National Youth Week (April 5-15) is almost upon us and Brisbane's community radio station, 4ZZZ, is set to hold a youth open day.
“There will be bands, there's also going to be a selection of workshops and station tours for youths to come down and just check out what we're all about,” project coordinator Ellen Nielsen says. There's even an opportunity for a 4ZZZ listener to play their own music live on stage. “We're offering one under-18 band the opportunity to play at the event. So we've put the call out through The Youth Show for under 18s bands to submit a link to their music through the 4ZZZ website.”
Nielsen is somewhat suprised by the quality of music that’s already been submitted. “It's really surprising about the quality of what they're submitting because they're so young and are just starting up a band. They're really quite good.”
The event is not only being run for the youth of Brisbane, but is being arranged by the youth of Brisbane as well. “The event is organised solely by 4ZZZ volunteers under 25, most of them are under 18 actually. Some of the other volunteers are our high school ambassadors. They're kids who have applied for this position and their role is to connect with schools and work out initiatives on how to get high school kids aware of 4ZZZ and what we're doing, which is pretty cool.”
If you’ve ever wondered how a radio show is produced, there’ll be a workshop to answer your questions. “We're doing one for on-air producing and that'll give people a chance to work with current 4ZZZ announcers learning how to structure a show, how to organise interviews, how to pick music, how to write a run sheet. They'll be given the opportunity to record what they've worked on in the workshop and they can take that home with them as a bit of a showreel.”
Which could prove an important stepping stone for those wanting a career in radio. “We're pretty much one of the only radio stations around Brisbane that still offers work experience programs, specifically for high school students. So for people that are interested in pursuing a career in the creative industries or in broadcasting, getting involved in 4ZZZ is a great way to learn about the industry.”
4ZZZ Youth Open Day will take place on Saturday April 6 with live music, local art, station tours and creative workshops.
