Young Journalists Find Their Voice

June 10, 2010 by Meagan Demitz, Global Press Institute

"Journalism is about finding the truth." "It is about giving people a voice when they can't speak for themselves." "Journalism means telling the stories that your community needs to know." "Being a journalist means having the power to stand up for what you believe in."

These are some of the comments, no, declarations that came from the group discussion we had yesterday: What is journalism to you? What does it mean to be a journalist? With hands shooting up in the air, the girls answered one after another, that journalism means more than just writing articles, taking pictures, or filming current events -- journalism means having the capacity to implement change in their communities, something many of them expressed was a goal for their future as professional women.

And the girls take this seriously in everything they do. From their introductions on the first day to the enthusiasm with which they approach each writing or broadcast exercise, their intentions are bursting with passion for this work. During one of our breaks during the afternoon of day 1, I asked some of the girls, "why do you want to be a journalist?" Because we want to see things change, they responded. Journalists have the power to make things better and I want to be part of that change, one of them added. Journalists of the world take note: These words of wisdom come from the mouths of teenagers, some only 15 years old and yet they are more central to our mission as reporters than many of us can even articulate. They are words all of us should live by.

As an observer in this whole process, what has been amazing so far for me has been the breathe of knowledge and perception these young women have about the world around them. It is fresh. It is sharp. They see the news from a point of view that we as adults so often fail to take into account: From the point of view of our peers. They listen in ways we cannot possibly match -- they observe events from the eye of the storm, as young women living in South Africa they see the entire series of events that is the 2010 World Cup from a wholly different vantage point than, say, the writer of this blog. Watching these young women as they harness this raw, untamed passion into words and pictures has, thus far, been an unbelievable site and as we release them into the field at the end of this week, into fan parks, the stadiums, to the streets to interview the Soweto community about the World Cup, and into people's homes to observe and report on how South Africans are celebrating this epic event, I anticipate an even greater growing process.

During this week and next, we will be getting the girls on board with their first articles and blogs. For many of these young women, this will be their first introduction to using the Internet as a medium of expression and we can't wait to see how this tool will propel the girls to new heights and ideas.

So, the next few updates will be coming from the girls themselves. Stay tuned for pictures of the girls latest event -- a site visit to the Nike Training Centre on Wednesday, June 8th, and the upcoming weekend opening activities of the World Cup. So far it's been a pretty amazing journey -- I can't wait to see where it will all end up.