The 5-day initiation of the MediaCorps orientation and training program for young peace journalists successfully concluded on October, 22 at Hotel Goldi Sands Hotel, Negombo.
MediaCorps Fellowship is an innovative program that empowers young journalists to break traditional barriers in conventional storytelling, especially when reporting stories of marginalized and conflict-affected communities that are less captured by mainstream media. The program has trained 34 young journalists in 2018, who have produced more than 70 multimedia stories. And twenty-four fellows are in the field and experiencing cross-cultural and expected to produce more than 62 Mobile Journalism stories or MoJos in the near future.
The third batch of MediaCorps Fellowship comprised of 34 young journalists (18 girls and 16 boys) belonging to different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds (Sinhala-18, Tamil-10 and Muslim-6).
The five-day training program started on October 18 with an inauguration ceremony with the presence of Prof. Padmasiri Wanigasundera, Chairperson, SDJF and Mr. Mohamed Azad, Program Director, SDJF. Addressing the fellows, Prof. Wanigasundera said: “journalists in Sri Lanka have an enormous opportunity to walk the extra mile and be development journalists and bring to light the uncaptured issues if diverse communities in the country”.
For five days the Fellows underwent an intensive yet interactive session on a wide range of topics including diversity and pluralism, peace and conflict-sensitive journalism, gender-sensitive journalism, using social media for journalism and practical sessions on MoJo, their primary tool for story production. The technical sessions on MoJo imparted the essential components in visual storytelling including basic shots types, sequences, camera angles and one-third rule through a globally accepted MoJo editing mobile app, KineMaster.
On Day 3, Mr. K.W. Janaranjana, Editor in Chief of Anidda Newspaper joined the Fellows for a thought-provoking discussion. “Journalism is a profession with an enormous social impact. That is why journalists should be considerate of what they report and make sure their reports foster coexistence”, said Mr. Janaranjana.
Fellows had the opportunity to practically use their classroom learning during a field visit on Day 4 to three communities in Kochchikade and Waikkala areas where they produced MoJos on communities affected by an irregular garbage dump site and declining tile industry respectively. Following the field visit the Fellows produced 34 MoJos on the given issues.
On day 5, the hosting and reverse-hosting process was elaborated after which 9 MediaCorps Alumni joined the new batch for an interesting experience sharing session where the alumni shared their stories, challenges and memories gained from the Fellowship that they would cherish for a lifetime. At the end each fellow signed the MC fellowship agreement and received a field notebook.
“I experienced the concept of cross-culture throughout this program where I could mingle with other journalists hailing from diverse cultures. The bond we have created from here will continue further in our field exercises by hosting each other, which I think will contribute to foster the much-needed coexistence in the country”, added Kamali Dedigama, the Fellow who is a freelance journalist from Vennappuwa.
Mohamed Rasool, former News Editor of Capital FM, who took part in the training noted, “As journalists, we have to keep abreast with the trends in media and communication. MediaCorps Fellowship offered me the valuable opportunity to learn the new media tool of mobile journalism (MoJo) which has now become a global trend. MoJo will innovate my career as a journalist and enable me to give voice to stories from the communities in a visually appealing manner”.
After the training program, the Fellows will spend a week in a community different from their very own with their MediaCorps partner and produce collaborative multimedia and mobile stories. The Fellows will receive remote mentorship and a stipend to facilitate their fieldwork process.
This program was organized by the Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF), as a part of the Media Empowerment for a Democratic Sri Lanka (MEND) Program, implemented by the International Research Exchanges Board (IREX) with the support from USAID.