Jun 17 2008
from ranney, one of our hiphop instructors…
Kidz Connect is in its second week and the kids are connecting. That’s what it is all about, peeps! As the resident cynic, I was apprehensive about a program that encourages teenagers to spend MORE time online. Not only is that not the case, but Kidz Connect is so much more than that. A group of teenagers in Amsterdam and a group of teenagers in Tampa are locked in dialogue and collaboration impacted by culture intersect and culture clash. They are brave and fun enough to just go with it and send a message to the rest of us who have reduced and/or ignored the relevance of phrases like “What’s up?” Unfortunately, I have only had two days in the camp, but between what I experience and what I am hearing, this will definitely be the beginning of a more pronounced landscape of this kind. Youth from various points on the globe coming together - not to just use the internet to meet in a virtual community; but, coming together and using all of their communities to collaborate on a more diverse and more promising world. They have not only inspired me and made my job easier as a songwriter for this venture, but they have simply inspired me. Get down youngin’s. Show us the way…