by successful young photographers around the world including Jonathan Taggert, Boris Austin, and Brett Gundlock. The instructor pointed out the significance of photographing people in their environment, not just their environment.

A good part of the workshop was spent on identifying potential projects for each student to pursue. It was agreed that students would focus on documenting their family or friends' lives in Regent Park. Some students live in the new accommodations and others are still in old buildings which should make for an interesting dichotomy.

CDF momentum!

2011-07-22T19:08:00.000-04:00

This week at the Catch Da Flava magazine, we welcomed a new writer to our group!

Articles, photos and picture/cover ideas are now being brainstormed with more ferocity since everyone's more on a summer vibe!

Tracy has done some reporting and photos on the Good Bike Event, which will be included in the new issue.

Our writers are also working on their experiences with this summer's Luminato festival!

Hopefully by the end of August, yes, that's right AUGUST--hot on the heels of our recent Environmental Issue--the new summer issue will be out!

CDF Radio Tuesdays: Sudan!

2011-07-22T18:53:00.000-04:00

We talked about the new independent nation of South Sudan. Shouts out to Eman who is out there right now!

It was interesting to hear the youth express their opinions on the concept of freedom, and what they thought needed to change if South Sudan was going to be successful in this new transition!

Jeff the World Interview and live set

2011-07-22T18:43:00.004-04:00

This past Wednesday's show was great. We still are still working on a name for it, because the content of the show is different than Tuesday's Catch Da Flava Radio. So a new name is in the works.

We had a great time talking to Chiptune artist, Jeff the World, who came in and answered a few questions from us avid gamers and music fans.

Jeff also played some new songs! OnetwoTres also played his chiptune influenced tracks and the discussion went from Jeff's do-it-yourself rise to fame as well as explaining how he made his tracks with only a few gameboys and old atari computers!

We thank Jeff again for taking the time to come down to the studio to perform and chat!

Listen Here for Part 1 of Jeff The World on Catch da Flava Radio!
Listen Here for Part 2 of Jeff The World on Catch da Flava Radio!

Chiptunes: Jeff the World

2011-07-22T18:19:00.002-04:00

Our Wednesdays are getting to be really fun. Last week we talked about the gaming industry, and how the music of videogames are such a recognizable medium!

These video game theme songs don't even have to be made with video sounds for people to recognize it, as we also listened to a version of the Legend of Zelda as interpreted with an electric guitar!

The main focus of Wednesday's show was to introduce some of our youth and listeners to a new genre called "Chiptunes". Chiptunes take the sounds of early 8-bit video games and use them to make dance music tracks! It is a relatively new scene, being a few years old. But it has steadily gotten more popular within the last few years. Even at Nuit Blanche, two years ago, there was a free outdoor concert in front of city hall. One artist who has been the driving force in Toronto's Chiptune scene is Jeff the World, of whom we played tracks from his first album.

June Last Friday

2011-07-15T15:14:00.001-04:00

There are many different things that Focus provides. Like the radio show, the Divas program, photography and video programs. One of my favourite things that Regent Park Focus provides is held on the last Friday of every month. What better name to call it than ‘Last Friday’, of course. It’s a time to enjoy, dine on amazing food, and watch fantastic performances, and most of all HAVE FUN. June’s Last Friday was very special. It was going to be the last one before September. I have been to many of them but this one would be one that I would remember forever. We had the Regent Park Focus House band, MPP Glen Murray was there, Marni Levitt, Snooky Tynes, South Side Swagg, and even I performed.

The first performance was the Regent Park Focus House Band. They performed one of my favourite songs “I’m yours” by Jason Mraz. They also sang some of their own songs. One of their songs was called “Wait another Day”. Another one was called “Love is by my Side”. I think that the audience really enjoyed those songs.

I got to perform after the Regent Park Focus House Band. It was a lot of fun and I had a lot if support from my friends. When I was done I wanted to go back on stage and do it all over again.

Snooky Tynes band performed next. They sang soul and old school music on the day. Most of us got up and dance. Adonis got up and showed us a new way to dance called follow the leader. We had so much fun.

Afterwards, it was Marni Levitt’s turn. They told us a story about a boy who worked in the field and then a creature came, and this creature ate the crops in the garden. They also taught us a song that went with that story.

Last but not least there was South Side Swagg. They danced to Get Outta Your Mind, Walka Walka, Freeze, and other songs.

Overall, we had a good time. A lot of performances, a lot of dancing, a lot of good food, and a lot of fun (all in a few hours!).

By Iman Zein

Social Media Summer Program - Week 1

2011-07-15T13:16:00.003-04:00

Today Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre held its first Social Media summer program, led by me, Tyrone MacLean-Wilson a web developer and graphic designer from George Brown College and long term member of Regent Park Focus. In the Social Media program I’m introducing the youth to a new perspective on the e-world they are already familiar with; Blogging and social networking via such websites as blogger, facebook, myspace and youtube. We are training the youth how to integrate each of these networking sites together and teaching them the reasons why people use them around the world.

Today we worked together to create each of our own unique blogs. Each participant had visually designed their own blog, using the tools provided. After creating the main structure of the blogs the participants started making a few blog posts to test out the look and feel of their uniquely created blogs.

Each member was pretty pleased with their own blogs and the ability to create what they have today.

Next up we will be teaching the youth how to integrate youtube videos into their blogs as well as uploading videos directly from their computer to their blog.

The Envionmental Issue!

2011-07-12T15:14:00.001-04:00

The environmental issue is finally here! After, months of hard work, creativity and anticipation, the magazine had finally arrived. Personally, this issue has been very important to me. As, it was my first time to be able to work on the magazine. Basically, what we have been doing is every Tuesday we meet up to discuss our ideas and display it in our magazine. Whether that took the form of writing piece, artwork or even photographs it all came together to bring out this amazing printed environmental issue. Along with that we also had the privilege to work with the Luminato festival. We were provided workshops and best of all got tickets to see the different shows. The experience was just amazing. I mean can you imagine being provided free tickets to a show full of entertainment, creativity and talent. Currently the writers for the magazine are expressing their thoughts, feelings and experiences of the festival in a magazine for Luminato. So not only are we working on pieces for the Catch Da Flava magazine but we’ve also extended it to Luminato. Our next issue is a very amazing issue. It is extremely open to various pieces of art and takes place during summer. It’s an excellent way to enjoy what you love doing and were always more than welcome to new members.

-Daliya

CATCH DA FLAVA NEW ISSUE IS HERE!

2011-07-04T14:28:00.001-04:00

Yes! After months of hard work, I'm proud to announce that the Catch Da Flava Environmental Issue is here! Come pick it up at Focus!

-Terence

The Diva Girls Program 2011

2011-06-28T16:19:00.003-04:00

Hi my name is Iman Zein. I am 12 years old and a grade 6 graduate from Regent Park Duke of York Public School. This is my 3^rd year in the Diva’s program. It is held every Friday from 4:30 p.m to 6:00 p.m at Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre. The main idea of this program is to have positive self- esteem and develop a “sisterhood” with the other girls in the program.

This year, Focus moved to a different building. It is now located at 38 Regent Street. Due to that change, the program was put on hold. Instead of starting in September or October, the program started on Friday, March 4^th,2011. We did not have as much time as usual in the program but, we had a very good time.

One week we screen printed. Using a fabric screen, glue and some paint, we customized our own t-shirts. We got to express our own creativity and personal style. Each T-shirt turned out unique at the end of the day. It was fun trying something new.

Another week Focus invited a guest to teach us about healthy living. We learned that having mental health is just as important as having physical health. It is an important balance in life that we should all have. I know that having healthy living does not just affect you, it affects others too. Like they say “having a positive attitude is contagious”.

In the program we made two different posters. We made posters of our community and posters of ourselves. Making the posters of our communities gave us some time to think about what we liked about our community. Making different posters of ourselves forced us to use our imaginations. We used magazine clippings, stickers and other art materials to make our posters.

This year, I have learned to be a good team worker but still be independent. I learned how to open up and let my voice be heard. I never have a problem stepping out of my comfort zone. Next year, I hope that more girls will participate in this program. I have a feeling that many girls will enjoy the benefits of the Diva Girls program.

Radio: Discussion on Brigette DePape

2011-06-08T08:42:00.001-04:00

Tuesday's show was intense! Omar, Fenide, and Isaac all spoke their mind about Brigette DePape, the university student working as a page for parliament, who protested the PM in her own creative way. Was her belief worth more than her job? Apparently she got offered a job from Michael Moore afterwards, who commended her on her actions. Her popularity shot up in waves, from several Facebook pages of support as well as an interview with the CBC.

Environment Issue: Almost there!

2011-06-05T16:30:00.000-04:00

Oh gosh, we are so close! Thanks to the writers, photographers and artists for contributing to this long awaited issue of Catch Da Flava magazine!

And a big thanks goes out to Sarah, we miss you!

As I am just finishing up some final changes, we've also started writing for the next issue which will be released hopefully around mid-summer!

We're already collaborating with Luminato to help us in our writing and research, as well as we're contributing to Luminato's own magazine as well!

You'll be able to read all about it this summer!

-Terence

Jane's Walk in Regent Park

2011-05-13T17:21:00.006-04:00

Youth set up Mobile Media Lab aka the MAMMAL outside focus for Jane's Walk stop at Focus

Diva Girls Group participants talk about the impact the group has had on their lives and how more young girls should get involved.

Youth wait outside Focus to present the MAMMAL to visitors

Visitors from Jane's Walk at Focus.

Visitors watch RPTV videos created by youth at Focus.

The Mammal display.

Tresvonne from the Regent Park Focus House Band and Catch da Flava Radio Show participant explains his participation at Focus.

Youth inside the computer lab doing their homework and working on articles for Catch da Flava Magazine.

Youth riding the Mammal in the community for the Jane's Walk community event.

Some of the youth who are involved in the radio show every Tuesday night talk about the importance of having youth's voice heard and their perspective on social issues and hot topics.

Michele, Youth Outreach Coordinator talks about the history of Focus and the importance of youth and the community to unite together and form alliances to remove negative stereotypes about the community created by the mass media.

The blueprint of how the MAMMAL was created.

A visitor reading the latest issue of Catch da Flava Youth Magazine written by Focus youth participants who meet up every Tuesday evenings.

Visitors pleased with what the youth's movement using their creativity, arts and the media to make an affirmative difference in Regent Park community.

On Saturday May 7th and Sunday May 8th the Regent Park community welcomed everyone to the Jane’s Walk. Regent Park is undergoing a major transformation. The Regent Park community hopes that more opportunities for residents and welcoming the city back into the neighbourhoods will come from the revitalization. Jane’s walk continues the mission of Jane Jacob’s, who was an influential American-Canadian urban activist. Many people came out to support and understood Jane’s vision, which was the significance of local residents having participation on how their communities grow overtime. This is a perfect example of the Regent Park neighbourhood. Jane’s Walk motivated people to inform themselves with the places such as organizations, work places, stores, support services and schools.

