The Creative Activist Toolkit is a series of PDF booklets designed to help today’s youth impact the world through creativity and social entrepreneurship. Produced by the Global Youth Fund and the Creative Visions Foundation, the toolkit chapters are offered free to download. Email us if you would like to contribute a chapter. This chapter helps young changemakers create press releases that will get them noticed.

1. Glorified
PRESS
Releases
Make your stor y stand out.➠
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

2. ENERGY, SINCERITY,
CLARITY OF VISION,
CREATIVITY...
Dan Eldon (1970-1993)
Creative Activist

3. in partnership with
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

4. Tip: For all the links to work, you must view this
full screen or download the file.
Click “Get File” button to download PDF.
On Slideshare.net On other sites
Click on “full” button to view full screen.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

5. glorified press releases
At some point, every What you want is for
social change project the world (or at least
needs to get the word your town) to know
out – in a pretty BIG way. what you’re doing.
Not just to Facebook
friends, classmates and In other words, you
relatives. want the media
spotlight.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

6. glorified press releases
The most common way to get the
media’s attention is to write a
press release and send it to
media outlets.
You can still do that. But there’s
one major problem...
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

7. glorified press releases
There are thousands of press
releases sent out every day,
competing not just with one
another but with news events
that don’t need press releases:
bank robberies, murders,
hurricanes,
etc.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

8. glorified press releases
So, how do you
stand out?
Let’s consider alternate
ways of communicating
your story - using what I
call “glorified press
releases.”
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

9. glorified press releases
Case Study 1:
Invisible Children
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

10. glorified press releases
In 2006, the youth-led
organization, Invisible Children,
planned a nationwide event to
raise awareness of the civil war
in northern Uganda, and the
innocent children caught in the
conflict.
com
Invisible Children.
They asked American youth to
walk to their nearest city centers
and sleep there – the same way
Ugandan children have to seek
shelter every night in order to
avoid being kidnapped by
rebel soldiers.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

11. glorified press releases
Invisible Children wanted media outlets everywhere to cover
this event. So they created this video:
CLICK TO PLAY
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

12. glorified press releases
This is, essentially, a video press
release. Like all good press releases,
it answered all the key questions: who,
what, where, when, why and how.
But what the video did that no words
can do was give TV outlets a preview
of the ACTION they can film. More
than anything else, that’s what TV
crews want: to see action unfold.
The video press release helped
Invisible Children show the action they
can deliver.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

13. glorified press releases
Case Study 2:
Ashoka’s Youth Venture
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

14. glorified press releases
In 2009, Ashoka’s Youth Venture ran
a global campaign - Invent Your
World - to recognize and support
youth who are inventing for social
change. (This is a campaign I
helped manage.)
When the time came to let the world
know about the top five winners, I
knew I wanted to offer something
that others could easily forward or
copy and paste.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

15. glorified press releases
Since we couldn’t produce a video – the winners were all far
away from us – we produced two other types of content
instead...
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

16. glorified press releases
a) Presentations
Using photos and brief text, we created a brief presentation
showcasing the winners and another one showcasing the grand
prize winner’s project. We then uploaded them to Slideshare.net.
Click on images below to view them.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

17. glorified press releases
b) Interview
We also conducted a text interview with the top prize winner,
15-year-old Javier Fernandez-Han, and posted the interview,
along with the presentations, on Change.org.
Click image to read interview.
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18. glorified press releases
By creating these pieces of content, we wanted to
achieve the following:
produce actual content, not just press releases
show people who the winners are (using
pictures)
give reporters a taste of what an interview with
the top prize winner would sound like (through
quotes and our own interview)
most importantly, offer content that others can
easily copy/paste and forward
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

19. glorified press releases
As you can see on Slideshare.net, more than seven thousand
have viewed the two presentations and at least 25 websites
have embedded the presentations. Also, media outlets
including PBS and BBC have contacted us about the winners.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

20. glorified press releases
Conclusion
In this day and age, YOU are the media. Don’t just issue press
releases, CREATE CONTENT.
You can tell your story better than anyone. Just look at how
Invisible Children documented their Global Night Commute.
CLICK TO PLAY
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21. glorified press releases
Share your “glorified press releases”
with us. Good luck!
Click image to visit our community.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

22. glorified press releases
Good luck! Share your pitch with us!
Click image to visit our community.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

23. glorified press releases
Check out other chapters...
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

24. glorified press releases
if you use this toolkit...
tell us! post your “press releases” at
globalyouth.ning.com. ask for feedback. let us
know if this chapter helped you or how it can be
improved.
download and forward...
share this with someone you know. you can
download this chapter from slideshare.net
subscribe...
enter your email address at globalyouth.ning.com to
get alerts when more toolkits are posted.
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

25. about the author
Charles Tsai is the founder and Executive Director of Global
Youth Fund and also works for Ashoka’s Youth Venture as
Director of Virtual Program. Previously, he worked at CNN
as a reporter and producer. www.charlestsai.com
creative activist toolkit thanks
The Creative Activist Toolkit is a series of PDF The Creative Visions Foundation
booklets designed to help today’s youth The Vancouver Foundation
impact the world through creativity and social The Steve Nash Foundation
entrepreneurship. Produced by the Global
Youth Fund and the Creative Visions Jon and Amy Eldon Turteltaub, Joanne Marien
Foundation, the toolkit chapters are offered Elaine Munro, Debbie Riopel, Jaspal Lisa Rai
free to download. Email us if you would like Bruce Johnson, Brooke Kuhn, Serge Martin
to contribute a chapter.
Copyright ©2009 Global Youth Fund credits
Feel free to pass this booklet on but you may Amy Eldon Turteltaub Executive Producer
not alter the content or charge for it. You may Charles Tsai Managing Director
quote brief sections if you credit Global Youth
Fund and provide a link to Photos from Invisible Children,
globalyouth.ning.com Ashoka’s Youth Venture
globalyouthfund Creative Activist Toolkit 003

26. Global Youth Fund
550 Pacific Street, Suite 502
Vancouver, BC V6Z 3G2
CANADA
Tel: +1 (604) 628-1807
www.globalyouthfund.org