By Lucy Napitalai (Port Moresby). Students of Don Bosco Technological Institute (DBTI) joined other students with their teachers from Catholic schools in Port Moresby for a weekend Media Education Seminar (MES) weekend program from the 4th to the 6th of June.
The seminar was the third of a media education series for students from secondary Catholic schools in Port Moresby. The event was organized by SIGNIS Member Fr. Ambrose Pereira, SDB and his team from the Social Communications Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The sessions covered print, audio and video media and activities that involved interactions and discussions on current issues of young people. There were also moments of reflection, prayer and the celebration of the sacraments. In addition, students created jingles and short films that highlighted messages of hope in line with the theme of the seminar, “Hope amidst COVID-19”.
The program concluded with presenting the students’ creative productions to a few guests, who were school heads and family members. Among them was Fr. Gregorio Bicomong, SDB, Provincial of the Vice-Province of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He encouraged young people to be creative with their talents and skills to influence others positively. “You will find so much rubbish on social media, and that rubbish is what is influencing the way young people think. So use your creativity and skills in media to positively influence others. When you influence, you are leaving an impact on others”, he said.
Below are few comments of the students.
“The overnight seminar was the best seminar of the year. I really enjoyed staying there and learned several things in a short time. The most important thing I figured out was time management and working to a deadline. In addition, I found out my strength and the capability to think fast. All in all, I really loved the overnight program because the longer we stayed, the more we enjoyed every moment of it.”
– Emmanuel Kokele (Yr. 2 DBTI)
“I learned that media is a form of communication method used to inform, educate and inspire people. I am thankful and grateful that I was given this opportunity to be part of the MES group for 2021. I am just so blessed and can’t thank the SOCOM team enough for the tireless efforts they put into trying to make sure we learnt something new. To my friends who are part of the MES team:”As young people who are advocates of change, we must change the mindsets of our friends and families with what the hardworking SOCOM team has taught us. “
– Simon Komae (Yr. 2 – DBTI)
“As a Bosconian, the overnight MES was a great and inspirational experience because students from different schools came together to spend the weekend to showcase our creative ideas using multimedia. Also, personally, it was a wonderful event that helped develop my confidence in voicing my views, thus making an impact.“
– Clifford Asunu (Yr. 2 – DBTI)