A PRIX JEUNESSE Suitcase in the Dominican Republic
“For a quality television for children” was the leading topic of the PRIX JEUNESSE Suitcase workshop on the 17th and 18th of January 2017 in Santo Domingo. The workshop was organized by the “Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo, Funglode” and took place in its facilities. By Sandra Cadavid, Funglode
The workshop was conducted by the director of the Prix Jeunesse International, Maya Goetz, who introduced to topics such as the identity formation of children and adolescents, strong stories for children, far-reaching stories for children, fear and nightmares through audiovisual content, media and informational competencies of adolescents, and music videos and hyper-sexualization.
The 23 participants from different fields of knowledge such as teachers, psychologists, PR and communication students, marketers, film directors, and therapists, were very enthusiastic about the knowledge and further education obtained throughout this experience.
Cricelda Vallejo, a psychologist and participant in the workshop, noted: “I consider Maya to be a great professional with a vast knowledge on these topics but above all with a great capacity to pass on her expertise. As a result, I can now choose better audiovisual content, knowing the positive and negative impacts they might have on the general public but also particularly on children.”
During the project days, the participants learned through group dynamics, visual guessing games, screenings of videos for children and adolescents, as well as presentations and talks led by Maya Goetz. Additionally, the dynamic of Strong Stories for Strong Children was developed. These Strong Stories have been progressively collected worldwide with the aim to create contents based on them. Each of the participants drew and described a moment of their childhood in which they had to show strength and work through a challenging experience.
The main objectives why Funglode decided to conduct this Prix Jeunesse Suitcase for the Dominican public was to promote the interest in and the study of the content for children and adolescents in the country, as well as to support the creation of national quality content for this important audience. Sandra Cadavid, Funglode.