Residents also spoke about how they changed their perspective on how it feels to live here. Many residents stated that before they were ashamed to be from Regent Park. However, they explained during the walk that now they are proud to be from such a vibrant transformative community with people from diverse ethnicities, cultures, religions and backgrounds. Many residents hope to educate people to remove the fear, embarrassment and social stigmas displayed against the Regent Park community. As Regent Park continues to develop, the goal is to have families of mixed income living in Regent Park. It is also the goal of more jobs to be created and more opportunities for everyone including youth to get involved in what their community has to offer.

The tour was 15 minutes long and each group on the tour visited sites such as; Daniels Presentation Centre, 1 Cole Street, The New Big Park and Aquatic Centre, The Peace Garden, Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre, 14 Blevins Place / Nelson Mandela Public School, Paintbox Condominiums and Regent Park Centre for Learning, Children and Youth Hub & of course we could not have a tour without Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre. When people came to visit Focus, they were able to watch the Regent Park Focus House Band perform in the studio, listen to the Catch da Flava radio show, read the Catch da Flava magazine and see what articles the youth were working on, watch videos created by the youth and even ask questions. Visitors especially loved seeing the Mammal just before they came down to Focus. Everyone was enthusiastic about the Mammal. The staff, volunteers and children and youth participants at Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre were so happy to welcome visitors to the new space at 38 Regent Street. Visitors also had the opportunity to ask questions. Regent Park Focus continues to encourage children and youth to liberate themselves, use the arts, media and creativity as a tool to change the negative perspectives and stereotypes that outsiders and the mass media has about the Regent Park community and the people. Since 1991, Regent Park Focus continues to support the youth to make inspiring, funny and educational videos, radio shows and magazine articles about issues and hot topics in the Regent Park community and our society.

If you missed Jane’s Walk and would like to learn more about the Regent Park community and these extraordinary locations, take time out of your busy schedule and perhaps on a weekend, go on your own walk with a friend, co-workers or your family and grasp the history and future of the revolutionary Regent Park Focus community. Please stop by even if you want to hang out, do your homework or use our computers. Remember we are always looking for volunteers and we always need youth who have a passion for the arts and media to make a positive change and have their input community strategies, meetings and events.

http://regentparkfocus.com/

Also, check out this article about Jane's Walk in Now Magazine! http://www.nowtoronto.com/daily/news/story.cfm?content=180598

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~
Youth Outreach Coordinator

Last Friday is Back!

2011-05-13T17:20:00.005-04:00

M.C Michele and Adonis start the show

Regent Park Focus House Band represent as usual at every Last Friday

Siblings Loyal and Layia perform and support each other

The Mammal arrives at Last Friday and youth involved in the Mammal project speak at Last Friday

Ruth Mathiang and Amelia LeClair perform a duet

Ruth Royes and band member perform a soulful jazz set

Youth involved in creating the Mammal give a speech at Last Friday

Young dancers from the Regent Park community put on a surprise performance

Preparing the Mammal the Mobile Media Lab before entering Last Friday

Regent Park Staff and volunteers at Last Friday!

Last Fridays is back! Thanks to Daniels Corporation, we are able to bring back Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre’s Last Fridays event for the next 3 months. Our April Last Friday was a success! We had an array of diverse young talent who performed at 246 Sackville. As always we provided free food and drinks. It was delicious. The Regent Park Focus House Band opened up the show and ended the show with a bang. They sang a compilation of cover songs and songs they wrote themselves! Our next performance was the Quran Recitation performed in his language by Loyal, who is a youth living in the Regent Park community and who is also a participant in our video and radio program.

Loyal is passionate about his religion, music and art. He hopes to inspire more youth to speak up and stand up for what they believe in. Loyal definitely is a big inspiration to his little sister Layia who not only help introduce her brother but told the audience how he is a great role model for his family. Layia has been writing short stories and poetry since she was 8 years old. She likes expressing herself through her stories and she likes that fact that she brings truth in her poems. Layia was also involved in helping with the MAMMAL project, which was finally revealed at our Last Friday event. The Mammal was designed as a multi-purpose vehicle that can travel to outdoor community events and be used by Focus members to do on site Dj-ing and conduct Regent Park TV filming activities as well as broadcast live Catch da Flava radio shows. The Mammal contains detachable speakers that can be configured to serve as seating. What is even more amazing is that at night the Mammal can be illuminated and used as a performance space or transformed as an outdoor video screen.

One of our other incredible performers was Ruth Mathiang. Ruth has quickly become one of the rising stars of African music in Toronto. In Kenya, she performed with local musicians ranging from traditional music to hip hop. Her CDs were well received and led to performances in many local and international events in Canada and the States. Her style of music is Hip Hop, Reggae, Afrobeat, to Gospel. Ruth performed with her friend Amelia LeClair who is an wonderful artist based in Ottawa. Together they brought to the audience an Afro Brazilian Folky sound.

Another groundbreaking performance of the night was a talented soulful artist who hails from Kingston, Jamaica. Ruth Royes is a singer songwriter. She realized her interest in music from an early age when learned to play the violin at age 9. After being supported to sing by her sister, she decided that this was the path she wanted her life to take. More importantly, she felt it was what God wanted her to do. She has been influenced by many different genres, her culture and her beliefs, and as a result her music is a fusion of jazz, reggae and gospel. Ruth Royes performed with her college friend Andy who played guitar.

We even had 3 young girls from the Regent Park community perform a dance number. The girls have a passion to dance and they love to bring fun in their dance.

It was a pleasure to host Last Friday. I can’t wait to see what talent the May Last Friday will bring. If you or anybody you know would like to perform at this month's 'Last Friday' event which will be on May 27th, 2011 please let us know by sending us a message on our Facebook page or please call our office at (416) 863-1074 and let us know you are interested in performing at this month's Last Friday event. Remember: Food and drinks are provided :) You can pick a slot between 6:30 to 9:00p.m. We are looking for all types of talent i.e singers, bands, dancers, spoken word etc

Thanks!

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Youth Outreach Coordinator

Media Lab is HOOKED UP

2011-04-22T15:03:00.002-04:00

Our new media lab has been running for a few months now, and just recently, we were outfitted with new MACS. We're trying to get the ol' Adobe programs running on them, but for now they have Word. The Catch Da Flava Environmental issue is still in the process of being printed, but we are already working on new ideas for the next issue, which will hopefully come out in the summer, after the Luminato festival. It will be a special Luminato-based issue, with a strong emphasis on the arts and its connection with multiculturalism.

Divas Program Student Feedback

2011-04-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

Hi, my name is Fazeela and I am one of the students in the Divas girls program and I am in grade 8 and I go to Lord Dufferin Public School. Here at the diva girls’ program we support each other and share are ideas. Diva girls is all about learning new things and having fun.

At the Divas girls program we do different activities every week, and each activity has a lesson to it. Like one of the previous activity that we did, was based on our community witch made me realize how lucky I am to have a great and giving community.

Another week at the dive girls we had a guess come in and teach us about healthy living. She also thought us what we need to live a clean and healthy life. She also thought us how we all should interact with each other. She also thought us what kind of food our body needs to live a long a healthy life.

Just like these two activities that we did, every week we do different activities like cooking, tai dia, healthy living, our community and many more. They also provide snacks and drinks. At the end of each class we do our journals to make sure that you had a great time and to see what you learned.

The adults at the diva girls program are just amazing. They help and support us. And when you need help their always there for you! They also help you make the right choice and they teach you the different between good and bad.

The diva girls program helps you SPEEK UP and LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARED.

I look foreword to going to the diva girls program every week hopping I will learn something new that will impact on my life now and for the future. Every day my little sister would come to me and say "Do we have the diva girls program today" And she just couldn’t wait, that’s how fun and entertaining diva girls is.

Once a month at the diva girls we go on trips or go watch a movie at the theater! We also go play outside for some fresh air, and we play games inside! We also celebrate our birthdays with a big cake!

By: Fazeela Fahim

Thank You!

Divas - Healthy Eating / Cooking

2011-04-01T17:06:00.001-04:00

Lesson: Healthy Eating/Cooking

Hey my name is Alyssa, I’m a placement student from George Brown College, and one of the programs I had to run was the Healthy Eating & Cooking class. On April 1, 2011, the staff and the placement students took the kids’ to the community center to use the kitchen to make smoothie & mini pizza. We divided the girls’ into three groups to make the mini pizza by vegetarian pizza, pepperoni pizza and cheese pizza. The girls’ took turn to share the toppings; next, while the mini pizza was cooking, I started to make the strawberry & banana smoothie for the girls’ to drink while they are eating the pizza they created. The program went good, all the girls’ who participated in the activities enjoyed the program we held for them on April 1, 2011. They learned by eating a variety of foods and a balanced diet is one that includes all the food groups. In other words, have foods from every color, ever day.

By: Alyssa Austin

SAY YES TO USING CREATIVITY AND NO TO USING DRUGS!

2011-03-23T20:21:00.004-04:00

Interviewing Diego Gomes winner from season 3 of YTV's 'The Next Star'
Diego performed his hit single 'My Best Friend's Girl'. The audience and students absolutely loved him! Diego even brought along his dad who was their to support him. Thank you Diego for teaching the student the importance of using your talents and to stay away from drugs. Diego also helped out by being one of the guest judges! He thought everyone was equally talented.

Students above present their poster on the drug, CAFFEINE

Student above presents his banner to 'Say No To ALCOHOL!'

Students brainstorming ideas and researching on drugs

Students recording their Public Service Announcements

Student sends a message through his Drug Awareness poster that 'There Are Always Good Solutions. Drugs Aren't One of them!'

Above: MPP Kevin Flynn, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education came to support the Drug Awareness Program and the importance of youth to stay healthy and actively involved in their community.

Below: Michele and Adonis Huggins introduce Rainbow Bear from donation support, 'Rainbow Cinemas'.

Below: Interviewing student for Regent Park TV as he works on his project.

Below: Students working hard together in groups on their posters.

Below:Students practice really hard for their performance on Drug Awareness.

Above: Interviewing students for RPTV on how important it is to use their passion for dance instead of using drugs.

Above: Students are finished practicing from their scripts and ready to perform a skit on the drug LSD.
Below: Judges judge the posters and banners that promote Healthy Living and Awareness about Drugs
Below: Classroom door decorated to inform everyone not to use drugs.

Below: Bulletin boards decorated by students to promote healthy living and drug awareness.

Below: Teacher greeting parents who came to support their children on their creative messages and performance about drugs and healthy living.

