CfA: Media and audiovisual techniques literacy project in Bulgaria

Dear colleagues,

We from a youth NGO in Bulgaria are looking for partner NGOs or public bodies (e.g. a public TV, a municipality) to take part in a project on media and audiovisual literacy for young people. If you are interested or know an organisation that might be - do give a shout. The deadline for partnership agreements to be signed and sent to us is 29 September.

Some basic info below, and you can also access the summary of the project via the attached file. Please write, if you need more details.

It will be a small-budget project (25 000 reqested from the EC) with 3 face-to-face workshops in Bulgaria on state-of-art audiovisual software, monthly catch-ups via skype and most of the creative work will be exchanged and worked on as in an internet community. The main outcome will be a film created jointly by the young artists, treating the topic of EU countries' stereotyp es and the reality of youth's lives in each of the participating countries.



SUMMARY
Use of Audiovisual Software and ICTs to Encourage Creativity and Innovation in the Youth Sector


Project proposal for: ‘Youth in Action’ Programme
Call for proposals: EACEA/12/09; Action 4.4
Applicant: SIP Bulgaria
Budget: 25 000 EUR
Priority theme: media literacy of young people.

The project’s primary objective is to provide informal education sessions on contemporary techniques of audiovisual content production to an international team of multidisciplinary young artists in order to improve their ability to analyse and produce meaningful media content, including images and sounds, so that they can communicate their work competently in available new media channels in order to express themselves at personal, civil and professional level. The project targets European young audiovisual artists’ literacy with regard to contemporary media relevant to their work, namely television and film, radio and recorded music, new media and the Internet. It proposes the use of innovative methodology by introducing state-of-art audiovisual technologies to promote youth creative work, establishing virtual networks and promoting artistic work via new media tools. The content of the project is creative as it targets young artists and the content
and outcome of the activities will consist of the artistic work of the participants.

The project aims at demonstrating the two-fold influence (of new opportunities and global commercialisation of content) that new media and virtual communication have on contemporary audiovisual art. It will foster the critical thinking of the participants and will provide technical skills for the informed usage of multimedia software and information and communication technology (ICT) as tools for creative virtual networks and innovative artistic and civil content. The project proposes to provide trainings on the usage of state-of-art audiovisual software and ICTs to young artists with multidisciplinary backgrounds. The seminars, carried out via both face-to-face and online working sessions, will empower the participants to be aware of both the opportunities and limitations of global information channels that are the basis of personal and occupational development of creative artists in the present day of virtual social and professional networks. It will
enable them to critically evaluate and consciously use the media of television and film, radio and recorded music, new media and the Internet to produce and distribute their artistic work.

The project activities will take place in the 18 months of the period January 2010 – June 2011. They will include 3 face-to-face workshops in Bulgaria, rural municipality of Dupnitsa (in 2nd, 9th, and 17th months) and 15 online workshops (monthly review of the creative results and exchange of country team progress, in between the face-to-face workshops). Each workshop will include both training sessions on state-of-art audiovisual software and ICT usage for creative purposes, and creative sessions of joint artistic work. Each of the 4 partner organisation will be represented by 4 multidisciplinary participants (young artists from rural regions with fewer opportunities of access to specialised formal education and innovative technologies) and 1 coordinating youth worker at each of the workshops. Each partner organisation will also be responsible for coordinating the country work group of 4 multidisciplinary artists and will provide this administration
work and relevant ICT facilities as in kind co-funding.

The outcome of the young artists’ joint creative process should be the production of a film. It will be created by all of the participants who will be selected according to the multidisciplinary frame of the project, which envisages the team to include composers, sound engineers, computer animation artists, script writers, camera operators, video mix engineers, etc. The entire process of the production of the movie will be designed and undergone by the joint creative effort of the multidisciplinary artist team. The artistic work will be fulfilled on a voluntary basis with all necessary equipment and travel expenses provided by the project and will result in official credits for authorship on the movie.

The produced film will include author music and will treat the topic of stereotypes about the EU countries and the reality of youth’s everyday life in each of the participating countries. The film’s aim is to foster mutual understanding between young people in different countries. It will be presented and marketed via popular new media and social networks to the purpose of initiating an awareness raising campaign about the role of artistic networking in overcoming and redefining national citizenship stereotypes on the background of the process of European integration.

The long-term results for the personal, occupational and social lives of the participants will include:

► Knowledge and skills in using innovative media tools and channels, including audiovisual software, new media and work in virtual communities;
► Creative application of media software and channels, being acquainted and able to use state-of-art multimedia technologies to produce art content;
► Active use of Internet and ICTs that empowers the participants to create media content and to critically exploit the potential of contemporary media for both professional development and as a way to active citizenship by access to various messages and the ability to critically and consciously participate in their production;
► Knowledge and skills in using and participation in virtual networks to promote their artistic and civil stance;
► Awareness of media as a tool for promoting various content of both insecure quality, purpose and accuracy, and a capacity for critical appraisal and contribution to using contemporary media channels for producing innovative artistic products and independent civil messages;
► Familiarity with the increasing opportunities in using the Internet as a distribution channel that will allow the participants to create and disseminate images, information and content;
► Conscience of the European dimension of contemporary citizenship in each of the participating countries and solidarity and tolerance among young people in the European Union;
► Ability of team work in a multicultural environment;
► Improved organisational capacity of the partner organisations due to the introduction of innovative technical tools and up-to-date media methods in their youth activities.