Salaam Bombay Foundation’s Media Academy curates a virtual exhibition to portray the importance of media literacy
Mumbai: In an increasingly complex media environment with constant technology changes, adults as well as youngsters today may find it hard to keep pace. While the whole world learns every day from the media, most young students need a better understanding of its inner-workings and the effects it has on them.
This is why educating youngsters about mass media is an important, albeit challenging, task. Mumbai-based Salaam Bombay Foundation’s unique event aims to address exactly this. The NGO’s Media Academy will be presenting a virtual walk-through exhibition titled Education Beyond Books – Practising New Age Media Literacy on January 24, 2022. The Media Academy has reached out to over 225 students from 16 schools who are involved with the event.
The event holds at its core the fact that media literacy is necessary to encourage young people to question, evaluate, understand and appreciate the multimedia culture. Media Literacy equips youngsters to access, analyse, evaluate, create, reflect upon and act while becoming active and engaged media consumers.
Events of this kind are significant at a time when the country’s media and entertainment industry is valued at more than a trillion Indian rupees and is expected to continue growing. The Indian media landscape comprises of thousands of registered newspapers and periodicals, nearly 900 private television channels, and more than 1,000 radio stations operating in multiple regional languages including Hindi and English. (https://www.statista.com/topics/8332/news-consumption-trends-in-india/#dossierKeyfigures)
With its central theme Education Beyond Books – Practising New Age Media Literacy, the event adopts a four-pronged approach – exhibiting the Media Academy trainees’ skills acquired over the three-year training period along with a showcase of their different projects, introducing its students to the various career options within media, collaborating with media organisations at various levels and creating internship and job opportunities for students.
There will be multiple exclusive live workshops with industry experts and a comprehensive showcase of the various initiatives conceptualised and driven by students of the Media Academy, highlighting the impact of Media Literacy on society and its many evolving mechanisms.
Speaking about the exhibition, Rajashree Kadam, Vice President, Projects (Arts and Media), Salaam Bombay Foundation said, “At a time when media has the all-pervasive power to inform and educate different levels, sections and audiences in the society, it is imperative that we stay informed or Media Literate. We believe that our students are responsible young agents of change and they can drive important discussions within their communities. With this in mind, our Media Academy focuses on arming our students with two very seminal tools: a platform and a voice. This exhibition is an extension of this thought process where we wish to create discussions on Understanding Motives through Media Literacy.”
A highlight of the exhibition will be the array of stalls that will discuss and throw light on the different segments related to the topic like Print, Electronic Media, Citizen Journalism, Films, Radio, Social Media, Photography and a stall on the NGO’s DreamLab project.