Media Education Seminar for NGI region
- Abigail Seta
Vunapope:The Catholic Bishops Conference has been conducting media education seminars for catholic students in the city for the past few months and it has now gone regional.
On Monday, 14th May 2018, the Media Education Seminar commenced with twenty-eight youth leaders, catechists and priests of the different dioceses in the New Guinea Islands Region where they gathered in Vunapope, East New Britain Province.
Representatives from Bougainville, Kimbe and the Rabaul Archdiocese itself were present at the three-day seminar where the first session had Fr Ambrose Pereira sdb, CBC Secretary for Communication and Youth, speak on the Pastoral letter from the Bishops with a key focus on the theme “Called to the fullness of Life and Love” and the year of youth.
Fr Martin We-en, program director of Radio Maria, conducted the audio sessions. He touched on the history of Catholic radio in PNG and overseas. Activities to create radio jingles and dramas and photos with a message were given to the participants followed by presentations.
On Wednesday, 16 May, the seminar had sessions video and discussed issues that the young people face today. Participants were given insights into the message that needs to emerge from images and videos. Short films on the theme: ‘Youth Alive! Celebrating Life and Love’ were then scripted, shot and edited.
On Thursday, 17 May, the session focused on culture, technology and social media. Participants were keen to understand how social media is influencing their lives and changing the values and behaviour patterns of young people.
The presentation and screening of the films were held on the 18 May, Friday. Archbishop Francesco Panfilo sdb, the Archbishop of Rabaul, congratulated the participants and expressed his appreciation for highlighting the issues facing young people in our world today. “The film entitled ‘Mobile igat Pawa’ depicted the ability of Social Media to draw people away from connecting with family and friends. We need to use the media to highlight the truth and make positive changes”, he commented on one groups film.
“I enjoyed the sessions and the topics covered and the way it was delivered to the participants,” Raymond Girana from the Bougainville diocese said.
“My commitment is to share what I have learnt in my diocese, parishes and schools especially the youths.”
Certificates of participation were presented to each participant by Archbishop Francisco Panfilo.
The Seminar was organised by the Social Communications team of the Archdiocese of Rabaul and conducted by the CBC SOCOM and Youth Department. Similar seminars are organized for the different Regions in the year ahead.
