Alagoas Launches State Policy to Empower Youth via Media Education Programs
Alagoas institutionalizes youth media education programs Digaê! and Filmaê as state policies to empower vulnerable urban youth through audiovisual training and civic engagement.
- • The Digaê! program has become a public policy under the Visão Alagoas 2030 initiative, involving about 80 youth from Maceió's grotas.
- • Filmaê provides specialized audiovisual training to 24 youths selected from Digaê! participants, aiming to produce cultural and promotional media.
- • The Government of Alagoas plans to develop a digital citizenship policy to combat misinformation and enhance civic engagement.
- • The initiatives have fostered youth leadership and social participation in vulnerable communities, with support from ONU-Habitat.
Key details
The Government of Alagoas, in collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (ONU-Habitat), has transformed youth-focused media education initiatives into formal public policies designed to empower vulnerable communities. The cornerstone program, Digaê!, initially launched as workshops and mentorships from 2022 to 2023, engaged about 80 young people aged 15 to 24 living in the grotas of Maceió, teaching them communication skills and the right to the city. This initiative culminated in youth-produced multimedia content that amplified marginalized voices and promoted social participation and leadership.
Building on this success, the government inaugurated the Filmaê project on October 6, 2023, offering specialized audiovisual training to 24 selected youth from the Digaê! program. Filmaê's curriculum includes scriptwriting, directing, photography, editing, and sound, with the objective of creating institutional videos and campaigns to highlight cultural strength and promote education and tourism in peripheral communities. The launch event showcased the creative works of these young participants, a milestone marking the institutionalization of this training as a state policy.
Wendel Palhares, Secretary of State for Communication, emphasized the necessity of creative communication to connect deeply with the population. Participants like Arthur Felipe and Eloísa Graciliano highlighted how these initiatives opened new opportunities for youth from marginalized backgrounds to influence social change through media. Moving forward, Alagoas plans to expand media literacy efforts by enhancing the Information Integrity Center and developing digital citizenship policies to combat misinformation and foster civic engagement.