By Md. Shahidul Islam

Social media has become a powerful platform for entertainment and for raising awareness on various social issues in this day. Citizens are now presenting their problems as well as addressing social inequality, injustice, diversity, and potential in their own voices which is a form of expression known as citizen journalism.

Young people are at the heart of this transformation. Many young people are not only expressing themselves through video content but are also creating income-generating opportunities. Through active engagement on social media, they are highlighting social realities, problems, possibilities, and environmental crises that attract the attention of others including the policymakers.

Considering this context crucial and important, BARCIK recently organized a two-day training workshop on “Outcome documentation, Communication, and Video Content Creation.” The workshop was held from 6 May to 7 May at BARCIK’s Rajshahi Regional Resource Center. It was attended by youth from various professions, students, and BARCIK staff members. BARCIK Director Silvanus Lamin, 71 TV’s Rajshahi Bureau Chief Rashidul Haque Rusho, and Professor Dr. Md. Mozammel Hossain Bakul, Chair of Mass communication and Journalism department at Rajshahi University were the resource persons of the workshop. BARCIK’s Director and Researcher Pavel Partha and Coordinator Jahangir Alam also spoke on the occasion.

The main objective of the training was to enhance the participants’ reporting skills, issue and outcome identification and selection, information gathering techniques, and report writing abilities. It also aimed to provide foundational knowledge on video content creation, the importance of citizen journalism, and practical strategies enabling young people to present social and environmental aspects of their communities through their own perspective via content creation.

Speaking at the workshop, Professor Dr. Md. Mozammel Hossain Bakul said, ‘Citizen Journalism has no limitations. Anyone can raise their voice about the problems and possibilities of their society and country. Even a small video can lead to the resolution of a major environmental or social issue.”

However, perceiving the issue as very important the participants praised the workshop stating that this issues are highly relevant and necessary for them. They expressed their eagerness to apply the knowledge and skills gained in real life to present crucial information about society. At the end of the workshop, each youth planned to create a 1 to 3-minute video content focused on a specific issue within their community.

This training workshop is a timely initiative that will help foster responsible, informed, and empathetic content creators and citizen journalists. If such programs are organized regularly across different regions of the country, a strong platform of socially and environmentally conscious youth generation can be built.