What is needed to conduct an effective media workshop in PNG This wasthe question posed to a group of twelve attendees atthe UNESCO Media workshop hosted bythe Centre for Social and Creative Media (CSCM) atthe University of Goroka. The purpose ofthe workshop was to bring media practitioners togther to discuss media production in Papua New Guineaand come up with ideas for media training and media capacity building. They came from several organisations including NBe, Kundu TV, Media for DevelopmentInitiative, National FilmInstitute,World Vision, SIL and University of Goroka (UOG). Workshop lLeadersMark Eby and Dr. Verena Thomas (UOG) leadthe participants through a series of lectures, activities and discussions.
One activity hadthe participants produce video interviews. Teams of four, using state ofthe art cameras and sound equipmentoconducted individual workshop interviews. Each participant produced a short video using professional editing software. Despitethe fact that most ofthe participants had little post-production editing experience,they successfully completedthe videos in just two days. The videos were critiqued and allthe participants were encouraged bythe workthey had completed.
A presentation on “Using Social Media” focused on how to create a social media platform. A model was presented by Tim ScottoChief Communications Officer, SIL-PNG and participants saw how different social media elements could be integrated to distribute information to a variety of social media users. One participant said, “I us, Facebook but I didn’trsquo;t realise how I could use different types of social media togther to get my information out.”
LLeadersand participants alike agreed thatthe workshop was a success. The coordinators plan to use information from this workshop to create materials to train Papua New Guineas on how to become effective media producers.
“The rural people in Papua New Guineaneed access to information, especially information about important social issues. This workshop helped me learn more tools to do my job better.” – Sara Mumugao, Senior Beoadcast Editor, NBe.
