2004 June-july Tbcmedia Update

TBCMedia UPDATE

Carmel News Seminary Formation for Professors and Formators on Commmunication As part of the networking efforts of the media ministry, the Titus Brandsma Media Program becomes a member of the Asian Communication Network (ACN) web community. The program’s first encounter with ACN was in a study program thru a seminar conducted in partnership with Inter-Congregational Theological Center (ICTC) last May 27-28 on the relevance and application of communication on formation and ministry. The said activity focused on the three major points of its rationale: making sense of contemporary ministry, making sense of social communication and approaches to innovative instruction. Fr. Jerry Martinson, SJ, known as Uncle Jerry in Taiwan spoke about his ministry as priest and media practitioner and his struggles in getting where he is now. Joe de Mesa, professor of Basic Theology at ICTC discussed “A New Theology of Communication”. He primarily stressed on the people’s experience of God and how He is relating to us. He explained the Word of God, as God’s very self, active on our behalf. And how the Church simply participates (“mission dei”), We participate in God’s communication (“communication dei”) that leads to quality of life (ZOE). A Malaysian speaker, Augustine Loorthusamy, entertained as well as informed the first day afternoon session with Communication, Media and Values Formation. Highlight was on Value-distortions in a Media-mediated Society wherein he compared family values amongst media values: Family Values

Media Values

being small love age/wisdom needs local cooperation product other-centered save truth

having big sex youth wants imported competition package self-centered spend distortion

spiritual

material

Conrad Saldanha discussed the “culture of death” on how death is packaged now as entertainment through media. His expertise lies on the Media Business and Culture of Life. He focused on the Language of the Alphabet and the Language of Electricity, which is the set up now – global village, everything in life is interconnected and interdependent. Session on Media-tion, Pluralism and Globalism: Understanding the Contemporary Locus of Ministry ended the first day by Nadarajah, a freelance documentary filmmaker. He mainly expressed concern in the sustainability of the parish with three major factors surrounding it: media-tion (the role that media play in the lives of the parishioners), pluralism (mono-culture of the parish leading to unsustainability) and globalism (parish being isolated and independent). Second day focused on the Church efforts to communication thru its documents and structures. Professor Chainarong Monthienvichienchai enumerated a long list of documents and encyclicals written by Popes about the different aspect of communication and how it is relevant to the Church and to its people. He also explained the communication structures within the Church, the people responsible in handling the media offices in the dioceses. Charles Bertille, a Church worker for over 20 years, gave his lecture on the New Pedagogy in Teaching and Learning. This specifically gave insights on the new approaches to teaching and learning, types of intelligence that need to be known to help seminarians integrate these and become what they learn. The speakers of this seminar are all a part of the core members of ACN, an inter-faith, interdisciplinary initiative of Catholic Communication of Asia. This network group is focused on providing a platform for active sharing among concerned Asian communicators on issues of local and global concerns. Organizing a network of resource persons in the field of communications. Training individuals, group, communities and organizations to be effective communicators and to apply their abilities in collective decision-making processes. Facilitating through the use of traditional and information and communication technologies (ICT), the rootedness of a people to their ecological reality, their local culture and their “world feel”.

Seminars and Workshops given by TBCMP Media and Spirituality through Film Dialogue module of the media program was given to more than 30 college seminarians of St. Francis de Sales Theological Seminary in Maruwoy, Lipa, Batangas last June 18, 2004.

Based on the evaluation of the seminarians, the activity was very satisfying and liberating since it is their first time to look at a film in a different approach, critically and symbolically. The films that were usually watched during the exercise are Children of Heaven and JOLOGS of Star Cinema. This module was also given to 30 seminarians of St. Paul Seminary, Cavite last February 27, 2004.

Fr. Rey Caigoy, O. Carm, currently the president of Mount Carmel College-Escalante and also a part of the pool of lecturers of the TBCMedia Program gave a seminar on media awareness to 48 college seminarians of St. John Mary Vianney College Seminary, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental last June 18-19, 2004.

Module on Media and Spirituality thru Film Dialogue The Media and Spirituality thru Film Dialogue is the new module that the Titus Brandsma Media Program is currently offering to seminarians and students of different schools and seminaries. This is a one-day, two-part course on Media and Spirituality and Introduction to Film Dialogue. This is the formalized version of what the program pelikula@titubrandsma has been practicing for over three years now. The first part of the module, Media and Spirituality, is explaining the relationship of two disciplines and concepts and how they are interconnected. How media can open unconsciously propagate different spiritual values and how spirituality can be manifested through media content. Introduction to Film Dialogue, second-part, gives basic knowledge on how to conduct film dialogue, how different it is from other concepts and what are its major characteristics and objectives. It also offers the understanding of different types of viewers through the concepts of Sensibilities and Sensitivities. The course is purely experiential to those who would like to avail it because the module in itself is an interaction with oneself and others. Half day of the module will be done through film viewing and conducting your own film dialogue session. The module is designed purely to share the experience rather than being too informational on the part of the audience. It is systematic and a goal-oriented activity leading to the audiences’ more in-depth appreciation and reflection with regards to the film viewed.