FEATURE STORY: PICTURING CHANGE

Picturing change: A Faculty-led Classroom Abroad takes students to Guatemala to learn about the United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goal

Last October, seven students from the Journalism – Mass Media program and two from the Video Production program spent ten days in Guatemala learning about the people, the culture and themselves. They were part of a Faculty-led Classroom Abroad led by faculty member Danielle Harder. The project comprised of four parts. The first involved documenting work done by a Canadian organization, Students Offering Support, to support Guatemalan communities. The second saw the students leading a Digital Storytelling Workshop with Guatemalan youth where they produced stories about the SDGs and their impact. While there, the students also participated in the Global Classroom that included students in Canada, Ireland and Guatemala. Finally, in the last week of the semester, every student in the Journalism – Mass Media program participated in the #DCinGuatemala project. In teams, students produced multimedia story 'maps' using the videos, photos and interviews gathered during the FLCA. These maps tell the story of how Guatemalans are working to meet the SDGs. The FLCA was a transformational journey for the students who participated, while also being impactful for students at home through the sharing of cross-cultural knowledge.

Written by Danielle Harder – Professor in the School of Media, Art and Design