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A Cross-Cultural Digital Media Dialogue between Hamburg and Chicago

PROJEKT.XCHANGE

Promoting international cultural cooperation—part of the extensive mission of the Goethe-Institut, the Federal Republic of Germany’s official cultural representative—succeeds best through projects which bring together individuals from around the world while being accessible to audiences everywhere. Drawing on the longstanding ties between Chicago and the German city of Hamburg, the Goethe-Institut has teamed up with Chicago’s Free Spirit Media and the Hamburg radio and television station TIDE to get high school students from both sides of the Atlantic dialoging about the issues young adults see themselves facing, and how to address them constructively. TIDE and FSM share a common goal: each help young people find their authentic voices by using digital media to tell their stories. FSM focuses on underserved urban youth, while TIDE works with young people from immigrant backgrounds. Both organizations give their participants the skills to work effectively in video production while providing airtime for the finished works.

What happens when youth from different backgrounds who share a common skill-set get talking about the issues they see confronting them, as they will this summer via the special blog set up for this project (PROJEKT.XCHANGE)? How will these frank and surprising conversations factor in to the short videos the participants will make for broadcast in Hamburg and Chicago, videos which will also be available for general viewing on the Internet? And how will the research trips the Chicago and Hamburg groups make to each other’s cities impact the finished products and the young peoples’ experience of the project as a whole? Follow the blog and check this website for updates as the project unfolds.

For more specific information, contact Werner Ott at