|
Youth
Journalism International students who worked on this
project:
The writers:
Rachel Glogowski, 17, is a senior at Bristol
Eastern High School in Bristol, Connecticut, U.S.A. She joined YJI
in 2005 and is now an associate editor with
the organization.
Alexandra Patrikios, 17, is a senior at
Ballarat & Clarendon College in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. She
joined YJI in 2008 and is a senior reporter with the organization.
Katie Grosser, 18,
is a senior at Gymnasium der Benediktiner school in Meschede, Calle,
Germany. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a senior reporter with the
organization.
The reporters from Youth Journalism International
who interviewed young people around the world for this project:
Sana Ali, 17,
is a senior at the Universal American School in Kuwait. She joined
YJI in 2008 and is a reporter with the organization.
Brice Birdsall, 13,
is in eighth grade at Alder Creek Middle School in Milwaukie,
Oregon, U.S.A. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a junior reporter with
the organization.
Shekinah-Glory Dhanie-Beepat, 15, lives in
Carteret, New Jersey, U.S.A. She is homeschooled. She joined YJI in
2008 and is a reporter with the organization.
Eugenia Durante, 17, is in her fourth year at
Liceo Classico G. Mazzini school in Genoa, Italy. She joined YJI in
2008 and is a reporter with the organization.
Katie Grosser, 18,
is a senior at Gymnasium der Benediktiner school in Meschede, Calle,
Germany. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a senior reporter with the
organization.
Sarah Heath, 18,
is a senior at Rhea County High School and lives in Spring City,
Tennessee, U.S.A. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a junior reporter
with the organization.
Edrees Kakar, 20, completed Afghan schools in Peshawar,
Pakistan, and now works in Kabul, Afghanistan. He joined YJI in 2005
and is a senior reporter with the organization.
Kiernan Majerus-Collins, 13,
is in eighth grade at Bristow Middle School in West Hartford,
Connecticut, U.S.A. He joined YJI in 2007 and is a reporter with the
organization.
Jacqueline Mejia, 16,
is a junior at Francis Lewis High School and lives in Woodside, New
York, U.S.A. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a junior reporter with
the organization.
Harsha Mishra, 17, is in 11th grade
at the Air Force School, Air Force Station, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh,
India. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a reporter with the
organization.
Alexandra Patrikios, 17, is a senior at
Ballarat & Clarendon College in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. She
joined YJI in 2008 and is a senior reporter with the organization.
Mariechen Puchert, 18, is a new graduate of Clarendon High
School for Girls in East London, Province of the Eastern Cape, South
Africa. She joined YJI in 2008 and is a reporter with the
organization.
Mariah Pulver, 16, of Oro Valley, Arizona, is a junior at
Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. She joined YJI
in 2008 and is a junior reporter with the organization.
Special
assistance in copy editing:
Wesley Saxena,
15, of West Hartford, Connecticut, is a sophomore at Hall High
School. He joined YJI in 2006 and is a senior reporter with the
organization. |
|
|
|
Alexandra Patrikios (Australia) and
Katie Grosser (Germany):
For
Cyrilla Mulindi, a 19-year-old Kenyan living in
South Africa, the election of Barack Obama as
the next president of the United States means
that “anything is possible!”
|
Youth Journalism International |
That feeling of hope – embodied
in Obama’s campaign mantra of “Yes We Can” –
resonated with many young people around the
world interviewed by a team of Youth Journalism
International reporters in eight countries on
five continents.
They found this year’s highly
anticipated presidential election not only
entranced Americans, but also captured the
attention of the world, with many rooting for
reform on a variety of issues.
Obama’s election means “a change
in our country, economy, and ourselves,” said
Maria Fernanda Manzano, a 14-year-old student at
Alder Creek Middle School in Milwaukie, Oregon.
“It’s history and I’m very happy.
I hope he can make his promises come true,” said
Kenneth Holder, an eighth grade student at King
Philip Middle School in West Hartford,
Connecticut.
Tyler Steinhorse, a 16-year-old
from Tucson, Arizona called the Democrat’s win
“just amazing.”
