29th& 30th November & 1st December 2021
The Fest of Fests webinars about Generation Z were concluded on the 1st of December
GEN-Z (born between 1997 and 2012) is the first generation of “digital natives”. A GLOBAL GENERATION experiencing the solution to the growing technological gap between rich and poor: the ‘digital divide’ that threatens to consign millions of people worldwide to an “information underclass”, radically seizes to exist. The revolution in information technology is redefining poverty: how much GEN-Zers know, becomes as important as how much they own.
GEN-Zers, all over the world, given only access and opportunity, teach themselves and acquire knowledge. They are globally connected, welcome change, support inclusion and independence, speak a new global language, are brave and challenging, promote a new version of their own “reality” via social media. It is a new form of community, full of imagination, promoting freedom and sharing.
The aim and aftermath of the webinars is to collect audiovisual content made by children 10-15 years old from around the world. The short videos (about 3’ duration) will be a means to express themselves over their life and ambitions. The discussion during the webinars was about Generation Z as this is the generation that these children belong to.
Some of the webinars speakers were: Beth Carmona (Midiativa, Brazil), Carol Colmenares (Timeline Digital, US), Charlotte Cole (Blue Butterfly, US), Rafael Parra (The New School, New York), Gert Hermans (ECFA), Jitendra Mishra (CIFEJ), Veronica Wulff (Sesame Workshop), Nusrat Durrani (MTV), Mitsuo Tahira (KINEKO, Japan).
Some projects that stood out:
‘1.5 Degrees of Peace – A Gen-Z’s Search for Hope’, film by Kasha Sequoia Slavner
ART of Me, project/USA
‘Brilliant: Girls and Boys in Action’, project/Colombia
Blue Butterfly and Lakou Kajou, Haitian production
The event was aimed at professionals from International Youth Film Festivals, Film Education and other Institutions dealing with content for children. For the pilot of the service the intension is to collect videos made by children within the workshops/under the guidance of festivals and educational organisations. There were 35 speakers and about 150 attendees, and the webinars had a hybrid form taking place in the premises of Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in Athens.