Successes
Active Arts Youth Conference provided a collaborative forum to educate, inspire and mobilize the hip hop generation to use active arts to promote positive action in Boston and beyond.
Reflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities was the theme of artistic messages submitted by middle-school students for this city-wide PTD contest.
Changing Channels: Redefine Your Media Mind. Middle and high school students learned about stereotypes in the media at this Northeastern University conference.
Who’s Next? Witness, Perpetrator, Survivor Conference on Girls and Violence. We used the arts and pop culture to help young women who were survivors of violence find solutions to this pervasive social problem…
Word Life: A Conference on Hip Hop and Faith. Hip-hop and faith-based communities came together to talk about music, spirituality, and social change.
Martin Luther King Day Shake Up The World! We showed participants how the film creation process influences our perceptions of ourselves and others at this special conference
Donate
now through Project: Think Different Project: Think Different — Music, Film and Video that empowers you to think differently and think BIG about your ability to change the world Related link: |
Engage in action
 Artist
participating in the Witness, Perpetrator,
Survivor Conference on Girls and Violence |
 Students
at the 2002 Active Arts Youth Conference in
the Freedom Songs workshop |
 Kids
perform for the Reflection in Action contest judges |
Interested in the role of media in popular culture? Want to ignite dialogue within your organization, classroom, or community group about the impact of pop culture on our perceptions of ourselves and others? Looking for a way to unite with others to address pressing community and social issues through the arts?
Get in touch with Project: Think Different to create a forum that engages your consituency.
PTD creates forums that increase civic engagement and promote dialogue. We partner with organizations to create these cutting-edge forums for civic engagement that use pop culture arts and media to promote community awareness and action. Our forums for engagement generally fall under one of the following formats:
- Interactive conferences
- Panel discussions and teach-ins
- Circles of Change
- Plunge experiences and exchange programs
- Music, film + video competitions
Our approach to using pop-culture media for social transformation is rooted in our mission to create a culture of engagement where people grow up using the power of their voices and actions to shape their communities.
From classrooms to churches to community groups, through small, ongoing groups or large, one-time gatherings, we bring you exciting new opportunities to empower your community. Join our mailing list to receive regular updates on upcoming events.
For examples of our current projects and past successes, click a link in the left column. Or email or call us at 617.320.6433 to find out more about customizable offerings.
Successes
Active Arts Youth Conference
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PTD co-sponsored the Active Arts Youth Conference in collaboration with AFSC's Critical Breakdown, Institute for Policy Studies, and Boston Mobilization. The AAYC focuses on educating, inspiring, and mobilizing the Hip Hop generation towards positive action. Special Guests have included Danny Glover and Benjamin Chavis Muhammed. The AAYC is a youth-led event committed to creating an environment that is reflective of the perspectives and priorities of diverse young people. People of all ages come together to support youth development, engagement and leadership. We explore topics such as arts activism, pressing social justice issues, and creative strategies for change. The conference has been held at Northeastern University and UMASS Boston and attended by over 1000 people each year. Conference objectives were to:
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Participants
write socially conscious hip hop lyrics in the Freedom songs workshopReflection in Action: Building Healthy Communities
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In December 2003, Project: Think Different led a city-wide arts contest for middle-school students. Using poetry, dance, paintings, collage, and essay, the students created artistic messages expressing their ideas about building healthy communities. Harvard Medical School sponsored an intergenerational community event, keynoted by Julian Bond, President NAACP, to showcase the students’ work. |
Contestants
rock the judges in the Reflection in Action artistic message competitionChanging Channels: Redefine Your Media Mind
High school and middle school students from Boston and beyond attended this October 2003 conference at Northeastern University to learn about stereotypes in the media. The conference featured a panel of reporters, writers, journalists, on-air personalities such as Wild Boy, and local officials, including Chuck Turner. Project: Think Different artists Ayisha Knight, Das Dreher, Kiki Breevlife and others, were joined by local activists to educate the youth about stereotypes in the media through their inspiring performances. back to top |
Who’s Next? Witness, Perpetrator, Survivor Conference on Girls and Violence
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In 2003 Project: Think Different teamed up with Freedom House to produce this conference in Dorchester, a Boston neighborhood with a high rate of violence among women. Survivors shared their personal experiences with 13-18 year-old girls through interactive arts and pop culture media, encouraging participants to share their own encounters with violence. Our video of the conference has become an organizing tool for other groups to help girls express their perspectives on violence and how it affects them personally. The video was discussed and previewed on Neighborhood Network News and on BNN’s shows: “Its Our Business” and “Street Peace” |
Poster
advertising the Girls in Violence conference... Word Life: A Conference on Hip Hop and Faith
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We organized this first of its kind three-day conference , held at Andover Newton Theological School, MA in April 2002. Attended by a diverse gathering of over 300 people, it explored the historical link between spirituality, music, and social reform. Our purpose was to facilitate a dialogue between the Hip Hop community and faith-based organizations, both of which have been voices for marginalized populations, and to encourage validation and support. The conference drew media attention to the fact that many people are interested in the intersection of music, spirituality and social change demonstrating that there is popular support for these empowering messages. |
Hip
hop dance troupe jams with the audience at the Word Life conferenceMartin Luther King Day Shake Up The World!
In January 2003, college students and youth organizations came together in a conference at MIT focusing on civic engagement, social responsibility and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. PTD presented a media literacy workshop on how the film creation process, from technical effects to shot angles, affects the way viewers look at other people and themselves. We also produced a short video to illustrate what the participants learned. back to top |
