YouthStream is assembling a team of Moderators to act as ambassadors and peer leaders in our mission to highlight and support digital youth culture. Preference for these positions will be given to young people in and around the Greater Somerville area. Being a registered YouthStream Moderator will be a prerequisite in order to earn paid stipends by working on YouthStream projects. (If you have not already, please join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/AxUnJdU3Nt)

Responsibilities

-Provide guidance for YouthStream’s overall program design

-Attend and support all YS workshops, meetings and events

-Design and manage YS’s Discord server (Villeside Digital Cultural Center)

-Organize and host virtual events, including game nights, watch parties, tournaments and live streams


Requirements

-Commitment to rejecting oppressive words and actions, including racism, homophobia, misogyny, classism, ableism, islamophobia and transphobia.

-Commitment to creating virtual communities that respond proactively to issues of bullying, harassment & exploitation, both online and IRL.

-Interest in emerging virtual spaces, including Discord, Twitch, fandoms, and gaming communities.

-Should have a phone/tablet/PC to access Discord/ Twitch, however prior experience with related software/hardware is NOT required.


YouthStream Mission Statement

YouthStream is a program that reimagines the field of Creative Youth Development for a new generation by identifying and supporting virtual spaces as centers of digital youth culture. As young people increasingly find connection and build communities online around their favorite anime or video game via Discord channels and Twitch channels, CYD workers must adapt methodology to engage a demographic that might not otherwise participate in organized after-school activities.

YouthStream’s mission is to support and highlight digital youth culture, including live-streaming and esports events, by building virtual communities that respond proactively to issues of bullying, harassment and exploitation, both online and IRL. Youth Moderators engage their peers and create digital spaces that are explicitly against racism, homophobia, misogyny, classism, ableism, islamophobia and transphobia.

Moderators receive leadership training, conflict resolution, and community organizing skills while earning paid stipends for projects. At a time when many young people feel alienated and depressed, YouthStream empowers youth to build programming that combats isolation by meeting them where they’re @, so to speak.

If we engage and build in virtual spaces as valid centers of youth culture, we will be able to reach young people who might otherwise not opt into out-of-school programming. The goal is to get gamers teaching each other about yoga and meditation as a means to optimize their Fortnite performance, and digital fashionistas connecting positive self-image to mental health awareness for an audience of their peers.

As YouthStream Moderators plan and produce live broadcasts on topics ranging from astrology and tarot readings to youth-organized gaming tournaments, they not only learn valuable technical and social skills, they also unlock their own agency as organizers by creating content that speaks directly to their community.

In an age of toxic social media and “doom scrolling”, young people need a positive platform that promotes real-life values of health and wellness, while still being accessible to them in an ecosystem of digital spaces. Now more than ever, young people need safe and creative outlets that combat the anxiety and isolation so many struggle with.

YouthStream is sponsored by The Mystic Learning Center and The Somerville Health Foundation