Below: Students present their comic book about kids and drugs.

Judges watch the students performances and interact with the students. Judges agreed that all of them were winners.

Below: Student M.C's are presenting performances.

Below: Students present and perform promoting healthy living and awareness about different drugs. Some of the unique performances included a interactive game show, educational skits, distinctive dances, powerful songs, tableau and more!

Below: With the help of Regent Park Focus video expert Emmanuel, students put together a music video where they rap about how they feel about drugs.

The Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre 2011 Drug Awareness Program was a huge success! On behalf of Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre and Sprucecourt Junior Public school we would like to thank everyone who participated in the 2011 Drug Awareness Program Celebration. The students who participated from Ms. Bristoll’s, Ms. Ball’s, Ms. Fung’s and Mr. Bristow’s class did an excellent job with their performances and art projects promoting drug awareness and healthy living at the Drug Awareness Community Celebration assembly on February 15^th,2011.

The aim of the Drug Awareness program was to create a safe community and to better educate students about the harms of drug use. This year, the month long Drug Awareness program held at Sprucecourt school featured many wonderful activities including a wide array of student led projects involving: skit making; poster making; dance; raps; song writing; poetry; creative writing; radio public service announcements; and video production. Before the assembly started, judges chose the best decorated bulletin board which included; slogans and posters about drugs and healthy living. Students were provided with an opportunity to perform and display their projects at a Drug Awareness Community Celebration assembly event where family members, dignitaries and members of the community came out to support the students work and hear what they have to say about drugs. Upon arrival, parents and guests were greeted and given information about the program and resourceful material on how to talk to their children about drugs.

Thanks to the judges and speakers who came out including; MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education, Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell, Cpl. Heather Dickonson who is from the RCMP Toronto West and is the Detachment Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Coordinator, Esther Linare from Youth Link, Caroline Swinson from MAAD, (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Allen Smith manager of Rainbow Cinemas alongside Rainbow Bear, Barb Macpherson from Toronto Public Health and officers from 51 division who cam to support the event. A much appreciated thanks goes out to all the companies and organizations who supported The Drug Awareness Program by donating prizes; Tim Hortens, TVO Kids, Indigo Chapters, Cineplex Odeon , Cumberland Cinemas, Epitome Pictures, Degrassi, Tricon Films &Television, Pizza Pizza, Dominos Pizza, Pizza Hut and of course Rainbow Cinemas. A special thanks goes out to Diego Gomes who is the winner of YTV’s The Next Star. Diego beat out thousands of Canadian youth who auditioned in a nationwide search for Canada’s best teen singing star sensation. Diego not only performed his hit single ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’, he encouraged students to not use drugs and use their talents to showcase their artistic abilities. Diego stands an exceptional role model as he uses his musical gifts to send positive messages and encourages youth to do the same. I also interviewed Diego for RPTV, so look out for that soon. Regent Park TV also filmed the process of the students work including research, practices, rehearsal and the assemblies. The video will be available on our website www.regentparkfocus.com. Students will now complete evaluations of what they thought of the program and how we can improve next year.

Everyone got a chance to also hear all the final resourceful radio public service announcements created by some students about drugs and drug awareness. The highlights of the assembly included seeing performances from students which included an informational game show version of jeopardy on cocaine and healthy living which allowed the audience to participate. One of the great presentations was a class performance of the song ‘Lean on Me’ which included drumming by students and tableau portraying student’s experiences with drugs. Another important performance was a skit performed by a group of students expressing how it felt to be a youth with parents who refuse to have a discussion about drugs. The skit was of great impact to the audience as many ethnic parents could relate to the fear of talking about drugs because of the misunderstandings. The moral of the skit was that it is important for all youth and parents to have a deep dialogue about their feelings, understanding and questions about drugs. Other highlights included great dance performances, story telling, skits about drug influence in schools, a class version of the song ‘Give Peace a Chance’, and inspiring poetry and raps. The message of the celebration was ‘Say Yes to creativity and no to using drugs’. Without a doubt the program accomplished its’ aim to educate and promote awareness of the negative harms associated with drug use to students living and attending school in the Regent Park community. I am really glad I got to be part of the 2011 Drug Awareness Program and collaborating with the students at Sprucecourt Public School. Congratulations to all of the students who created and performed outstanding works of art in promoting drug awareness and healthy living.

The winning class received a pizza party!

Thanks again for everyone including teachers, staff, parents and students who supported this very successful and fun program again this year!

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Quiz Show - Radio

2011-03-22T19:20:00.001-04:00

Today’s Radio show will be very interesting. The first half of the show we plan to have Quiz about Regent Park neighborhood. Second half of the show we have Gust speakers From University of Toronto. They are going to discuss about Youth4health Project. For more information for today’s show please long on CKLN88.1FM

Catch da Flava Radio.

Divas - March Break

2011-03-18T17:04:00.001-04:00

Today at Divas they had a blast with two activities in one day. The first activity was from 1-4, which the girls did a skit about something they did in the March Break or a fun activity they did the starting of 2011. Next, they played two ice breakers (stand up/tree common). The first ice breaker was everyone stands up if the question relates to them. The other ice breaker was to slit into three groups to get to know each other by three things in common. Also we put each girl into two groups to discuss about Healthy Eating and they had 10 minutes to brain storm about Healthy Eating. Then they discuss the importance of Healthy Eating by staring of with breakfast is the most important meal of the day and eat less junk food.

The second activity was from 4-6. Michelle went over the rules. Adding a new rule to the divas girls program which is the three strike rule: 1 strike is a warning, 2 strike is a call to parents and 3 strike is miss a diva night. We celebrated Fazeela and Jennifer birthday by having a vanilla cake. Finally, the girls played a game to end off the day of March break.

Disaster in Japan - Radio Show

2011-03-15T19:17:00.003-04:00

Today we are going to talk about disaster in Japan and we have here Fee, Issac, William, Tre and Emmanuel. Some of discussion is below for more information long on CKLN88.1FM

Catch da Flava Radio.

March 11, Am8.9-magnitude earthquake struck Japan's northeast coast launching a tsunami that swallowed villages and vehicles, and sparked fires. Local media say the death toll could pass 1,000. It's the biggest earthquake to hit Japan on record.

March-15 As relief and recovery efforts continue, another earthquake, this one magnitude-6.1, hit Japan today, southwest of Tokyo. And Japan's prime minister says there's a "high risk" that more radioactive material will be released at a quake-damaged nuclear plant.

At this moment Japanese people and the world stand by them. Is that true that the Chinese government like always don't care about the rest of the world ?
if the Chinese government are rich is because of the rest of the world, if you are not part of this world, fine just isolated yourself let's see what will you become.

THE DIVAS GIRLS PROGRAM IS BACK!!!

2011-03-13T17:10:00.000-04:00

The divas girls program is about empowering young girls and developing sisterhood. We are going to be learning and discussing the importance of being a young girl when it comes to gender discrimination, body image, nutrition and many more by using various art forming. Numbers of young girls came out and joined us on Friday March 14th, 2011. There was numerous of fun educational activities going. We start few icebreaker games to get to know one another, and we also did Art workshop. This workshop is to encourage young girls to express their self-image by creating a collage on how the media impacts them on their daily lives and how they view themselves. They were provided with magazines, they were able to cut out images to create a collage. Guess what??!?! The Divas did a fantastic job and we had a blast! Thanks to all the Divas and staffs for making it happen. Wait…did you really think this is the end?! This is just the beginning Divas! We got more fun educational activities up coming! So, please don’t hesitate to come join our amusing, positive environment. See you all next Friday!

The Venus Project

2011-03-08T19:14:00.004-05:00

Today we are going to talk about very interesting topic The Venus Project.

W have in the house Fee, William, Tre , Issac , lowill and Bubba Africa. Here we have some basic information about Venus project and for more information Long on CKLN88.1FM

Catch da Flava Radio.

The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. There are many people today who are concerned with the serious problems that face our modern society: unemployment, violent crime, replacement of humans by technology, over-population and a decline in the Earth's ecosystems.

As you will see, The Venus Project is dedicated to confronting all of these problems by actively engaging in the research, development, and application of workable solutions. Through the use of innovative approaches to social awareness, educational incentives, and the consistent application of the best that science and technology can offer directly to the social system, The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation in which human beings, technology, and nature will be able to coexist in a long-term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium.

The Venus Project is asking for donations to do a major motion picture depicting life in a resource-based economy. The film is designed to reach the general public throughout the world to introduce an exciting sustainable new social direction depicting a vision of what our future can be if we intelligently apply science and technology with environmental and human concern--a future where war, poverty and hunger could be but a distant memory.

Be Scene Magazine Celebrates the Launch of its latest issue - Rebellion

2011-02-27T17:35:00.002-05:00

Be Scene Youth have just finished launching Rebellion Issue. It is the 6th issue in Be Scene’s History.

Rebellion features some amazing creative writing and a graffiti photoessay against the backdrop of a rebellious layout design. Of course, what does it all mean anyway, “rebellious”? Well, you will have to check out the zine for that.

Copies are around at Regent Park Focus, Flemo Health Centre and TNO’s Youth centre. It is coming to more places around Flemo Park, T-Park and O’Connor communities soon. In the meantime, get your digital copy here.

At the latest event this past Thursday with about 25 people at TNO’s youth centre, we distributed the fresh copies, got together for some food, had lots of fun and joined Making Noise! Gender Violence and Community Accountability Media Project (GVCAMP) and TNO’s VOICES. Making Noise! is an initiative of Urban Alliance for Race Relations. VOICES is a young women’s group that meet every Thursday at TNO’s Youth Centre.

Ashley Alexis McFarlance and Helen Yohannes, the facilitators of the GVCAMP were back, and Tania Taber and Sarena Surybali who run VOICES joined us. Then there was Azza Abarro and myself on the team. For our group activity, we shared an object/accessory that we had with us and reflected on what it means for us. And then we shared the Rebellion issue and worked on producing our media.

Maryam Idroos, guest editor of Rebellion Issue, provided us with a video shot. Her poem featured alongside Sabeeha Isahque’s in an attractive layout design by Shaili Chibba.

The timing couldn’t have been better. It was a fantastic opportunity to reveal Rebellion at the GVCAMP as the young women finish their media projects. Media from the workshops is going to feature in Be Scene next issue.

Yes, we at Be Scene have been staying busy here rolling magazine after magazine…And Be Scene can’t wait to get started on reviewing new submissions and laying it down for the next issue. And we have a deadline for submissions:

Early Bird Deadline: Wed, Mar 2nd
Extended Deadline for VOICES and GVCAMP group: Mon, Mar 21
Send your writings and artwork to bescenemag@gmail.com

Tavila Haque - Be Scene Youth and Myia Davar

Maryam Idroos and Sabeeha Ishaque - Be Scene Youth

DRUG AWARENESS!

