Youth Documentary Academy (YDA) and School District 11 have joined forces again to organize the second annual Gen-Z Media Lab. On Saturday, November 5, at 1 p.m. you are invited to the Cornerstone Center for the Arts at Colorado College to attend a free Gen-Z Media Lab. Attendees will watch compelling YDA films from our PBS series 'Our Time,' meet the filmmakers and engage in professionally moderated Q&As, and then engage major stakeholders in our community.

A panel of local journalists, academic leaders and community organizers will conclude the Gen-Z Media Lab and reflect back what they are hearing youth in our community say about teen mental health, race, gender, disability, and much more. Panelists so far include City Councilor Nancy Henjum, Food to Power Director Patience Kabwasa, KKTV Reporter Brian Sherrod, Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership Director Cassandra Walton, UCCS Associate Professor Kimbra Smith and PPSC Professor Eric Erickson.

Gen-Z Media Lab was born out of the Youth Media Matters Film Festival conceived in early 2021 in light of a new PBS series 'Our Time,' showcasing short films directed by youth in partnership with professional filmmakers in the Youth Documentary Academy. A committee of youth representing all area high schools convenes and reviews dozens of YDA films from the 'Our Time' series, selecting programming for their own schools and for the Gen-Z Media Lab.

Later that night, November 5, a red-carpet gala event featuring The World Premiere of New Films by the Youth Documentary Academy will be open to the public and also held at the Celeste Theatre in Cornerstone.