WHAT:
"The Caribbean Institute of Media Technologies" is a first-of-its-kind media training school, with the specific goal of offering technology-based storytelling skills to those living in underdeveloped nations.
The PRIMARY GOAL is to turn tools of MASS COMMUNICATION (i.e. TV & Radio) into tools of MASS EDUCATION. In so doing, we will partner our students with experts in every field (i.e. reforestation, literacy, health care, etc.) to create extremely high-quality educational programming, and then freely* broadcast those messages around Haiti via DVD field kits, broadcast transmission, internet, and so on. This initiative immediately overcomes several of Haiti's most significant educational challenges:
- Infrastructure. By cooperating with pre-existing NGOs, we can make our materials freely available and thereby experience a groundswell of distribution through non traditional means (like DVD field kits: a player, projector, speaker, screen, and power supply... either solar or generator). To supplement the grassroots distribution, existing infrastructure (TV and radio broadcast towers) will be used to its fullest potential. As demand increases and funding becomes available, additional transmission towers can be erected and more communities can install learning centers where the material is available via satellite streaming of the internet.
- Accessibility. Under this plan, everyone in a village has immediate access to the same quality education. This means that those who are presently excluded from gaining an education (i.e. children who cannot afford a uniform, shoes, or books as well as adults of all ages who have long-since missed out on the opportunity to gain a quality education) can now receive an education that actually rivals that of the expensive schools.
- Illiteracy. Haiti's illiteracy rate is between 52% and 88%. TV and radio immediately allows access to an education for those who cannot read or write. As a matter of fact, with TV we can actually teach literacy!
- Poorly trained teachers. Out of Haiti's 8 million people, very few are teachers. Even fewer are properly trained teachers. Many can barely read themselves and rely heavily upon memorization methods for their students. The resulting "education" is powerless to engage the mind in ways that can lead to sustainable solutions to Haiti's many problems. Our educational materials will engage the minds of viewers in ways that Haiti has thus far not experienced. It is not meant to replace the local teachers but to finally support them with an extremely valuable resource.
- Segmentation. In Haiti, educational materials are generally not crafted to meet the specific educational needs of the age groups. With audio and video educational resources, programs can be targeted directly to age groups and those with special needs (i.e. animation for children, documentaries for adults, and so forth).
- Effectiveness & Sustainability. By pairing our professional storytellers with experts in every field, now every school in possession of our educational resource kit will be able to share highly effective, extremely well-informed information, presented in Kreyol "for Haitians, by Haitians." The resulting "ownership" this causes is essential for the country and for the sustainability of the project.
This is a PILOT PROGRAM. Upon successful completion of the model, it shall be made available for expansion into other underdeveloped nations.
WHO:
While we are excited about seeing this program expand into other underdeveloped nations, our attention is presently focused on the Haitian people and the establishment of a functional program and a stable learning environment inside of Haiti.
WHERE:
The first operational campus of "The Caribbean Institute of Media Technologies" will be based in Cap Haitien, Haiti.
As soon as possible, we will be expanding to include several satellite classrooms elsewhere in Haiti.
WHEN:
We have been conducting ongoing media technology training in Haiti for the past year. Thus far, the response has been remarkable and has pushed us confidently into the next phase of our vision.
We are presently on course to open our first full-time classes in 2009.
HOW:
Haiti is a unique country, built upon a very provocative and volatile history. In its present state, due to the challenges that come with extreme poverty, the resulting social instability, and an overwhelming lack of basic modernization, selecting eligible students and offering them an education in "creative storytelling" requires an approach that is equally unique and culturally relevant. The result is an often non-traditional method of teaching, valuing functionality over form, and drawing from a wide variety of available curriculums, resources, and disciplines.
This program will be "decidedly different" from similarly rated programs in the United States.
"The creative equivalent of a monastery", the institute is a refuge from the struggle of survival and a sanctuary of imagination wherein each student can safely explore and refine their own voice, method, and style in a timeframe that is decidedly unique, determined more by their personal journey than by formula.
Through the pursuit of "creative community" with our students, we strive to not only teach a set of critical storytelling skills, but to likewise imbue and refine a profound sense of confidence within the heart and mind of each student, thereby affording them the confidence to use their burgeoning skills under any circumstance they may face.
The primary educational goal of the the school is to train "creative storytellers" using current and expanding forms of media technologies. We are passionate about seeing each student achieve a level of mastery and refinement in their ability that is deserving of the finest storytelling opportunities to come.
Excellence is our educational objective.
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Please take the time to visit our website (<- Click here) to get personally involved!
It's all right there!
*The use of the word "freely" here is intended to say that the end-viewer is not going to be charged anything to have access to the material. Clearly, the ability to spread these educational messages, whether through DVD field kits or electronic broadcasts, is a costly proposition. That is one of the reasons that you are so vital to what is being done!