“I hope that he’ll actually bring
about the change he promises,” said Anne Stolpe,
18, of Städtisches Gymnasium Meschede school in
Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Anna Lee, an 18-year-old senior at Ironwood
Ridge High School in Tucson, Arizona, called
Obama’s win “really historical” and declared a
desire for “great change.”
Full
Article
Katie Grosser (Germany):
Once revered around the globe,
the United States is facing image problems.
But Americans may have improved
their nation’s image simply by electing Barack
Obama as their next president, according to
young people interviewed in the U.S. and abroad.
One Italian
teen, 18-year-old Alessia Ubaldini, said
Americans will have a “fresher image” and seem
less cartoonish now.
Those outside
the U.S. “won’t picture the Americans as the
Simpson’s family,” said Ubaldini, who attends
Liceo Classico Mazzini in Genoa, Italy.
Paul Harris,
17, of Victoria, Australia, said Obama’s
election will help America “gain more
international standing and maybe help them get
back into the game as a world leader.”
In interviews with Youth
Journalism International, more than 30 youth in
eight countries, including the U.S., said they
thought Obama’s election will have a positive
impact on America’s reputation.
Full Article
Rachel Glogowski (Connecticut, USA):
Teens across
the world may not be buying houses and saving
for retirement just yet, but many said the
current economic crisis is a more pressing issue
than the war in Iraq for incoming
President-elect Barack Obama.
|
Youth Journalism International |
When asked what the most
important issue of the recent election was,
15-year-old Ray Ma of Columbia, South Carolina
said, “Definitely the economy. Obama basically
won over Americans on that issue. Now, having
won the election, expectations are extremely
high.”
“It seems like the issue on the
war of Iraq has taken a back seat,” Ma said,
“for now.”
But the war has damaged the
economy, and Obama will have to deal with that,
said Cyrilla Mulindi, a 19-year-old Kenyan
living in South Africa who attends Clarendon
High School for Girls in East London.
Jessi Humberd, a senior at Rhea
County High School in Spring City, Tennessee,
said Obama’s policy on the war may help the
economy.
“I think it will help our
financial crisis, because we won’t be spending
money in Iraq,” said Humberd.
More than 30 young people
interviewed in eight states in the United States
and seven other countries across the world by
reporters for Youth Journalism International
agreed that the global economic crisis was a
significant factor in the recent presidential
election and that it needs to be addressed as
soon as possible.
“I think the economic crisis is
the most important and immediate issue to be
faced. If the crisis won’t be solved soon, the
world economy will crack with catastrophic
consequences for everybody,” said 18-year old
Luca Capizzi, a student at Liceo Classico
Mazzini in Genoa, Italy.
Full Article
Rachel Glogowski (Connecticut, USA):
The war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a hot topic
for teens across the world.
Whatever their feelings are, most young people
interviewed by Youth Journalism International
agree that it is one of the most important
issues facing future President Barack Obama.
“I want him to understand that
the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan is
unbearable,” said
18-year-old
Alessia Ubaldini of Genoa, Italy.
“He is a world citizen. He was born in Honolulu
and he has lived in so many different places. I
think he’s open minded enough to understand
different nations.”
Many teens said Obama should
withdraw troops from Iraq.
“Get us out,” said Rocco DiTaranto, an eighth
grader at Bristow Middle School in West
Hartford, Connecticut.
Alice Cordara, a 17-year-old high
school student at Liceo Classico Mazzini in
Genoa, Italy, said she wants the new American
president to stay in contact with the leaders of
both Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I hope Obama will retire the
troops from both the countries, even if I’ve
heard he only wants to move them from Iraq to
Afghanistan,” she said.
But many students recognize that pulling troops
out is not a simple matter.
“It’s a tricky issue, and any withdrawal would
be a gradual process,” said 17-year-old Paul
Harris, of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. .
Full Article
Alexandra Patrikios (Australia):
President-elect Barack Obama
may have appeared in newspapers across the
world, but it is difficult to say just how much
international influence his new Democratic
administration will have once he takes office.
