resource, dialogue, & projects wiki for the "Engaged Media Workshop" @ REMAP-TFT-UCLA
a module of Remapping-LA

From En_gag_e

Yesterday 17 March, our group, Mojan, Cristina, Matt and Josephine and Marco spent the whole day in William Mead housing complex. The experience was amazing for me. We took 9 Nokia N8 with us in order to give the opportunity to the residence for exploring their lives in the area. The initial idea was to inform the people about the LA river revitalization. We discovered that most of the people in the area are not aware of the plan. Jerry the person in charge of the Boys and Girls club was a big help for us as he provided us with all we need for the day, so we settled in the club. What I did personally was to walk around the area and talk to the residents about different stuff. Almost all of them had no idea about the river plan. They were very approachable and willing to talk. Most of the neighbor hood consists of Latinos and also Vietnamese. Most of my interactions were with Latinos from all age group. I found very interesting information’s from the area. The participants openly talked about their problems and needs with out any discomfort. As some of them had a little English Marco and Cristina helped me with the communication? It was so nice to work with the kids and teenagers. They were very easy to talk to. With all their problems, they liked the area and couldn't even think about living anywhere else. When I asked them what you want for your area, almost all of them mentioned "A POOL". I've recorded few interviews with my Nokia N80 also with a mini DV cam. Over all I am so happy with the result, and I wished I could continue working with the people. I found the huge potential in the kids of William Mead which you can see part of it the gallery. Their works are deep and artistic. They picked up working with N80 very quickly, and did excellent contribution through the day.