Youth Leadership Task Force in the News!

D.C. Students Take To Youtube To Talk Teen Pregnancy
Courtney Collins

April 13, 2011 - The DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is teaching a group of teen girls to be peer educators and giving them a chance to star in their own short films at the same time.

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The teenagers are members of the Campaign's Youth Leadership Task Force, which enables young people to work to increase awareness among their friends and classmates about teen pregnancy.

Every few weeks, this group of girls produce their own video with a message. They've developed a "Teen Talk" sessions with real students discussing real issues, and also a "Trending Topics" series in which they act out scenarios that students are facing every day. In the past, they've tackled heavy topics like bullying and unprotected sex.

The students are filming their latest installment this week. While the process is involved, Program Manager Erica McKinney says the girls do it all themselves.

"Script, write, edit, produce and film their own videos that talk about their own personal experiences and experiences that other teens in D.C. are affected by," McKinney says.

The current video is about body image, and helping teens embrace their imperfections. One of the students, Nya, says working on this video is a great way to reach teens that would normally turn away from this kind of advice if it came from an adult.

"So as a group of teenagers we can say, 'we know what you're doing right now and we can relate to you because were a teenager too,'" Nya says.

The Youth Leadership Task Force video program is open to high school aged girls. The group meets weekly at two locations: the Campaign's offices in Shaw and the Woodson High School 9th Grade Academy, currently located in Ronald H. Brown Middle School.

Trending Topics: #mybiggestmistake

The Shaw Youth Leadership Task Force decided to take note from the social networking world by centering their videos around the concept of the "trending topic". A "trending topic" is a feature used on twitter to call attention to issues that concerns a large group of people. Every few weeks the girls will produce a film that will deal with another trending topic. This weeks themes was "#mybiggestmistake". The hash mark/pound symbol is the way that a trending topic is symbolized on both twitter and other social networking sites. The following video and corresponding blog entry was written, filmed and produced by the teens. 


    Making mistakes are common for everyone, but learning from your mistake is where it counts. Teen pregnancy is a big issue in today's world, especially in the U.S. Practicing abstinence is the best way to not become pregnant. If you are having sex, it is best to practice safe sex by using condoms every time and talking to your doctor about other forms of birth control. You should also let someone close to you know about your sexual activities in case anything happens that may harm you or cause you danger. Always remember that there is a solution to your problems. Be safe and protect yourself.

We want to hear from you! Please let us know what you think! 

What's the biggest issue DC teens deal with?

The following blog post and correlating video was written, filmed and edited by DC Campaign Youth Leadership Task Force members from Woodson High school (Neshaun, Nae, Darlisha, Kayla, Diamond and Shanice). Please enjoy and feel free to leave comments and feedback.


Teen Pregnancy is affecting teens everywhere. Some teens are having sex at a young age and they are not protecting themselves from getting pregnant. Teens should always talk to an adult about having sex. Another issue many teens deal with is they don't know how to properly use condoms and that's why they don't use them when having sex.

If teens want to have sex they should go to someone they trust or to a clinic or doctor to help them learn how to protect themselves and how to use condoms and other forms of contraception. Teens should also stay educated on all the risks of  sex so they can be better equipped to make smart decisions.

Two Groups, One Misson

The Youth Leadership Task Force is a program designed to teach teen girls in the District how to use media as a form of advocacy. Girls are taught how to script, film, produce, edit, and promote videos that discuss issues that affect teens in the city. There are two YLTF groups : one that meets weekly at our Shaw office and another that meets at the Woodson High School 9th grade academy (temporarily located at Ronald H. Brown Middle School).

Every few weeks, both groups will produce a film and corresponding blog entries that will discuss the topic featured in the video. All blog entries and scripts are written by the teens. We hope that you enjoy and leave comments.

New Videos Coming Soon

Both groups of the Youth Leadership Task Force have been working on new videos that will be posted as soon as possible. Please check back soon to see all new exciting updates. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining the Youth Leadership Task Force please contact Erica McKinney at emckinney@dccampaign.org

Live Your Life

Peer Pressure is something that many teens deal with no matter where they're from. With this in mind, we decided to shine a light on this issue with our first video. We decided to make this particular video similar to a news talk show (TNN-Teen News Network). This video was completely scripted, filmed, produced and edited by members of the Youth Leadership Task Force. Comments are welcome! We hope you enjoy...

WELCOME

The Youth Leadership Task Force (YLTF) takes a group of girls from various DC schools and teaches them advocacy and leadership through media. The members of YLTF learn to create, script, film and produce short videos on topics of their choice that discuss issues that affect teens in DC.