2011-02-09T21:48:00.010-05:00

Regent Park Focus and the 2011 Drug Awareness program has started. This year is we collaborated with Sprucecourt Public School and it has allowed students to not only develop knowledge and awareness about drugs but also expand on their creativity. The aim of the program is to inspire local schools such as Sprucecourt to engage students in learning more about drugs using participatory arts based approach. The program aims to promote awareness of the negative harms associated with drug abuse to students living and attending school in the Regent Park community. Similar to previous, we started the program with a school assembly featuring a panel presentation of speakers who talked about their experiences dealing with drugs, which was held on January 6th, 2011.

Motivational panel speakers included familiar guests such as; Cpl. Heather Dickonson who is from the RCMP Toronto West and is the Detachment Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Coordinator. Addiction Therapist Andrew Galloway was also there this year to share his powerful story. Andrew’s story was very empowering because he was a hockey player and than hung out with bad friends and became addicted to drugs. He told everyone that he had no one to turn to for help except his mother. Now Andrew who is a recovering addict, completed the Addiction Program at McMaster University by finishing at the top of his class and was honoured with the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Andrew believes that the goal of an intervention is to help the addict make an informed decision about going to treatment. It is NOT a confrontation but rather those involved describing in a loving and caring way how the addict´s behaviour is affecting those doing the intervention.

Tom Regher, from CAST Canada, (Come Sit Together) was also a passionate speaker and loves speaking to students about the awareness of drugs. Tom is an engaging and compassionate speaker with an important message for workers dealing with addiction and those who must cope with the strain it causes. CAST Canada helps professionals and corporations better understand the role trauma and unresolved grief in, addictions, homelessness, chronic unemployment, mental illness and other concerns through the coordination of workshops, trainings and keynote speaking throughout Ontario and across Canada.

Another favourite who was one of the panel speakers was Caroline Swinson from MAAD, (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Carolyn, her husband Richard and daughter Emma became involved in MADD after the death of Rob, the eldest of their three children. Rob was killed on February 12th, 1993 almost 12 years to the day Carolyn’s father had been killed, also in an alcohol-related crash. Carolyn continues to make a huge difference in the lives of many people from her tragic situation. In 2001 she was very honoured to receive a Volunteer Award from the City of Toronto, the Ministry of Transport’s Road Safety Achievement Award, and has also received a Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award and a Queen’s Jubilee Medal, accepting the awards on behalf of all the wonderful volunteers of MADD Canada. It was interesting to see the effects of alcohol such as vision impairment when Carolyn brought special goggles. Two teachers wore the glasses and could not walk in a straight line. The goggles are a great example of the effects of alcohol.

We also had two new speakers including Jennifer Juszczuk who is a councillor in Youth Addiction and Concurrent Disorders Service at CAMH.
Esther Linare was also an inspirational speaker because she was a former user when she was a youth. She has overcome a lot of tragic experiences when she was a teenager. Nevertheless, she empowered herself by going back to school and now works with as a social service worker and mentor with street involved youth.

The students were really amped when they were able to watch a eclectic performance by the first place winners of the City of Toronto Stomp completion, Bucc N Flvr. The dance group did not only perform but also gave an inspirational message about how important it is to do things you are passionate about such as dancing and stay away from drugs. Thanks to Bucc N Flvr for giving away their official t shirt to a lucky student.

The students were extremely star struck when they received a visit from two cast members Sam and Jahmil from Degrassi. Degrassi is a hit Canadian show which has shown many episodes related to teen peer pressure, drug use and healthy living. Sam and Jahmil who are currently on the 11^th season of Degrassi spoke about the importance to keep busy doing things you love doing because that way, you won’t have time to get into things can hurt you such as drugs. They share a passion for acting and have no interest in doing drugs. They inspire to be good role models in the media and television for youth.

The students were inspired and moved by the experiences and stories of the speakers. This year, the students were able to participate in a deep discussion and ask more questions because the speakers went to visit the students in their classes after the assembly.

The school is hearing a fact every morning about Drugs. I am having so much fun helping out and connecting with the students and teachers Sprucecourt. The students are also being filmed as they work on their Drug Awareness art projects. Currently, the students are working on a wide array of student led fun and creative projects such as; skit making, poster making, dance, raps, song writing, poetry, creative writing, radio public service announcements, and video production. This is a mini competition which will also incorporate the theme of drugs and healthy living. Students are preparing their art pieces and performances by working in small groups as well as with a buddy or as individuals. After their projects are completed, students are going to be provided an opportunity to perform and display their projects at a Drug Awareness Community Celebration assembly event where family members, dignitaries and members of the community will come out to support the students work and hear what they have to say about drugs.

I am beyond ecstatic to see the student’s final performances, art work and speeches at the Drug Awareness Community Celebration assembly event on February 15^th.

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

New location!

2011-01-29T19:17:00.003-05:00

We just had our first staff meeting of the new year, and I must say, the new location is awesome! Spacious and bright! The internet and media lab still needs to be hooked up, and the main room will be getting a design treatment soon!

I'm excited for you all to see this place, and I think it will inspire our writing and creativity to new heights!

See you all tuesday at 4:15 for our first Catch Da Flava magazine meeting of the new year.

-Terence

Radio - Media Affects on Teenagers

2011-01-25T15:57:00.000-05:00

Today our topic is Media Effects on teenagers. Our host of the evening is Kelvin. We have Issic William and Tre in the house to talk about Media Effects.

One of the most positive effects of media today is the ease with which teenagers have learned to embrace technology – be it the computers, Internet or the ipods. The teenagers have no phobia for technology. Media has also contributed to increase the overall awareness of teenagers about their surroundings. In addition to this, media has also resulted in enhanced overall knowledge and understanding of curriculum subjects owing to the vast information resources that the media has to offer. If managed properly, media can be effectively used to generate awareness amongst teenagers about issues like sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, drugs, alcohol and smoking.

There are several negative media effects on teenagers as well. Media is responsible for creating ideals about body image, owing to which several teenagers (especially girls) suffer from inferiority complex and resort to unhealthy practices to lose weight and get skinny. The amount of excessive violence in media – be it the television, movies or the video games, tends to increase aggressive tendencies in teenagers. The amount of celebrity hype created by the media causes many children to make irrational demands for designer clothing, accessories and other perks of the celebrity life that they are exposed to. Glorification of unhealthy habits like smoking, drug abuse, unprotected sex and alcohol can encourage these habits in teenagers, which can permanently scar their lives.

Radio - Teenage Pregnancy - The Reality

2011-01-11T15:59:00.001-05:00

Today our host is Kelvin and Issac. In addition, we have William and Tre in the house to discuss about very serious issues teenage Pregnancy.

Issic is said there is an extremely difficult situation for a teen to deal with a teenage pregnancy, current statistics reveal that approximately 10% of girls 19 and under do get pregnant.

It is a beautiful and exciting thing for a baby to be created, yet it can be a frightening and uncertain time for a teen that was not planning to become pregnant. Many girls are terrified to tell their parents they are pregnant, while others have highly irresponsible or abusive parents who are absolutely not a refuge or resource for their pregnant teenager.

Kelvin said Teen pregnancy rates in Canada dropped nearly 37 per cent over a decade, say researchers who point to some of the reasons why. The study, released Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, showed Canada's rates of teen pregnancies between 1996 to 2006 declined 36.9 per cent, compared with a 25 per cent decline in the U.S., a 4.75 per cent fall in England and a 19.1 per cent increase in Sweden.

Tre said he knows one of his class made she was 14years old when she got first time permanent. It is very sad for our society that our teen getting pregnant in very young age.

Issac said there is lack of sex education that is why we have high rate of teen-age pregnancy. To resolve this problem we have to promote sex education for teens.

Radio - New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-04T16:01:00.001-05:00

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It is a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

Today our host is Crazy Kelvin and we have Issic, William, and Tresvonne . Kelvin said if you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit; over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids. Even if you have tried to quit before and failed, do not let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. Start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life! Even Allegheny County is trying to go smoke-free, and it has taken them a few tries as well.

While many people use the New Year as an incentive to finally stop drinking, most are not equipped to make such a drastic lifestyle change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking. If you have decided that you want to stop drinking, there is a world of help and support available.

William wants to have girlfriend this year that is his goal for the year. In addition, William decides to do not use bad word during conversation.

Issic Tresvonne and Kelvin don’t have any new year‘s resolution for this year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-23T20:38:00.005-05:00

Regent Park Focus wishes everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
Regent Park has accomplished a lot in 2010 and throughout the years. With our move to a new location in the New Year, we are continuing on the same journey to help youth make a movement using the arts to help youth stay focused, inspiring other youth and communities and develop an identity for themselves in creative ways.

Photography Groups

2010-12-20T18:33:00.053-05:00

Regent Park Focus After-school Photography Program

In October 2010 Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre began offering after-school photography programs for children and youth in the area. The 12 week program was a partnership between Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre and the Gerrard Kiwanis Club and was offered Mondays through Thursdays and involved four different groups of youth. All the program sessions were facilitated by Nick Kozak, a professional photographer conducting a year long residency program at Regent Park Focus. As Regent Park is in the midst of re-development the focus of the work revolved around photographing the changing neighborhood. The following is a description of the programs that were offered.

Mondays Sessions at Regent Park Focus

Each Monday a group of 6 to 10 children met at Regent Park Focus to learn some basic tips on camera use as well as receive instructions on focus and composition. Students were also shown examples of documentary and travel photography. Then, armed with cameras, they took to the streets. Activities included portrait taking of one another and portrait taking of people in the streets. The children in the program also captured candid photos of the area along with many wonderful urban landscape shots of the neighbourhood. The focus of the Monday group was on capturing the old and the new in Regent Park and during our walkabouts we had many interesting conversations about the redevelopment going on in the area. The group that shows up tends to vary in size and some students have returned more regularly than others but because new faces show up every time a large number have experienced documentary photography for the first time.

Tuesday Photography Sessions at Queen Alexander School

The Tuesday photography workshops took place at Queen Alexander Middle School. Similar to the Monday sessions, students were first given basic instructions on camera use and handling followed by instruction on the rules of composition. Each session included a walkabout with the cameras and the kids regularly went out to photograph each other and other people out in the streets. Usually we would return in time to do editing using Adobe Lightroom which gave the students an opportunity to view each other’s photographs and comment on what worked and what did not. Some of the most interesting and challenging sessions have come from approaching strangers. Several students have shown lots of enthusiasm for documentary photography and have improved greatly during the workshop period.

