Youth
Training Workshop in Athens, Greece
18-19 April 2019, 4th Gymnasium School, Chaidari, Western Attica
MILT Youth Training workshop on animation took place on April 18th and 19th among students of secondary education, 2nd grade, in 4th Gymnasium school of Chaidari in Western Attica, an area with mixed student population. The educational workshop was organized by PLATFORMA Urban Culture Co. and Animasyros International Animation Festival.
Participants: Nikolas Petropoulos
Educator: Anastasia Dimitra
Scientific contributor: Irene Andriopoulou
Artistic contributor: Manos Petoussis
Festival coordinator: Danai Vardali
Warm thanks to Sotiris Stamatopoulos, Director, Nikos Paraschos, Deputy director and the professors of the 4th Gymnasium School of Chaidari, Athens, Attica
Description
The workshop was divided into two parts:
a) Familiarize students with animation, as a form of audiovisual expression in arts and media, explore its norms and design the concept of a short film on animation.
b) Create with their trainer the actual animation short film, according to their own script and original drawings.
PLATFORMA’s president, Vassilis Karamitsanis, presented the various activities and animation workshops that take place during the world-known Animasyros Festival – International Animation Film & Agora and throughout the year, by noticing that this form of media literacy action does actually bring people together. MILT’s scientific partner, Irene Andriopoulou also presented techniques and outlets for promoting their end product in various student contests on media literacy.
Youth trainer and animator, Anastasia Dimitra, explored student’s knowledge on the art of animation by introducing them briefly to the story of animation and its own codes of communication. Animation is often used to narrate social – sensitive and migrant’s stories that may be difficult to approach in other mediums, in an alternative and often, humoristic way. Animation is not a medium suitable for children only but can also apply to adults as a visual storytelling technique that brings people together and empowers them through the means and codes of visual culture. Then, the trainer gave the students the theme “Cultural Treasures” to design their own animated story. Students used their critical media and information literacy skills and researched into new and traditional media (books, journals, smartphones) to choose their own cultural treasure to use for their drawing.
Then, though group participation and issue-enquiry approach, students were able to make their own script that was used for the short film animation, on the second day. The workshop encouraged both co-operative learning and textual analysis in a combined and creative way.
The workshop was received with great enthusiasm by the students who expressed further interest to repeat it again with more animation themes. The workshop will be presented in a school open day in May to a larger audience with their parents and local community.
Copyright 2019 Platforma – Urban Culture Co. / Media Literacy for Living Together
