Diversity in Media is Theme of Media Education Conference

March 12 , 2005 – With the majority of newspapers, TV networks, and radio stations in the hands of an ever-dwindling number of owners, the country’s leading media education organizationis calling for Americans to explore whether our media truly represent and serve Americans of all ages, genders, ethnicities, abilities, and income—and to find solutions in media literacy, an emerging educational priority in US schools from kindergarten through college.

The Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA) will hold its 3rd biennial National Media Education Conference ( www.NMEC.org) in San Francisco, June 25-28, 2005.

The theme, “Giving Voice to a Diverse Nation,” will focus attention on the role of media in American life and will challenge conference attendees to explore the ways in which media can and should serve all citizens and their communities.

It will also help educators, health professionals, activists, teachers, parents, and others learn how powerful media images shape our perceptions and values, particularly with regard to diversity. The conference will further focus on youth making media and the opportunities now available for youth voices to be heard through new multimedia technologies now becoming available.

“Media literacy education is very much about addressing today’s culture through the lens of Catholic social teaching,” said presenter and media literacy specialist Sister Rose Pacatte, who is also an award-winning author and film/TV columnist for St. Anthony Messenger. “This conference is for parents, teachers, catechists and clergy and all those who want to learn and share skills abouthow to navigate our media culture and give voice to all people, young and old, in a diverse nation.”

Gloria Tristani , the managing director of the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communications and a former FCC commissioner will be one of several featured speakers who both represent and advocate for diversity in media in many ways—race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, economic, and more. Large- and small-group sessions will alsofocus on the impact of media on health, substance abuse, self-image, commercialism and many other topics.

“The AMLA ( www.amlainfo.org) is committed to a practice of media literacy education that encourages hope rather than cynicism, and participation rather than passivity,” says AMLA President Lynda Bergsma. “Media literacy education goes beyond critique and analysis of media to critical and creative thinking, visual literacy, media production, lifelong learning, and participatory democracy.”

Featured speakers at the four day conference include:

• Alan November -- named one of the 15 influential thinkers of the decade by Classroom Computer Learning magazine. November will show how expanding communication boundaries for students, through blogging and a variety of other media tools, can impact student motivation across the curriculum, providing them with global communication skills.

• Kenny Smith is a media literacy and government teacher at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he designed the introductory course for Blair’s Media Literacy Academy. In his keynote address, Smith will help attendees understand hip-hop music and culture, and how it can be used to engage teenagers to have a positive voice in their own communities.
  
• David Buckingham is professor of education at the University of London, where he directs the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media. A renowned media scholar, Buckingham promotes critical thinking and self-esteem as the key components of media literacy education. Rather than portray mass media as totally negative, Buckingham suggests that we should respect youngsters' intelligence and accept the pleasure children get from their interaction with the media.
  
• Carlos Cortes, an award-winning writer, teacher and public speaker, is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, Riverside. Cortes builds upon the dynamics of history to help to improve intergroup understanding.

• Rose Pacatte, FSP , M.Ed. in Media Studies from the Institute of Education, University of London, holds a Certificate in Pastoral Communications from the University of Dayton and is member of the summer staff as well as an online facilitator for media, faith and values courses. She is a national and international specialist in media literacy training for teachers and parents and the film/TV critic for St. Anthony Messenger Magazine. Sr. Rose will speak on character education and media literacy.

• Ronald Takaki is one of the nation's preeminent scholars of multicultural studies. The grandson of Japanese immigrant plantation laborers, he holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of California, Berkeley where he has been a professor of Ethnic Studies for three decades.

Takaki and Cortes provide the NMEC’s keynote plenary session in the form of a conversation: Two outstanding scholars discussing how the media teach about – and reflect – diversity.

“I am a founding member of the Alliance for a Media Literate America,” said Sr. Elizabeth Thoman, CHM, founder of the Los Angeles-based Center for Media Literacy and pioneer in the field of media education, “and I have participated in all of the national conferences since 1996. They are invaluable venues for teachers, religious educators and youth leaders to meet others and learn teaching techniques to take back home to their schools and parishes, youth and parenting programs. It is critical for all faith communities to help young people gain the skills they will need to live and work productively in the 21 st century media culture. The National Media Education Conference is important for religious educators and youth leaders to attend because it offers proactive and positive solutions.”

Sr. Thoman, who is also founding editor of Media&Values magazine, will offer her popular Media Literacy 101 seminar as one of several all-day pre-conference sessions on Saturday, June 25. The interactive seminar is designed to introduce key concepts and core principles of media literacy to parents, teachers, and clergy new to the field. 

By bringing together a diverse alliance of individuals and organizations – teachers, parents, faith community leaders, social service agencies, public health leaders, and those in media and technology organizations – the National Media Education Conference is a key force in bringing media literacy education to all 60 million students in the United States, their parents, their teachers, and others who care about youth.

More information, full conference details and online registration are available on the conference website www.nmec.org