This post originally appeared on the YouTube Official Blog
Back in September, we launched
YouTube Creators for Change, a global initiative dedicated to amplifying (and multiplying) the voices of YouTube creators who tackle division and hate with videos and stories of hope, connection, and understanding. And as 2016 comes to a close, we’re proud to say that YouTube Creators for Change is growing.
We’ve established local Creators for Change initiatives in
Australia,
France,
Germany, and
Turkey, bringing together creators who have uploaded thousands of videos about countering hate through unity. We’ve opened up sets at YouTube Spaces in New York and Los Angeles where creators will record the first
video-based StoryCorps interviews. And today, we’re thrilled to introduce our five newest Creators for Change ambassadors:
All India Bakchod (India),
Cameo Project (Indonesia),
Dina Torkia (United Kingdom),
Franchesca Ramsey (United States) and
John Green (United States). You can learn more about these inspiring creators at the
Creators For Change website, which launches today, too!
These new ambassadors will join the six existing ambassadors in engaging their communities on topics like hate speech, xenophobia, and extremism. And to do our part, we’re equipping each one of them with a $25,000 grant to use toward a social impact project of their choice. In fact, this past weekend John Green donated his grant to charity in connection with
Project for Awesome, a live-streamed annual fundraiser that brings together video creators from all over the world who support charities that, as the vlogbrothers say, “decrease world suck.”
In the coming months, our 11 ambassadors will also help us choose creators who are already making their voices heard on social issues that matter to them. And as part of our original $1M commitment, each of these emerging creators will be given equipment and production grants. They’ll also receive mentorship support from the program ambassadors and an opportunity to participate in educational workshops at our YouTube Spaces.
Finally, to help all those creators who want to use their voices and videos to take on topics they care about, we’ve collaborated with
Upworthy to create a helpful series of best practices for creating effective social-change videos.
You can find this video, information on all our ambassadors and more on the
YouTube Creators for Change website. So check it out! And stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.
Juniper Downs, Head of YouTube Public Policy, recently watched "This Christian community opened its heart to new Muslim neighbors."
