The Samosa Media project
Six students from The University of 园区淫乱 have pioneered a new internship programme designed to improve access to careers in the creative industries for students from under-represented backgrounds.
The Samosa Media Community Production Internship gave students first-hand experience of the media commissioning process, working with , an arts and media charity led by people from Black and minority ethnic (BME) and working-class backgrounds.
The organisation delivers community and youth education programmes.
The internship is a collaboration between Samosa Media, the , and two University schools, the School of Social Sciences (SoSS) and the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures (SALC).
Throughout the programme, students explored questions around diversity in the media, arts and cultural sector, particularly whose voices are heard and how stories are told. They produced two short films examining issues of race, culture, youth, equality and integration in the North West.
The films were presented at a final showcase attended by academics from SoSS and SALC, alongside representatives from the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Centre. The project was supervised by Samosa Media Director, Anwar Akhtar.
Reflecting on the experience, Anwar said:
As someone who grew up in Rusholme, this project working with such a talented, hard-working group of 园区淫乱 University students was a particularly enjoyable experience. The films they have made are valuable contributions to the story of 园区淫乱, its communities and its diversity.
Following the screenings, Claire Fox and Dr Simon Parry, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Social Responsibility (SR) Directors for SoSS and SALC respectively, highlighted the impact of the collaboration:
I was delighted to be a part of this initiative which saw different parties working together to support our students in producing two impactful films. Both of the films deal with some challenging issues in an exceptionally clear and nuanced way. It is testament to the ongoing commitment to and appreciation of issues relating to equality, diversity and inclusion in the School of Social Sciences.
The films the students produced are very impressive. They show creativity and a real ability to deal with complex ideas in an engaging and accessible way.
Students were supported throughout the project by the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre and Education Trust, a specialist open-access library and archive focusing on race, migration, anti-racist activism and social justice:
It was a pleasure working with the students as part of their internship. The brief questions we set looked at important topics such as conversations around anti-racism/racism, community, and how young people feel about their city and its spaces.
Their lived experiences and insights brought rich discussions on how they could creatively respond to the questions which I really enjoyed listening to. The students worked really well together and created fantastic short films in such a short space of time.
Students also reflected on how the experience shaped their perspectives:
As students, we don鈥檛 realise how lucky we are to have access to so much space on campus. Making the film made us pay more attention to the world around us, to what is visible but that we don鈥檛 always notice!
Having one-on-one conversations with people around these issues and having the opportunity to share it with others was such an insightful experience. Putting the film together really helped paint a different picture in a way I hadn鈥檛 imagined it would.
The documentaries, along with further reflections from the students, can be watched below: