Democracy in Action

No democracy can thrive with indifference. The power of every democracy is the power to learn and act upon that knowledge.

The Youth Citizen-Journalist Network (YCJN) is a social media video and text-reporting educational project sponsored by Instituto de Formación Democrática (the Institute of Democratic Education). YCJN is aligned with the National Student/Parent Mock Election's civics-education program that promotes democracy and voter-education programs.

The project launched in August 2009 and has expanded to include articles written by teenagers in every state. Our aim is to expand the role of citizen-journalism within the context of being an informed citizen.

High school and middle school students are invited to send their informed opinions and articles about democracy, voting, elected officials at all levels, candidates for public office, and the national and local issues that affect America's youth and and their families. Articles can be sent to: newsroom@ycjn.us . Details are available on this website.

All content will conform to recognized journalistic standards and ethics and will be monitored by professional editors.

Endorsements

We are extremely happy that the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, a 50-year-old foundation that encourages young people to consider careers in journalism, has endorsed YCJN. Articles requested from high school newspapers will follow guidelines similar to the ones used by the Newspaper Fund's quarterly publication, These Struck Our Fancy.

The Newspaper Association of America Foundation and the Student Press Law Center also have endorsed YCJN.

Community-based news about democracy and the electoral process in the United States will form the initial core content of the YCJN. As the network grows, localized content from communities around the United States will merge into a global stream aimed at improving the role of citizens in every democracy.

Over time, the melding of community-centered news with an evolving perspective on "outside" news that reflects the community's interest will result in multiple localized versions of the YCJN throughout the U.S. and Latin America, each one a unique lens to view the world.

What Is Citizen Journalism

Citizen-journalism, sometimes called civic journalism, is the democratization of news content, but not all news content is citizen-journalism.

The old adage of "Man Bites Dog" still applies. What is deemed "news" is a matter of selection. What citizen-journalism and the Internet allow now is for more news, pushing the process of selection from the hands of a few into the hands of many.

The responsibility this represents lies upon all citizens, from an early age and throughout every community.

The Vote

A primary goal of the YCJN is to energize the nation's youth as they become informed and involved in the electoral process leading up the 2010 Congressional elections and the 2012 Presidential election. This is where voting in the National Student/Parent Mock Election comes into play.

The Mock Election is the nation's oldest youth civic-education project. Since its founding in 1980, more than 65 million students throughout the U.S. and abroad have been introduced to the nation's most important act of democracy: THE VOTE.

We hope you will view this YouTube video, which describes the 2008 Mock Election.

Also, you are invited to send us your input about this Web site via our Twitter microblogging account. You can reach us at: www.twitter.com/ycjn .

Background and Purpose of YCJN

The Youth Citizen-Journalist Network began as a 2008 grant-winning program called OjoVoz, a project of the Instituto de Formación Democrática (IFD). It was created to develop citizen journalists using cell-phone technology in Puerto Rico, then in the U.S. and other countries.

However, since the donor wanted a business model immediately, the co-founders of the organization thought the drive to create "instant" revenue would jeopardize the educational/civic aspect. Therefore, they declined the grant in order to further develop the project.

OjoVoz was reorganized in 2009 as the Youth Citizen-Journalist Network, expressly as a journalism/civic-education program titled "Informed Democracy 101" aimed at middle and high school students. The YCJN is a platform that unites journalism education with civics education, using the communications media of today's teenagers: cell phones and the Internet.

The goal is to develop a nationwide network of high school and middle school students who will help build democracy's present and future with reporting about voting, political campaigns and the issues that concern today's young people and their families.

International Future for YCJN

The Instituto de Formación Democrática (IFD), founded in Puerto Rico, represents the National Student/Parent Mock Election in the Caribbean and Latin America.

IFD, which sponsors YCJN, received a grant in 2009 from the federal Election Assistance Commission to operate gubernatorial Mock Elections in Virginia and New Jersey.

Long-range plans call for the YCJN to expand to other nations in order to give young people worldwide a voice about democracy and voting, as well as local, national and international issues that affect them and their families.

The use of the cell phone and "smartphones" by young people, easily more available than computers, will expedite those long-range plans.