Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) The first class of the 2017 Citizen News Youth Camp is set to begin Sept. 27, to allow participants from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to gain a deeper understanding of citizen journalism.

The camp, hosted by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and organized by CNA, is intended to promote cross-strait exchanges in soft power, particularly in the field of journalism.

This year's camp will feature nine lecturers from the professional and academic spheres, including Hu Yuan-hui (胡元輝), professor of communication at National Chung Cheng University, Lin Chao-chen (林照真), professor at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of Journalism, Chang Cheng-lin (張正霖), executive producer of newtalk.tw, and Wang Hui-chun (王慧君), a Golden Harvest Award-winning director.

Participating students will not only get to attend seminars by top experts in the field of journalism but will also get a first-hand feel for what it means to be a journalist through visiting local news stations and practicing actual interview skills.

Given the evolution of journalism in the digital age, Wang will discuss in her class how to make films using smartphones, so that students can understand how to use technology that is readily available to the average person to create news output.

The four-day camp will have three different cohorts, each with its own theme. The first will have the theme of cultural diversity. The other two will take place in October and November, with the themes of sustainable environment and social benefits, respectively.

More information on the camp can be found on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/106citizennewsyouthcamp/1060925

(By Chang Shu-ling and Kuan-lin Liu)
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