At the GURT radio Camp a group of civic journalists learned how to create multimedia success stories

During 18-19 June 2015, 15 civicjournalists from different regions of Ukraine took part in GURTradio Camp, where they improved their reporter skills, learned more about community development and received a unique experience working with multimedia success stories. The event was held within the project «GURT Internet Radio – Alternative Media For Civil Society Development In Ukraine», which is implemented  by GURT Resource Centre and funded by the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation.

Among the participants of GURTradio Camp were the volunteers of GURT Resource Centre and civic journalistswho had passed competitive selection to participate in the event.

On the first day, June 18, 2015, the training part of GURTradio Camp was conducted by the editor of GURT web-portal – Kateryna Polyakova. At the beginning of the event she presented the format of the event and familiarized participants with the competencies of GURT Resource Center.

Then the participants started to work intensively on technology, characteristics and requirements for multimedia success stories of entrepreneurs and businesswomen, supported by GURT Resource Centre within the projects «Development of the Small Entrepreneurship in Ukrainian Rural Communities» and «Development of Women Entrepreneurship in Ukraine».

The participants were divided into reporter teams. Two entrepreneurs were appointed for each team to tell about their business so that the participants could create some multimedia success stories using previously prepared pattern.

After reviewing the technical specifications to writing multimedia success stories,the civic journalists ought to define the leader in their reporter teams, to share the reporter functions among the team of reporters, and prepare a detailed plan of the work on multimedia success stories, and present it to the public.

In addition to the theoretical knowledge, acquired during the training part participants had the opportunity to practice in modeling of a success story presentation under the guidance of the training manager of the GURT Resource Centre Tetyana Oseledko, who told her previous experience of entrepreneurship.

After working in a team according to previously defined functions, collecting content for future success stories,the civic journalists told about the difficulties they had faced when they were collecting the information. They also defined the ways of improving the efficiency of cooperation with the entrepreneurs – the participants of the projects of the GURT Resource Center.

At the final stage of the first day of GURTradio Camp the public journalists prepared a multimedia draft of the success story conceptualized by Tetyana Oseledko. The participants should have come up with the name, prepared a draft text version, developed the scenarios of audio podcasts and video presentation summarizing the results of businesswoman’s story and presented the received content.

The next day, June 19, 2015, during GURT Business Camp, which was held in the format of the exhibition-fair of small business, the civic journalists implemented in practice the knowledge which they received a day before, collected the content to present multimedia success stories of entrepreneurs and businesswomen,supported by GURT Resource Centre.

«GURTradio Camp has opened new horizons to me. Here I have met people who are able to move mountains easily. Moreover their businesses don’t just receive the profit; they always bring benefit to the community. I have spent half of the event in tears. There the moments when I really cried. Not because I have got upset, quite the opposite – I have been extremely happy because there are so many people who really care. People who are proud of what they do, people who do everything to make the phrase «I’m from a village!» sound proudly. I am happy to get acquainted with everybody and grateful to everyone who have taken part», – shared her impressions volunteer of GURT Resource Centre Oksana Hutsol.

Prepared by the civic journalists, the multimedia success stories of entrepreneurs which take part in GURT Recourse Centre projects will be soon available at GURT portal.

Translator: Lydia Mykhailynyn