In our abundant media environment, where our technologies ask for more and more of our fleeting attention, it seems challenging to stay committed to an idea, an issue, a moment. Connective technologies have succeeded in disconnecting us. They have splintered our communities, polarized our politics, and normalized spectacle in our information feeds. The same online networks that once touted their collaborative potential now provide sensational content to like-minded groups, and seed distrust in the very institutions we rely on for functioning civic societies. The core functions of information systems are now under attack, and the weaponization of fake news by political and public leaders has further eroded such trust. Journalists, meanwhile, are losing the trust of communities who find refuge and solace in the validation of information by peers online. 

It is within this context that the 2020 symposium convened activists, scholars, students, and storytellers to explore how media pedagogy and practice can persist in the face of our increasingly transactional, shallow and fractured media infrastructure. The symposium provided time for dialog, engagement, deliberation and reflection on how we can best prepare young storytellers to advocate for the media and civic systems that best reflect equitable and vibrant societies.