youth in 21st century: debating and producing media workshop

8/2/2019 Youth in 21st Century: Debating and Producing Media Workshop

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Youth in 21st Century: Debating and

Producing Media Workshop 2012Sponsored 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 passiveconsumers 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 media’s 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

region’s 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 14 – 15 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 All Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

7.45am –

8.45am

Breakfast

9am Debate 1 Debate 1 Journalism Journalism

10.45am Coffee

break

11am Journalism Journalism Debate 1 Debate 1

12.45pm Lunch

2pm Debate 2 Debate 2 MediaProduction

MediaProduction

3.45pm Tea break

4pm MediaProduction MediaProduction Debate 2 Debate 2



5.45pm Rest

6pm Guest

Speaker /

Movie /

Activity7pm Dinner

8pm Eveningactivity

(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 region’s 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 3 –4 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.

youth in 21st century: debating and producing media workshop

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