Students from various institutions in Zimbabwe have hailed the annual Mobile Community Zimbabwe (MCZ) Winter School training programme as a significant platform to equip students with practical experience in digital news reporting using mobile phones.
By Takunda Mandura
The Mobile Community Zimbabwe (MCZ) Winter School training programme was hosted by Midlands State University from the 10th -14th July 2017 and attended by students from Great Zimbabwe University, Midlands State University, National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA).
Cynthia Chimbunde , a student from Christian College of Southern Africa (CCOSA) , highlighted how the Winter School training programme sharpened her digital media skills.
“The winter school has been so beneficial to me as I have acquired so many skills in digital storytelling and I hope that this will improve my journalistic skills . I am also glad that from here I am going back to my community and tell those stories which are taken for granted by the mainstream media yet they are at the heart of the citizens.” she said.
Sharon-Rose Chikumbirike from Midlands State University (MSU) said : “MCZ winter school has taught me how to be a professional citizen journalist. I am different from my classmates because I now know how to use the mobile phone to create stories. The winter school has also given me the platform to tell community based issues to the world.”
Veteran Journalist and MCZ content planner, Nevanji Madanhire who was one of the guest lecturers noted that the winter school is giving a chance to young journalists to explore digital journalism.
“Project like MCZ winter school gives young journalists the chance to explore digital journalism and it gives them an opportunity to fit into the future of journalism that is totally digital,” said Madanhire.
Commenting on the new media vs traditional media, Madanhire said, “The coming up of digital journalism does not mean that print journalism is completely irrelevant but writing alone is no longer adequate thus the inclusion of videos, pictures and audios also contribute to the development of complete journalist.”
Mobile Community Zimbabwe (MCZ) is a school of citizen journalism focusing on equipping young Zimbabweans with the necessary skills and technology to document and share innovative community stories.
