University College Falmouth's School of Media strengthens overseas reporting and filmmaking

Students from University College Falmouth's BA(Hons) in Journalism and MAs in Multimedia Broadcast Journalism, International Journalism and Television Production join forces this week to participate in a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening reporting and filmmaking in the developing world.

Run by One World Media, the workshop will feature four sessions per day and is designed to help media students understand the issues facing reporters and filmmakers who wish to produce reports from developing countries.

One World Media is a UK-based charity which aims to increase global understanding through effective use of the media.  The organisation believes that the media offers a unique means of highlighting developing issues, and of promoting democracy and fair government worldwide.

All of the workshop sessions will be highly interactive, will include documentary clips and will explore real situations and challenges that the students could be faced with in the future.

From evaluating the risks that filmmakers and reporters might face when working overseas and learning how to mitigate against them to resolving practical and ethical challenges; dealing with complex legal and security issues; engaging with audiences, editors and commissioners; and dealing with production emergencies, the workshop will provide a cross-section of creative exercises and invaluable insight into the world of international journalism.

UCF has been selected as a respected university to be part of the scheme, which is backed by the Department for International Development.

Students taking part in the workshop are eligible to apply for a bursary to travel and film overseas.

"This event provides a great opportunity for Falmouth media students to receive valuable training in how to work in locations that have very different cultures," said MA International Journalism Course Leader, George Matheson, who has reported from many developing countries.  "It is also a testament to UCF's standing that the University College has been selected as one of only five institutions to be eligible for government-sponsored travel bursaries."

The facilitators of the event are award-winning frontline journalist and documentary filmmaker, James Brabazon, who has reported in over 60 countries and investigated, filmed and directed in the world's most hostile environments and Sophie Chalk, who has worked as a producer/director in television and radio; is the founder of Rooftop Productions, an independent production company specialising in making popular programming about the developing world; and now lobbies for better coverage of the wider world on UK television as Director of Campaigns for the International Broadcasting Trust.

For further information about Media courses at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/media, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213730.

For further information about One World Media, visit http://www.oneworldmedia.com/

UCF is part of the Cornwall Skillset Media Academy - a network of institutions that has been identified as a centre of excellence for creative media education and training.  For more information about Skillset, visit http://www.skillset.org/

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name.  It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012/2013 that will be unique to the South West.

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

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For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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