Surrey, B.C. – The TELUS Vancouver Community Board has graciously donated $15,000 to support the Visual Media Workshop at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU).
The funding will pair high school students in Grades 8-12 at Princess Margaret Secondary with peer mentors and a digital storytelling instructor from KPU.
Beginning next month, the pilot will train high school students in the art of digital storytelling techniques, giving them the tools to challenge the negative, mass media images of youth life in Surrey, and tell their own stories.
"The TELUS Vancouver Community Board’s generous funding will enable the Visual Media Workshop to bridge the classrooms at Princess Margaret with KPU classrooms,” said VMW director Katie Warfield, a faculty member in KPU’s Department of Journalism and Communication Studies.
"The goal of the program is to teach digital literacy to young people. By putting cameras in the hands of youth, they'll have the power to be able to challenge the mass media representation of youth life in Surrey."
Once complete, the produced stories will be hosted on the Visual Media Workshop’s website, and screened at a public event later this year.
For more information on the Visual Media Workshop, visit thevisualmediaworkshop.com.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has been serving the Metro Vancouver region since 1981, and has opened doors to success for more than 250,000 people. Four campuses—Richmond, Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley—offer a comprehensive range of sought-after programs, including business, liberal arts, science, design, health, trades and technology, horticulture, and academic and career advancement. Over 19,000 students annually have a choice from over 124 programs, including bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, diplomas, certificates citations and apprenticeships. Learn more at www.kpu.ca.
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Photo caption: (From left) Steve Lewarne, CEO KPU Foundation; Katie Warfield, Director of the Visual Media Workshop at KPU; Joanne Curry, TELUS Vancouver Community Board representative (and KPU honorary degree recipient); Diane Purvey, dean of KPU’s Faculty of Arts.
Photo available here.
Media contact:
Hayley Woodin
Media Specialist, KPU
t: 604.599.2883
c: 604.364.1288
hayley.woodin@kpu.ca
For more KPU news:
@KPUmedia
kpu.ca/newsroom
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