Film the Change – What Participants said #1

Film the Change Training Course took place in December 2018 in Nea Makri, in Greece. During 7 days of the dynamic program, 31 youth workers from Europe, got the opportunity in an intercultural environment to gain and increase their competencies in media literacy and filmmaking, enhancing their teamwork and self-organizing their learning process!

They produced a series of videos, both for social purposes and promoting the unique work of 6 different social enterprises based in Athens, Greece. Find the major videos:
– http://bit.ly/FtC_SocialVideos_Playlist
– http://bit.ly/SocialEnterprises_Videos

Find out what they are sharing about their experience

“I could never have imagined, that I will say that, but it’s true – participation in Solidarity’s Mission training course “Film the change” was a life-changing experience for me in many ways. What I learned there is a little bit more than a week, both in technical and also human level will help me to grow in professional and also in personal life. It is never too late to learn and acquire new skills and experiences and it is very important to step out of your everyday life, to use every possibility to learn outside of the box and this training course was exactly what I needed.

Loads of new skills, working in an extremely dynamic and multicultural environment, testing boundaries of my possibilities and creativity, not to mention new friends and getting to know myself better. Even now, when first emotions after this training course are settled, I can still say – this is one of the best experiences not only this year but in the last decade definitely.

I would like to stress out, that every moment is the right moment to develop yourself, lifelong learning has never been more important than now and I am very happy, that I overstepped my fear and joined this course. It helped to boost my self- confidence and I am sure it will open new possibilities for me in the future.”
– Maija, Latvia

“My name is Tamás, 29 years old, from Budapest, Hungary. I was one of the participants at the Film The Change Erasmus+ event between 2nd and 10th of December in Greece. There, in Nea Makri, I have learned the basics of filmmaking from our trainers and from the other participants. I think it is really important that we taught ourselves.

I had no serious experience of the filmmaking process, but I use to work in a team, so I could show to team members how to work in a TEAM. On the other hand, it was useful for me that I could see how to make the pre-production (create storyboards) and post-production (editing, add voice-over) which were quite new for me. We’ve spent just seven days in Nea Makri, but each team was able to create two videos which created an impact on the society. I think this is a great success and we could work as a team, even we came with a different background.

I’ve learned enough to create a social promotion video in Hungary as well. Check ReCreativity homepage if you are interested in the result! I think the social part was also an important feature of the event. People came from more than ten different countries and you were able to create your network among them. We made friendships, we shared experience, we laughed together, we worked together to reach our purpose. It was a fun and useful learning process at the same time. Finally, thank you for the organizers and for all the participants. I hope that a lot of people will have the chance to participate in the Film The Change event in the near future!” – Tamas, Hungary

“Film the Change was an incredible opportunity and an experience I will remember forever. Although sometimes very hard work, the trainers really cared about our development and made sure activities were engaging and fun throughout. It was so valuable spending 10 days with like-minded people from all around Europe and this was the thing I cherish the most. It was fascinating to find out about so many different cultures, and find similarities to my own. I also felt more confident when working in groups, sharing ideas and the whole video making process. It was great to work with an NGO and put their goals and creative ideas before our own. It was amazing what can be achieved in just 10 days with a group of passionate individuals and great guidance.” – Aisha, UK

“As UK participants we used our first language and film term to communicate with other creatives and get the message through. Having various people from different countries helped to understand the different cultures and needs, specifically the needs from the point of view of the individual. Together we gathered ideas and created several projects to help our team community and filming skills. We got a lot of positives from this project, mostly to keep with your deadlines and to always find a creative solution to any arising problems.” – Christian, UK

“The main idea behind the training course was that the message could be delivered and impact created by the use of simple video production tools most of us have while working in teams. In seven days we learned the basic rules of video making from both the organizing team and the other project participants. This knowledge was delivered through a set of fun & challenging tasks based on non-formal education method. Some of the tasks were as simple as delivering a message with only one photograph while the other demanded thorough preparation and near-perfect execution.

The main challenge was to create a social promo video for a local initiative in Athens. We were split into initiative groups by our own preference and given a chance to meet the representatives of these organizations. After a day of location scouting and planning, we had only one day to record everything we needed. This time limit added more pressure and contributed towards more accurate planning, team role, and task allocation. After participating in this training course, we got more comfortable with the idea of creating social promotional videos with the tools at hand. Now we will be more active in this area and use the knowledge to film the change.” – Jegor and Anna, Estonia