Media Org Gives Underserved Youth a Voice

Project Set is a nonprofit media arts organization that reaches underserved youth in New York City through media literacy training programs, mentorships and leadership seminars.   Founded in 2006 by Alisha Cowan-Vieira, Project Set’s vivacious Executive Director, the organization educates young people on the media industry and encourages civic engagement.  “I really believe it’s important for young people to gain access to media production and learn the necessary skills so they have the knowledge to create and disseminate information on the issues that are important to them,” Ms. Cowan-Vieira said over coffee one rainy afternoon.  “We are trying to give them the necessary tools to use their voices,” she added.

At 29, Ms. Cowan-Vieira boasts a resume well beyond her years.  She is a graduate of NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and Howard University, and has worked in event production and public affairs at MTV Networks, as well as in production on the Campbell Brown show at CNN.  Currently, Ms. Cowan-Vieira spends her days at the Harpo studios in Rockefeller Plaza as a producer on the relatively new Dr. Oz show.  And sometime in between all of her full time jobs and master’s degree, Ms. Cowan-Vieira founded Project Set.  With a background that blends broadcast media expertise, public policy and management, and strategic partnerships with major nonprofits, Cowan-Vieira was uniquely positioned to start the organization.  “I knew a lot of talented people in film and television that wanted to give back to the community,” she said.  “Also just working in media, I personally saw the need for greater diversity.  I realized that – given the right opportunity – a lot of kids could flourish in the industry.”

Part of Project Set’s mission is to help underserved youth develop a heightened awareness of the mass media’s influence on culture.  They do this through a ten-week intensive curriculum, during which time select high school students attend weekend workshops and seminars that teach them how to dissect messaging and think critically.  Project Set takes on 12-15 students per year to participate in the program; students are interviewed and chosen based on their interest in media, school performance and overall need.  At these Saturday sessions, the students also work on independent projects, learning how to write scripts, produce segments, edit clips, market content and finance their work from media professionals that have included MTV’s on air talent and New Line Cinema’s Senior Vice President of Production and Development.  Past sessions have taken place at various corporate offices and public school facilities where the media equipment is all donated.  “By connecting our kids to media professionals in the field, we are exposing them to what’s out there and showing them what’s possible,” Cowan-Vieira said.

Putting youth behind the mic/lens/camera is an interesting trend in traditional broadcast media.  National Public Radio’s show Radio Rookies has earned accolades for its work to train youth from under-resourced NYC neighborhoods in radio production.  The topics for the Rookies’ segments are chosen and produced by the kids themselves, under the guidance of more seasoned producers.  Like those of the Project Set students, subjects range from living in poverty and personal obstacles at home, to education and the environment.  About the process, Radio Rookies’ Senior Producer, Kaari Pitkin, told the NY Daily News, “This is about youth development and media production together.  The shared experience gives them a deeper appreciation for each other, and as a group they become strong.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many of the youth media organizations working to empower underserved populations through media literacy programs.  And in what may prove to be another chance to further elevate the cause, Project Set has been selected as one of the organizations to participate in the Chase Community Giving Awards on Facebook.  As a registered 501(c)(3) organization with an operating budget of well under $10 million, Project Set definitely qualifies to enter the giveaway of $5MM, of which 100 charities will receive $25K, five charities will receive $100K and one charity will receive $1MM.  Just how her organization was chosen, however, remains a mystery to Ms. Cowan-Vieira, who mentioned she is working on a grant with Chase.

If awarded one of the prizes, Project Set, which only has a fulltime staff of four, would be able to take on more kids and amplify resources for equipment.  The award could also help to maintain the organization’s website, which is in dire need of updating (at least to showcase the student-produced projects), and boost their social media presence (they are on Facebook but that’s about it).  In response to critics who say the move is Chase’s ploy to regain consumer support post financial crisis, Cowan-Vieira said, “I understand that view, but ultimately I have to ask, is it better that Chase does this or nothing at all?  In that sense, I think it is beneficial to small groups like us.”  After a pause she added, “Plus the world is too interconnected.  It’s naïve to think that raising capital can be so pure when on a global scale so much capital is held by so few anyway.”

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