Medley Mag

2010 has been declared by the United Nations to be the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, and the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. This edition of Medley Mag – entitled ‘Media @ Mullauna’ – serves as a wonderful practical celebration of both International Years at a local community level in Australia.

The ‘Media @ Mullauna’ edition showcases the work of almost forty students from years 8 and 9 at Mullauna College in Mitcham, Victoria. The content featured in is the product of a two-day intensive media workshop program conducted at the College in December 2009. The workshops were devised and presented by volunteer student trainers, whose impressive media and communications experience can be viewed in the ‘About Us – Meet the Student Trainers’ section. Students were taught the key features of news reporting and sports writing, music reviewing and song writing, opinion writing, photography, fiction writing and poetry. With their newly acquired knowledge and skills, they proceeded to produce their own work for publication.

The success of the workshops is largely attributable to the commitment and involvement of the student trainers – Mihad, Sanjay, Natasha, Ada, Zoya, Dan, Michael and Florence – who travelled considerable distances within metropolitan Melbourne to participate, and some even from rural Victoria and interstate! A special thank you is also extended to Medley Mag’s web whiz Lauren, for her unwavering ‘behind-the-scenes’ support of all the e-zine’s endeavours.

The enthusiasm, passion and talent of the students is reflected in the diversity and quality of their work – from (fictional) news stories about staunch footy team rivalries, city violence and school strikes, to sports pieces covering gymnastics, pole vault and athletics. Strong views regarding Melbourne’s public transport system, healthy lifestyles and the ‘tween’ phenomenon are expressed in the Opinion section. Music boasts thoughtful lyrics about love, heartbreak, friends and fun, and Reviews adds a splash of popular culture, through the likes of John Mayer and Chris Brown. Creative writing lovers are invited to take a meandering journey through ‘Short Stories’ and ‘Poetry’. Finally, for fans of the visual arts, Photography offers a selection of schoolyard snaps with a twist.

The two cartoons below – devised by Medley Mag’s resident cartoonist Phil Kavanagh – portray both the central tenet of Medley Mag in its promotion of cultural diversity through the celebration of youth talent and creativity, as well as the engagement of a range of stakeholders to advance the (re)establishment of harmonious relationships. Please enjoy exploring this latest edition of Medley Mag - ‘Media @ Mullauna’ – and in the process, promoting and celebrating youth and cultural diversity.

Georgina Dimopoulos
Editor-in-Chief