How do young people get their voices heard? Three students answered with a social venture, a project to use videos and online media to give youth a voice and to inspire positive social change.

DU seniors Joseph Zhang, Vanessa Teck and Charles Severance-Medaris started Project Ava last July, a nonprofit media production organization dedicated to showcasing youth through different media expressions, most of which are showcased on Project Ava’s YouTube page.

Zhang, an international business major from Colorado Springs, cites Project Ava’s focus has always been around the young people and the issues that motivate them.

“Celebrate and share youth stories,’ that’s our mantra,” said Zhang.

According to Severance-Medaris, a political science and public policy major from Canon City, Project Ava largely owes its inception to Zhang.

“He was the main impetus behind starting the group,” said Severance-Medaris.

The three lived in the same hall in the Pioneer Leadership Program in their first year at DU and have been close friends ever since. With unofficial director positions, the three work together closely on each campaign, sharing a strong passion for social activism.

“It’s a very horizontal organization. Each of us complement each other very well. Vanessa is very creative, connected, and often times the brainchild behind our videos and campaigns,” said Zhang. “Charlie is very logical and task-oriented. He gets things done and sets things up. He’s also very realistic. The balance to my idealism. We fall into our roles as necessary.”

Relying on donations, grants and out-of-pocket expenses, Project Ava highlights youth experiences completely on the house. Past Project Ava videos have covered events like the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, Art 4 Aurora, the Presidential Election and the Excelling Leaders Institute at DU, among others.

As part of their official launch campaign and the unveiling of their new website, Project Ava is initiating a bi-weekly series of activities, videos and events in “10 Weeks of Thoughtfulness,” which they call “a campaign of the heart.”
Activities include sharing New Year’s Resolutions on Facebook and encouraging others with theirs, defining love on a community mural in February and celebrating Black History Month.

Teck, a Denver native majoring in intercultural communications and digital media studies, emphasizes a DU focus for their campaign.

“One of our main goals is to incorporate the DU campus and its students as much as possible, so we are already collaborating with several organizations on campus such as BSA, QSA, USG and more to maximize our outreach,” said Teck.
Severance-Medaris once again relates the campaign to Project Ava’s main focus: empowering the youth and motivating them to get involved and make a difference.

“We intend to engage DU’s student body in the [student alliances], other campus orgs, and hopefully off campus to resolve to make a difference this year. As an organization, we hope to further awareness about what it is we do and generate support for future campaigns,” said Severance-Medaris.

What’s in store for Project Ava in 2013? A collaboration with Pioneer Leadership Program students to highlight LGBT youth homelessness, a “health awareness” campaign encouraging students to love themselves and a rom-com web-series on healthy relationships, among others.

“The goal is to become a nonprofit in media production, as large and far-reaching as our message allows,” said Zhang.

Teck encourages the budding social entrepreneur not to fear innovation.

“A lot of the ideas that come out of my mouth might seem a bit far out and unrealistic, but I think those ideas are the ones that help to make your organization stand out,” said Teck.

To find Project Ava and their videos online, visit www.projectava.org, or on their facebook page.