New certificate program launched
Students will learn from home, then meet face to face in this unique community-centred course
INCA has received approval for a 30-Credit Hour Certificate program, which can be completed in one calendar year from September to August, beginning in Fall 2021. The program is called Indigenous Journalism and Communication (INJC).
“Our goal is to help students learn and work for the benefit of their home communities,” says program coordinator Shannon Avison.
“The pandemic showed us how vital locally-directed communication is. INJC students will be equipped to play this all-important role in their communities, whether that’s through hosting radio shows, helping bands with member outreach, or doing their own thing through podcasts, website and other digital tools.”
In 2021-22, the elective courses focus on community and network radio and podcasting. People already active in community radio will have an opportunity to boost their skills and meet other radio operators, while people new to the field will be introduced to the wonderful world of radio and podcasting.
Instruction will include such things as how to manage a radio station and create compelling audio stories for the radio and the web. There will also be a focus on using media to preserve and promote Indigenous languages.
After completing courses remotely in fall and winter, students will travel to Regina to meet their classmates and instructors in person at the highly-regarded INCA Summer Institute, a seven-week intensive course featuring instruction from some of Canada’s most well-known Indigenous journalists.
“The program is set up so that students are full-time students eligible for band funding, scholarships and student loans,” says Avison. Interested future communicators should contact savison@fnuniv.ca for further information.