According to youth
interviewed around the globe, Obama’s attention
will be in considerable demand, as pressing
international issues such as war, climate
change, disease and foreign policy continue to
pose threats to a greater communal environment.
Obama’s policy on
AIDS is important to Cyrilla Mulindi, a
19-year-old resident of East London, South
Africa. She said she hopes it will have a
positive impact everywhere in Africa.
In Kuwait, Zeinab
Matkour, who is Pakistani, said the perception
is that Obama has a better understanding than
previous presidents of the challenges faced by
other nations.
Because of this, the
new American president “would be able to really
influence the Pakistani government,” Matkour
said.
Alice Cordara, 17,
of Genoa, Italy, said she hopes Obama’s military
policy “will influence us not to join wars we
cannot afford or approve.”
Nolitha Namatovu
Luzuka, 18, a Ugandan who is a South African
citizen living in East London, South Africa,
said elections there are coming soon.
South Africa paid
close attention to the American election, Luzuka
said, which she said could positively impact the
election there. Full Article
Katie Grosser (Germany):
The extensive media coverage of
the 2008 American elections reflected how many
people were following the polls, eager to find
out who would be the next president of the
United States of America – Barack Obama or John
McCain.
|
Youth Journalism International |
After Obama’s victory, the
reaction reverberated not only in America, but
around the world.
“Everybody was worried about the
elections and we were happy to see that Obama
had won,” said Alice Cordara, 17, of Genoa,
Italy. “We like America’s new president very
much.”
“Everyone reacted positively and
was excited, especially my black peers,” said
Anne Stolpe, 18, of Meschede, North
Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
“Lots of kids were happy.
Everyone was happy,” said Kenneth Holder, 13, of
West Hartford, Connecticut.
In Carteret, New Jersey, students
gushed over the victory, said 11-year-old Divya
Singh. “Oh my gosh! Obama won!” Singh said,
echoing the reaction. “We have a black
president! YES!”
Luca Capizzi, 18, of Genoa, said
fellow Italian teens were happy with Obama’s
victory.
“Even the ones who have
Republican ideals were on Obama’s side,” said
Capizzi.
Full Article
See The Tattoo's pre-election package of
stories here:
See our coverage from
the presidential campaign:
Teens at a Hartford
rally for Barack Obama: (left to right) Abigail Oliveras, Devin
Smith, Theresa Govert, Amanda Smith, all from East Haddam, Conn.
Tattoo photo
|
When Hurricane Katrina smashed ashore in
2005, Louisiana teen Samantha Perez started writing about the
storm that washed away much of her old life. Her journal,
chronicled in the pages of The Tattoo, is all online at
Hurricane Journal.
Read it for an eye-opening and intensely personal look into the
eye of the worst storm in recent history. |
| Don't miss this stellar
story:
Roaring along on my uncle’s red
motorbike past coconut and banana trees, I blinked away
the dry, red dust and headed straight for a little,
wooden hut perched on the thick stilts that keep it safe
when the monsoons come.
This is so cool, I thought.
Sometimes I caught glimpses of
curious faces looking at me flying along on my Uncle
Sahk’s imported Honda Wave 110.
The thought of stopping was very
far from my mind.
Back home in America, I never could
have done this.
But I’d gone halfway around the
world to Cambodia, where almost everything that is
illegal back in the States is just fine.
On the fast lane toward an
incredible adventure, I wasn’t about to stop for
anything or anyone … unless something happened to get in
my way.
And, wow, did something get in my
way.
Let’s just say one shouldn’t be
speeding down a dirt road in Klong Pursat at 75 miles an
hour without a keen understanding that brakes were
placed on motorbikes for a good reason.
America was about to make its mark
in Cambodia and I was the one who was going to make it.
Full Article
|
|
|
Youth Journalism International
reporters in eight countries talked to more
than 30 young people
on five continents to find out what the election of
Barack Obama might mean for them, their nation, the
world and the future. Read this special issue -- the
largest we've ever undertaken -- to find out what they
had to say on the eve of Obama's Inauguration as
president of the United States. |
Interviewed for this project
were:
Fatema Al-Bader, 16, of Hawally, Kuwait.
