As a journalist and storyteller, Chelsea Jones focused on reporting the challenges and joys experienced by people living with a disability.<\/p>\n
But as her career progressed, she says she became more interested in telling stories about how \u201cdisabled cultural creators are telling their own complex and multi-layered stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brock University Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies is captivated by the \u201ccreative and compelling\u201d ways young disabled content creators make their material accessible for disabled audiences and wants to support that talent.<\/p>\n
With funding from the provincial government\u2019s Early Researcher Award<\/a>, Jones and her team will be providing training and mentorship opportunities for 60 youth worldwide through their \u201cMaking Accessible Media with Youth\u201d project.<\/p>\n “Ontario is a leader in the production of accessible media content,” said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West. “This training and mentorship project by Dr. Chelsea Jones and Brock University will advance the development of accessible media across the province, the country and internationally.”<\/p>\n Accessible media<\/a> refers to movies, television shows, videos, websites and other content that have been modified so that people with visual or hearing challenges can follow along. Traditionally, these include additions such as closed captioning, sign language and audio descriptions.<\/p>\n