Workshop on Community Media and its Facilitation
Client
Tezpur University
Role
Co-facilitator (Consultant)
Area of Work
Community Media
Duration of Project
5 days,
March 2022
About the Project
Students of the first semester of the "Communication for Development" course at the Mass Communication department of Tezpur University, Assam, participated in a 5-day workshop focused on creating an understanding of participatory communication processes, the role of a facilitator in participatory processes within community media spaces, giving a practical insight of the same through community media projects.
Process
The workshop was imagined to provide students with first-hand experience of being a facilitator, and working on difficult issues through the mediums of audio and video.
At the end of the workshop, students showcased their projects on the following issues -
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Accepting all sexual identities (Video Production)
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Questioning the Girls' Hostel Regulations from a Gender perspective (Video Production)
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Problems around Menstruation (Audio Production)
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Mental Health at Tezpur University (Audio Production)
.
DAY 1: WHAT DOES PARTICIPATION MEAN?
Using the principles of "Foram Theatre", students were asked to design a solution to a problem statement given to them, incorporating different stakeholders into the play. The play should showcase how they reached the particular solution, who was involved, and what the process was like.
The objective of this activity was to make students understand the idea of participation, the difference between a "top-down" and "bottom-up" approach, and the ideas of power and privilege.
DAY 2: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY MEDIA
With the focus on community media, students were introduced to what community media is, its various types, and its history. Through case studies, students were acquainted with how a community media space functions, the challenges, and the impact these spaces create.
Students were asked to brainstorm their own community media project they could complete in the time-span of the workshop, with the student community of Tezpur as its key stakeholder.
DAY 3 TO 5: HAND-HOLDING, PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION
Divided into four teams, students embarked on their own projects by reaching out to the larger student community of the university and making them a part of the ideation, production, and post-production processes of their project. The workshop ended with a presentation of all the projects in an open-house event.
Students and faculty of Mass Communication Department of Tezpur University, Assam
Discussions on production processes, along with feedback with the different teams
Presentation of one of the teams project
Students and faculty of Mass Communication Department of Tezpur University, Assam