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View a video introduction at Kairos-Media.org

Kairos Media – Launching a new web portal for Christians

an interview with Toufic Elramy, new director of Kairos Media

Kairos Youth Culture Newsletter Staff: Toufic, you were asked to spearhead the Kairos Media project. It's big! Where do you start?

Toufic: Modern culture rides on technology: film, television, radio, internet, mp3 players, video games. When youth aren't at school they are almost always interacting with technology of some sort. As most of us know, much of the web is not morally safe. You can go to Youtube or iTunes for all the right reasons and come away slimed. So, we are starting by providing an excellent and healthy media portal – a place where youth can go that is "cool," but also up-building.

KYCN: Excellence is a high standard!

Toufic: Yes. Cool may be more challenging though, but I think we have an answer for both. In the beginning we expect to get a fair amount of stuff that is somewhat short of excellent. That's ok. We primarily want to have a place where our youth can showcase their own work. They'll produce something, upload it and invite their friends to come and see. Some of it will be really popular – thus cool. The best songs and videos we will re?do in high quality and make them available for purchase. Over time, the site will grow in excellence.

KYCN: When will this media portal be ready?

Toufic: It's in development now. You can already upload videos and music to the site by going to
www.kairos-media.org. We are planning an online “come and see party” starting February 26th.

KYCN: How will you ensure that Kairos media site will be safe?

Toufic: Each video and every song will be reviewed before it goes on line. Three criteria will have to be met. First, is it technically good enough? The sound quality must be adequate. The image must be in focus, etc. Second, does it uphold spiritual and moral excellence? If it falls into a gray area, it won't be posted. People will need to hit the bulls-eye, not just the target. Third, we won't post anything illegal or offensive: politically, culturally, ethnically, ecumenically, racially or otherwise.

KYCN: Are you worried about kids getting addicted to your site 
like they do to Facebook and YouTube?

Toufic: I wish! Well, not really. Our goal is not that. Like anything potentially addicting, people need to be wise. Alcohol, television, classical music, football – any of them can be addicting. If we see it is becoming a problem, we will provide a way to limit access.

KYCN: How can people get involved?

Toufic: If they have already created a video or recorded a song, they can upload it now. More importantly, we need people to record songs or skits they do in the future. We also need team members who will review the material that is uploaded. We need financial support as well! My budget for this year is $70,000. People can donate to this project at the kairos-media.org page. I also need people who will help me do fundraising. I already have some of my team in place here in Lebanon and in the U.S. but I will definitely need more people soon! Anyone who wants to help can email me directly via toufic.elramy@googlemail.com until I become really famous. Then I'll change my e-mail.
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