History and Mission
Community TV Network (CTVN), a leader in community access to media, empowers low-income young adults and children in Chicago by engaging them in the creative and collaborative process of digital video production. Harnessing this dynamic process and the resulting media content, CTVN promotes positive youth and community development with the overall goal of raising the educational success and economic viability of the neighborhoods in which youth participants live and work. CTVN programs instill in youth the awareness, motivation, and tools they need to create positive futures for themselves and their neighborhoods.
Since its founding in 1974, CTVN has
utilized media as an educational tool to improve the education,
quality of life, and opportunities available to underserved youth in
Chicago. Executive Director Denise Zaccardi originally created CTVN
as a special project of the Alternative Schools Network and in 1980
CTVN incorporated as an independent tax-exempt nonprofit
organization. Over 9,000 of Chicago's at-risk youth
have participated in CTVN's media literacy and video production
programs, creating insightful videos for their peers and leaving
behind a rich legacy. The nearly 500 videos that make up CTVN's media
library form a vibrant and diverse digital catalogue composed of
authentic youth voices. The library serves as a valuable teaching
resource and offers a history not only of youth media in America but
community histories of Chicago rarely seen elsewhere. Every year, new
CTVN youth producers add their voices to this unique collection,
producing dozens of videos that are broadcast in Chicago and New York
City, made available online, and screened in film festivals across
the country.
Over
three decades, CTVN has developed a technology and arts curriculum
that empowers urban youth with a platform for self-representation
while building self-esteem, community awareness, and intellectual
curiosity. Video—our primary educational tool—is taught
through hands-on, interdisciplinary, student- and problem-centered
programming. This accessible and engaging medium captures the
attention of our focus age group in an information society with a
digital landscape dominated by visual media. As applied by CTVN’s
model curriculum, digital video continuously proves to enhance
academic learning, which further develops essential skills that will
lead to success in other subjects and endeavors.
Board of Directors
Judy Hoffman
Senior Lecturer in the Committee on Cinema and Media Studies and Department of Visual Arts, University of Chicago and Independent Filmmaker
Chicago, Illinois
Helen Graeff
Art instructor and Independent Media Artist
Chicago, Illinois
Dinesh Sabu
Media and Administrative Assistant, Kartemquin Films and Independent Filmmaker
Chicago, Illinois
Molly Thornton
University activist
Chicago, Illinois
Don Washington
Nonprofit consultant and youth mentor
Chicago, Illinois
Cecelia Burokas
Business School Professor at Northwestern
Evanston, Illinois
Advisory Committee
Thom Clark, Community Media Workshop
Sylvia Ewing, Illinois Network of Charter Schools
Juana Guzman, National Museum of Mexican Art
Peter Kuttner, Board Member, International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600
Tod Lending, Nomadic Pictures
Judith McCray, Juneteenth Productions
Mirko Popadic, Mir Productions
Gordon Quinn, Kartemquin Films