Engagement through Creativity: Youth Internet Radio Network Project

Burgess J¹, Notley T¹*

1. Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia

This paper outlines the research, design and development methodology of the Youth Internet Radio Network project (YIRN), coordinated by researchers from the Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre at the Queensland University of Technology. The YIRN project aims to explore the potential of creative content production and distribution as a means of providing opportunities for community, cultural and political engagement, as well as enterprise outcomes, for young people. A streaming website allows young people to upload creative content, present streaming audio programs and communicate around this content, whilst content creation training workshops offer young people from across the state an opportunity to learn new ways of articulating ideas and representing experiences.

The project is fundamentally based around an ethic of open participation, rather than top-down facilitation; and intercreativity, rather than interactivity. The central research methodology for the project, Ethnographic Action Research, was developed by key members of the YIRN research team, and combines traditional ethnography with action research; the methodology ensures that a deep understanding of local contexts and a participatory ethic flow through all layers of the project, from planning and consultation to content creation and website development. Drawing on early research findings, this paper will demonstrate that YIRN’s holistic integration of open, participatory frameworks is effective in enabling young people’s engagement through the creative use of new media technologies.