Kamalayan youth media brings meaningful message

Kamalayan youth media brings meaningful message

Toronto Filipino youth collective uses funding to increase media literacy.

By Ysh Cabana
The Philippine Reporter

Carlos Saldaña, 18, shared how he got the hang of being in front of the camera. “I’ve learned how to properly talk in public manner, to acquaint with the news, and to express verbally my ideas.”

Kamalayan Konsciousness Kollective is one of the 29 groups in Ontario to have received a grant from ArtReach Toronto, an arts organization funded by the Toronto Arts Council.

Its Kamalaayan Youth Midya Project is a three-month basic media training for Filipino youth in the GTA. The program aims to empower emerging artists with the skills to create new and original radio and television content.

Five participants ranging from 16 to 27 engaged in meaningful workshops from June to September 2018, and were provided lessons on Philippine history and current events in the community. At the end of the course, participants were able to write, plan, and execute original productions independently.

“We were able to have this program that introduced young people to Filipino media available here in Toronto. It’s a really unique opportunity to have this,” said Sarah Salise, Kamalayan coordinator.

Andy Aquino, 27, recalled the workshop where she and fellow participants visited Ethnic Channels Group in Markham. There she met mentors and media practitioners from TV Migrante and Filipino TV.
“Knowing that they love producing original Filipino content for our community inspires me to connect more to our culture,” Aquino said.

“We also went to the community and taped news that are relevant to the community,” Salise added.

Another workshop was on newswriting given by The Philippine Reporter and the Filipino Canadian Writers and Journalists Network (FC-WJNet). Focus of the presentation were the two essentials of newswriting: context and impact on public interest.

As their closing event at Bagnet Bros. in North York, Kamalayan youth showed their final project. “Martial Law through the lens of Millennials” is one episode put together by the participants for television and a truncated version for radio broadcast. Both productions were aired on FTV and Vibe 105.5 FM respectively.

Radyo Migrante is a 10-year old, multi-awarded Filipino-English show housed at York University. Its sister show TV Migrante was established in 2017.

Asked what are his prospects after finishing the program, Saldaña said he is “not yet sure if I’m going to pursue a career on broadcasting.”

“But most definitely, the things I learned here would help me in any path I would choose.”