Highway Africa’s, Future Journalists Programme (FJP) recently held its first workshop of 2011. 19 second-year students, from 10 institutions of higher learning around South Africa, converged in Grahamstown to participate in the programme.
The overall theme for this year’s workshop was 'Mobile phones as tools for Journalism'. The FJPs (as the students were called) learnt how to use mobile phones and freeware to produce visual material for broadcast and multimedia platforms. Introductory sessions involved learning the fundamentals of television journalism – including camera work, directing and scripting. This served as a crash-course for those students who don’t have studies in television as part of their courses at their respective institutions.
This year the FJP collaborated with LoveLife, with FJPs working around the sub-theme 'Sexuality in Grahamstown' as a focus for the workshop. FJP visited the Dlukulu Clinic, in Joza Township, where FJPs interacted with the Grahamstown LoveLife volunteer group. FJPs interviewed LoveLife volunteers, using their mobile phones to capture footage. It was a good exchange between young South Africans, with LoveLife volunteers sharing their life-stories and FJPs documenting it.
By the end of the week, FJPs were familiar with using new media technologies to produce multimedia reports. Nqobile Sibisi, FJP Assistant Co-ordiantor said, "This year’s FJP celebrated a major achievement as it was the first time that we provided the platform for young journalists to embrace and utilise the opportunities presented by new media." "It was also the beginning of new friendships and the building of professional networks heading into the future."