What
is the purpose of this initiative?
What
does Benton mean by 21st century skills?
is Benton focused on underserved young people?
Why
is Benton well suited to undertake this effort?
what does Benton propose to do?
Will
Benton give out grants as part of this initiative?
will Benton evaluate the progress of the initiative?
whom are we looking to collaborate?
do I find out more?
________________________________________________________
What
is the purpose of this initiative?
The
Benton Foundation sees a profound opportunity
today: an opportunity to help approximately 13
million underserved young adults ages 16-28 develop
and apply the "21st century skills"
necessary to improve their lives. The foundation
and its partners are embarking on a multi-year
initiative to identify, develop and promote successful
community-based strategies in which media and
technology are key levers in the improvement of
learning. The initiative will unite community
leaders, decision-makers, the business sector,
researchers and practitioners nationally, and
in partnering localities, to tackle this challenge.
The
Benton Foundation's 22-year history of promoting
media and communications tools for social change
will be leveraged over the next three to five
years to strengthen community approaches in developing
the technology skills of young people. We believe
that media and technology can make a substantial
difference in the lives of young people who have
fallen through the cracks in the educational system,
creating new pathways to economic success and
social inclusion. back to
What
does Benton mean by 21st century skills?
By
21st century skills we are referring to a set
of cognitive, technical and communicative skills
that all Americans need to possess to make our
nation more productive, economically and socially.
The Washington, DC-based Partnership
for 21st Century Skills has developed a framework
to spur national discussion about the set of competencies
needed to succeed in the future, including:
- 21st
Century Learning:
Sharpening the cognitiveand communicative skills to succeed in the world,
including critical thinking and the ability
to keep learning.
- 21st
Century Skills:
Developing technicalskills, such as using networked computing devices
to enhance learning.
- 21st
Century Context:
Engaging in anytime-anywherelearning beyond the school day and to close
the gap between the classroom and the real world.
- 21st
Century Subjects:
Expanding contentareas for study relevant to the new century,
such as health and financial literacy as well
as global awareness.
Through
this initiative, the foundation is particularly
interested in how the use of media and technology
can engage youth, and the broader community in
which they are situated, to develop new approaches
to build on their strengths and assets. back
Why
is Benton focused on underserved young people?
By
2010 there will be 50 million Americans between
the age of 16 and 28, a historic high. Approximately
25% of them will be out of school, under-employed
and with limited skills. Young people in their
late teens and twenties who are of color, live
in urban centers or isolated rural communities,
are under court supervision and are single parents
are disproportionately underserved. Media and
communications tools, when embedded in comprehensive
approaches to youth development, can play an important
role in reconnecting them to a future of productive
work and civic involvement.
Engaging
communities to expand pathways for youth development
using technology will provide incalculable social
benefit:
- Increasing
economic competitiveness and earnings.
Economic competitiveness in the global economy
increasingly requires a highly skilled workforce.
Transitioning out-of-school youth into higher
education would tap over a trillion dollars
in earning potential over the lifetime of this
group.
- Making
America stronger.
"Literacy andlearning are the foundation of democracy and
development," states the National Security
Strategy published by the White House in September
2002. Allowing millions of young adults to fall
through the cracks will prevents America from
realizing its true potential in the years ahead.
- Strengthening
young people and their families.
Nearlyhalf of young adults with the lowest level of
skills are living in poverty. There is overwhelming
evidence that as adults' literacy skills improve,
so does their children's success in school,
breaking the cycle of poverty and exclusion.
Gaining new skills also makes adults more likely
to volunteer, vote and engage in the larger
community.
back to top
Why
is Benton well suited to undertake this effort?
Established
in 1981, the Benton Foundation researches and
promotes the use of media and communications tools
to strengthen communities. A legacy of the late
William Benton, former U.S. Senator and publisher
of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the foundation
works with nonprofit organizations, community
leaders, the business community and philanthropy
to develop successful strategies for using the
Internet and broadcast media to advance the economic,
civic and educational well-being of underserved
populations.
The
Benton Foundation has a respected track record
of:
- Web-based
public education
:Harnessing the Webâs power to build communities
of interest, share ideas and catalyze real-time
action.
- Skilled
brokering of diverse stakeholders
:Convening decision-makers across sectors to
discuss and implement break-the-bold action
strategies.
- Policy
advocacy on behalf of the public interest
:Mobilizing our networks to impact the policy
agenda.
back to top
So
what does Benton propose to do?
The
foundation will build on its historic strengths
and assets as a public educator, trusted broker
and policy advocate to ensure all young people
develop the skills to compete in the new century.
The following activities are already underway
and are the efforts on which we will continue
to build momentum and forge effective partnership.
- Spark
community reflection and engagement.
The BentonFoundation staff will work in select localities
to explore how digital literacy can be woven
into formal curriculum and informal content
delivery in school and non-school settings in
low-income and minority communities. The foundation
is collaborating with the Center for Civic Participation
and the Greater Phoenix Leadership in the East
Valley of Phoenix to convene stakeholders and
to develop a community-wide strategy for building
media and technology competency.
- Inform
the policymaking process.
Tojustify investment and sharpen effective use
of community technology, it is vital that we
document, digest and share research on what's
working in the field and what's not. The Benton
Foundation is partnering with EDC/Center for
Children & Technology and the Quality in
Education Centre in Glasgow, Scotland to inform
and engage decision-makers through the Teens
and Technology Roundtable.
- Building
communities of interest.
The foundationis working with OneWorld International, the
worldâs premier nonprofit gateway for locally
relevant news and information on international
development, on a Digital Literacy portal. The
portal will build on the U.N. Literacy Decade
mandate to close the education gap, using innovative
techniques, such as information and communications
technology-based solutions.
back to top
Will
Benton give out grants as part of this initiative?
No.
The Benton Foundation is an operating foundation
rather than a grantmaking foundation. In other
words, we reinvest our endowment into staff-driven
programmatic work rather than offering grants
to other institutions. Approximately 85 percent
of our annual budget must be fundraised by Benton
staff, not unlike many other nonprofit organizations.
How
will Benton evaluate the progress of the initiative?
Evaluation
will assess the ability to influence change locally
and nationally through our community-driven engagement
and our global digital literacy portal. In selected
localities, are we successful as catalysts for
community action? Have we sparked the development
of new models for building digital literacy skills
among underserved youth? And nationally, are we
successful at equipping national stakeholders
with evidence from community-based practice? Have
we provided tools and information to push for
increased resources and better policies to address
the real needs of underserved young people?
The
framework for measuring results will build on
the foundation's long-standing capacity building
and policy advocacy goals: We will assess community
assets and needs, document what's working and
what's missing in the field, promote models that
match community needs and technology's potential,
and disseminate lessons learned on technology's
impact on community outcomes. Because our goal
is social change, our emphasis in evaluation will
be practical and process-oriented so that it provides
information to guide and improve programs in a
dynamic way. back to top
With
whom are we looking to collaborate?
The
foundation is conferring with leaders representing
underserved communities, business, the nonprofit
sector, philanthropy and academia and is in the
process of cultivating new partnerships. Benton's
approach depends on an alliance with strategic
partners to support the campaign's goals, particularly
in building trust with local communities and in
building momentum to develop and implement new
approaches to effective practice and new policy
formulations. back