During this session, our group aimed to identify the format of our project, develop an implementation plan, and begin researching how people experience in-betweenness in Toronto/Regent Park.
When discussing the media format that we wanted our final project to take, both Atiya and Sumeya voiced an interest in taking photos. In a previous meeting, when the Diva Girls were not present, our group had discussed the possibility of creating a zine. However, Atiya and Sumeya were not as excited about the idea. When they learned that our thinking behind creating a zine was motivated by our interest in having the girls directly contribute to the project through their own pieces without filtering their thoughts through us, they were very receptive to the format.
Through further discussion, we realized we wanted a format that was more up-to-date and accessible to today's youth. As such, we plan to produce a multimedia webpage instead, where we can still feature a variety of individual pieces, like a zine, but in a more interactive and relevant medium.
With Professor Mehta’s support, we came up with four questions that we will use to interview Regent Park residents about how they experience in-betweenness in Toronto/Regent Park. The questions are as follows:
How close are you to your religion?
How do you feel that religion is portrayed to other people?
How does it feel to practice your faith in Regent Park?
How does it feel outside of Regent Park?
We tested the above questions with both Atiya and Sumeya to ensure that they are easily understood by those being interviewed to ensure that we can increase the likelihood of capturing meaningful responses. We both recorded and typed key takeaways from the interviews to obtain the most accurate qualitative data.
Our proposed project timeline for next week consists of our Diva Girls interviewing at least two of their friends and/or family members by our next meeting on March 9. We sent them the interview questions the following day on our group chat with a reminder to record the interview with their interviewee's consent as well as to document their first name, last initial, and age. Depending on how many people the girls interview this week, we will continue conducting interviews in the following weeks. Atiya and Sumeya will continue interviewing their social network on their own, in addition to the group speaking with the Diva Girls from other groups during class to garner additional content as needed. We plan that our Diva Girls will interview at least five people each, with the goal to interview as many as ten in total.
Proposed Timeline
On a personal level, through various icebreaker games and getting their opinions on the project, we were able to connect on a deeper level with our Diva Girls. By learning about not just their life stories (the icebreaker) but also what they are interested in on a creative level, helped us better tailor the project to make sure that they can contribute equally and in a way that's meaningful to them. Though it was initially a bit difficult to get that "buy-in" from Sumeyia and Attiya, bringing up more relevant platforms for the project as well as examples of how it could look allowed us to "breakthrough" and hit a stride near the end of our meeting. We recognize this was only our second meeting in which we directly worked with them and that the process of getting to know them will take time. Still, the experience this week was immensely gratifying and leaves us even more excited for next week!
Post by TikToker Aabida, 2020
here are many resources we can look to when creating our webpage, as there is relevant content on social media platforms, including TikTok. The city and social experiences are very complex, and we must approach them with a curious and open mind and absorb all the information we can gather to then respond to or address what we inference from that. As we are collaborating as a group, it is essential to make decisions that the majority is happy, and that makes sense for the project, considering all opinions. Though sometimes one's idea may not be preferred/feasible, it is important to continue supporting the direction that the project is taking with enthusiasm. As we are looking to produce something by looking at many sources of information, the opinion and support of our professor and the Regent Park support staff are a great source to receive feedback.
POI: Points of Intersection members are Alejandra, Atiya, Brittany, Nathan, and Sumeya.