July 10, 2013
Cherbourg’s MoJos (mobile journalists) have stepped away from the back of the camera to become the centre of attention at a special NAIDOC Week awards ceremony.
The end of the first ever Cherbourg MoJo program run by Nurunderi TAFE was celebrated with traditional dancing, a morning tea and the presentation of certificates.
There was also the “world premiere” of a TV documentary prepared about the project.
Three students were then presented with major awards to recognise the special skills they have developed during the training.
The program, run at the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE’s Nurunderi campus, aimed to develop literacy and numeracy skills through building mobile journalism skills.
The students learned to shoot, edit and upload video news stories – using only iPhone 5s – under the watchful eye of a professional videographer Ivo Burum.
Over the weeks, the students created a number of news videos, ranging from a visit to the Wondai Sawmill to a corroboree at the Bunya Mountains.
Each of the major award winners were presented with their “tools of trade” to own forever … a 16GB iPhone 5 and a MoJo production kit, valued at $1067.
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The major winners were:
- National Indigenous Radio Service / US Mob FM Imagination Award – Robert French
- southburnett.com.au Inspiration Award – Shantelle Arnold-Georgetown
- St George Queensland Reds Participation Award – Jessie Alberts
Also presented with an award was Shayah Watson-Bell who received an Encouragement Award.
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Director of TAFE Qld English Language and Literacy Services Helen Murphy told the MoJos that the graduation day was “all about you”.
“It’s a happy day, a proud day,” she said.
She was impressed at how quickly the students had taken to the iPhones and the video technology; and the “sheer amount writing” done by the MoJos was also impressive.
She thanked the people of Cherbourg for their willingness to tell their stories and share their time with the students.
Ms Murphy said the students had grown in confidence and self-belief during the project.
Instructor Ivo Burum said five months ago, everyone had stood in the same room hoping the project would turn out “exactly the way it has turned out to be”.
“To see the development of these young people has been fantastic,” he said.
Project lead Kristy Smith told the MoJos they had been given an amazing opportunity and now it was “all up” to them.
She said at least four of the students would soon be embarking on work experience with local and national media organisations.
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YouTube links to some of the video news stories created during the project
- Ben Donnelly – Qld Reds Leading by Example, UsMob & Try Harder
- Danielle Georgetown – Ration Shed Museum
- Jessie Alberts – Cherbourg AIM Church & Rocko and the Art Centre
- Lewis Purcell – Sawmill
- Robert French – Bunya Mountains Corroborree & Cherbourg Alternative Ed
- Shantelle Arnold-Georgetown – Mojo Training 101
- Shayah Watson-Bell – Safe Haven Program & Mobile Ear Health (also shown on NITV news)
- Vincent Watson – Art Centre Book Launch (also shown on NITV news)
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And an explanation of what it was all about by one of the MoJos themselves:
Mojo Training 101 by Shantelle Arnold-Georgetown
- More Videos By Mojos
- MoJos Publish First Videos
- Tasty Way To Learn About Colours
- Radio For Eyes (And Ears)
- Get Your MoJo Working
- Shooting To The Top Of The Class
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