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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.