The Boys and Girls Club of Airdrie (BGCA) is offering a weekly videography camp that will teach aspiring YouTube stars about the technical aspects of the industry and equip them for better online safety.
The YouTube camp, which will run every Wednesday evening from April 21 to May 29, is one of the many employment programs that BGCA offers its members.
“If you ask a teenager what job they want in the future, their first answer is almost always YouTube, so we know that a lot of young people really look up to those famous YouTube stars,” said Sammy Morros, coordinator of youth programs and services for BGCA. “We thought, why not capitalize on that excitement and create a program that really explores it as a career?”
Throughout the six weeks, participants will learn how to shoot and edit video, record audio and edit it all together into a final product. Morros said BGCA is trying to make the camp as close to a real YouTube experience as possible and will also cover topics such as monetization and advertising.
BGCA is able to proceed with in-person sessions as the club is deemed a child-care program by Alberta Health. Morros added BGCA is fortunate enough to have the facility and technology to allow each member to work on their own project and be distanced from others.
“We really Frankensteined our tech centre with dividers and all sorts of stuff,” Morros said. “We invested a lot into getting new technology so that youth are able to work independently.
“We want kids who are passionate about YouTube and who are looking to set out online to be able to do that with knowledge and with confidence and in a way that is safe,” she added.
According to Morros, in-person safety is important to BGCA during the camp, but there will also be an added emphasis on online safety for the aspiring YouTubers. Therefore, a significant portion of the camp will delve into the importance of online safety.
“Technology is such a huge part of our daily lives and especially in a pandemic type of setting, I think anyone that works in the field will tell you that cyberbullying is a big problem for a lot of youth today and you see it more and more all the time,” she said. “It’s important to understand how to handle those types of things, where to go and what resources to access if you are experiencing cyberbullying.”
The coordinator also added that online privacy, or what people should and shouldn’t post online, will also be discussed at the camp.
“We think those are really valuable skills for anyone to have, but certainly teenagers as they’re embarking on to the online world for the first time,” said Morros.
Registration is open to BGCA members for a one-time $15 program fee. For those wanting to become a member of BGCA, there is an annual fee of $30. Registration is open on BGCA’s website at bgcairdrie.com/program
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
