Press Release: MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center Will Host Graduation Ceremony for Summer Youth Program Participants

News about MNN's Summer Youth Program, presented in partnership with Manhattan NonProfits

Contact: Rachel Voorhees, 212-757-2670 ext. 315 or rachelvoorhees@mnn.org

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MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center Will Host Graduation Ceremony for Summer Youth Program Participants

Manhattan Deputy Borough President Matthew Washington will deliver the keynote speech and thirty four young producers will present their final video projects.

New York, August 8, 2017— On Thursday, August 17 at 6:00 pm, the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center will hold a graduation ceremony for young people who have completed MNN’s five-week youth media program in collaboration with Catholic Charities Alianza Dominicana Division, El Barrio Operation Fightback, the Police Athletic League and Jill Chaifetz Transfer High School through NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program.

During MNN’s Summer Youth Program (SYP), students have taken studio, field and editing classes; workshops on social media, activism, and journalism; a field trip to the Museum of The City of New York; and a social justice tour of East Harlem. Upon completion of the program, these young people will be able to continue creating media as certified producers at the Firehouse.

“MNN’s Summer Youth Program not only provides the technical training needed to create high-quality media, but we also teach young people to think critically about the world around them so they can challenge the status quo and tell the stories that need to be told,” said MNN CEO and President Dan Coughlin.

Every student in MNN’s SYP is working on a field or studio production and will present their finished projects at the graduation ceremony on Thursday, August 17 at 6:00 pm at the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center, 175 East 104th Street. 

Founded in 1992, MNN is New York City’s free public-access cable network. Operating seven channels (Community, Lifestyle, Spirit, Culture, HD Community, MNN-FSTV and NYXT.nyc) and reaching over 600,000 cable subscribers in the Manhattan area, MNN is the largest public-access cable network in the nation, with programs airing in more than 40 languages. Find MNN on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and at MNN.org.

In 2012, MNN opened a state-of-the-art community media center at the old Engine Co. 53 Firehouse on East 104th Street in East Harlem. The facility features three HD production studios, including a three-camera studio, as well as editing services and a Youth Media Center, which offers free media education programs to youth ages 16-24. The Firehouse offer classes in English and Spanish and hosts community events throughout the year.

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Members of the press are welcome to to attend graduation on August 17. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Rachel Voorhees at rachelvoorhees@mnn.org.