The Youth Advisory Council partnered with Radio Future Hour where YAC members planned and recorded two thought-provoking podcasts that were then aired on the radio. Radio Future Hour is “a collaboration between social justice radio station KNSJ and UCSD’s Arts and Community Engagement Initiative. The project commissions regional youth leaders working with local community organizations to build podcasts that explore issues most relevant to them and their collective futures. The resulting dialogues offer thoughtful, practical, empathetic, and grounded perspectives on local, national, and global issues, giving all of us optimism for better tomorrows.”
The first podcast was recorded by YAC members Shamseldin, Jibril, and Salah. In this podcast titled “Mass Incarceration”, the group has a frank and moving discussion about mass incarceration and growing up young and black in the USA. They touch on community role models, the importance of empathy and second-chances, and hopes for reform for a system we all know is broken but infuriatingly continues to go un-fixed.
The second podcast was recorded by YAC members Claire and Aisha. Their podcast, “The Many Complications of COVID-19” features a refreshingly edifying, wide-ranging, and empathetic conversation on the many challenges and difficulties facing youth, but also all of us, as we continue to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The youth involved in this exciting project described the experience as eye-opening and a valuable learning opportunity for building media and communication skills.