What: Mediating Change conference
When: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Nov. 1 (Thursday) and 9:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 (Friday)
Where: Various locations on campus at University of North Texas, Denton; See conference website for detailed agenda and locations.
Who: BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes, documentary filmmakers PJ Raval and Curran Nault and scholars from UNT and other universities will lead discussions and workshops.
Cost Free for UNT students/faculty/staff, $60 for non-UNT students, $100 for general public in advance; all participants must register online at https://www.mediatingchangeconference.com/registration.
Media: Journalists interested in covering the event should contact Heather Noel at heather.noel@unt.edu or 940-369-8218.
Background:
The Department of Media Arts in UNT’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences is hosting its first Mediating Change conference exploring the roles media (film, journalism, photography, podcasts, social media etc.) play in creating a more equitable, inclusive, sustainable and just society.
The event will gather scholars across disciplines, media practitioners, educators, community leaders and activists to learn and foster collaborations.
Conference highlights include a keynote address about bridging academia and media making in the community at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 1 by BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes. A screening of PJ Raval’s award-winning documentary “Call Her Ganda” at 6 p.m. Nov. 1 will be followed by a panel discussion with Raval and co-producer Curran Nault. Other topics of discussion include destigmatizing mental health through media inclusion, criminal justice and the media, activism on social media and ethics of community media making.
The inaugural event coincides with the UNT Department of Media Arts’ development of a Youth Media Lab designed for both research about youth and opportunities for young people. The lab will provide teens with tools and mentorship to create media to affect social change in their communities. UNT’s Carla Carter-Bishop and Jacqueline Ryan Vickery are co-directors of the lab.