FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 26, 2018
Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office Announces Media Apprenticeship
In Collaboration With BRIC
Part of Initiative to Create Alternatives to Incarceration
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with BRIC President Leslie G. Schultz, today announced a media apprenticeship program for young men enrolled in court-involved youth programs. This partnership is supported by the Brooklyn Community Foundation and its Invest in Youth initiative.
Brooklyn District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Through this partnership we can put into place one of our Justice 2020 goals, which is reducing incarceration and working in collaboration with community partners to promote safety and strengthen our communities. This apprenticeship will introduce at-risk youth to media, film and television production through an intense set of workshops designed to provide them with the skills and training necessary to pursue a career.”
The BRIC Project Re-Direct Media Apprenticeship Program is funded through a $25,000 grant from Brooklyn Community Foundation and a $10,000 grant from the DA’s Office. The apprenticeship will be comprised of young men ages 16 to 22 ¬¬¬¬who are participants in Bureau of Youth Diversion programs, Project Re-Direct and Youth & Congregations in Partnership, who have expressed an interest in media production. The goal of this program is to teach the participants video production, storytelling and production skills.
Leslie Schultz, President of BRIC said, “Amplifying the voices of our Brooklyn youth is central to BRIC’s mission. This partnership expands BRIC’s commitment to arts and media for all, and allows us to offer talented young Brooklynites a powerful platform with which to share their stories and creative vision.”
As part of the media apprenticeship, the young men will learn how to produce podcasts, videos and short documentary films. The apprenticeship will have two levels of training: basic and intermediate. After successfully completing Level 1 and Level 2 training, the participants will be designated as BRIC “Certified Community Producers” which will allow them free access to the equipment and studio facilities of BRIC. Participants will produce their own original content which will be aired on Brooklyn Free Speech TV and its online platforms.
BRIC will also support the participants’ efforts to secure additional opportunities to extend their training and increase their potential for job placement by applying for the Made in New York Post Production Training Program which is administered by Brooklyn Workforce Innovations. BRIC media education staff will work with young people to review the program requirements and develop their applications.
Level 1 of the program’s daytime sessions will run from March 22 to April 19, and the evening sessions will run from April 26 to May 24. The Level 2 sessions will run from May 31 to June 28.
This apprenticeship is the result of a pilot program from last summer that was funded by the Brooklyn DA’s Office and BRIC, through $10,000 and $5,000 grants, respectively.
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