The #D8 Video Challenge empowers local students to build essential life skills.

The #D8 Together Video Challenge is a programme for local secondary school students from CB Media and The Digital Hub which ran from December 2021 to March 2022. Participants have reported a 75% increase in their overall confidence on completion of the programme.

The #D8 Video Challenge empowers young people to share the story of their strengths and resilience, and how they overcome challenges while learning the essential skill of video production and editing which will benefit their future careers. Students learn how their peers overcome their personal challenges and gain a realisation that they are not alone.

The course curriculum:

• Mindset: how to overcome the fear of visibility and why story is important?
• The art of storytelling.
• Insider Secrets on how to film yourself like a professional.
• How to film videos.
• How to edit videos.

A total of 26 students from Dublin 8 and its surroundings participated, across two runs of the programme, and each student was awarded a certificate of completion to recognise their accomplishment and document the skills they acquired.

The impact of the programme on the participants video production skills, mental health and resilience was recently evaluated. Students responded to a survey and reported a 75% increase in their overall confidence.

• 71% of students reported they learned why sharing their story is important.
• 85% of students reported the programme increased their level of self-confidence.
• 80% of students reported they learned more about themselves and why they are strong.
• 73% of students reported they learned about other students’ mental health issues and sharing stories of being strong in difficult situations supports everyone to tell their own stories.
• 80% of students reported an increased knowledge of video production, filming, and editing.
• 73% of students reported they are able to use what they learned during the programme in their daily lives.

Testimonials:

“I’m a very private person, so talking about something I have struggled with to other people was scary and daunting. This video challenge helped me open up more. Talking through my ideas every week let other people know more about me, however also allowed me to come to terms with my experiences. Before the CB Media Video Challenge, I barely knew anything about filming and production, however I learnt a lot from Cynthia and Michael.  The instructions and explanations never became overwhelming for me as an amateur. I’m really glad I took the opportunity to do this course”. — Etienne

Etienne’s video: Etienne – “Labels Stick” – #Stronger Together Video Challenge (vimeo.com)

“My experience of the stronger together challenge was a fantastic one! It was the first time I created and edited my own film from scratch, and I learned many things that were important to create a film like editing, lighting, quality and camera. It was also the first video that I put out there for people to see, and this challenge helped me to overcome the fear of visibility. I liked hearing other people’s stories and creating my own. Overall, it was a fun time and was easy to understand and learn, and thanks to Cynthia and Michael, any questions I had were properly answered”. — Luke.

Luke’s video: Luke – #Stronger Together Video Challenge (vimeo.com)

Cormac: Cormac – #Stronger Together Video Challenge (vimeo.com)

Learn more about CB Media on their website at www.cbmedia.ie

Read about The Digital Hub’s other community learning programmes at www.thedigitalhub.com/programmes