Empowering transmedia citizen journalists: Collaborative Action on Transmedia and Human Rights (CATHR)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21827/jve.8.41106Keywords:
transmedia literacy, collective action, human rights advocacy, COIL, transformative learningAbstract
The Collaborative Action on Transmedia and Human Rights (CATHR), a 15-week hybrid educational program, empowers Venezuelan journalism students to become ethical digital communicators and human rights activists utilizing transmedia storytelling. Created to address Venezuela's humanitarian crisis, the program offers a replicable model for underprivileged settings by addressing structural violence, political unrest, and limited educational opportunities. CATHR promotes commitment to collective action by employing Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), Freire's (2005) critical pedagogy, and Mezirow's (1978) transformative learning theory. Since 2019, it has involved more than 550 students in 17 iterations, creating cross-continental partnerships with universities in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), students utilize project-based learning to create journalistic serious games and Transmedia Narrative Universes (TNUs) that address issues such as inequality, corruption, and climate change. This paper addresses issues such as emotional fatigue and resource disparities, while highlighting the program's transformative impact, which includes improved journalism skills, increased intercultural sensitivity, and solutions to overcome digital disadvantages.
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 José Luis Jiménez-Figarotti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All our authors retain their copyright and all rights associated to their work, and what we ask in return is a mere non-exclusive right to publish their work in print and electronically. This means that authors are free to do whatever they want with their article, even republish it elsewhere, as long as the original creation is properly credited.
Each accepted article is published under a Creative Commons licence. Although we apply a CC BY licence by default to all individual articles, we believe it is fair-minded to let authors decide the level of restriction of their licence should they wish so; see our Licence policy for additional information.
