The Digital Media Storytelling Academy - Artificial Intelligence Production Edition
Program Overview
As our world has been transformed by artificial intelligence over the last two years, digital media producers have been thrust into the center of every organization. The challenge is that most community-based organizations, schools, and nonprofits were not prepared for this shift and often lack the expertise to adapt in impactful ways. The first version of this course was launched in 2020, with more than 200 participants and 15 institutions around the world taking the course. Now is the time to update the course for a new set of digital media producers, as well as youth interested in exploring careers in media production. This year we will be meeting on Wednesdays at 6:00pm PST for all ages, starting November 5th. We welcome youth ages 6th grade and up, artists, and nonprofit institutions. We will meet online, and in person at Medina Academy’s Redmond campus.
We believe that with training and by connecting media producers across diverse organizations we can build the ecosystem and narrative infrastructure needed to tell our stories with power and purpose.
The Beyond Borders Digital Media Production Academy – AI Edition is a 5-week intensive designed to equip students, educators, and community leaders with the skills they need to thrive in today’s fast-changing media landscape. Led by filmmaker and media strategist Mustafa Dustin Craun, this program blends hands-on technical training with values-driven frameworks, ensuring that participants not only learn how to use the tools of AI and digital storytelling but also how to do so in a way rooted in ethics, identity, and social impact.
Participants will gain direct feedback and coaching while developing projects for their institutions, startups, or personal portfolios. The program culminates with participants pitching their media projects to a panel of digital media experts and community leaders.
Program Curriculum (5 Weeks) - Starting - Wednesdays - Nov. 5th
Course 1 | Storytelling & Narrative Change Foundations
Learn the art of story telling as the engine of social change and the heart of any company
Explore frameworks of narrative change rooted in justice and community empowerment.
Identify institutional and personal storytelling goals.
Workshop: Craft your first narrative arc and campaign idea.
Course 2 | AI-Assisted Content Production in 2025 – Writing & AI Tools
Hands-on training in AI-assisted writing tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.).
Techniques for drafting campaigns, newsletters, and scripts with AI.
Creating GPTs and projects for institutional development and grant writing.
Ethical considerations: avoiding the bias of AI, ensuring authenticity, staying rooted in community values.
Workshop: Use AI to co-develop your first blog, campaign draft, or newsletter.
Course 3 | AI Image Generation & Video Editing, and Livestreaming
Explore tools like Midjourney, Gemini 2.5, Veo 3, Runway, Stable Diffusion, and OpenAI Sora.
Learn prompt design, editing, and integrating AI visuals into campaigns.
AI-assisted video editing
Practice short-form video storytelling for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
Workshop: Produce a 30–60 second AI-assisted video with an accompanying campaign graphic.
Course 4 | Social Media AI Tools & Vibe Marketing
Learn how to use AI to build content calendars, generate captions, and analyze engagement.
Explore “vibe marketing” — creating resonance, not just reach.
Build a cross-platform digital strategy (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn).
Workshop: Plan a one-month social media campaign with AI support.
Course 5 | Business Development & Fundraising Strategies
Learn how to use AI for grant research, proposal drafting, and donor outreach.
Explore case studies of successful digital fundraising campaigns.
Develop monetization and sustainability strategies for your media projects.
Pitch Competition: Pitch your digital campaign idea to a panel of mentors and receive feedback.
At the end of the 5-week Academy, students will participate in a Pitch Competition where they present their digital media ideas and projects to a panel of community leaders and media professionals. This gives students the opportunity to:
Showcase their AI-assisted storytelling and production work.
Receive constructive feedback from industry mentors.
Gain experience in pitching ideas—an essential skill for future careers, fundraising, and community organizing.
The pitch competition also doubles as a community showcase event, inviting parents, teachers, and peers to celebrate the students’ creativity and leadership.
Instructor Bio
Mustafa Dustin Craun is a filmmaker, media strategist, and cultural organizer with nearly two decades of experience in faith-based and social impact storytelling. He has co-founded and built organizations such as MPower Change, Ummah Wide, and most recently the Center for Global Muslim Life and the Border Mosque. Through Beyond Borders Studios, he has led projects for institutions such as UC Berkeley, The Othering & Belonging Institute, Walt Disney Studios, 500 Startups, and The California Endowment. His film credits include A Prayer Beyond Borders, Hacking for Peace, The All Seeing Eyes of San Diego Surveillance, and From Palestine to Mexico – Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib Visits the Border Mosque.
Raised in Denver, Colorado Dustin has spent the majority of the last 15 years on the west coast of Turtle Island, between Berkeley, Oakland, Seattle, and San Diego, working alongside diverse communities to build narrative power and cultural infrastructure. He brings a uniquely global and transnational lens to the interconnected world we inhabit, having also lived and worked in Mexico, Ghana, Morocco, the Middle East, and Malaysia.
He has a bachelor's in Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Masters in Ethnic Studies from the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He studied Latin American philosophy and the Decoloniality school of thought in the graduate school of Ethnic Studies at the University of California-Berkeley, and traditional Islamic Studies at Zaytuna College.
Course Times & Location
This year we will be meeting on Wednesdays at 6:00pm PST
Course is open for all ages, starting November 5th. We welcome youth ages 6th grade and up, artists, and nonprofit institutions. We will meet online, and in person at Medina Academy’s Redmond campus.
Registration
Sliding Scale Donation
The course is open to all students for free, it is much appreciated if families want to make a sliding scale donation. With a goal of making the course as accessible as possible we have sliding scale donation based pricing from $150 to $500 for individuals and $1000 to $2500 for Institutions. If you cannot afford the class fee please apply for one of our scholarships above, generously supported by 4Culture the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington.