{"id":1032,"date":"2025-02-19T15:03:25","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/segkirakossian.com\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2025-02-19T15:36:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T14:36:02","slug":"ecodocu24barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/segkirakossian.com\/am\/ecodocu24barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"EcoDocu 2024 — Memories from Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Over the past decade, I have had the privilege of leading a series of documentary filmmaking trainings aimed at empowering youth workers, educators, and leaders to use film as a tool for social change. These trainings, known as the Docu series<\/strong>, have taken place across different countries, equipping participants with storytelling skills to advocate for human rights, fight hate speech, and promote environmental sustainability. Today, I want to introduce you to one of these transformative experiences — EcoDocu 2024<\/strong>, a training course that took place exactly one year ago in Barcelona, where participants created five short documentary films about environmental issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Margarida, Karim and Arpi during the filming
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Under the warm skies of Barcelona, from February 11 to 20, 2024, a vibrant group of youth workers, educators, and leaders gathered for an experience that would reshape their perspectives on environmental advocacy. EcoDocu<\/strong> was more than just a training course; it was an opportunity to blend creativity with purpose, storytelling with activism, and media with sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the first day, participants, coming from the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries found themselves immersed in a transformative learning environment. Many arrived with no prior connection to documentary filmmaking or the arts as the selection criteria was to be youth workers, youth leaders or educators. Yet, by the end of the training, they had gained not only technical skills but also the confidence to capture compelling narratives that could spark change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lights, Camera, Action \u2013 Learning Through Practice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

EcoDocu embraced C3 Filmmaking<\/strong>, an approach that combines creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. Participants engaged in hands-on workshops, where they learned how to handle a camera<\/a>, use a stabilizer, adjust focus, and master the art of transitions and secondary scenes. They explored media recycling<\/strong>, discovering innovative ways to repurpose existing footage to tell new stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most impactful sessions focused on media advocacy<\/strong>, empowering participants to use film as a tool for environmental education. They reflected on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<\/strong> and brainstormed ways to integrate them into their future work with young people. More than just technical training, EcoDocu encouraged participants to pay attention to everyday actions<\/strong> and how these small, seemingly insignificant choices shape the bigger picture of sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Brainstorming group task<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Storytelling to Action<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the days progressed, participants gained insight into the power of storytelling<\/strong>\u2014how the right framing, the right cut, and the right music can elevate a simple moment into a meaningful statement. They discussed copyright rules<\/strong>, learned the basics of editing<\/strong>, and experimented with free tools that made professional-quality filmmaking accessible to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many, this training was not just about filmmaking but about seeing the world through a new lens — both literally and figuratively. As one participant said, “I started to understand how to use a camera not just to record, but to capture the essence of a moment.”<\/em> The knowledge they gained was not meant to stay in Barcelona; it was meant to be carried forward\u2014to their communities, to their youth groups, to the stories still waiting to be told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Title: You can Sea me<\/strong>
Authors: Anastasiia Sereda, Diogo Miguel Oliveira Martins, Olesia Kovalyk, Nara Hovhanisyan, Elina Petrosyan<\/strong>
How pollution affects the daily lives of fishermen…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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