Communication students to get a taste of France

Five students studying a Bachelor of Communication travelled to France this month to assist with the media coverage for the International Folklore Festival.

Held in Gannat, five hours from Paris, the annual festival has been running for 40 years to celebrate and preserve international folk heritage and is one of the largest gatherings of folk performers in the world.

Groups from 20 different countries participated in the festival this year over 10 days to showcase an eclectic mix of folk culture from around the world.

The five students travelled with Media Production lecturer, Vikrant Kishore, who has had an association with the festival for over 20 years.

The group worked with the French media team to help with the coverage of the festival and also filmed a documentary to capture their experiences.

"This documentary will be an attempt to capture how the Gannat International Folklore Festival has become a site for cultural intermingling and globalization. This intermingling of various cultural groups from different nationalities enables an understanding and provides encouragement to sustain and protect the intangible cultural heritages," said Vikrant.

The students used the skills they have learnt throughout their degree to work with the festival's media chief and capture highlights of the festival.

Luke Ryan, a final year Bachelor of Communication student majoring in Media Production, said he is looking forward to the thrill of working in a foreign place with people from all over the world.

"The thing that excites me so much is getting the chance to really apply what I've learnt throughout my course in such an eccentric cultural melting pot," Ryan said.

The group travelled from the 17th to 29th of July and were hosted by local families for lunch and dinner in Gannat where they were able to experience the French culture.

Their trip was predominantly funded by the School of Design, Communication and Information Technology as well as the International Engagement Coordinator, Steven McDonald.

A Facebook page will be created by the students to post videos and pictures of the day plus short reports on the festival and interviews with the performers.

Vikrant has also established a blog that provides more information about the festival and updated posts from this year's festival.