UoN students to soak up World Cultures
Students Jaime-Maree Kelly, Christopher Wedlock, Melissa Wilson, Joshua King, Elliana Lawford and Tayla Angel will spend two weeks interning with lecturer Dr Vikrant Kishore and | Image: Vikrant Kishore
Six Bachelor of Communication students will say ‘au revoir’ to Newcastle this semester break as they head to France for an internship with media production lecturer Dr Vikrant Kishore.
Yak team stalwarts Jaime-Maree Kelly, Joshua King and Christopher Wedlock will join fellow interns Tayla Angel, Melissa Wilson and Elliana Lawford to document the UNESCO supported Festival of World Cultures.
Under Dr Kishore’s guidance, the six will use the skills they have learnt during their studies over 10 days in the town of Gannat, five hours from Paris.
Dr Kishore believes the project will be an eye-opener for students, as five of them have never left Australia.
“It is a particular project for media students who are going to an international festival, understanding culture and experiencing that, but they are also doing short news stories and updating social networking websites,” he said.
“It is a wholesome experience technically and creatively.”
The students will make a documentary from the footage they gather, while also helping local and international media cover the event which attracts 65,000 people and folk performers from up to 20 countries each year.
Third year media production student Tayla Angel jumped at the opportunity to travel, experience cultures and expand her skill set for her career.
Even though Tayla’s primary role is co-ordinating social media for the project, she is also keen to help with production at the festival.
“A lot of the dance acts and the singing acts… it really seems like a dynamic opportunity to capture it while things are moving,” she said.
“It’s going to be incredible.”
The 41st World Cultures Festival will run from July 18-28.
You can keep up to date with the project at the Festival of World Cultures Facebook page, or follow the students’ journey on Twitter and Instagram via @UoNFrance.
