CREATEEmerging Content Creators Inclusion Initiative (ECC Inclusion Initiative)
Through the this activation, NALIP aims to provide support for college ready urban youth through media training & resources.
Please describe the activation your organization seeks to launch.
This past year has seen not only impactful changes in the entertainment industry but a strong push for a more inclusive and diverse media ecosystem. Recognizing this need for a more diverse media workforce, the Emerging Content Creators Inclusion Initiative aims to provide a bridge in the gap between college ready youth/graduates and available jobs for them. Our goal is to train, develop, and offer additional resources in order to be able to provide a pipeline of talent to companies & studios.
Which of the CREATE metrics will your activation impact?
Employment in the creative industries
Recruiting and retention rates for local higher education institutions
Percentage of graduates from local higher education institutions that remain in LA County 5 years after graduating
Will your proposal impact any other LA2050 goal categories?
LA is the best place to LEARN
LA is the best place to CONNECT
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
South LA
City of Los Angeles
How will your activation mobilize Angelenos?
Trainings and/or in-person engagements
Encourage businesses to change practices
Connect Angelenos with impactful volunteer opportunities
Increase donations to organizations and causes
Describe in greater detail how your activation will make LA the best place to CREATE?
Minorities and women have registered gains in several key areas of television but remained disproportionately represented in most areas of the entertainment industry, according to the 2018 Hollywood Diversity Report by UCLA. This year, there has been an impact of diverse representation as seen through films like Coco, Black Panther & Ava Duvernay’s A Wrinkle in Time in the box office figures and viewer ratings. America’s audience demand for inclusivity has resonated throughout the entertainment industry and we’re seeing the shift in the growing need for content creators to create more of these inclusive stories. By the year 2050, minorities will become the majority and for Los Angeles’ biggest industries, the need not only for diverse stories in entertainment but a more inclusive workforce, is imminent. Since it’s inception, NALIP’s mission is to advance Latinx content creators and their careers by providing resources and guidance in order to provide more accurate representation behind the camera, from producers to directors to even those just starting their career. With the Emerging Content Creator Inclusion Initiative, NALIP aims to support ALL creators from diverse backgrounds in preparing them to enter the media workforce. The Emerging Content Creators Inclusion Initiative will help make a LA the best place to create by providing access to college ready youth and those interested in media opportunities to learn and prepare for the entertainment industry workforce. It is intended to be an informative step by step guide for young content creators to successfully transition into the industry through forums, networking, mentoring, summer programs, workshops, and funding college-entry projects. Top industry professionals will share their insights and experience, along with some of their biggest challenges. Through the physical, and digital platforms NALIP will provide, the ECC Inclusion Initiative will reach over 100,000 Angelenos and promote the advancement of emerging talent, reach youth and create awareness. With the support from LA2050, the Emerging Content Creators Inclusion Initiative will be able to stand as its own program by funding additional staff, supporting the production of workshops, digital team, funding production of projects as well as aid in leveraging NALIP’s industry partners such as CAA, Youtube, CBS, Google, and more by providing participants access to mentorship/job opportunities after undergoing the program. The initiative will aid in bridging the gap between diverse content creators and the media companies that need them, creating more opportunities for underrepresented communities as well as providing more representation in the media landscape. As a result of the ECC Inclusion Initiative, college ready youth will be able to gain access to resources in regards to both film/media universities and serve as a pipeline to the entertainment job market in Los Angeles to give a more diverse, equitable, and creative Los Angeles.
How will your activation engage Angelenos to make LA the best place to CREATE
The Emerging Content Creator Inclusion Initiative seeks to provide opportunities to youth from underrepresented communities to explore a career that they would not have considered because of the lack of exposure in their communities. NALIP aims to provide support through:
Forums
Networking
Mentoring
Summer programs
Workshops
Funding college-entry projects
This activation targets urban youth that have limited access to knowledge of the entertainment industry. The workshops will be offered not only where the entertainment hub of LA but also offered in South LA, East LA, and extremities as well.
The Initiative does not only engage college ready youth/graduates in being creative but also engages Angelenos already in the industry to provide additional support and help pave the way for those to come. We’ve had great success from our Latino Lens Workshop Series in bringing professionals in digital producing, VR/AR experience, writing for both tv/film, & showrunning with positive impact on our members from which we wish to extend to those wanting to pursue a career in media through this Initiative. Through our interaction and digital platforms over 100,000 Angelenos will be exposed to our Initiative and engage with us. The ECC Inclusion Initiative will be highlighted and enforced within NALIP’s annual events, Social Media, Newsletter and beyond, including collaborating and partnering with organizations to enhance, engage and advance the mission of the initiative.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your activation.
Through the Initiative, NALIP aims to
Provide scholarships for youth to our bi-monthly workshops series
Educate & prepare scholarship recipients around the basics of the entertainment industry
Keep track of recipients, their development, and inspire them to pursue creative endeavors within graduate school, specific programs (directing, writing), or start their career at a studio/network.
And intends to measure through:
Number of participants in the program.
Number of industry partner mentorship opportunities offered.
Percent of recipients who report gaining knowledge about issues of gender equality in media.
Number of recipients who go on to attain internships and jobs in the industry.
Projects funded, execution and engagement.
The Initiative will survey program participants, partners, employers, & mentors before and after the program, and will conduct a follow-up survey 6 months after and 2 years after the program ends.
Where do you hope this activation or your organization will be in five years?
We hope this activation is a continuous program in ensuring a pipeline of talent from diverse talent into the media workforce. In five years NALIP looks to advance and grow the program to reach additional youth across high schools, colleges and a resource for recent graduates to continue with their development. We look for these type of resources to be implemented as part of school, summer school and after school program curriculums in order to grow the numbers of ready college students interested in being part of the entertainment industry and becoming the next generation of storytellers with diverse voices.