On 25 July, the Slovo Centre starts a series of journalism workshops titled Team Briefing. The classes are intended for children older than nine. The course includes five events, each dedicated to a specific subject. For instance, the genre of self-portraiture or the art of reporting. The participants will experiment with texts as well as work on graphics and scripts. Young authors may attend all classes or just some of them free of charge.
Workshops at the Slovo Centre will run on Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Would-be journalists as well as all those who love making something up, writing and drawing are welcome to attend. For instance, the coaches will tell you how to create an eye-catching text for social networks and teach the basics of graphic design. The workshops will be taught by the staff writers of Seasons Magazine as well as guest artists and illustrators.
The first workshop I Am an Author will start on 25 July. Participants in the workshop will discuss who an author is and how you can become one. As part of practical work, children will try to create a complete self-portrait: both a verbal and visual description. Later, they will discuss their work and results with experienced teachers.
Participation in the workshop is subject to advance registration, the seating capacity is limited.
On 1 August, the subject of discussion will be the interview as a genre. The participants will learn how to ask precise questions, not to feel embarrassed during a conversation and handle unexpected situations. At the end of the class, young journalists will have to translate their newly acquired knowledge into practice by interviewing the staff members and visitors of the Slovo Centre.
On 8 August, at the I Am an Expert workshop, each participant will try to find out what subjects they are most comfortable with. It may be cinema, sports, travelling or something fancy like ornithology. The children will write about their hobbies in an op-ed. Aspiring journalists must convince the readers that their opinion is worth respecting.
On 15 August, budding authors will visit the Chamber of Horrors at the Slovo Centre, which has a collection of children's horror stories. Then the participants in the workshop will compose their own little horror stories with unexpected endings.
On 22 August, the series of workshops ends with a walk around VDNH. The children would do well to bring a notepad and a pen to write down their experiences. After that, the participants will share their notes and write their first text report with illustrations. While at it, they will also discuss the artistic tools that would allow them to make the readers really lose themselves in the story.
The schedule of events at the School of Journalism is available on the Slovo Centre website.
The events will comply with all health safety measures, i.e., special seating rules, obligatory gloves and masks. You can find more information on the anti-coronavirus measures at VDNH here.
Participants in the Friends of VDNH loyalty programme will receive a discount on the tickets to the Slovo Centre and other venues of the exhibition. A complete list of the partners' venues is available and updated on the programme page on the VDNH website.