(ANS – Sliema) – BOSCOcrew is a production house belonging to the Salesians of Don Bosco in Malta. The aim of BOSCOcrew is to promote a holistic education and evangelisation through media. This non-formal approach, inspired and motivated by the Oratorian criterion of St. John Bosco, provides a space whereby young people can invest in their knowledge, in their creativity and in their skills in a different way.

BOSCOcrew strives to read the signs of the times and contributes towards a cultural change. This is achieved by embracing humanistic values which eventually lead to a personal encounter with the Risen Lord.

Over past and recent years, Malta has witnessed the onset of several media houses. The Salesians in Malta see BOSCOcrew not as another entity offering a service but a space whereby accompaniment through human and spiritual development deepens in a process of maturity. BOSCOcrew, in fact,  is currently based in one of our Youth Centres, and it assures the daily contact of the members with the Salesian community in a friendly and Oratorian atmosphere and guarantees the Salesian identity which is central to the initiative.

Challenged by the actual situations and elicited by the the Rector Major’s statement “Every Salesian is a Educator-Communicator-Evangelizer”, the Salesians in Malta have entrusted BOSCOcrew with a pioneering project to the islands of Malta.

During a seminar (April 2012) the Personal and Social Development and Media Education Department presented 65 teachers at church schools with resources to help them promote the topic. The Archbishop’s delegate for social communications said that media education should not be just digital skills as that would make it just an extension of education technology.

One of the invites for this meeting was Fr. Eric Cachia SDB who launched “FilmE” pilot project for all Church Schools in Malta on behalf of BOSCOcrew. This project will accompany Form 3 students (13 to 14 years applicants) on a hands-on approach journey of holistic development through the language of media. Film making will be the main tool used, putting the emphasis on the process rather than on the end result.

Dr Marianne Lauri, Pro Rector of the University of Malta and a pioneer lecturer in psychology and media education vividly backed this Salesian initiative and insisted that this is what “media education” is all about. This project, run by supervised and accompanied young adults will provide a space whereby, through idea generation, filming, acting and editing, the participants come to mix, learn how to respect the ideas and feelings of others.

BOSCOcrew believes that technology as well as the digital era we live in are not ghosts to hunt but the language of the new generations which is providing an opportunity to affirm their values and their direction.

Published on 03/10/2012