Wednesday Photography Sessions

Our Wednesday group was from Lord Dufferin School. The participants in this session were all around the age of 10 years old. Each week they would be walked over to the Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre by Gerrard Kiwanis Club as part of our partnership. This group has consistently shown up to the photograph sessions with plenty of enthusiasm. During the first few sessions participants were introduced to documentary and travel photography through viewing photographs in magazines and online. These sessions were followed by instruction on basic camera use and composition theory. Most weeks the group went out to take photographs around Regent Park and nearby in Cabbagetown with a focus on capturing the redevelopment of the Regent Park area. With adult support, students learned how to get over their shyness and approach strangers to ask permission to photograph them. In addition the group took plenty of urban landscape photos. Even on very cold days students braved the weather and low light conditions and continued to go out to photograph in the area. Each week participants return with great stills and to take part in edit sessions using Adobe Lightroom. The students would view everyone’s photographs on a projection and learn what can be done to enhance a photograph in the editing process. The strengths and weaknesses of each photo are pointed out in order to provide participants with knowledge on how to improve next time they photograph. The group has also been taught to use Lightroom on Mac computers in the computer lab and edit their own photos. It has been an incredible experience seeing what the young kids capture, what they see out in the neighbourhood and just how much fun they can have with the cameras.

Thursday Photography Group

The Thursday photography session consisted of older youth who were familiar with Regent Park Focus and have participated in many programs in the past. One of our photographers in this group, William Kuan, took part of The City of Toronto’s Our City Our Stories contest in 2009 and was awarded one of the 10 prizes by Canon and the City. He has since received paid work assignments photographing buildings with Daniels, the company in charge of redeveloping Regent Park. This fall term the group has been instructed on basic composition and has viewed many projects online to get a good sense of the variety of documentary photography done by professionals. The group decided to pursue a project in which young people would be photographed in front of their homes in Regent Park. These portraits serve the purpose of documenting both the buildings and its residents.

If you want to view their work check out our on-line galley in the photography section.

Photography at Focus!

2010-12-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

Photography at Focus is really amazing. Although some people would exaggerate the prestige of programs, take it from me, a student of Nick Kozak, who attended his photography workshop at Regent Park Focus 2 years in a row. Nick has taught me a lot and it sparked my career to become a photographer. The first year I joined because my best friend's aunt asked me if I'd like to and I did. The workshop lasted months, and my photos were entered into a contest and although my group was the smallest out of the 17 in total, (One member from each group could make it into the finals, but only 10 could make it) and although my 2 other members were very capable. I got lucky and won myself a camera as a top ten finalist. I still have this camera today, and I've learned a lot, and I even have a job with a private company right now. All in all, some people may like the program, some people might not, but you'll never know until you try.

-William Kuan

October Last Friday Event

2010-11-12T15:21:00.004-05:00

On October 29th, we held our Last Friday event at 246 Sackville Street, the new seniors and family residential building in partnerships with the Daniels corporation. We had a variety of performances from:

Da Youngstas
Ania Soul
Marnie Levitt
COBA
RPSM (Regent Park School of Music)

It was a great turn out with some really awesome free spicy food to go along with it. Da Youngstas started and closed the show after weeks of intensive practice. Be sure to check out our website for more information about the location and time for the next Last Fridays event!

2010-11-12T09:13:00.013-05:00

Be Scene + Voices + the Gender Violence Media Project = Awesome!

Right now Be Scene magazine is smack in the middle of a joint program with Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office's girls group 'Voices' and the Gender Violence Media Project. We are making media all together!! (It's great).

For five Thursdays the Be Scene crew will be on site at the TNO Youth Space behind the East York Town Centre, talking about gender violence and anti-oppression. Though its a serious subject, we've created a space where we are able to talk from our hearts and laugh when the time is right. After all some stereotypes about women and gender are so ridiculous they are funny!

We have an incredible group of girls (on the busiest week so far we've had 27 participants!), and awesome facilitators as well. On our team are Azza Abarro, the youth worker from the Flemingdon Health Centre who has given so much to Be Scene over the past several years, Ashley Alexis McFarlane and Helen Yohannes from the Gender Violence Media Project, Tania Tabar, Serena Surybali and Malika Shah from TNO, and myself (Sarah Feldbloom, coordinator for Be Scene).

Each week we start with delicious snacks (halal pizza, or shwarma & falafel so far...) and then we write and talk, write and talk. Last week we even did a meditation where we concentrated on something that had made us uncomfortable during our conversations or something that brought up a question or made us want to learn more. Ashley asked us all to close our eyes and see it, feel it, remember it. That's where the media making begins, by addressing something that hits a nerve in us, something that we need to research and speak about.

Next week we are doing a photojournalism workshop, and continuing to develop our ideas for articles and blog content. We don't know what we will have by the end, but whatever it is will come from the wisdom of many women's voices. That's exciting stuff!

Radio Show on HIV

2010-11-02T16:15:00.000-04:00

The November 02, 2010 Catch Da Flava radio show hosted by Kelvin and produced by Saima. We talk about HIV with our youth gusts Isaac and Layia. We discuss all the basic information about HIV.
We began our show with the definition of HIV .HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. HIV stands for the 'Human Immunodeficiency Virus' and AIDS stands for the 'Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome'. AIDS is a serious condition in which the body's defenses against some illnesses are broken down. This means that people with AIDS can get many different kinds of diseases which a healthy person's body would normally fight off quite easily.
Isaac explained how people can get HIV. HIV is a virus that infects people by getting inside their blood cells. To avoid getting HIV, you must prevent the blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or breast milk of someone who is infected from entering your body through your mouth, vagina, anus, tip of your penis, or breaks in your skin.
Kelvin said it is important to remember that HIV is not transmitted by hugging, kissing, massage, and shaking hands.

Bullying Radio Show

2010-10-19T16:13:00.001-04:00

This week at Catch Da Flava we talked about very serious topic. This wonderful show hosted by Kelvin and Isaac and created by Saima. We began our show with the definition and different type of bullying.
Bullying is a pattern of aggressive behavior meant to hurt or cause discomfort to another person. Bullies always have more power than victims. Their power comes from physical size, strength, status, and support within the peer group.
Kelvin said “Have you ever bullied or been bullied? If you have bullied or been bullied then you should know how bullying feels like. Bullying is very negative and creates major problems for our society. Nothing good comes out of bullying. It could very well change or ruin a person’s life. In fact, it does ruin many people’s lives.”
Two people called in and discuss with Isaac and Kelvin their person stories on the air. One was 13 years girl. At the end Isaac said “If you see someone else being bullied you should always try to stop it. If you do nothing, you're saying that bullying is okay with you. It’s always best to treat others the way you would like to be treated. You should show the bully that you think what they're doing is stupid and mean. Help the person being bullied to tell an adult they can trust.”

Politics Radio Show!

2010-10-19T14:36:00.011-04:00

Tonight it was politics, politics and politics! In an effort to get young people more engaged in election issues and the mayor candidates we invited all the mayor candidates to appear on CATCH DA FLAVA radio.

CATCH DA FLAVA sat down with three of Toronto’s major players in the current mayoral race. Guests Joe Pantalone, George Smitherman and Sarah Thomson discussed youth issues, how politics empowers us, and how we can all get involved in making our city an inclusive and safe place for everyone.

Our first guest Joe Pantalone had a lot to say about the newcomer and immigrant experience for youth. Pantalone came to Canada as a teenager with little English and even less money in his pocket. Pantalone spoke passionately about what he believes to be Toronto’s greatest asset… it’s diversity. Pantalone’s vision of Toronto’s youth is that of a cosmopolitan and tolerant future with focus on community and neighbourhood centered programs. Pantalone also has a killer tailor. Snappiest dresser ever.

George Smitherman had a lot to say on behalf of the LGBT youth experience and bullying. Smitherman is an openly gay politician, a rarity in Canadian politics, and does not shy away from the harsh words many use to promote bigotry. Smitherman’s platform focuses on making the city great through arts and education, with special attention to youth employment outreach. George is determined to know the names of every single person in Toronto, and remember them. His special message to LGBT teens is to not give up, because it gets better. And then you get to be mayor (almost).

Finally, former mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson joined us for a frank chat about chicks and politics. Thomson divulged about her difficult youth where she experienced homelessness and social exclusion. The editor of a prominent women’s magazine gave us her fiery views about connecting with youth at the individual level to make things happen in the world. Thomson, a mother of two, really believes that the youth of today are more politically sophisticated and empowered than ever before. Thomson talked about how politics, and her role in it, are a conduit for change… not just an opportunistic grab for power. Did I mention that Sarah admits a crush on Justin Trudeau. Sister, who hasn’t!

Click here to Listen!

Radio Show On Art

2010-10-12T14:45:00.002-04:00

This week at Catch Da Flava we talked about some Big Stuff. We began with a discussion about the recent shootings in Regent Park and how powerless that can make us feel.

Featured Hosts Isaac, Leyia and Stephanie really got honest about how hard Big Stuff and Big Feelings can be, especially when we don’t have the tools to deal with them.

That’s when we got into the power of Art. Catch Da Flava Hosts Calvin and Onik asked our Featured Hosts powerful questions about how Art can free you from really bad Big Stuff and Big Feelings.

Isaac talked about how funny stories and jokes can be a way to solve problems. Stephanie opened up about her passion for singing and dancing, and how it has made difficult times in her life easier to handle.

In an amazing act of spirit and courage, Leyia read an amazing poem she wrote. Catch Da Flava will be posting it next week.

The most amazing part of our Featured Host panel was the realization that every major civil rights moment travelled in songs, poems, stories, visual art and plays to overcome oppression. The idea that a single person with a brush, or a pen and paper, can change the world with art.

Click here to Listen!

Catch Da Flava will be presenting a pre-recorded show on the local political process on October 19th, where we will chat frankly with Joe Pantalone, George Smitherman, and Sarah Thomson on the future of youth issues in Toronto.

October 26th will feature a live Featured Host discussion on Bullying. This will include written word and live performance by youth who seek to change the world. If you would like to submit a piece for the upcoming Bullying show, you can come to Regent Park Youth Focus (600 Dundas Street East, lower level) on Tuesday October 19th at 6pm.

Producer Saima Noreen will be chairing a creative meeting for art and topical discussion pieces you my want to include. Catch Da Flava is your voice, and Bullying is Big stuff with a lot of Big Feelings in it. Formats are about 5 minutes each.

Come change the world with us!

Phone:416-863-1074
Email: focusflava@gmail.com

Radio Show Racism

2010-10-09T16:15:00.001-04:00

This week The Catch Da Flava Radio show was on Racism hosted by Kelvin produced by Saima. We our show began with the history and definition of racism. Racism has existed throughout human history.
It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, and place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. Racism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human capacities, that a certain race is inherently superior or inferior to others, and/or that individuals should be treated differently according to their racial designation. Sometimes racism means beliefs, practices, and institutions that discriminate against people based on their perceived or ascribed race. There is a growing, but controversial, opinion that racism is a system of oppression -- a nexus of racist beliefs, whether explicit, tacit or unconscious; practices; organizations and institutions that combine to discriminate against and socially marginalize a class of people who share a common racial designation, based on that designation.
Layia and Assic talked about Racism around the word also Layia told her personal story about racism on the air. Layia said the majority of racism is directed at Muslims. Kelvin talked about racism against black people and racism in job market.

