Our work empowering people from Southampton's black and ethnically diverse communities through mobile storytelling appeared on the BBC this week. Three mums who were part of our Our Voices, Our Stories training programme shared their stories with BBC South News. Helen Jackson, Laura Racioppi and Hafsat Bello were three of eight local residents in Our … Continue reading Watch our mobile storytellers on BBC News
Tag: diversity
Our Version Media has teamed up with national equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) consultancy, Inclucive, to bring a three-part EDI training programme to Southampton. This online programme will support senior leaders and EDI leads of community-facing organisations with embedding anti-racism, inclusion and allyship into their organisation’s foundations. Details: Training for Leaders: Anti-Racism, Unconscious Bias and … Continue reading Supporting local leaders’ mission to create a more inclusive city
Our "Proud To Be" black stories screening took place at MAST Mayflower Studios on Monday 25th October. It was the first of our community stories screenings and, to mark Black History Month, showcased stories from Southampton's African, Caribbean and black British communities. Nine local people shared their made-by-mobile "Proud To Be" themed videos to a … Continue reading Mobile storytellers share their “Proud To Be” stories at our first community stories screening
It's back! Our weekly Black Community Coverage Clinic returns this month! This free consultancy service provides marketing, communications and media support and guidance to Southampton's black community organisation leaders and representatives. The weekly drop-in first launched in 2020, running on the Zoom platform from 14th September to 14th December 2020. Leaders from the city's black … Continue reading Our Black Community Coverage Clinic is back, to amplify even more black voices!
Proud To Be is the theme of this year's Black History Month and we're running a Mobile Storytelling course with that theme! Our Version Media is Proud To Be a social enterprise equipping Southampton's black, ethnic and other under-represented communities with digital media and storytelling skills to tell their own, authentic stories. With the first Proud To Be … Continue reading Over 65s learn digital media skills to tell their stories through mobile video
With lockdown over, we've moved our Mobile Storytelling to Showcase Social Impact workshops from online to in-house! Whether at our base at MAST Mayflower Studios or out in the community, it's great to be back connecting with people face-to-face! We ran our first in-person session at Northam Community Centre in August, for young people from Northam and … Continue reading Equipping future leaders with media skills to amplify their push for social change
Header photo credit: Chris Stephens Nearly one year since Our Version Media became an official community interest company (CIC), we are moving into our new HQ! Our new home is in Southampton's newest creative space, MAST Mayflower Studios. MAST Mayflower Studios, owned by Mayflower Theatre, took over the Studio 144 building following the closure of … Continue reading Our Version Media’s new city centre HQ
Our Version Media is an official media partner of Southampton's UK City of Culture 2025 Bid. Our founder, Veronica Gordon, has been featured in Southampton 2025's blog. In it she revealed what she loves about Southampton, why she's supporting the city's Bid, what culture means to her and why she thinks Southampton is more than … Continue reading Founder says Southampton is more than ready for its “glow up”
Southampton City Council’s Tenant Engagement team has put together a Diversity Calendar. It’s packed with key dates, such as national and international awareness days, UN commemorative days, and fun days. It’s a great tool if you’re looking for dates to “hook” your story onto and to help with story and content scheduling. Download the Diversity … Continue reading Diversity Calendar
More than three quarters (77.8%) of black Southampton residents who took part in our media survey said they do not feel fairly and accurately represented in local news coverage. The survey also revealed that 75% felt there was a negative bias against black people in local news coverage, with the majority stating that the media … Continue reading Media racism: “Sometimes things go unchallenged because they go unspoken”