Neil MacInnes-Barker has been a busy guy since he served as Student Government President at UMass Boston. All those speakers on Advocacy Day 2013 were flanked by a poster based on the info-cards he designed and distributed at the program in 2012.
It’s all part of “EducateMA,” founded in 2012 to bridge the gap between the Massachusetts state government and the students, faculty, and staff from all 29 Public Higher Educations institutions in the commonwealth.
MacInnes-Barker created a colorful set of four cards that fit in the palm of the hand. Each showed a photograph of one of four students and included their personal biographies on one side. On the other side was data about the cost of higher education.
He distributed sets to all 200 legislators at the State House and found they were very well received. This led to his next project—a documentary.
In early 2013 MacInnes-Barker began recording personal accounts Bay State students shared on camera. He paired these clips with interviews of several legislators. The recordings evolved into a longer documentary on civic engagement entitled “We Must Learn.”
A screening and discussion were presented at the Massachusetts Teachers Association 2013 Summer Conference at Williams College in Williamstown MA.
EducateMA has a YouTube channel! To view segments of “We Must Learn” just enter EducateMA in the YouTube search.
Are you willing to tell your story or do you want to help with the video production? Contact Neil MacInnes-Barker at Neil@EducateMA.Org or call 617-520-4338, or visit EducateMA.Org