3066 PNG-SI Henderson - media education
austraLasia #3066
Silence
and
Word: constructing our visual world
HONIARA:
9 May 2012 - Under the general title of 'Silence and
Word', the Papal Communications Day Message for 2012, the Salesians
in the
Solomon Islands are running a series of 5 weekend media
education
sessions. We live in a visual age, and the digital natives of
Don Bosco
Technical Institute, Bishop Epalle, St John’s, St Nicholas’
School and
St Joseph’s gathered at Don Bosco Animation Centre, Kola Ridge
from 4th
to 6th May, 2012. They spent the weekend learning about
how our
visual world is constructed and how it can be
interpreted.
This was the third weekend Media Seminar hosted by DBTI at the
Don
Bosco Animation Centre, Kola Ridge, Honiara. The
students, under
the guidance of animators Fr. Ambrose Pereira sdb and DBTI
teacher
Penny Chilton, explored ideas ranging from the parts of the
camera and
the basics of photography, through to the construction of
advertising
and how we can “read” the images that are increasingly part of
everyday
life. Skills such as this are vital as our world continues to
become
more digitalized through the growing presence of mobile
phones,
television and the Internet.
“The presentation by Chilton was moving as I discovered that
media
plays an important part in controlling us. Being aware
of this
enables us make informed decisions. I will help others
understand
this as well”, said Dominic Tsibuen, St. Joseph’s Secondary
School,
animator.
Young people are constantly swamped by visual stimulation and
the
development of interpretive skills such as this helps them to
make wise
and objective choices about how they interact with the world
around
them. Students had the opportunity to engage with short
films,
photographs, cartoons and posters as they learned the tricks
of the
visual editor’s trade and put them to use in the creation of
their own
newsletters, articles and advertisements to be displayed on
their
school noticeboards.
Participants in these seminars have previously learned about
writing
articles and using radio. The aim of the organizer, Fr.
Ambrose Pereira
sdb, is that students should be equipped with the tools they
need to
interact and communicate effectively with the world around
them so that
they can become involved and thoughtful members of society,
active in
the decisions of the future. Feedback thus far has been
very
positive, with many students identifying that such programs
should be a
regular part of schooling and that they wish the program could
be
provided to students who don’t attend one of the participating
schools.