Radio Show on Mental Illness

2010-09-28T16:12:00.000-04:00

The September 28, 2010 Catch Da flava show radio hosted by Araxi and Kelvin with group of youth Leyia, Stephanie and Isaac. We talk about basic mental illness terms such as an Addiction. We discuss on the air what addiction is? At the simplest level, an addiction occurs when you cannot permanently stop yourself from doing something. The term addiction is generally applied to habits that are not necessary for life (e.g., eating and breathing are not addictions), and that are also unhealthy to engage in. Usually the things we become addicted to are either very exciting or stimulating, or act directly on the brain and body to produce a desirable alteration in how we think or feel. Common addictions are to cigarettes and other tobacco products, drugs (street/recreational drugs as well as ones prescribed by your doctor), alcohol, gambling, pornography and (some say) to the Internet itself. One of our youth gust Layia used to have an addiction of eating chocolate, and Stephanie said she has an addiction of shopping. . In many forms of addiction, it is common for the addicted person to experience Tolerance and Withdrawal. Tolerance occurs when it takes more and more of the stuff to get the same amount of pleasure. Withdrawal occurs when you experience painful (and sometimes dangerous!) symptoms (generally the opposite of how it feels to take the substance) when you go for any period without that substance. It is VERY VERY DANGEROUS to try to come off of alcohol (and some other drugs) cold turkey. If you want to get sober, check yourself into a hospital that can help you come down safely.

Thank you Regent Park Focus

2010-09-07T15:59:00.008-04:00

My time has come to an end at Regent Park Focus. It was a great experience. I am super glad I chose to do my school placement at Focus. I am thankful that Adonis Huggins offered me a job as the summer program coordinator. I learned a lot from my position. I learned about the different art programs offered, team work, leadership, goal setting, project task management, research, opportunities, challenges and so much more. It was great connecting with the Regent Park community and people. I loved all the participants in the diverse summer 2010 programs which included; arts and crafts, photography and arts, video, radio, George Brown audio play, comic book club, RPTV, Divas and Pop Divas. Many skills were developed and I had an opportunity to accomplish many goals. I loved hosting the Catch Da Flava radio, writing for the Catch Da Flava magazine and being involved in the scripts, comics and arts that were put together. I especially enjoyed going on special retreats to the Luminato festival where I watched Canadian pop divas perform like Jully Black, who I also wrote an article about in the Gender Issue in Catch Da Flava magazine. I found it very important that I got involved and did an audio play with high school students on teen mental health. This is an important topic that needs to be discussed in all of our communities. Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Center is an excellent place for children and youth to reach their full potential and explore diverse social issues using the arts and mixed media. The evaluations which were completed by the participants is an excellent tool to gain insight on what the children and youth liked about the program and what can be changed or improved for next year. This organization teaches young people to explore life skills, utilize concepts and the tools to grow into respectful knowledgeable adults, who can advocate for social justice and equal rights. The programs offered at Regent Park Focus will truly allow the youth to go into a path of success and build great character. I will definitely use what I have learned and apply them in every community. I will continue on my journey to break down barriers created by the dominant society and continue to be an advocate for women, children and youth.

I want to thank everyone who has helped me learn along the way including; Adonis, Pat, Tyrone, Emmanuel, Tresvonne Sarah, Emiee and Megan. I hope to see everyone in the future.

Love always,

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Teen Mental Health - Radio Topic

2010-08-17T11:10:00.004-04:00

On august 17th, 3 guest students attending the Co-op program with George Brown, Sophi, Niki and Peter along with one high school student Fatima and the host One2Tres, all put together a radio show on Teen Mental health issues. Each of the youth were assigned to a different topics having to do with teen mental health such as: What can lead to mental health issues, Ways so deal with mental health issues, Symptoms of mental health issues, etc.

The youth actually had a meeting with a worker from CAMH that specialized in mental illness and had to do a lot research to put this show together because they were not even aware ( and most youth probably aren't ) about teen mental health issues or how common it is.

- Tresvonne

Listen Now!

Art and Crafts/Photography in session this Summer!

2010-08-06T09:04:00.007-04:00

So far, all's well with the Dixon Hall girls that meet up at Focus for the Thursday session of Arts and Crafts/Photography! The Arts and Craft Photography workshops is a mixed media program that is offered as part of the 2010 Summer Media Arts Program. Currently, some activities that we're working on is a collaborative mural/poster about the changes in the Regent Park community, both positive and negative. We were encouraged to go outside in this sweltering heat and look around and assess our living environments and the people there! We were also expressing our thoughts about the language of signs, after seeing how construction/demolition seems to have marked their presence all over the place with their "danger" and "do not enter" signs.

The CNH youth have just joined the summer programs at Focus and will be attending a separate session of the Arts and Crafts Photography workshops! First session featured icebreakers, sharing, sketching portraits and making homemade play doh! We're learning that creating and expressing begins with active engagement and fun!

Stay tuned for more photos and updates of all the commotions at Focus's summer programs!

2010-08-01T19:02:00.007-04:00

Michelle Kay Gives Be Scenesters the Low-down on Blogging

Michelle Kay, the Online News Editor for Yahoo and the new Webstories Editor for Shameless Magazine paid Be Scene’s editorial committee a visit this past Thursday. With piles of magazines in hand, and a nifty sheet of resources to check out, she led a fabulous workshop about blogging and online presence for independent magazines.

Many tips were given, and good chatting went on about current stories in process for the next issue (themed: rebellion and resistance) and how they may translate into content for the blog. One of the most useful things we took away with us was the importance of keeping up with social networking platforms. In other words, that tools like Facebook groups, blogs and Twitter can and should be used with diligent regularity in order to solidify a readership base. That befriending other youth organizations and publications can create a useful online community. And that Twitter specifically shouldn’t just be thought of as a tool for publicity, but also as a medium for us to absorb news that can inform the content we are discussing and posting. After all, our contacts are tweeting about issues that are local and personal, and that is the slant that makes the stories we publish unique.

Another important reminder Michelle gave us was about cross-referencing for maximum advertisement. This could mean lot’s of things. It could be producing web exclusive content that relates back to what we are preparing for our print editions, writing teasers for the next issue into our blog posts or advertising our blog, Facebook group and Twitter in the magazine. We are thinking we may create a section on the Be Scene blog (http://bescenemag.wordpress.com) with a list of places that people can pick up the magazine.

Michelle also went through some basic stuff, like how to embed code from youtube to put videos on the blog, and other general “how-to” kinds of things.

Here is a list of some Canadian magazine websites she recommended we check out for inspiration:

http://www.shamelessmag.com/

http://www.macleans.ca

http://www.walrusmagazine.com

http://taddlecreekmag.com

http://maisonnueve.org

http://canadianmags.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah Feldbloom
Coordinator for Catch da Flava and Be Scene Magazines

2010-08-01T18:02:00.008-04:00

Be Scene at the Toronto Zine Library!

For magazinesters like ourselves a trip to the Toronto Zine Library was just what the doctor ordered last Sunday. It gave us a chance to do some research into the process of making a magazine that isn’t necessarily meant for large distribution, or to serve the needs of its audience, but rather as a personal project for the artist/writer themselves.

Zine experts Sara and Amy gave us an overview of the history of zines, how they started as little booklets sent in the mail to and from fans of science fiction about their topic of interest, and have grown into a vibrant and subject diverse DIY (do-it-yourself) industry. Today there are zine fairs in many major cities. In Toronto, Canzine is a festival/meeting place for independent artists/writers/publishers that happens every October. Hmmm, come to think of it, this may be a great venue to distribute some of Be Scene’s mags.

Learning about the history of zine making was interesting, but the most exciting part of the field trip was definitely collaborating on our own group zine. (I will post pictures of it when we pick up our copies next week). Cutting and pasting letters and images from magazines, writing, drawing and colouring, creating our own stories to put together a collaborative “perzine” (personal zine) was inspiring. I think it was a nice break for all of us from being so serious about trying to get our ideas across in the more traditionally formatted magazine articles we usually focus on producing.

It was very relaxing eating potato chips, grapes and granola bars, with the door to the fire escape open and the breeze coming through. We took turns working, chatting and scoping the shelves and bins for attractive and uniquely formatted little booklets. Coming across some of them felt like opening a portal to a secret world of someone else. One great series of zines I found were notes written in high school that had been saved and folded into interesting shapes then placed in little clear baggies with introduction labels. Unfolding the mundane and outdated secrets that someone else chose to keep was thrilling. There were lot’s of other treasures we found too – zines about poetry, art, politics, cooking, sexuality...basically any subject you could imagine. There was so much to see I think we all plan to make another trip.

If you’d like to visit or learn more about the Toronto Zine Library, here is the web address where you can find information about where it is and when it’s open: http://sitekreator.com/zinelibrary/the_collective.html

That's all for now!
- Sarah Feldbloom
Coordinator for Catch da Flava and Be Scene Magazines

Radio Show: G-20

2010-07-29T16:05:00.004-04:00

Crazy Kelvin and Onik host tonight's radio show recapping the G-20. They have a guest who is a video journalist who has brought some audio pieces that show a bit more behind the scenes of the city violence that occurred and people's reactions during the time they occurred.

http://www.catchdaflava.com/radio/media/2010-07-27.mp3

Summer is HERE!

2010-07-21T13:10:00.025-04:00

Summer is here! What does that mean? The 2010 Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Summer Program has launched. This year participants of the Regent Park Focus Summer program have many different programs for children and youth to join. The main theme of our work in the summer is on Life Skills Development and Youth Mental Health, which also includes other social issues effecting youth such as; peer pressure, substance abuse, racism, discrimination, the environment and so much more. Each day we offer a series of two hour workshops. The goal of each of the workshops is to create an arts project that is based on resiliency skills such as; leadership, team work, goal setting, project-task management and conflict resolution and explores issues related to youth mental health.

First off, every Monday afternoons we have a group of Brown high school placement students who are doing a placement at George Brown College. These students are working on an audio play and producing their very own radio show segment on the issue of youth mental health. One of the highlights so far was when a guest speaker named Sophia Bishop a consultant from the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) came in to facilitate a workshop. It was an eye opening experience for all of us because she gave us a context of people with mental health. We also learned some interesting facts and myths. This enabled the participants to learn more critically about mental health and perform skits on different issues related to people and mental health.
Every Tuesday, children from Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club and Central Neighborhood House come in to take part in a comic book program that runs for most of the day. The instructor for the program is Michael Welsh. He assists the children to make their very own comic strip. Michael shows the participants in the program that comics are not always about super heroes, villains and violence. The comic strip the participants are working on are creative stories that incorporate a social issue. Michael also teaches the children cool drawing tricks. The kids have the option of doing individual comic strips or work as a group to create a collaborative comic strip.