Fatema is in 11th grade
at the Universal American School in Hawally.
Rabbia Ashraf, 16,
of Hawally, Kuwait, is in 11th grade
The American School of Kuwait in Hawally.
Rebecca Au, 14,
of Highland Park, New Jersey, U.S.A. Rebecca is a sophomore at
Owl Academy in Highland Park.
Luca Capizzi, 18,
of Genoa, Italy. Luca is a student at Liceo Classico Mazzini in
Genoa.
Alice Cordara, 17,
of Genoa, Italy. Alice is a student at Liceo Classico Mazzini in
Genoa.
Tyler Cruver, 16, of Dayton, Tennessee,
U.S.A. Tyler is a junior at Rhea County High School.
Rocco DiTaranto, 14, of West Hartford,
Connecticut, U.S.A. Rocco is an eighth grade student at Bristow
Middle School in West Hartford.
Elan Green, 13,
of Milwaukie, Oregon, U.S.A. Elan is an eighth grade student at
Alder Creek Middle School in Milwaukie.
Saeed Haris 24,
of Kabul, Afghanistan. Saeed, who has also lived in Pakistan, is
an undergraduate student at the American University of
Afghanistan in Kabul.
Paul Harris, 17,
of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Cheyenne Hill, 16,
of Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. Cheyenne is a junior at Ironwood
Ridge High School in Tucson.
Kenneth Holder, 13,
of West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A. Kenneth is an eighth grade
student at King Philip Middle School in West Hartford.
Jessi Humberd, 17,
of Spring City, Tennessee, U.S.A. Jessi is a senior at Rhea
County High School.
Puneet Kapoor, 16,
of Uttar Pradesh, India. Puneet is a student at the Sunbeam
English School in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Philipp Küchler, 19,
of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Philipp is a student at St.
Elisabeth Akademie in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Anna Lee, 18,
of Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. Anna is a senior at Ironwood Ridge
High School in Tucson.
Nolitha Namatovu Luzuka, 18, of East
London, South Africa. Nolithia, who is Ugandan, is a South
African citizen and a senior at the Clarendon High School for
Girls in East London.
Timothy Lyons, 17, of Ballarat, Victoria,
Australia.
Ray Ma, 15, of Columbia, South Carolina,
U.S.A. Ray is a homeschooler.
Sarah Malloy,
16, of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Maria Fernanda Manzano, 14, of Milwaukie,
Oregon, U.S.A. Maria is an eighth grade student at Alder Creek
Middle School in Milwaukie.
Zeinab Matkour, 17, of Hawally, Kuwait.
Zeinab, who is Pakistani, is in 11th grade at the Universal
American School in Hawally.
Nicole Matthews, 18,
of Queens, New York, U.S.A. Nicole, who voted for the first time
on November 4, is a graduate of Beth Jacob High School in
Brooklyn, New York.
Sarah Molloy, 16, of Ballarat,
Victoria, Australia.
Cyrilla Mulindi, 19,
of East London, South Africa. Cyrilla, a Kenyan, attends the
Clarendon High School for Girls in East London.
Christian Reinhard Müller, 19,
of East London, South Africa. Christian, a South African of
German and South African descent, is a part-time student and
works in East London.
Katie Mullaney, 16,
of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Katie is a student at Agape
Academy in Hopkinton.
Divya Singh, 11,
of Carteret, New Jersey, U.S.A. Divya is a seventh grade student
at Carteret Middle School in Carteret.
Tyler Steinhorse, 16, of Tucson, Arizona,
U.S.A. Tyler is a junior at Ironwood Ridge High School in
Tucson.
Anne Stolpe, 18, North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany. Anne attends Städtisches Gymnasium Meschede school in
Meschede, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Muhammad Waqar, 28,
of Kabul, Afghanistan. Muhammad, originally a Pakistani citizen
from the northwestern region of Pakistan, works at a bank in
Kabul.
Alessia Ubaldini, 18,
of Genoa, Italy. Alessia is a high school senior at Liceo
Classico Mazzini in Genoa.
See The Tattoo's pre-election package of
stories here:
|
|
