A new collaboration with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication empowers young people to shape the future of journalism and civic dialogue through AI and storytelling.

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, has announced the launch of a two-phase Youth Civic Voices Initiative designed to engage young people in civic dialogue through journalistic storytelling, emerging technologies, and public conversation. The initiative is supported by the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC), based at the MIT Media Lab, and Cortico — a nonprofit closely affiliated with CCC that uses AI technology to support community listening.

The initiative begins with a six-week paid fellowship hosted at the MIT Media Lab for a small cohort of Boston-area youth ages 16–21. Over the course of the program, fellows will explore the intersection of AI, learning, and the future using video shorts from FRONTLINE’s "For the Record" series as the foundation for storytelling and dialogue. Participants will host peer-led conversations, synthesize insights using AI tools developed at MIT, and co-create media and conversation guides designed to resonate with youth across the political spectrum.

"As we look to connect FRONTLINE’s journalism with younger audiences, we need to know what’s important to them and how they engage with a rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE. “We hope this relationship with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication will create a feedback loop between youth audiences and public media—informing stories, expanding reach, and embedding journalism in the spaces where young people live, learn, and engage.”

This initiative reflects the Media Lab’s Life with AI research theme, which focuses on designing AI systems to enhance human experience, and its commitment to building a Decentralized Society where participatory technologies empower community dialogue and ethical innovation.

“The Youth Civic Voices Initiative will give young people practical tools and a platform to shape conversations about issues they care deeply about,” said Dr. Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou, head of translational research and practice at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. “By combining journalistic storytelling with accessible AI tools, we are empowering youth to directly influence how public media engages their generation.”

A second phase of the initiative will extend these resources nationally, launching civic conversations in libraries across the country from fall 2025 through mid-2026.

To nominate a participant, contact sarah.gesner@cortico.ai or apply here.