Wide Angle Youth Media

See schedule owide Angle Youth Media ("waym") was formed as a nonprofit corporation under section 501 (c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, under the laws of Maryland on october 30, 2000. Through Media arts education, Wide Angle Youth Media collaborates with and amplifies the voices of baltimore Youth to engage audiences across social divides. Our programs inspire creativity and instill confidence in young people, supporting them to navigate school, career, and life. Waym delivers free and accessible in and out-of-school time creative Youth development programming to more than 400 young people ages 10-24 each year. In fy23, waym exceeded this goal to serve 519 total Youth. Waym participants are engaged as artists, changemakers and leaders as they create Media projects. Across workshops, all programs aim to provide an important educational supplement that builds academic and workforce readiness skills. Waym's curriculum is closely aligned with national Media arts standards, msde arts standards and international society for technology in education (iste) standards for students. Steam- focused learning has been particularly compatible in Media education, with both disciplines integrating investigative, hands- on, and project-based learning that is rooted in real life skills.since the organization's founding in 2000, waym has engaged over 7,790+ baltimore city Youth who have produced hundreds of videos about issues such as Youth identity, safety, health, Media literacy, and racial justice. Fy23 projects included over 550 final video, photography, design, acting projects and virtual events, in addition to client projects. Audience members of waym youth-produced Media continued to grow through online engagement, Media publications, and radio distribution, with over 800,000 estimated live and virtual audience members in fy23.waym implements a pathway of free programming that starts with introductory community workshops and leads to advanced workforce development training. Programs structures vary based on Youth needs, to include in-person, hybrid and fully virtual opportunities in fy23: community voices is a program that provides middle and high school Youth (ages 10-20) with custom introductory Media workshops, tailored to the needs of city schools and local organizations. Baltimore speaks out is a free introductory Media making and creative Youth development program produced in partnership with baltimore city public school sites.high school programs are intermediate-advanced Media production programs for baltimore city high school Youth giving them the opportunity to gain training and develop critical thinking, research skills, storytelling and creative skills by producing short original videos and design campaigns that are distributed locally and nationally.mediaworks is an intensive summer workforce training program run in partnership with youthworks. Youth (ages 14-24) are employed through the build your brand initiative to participate in Media arts and college and career development programming.youth internships and apprenticeships allow young professionals (ages 18-24) the option to gain real-world work experience as part-time and full-time staff. They participate in either Media production, design or communications workforce development tracks. Apprenticeships are registered with the Maryland department of labor and are offered in partnership with arts2work, which is at the forefront of developing Media arts apprenticeships nationally. Wide Angle productions, waym's social enterprise program, provides Media services for nonprofits, foundations, and corporations in the baltimore region while also creating meaningful employment for Youth apprentices. Waym staff act as project managers, mentoring apprentices throughout the process and ensuring that clients receive professional quality Media products. Production work serves as a source of self-sustaining income for waym to support its educational programs, while also providing affordable Media solutions for clients. Clients in fy23 included: abell foundation, mount clare museum, just economy, catholic charities, baltimore homecoming, Maryland state arts council, united way of central Maryland and many others. Examples of recent work can be seen at www.vimeo.com/wideproductions.fy23 participants reflect the demographics of baltimore city. Of those who shared their demographics, 82% black, 4% multiracial, 7% caucasian, 2% hispanic, and 1% asian or american indian or Alaskan native, with an additional 4% undisclosed. 94% of those with demographic information reported self-identified as low income, attended title 1 schools and/or resided in zip codes with low median incomes in alignment with the organization's goal to allocate its resources to historically minoritized communities. (please note - as waym moves towards more equitable practices, demographic information is not required for Youth to participate in programs).in the coming year, Wide Angle will continue to leverage its resources to uplift Youth voices; provide Media engagement to under-invested communities; holistically engage Youth; build relationships with students, organizational partners, and fee-for-service clients; and broaden its impact through programming and more intentional systems change work. In fy23, Wide Angle launched a capital fundraising campaign for its new headquarters, a 9,000+ square foot education and Media production facility, Wide angles studios at the service center. Doors are planned to open in fall 2024, and will serve 2,250+ program participants over the first five years.