Radio Veritas Asia online content production training held in Myanmar

The Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) online content production training is being conducted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar (CBCM) in Yangon, Myanmar from September 1 to 14. 

The training aims to upgrade the skills of program producers who have been providing their content in the local centers for a certain length of time but still have never experienced the training provided by RVA. 

As many as 17 participants from Myanmar-based languages are taking part in the training.

Father George Plathottam, Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC)-Office of Social Communication (OSC) Executive Secretary, lectures on basic journalism, RVA Program Director Father Bernard Dashi Tang teaches about program frameworks, audio legacy, social media policy, and RVA platforms. 

Father Paulinus Myat Kyaing, National Director of the Office of Social Communication, teaches about Open Broadcast Software. 

San May Nwe and Nay Lin Aung teach the online participants basic photography, an introduction to social media and multimedia, pocket filmmaking, and storyboard.

Most of the previous training had been in English in the Philippines, and it was hard for the participants from different Myanmar languages to understand. Each participant attending the training incurs significant travel costs from Myanmar to the Philippines. Since 2013, the issue has been discussed about the possibility of having the training in the country of Myanmar itself. 

In his talk, Father Paulinus Myat Kyaing, national director of the Office of Social Communication, recalls the words of Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the former director of the Holy See Press Office, who urges a new generation of journalists and says that they are to serve not only as a profession but as a vocation. 

"As we are called to be men and women of the Church media, we have to approach Mother Mary, who accepts the Word of God that was made flesh, Jesus Christ. We are to bring Christ into the lives of every person," said Father Paulinus. 

Auxiliary Bishop John Saw Yaw Han of Yangon thanked all the resource persons for this training. 

He compares the staff of Radio Veritas Asia to stewards since they have been endowed with the task of communicating the gospel of Jesus. He encourages the participants to share the abilities that God has given them—time, treasure, and talent.

Time means they have to give your time generously. Regarding the treasure, the participants need financial support, and at the same time, we are to sacrifice. 

The prelate said that monthly payments may be provided to them, but their sacrifice for the effective mission is also required. 

Speaking of talent, they always have to upgrade themselves. As technology is always advancing, training participants are always upgrading their competencies. Based on the Gospel of the training opening day, the bishop said that the fishermen (the disciples) were cleaning their nets after fishing the whole night. 

Cleaning and repairing the nets after fishing means upgrading our media abilities regarding our service in communication. 

The participants had an opportunity to hear the speech of Archbishop Paul Tschang In Nam, the former Apostolic Nuncio to Myanmar, on September 2. 

The Apostolic nuncio talked to the online training participants and said that they are being prepared to be the carriers of Christ's message. They are called by Christ himself. They are called to be faithful to their vocation. 

A Myanmar bishop supports the participants in every morning Mass through their supportive homilies during the training days. This is the sixth batch of the RVA online production training and the first time that it has taken place in Myanmar. - Hubert Saw