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!
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