Knight on the Road

Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change
July 31, 2008, Salzburg, Austria

BY Walyce Almeida, Dana Janbek & Moses Shumow

“One Water,” written, co-directed (with Ali Habashi), and produced by UM’s Sanjeev Chatterjee, was screened today, followed by a lively discussion that focused on what students, as journalists, can do to address the water problem.

The film obviously caught the students’ attention, who after the screening, visited 1h2o.org, a campaign aimed at generating awareness through media creation. A number of students showed interest in either getting involved in the project, and/or screening the film in their respective universities.

At the end of the day, Jodi Torrent from the UN Alliance of Civilizations spoke of the organization and its mission of building intercultural bridges. The media part of the main Web site is a great resource on media literacy and relevant events. The site is available in English, Spanish and Arabic and some resources are available in multiple languages.

A student checks out www.1h2o.org during the Q&A session

Click to watch video Simon “One Water”
A student reflects on how he thinks he can get involved in the project

Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change
July 30, 2008, Salzburg, Austria
Day 3

By Walyce Almeida, Dana Janbek & Moses Shumow

Suzan Moeller’s session today started on a motivational note. Margaret Mead was quoted saying “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world”. On a similar note, Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was quoted talking about ordinary people taking extraordinary actions to change the world.

The highlight of today’s sessions was undoubtedly the screening of “The People’s Republic of Capitalism- from Mao-ism to Me-ism” narrated by Ted Koppel (a description of the series can be found here, a New York Times review can be found here). Through the eyes of Chinese youth and adults, some leaving rural China seeking work opportunities in the city, the film highlights China’s changing traditions. These include attitudes toward Western fashion, homosexuality, and the sex industry among others. Director James Blue answered tough questions by the students on the ethics of revealing the identities of these youth, some under 18, who were working at the brothels, karaoke bars, and other entertainment venues. The discussions spilled into other location well into the night. This spirit of dialogue will be a strong basis of our work here at the academy.

Click to watch video: Stephen Salyer

Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change
July 29, 2008, Salzburg, Austria
Day 2

By Walyce Almeida, Dana Janbek & Moses Shumow

The official program launched today with 59 students, from 15 countries in 5 continents, representing 12 institutions. Academy Co-directors Suzan Moeller and Jochen Fried as well as President and CEO of the Salzburg Seminar Stephen L. Salyer welcomed the group (biographies are available at http://salzburgacademyusa.wordpress.com/). The president projected his expectations of the students at the end of the three weeks. He hopes that students will:

1- recognize a growing sense of media literacy

2- feel that they are better prepared to influence for change

3- feel that their network has expanded

4- feel that their leadership skills have been enhanced

Fried said that the practical purpose of the academy is to create a “student-driven global media literacy curriculum”. We all look forward to lively discussions, collaborative learning, and a dynamic environment to encourage communication across borders.

Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change
July 28, 2008, Salzburg, Austria

By Walyce Almeida, Dana Janbek & Moses Shumow

We arrived a day early to the Schloss Leopoldskron. Sanjeev and Moses immediately got to work by attending a meeting on a video project documenting the academy’s work. The three themes are freedom of expression, media coverage of climate change, and media coverage of the Beijing Olympics. James Blue, who works for the Koppel Group at the Discovery Channel, is producing the videos.