Youth in 21st Century: Debating and Producing Media Workshop 2012

Sponsored by the International Debate Education Association

Welcome to our workshop!

This pack has been prepared to give you a clear understanding of what Youth in 21st Century: Debating and Producing Media Workshop 2012 is all about, what we stand for, and why we are organizing this series of workshops each year.

Summary

The media play an important role in shaping the ideas of youth worldwide. The media can validate or ignore social or political issues in a society, cover some issues at the expense of others, and shape perceptions about particular groups or individuals.

New technologies, however, allow youth to be not only passive consumers of media, but also producers. Blogs, Internet-based video and radio, open source and wiki software, digital photography, and text messaging enable youth to have a presence in public discourse that they could not in the past.

Given these trends, the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) organizes a series of workshops that combine debate, discussion,

and analysis of the medias role in society with hands-on training in how to create professional and insightful media projects.

The first two-week workshop was first held in 2010 and since then workshops were held in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Sub-Sahara Africa.

Integration of Debate and Media programs

Each workshop has been designed to help young people analyze the role of the media in reporting and shaping perception of social problems relevant to the region. With the help of specialists and professionals in the field, participants gain an understanding of how the media works in that particular region.

Furthermore, through debate and argumentation on media-based topics such as freedom of speech, reporting on violence, the ethics of reporting, and controls, participants have the opportunity to craft stances on how the media in their region should engage with society.

Hands-on activity also features prominently in each workshop. Specialists in journalistic techniques and technologies help each participant to create a media project relevant to the role of the media in his or her society or region. The combination of debate with hands-on activity allows participants to come away from the workshop with a product that can be shown publicly in a self-conscious manner. In short, participants learn

how to harness media technologies while becoming aware of their role as media creators and consumers.

Regional Focus

The workshop series focuses on the role of media in covering each regions social and political issues. Each participant is expected to analyze what role the media play in an issue relevant to his or her country or region.

Target Audience and Number of Participants

In order to balance the two goals of targeting youth and engaging in substantive intellectual discussions, the workshop series targets youth between the ages of 18 and 29, and each workshop features up to 40 participants.

Selection of Participants

In order to recruit the most motivated young people, each workshop has an application process. Participants are asked to complete an online form including both closed and open-ended questions to gauge reasons for interest in attendance, familiarity with media tools, and writing level.

These applications are reviewed by workshop staff and selections are made with the goal of assembling a group of participants who have high motivation and promise.

Once accepted, participants are asked to compile and submit a media profile. They are asked to assess their usage of the media, where they receive their news, what their favorite or most formative books are, and any other information relevant to media consumption or production habits. This exercise not only encourages useful reflection on the part of participants, but also helps workshop staff tailor instruction to the needs and skills of participants without taking time away from the workshop itself for such assessment.

Staff

Each workshop requires approximately 1415 staff members. The staff for each workshop consists of a coordinator, trainers and support staff.

Curriculum and Course Offerings

The workshop curriculum seeks to integrate the skills necessary for debate with those that make effective journalists. While participants are able to sharpen their technical skills in various forms of communication such as video and blogs, they are also able to improve their speaking, writing, and persuasion skills so that the content of media projects is visually attractive as well as thoroughly researched and cogently argued.

By the end of each workshop, participants have the following: A media project for public dissemination Improved familiarity and experience with open-source media production software A critical awareness of the role that the media plays in shaping social issues A grounding in the basic skills of debate, including fundamentals of argumentation, public speaking, and research Experience in public debates Practice and versatility in composition across media A network of peers comprised of critical and skilled young media consumers and producers

Daily schedule

The typical daily schedule for the workshop looks like this: Time 7.45am 8.45am 9am All Breakfast Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

Debate 1

Debate 1

Journalism Journalism

10.45am Coffee break 11am 12.45pm Lunch 2pm 3.45pm 4pm Tea break

Journalism Journalism Debate 1 Debate 2 Debate 2

Debate 1

Media Media Production Production Debate 2

Media Media Debate 2 Production Production

5.45pm 6pm

7pm 8pm

Rest Guest Speaker / Movie / Activity Dinner Evening activity (optional)

Since there are about 40 participants, each group has 10 participants.

The participants have four classes a day: two in debate, one in journalism, and one in video production. Each class is one hour and 45 minutes long. In addition, most evenings, the regions journalists are invited as guests to discuss topics of relevance to the participants, such as their own media histories; the role of the media in the region; qualities of good journalism; where news ideas come from; how they use new media; issues in ethics, law, sedition; their composition processes and finished pieces. The guest speakers may also be experts involved in public engagement and advocacy work.

Participants in our workshops are taught to write short scripts, and use photos and video clips to tell a story. Storytellers are taught to edit and compile their pieces into a 34 minute movie.

At the end of the workshop, all participants produce a feature article in two different forms: written and digital. These group projects focus on an issue critical to the region where the workshop is being held. For the debate track, a tournament is held where top debaters are selected and placed on teams that debate each other.

On the last day of the workshop, all the projects are viewed or read out loud, and the debate finals are held.