Late on Tuesdays, a group of high school students involved with Regent Park Television (RPTV) come in to work on a video about a couple struggling on poverty and a lottery ticket that goes a miss. The facilitator of the workshop is our veteran facilitator Emmanuel Kedini. Emmanuel teaches the participants all the technical work and how to use a video camera and other equipment. The students will also learn how to film and edit the video.
On Wednesdays morning children from Kiwanis Club comes in to work with Emmanuel and a theatre arts instructor who goes by the name of De-licious. These youth are using role play to develop a video script that they will produce. De-licious starts the group off with ice-breakers and interactive, fun games that connect the youth to the skills and talents that they will use in their workshop. The participants in the video programs have faced their fears of performing in front of people and participated in individual and group improvisations and skits. The participants love acting and role playing.

Late Wednesday afternoons, another group of older youth from Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club come in to learn how to produce their own video documentary. The documentary that they are working on will explore youth thoughts on current events.

On Thursdays mornings children from Dixon Hall come in to work on life skills program that uses photography and arts and crafts. The workshop is instructed by Emie Can. To date she has shown the group how to draw character sketches and plans on creating many artistic works with the children. She also had the kids explore their neighborhood using photography with. The children plan on incorporating their photographs into murals and fun craft work. The arts and crafts will be showcased to their friends and family after the end of the program.

In August, we will be running a Divas summer workshop for young women in the area. The workshop will take place every Friday afternoons. The Divas will help girls learn how to grow up to be a strong young female, including learning how to bond together in sisterhood while participating in activities and field trips. Note: If you are a young woman and are interested in the Divas come by Regent Park Focus to register.

The summer program is progressing very successfully. At the end of each workshop, all participants fill out a weekly evaluation telling us what they thought of the session they were in. This helps us to improve the program and learn more about each of the participants. So far we have learned that the children and youth enjoy working on their activities and small projects in small groups and individually and have learned a lot in the short time they were here. We discovered that participants’ who were shy, were able to step out of their comfort zone and express their talents and work together as a group. However, there are more skills to be explored and challenges to face.

♥Michele Peter♥

Youth Worker/Summer Program Coordinator 2010

Luminato hits Toronto

2010-06-25T14:56:00.009-04:00

Luminato illuminated Toronto with arts and creativity. For years Luminato displays the celebration of theatre,dance,music,film and so much more. The best part about Luminato is that most of the events and concerts are free. This is because Luminato is designed for the people to celebrate and explore the arts.

On Friday June 11, 2010, the art festival that is LUMINTO, hit the city of Toronto. The opening night was a free DIVA themed concert at Dundas Square. The crowd was packed to see 3 amazing Canadian Divas. E Talk's Traci Melchor, was the host of the night. I cheered on Traci and she thanked me backstage for supporting her. Traci Melchor is seriously amazing. She is humble and down to earth. We got the opportunity to go backstage. She chatted with the Diva writing girl's group and took a lot of pictures with us. Traci was giving the young Diva writing group advice to reach for your goals and to never give up on following your dreams. She chatted with the Diva writing girl's group and took a lot of pictures with us. She was also telling us about her appearance on an Lizzy Mcguire episode but I swear she was on a Sabrina the Teenage Witch episode. She has twins and they are 5 years old now. She also told me how she pulled some of the red weave she was wearing to give to her friend Jully Black. Speaking of Jully Black, she tore up the stage with her powerful set. She sang most of the songs from her latest album, 'The Black Book.'

Jully Ann Inderia Gordon, known in the music scene as Jully Black grew up living in poverty by a single mother who raised 9 children. It is no secret that is she gets her strength and power and diva attitude as a woman from her mother. Amidst all the glitz, glamour and diva lifestyle, Jully always has a special place for her family. Jully dedicated her second successful Juno winning album, 'Revival' in memory of her late sister who encouraged her to become a singer.

So what makes Jully Black a Canadian Diva?

Jully tells her life story through her music and voice. Her confidence makes her a great role model for Canadian ethnic woman as she not only encourages a healthy body image, writes meaningful lyrics, displays personal style and of course has a soulful strong voice, she also represents Canada to the fullest.

The other Divas included; Juno award winner Sass Jordan who was also best know for her role as a Canadian idol judge. Sass had a few rocker friends come our to support her like former Our Lady Peace member Mike Turner and Jeff Burrow from the former Canadian rock band 'The Tea Party' who both are now in a band called, Crash Karma with rocker, Edwin. She rocked out with her band and belted her rocker sound.

The final act was West Indian background, former member of an R & B group 'X-Quisite'. Nichole Holeness of MTV was also in the group. Melanie is known as Kanye West's prodigy and was nominated for several BET awards, Juno and even a Grammy. I didn't have to time to watch her perform but I heard she was grrrrrrrrrrrreat.

I got a chance earlier to see Jully Black but the rest of the members of the Pop Divas writing group were sad they didn't get chance to see Jully. Luckily for them, Ms. Black was just walking downtown, so I hollered at her and just like the name of one of her tracks, I was 'RUNNING' to meet up with her across the street with my Pop Diva's group.

Jully told me to keep up the great work I am doing with the youth in the arts and music at Regent Park Focus.

LOVE HER!

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Youth Worker and Summer Program Coordinator

City View Kids

2010-06-25T14:43:00.005-04:00

A couple of months ago, Regent Park Focus welcomed two students from City View Alternative elementary school in April. Geordie and Finlay chose to do their final video ISU project at Regent Park Focus. The young boys had 1 week to put together an amazing video presentation on a social justice issue. Time was limited so could they pull it off? On the first day staff member and video expert Emmanuel involved the boys in the entire project by teaching them about the background of Regent Park Focus and video camera techniques. This incorporated learning how to use the video camera, equipment, the various angles, positions, methods and a tour around the media studios. The boys took turns practicing what they learned and helped each other out. I also filled in as their subject when they were using the camera for a practice taping. The next day implicated jotting down ideas tossed in the air and it also involved brainstorming. Many topics were discussed such as; homelessness, racism and bullying. However, those topics were already taken by other groups and had been discussed previously in classes. The boys wanted to do a social issue that was different, challenging and current.

After a while of brainstorming, I suggested the topic of poverty in Canada. I gave them a background of how serious this topic is. The boys narrowed it down to an issue related to poverty which was, ‘The Welfare Rate in Ontario. The welfare system in Canada is a much debated topic. There are currently many Canadians living in poverty in Canada because they are living close to the low income cut off line. These people include immigrants and people who have lost their jobs. The two youth were really passionate about this topic and already had some background knowledge on the issue. Therefore, they felt that it was the best topic to do their ISU on.

We filmed some scenes to make clips for the video. In addition we got to know a little history about Regent Park community and what is happening presently as we went for a walk in the neighborhood. Time was limited so after a brief research on the topic, the boys, Emmanuel and myself thought of how the video was going to be presented. We felt that it would be great to hit up the busy hot spot that is Dundas Square and ask Torontonians questions which we thought of collectively. We hopped on the street car with the equipment and our questions. When we got to Dundas Square it was chaotic as usual so that meant we could easily find people who wanted to answer questions on camera right? Wrong. Finding people was not as simple as we thought it would be. Nonetheless, by working as a team, we were able to each find a good amount of diverse people to answer our questions and give their perspective, opinions and views on the social issue. Some people were really into the discussion and even gave us some tips on how to ask questions. We even got some Regent Park community members and former youth volunteers to be in the video. As we wrapped up filming, we noticed there was an event happening because there was a huge crowd of people with marijuana paraphernalia marching to Dundas Square. So, since we were already there, we were listening to some speeches and even did a few interviews with people for a future story in regards to, the legalization of marijuana in Canada.

The boys and Emmanuel went back to City View the next day to film an interview with their teacher who was very insightful on the issue. It was a great addition to the video. On the last day, we all watched what we had filmed and Emmanuel taught the boys how to edit the video. I think it was great that the boys had so much input into the video they created. Overall, it was a fun week and as a group, we each had a great learning and eventful experience. The boys from City View said they had a blast and unique experience. They believe their video is going to be the best. That is the impact Regent Park Focus likes to make.

The two youth are even planning on coming back to Regent Park Focus in the future to do their volunteer hours for school. This is what they had to say about their experience at Regent Park Focus:

Hi my names Finlay McNally
I went to Regent Park Focus as a school outreach. I was here for a short four days and I had a lot of fun! I made a video about welfare rates and poverty which I had been learning about in school. It was really fun and informative and I learned a lot about poverty and welfare rates and I also learned quite a few editing and camera tips and how to use Final Cut Pro. It was a really good time and I hope to come back next year for my community service hours I need to do for high school.
Thanks!
-Finlay

*********************************************************************************
Hello my name is Geordie Huband
this week I went to regent park focus. It was with my school and I had never heard of this program. So when I walked in on Monday I was not expecting anything. Little did I know that a week of fun and excitement would be in front of me. The week started out where I learned about all the different camera and angles, and learned how to use us a cool program call final cut pro. We choose on that day that wee would make a video about poverty and welfare because it is such a big problem in this country. The next day we took to the streets to ask some random people what they tough of the issue. We had some really great answers and some not so great ones. On Wednesday we went to interview our expert who gave us some really good information. And the final day we put the whole thing together. It was a great time the friendly and kind staff here really helped me out to make our video. Overall this was a great 4 days but I wish it had been longer. If I ever get the opportunity to come back I will. Maybe for high school.
Thank you so much
Geordie

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Youth Worker and Summer Program Coordinator

An illuminating experience! Two girls’ perspectives on the Pop Divas Program

2010-06-24T20:48:00.008-04:00

On Saturday June 19th I had the privilege of escorting seven passionate young journalists to a panel they moderated as part of the Luminato festival, called Pop Divas. The panel was part of the festival’s Illuminations program, and the culmination of a few months of work. A group of young women including new and seasoned members of the Catch da Flava magazine collective participated in a series of workshops held at Focus where they met and discussed the art of music journalism and pop diva specific reportage with professional music journalists, practiced researching, writing and editing articles, and developed in person interview skills. These skills were applied in the development of their articles which are being published in a special edition of Catch da Flava magazine, and in the prep work and facilitation they did for the Illuminations panel.

Some of Saturday’s panellists the girls had met before in their workshop sessions. Jody Rosen, music writer and critic for slate.com and Rolling Stone, and Globe and Mail editor and critic Carl Wilson were there, as well as a new face for the girls, Jyoti Rana who is the co-founder of the Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival of Toronto.

As the new youth outreach worker for Catch da Flava magazine, it was awesome to laugh, share skills, and a good many pizza dinners with the participants, and with the Associate Director of Education and Outreach for Luminato, Jessica Dargo-Caplan in the weeks leading up to the panel.
Thanks to Jess and the girls for teaching me about Pop Divas! I look forward to learning much much more from all of you guys as we sharpen our journalistic skills and create some more great issues of the magazine.

*Sarah Feldbloom*
Youth Outreach Worker for Catch da Flava

The Luminto Illuminations Panel was a success. As a participant it was great to hear such interesting and outspoken experts like Jody, Carl and Jyoti in the music and entertainment field. We talked about issues concerning contemporary arts and culture and Canada. Illuminations provided an opportunity to connect the speakers together from different disciplines and backgrounds to join on stage and explore issues concerning contemporary arts and culture in Canada. There was an intimate and interactive connection with the audience to answer questions as they shared their creative approach to Pop Divas.

We explored the Pop Diva genre together and the art of music writing. We all had different and unique opinions about Pop Divas. Before the panel, we were given questions that we had thought up together during meetings. I first saw my question when we got to the venue before the event. It was, “What do you think defines a Diva?” The follow up to that question was, “what do you think gives them their Divaness?” Since I was the first Diva to ask a question, I felt that I had to put a twist on the question in order to hype up the audience. So, I quickly revised it to fit my personality. I talked more about each of the Divas we wrote about and made the question more charismatic. One of the other young Diva writers was practicing her question in front of me during rehearsal. Her question didn’t suit her shining personality. Therefore, I told her to put a spin on her question and show her personality. She also tweaked her question and asked it as her MC persona, DJ Amy and the Mix. It was a great question and everyone in the room laughed at her charisma and fun personality.

I am proud of every one of the girls, including the shy ones, who had the courage to face their fears to speak in front of an audience. Personally, it felt great getting up in front of everyone and asking questions. In the Diva’s Pop Writing group, there are many South Asian young writers. Therefore, it was a great addition to hear a woman’s voice and Jyoti’s insight on the Bollywood Pop Diva music scene. Jyoti even told us to hit up one of North America’s largest free outdoor South Asian concerts this year, Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival of Toronto. She offered the young women the opportunity to critique the show and develop our writing skills by covering the festival and conducting interviews with the performers. I believe the young Pop Diva writing group learned a lot not only about writing articles but also other talents such as, character development, public speaking, critiquing music and networking. My favorite question was, Do you think Pop Divas set good examples for young girls and young women? The speakers were saying how Divas are not out there to be role models. I also loved when we watched and analyzed different music videos. We got to watch classic videos from Diva such as Aretha Franklin and current Diva Beyonce. We explored themes such as; male violence, love and empowerment. Overall, I am really proud of all the girls who were on the Illuminations panel as we all had a great learning experience.

*Michele Peter*
Participant in Pop Divas Program

A Diva is a Female Version of a Hustler

2010-06-24T18:42:00.009-04:00

What is the definition of a Diva?

A lot of people have their own opinion on the characteristics of a DIVA and who they think is a DIVA in the music industry. Luminato collaborated with Regent Park Focus and created a writing workshop for the youth. In the beginning it was both boys and girls who attended the writing group. However, the girls seemed more interested in the whole DIVA topic than the boys. Therefore, it was a writing workshop for young girls. The ladies met up every Tuesday as the Luminato crew explored the music world as they incorporated writing schemes.
Special guests were also part of the workshops.

Jody Rosen is the music critic for Rolling Stone Magazine and the online magazine Slate. His articles on popular music have also appeared in The New York Times. Another special facilitator was Canadian writer Carl Wilson, who is the culture editor at the Globe and Mail, and the author of 'Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste', a book about pop culture and Celine Dion. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times and Slate. Other guest speakers included creative people from the Luminato production including the main Diva leader, Jessica Caplan, who told us all about the hard work and planning that goes into putting a festival together.

We also watched different pop videos from various artists and than had a critical discussion on the messages the music video displayed. There were many debates and discussion as we each critiqued the videos. Our goal was to each write an article on a POP DIVA which will be published in the ‘Catch Da Flava’ magazine. Weeks were spent brainstorming who they wanted to write about. The girls researched and listened to various ‘pop diva’ music on the lap tops Regent Park Focus provided. We were also given examples of previously written articles. This helped a lot because we were able to see the different styles and formats of different writers and journalists. Each week the group of young ladies developed creativity and skills as writers.After the girls finished their draft, we helped edit each others work. We all ended up writing great articles. I wrote about a feature on Canadian r&b and soul Diva, Jully Black. Other girls wrote about, Tamil and British Diva, M.I.A, Bollywood music and crazy Lady Gaga.One of the girls even wrote about a Canadian male Pop Diva phenomenon, Justin Bieber.

The Luminato writing workshop brought all of us Divas closer together. We are going to continue the workshop with the knowledge and skills we learned as a group. I informed the young ladies that writing is an essential trait to have. As you keep writing, your skills will develop and you will be able to write professionally. Perhaps, you might want to write for your school newspaper, start a blog, write for a magazine, write a great resume to get you a job or even become an author of a best-selling novel. In addition, the Luminato writing group also explored the Luminato website and got of sense of how everything comes together for the Luminato Festival. Moreover, we all plan on having a girl night as we hit up the Luminato Festival beginning June 11.

We will have the opportunity to watch the Canadian Diva talents and even go backstage. It will be a very eventful week because we get to watch cultural performances, listen to great talents and experience Canadian music. In addition, as a team we are all putting together a discussion panel for Luminato. This is going to be a unique experience because everyone is going to support each other and develop a great discussion music forum. The young Divas have together developed a definition for the meaning DIVA. A Diva is someone who is strong, confident, creative, powerful, driven and talented.

If you are a writer or interested in writing and having your work published, make sure to join the writing and magazine group at Regent Park Focus for an opportunity to be part of a great learning experience. For further information contact Sarah at Regent Park Focus.

~♥*Michele Peter*♥~

Youth Worker and Summer Program Coordinator.

GM Foods

2010-06-08T19:41:00.001-04:00

Speakers: Shamleiy, Saad and Abdi

After hours of contemplating various radio show topics we had all come to the conclusion of talking about GM(genetically modified) foods. All of us being from 3rd world countries we this topic affects us tremendously. We started of speaking about the pro's and con's of GM foods and it turned out being a heated debated. Much information was discovered over the radio such as making GM foods is playing God. In our opinion this show was our best radio show do to the fact that we this show after doing many shows and gaining ample experience. We felt very sensitive about this topic due to our backgrounds and affects that GM foods has on our countries.

Radio show on Obesity

2010-06-08T19:40:00.001-04:00

Speakers: Onik, Saad, Mohammed

> The following radio show was based on : what obesity is, the problems related to obesity, health risks of obesity, preventing obecity, and being cautious about obesity. we spoke briefly on each of the above topics related to obesity. we also spoke about how obesity effects various people such as students, and adults. We also spoke about how to reduce the risks of obesity. We felt the radio show was sort of rusty in the beginning because of nervousness, but later we got into the feeling and starting speaking naturally. overall the radio show went better than the ones we did previously because we learn from our mistake and adapt to different situations.

Women's Rights Radio Show

2010-05-18T23:43:00.004-04:00

Today on the radio show Tres, Anisa, Saeema and Michelle discussed a wide range of issues and subjects such as, abortion in Canada, women losing the right of equal pay, the niqab (similar to the hijab but only the eyes are visible) , the cut on funding for the Gay Pride Parade and rising TTC prices.

One issue that really stumbled us was the abortion topic. Some people may say that it’s wrong because the fetus is person and others may argue, when is the fetus considered a person? We also talked about the Niqab possibly being banned in Quebec. One reason for this is that they want to know who people are. Not much to say about that, other than it just being plain ignorant and its discrimination.

Political issues are also brought up such as, why would the government cut the funding for the Gay Pride Parade? It attracts so many tourists!

Anyways that concludes the brief discussion of our discussion for today’s radio show. Make sure to tune in next time on 88.1 fm CKLN Catch Da Flava Radio!

By Tres

Earth Hour Radio Show

2010-04-13T02:19:00.003-04:00

On tonight's April 13th radio show we talk about last weeks international
event, the Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a an hour dedicated towards Energy conservation by shutting off all electricity outputs such as lights, television, computers...etc for
an hour. Earth Hour's objective is to remind us of the "small" things we can do in order to help save our Earth. Climate change and Global Warming are both relevant to
Earth Hour's objective because it allows us to step back and think of the future consequences our daily habits of energy consumption can cause us.

However is the initiative effective? Is it actually working? And as youth what can
we do? Find out the answers of all of these questions through the voices of your
Youth, the Youth of Regent Park!

By: Onik, Thisaaan, Tamin and Sabbir

Listen Now!

Latin Night at Last Fridays' in March

2010-04-08T13:27:00.000-04:00

Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre did it again! We held another fabulous show at the Daniels Presentation Centre last Friday March 26. This time the show was dedicated to Latin music. The event got started around 6:30 pm with jerk chicken, chicken wings, fried chicken, and rice both brown and white. In other words the audience was well fed. Thanks to the Corner for catering the event. Following the food the event started off with the Regent Park Focus house band, da Youngstas. The audience was then entertained Rino Manfredi who led an interactive workshop on Brazilian drumming. Before we knew it Rino was conducting an orchestra of Brazilian drummers made up of the audience. Let’s just say it was GREAT. Rino was followed by Latin and Flamenco music provided by Alvaro Oyarce. Afterwards we were treated with the hilarious musical stylings of Mark Harris and the house band the Youngstas. The audience was well engaged in the performances and the event ended at 9 pm. Overall Last Friday was fun and interesting like the others. Don’t forget to come to Last Fridays’ on the last Friday of each month.

By Yashekica Lorde

Radio Show Recap

2010-04-06T18:41:00.000-04:00

In this radio show me (Ishtiaque), Bipu and Amer focused on teens and how they are treated around the community. We also talked about parents and how they perceive teens. Of course we also had a daily news where we talked about whats going on around in the world and our city.

Listen Now!

Redevelopment Radio Show

2010-03-30T13:51:00.000-04:00

On our radio show on March 31, 2010 we had Toronto Community Housing Revitalization Consultant Lancefield Morgan and Revitalization Project Manager Liz Root, as guests to talk about the Regent Park Redevelopment. The show was hosted by Rahul, Abdi and Ryan and we discussed a range of issues related to the redevelopment. One of the issues we touched upon was how the redevelopment will impact on the community. We also discussed Regent Park's association with crime.