Before you can really get anything done you've gotta get a bunch of people together so you can get a bunch of ideas on what to do amongst yourselves."
-West Virginia youth activist

Training youth is a key part of our work in communities. Young people are often the most outspoken with regard to organizing efforts in the mountains. Much of our work with youth is through the Appalachian Media Institute, a community media and youth training project here at Appalshop. Often our work with community groups intersects with AMI students' work in their communities. We use these interactions in the community as an opportunity for further training in media arts using: video,web, radio, pinhole, and photo to create positive change within the region. At the base of this work is exploring teamwork and communication. Not only do our trainings produce works that communicate ideas to an audience, they also build our group communication skills.

CMI's shared goals with AMI in working with youth are:

• To create a space where young people have access to tools of cultural production and space to explore new ideas and concepts.
• To assist in the production of projects that create new community dialogues.
• To listen to young peoples' ideas.