#3 RISE UP Workshop Summary: Media Inside/Out – Perspectives on Minoritised Language Media

For its third Networking Event on minoritised language media, RISE UP continued its series of efforts in bringing together actors from various fields within minoritised language communities. The event called “Media Inside/Out – Perspectives on Minoritised Language Media” was held on September 9, 2024, and featured actors representing various forms of media, such as print media, film-making, translation, and more. The event was a great success, and provided an opportunity for showcasing examples of media in minoritised communities and connecting to like-minded people.

What are the aims of the RISE UP Networking Events?

RISE UP hosts regular online networking events on different topics in the field of minoritised languages, this being the third one. Our aim with these networking events is to provide participants with the opportunity to gain knowledge in the field of language activism, to give them tools to strengthen their language communities, learn from each other’s challenges and solutions, and get to know each other. This event specifically highlighted the multiplicity of minoritised media outlets around Europe, focusing on examples from three of RISE UP’s selected language communities (Burgenland Croatian, Cornish, and Seto).

The presentations

The event was kicked off with an hour of presentations about different types of minoritsed language media.

Our first presenters were Theresa Grandits and Lidija Novak, representing the Burgenland Croatian media outlets Hrvatske Novine and Novi Glas. Hrvatske Novine, a weekly newspaper, is the “Leitmedium” (designated leading medium) for the Burgenland Croatian minority in Austria. Novi Glas has been published by the Hrvatski Akademski Klub (HAK) since 1969 at least 4 times per year, and has established an extensive online presence since 2020, including weekly multimedia content. Theresa and Lidija also talked about other Burgenland Croatian media available in Austria, including radio and TV series on the Austrian Public Broadcaster (ORF), as well as other media outlets such as podcasts (centar.melange, NG History Podcast) and YouTube channels.

The second presentation was held by Laura Giles, Managing Director of Screen Cornwall. She presented the work & approach of Screen Cornwall, and showed short video clips and animations produced in Cornish. Screen Cornwall aims to act as a single contact point for the thriving Cornish screen industry, and has been active since 2019. During this time, Screen Cornwall has been working towards the mission of sustainably growing the screen sector economy in Cornwall, focusing on cultural distinctiveness and nurturing emerging talent through training programmes.

Our third presenter was Varun Trikha, the director of Raise Me A Memory, a documentary film about the lives of one traveller (Varun) and three people he met in the Seto-speaking community in Setomaa, Estonia. During this part of the event, we were able to show the first 15 minutes of the movie, setting the scene and touching points for a more in-depth Q&A session later in the workshop.

Lastly, Eva Vetter and Stefanie Cajka (UNIVIE) presented the new RISE UP Resource collection, which was based on the in-depth screening of available media resources within the project’s five selected language communities. They explained their research approach und showcased some first results that came out of their analysis. Furthermore, Eva and Stefanie pointed to the extensive directory of Language Resources on the RISE UP website, where their collection is shared and users are invited to add further resources.

The workshops

After a short coffee break, the second half of our Networking Event was filled with more interactive sessions in breakout rooms. Three sessions were hosted on the following topics:

Multimedia – Hrvatske Novine & Novi Glas

During their workshop, Theresa & Lidija went more in-depth about the Burgenland Croatian media outlets Hrvatske Novine and Novi Glas, sharing some of the history and challenges encountered along the way. Providing space for inputs from participants, discussions on topics such as governmental funding, the language’s “image problem”, and opportunities for youth engagement were discussed and ideas exchanged. We also talked about strategies to activate the usually rather passive recipients of media through interactive games such as crosswords or guessing games, as well as about how to empower students to engage with their minoritised language more.

Translation – Cornish Language Office & Fiona O’Cleirigh

The second workshop was hosted by Jowdy Davey (Cornish Language Office) and Fiona O’Cleirigh, and discussed everything surrounding translation in minoritised languages. Since its founding in 2006, the Cornish Language Office has provided over 11,000 translations, supported by a team of freelance translations. Jowdy shared insights into their work and achievements, and highlighted the importance of “small”, every-day translations, such as road signs or e-mail signatures since it normalises the use of the language. Fiona – one of RISE UP’s #VoicesOfCommunity artists – talked about how she got into the field of translation, as well as her experiences with creative translation (e.g., songs or poems), including the important work of the St Just Ordinalia, the Breselor Ensemble’s Stations of the Cross, and the Treylva Collective, as well as the challenges that come along with copyright and fair payment.

Documentaries – Varun Trikha

The breakout session on Raise Me A Memory was structured as a Q&A session with Varun Trikha, going more in-depth about the creation of the documentary and the process behind it. Varun shared insights into his inspiration for the film, its reception within the Seto community, and financial challenges. He talked about how over time, he started to connect to the protagonists of the film more and more deeply, connecting with his own history and journey, and making the process of creating the movie a sort of exchange of life experiences. Varun also stressed how important it was to create a context in which talking with the interviewees emerged organically. There are not many other movies in Seto, and there is no other feature length creative documentary about Seto culture – two other Seto movies are Tarka, a short part of which was shot in Setomaa, and Wild South, a compilation of short films.

Conclusion

The Networking Event was a great success, and offered a stage for minoritised language community members to share their experiences, learn from each other and exchange good practices. We would like to thank our presenters and participants for your eager engagement, for sharing your inspiring stories and constituting such an important part of our project!

In case you missed the event, you can watch the recording on our YouTube channel.

Author: Violeta Heinze