For confidentiality purposes the names of professors and subjects involved in the process have been altered.
Presently, over 25 thousand youth are in juvenile detention centers across the country. This fact in mind, how is it possible that all these youth are being educated to the state standard? That exact question is what one professor from Northwestern University sought to figure out.
Academic Research as a tool for change
At Northwestern University, in the School of Education & Social Policy, Professor Smith was conducting an academic research project into how the youth were learning in Juvenile Centers. What kind of resources did they have? Was the instruction up to standards? These were the kinds of questions she needed to answer. Professor Smith found the best way to go about understanding the conditions was to speak directly to the youth. So, Professor Smith conducted interviews and gathered conversations with consenting participants to discover an understanding of their experiences.
Smith wanted to show this research at a large-scale conference to be heard by many academics and change makers. However, Smith decided that she didn’t want to speak on behalf of the youth subjects, as these were their stories to tell. For the mission, it was vital to center these youth’s voices at the conference. But finding an avenue to do that was a challenge.
The team to amplify the Youth’s voices
Dr. Smith knew of some current students at Northwestern who were passionate about audio engineering, hip-hop, and Djing. These students happened to work in the same research lab on campus. Taking the leap, Professor Smith asked these students for their help and insight. The creative team started by going through each interview that featured youth. They organized their conversations by themes and took these audio files to produce an audio production. This audio production featured each theme, music, and most importantly the youth’s voices. At the conference, this audio production created a platform for storytelling. It centered on juvenile voices that were the heart of Professor Smith’s academic research.
Foundation to Creative Capitol
This project showcases Creative Capitol before it was Creative Capitol, a few college students empowered by the desire to uplift their community. These efforts were really the catalyst for the Founder of Creative Capitol to realize that this work could be turned into a larger movement. Our audio production that changed the way juvenile voices were listened to showed us that this is our lane, amplifying the unheard voices of our community. Even more than that, we realized that we can achieve this goal not just through audio engineering, but all forms of media production.
Creative Capitol makes everyone’s voice and mission alike heard, no matter the form of media. Interested in amplifying your organization’s mission in a creative way? Reach out today to get started.