Please visit the DOTCOM Program Forum for all modules, news, staff and student blogs, and links to relevant sites, including the DOTCOM YouTube page and Twitter feed: http://www.netvibes.com/phdotcom#DOTCOM-Home_Page
The Developing Online Tools for Community Outreach and Mobilization (DOTCOM) program engaged media-savvy and civically-engaged youth from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the U.S. and provided training and opportunities for young people to create socially conscious media impacting communities across the U.S. and the Caucasus. The program was sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and supported by a global network of organizations that include OneWorldTV, ListenUp!, Young People’s Media Network and the International Youth Media Summit.
The first phase of the program began in early 2009, when ninety Armenian, American and Azerbaijani students began their online collaboration by exploring youth issues through the lens of media, ultimately creating their own documentaries, digital stories, short films, public service announcements and other media for distribution internationally.
In May 2009, the second phase of the project began. Based on their achievements in the first phase, 30 students (ten per country) were selected as program finalists, and traveled to the U.S. in July 2009 for advanced media and social action training. In March 2010, ten American high school students will meet their Azerbaijani and Armenian peers in Tbilisi for a two-day regional media conference to showcase their work to a global audience. American students will then travel to Azerbaijan and Armenia.
All students in DOTCOM also have an opportunity to vie for mini-grants to implement civic initiatives based on their selected social issues.
