Moving Voices - a radio documentary training course

Powerful storytelling in sound

Are you a Middle Eastern or Afghan journalist (or similar professional background) who recently got asylum in Denmark, Finland or Norway?

Do you have stories to tell - and would you like to explore the potentials of the sound medium as a means of telling your stories in a powerful, creative and personal way?

Would you like to produce documentaries that can reach out to audiences in your home country as well as in your new country of residence?

International Media Support (IMS) in collaboration with The Danish Broadcast Corporation (DR), Finland's national public service broadcasting company (YLE) and The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) is offering a hands-on, professionally demanding and highly creative course in radio documentary and feature making.

The Moving Voices project offers a unique opportunity to learn the craft and art of the radio documentary while producing your own radio documentary.  The project offers the possibility of broadcasting your piece as well as access to professional networks.

The course is part time and runs from January 2012 to June 2012.

Application deadline 15 October 2011

The project has been made possible through a grant from Nordplus.

For more information please contact Rikke Houd, rh@i-m-s.dk

About the course

This course is all about storytelling with sound. It teaches the basics of radio documentary with special focus on personal and creative expression - a direction within radio documentary often referred to as the radio feature.

The radio feature is a form of documentary that - rather than solely taking on a journalistic approach - describes a part of reality through the artistic choices and temper of the programme maker. It is the personality and creativity of the programme maker, that shapes the recordings, the interviews and the style and narrative of the piece.

During the course you are taught the basic tools of radio documentary and feature making - idea development, research, recording, interviewing, narrative techniques, editing and documentary working methods. It is a learning-by-doing course involving lots of practical exercises, followed up by discussion and analysis.

You will listen to lots and lots of radio and be introduced to different styles and trends in the international field of radio documentary making.

Throughout the course there is emphasis on developing a culture of critical, constructive and professional dialogue and feedback within the group.

You produce a number of shorter practical assignments and a final course production of professional broadcast quality. 

The course consists of 3 intensive 1-2 week workshops that take place between January and June 2012 in the documentary/feature departments at The Danish Broadcast Corporation (DR), Finland's national public service broadcasting company (YLE) and The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). Your teachers are experienced radio makers from these departments.

You work independently on course productions in between the workshops, in contact with a tutor.

You must be prepared to work on course assignments in between the workshop sessions, approx 1-2 days pr week (this may vary). 

The course also involves a 1-2 week work practice in one of the 3 broadcasting companies.

The course itself is free. Travel and simple accommodation is covered for the workshops abroad. When abroad on a workshop the visiting course participants receive a daily allowance of 200 dkk pr day. Participants should be prepared to cover costs extending this and must be able to work on their own laptops during the course.

Who can apply?

You can apply if you are:

A younger journalist (or similar professional background)  from the Middle East or Afghanistan who has been granted asylum in Norway, Denmark or Finland in recent years.

You must have good English skills (spoken and written), be able to work independently and have fair technical skills.

The course accepts 6 participants. Qualifying applicants will be called for an interview in the beginning of November 2011.  All applicants will be notified before November 15, 2011. Course starts January 2012.

For further information please contact Rikke Houd at rh@i-m-s.dk

How to apply

1. Download the application form here: Application form for Moving Voices

2. Fill out the application form in Acrobat Reader or similar

3. Save the form and send it by email along with an audio recording (see application form for instructions) to rh@i-m-s.dk before October 15th 2011.