‘Olelo’s Waianae Teen Video Program Is So Successful, Members Went To The Nation’s Capital To Teach Others 
Students from ‘Olelo’s Waianae Community Media Center (CMC) headed back to the classroom for a week during their summer vacation. But rather than sitting behind a desk taking notes, they were the ones conducting workshops and leading discussions - with the bigwigs in Washington, D.C., no less.
These lucky teens were invited to take part in the annual Alliance for Community Media’s (ACM) international conference, thanks to the groundbreaking success of ‘Olelo’s Waianae Media Enrichment Program. Through this program, which serves students from all 14 schools along the Leeward coast, these youths have served as role models in teaching media arts that are grounded in Hawaiian culture, values and traditions.
(’Olelo Community Television provides resources and an outlet for people to voice their opinions, ideas and stories about issues of importance in hopes of building, convening and strengthening community bonds. It is a private nonprofit with six cable channels and six neighborhood Community Media Centers on Oahu, in which ‘Olelo offers video training, facilities, resources and production support.)
“Each of the (’Olelo) community centers are different, and here in Waianae, they do see it as their community center,” says ‘Olelo president and CEO Keali’i Lopez. “It really is just the students understanding that they can tell positive stories and really make a difference through their own perspectives.”
This particular story begins months before the conference kicked off in early June. To prepare, the students had months of interview training to endure. Then there was the plane ride itself, a first for most of the students on board. Add to that the excitement of being in the nation’s capital and the pressure of being the first Hawaii students to teach at this annual conference, which attracts more than 500 attendees from the nation and world, and no doubt there were many sleepless nights in store for this bunch.
“We didn’t go to sleep until 3 a.m. because we were trying to map out our questions and figure out what would be the best approach for each one. We realized that we’ll probably never get the chance to meet with these guys again or get the chance to go to Washington, D.C., again, so we really wanted to make sure we’d have something to show when we came back home,” says ‘Olelo Waianae college intern manager Naturalee Puou.
As an intern manager, Puou was among two other young adults placed in charge of the four high school students hand-selected to participate in the conference. One of the first to-dos was to open (and close) the ACM conference by performing a traditional Hawaiian drum ceremony. To mark the significance of their trip, they created a naming chant, or oli, for the pahu (drum), Kia’i I Ka Leo, which means “to protect the voice.” The pahu was first given to the ACM when Hawaii was the host city in 1994. Each year since, it has been presented to conference participants and the next year’s planning committee.
“What was fortunate for us is that the planning committee from Washington, D.C., asked us to hold on to the pahu during the conference before passing it on to next year’s committee,” says intern Christian Naho’opi’i-Hose. “I think that’s what got them excited, that this was the first time they were entrusted with something so sacred to the Hawaiian culture, so that was a self-esteem boost for the whole group.”
With newfound confidence, students cooly instructed adult participants in advanced video editing techniques (Final Cut Pro) and contributed to a “Report from the Hill” presentation. Puou and a few of the students had the chance to speak oneon-one with congressional delegates - including Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka and Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono.
“I think it was really special for them (the delegates) to have seen all of these youths from Hawaii come up to them for a change,” said the Nanakuli ‘06 grad now working toward her degree in teaching.
Puou was joined by Lopez during a workshop discussion on the role community access centers play in amplifying social justice and local community issues in the face of increased media consolidation and a shrinking media environment for independent voices.
“The fact that young people have pride in themselves is the benefit of this,” explains Lopez. “Yes, they learn video and they’re able to tell these stories. But they’re also able to show to the world who they are, where they come from and why they’re proud of their community. And that’s like major ambassadorship work, but it’s also to the degree in which they see themselves as stewards for the future.
“There are people who want this program to go to Alaska and work with native Alaskan youth, or elsewhere. It’s so exciting and it’s so fulfilling and you want it for everyone, but you can’t do it all like (snaps) that.”
Naho’opi’i-Hose provided a separate set of panelists with strategies on how to launch and lead youth-focused media enrichment programs at community access centers. He also served as an example of how such after-school and summertime programs can be successful, if executed by the right people and in the right manner.
“A lot of falling into the belief of the negative statistics came about from students not knowing themselves - not knowing their own culture, not knowing their values and their own ways,” he explains.
“That’s why we felt it was part of our mission to re-instill pride in this community, in the ‘aina and in the people who live on the ‘aina,” adds ‘Olelo Waianae CMC manager Kawika Naho’opi’i.
LCC student Naho’opi’i-Hose continues, “So a big part of this is to help those keiki to learn who they are. Even if they aren’t Hawaiian, to know that because you live in Hawaii, you need to respect the place and respect the culture. We’re teaching these kids to help us teach the rest of the community. They actually go home and teach the parents, their little brothers and sisters, even the grandparents.”
