In May 2013, Mobile Community Zimbabwe (MCZ) held its first round of trainings to capacitate young Zimbabweans to use mobile phones for video reportage of community stories happening in their various localities.
The 46 participants where drawn from all across Zimbabwe and spent an intensive five days learning basic journalism principles, the intricacies of video and mobile reporting and how to use the StoryMaker application used to record and assemble MCZ video clips.
Two sets of trainings were held with roughly 23 participants in each group. Groups were further split equally into smaller numbers to allow higher interaction between the participants and their trainers. In this process, groups were divided to ensure that each comprised a local and international trainer to allow for diverse and dynamic sharing of perspectives.
The training curriculum developed for the course placed a high premium on theoretical and practical learning which thus saw participants engaging in class discussions and debates, but also travelling into local communities to put this newly acquired knowledge into practice.
Equipped with mobile phones running the StoryMaker app, participants were able to test out their skills in and around their surroundings, while receiving immediate feedback from their trainers – and fellow participants – about how to improve their technique.
